Women were crying, girls were crying, and old women were also crying.

But it seemed that one thing could be discerned:

This old woman must have had terrible relationships with people in the village.

She'd been making such a fuss for so long,

Yet not a single neighbor came out to smooth things over.

As for those who would join in and scold her,

There weren't any.

Instead, everyone was secretly pointing and whispering, showing a lot of sympathy for the widow who had been pushed to the ground.

Boss Zhou continued to smoke.

He was thinking,

He'd already hit someone once this morning,

Did he have to do it again this afternoon?

But the old woman in front of him,

Didn't look like a criminal.

In the end, he didn't do anything. It was hard for an honest official to judge family affairs. She had just said a few nasty words, if you went up and beat her, both sides might blame you, so why bother?

Boss Zhou patted Lao Dao on the shoulder, signaling that they could leave. The person had been sent back, so what did her family life have to do with him?

However,

Just then,

The woman who had been pushed to the ground,

Suddenly clutched her chest and began to breathe rapidly,

And then with a sudden "thunk,"

She fainted!

The villagers watching the excitement exploded,

Even the old woman who had been firing off words like a string of firecrackers,

Was so frightened that her hands and feet began to tremble.

The granddaughter rushed to her mother,

For a moment,

It was a complete mess.

Zhou Ze closed the car door,

Thinking that this woman was really a pain in the ass.

He'd just gotten that meager bonus from Lao Zhang, and now he had to help him do good deeds, and even act as a visiting doctor.

The worst part was, if she died,

He might have to see her off after returning to the bookstore,

As if he owed her!

The girl grabbed her mother and shouted, surrounded by circles of people. The old woman was also heartbroken, cursing:

"If you're going to die, don't die here! If you're going to die, don't die here! I'll have to hold a funeral for you, but I'm not going to!

It's enough to do it for my son, why should I have to add you!"

Zhou Ze was separated from the crowd,

Took a deep breath,

And shouted:

"Everyone, get out of the way, I'm a doctor!!!"

………………

"Daughter, you're awake?"

The woman opened her eyes and found that it was already dark outside. She was lying on a small bed made of a few benches covered with a cotton mattress in the shed.

Lao Dao stood beside her, watching over her.

Zhou Ze came over, holding a bowl of ginger sugar water, and handed it to Lao Dao.

"Here, daughter, drink this."

"Thank you."

The woman didn't let Lao Dao feed her, took the bowl, and slowly drank it.

"You don't have any serious illness, but if you don't pay attention to it or continue to delay, your body will collapse."

Zhou Ze sat next to her, holding a roasted sweet potato and slowly peeling it. It was just brought by the little girl, home-grown, and very fragrant and sweet.

The old woman, who was this woman's mother-in-law, stopped making a fuss after Zhou Ze said she was okay, and just scolded the woman a few times.

Now,

It was already night,

The paper figurine makers who had been hired had left, and the funeral band, as well as the monks and Taoists arranged by the funeral band, had also left.

Today was just preparation,

Tomorrow would be the official funeral.

The neighbors who came to watch the excitement had also left.

Now,

Only the old woman was sitting on a small stool outside the living room's mourning hall, burning paper money.

Her granddaughter was sitting on the mourning hall table, doing her homework.

So desolate,

So bleak.

Normally,

Funerals in the countryside are generally lively, and relatives and neighbors will come to help, but the current situation really doesn't show any sign of liveliness.

It's even colder than a memorial service in a city funeral home.

"Your mother-in-law has very bad relationships with people, right?"

Zhou Ze took a bite of the sweet potato,

Mmm,

Fragrant,

Sweet.

There aren't any relatives or friends helping with the funeral?

The woman didn't answer.

Zhou Ze didn't care anyway, he was just an observer, and he didn't bother to pay attention to his wording.

"Your husband's side, don't they have any relatives or friends?"

"There's an uncle, who's the village chief of this village," the woman replied.

"Oh, and then?" Zhou Ze asked.

"The uncle embezzled the money for road repairs in the village, and my mother reported it to the county government. The village chief was dismissed and sent to prison.

Then, they broke off relations with the relatives on that side."

"Oh, hehe."

Zhou Ze sucked his finger,

"It seems your mother's temper isn't just crazy towards her own people."

"She's actually a softie at heart..."

"Not necessarily, they're all relatives, so why go directly to report them? What's the point?"

After Zhou Ze asked this question, he suddenly felt strange, although he felt it was wrong to ask, even though it was the right thing to do.

But that's how society is, that's how the atmosphere is. Sometimes doing the right thing still makes people ask "why"?

If you really want to talk about it, everyone can tell a bunch of stories about their own village chief leading the whole village to get rich.

"She just couldn't stand it, so she reported it."

The woman answered like this.

Okay,

This reason,

Is very powerful.

"Lao Dao, go and help out, see if there's anything that needs to be changed or tidied up."

"Okay, Boss."

Lao Dao went to work over there,

He had been a funeral director for many years, and he knew the procedures here very well.

"What did your husband do? How did he die?" Zhou Ze asked.

