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墨書 Inktalez
The days continued as usual. Zhang Zhong and a few elderly villagers went to the hospital to retrieve a body. Li Yan and Zhou Miao, after all, were not from Zhangjia Village, so they were naturally reluctant to get involved.
Li Yan and Zhou Miao discussed that the outbreak of the infectious disease would eventually be exposed. They had been in Zhangjia Village for quite some time, and Zhou Miao made a phone call to his father. His father's voice sounded as robust as ever. He mentioned that the authorities had already heard about the situation in Xinfeng Town and that action would likely be taken soon, advising them to prepare early. Of course, he didn't say it directly; the implication was enough.
They hadn't anticipated that something like this would happen in Xinfeng Town. When they first left the city, they hadn't thought about returning. They decided to take things one step at a time since nowhere in China felt safe—today it was contaminated buns, tomorrow it could be melamine. If the earth were truly poisoned by infectious sources, it might end up being only Chinese people left—after all, they were filled with toxins.
That evening, when Zhang Zhong returned, Yu Tian and Li Ming had just gone to the fields to pick some eggplants and saw Zhang Agou passing by with a grim expression, followed by several elderly villagers who looked equally serious.
As soon as Yu Tian got home, he saw Zhou Miao and Li Yan returning from outside and curiously asked, "Did you two see the village chief? Is something going on?"
"It might be about Zhang Zhong's wife; they're from the same village, so it's understandable that he's upset. Honey, what are we having for dinner tonight?" Zhou Miao changed the subject, not wanting to burden his wife with such matters.
It was obvious what was happening; how could the hospital possibly allow Zhang Zhong to take back the body? Sure enough, the hospital offered thirty thousand yuan to Zhang Zhong for a deal. He accepted the money, and as for the body—the hospital would handle it properly.
If it had been a man, he surely wouldn't have agreed to such terms, but Zhang Zhong did. This infuriated Zhang Agou and others; their faces turned ashen. Thirty thousand yuan was no small amount in rural areas—it could buy two houses with some left over. But after all those years of marriage, Zhang Zhong's actions left many feeling disheartened. However, he was family; outsiders like them had no say.
Zhang Agou went home without even eating dinner, just sulking while smoking. How had people changed so much? After all, this was a human being; even if a dog or pig died at home, one would grieve for quite some time. This was a living person—how could they just abandon him at the hospital like that?! Zhang Agou drank and smoked all night, realizing there were some things he needed to think through carefully.
After returning home, Zhang Zhong found a few musicians and set up a mourning hall at his house. Zhang Agou and several older villagers chose not to attend; it felt shameful!
However, the younger generation still went because this was a family matter; since mourning had begun, they needed to pay their respects. Li Yan and others were also called over. Li Ming's little friend wore a light beige suit with an outfit that had ears on it. Being naturally fair-skinned and rosy-cheeked, he looked particularly refreshing in that attire—innocent yet exuding a unique boyish charm that made someone unable to resist giving him a kiss before heading out.
Zhou Miao watched nearby with envy while glancing at Yu Tian, who was also dressed in sportswear. The child was pure and innocent, but the same outfit on his wife carried an indescribable elegance—it was too alluring—he had to hold back!
The urn placed in the center of the mourning hall was empty; this was beyond doubt. Halfway through the funeral arrangements, Zhang Zhong's wife's family arrived—a grandmother holding a photo while crying uncontrollably, snot and tears flowing as she sang: "My son! How could you leave us like this?"
"Brother, is she singing?" The child blinked wide-eyed and whispered in Li Yan's ear. The child had attended several funerals with Li Yan before; most were subdued affairs where grief was kept inside as loved ones quietly departed. Even if there were tears shed, it never felt like this kind of spectacle.
"Mother, please don't be sad. Xiufang didn't leave peacefully either," Zhang Zhong said, tears genuinely streaming from his eyes.
