A century of poverty

Chapter 120 Unexpected Events

The Year of the Dragon (Gengchen year) is drawing to a close, and the Year of the Snake (Xinsi year) is just around the corner. On Lunar New Year's Eve, we, like hundreds of millions of other Chinese families, celebrate the traditional festival of "Spring Festival".

Su Long, with his pockets full of "landmines" and a "skyrocket" in hand, went off to play "firecrackers" with a group of friends.

Su Zhiru and two of his nephews surnamed Su came to find Zhiqiang to play a game of mahjong for two cents for "entertainment".

Before two rounds of cards had even been played, the phone rang. Zhiqiang answered it, but judging from his expression, it didn't seem like a New Year's greeting call.

Zhiqiang put down the phone and returned to the mahjong table. He said to his second brother, "Dad is sick, very seriously. My eldest sister said to go see him."

The two nephews stood up and said tactfully, "My uncle is sick, go see him quickly, we can play sometime later." Then they left.

Su Zhiru: "It's not convenient for me right now, you go ahead, I'll go tomorrow during the day!"

Zhiqiang put on his hat and cotton gloves: "Don't wait for me to cook the dumplings, you guys eat!"

After saying that, he opened the door and went out.

I felt uneasy, which must be serious, otherwise I wouldn't have called to ask me to come on New Year's Eve.

At eleven o'clock, firecrackers went off everywhere.

I started making dumplings, and Su Long had already come back several times to carry the "landmines" (a type of dumpling). This time I told him, "Don't go too far, just play by the window."

The dumplings are ready. My son and I have eaten, but Zhiqiang still hasn't come back.

After midnight, the sound of firecrackers gradually subsided, but Zhiqiang still hadn't returned, and the lively New Year's Eve quieted down.

I said to my child, "Your dad isn't coming back, let's close the door and go to sleep!" Just as I finished speaking, Zhiqiang came back inside.

I asked, "How's the old man?"

Zhiqiang: "I don't know, I didn't see it."

I was puzzled: "You went out half the night to see him, didn't you? How could you not know or not see him?"

Zhiqiang: "I thought I'd take a shortcut through the kerosene company, but it turned out the west gate was closed after I entered through the east gate, so I couldn't get through. I thought it was too far to come back, so I decided to jump over the wall! Before I could even climb over the wall, two men called me over and interrogated me. No matter how I explained or begged them to let me through, they wouldn't listen and just wouldn't let me leave."

"Let me go back when the firecrackers stop going off and everyone calms down."

Me: "Hey! This is such a mess, you haven't eaten yet, have you?"

Zhiqiang: "Where am I supposed to eat?!"

"Let me heat them up for you, the dumplings are getting cold." I went to heat up the dumplings for him.

Zhiqiang: "We've wasted half the night. Let's go early tomorrow morning!"

On the morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year, Zhiqiang got up before dawn and went to his older sister's house. He returned in less than an hour. Without saying a word, he went inside and found a stool to take to the front room.

I asked, "What are you doing with that stool? How's your dad?"

Zhiqiang: "The old man is gone, and my older sister told me to find a stool to make a bed!"

I asked in bewilderment, "The old man was perfectly fine. He wasn't sick at all, so how could he just suddenly be gone?"

Zhiqiang ignored me and started getting busy.

My heart is not at peace.

My father-in-law hadn't been sick recently, so how could he just pass away on New Year's Eve? We have no idea what happened, it was so sudden, it's unbelievable.

I called out to Zhiqiang, "Didn't you ask how your older sister passed away? She was perfectly healthy, able to walk and run, how could she just be gone? What illness did she have? There has to be a process!"

Zhiqiang said irritably, "I don't know! Go ask Le!"

I have two questions: First, why should someone who died at her house be "laid up" here with us? We gave the old man a room and a half to live in, and we didn't say that he was being laid up after his death. Why should he come to our house to sleep in?

Zhiqiang never hesitated to do whatever his family said without question. I had objections, but raising them now would be inappropriate, so I had no choice but to cooperate.

Before long, a commotion arose as the father-in-law's body was brought in and carried into the gatehouse. One and a half rooms were clearly not enough. Meanwhile, the three gatehouses opposite were currently empty and filled with people.

Zhiqiang kept going back and forth, rummaging through cigarettes, water, and various other items for the dead.

I didn't say anything. The Su family has always treated me like I'm nothing. This is such a big matter, in front of everyone.

The expenses incurred in this matter will eventually be accounted for. I figured they couldn't have been used for nothing, so I made an account and recorded everything that was used.

All the doors in my house were open day and night to deal with various matters.

The next day, Su Lei arrived and took control of the finances; he handled all external expenses. I was puzzled. Hadn't they divorced? They'd divided the assets, and the two children had separated—the daughter with her mother, and the son with his father. Why was he in charge?

Su Zhichun claimed that they had remarried.

Before his death, Su Zhichun had two houses sold, one for 37,000 yuan and the other for 18,000 yuan, plus 8,000 yuan left over from his mother's funeral in the 1980s. All of these were in Su Zhichun's hands. In total, it must have been over 60,000 yuan. How could he let an outsider manage it?

