The Country Maiden: Fields and Leisure
Chapter 559 - 557 Mourning

Chapter 559: Chapter 557 Mourning

Liu Xiaoqiao, upon hearing this, immediately felt that something was amiss and hurriedly went into the courtyard, running straight toward the back.

At the entrance, Wang Yongping tried to pull Sun Mutou into the house, but Sun Mutou refused to enter the Wang Family’s door, shaking his head repeatedly, "I’m in mourning, I can’t go in! Plus, my mother has said, our Sun Family has no face to enter the Wang Family’s door! I only ask for Uncle Four, I want to see Grandpa and Auntie; please, I beg you..."

Wang Yongping also started to feel that something was wrong. Sun Mutou stubbornly refused to say for whom he was wearing mourning clothes. Hearing such deep mourning, and the mention of not having the face to enter the Wang Family’s house, his heart suddenly skipped a beat, "Mutou, could it be your mother?"

When Sun Mutou heard Wang Yongzhen’s name, his tears flowed even more fiercely.

Even though Wang Yongping didn’t like his eldest sister, Wang Yongzhen, the thought that she could have died left him dumbstruck for a moment.

A flurry of chaotic and hurried footsteps could be heard from within the Wang Family Courtyard. Upon hearing what Liu Xiaoqiao had said, Wang Yongzhu realized that the matter with the Sun Family probably couldn’t be concealed any longer and hurriedly dropped her needlework to come over.

She saw at the doorway Wang Yongping and Sun Mutou, uncle and nephew, hugging and crying together and was momentarily stunned, turning to look at Liu Xiaoqiao.

Liu Xiaoqiao’s eyelids twitched a couple of times, then stepped forward to pull up Wang Yongping, "Did you figure out what happened? Who exactly is it that’s gone? And you just start crying with your nephew?"

At the same time, she signaled to Sun Mutou to stand up, "Aren’t you looking to see your Auntie? Your Auntie is here."

Sun Mutou looked up and saw a beautiful girl, even younger than himself, standing in front of him. He wiped away his tears and asked hesitantly, "Auntie?"

Wang Yongzhu nodded, "Yes, that’s me. Follow me inside."

Sun Mutou, as if he had found his pillar of strength, wiped his tears with his sleeve and followed Wang Yongzhu into the courtyard.

Wang Yongping watched Sun Mutou’s unhesitating demeanor and immediately felt hurt. Who was it just now that no one could drag inside, saying that the Sun Family had no face to enter the Sun Family’s door?

Muttering to himself, he did not hesitate with his steps and followed them.

To avoid alarming Old Wang and Old Granny Zhang, they were brought directly into the third room.

"Speak, what happened in your family? Why do you need to see both me and father so urgently?" Wang Yongzhu asked directly.

Sun Mutou, a young man, burst into tears at Wang Yongzhu’s questioning, "Auntie, please, save my mother! My grandma is about to beat her to death!"

"What?" Both Wang Yongzhu and Wang Yongping were taken aback.

Only then did Sun Mutou recount everything that had happened after Sun Daming’s death.

It turned out that when Wang Yongzhen discovered that Sun Daming was not breathing, she was so scared that she sat down on the ground and could only cry.

Her crying alerted Old Lady Sun, who ran into the room, and upon feeling Sun Daming’s breath, found it already gone, his body cold throughout.

Suddenly, she felt weak, and all went dark before her eyes.

Cradling the already stiff body of Sun Daming, she burst into loud wails.

This commotion woke the other members of the Sun Family, and as they ran into the room, it was clear to all what had transpired.

But no amount of crying could bring him back.

With such a disturbance, the neighbors nearby heard it as well, and after coming over to see and hear for themselves, they shook their heads and left. Before long, the whole village knew that Sun Family’s Eldest had gone.

There was Sun Daming’s uncle, whose direct nephew had passed; he had to come over to look and to inquire about the funeral arrangements.

Wang Yongzhen was completely helpless, her tears had rendered her foolish.