"Get away from me!" The old lady, who had just been crying her heart out, suddenly transformed into a fierce figure. She pushed the sturdy Zhang Zhong aside. With her hands on her hips, she shouted, "You bastard! My daughter has never wronged you since she married you. You found some lowly thing to tarnish her name, and now, in front of everyone in Zhangjia Village, I ask you—where is my daughter? You don't want her? I want her! You shameless beast, you've ruined my daughter's life! She never had a single day of comfort, and now that she's dead, there's no place to bury her... My poor daughter, your life—how tragic..." Just moments ago, she was like a shrew; now she collapsed on the ground, wailing in despair, her sorrowful cries making many others weep along with her.
Zhang Zhong's situation was also known to Yu Tian. Although he didn't know exactly what the hospital had told Zhang Zhong, it was clear they had offered him something. Despite his pale face, Zhang Zhong got up and went over to pull his mother-in-law aside. He kept muttering to himself, "Yes, I'm not human; I wronged Xiufang. But mother, Xiufang got sick because she ate fish. I told her not to eat it, but she insisted on not taking money. It's so unfair that she's dead... sob..."
"Brother-in-law, stop pretending to care; be careful my sister comes back tonight looking for the one who caused her death." A woman in her thirties, looking furious, scoffed sarcastically. She resembled Zhang Zhong's wife quite a bit; she was probably his sister-in-law.
Sister-in-law went over to support the old lady and spoke just as harshly: "My sister's death was so undeserved! She worked hard and saved every penny, only to have all the benefits go to waste. Our whole family depended on her; now... We came here today just to make a statement. You can't deny that my sister's body belongs to our family. If you don't acknowledge it, then you don't care about how much my mother and I are hurting..." She rambled on with one main point: Zhang Zhong's wife's family would not let him get away with this; they must reclaim the body.
Zhang Zhong's face turned pale and then flushed with anger. Finally, he allowed his son to help the grandmother and Sister-in-law into the inner room, presumably to discuss this matter. Outside, people were eating funeral food while watching a free show; once they left, discussions immediately began. Most were criticizing Zhang Zhong for being heartless and bringing up the past incident with Tian Guifang as if it were a joke.
The men in the village were very disappointed in Zhang Zhong. He had once been considered capable in the village; everyone liked to consult him about various matters. Even after the incident with Tian Guifang, people didn't hold it against him too much; after all, he had just made a mistake that many men make. But now that his wife’s situation had come to light, many were secretly thinking it would be better to keep their distance from Zhang Zhong. Everyone is greedy, but greed taken this far... sigh.
Li Ming's Little Friend took a piece of chicken but then refused to eat anymore, pouting and saying it didn't taste good. How could it taste good? Few women in the village were willing to come cook for them during the funeral; if it weren't for Zhang Zhong paying well, he would have had to cook himself.
None of the four had an appetite; even this free dinner wasn't very tasty. After about an hour inside, they could occasionally hear loud voices coming from within but couldn't make out what was being said. By the time they came out, the old lady had stopped crying; she was being supported by her daughter as they walked outside while singing mournfully, "My poor daughter—my dear heart..." But she no longer mentioned reclaiming the body.
Li Yan coldly observed everything and took his priceless treasure home afterward. The situation with Zhang Zhong's wife reminded him of his own poor mother; everyone has a price—it's just a matter of how high or low that price is. He didn't know how much Zhang Zhong's wife was worth; he only knew his mother's value was tied to her ridiculous future.
Days passed by slowly. This year's Crops harvest wasn't great but should be enough for their own consumption. Many took advantage of the good weather and planted some potatoes and sweet potatoes. The large landowners faced disastrous rice yields—barely five or six hundred pounds per acre—and they were all crying over it. Nevertheless, they still hurried to plant wheat in hopes of a good harvest before winter set in.
