Sweet slice-of-life love story: Wife, Let's love again
Chapter 249 - 245: Qingming

Chapter 249: Chapter 245: Qingming

April began.

The temperature rose day by day, and the annoying willow catkins began to drift in the air. A gust of wind could whip up tiny whirls of white fuzz on the ground.

Before he knew it, another year had passed.

The fifteenth day after the spring equinox, between mid-spring and late spring, was the Qingming Festival.

A holiday.

"Are you really not going?"

"Just go, I’m going to sleep a bit longer."

He Fang, hugging her blanket with her back to the door, waved her hand without turning her head.

"Alright, just make sure to eat well at noon. I might be back late... We’ll have dinner at my place."

Guanglin advised her as she lay with her eyes closed, not moving; he shrugged his shoulders and left the door, "Alright, I’m leaving now."

In some places, there was a custom that women should not participate in tomb-sweeping, but his family didn’t really mind that. Guanglin had wanted to take He Fang to visit, but she had refused.

"He Fang? Aren’t you taking her to visit your father?"

As he pulled up to the house in his car and picked up neatly dressed Qin’s Mom, she too started asking about this.

"Let’s wait until we are married; it’s not urgent right now." Guanglin didn’t say that He Fang didn’t want to go; he dodged the topic and drove straight to the cemetery.

So many years had passed, and tomb-sweeping, rather than a memorial act, had become more of a habit. Neither of them looked particularly somber; the atmosphere in the car wasn’t oppressive. Guanglin occasionally chatted with Qin’s Mom as they made their way to the North Mountain Cemetery.

"Should we buy a bouquet of flowers?" Guanglin asked casually, parking the car and noticing the bustling flower shop nearby.

"That’s enough for him to ’eat,’ what does he need flowers for?"

Qin’s Mom adjusted the fruit and snacks in her hands along with some homemade treats, "Let’s go, there are quite a few people."

The journey wasn’t short, and by then the sun had risen high. There were many people going in and out of the cemetery.

Guanglin simply responded and said no more, carrying paper money, incense, and a small bottle of white spirit, following Qin’s Mom into the cemetery. They zigzagged along the stone path, passing many tombstones, and eventually stopped at a corner near the very edge.

It was the simplest kind of tomb, not only remote but with very little space in front of the grave. Fortunately, it was just the two of them; any more relatives and friends, and there wouldn’t be space to stand in front of the grave.

The small tomb had its advantages; in just a short while, Guanglin had cleaned up the surroundings. Qin’s Mom squatted down, opening the bags one by one, neatly arranging everything in front of the grave while muttering softly to herself.

Qin Guanglin looked at the photo on the gravestone, not showing much grief, but deep nostalgia.

"Talk to your dad for a bit, make him happy," Qin’s Mom poked the burning joss paper a few times, letting the flames jump up a bit and burn more thoroughly before stepping aside to give space to Qin Guanglin.

Qin Guanglin stepped forward, squatting beside the fire pit, taking Qin’s Mom’s place. He grabbed handfuls of joss paper and threw them in, making the fire blaze even more.

"Dad, I made some money this year, so I’m burning more for you. There’s also your favorite Bai Niu Er drink. Drinking too much isn’t good, so Mom prepared a small bottle for you."

"This year, I got a job, not bad at all. Worked hard nearly a year, a lot happened in between, even got promoted to assistant director... You probably don’t know what a director does, but basically, it’s a managerial position, I manage people. Anyway, it’s really good, pays well, has a lot of benefits, and the perks are great. I even bought a car, paid in full, hehe..."

"... Oh right, did Mom tell you earlier? I also got a girlfriend, planning to get married... Well, I am ready, but she doesn’t have any plans yet—wants to date for two more years for some reason. You have to bless us, let us get married soon, and have a big healthy grandson or granddaughter, so the Qin family line can continue."

"I’m not boasting, but your future daughter-in-law is amazing, capable both in the hall and in the kitchen. Her cooking is fragrant, even better than Mom’s... Anyway, you can’t taste it, so here’s the plan. When we get married in a couple of years, I’ll have her cook some dishes and bring them here for your drinks, just don’t know if you’ll be able to receive them...

She’s a teacher, a primary school teacher, isn’t that great? And there’s more impressive news, she’s also a writer, a well-known writer, already published two books... Oh shoot, forgot to bring them for you to see, next time, I’ll bring a whole set for you to check out and see how impressive my girlfriend is."

Qin Guanglin fiddled with the fire pit, gently speaking to the photo on the tombstone.

Even though the person is no longer here, the kinship isn’t something that time can erode. Regardless of whether there’s another world or not, he always hoped his father knew he was doing well.

Seeing Qin’s Mom was not nearby, he shifted closer to the fire pit, grabbing some joss paper and throwing it in, "Sometimes she’s a bit mysterious, like she’s hiding something from me. Because of this, we had a fight recently; she even brought up aliens... no, some bizarre prophecy as an excuse. I got so mad I slammed the table and scared her; she started crying and even asked if my hand hurt... Seeing her cry, I just couldn’t continue arguing. Thought to myself, this girl, even if she’s hiding something, it surely won’t harm me, right?

...She also donated eighty thousand, gave away all her royalties from writing. Such a kind-hearted girl, I really hit the jackpot... I’ve become open-minded, if there are things she doesn’t want to talk about now, she’ll surely tell me when the time comes, right? The person is what matters most... Plus, when she cries, I just lose it, can’t think of anything to do. I want to be with her, I want to marry her, arguing certainly isn’t the way, we should know better, right? What do you think, am I making sense?... Ah, saying so much, wait till we’re married, I’ll bring her here for you to see, you’ll know how great she is, super great..."

Having vented things that weighed on him, Qin Guanglin felt much lighter, babbling on until all the joss paper had turned to ash, and the fire was dying down, then he finally stopped.

"Dad, if it’s not enough let me know in a dream, and I’ll come burn more for you... Just saw on the road, others burning mobile phones, paper people, houses, I won’t burn those little girl things for you, next time I’ll bring a model house and car to burn for you.

I’m leaving now, whatever you need just let me know in a dream, I don’t know if there’s signal on your side, next time I’ll also bring you a phone, the one with a charger."

Dusting off, he waited for the fire in the fire pit to die down, mumbling a few more words, then turned and left.

"Should we move Dad to a better spot?"

"He’s used to here, no need to change, nowhere is as comfortable as the old place."

Qin’s Mom and Qin Guanglin walked out of the cemetery along the stone path. It was nearing noon, and they got into the car and drove out a bit. Qin’s Mom suddenly sighed, somewhat emotional.

"If your dad were still here, watching you grow up would have been so good."

"Isn’t that the truth?"

Qin Guanglin agreed, sighing quietly in his heart.

Life is unpredictable, too many uncertainties.