Rural funeral customs are more traditional, even though it’s expressly forbidden to believe in superstition, when people in the village die, they still follow the traditional rites. This is an unspoken understanding among everyone: the seven days and nights of kneeling worship, choosing an auspicious day for the funeral procession, the Ze family’s eldest son holding the morial tablet, the burning of joss paper money on the seventh day to see the deceased one last ti, and the Yin Yang Master arranging for family mbers to conduct the sacrificial rites—all without exception.
Xiuxiu felt she hadn’t really done much, yet with every bit of hustle, dawn was about to break, and she only lay down in the house because she was too exhausted to continue. The next day, before dawn had even cracked, she was up and busy again. Just managing the als for the clan mbers who ca to help could nearly cost her half a life; she barely squeezed in two hours of sleep, and her appearance had visibly beco more haggard.
Originally, Xiuxiu was afraid that she hadn’t cried enough, but after a night’s turmoil, she found her worry had been unnecessary — she was definitely worn out!
What troubled her was that Yuanhuan still hadn’t called. She didn’t know if he’d settled in or if he’d arrived safely in the Imperial City; Xiuxiu was anxious about it but didn’t ntion it. Fortunately, Father Song and Mrs. Song were in their hotown. The news in these rural areas spread quickly, and they had soon heard about Mrs. Xu’s incident. They ca to visit early in the morning.
"Xiuxiu, where have you placed the children? You have a lot to worry about these days. With Yuanhuan just gone to the Imperial City and unable to return in ti, you should let the in-laws take so of the burden. I will take the three little ones back to our house to look after them for a while!" Mrs. Song and Father Song brought the funeral donation money and imdiately began asking Xiuxiu.
"They’re at the auntie’s next door. I can’t look after them for the ti being, so I’ll have to trouble you, Mom, to help watch them for a few days." Although entrusting the three children to the Song family’s care and letting Father Song and Mrs. Song look after them, Xiuxiu was still sowhat uneasy. After all, Father Song and Mrs. Song weren’t the only ones there — there was also the heavily pregnant Wang Qinghua, who was nearing delivery. If the children were to bump into sothing over at their house, it could beco a major issue. But with Second Aunt having many children, and the recent chaotic bereavent keeping her busy, Xiuxiu was afraid she couldn’t cope. Any accidents would be heartbreakingly worrying for her. It was a difficult decision, but relatively speaking, Mrs. Song was more reliable than Second Aunt.
"Then I’ll go and take the children ho now, while your dad helps out here. You young ones lack experience in these matters, so if there’s anything you don’t understand, just ask," Liu Shuxiang instructed, concerned that Xiuxiu and her young sisters lacked funeral experience, but also eager to see her grandchildren.
"I understand, Mom." Xiuxiu responded while accompanying Mrs. Song to Second Aunt’s house, briefing her on the three children’s routines, the amount of formula needed, and more.
"Waah! Mam...Mam..." Just as the daughters-in-law were approaching Second Aunt’s doorstep, they were startled by a child’s cry — from the sound of it, it seed to be Little Baby crying. Little Baby had only ever called for daddy and had never called for mommy before; hearing it for the first ti took Xiuxiu by a delightful surprise, but her happiness was quickly replaced by a surging anxiety.
Why would Little Baby, who had been sleeping soundly, suddenly start crying?
"Is that our Little Baby crying?" Mrs. Song asked, then swiftly made her way into the house.
"Don’t cry, little sister, don’t cry." Inside the house, Song Chengguang, upon hearing his little sister crying, hurriedly started to soothe Little Baby. Seeing the red burn on Little Baby’s arm made him panic and cry golden beans: "Don’t cry, if big brother blows on it, it won’t hurt anymore," he said, puffing his cheeks and blowing, tears plopping down his face.
"Doudou, you big brother, how can you bully your sister? You’re a baddie, just like your mom, not a good person," Cai Tou, hands on hips, rebuked Doudou from Xu Fangfang’s house.
"I didn’t bully my sister, she wanted to..." Doudou began to defend himself.
"You did it on purpose; you scalded your sister. I saw it," Cai Tou boldly interrupted Doudou’s explanation. When Xiuxiu and Mrs. Song walked in, what they saw was a sowhat ssy scene: a few children in disarray, Second Aunt’s two standing dumbstruck on the side, Song Chengguang desperately trying to calm Little Baby, Little Moon crying alongside her sister, while Cai Tou? She stood with her little chest puffed out, glaring angrily at Doudou.
"I said I didn’t," Doudou continued to rebut with a dark expression on his face.
"You did," Cai Tou was very certain, "Auntie, Doudou brother scalded sister with hot water." Cai Tou was young, and had started to lack confidence after accusing Doudou, biting his little red lips, on the verge of tears. But upon seeing Xu Xiuxiu appear, he imdiately ran to her and looked up to tattle.
"..." Xu Xiuxiu looked at Doudou with a complex expression. She didn’t scold Doudou imdiately upon hearing Cai Tou’s accusation. She had also listened from outside just monts ago, and Doudou had been very adamant in saying he didn’t, which probably ant he really didn’t. But Second Aunt was not in the room at the mont and Xu Xiuxiu had no idea what she was busy with. With only a group of children left in the room, trouble was normal, but it also proved that her initial lack of ease was justified.
"Don’t cry, Cai Tou. Let your Third Aunt go check on your sister first, okay?" Xu Xiuxiu ruffled Cai Tou’s head.
"Okay." Cai Tou nodded, then followed beside Xu Xiuxiu.
Mrs. Song had arrived before Xu Xiuxiu and was currently holding Little Baby tenderly, cooing.
"Ma..." Little Baby, the family’s young daughter, was always quite delicate. Though she wasn’t scalded too severely, her fair little arm was bright red, and probably because of her naturally tender skin, it looked quite shocking to the eye.
"Mommy’s here!" Xu Xiuxiu held Little Baby, feeling complex and emotional, pitying her rare dependence on her, which made her feel guilty and heartbroken. Yet as an adult, looking at the fierce but stubborn gaze of Doudou on the other side, even if Xu Xiuxiu wanted to reprimand, the words just wouldn’t co out.
"Mommy, I’m sorry. It’s Cheng Guang’s fault for not taking care of sister properly. Mommy, you should spank Cheng Guang!" Song Chengguang cried with tears and snot streaming down his face, full of guilt and nowhere to vent, he could only cling to Xu Xiuxiu’s sleeve and cry relentlessly.
"Shh, don’t cry, Cheng Guang. Sister is okay," Xu Xiuxiu soothed against her will.
"Sister hurts; she cried!" Song Chengguang pointed at Little Baby’s arm, his voice choked up.
"It’s okay, it’s okay. Mommy will apply so dicine, and it will stop hurting soon!" Xu Xiuxiu continued to comfort Cheng Guang, feeling irritated by the children’s crying.
"Really?" Song Chengguang was skeptical.
"Really!"
Alright then! Song Chengguang was easily persuaded by Xu Xiuxiu, but the little guy still stood by, his gaze fixed on Little Baby, evidently not planning to take his eyes off of her again.
"I didn’t do it on purpose." Right then, Doudou walked over and stood in front of Xu Xiuxiu, stubborn and obstinate.
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