However, sometimes things aren't as bleak as they seem. News from town indicated that disasters struck everywhere this year; grain prices had doubled. Now any losses would be recovered quickly as farmers flocked daily to check grain prices in town. The Li Family didn't lack money for grain; besides, although things seemed calm now, they sensed that food issues would definitely become a major problem during the upcoming New Year.
The Li Family lacked wheat seeds and exchanged some corn with Zhang Agou. Recently, Zhang Agou had been feeling unwell and coughing severely; perhaps he was affected by Zhang Zhong's situation because he even mentioned wanting to retire.
This stirred up excitement again in Zhangjia Village. If Zhang Agou retired, who would become village chief? Previously, Zhang Zhong would have been the top choice for that role; however, after this incident, who would trust a treacherous and heartless person to lead them toward a bright future?
Zhang Zhong might not have realized it at first, but after he hurried to Zhang Agou's house to deliver something, he was coldly sent out the door along with his items by Zhang Agou's wife. It was only then that he began to grasp the situation. However, he was still unwilling to give up and sought out a few acquaintances with whom he usually got along well, but they had all turned their backs on him. They were too afraid to associate with someone like him. It was at this point that Zhang Zhong finally recognized the harsh reality, but he felt unjustly treated. The hospital had warned that his wife's illness was contagious; did that mean he had to risk his life as well?
Zhang Zhong gritted his teeth and drank in frustration, angry at those who were ungrateful and feeling quite wronged himself. The hospital staff had made it clear that the matter of contagion could not be disclosed; if it got out, he would be taken to the police station without a penny in compensation. Zhang Zhong thought, why should he suffer just because someone else had died?
On the day of the funeral, he told the elderly lady's family the same thing: they could claim the body, but it couldn't be kept in their home. What if the illness spread to him? He still had a son to support! In the end, after much negotiation with his sister-in-law, Zhang Zhong agreed to give them ten thousand yuan. After all, they only pretended to speak nicely because they were afraid of catching something and didn’t dare go to the hospital.
When Zhang Liang entered the house, he saw Zhang Zhong drinking alone. With a smile, Zhang Liang walked in holding some freshly bought cooked food and cheerfully said, "Zhong Ge, having a drink? Come on, brother brought you some snacks."
Zhang Zhong lifted his eyelids and didn’t want to engage with Zhang Liang. He considered him a scoundrel and had no respect for such a person. Zhang Zhong was simmering with anger; even if he was currently unpopular, he didn’t want to associate with someone like him. "Get lost," Zhang Zhong said, feeling irritable from both the alcohol and his mood.
Zhang Liang wasn’t offended; his smile only grew wider. "Brother, I really feel for you in this situation; it’s not your fault. Can you blame a living person for someone getting sick? Once someone dies, there’s nothing left; those people clinging onto trivial matters are just idle and definitely jealous of you."
Zhang Liang's words struck a chord with Zhang Zhong; his expression softened as he looked at Zhang Liang sitting across from him without saying anything. Seizing the opportunity to ingratiate himself further, Zhang Liang continued flatteringly, "In our village, you're the most capable and charismatic one. Not just in Zhangjia Village—who around here can compare? Those people are just jealous of your success and don’t want you to become village chief. Brother Zhang, honestly speaking, I wouldn’t support anyone else as village chief unless it’s you. I, Zhang Liang, will wholeheartedly follow you."
During this time when no one wanted anything to do with him, hearing these words lightened Zhang Zhong's mood considerably. Yes, what Zhang Liang said made sense; those scoundrels were just envious of his good fortune—each one more despicable than the last.
"Enough talk; let’s drink." Zhang Zhong downed a glass of liquor and noticed how much he had already consumed.
Seeing Zhang Zhong's expression change, Zhang Liang glanced outside and said, "Brother, someone has been thinking about you so much that she insisted I bring her over."
Following Zhang Liang's gaze towards the door, Zhang Zhong saw Tian Guifang wearing an orange dress, smiling seductively. A wave of emotions surged through him...
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