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Chapter 1296 The Sound of Firecrackers at Dawn

Firecrackers aren't set off randomly here. Except for the Lunar New Year and weddings, whenever firecrackers are set off, it means someone in the village has passed away.

Especially when setting off firecrackers at night, it's even more so; for example, if someone in the whole village had died while someone was setting off firecrackers at home.

As soon as the firecrackers go off at night, people from every household come back to help. Even two families that don't usually get along will send someone for this kind of event, because the deceased is the most important person to respect.

The father and son walked out of the courtyard side by side and headed towards the village. Along the way, they encountered various elderly people coming out of their homes. The crowd gathered and surged towards the direction of the firecrackers.

The group arrived at the south end of the village and found the family where the incident had occurred. Lin Mo was not very familiar with this family, only knowing that they had a son and a daughter, both of whom were much older than Lin Mo. However, the son of this family had died when Lin Mo was young.

I heard that he was drunk and riding his motorcycle at night when he crashed and died. After his son passed away, his daughter-in-law remarried, taking her grandchildren with her.

My daughter is now around thirty-five or thirty-six years old, and she's married and lives in the county town.

“It’s your second great-aunt’s house!” Comrade Lin said in a deep voice after taking a puff of his cigarette.

Lin Mo nodded. He knew his father was reminding him how to address the family members so he wouldn't get it wrong when they went inside.

Although they are relatives, in the countryside, people rely on this kind of human touch to stick together and keep warm.

A large group of people poured into the small courtyard. They glanced at the old man first, and then, without saying a word, each of them began to find something to do.

They brought out benches, moved tables, and set up a mourning tent. The old man was getting on in years and was in poor health, so everything that needed to be prepared had already been done.

The old man's daughter, who is also Lin Mo's cousin, is kowtowing to everyone.

Firecrackers are used to announce a death, and those who come are often benefactors. This is the case in many parts of China; people don't come to weddings unless invited, but they come to funerals uninvited.

If you're celebrating your wedding, having a baby, or moving to a new house, and you don't call me personally, or even just send me a WeChat message, I can find fault with you, but I won't complain at all if you don't go.

But funerals are different; they don't ask you to come and help, it's all about relationships.

Lin Mo also helped his father with some quick and easy tasks. Actually, with so many people, there wasn't much work to do. But even if there was no work, you could just stand there, as long as someone came.

Lin Mo doesn't participate much in village affairs; usually, his parents are the ones who handle things. But this time, when he came, the villagers greeted him, and Old Lin said that his son was home, so he came along.

This is an appearance in the village. It doesn't mean I'm proud to show my face here, but rather that something is happening in the village, and not only am I here, but my son is here too. Although my son grew up in the city, he is still a resident of this village, and his roots are here.

From then on, whenever his family had any trouble, the villagers would help his son.

Soon, people from every household in the village who still had members came to help. A mourning hall was set up in the courtyard, and some men carried hoes to the mountain to dig pits to be used as burial plots.

As for the daughter of this family, she is making phone calls one by one to inform her relatives of the death, and everything is proceeding in an orderly manner.

Meanwhile, Zhou Min, Lin Mo's mother, came to Lin Mo's room to talk to Liu Ruyan.

“Hey, someone in the village has passed away, and Xiao Mo and your uncle went to help,” Zhou Min explained.

Upon hearing this, Liu Ruyan realized that such a custom existed in the countryside. Although she had lived in the countryside when she was a child, she had never experienced this way of announcing a death.

Later, after they moved to the city, and especially after her parents' business took off, the way they announced the death became very respectable. In particular, when attending the funeral, it was always a very solemn occasion.

"Oh, I see. When will you be back?" Liu Ruyan asked.

Hearing this, Zhou Min, Liu Ruyan's mother, patted her on the back and laughed, "It's probably going to be tough tonight. You should go to sleep first. I'll go back to sleep too. There are two of us at home, which is enough. You have to go back to Jiangning tomorrow, so drive and don't let it interfere with your sleep!"

Liu Ruyan nodded in agreement, and then Zhou Min went back to her room, where everyone began to rest.

Not everyone from the village came; each household contributed someone, otherwise everyone would be listless the next day. As the saying goes, many hands make light work, and soon the area was almost ready. At 2:30 a.m., the lights were still on, and everyone was exhausted, but no one left.

Lin Mo was also exhausted, but there was nothing he could do.

"Why don't you go back to sleep? I'll stay here!" Old Lin said.

Upon hearing this, Lin Mo shook his head: "No, a few hours won't make a difference."

Since we've already come all this way, what's the big deal about giving up halfway?

Actually, in this kind of situation, it's not the working people who feel uncomfortable, but the non-working people who feel uncomfortable because they are really sleepy and there is nowhere to sit.

Finally, having no other choice, Lin Mo went back and brought the car over. He and his father took turns dozing in the car for a while, and that's how they managed to stay awake until dawn.

Fortunately, it's summer now, so it gets light early. The pit on the mountain has been dug, and the host's relatives have arrived.

At 5:30 a.m., when it was already bright, the hearse arrived. The crowd lifted the old man onto the hearse and took him to the funeral home for cremation.

The car drove along the village road, and this time, almost everyone from every household came out to see them off.

If a family has firecrackers, they light them when the hearse passes by their door to send it off, and the children, dressed in mourning clothes, kneel down and kowtow in gratitude.

Lin Mo's house was at the entrance of the village. His house had just been renovated, and there were still some firecrackers left. When passing by, Comrade Lin quickly lit the firecrackers at the intersection to send the old man out of the village.

This custom varies from place to place. In some places, there is no such custom. If someone dies and you set off firecrackers, people might think you are happy, and it could even cause enmity between the two families.

"Alright, son, go back and get some rest. You don't need to go the rest. I'll just go with you!" Old Lin said.

Lin Mo nodded: "Okay, Dad, drive carefully!"

"it is good!"

After saying that, Comrade Lin got into his car and followed.

“Sigh~ One of the elderly people in the village has passed away, another family is empty, and it’s even more desolate!” Zhou Min, the mother, sighed.

Upon hearing this, Lin Mo asked, "Mom, were there many people in the village before?"

"Of course it's full! When I first married into the village, it was overflowing with people. Now, half of the houses in the village are empty, and usually, not even a third are full."

"Alright, your second son-in-law is so old, this is a happy funeral. If we wait another ten years, there will be even fewer people left in this village. Okay, go to sleep, you've been working hard all night!" Mom Zhou Min patted her son's shoulder and laughed.

Although Lin Mo started earning money last year and became the pillar of the family, it wasn't until today that she felt her son had really grown up, because in the past, when such things happened, she and Lin Mo's father would go together.

"Okay, I'll go back and take a nap. I'm really sleepy!" Lin Mo yawned and started to walk back.

Seeing this, Zhou Min quickly said, "Wait a minute, why don't you lie down on the sofa in the living room for a while? Ruyan is still sleeping, don't disturb her!"

Lin Mo:

Sure enough, the daughter-in-law is closer to the son than the son.

After Lin Mo left, Zhou Min, the mother, stood at the crossroads looking out over the village and couldn't help but sigh.

Recalling the bustling crowd when she married into the family, now those old friends are passing away one by one, like leaves falling in the wind.

(End of this chapter)