Sun Shitou, though he was the eldest son, found that when Sun Shitou’s Wife learned of Sun Daming’s passing, she was so frightened that she suffered a miscarriage scare, clutching her belly and crying out in pain. Sun Shitou then took his wife inside to care for her.

Sun Laoer was of no use, and although Old Lady Sun favored her second child, the eldest was still flesh of her flesh, and she could not help but feel distressed. Besides, with the guilt she felt inside, her crying grew even more earth-shattering.

One moment, she cried about her own miserable fate, a white-haired person sending off one with black hair, wondering who she would rely on in the future.

Then she cried about how Sun Daming could bear to leave behind his own mother, letting go and departing this world...

All that could be heard around was Old Lady Sun’s crying.

Seeing that no one could take charge, Sun Daming’s uncle had no choice but to call his own children, first to send messages to relatives’ homes, and then to drag back the sackcloth to get the family members to put on mourning clothes.

Someone also needed to send a message to the woodworker in the neighboring town that his father had passed away; he needed to come back and perform the rituals of breaking the bowl and holding the spirit tablet.

When people came to offer condolences, the host family should at least have filial sons and grandsons kneeling to the side to return the courtesy; besides, the vigil had to be held.

There were countless chaotic tasks, like finding a needle in a haystack, yet the Sun family only knew how to cry. The body had already stiffened, and there was vomit on his clothes, yet no one thought to change them to tidy himself up.

Having no choice but to watch this any longer, Sun Laoer was asked to help his elder brother change clothes, but he claimed he was afraid and ducked out with his head in his hands.

When they called for Sun Shitou, he said he was afraid of catching the yin spirit, which would be bad for the child in his wife’s womb; one after another, they all shirked the duty.

Frustrated, Second Uncle Sun simply stopped bothering.

So, Sun Daming laid on the bed for another night and a half-day until Sun Mutou came back and finally cleaned his body and changed him into clean clothes.

There was no coffin ready, though Old Lady Sun had one prepared for herself, but it was Sun Daming who went first instead of her.

With no time to make arrangements, Second Uncle Sun suggested using Old Lady Sun’s coffin for the time being; it was not proper to let the deceased just lie on the kang.

Old Lady Sun strongly objected, her coffin having been made when the Sun family had better days, intended only for her.

Peasant families, especially the elderly, took this matter very seriously, dragging out the coffin each year for re-varnishing and taking great care of it.

The mention of using her coffin was like threatening her life itself, and she held onto it, refusing to let go.

With no other choice, Second Uncle Sun had his relatives saw some wood and hastily nail together a simple casket to encase the body.

With Sun Mutou back, at least somebody was there to keep vigil, and when people came to mourn, there were filial sons and grandsons to accept the offerings of incense and paper, barely passing muster.

But carrying out funeral affairs required money, and when Second Uncle Sun asked Old Lady Sun for it, she adamantly denied having any and directed him to Wang Yongzhen instead.

Wang Yongzhen had fainted from grief on the first day and, upon waking up and hearing from her mother-in-law that there was no money, became upset: "Didn’t I just borrow ten taels of silver from my family the day before yesterday and left it with you?"

The mourners and the helpers looked toward Old Lady Sun as Second Uncle Sun listened.

Old Lady Sun did not expect to be confronted by Wang Yongzhen in front of so many people, her face turning bright red as she scrambled for an excuse: "This silver is saved for Mutou to take a wife; it cannot be touched!"

Mutou immediately kowtowed, insisting that the money should first be used for his father’s funeral, declaring his intent to observe three years of mourning.

With no other choice, Old Lady Sun begrudgingly handed over five taels, refusing to give even a cent more.

With such limited funds, Second Uncle Sun could only manage to arrange a modest funeral.

After a simple three-day vigil, Sun Daming was hastily buried in the Sun family cemetery.

The people who had come to help and offer condolences also needed to eat; Old Lady Sun did not take responsibility.