The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 467 - 456: Funeral Arrangement (Part 4)

Chapter 467: Chapter 456: Funeral Arrangement (Part 4)

Matting was laid on both sides of the coffin, and at this time, all the Zhou siblings were present. Manbao glanced left and right, wanting to sit beside her eldest sister, but was pulled back by Zhou Dalang, who whispered, "Just sit here with Eldest, and remember to return the bows when guests come to pay tribute. Do you know how to return the bows?"

Manbao hesitated and nodded.

Although the Zhou Family had never held a funeral before, other families in the village had, and Manbao had accompanied them before; she knew that as a mourning child on both sides, one was expected to bow in return.

The sky had just begun to brighten when visitors carrying funeral offerings started to arrive. To everyone’s surprise, the first to come were the Qian Family, followed by some other villagers.

The old Zhou household and quite a few other families in the village had borrowed tables and benches, knowing that many would come to eat. They had unhesitatingly spread them out along the road in front of Old Zhou’s house, all the way down to the large banyan tree at the entrance of the village.

The food was also distributed to neighboring houses for cooking, each responsible for about ten tables’ worth. Chopped meat was sent to each household along with bags of flour mixed with bran...

No one thought this was inappropriate. To invite so many people yet not come from a wealthy family, who could afford to only offer fine flour and white rice meals?

Besides, this was the first year after the disaster.

When the actual funeral proceedings began, Old Zhou and Ms. Qian had completely let go of their responsibilities, and even the sons and daughters of the Zhou Family didn’t intervene. Outside, the entire process was led by Junior Ms. Qian, together with a few sisters-in-law and the village elders.

Old Zhou supported Ms. Qian as they came out and sat beside the coffin, yet they did not wear coarse hemp clothes, merely tying a strip of white hemp around their waists.

Occasionally, they threw some millet stalks into the brazier, their eyes slightly reddened.

Every villager who came to pay their respects was solemnly bowed back to by the couple.

When the folks from the Zhang family arrived, what they saw was Old Zhou and Ms. Qian bowing to thank people who had just offered incense. As they looked up, they met eyes with each other.

Old Zhou then patted his wife’s hand, put on his shoes, and stepped forward, "Cousin, Cousin, you’ve arrived?"

Zhao First frowned, "You are the elder brother, how can you sit there as well?"

Zhang Second glanced around and said, "Brother, why do you care? Isn’t it natural for the cousin to feel guilty? By the way cousin, where shall we sit?"

A young man saw an opportunity and approached, "Are you the cousins from the Zhang family? Come, come, your tables are in the yard, I’ll lead you there."

Zhang Second handed over the small bags he brought to the person at the door receiving the funeral offerings, without registering a name, and walked away hands behind his back, glancing at the tables, "These tables are not enough."

No sooner had he spoken than the Zhang family members who were lagging behind finally arrived, streaming in with a large crowd of men, women, and children squeezing together. One was even held in the arms, appearing only seven or eight months old.

Forget one table, not even three would likely be enough to seat them all.

Old Zhou stared in astonishment at this mix of familiar and unfamiliar faces.

Ms. Qian’s eyebrows twitched, but she didn’t speak or stand up. Instead, she grabbed a handful of millet stalks and threw them into the brazier, eliciting a crackling sound from the flames.

Thinking of the buns and dishes that so many people would consume, Old Zhou’s heart ached. He grabbed Zhang First and pulled him aside to ask, "Cousin, who are all these people? There are several I don’t recognize?"

Zhang First’s expression darkened, "That’s why they say once you get a wife, you forget your mother. Who among the visitors isn’t your cousin? Those two are from the paternal uncle’s family, that one is from the second aunt’s family..."

"Second aunt?" Old Zhou’s face darkened, "Didn’t my maternal grandparents have only my mother for a daughter? How come there is a second aunt now?"

"It’s a paternal aunt!"

Damn it!

Old Zhou almost couldn’t help but curse aloud. His mouth twitched, unable to say a word, his heartache was overwhelming.

But his mind was far from idle. Glaring at Zhang First, if it weren’t for the fact that this was his maternal uncle’s son, he really wished, he really wished to...

Old Zhou closed his eyes and took a deep breath, "Cousin, please sit for a while, sit for a while, no, wrong, first let Second brother offer incense..."

"How about we offer incense later? We’ve been hungry since we set out early this morning," Zhang Second, holding a bowl of water, complained discontentedly. "Isn’t it almost lunchtime? Shouldn’t you be serving food by now? Let’s eat first before offering incense."

"Exactly, exactly," an old lady holding a child said sorrowfully, "We adults can bear hunger, but the children cannot."

Old Zhou turned to leave, but fortunately, the village chief finally squeezed through the crowd and quickly said, "It will be ready soon, this is the cousin from the Zhang family, right? Haven’t seen you for many years, how is your health?"

"It’s alright."

"How can it just be alright? Look, Uncle Little Silver is even younger than your son, and yet you personally came. If Uncle Little Silver knew about it from below, imagine how happy he’d be. Come, come, let’s first offer incense for Uncle Little Silver, and I’ll immediately tell the kitchen to prepare meals for you first."

Having finally calmed down the Zhang family, the village chief pulled Old Zhou aside, sweating profusely, "Uncle Jin, today is Uncle Little Silver’s big day; you must control your temper. It’s just a few more people coming, right? Just bear with it a little."

"How can I bear it when a single family brings three tables’ worth of people and it’s still not enough?" Old Zhou fumed. "They’re my maternal relatives. It’d be improper not to invite them, but when my immediate relations arrive, that’s enough. Now even distant paternal uncles and paternal aunts’ sons have been dragged in. What relation do I have with them? How much connection does my family’s Zhou Yin have with them?"

"Alright, it’s the thought that counts."

Old Zhou finally managed to suppress his anger, reluctantly swallowing his frustration. Before he could exhale, however, Uncle Lai’s son came forward with two small bags, saying with a troubled face, "Brother Jin, what should we do about this?"

He opened the bags for Old Zhou to see.

Old Zhou took one look inside and nearly lost his breath.

The village chief was terrified, hastily supporting him, mindful that Old Zhou wasn’t young anymore, hoping he wouldn’t be so enraged as to harm himself.

Zhou SiLang, who was sitting toward the outside, couldn’t resist kicking off his shoes and running down to ask, "Dad, what’s wrong?"

Uncle Lai’s son showed him the bags, and Zhou SiLang was baffled. Weren’t these the small cloth bags typically used for carrying money or grain?

He opened it directly to see a bunch of brownish bran and a few grains of unwinnowed millet. His eyes widened in disbelief.

Who would give such a gift when attending a feast?

It would have been better not to give anything!

Zhou SiLang snapped the bag shut, angrily asking, "Whose family sent this?"

Uncle Lai’s son quietly pointed toward the not-too-distant Zhang family, "They brought over two bags..."

Zhou SiLang silently gazed at the Zhang family, who now occupied three tables and were still trying to squeeze others off adjacent ones.

That was his grandmother’s maternal family, and those people he had to call uncles. What was he to do?

Zhou SiLang stole a glance at his father.