Whose idea was it for this shady character, Su Lei, to control access?

The next day, neighbors came to give gifts and handed the money to me. I knew they were doing it for us. We ran our business openly, and whenever any family or clan in the village had an event, they would send us a message. But I didn't keep the money for myself; instead, I put it into the communal account set up by the front house.

I believe that one should be upright and honest in one's conduct. This way, they can see that we are not bad people in the village.

Su Yi, thin as a rake and limping, arrived. She entered the shop and greeted, "Fourth Aunt."

I replied, "Su Yi's here! Aren't you going abroad anymore? Why are you back so soon?"

Su Yi: "I came back early because I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease."

I asked, "How's your dad? Has he arrived?"

Su Yi: "He's alright, he's in the back!"

At noon, Su Lei and Su Hongyuan, along with two young men, bought a tape recorder and played funeral music. The tapes were of poor quality, and even without playing sad songs, they played a mournful melody.

The "mourning cloth" I bought was like a ribbon, not even as good as the ceiling fabric. It could only be thrown away after use and could not be reused.

I've been working day and night at the shop, catering to people attending funerals and fetching supplies for those who come to collect them. The accounts have already reached over a thousand yuan.

Zhiqiang was responsible for finding and borrowing any missing household items, running errands, and we were both irreplaceable in our busyness. Because we were the "hosts," and everyone else was a "guest."

Finally, the third day of the Lunar New Year arrived, and the "leaders" said we could "go out." We got up at three in the morning to start preparations.

At four o'clock, cannons were fired, and at five-thirty, the coffin was carried to the crematorium.

Several families were already ahead of us in the cremation queue, so we had no choice but to wait.

The third brother, Su Zhiguang, who carried the "spirit banner," was a playful man, wearing only a leather jacket over a wool sweater. It was the coldest time of day, when the "ghosts were baring their teeth," and the brothers were escorting the coffin in the open cart.

Zhiqiang felt sorry for his third brother who was cold: "Go somewhere to warm up for a while, I'll carry this for you." Su Zhiguang handed the banner to his fourth brother and got out of the car.

Zhiqiang carried the funeral banner until the crematorium was moved into place.

Around 9 a.m., after much difficulty, it was time to call the number. The "deceased" was pushed into the farewell hall: the son and daughter-in-law performed a full kneeling ceremony; the daughter and son-in-law performed a bow; and the granddaughter, granddaughter, and grandson followed behind with a slight bow.

Suddenly, Su Zhijuan called out, "Qinglian, take Su Long to kowtow to his grandfather. He only has one grandson."

In full view of everyone, I led Su Long out from among my grandchildren, and the two of us kowtowed three more times.

After cremation, there was another round of rituals before the ashes were placed in the "storage area".

Su Zhijuan gave her third brother five hundred yuan on the spot, saying, "Carrying the funeral banner is not for nothing." Su Zhiguang took the money and put it in his pocket.

Once outside, Zhiqiang called out to those in the car, "Listen up, everyone! When you get back, head to 'Xiao Jie Hotel' on Beidao Road."

This meal was booked by Zhiqiang at a restaurant owned by Wang Xiaojie to treat the group returning from the funeral. It was during the Spring Festival holiday, and no restaurants in the vicinity were open.

"Xiao Jie's Restaurant" has also closed for the holidays, and the chefs have gone home for the Spring Festival. Out of consideration for my family, Wang Xiaojie personally took charge of the kitchen and opened the restaurant to do this "one-meal business".

Everyone was seated. The dishes were served, and the guests began to eat. Soon, everyone put down their chopsticks and said goodbye.

It was nearly 11 a.m., and the sisters and brothers remained seated.

Su Zhijuan: "Zhiqiang, go back to the store and get the 'Guocang Laojiao' you sold. I don't like this kind of liquor."

Zhiqiang got up in response and went back to get the wine.

Su Lihua: "Oh dear—I'll just have a drink and go home!"

Su Zhijuan: "What's all the fuss about? We've seen your grandpa off, there's nothing else to do, shouldn't we have a good drink?"

Su Lihua: "I have something to do and need to get back urgently. There are still two people at my house!"

Su Zhijuan: "Who is it? Aren't you home? Why aren't you leaving?"

Su Lihua leaned closer to her aunt and whispered, "They're cracking down on this, so our 'company' ran into some trouble. Clients are withdrawing their investments and demanding refunds. I'm not giving them refunds, and there's this old man and woman at my house who won't leave unless we give them their money. They bring their own instant noodles and just sit on the sofa in my living room. They eat with water from our thermos to make their instant noodles. It's been like this for several days."

Su Zhijuan: "Is this how you collect debts?"

Su Lihua: "You're so old, and they didn't do anything to you, so what could they do? If they really messed things up, Daqing would have to go to jail for a few years, and I wouldn't be able to escape either."

We're worried too. A full refund is impossible; we've already spent a lot, and we need to keep a close eye on things to get some compensation.

About half an hour has passed, and Zhiqiang still hasn't returned.

Su Zhijuan: "Xiao Kai, go check on your fourth brother, why isn't he back yet!"