"He... he was a driver, he died in a car accident."

Zhou Ze nodded, stood up, and didn't bother to say anything more.

Lao Dao was helping with things over there, and the old woman specifically glanced here a few times, then immediately got up and walked over "thump, thump, thump."

She pointed directly at Zhou Ze's face,

Before she could speak,

Zhou Ze felt a storm was brewing!

"Oh, how wonderful, so you've hooked up!

No wonder you didn't want to lie in the house,

Saying that the house was full of soot,

And it's better for her to be here where it's ventilated.

I see, you wanted to keep watching her!

You two are really stuck together, completely unwilling to separate!

Right?

Kissing and making out in front of my son's mourning hall, how appropriate!"

Zhou Ze nodded, "Indeed."

The old woman's chest heaved up and down, and she pointed at Zhou Ze angrily,

"Get out, all of you get out!

And you!"

The old woman pointed at the woman again,

"Get out with your lover!"

"Mom..."

"I'm not your mother, my son is already dead, why are you calling me Mom! I don't deserve it!

You get out,

With your gigolo,

Get out!

But let me tell you, don't even think about taking my granddaughter away, I won't let you take her away either!

Get out, get out, get out!

Get out tonight, get out!"

"Cough, cough..."

Zhou Ze coughed a few times,

Waved to Lao Dao who was still working over there,

And shouted:

"Lao Dao, let's go back."

This family of freaks,

He didn't want to stay any longer,

Especially this old woman,

Like she'd taken gunpowder, spraying like a machine gun.

The old woman turned around and went into the house, and soon came out with a suitcase, shouting:

"All your things are here! I've packed them for you, get out, you disgust me!

You bastard!"

Zhou Ze had just opened the car door when the old woman directly opened the back door and threw the suitcase straight inside.

Zhou Ze took a deep breath,

Deep breath,

Deep breath.

"Mom, I beg you, don't be like this, don't be like this, I won't leave, I won't leave, I'd rather die than leave!

Zhu Zi is gone, I have to take care of you in your old age!"

"Bah, I don't care, are you still thinking about this house? Let me tell you, don't even think about it! I built this house, you don't get a share!"

Zhou Ze reached out and dragged the suitcase out. He was just about to throw it on the ground and drive away when he saw the woman rushing towards the well!

"Holy crap!"

Lao Dao immediately pounced on her, and the old woman was also frightened, and quickly ran over. Even the daughter sitting there doing her homework screamed and ran over crying.

The woman grabbed the edge of the well,

Crying and shouting:

"Mom, if you force me to leave again, okay, I'll jump down, I'll jump for you to see, see if I dare!

Even if I die, I'll die here!"

Lao Dao was holding the woman's shoulder tightly, really afraid that she would turn over and jump down.

Zhou Ze stood on the side, watching this wonderful drama, and really found it quite interesting.

The mother-in-law was forcing the daughter-in-law to get out;

The daughter-in-law was threatening to die, really using death as a threat.

Why was it so strange?

"Grandma, please don't make my mommy leave, I'll go to school obediently, I'll study hard, please don't make Mommy leave."

The old woman suddenly sat on the ground,

Crawled to the woman,

And beat her,

Cursing:

"You little bitch, if I tell you to leave, just leave!

You're still young, you're still young!

Zhu Zi is gone, you're still so young, why should you guard a widow's life for him!

I'll help you take care of your daughter, and you'll have one less burden,

Go find another man and live a good life, why are you burdening yourself!

Ah ah ah!

You're heartless,

Heartless!"

"Mom~~"

The woman hugged the old woman and started crying together.

Lao Dao scratched his head,

This,

Was it resolved?

Lao Dao got up and walked to Zhou Ze's side,

"Boss, I'm a little confused."

"Me too."

At this time,

Two vans drove over from the small road stealthily,

In the middle of the night,

They stopped near the vegetable garden, right behind Zhou Ze's car.

Then a dozen men and women came down, all dressed in casual clothes.

"Holy crap, they're not here to pay their respects, are they? Who comes to pay their respects in the middle of the night!"

Late at night,

Bringing a bunch of people over secretly,

It really looked like they were seeking revenge.

As a result,

These people all ran directly to the scene, standing in front of the living room's mourning hall, standing in two rows.

When they stood still,

The posture, the neat formation,

Made Zhou Ze frown slightly.

The old woman wiped her tears, and got up with her daughter-in-law, leading her daughter towards the mourning hall, kneeling on the cushion to return the courtesy to the mourners.

Two rows,

A dozen people,

The leader of them,

Lowly shouted:

"Hats off!"

Those wearing hats immediately took them off,

"Salute!"

All together,

They saluted!

The winter night,

Two rows of people,

Stood for a long, long time, like stone statues standing there.

On the mourning hall table,

The young portrait was placed there,

The young man had a smile on his face.

"Boss, why do I feel like the police are here? Are they really coming to pay their respects secretly in the middle of the night, as if they're afraid of being seen during the day?

Why?"

Zhou Ze silently took out another cigarette,

Bit it in his mouth,

And slowly said:

"Narcotics police."