Annual Ceremony

Chapter 32: Minor Heat (I)

The wind was getting stronger and the thunder was getting louder and more frequent.

When Zhenyi ran to the entrance of the village, she saw more and more people gathering around her, kneeling down to pray to the Taoist priest and to God for rain.

The road to the entrance of the village was blocked by them. Zhenyi struggled to squeeze through the crowded crowd. Those people were excited, fanatical, and grateful, shedding tears and sweat. Zhenyi felt it was difficult to breathe among them, and every pore in her body was resisting this absurdity.

Zhenyi squeezed out of the crowd and ran to the courtyard of her home, shouting impatiently: "Grandfather! It's going to rain!"

She saw her grandfather, who was leaning quietly in a rattan chair.

Orange jumped lightly onto the old man's legs, stretched out one of its front paws and hit the old man's arm twice, hoping to wake up the sleepy Old Wang like he did when he used to fish by the river behind his home in Jinling.

Orange became a little anxious and gently bit Old Wang's palm, but Old Wang still refused to wake up.

In a moment, Zhenyi ran over. She felt that she was running very fast, but she also felt that her feet were filled with thousands of pounds of mud and sand, as if she could not move forward in a swamp. She could not tell whether she was running fast or slow, and just like that she came to her grandfather.

The half-finished bookcase in Wang Zhefu's hand rolled to the ground.

At the same time, there were also cold raindrops as big as beans falling.

The raindrops hit the old man's gray eyebrows and eyes, and seemed to cause his sagging eyelids to move slightly. Zhenyi held her breath, silently but eagerly waiting for her grandfather to open his eyes the next moment.

but.

As the raindrops fell more and more densely, Zhenyi finally burst into tears and threw herself helplessly towards her grandfather, protecting his head with her arms to block this last rain for him.

Mother Zhuo dropped the medicine bowl in her hand and staggered over.

There was rain and cheers all around, and the insignificant crying sound in the courtyard was drowned out by the noise.

The rain was heavy, and the sweet rain pressed down the floating dust and nourished the scarred earth.

The old doctor who rarely saw patients was called in and sent away.

Wang Zhefu's body was carried back to the bed. Old Mrs. Dong did not shed tears. She just used a cotton towel to wipe the moisture off her husband's face and changed him into a new set of clothes.

Juzi sniffed the old clothes that Lao Wangtou had changed out of for the last time and remembered the smell firmly. Juzi felt guilty, and Zhenyi asked her to keep an eye on Lao Wangtou, but she failed.

Zhenyi stood quietly in the corridor, listening to the sobbing of Zhuo Mama and Qisheng Taoer in the house.

The heavy rain raised a white mist in the courtyard. It seemed like reality or fantasy. Zhenyi looked aimlessly at the clothes hanging on the hemp ropes in the courtyard. The old man's gray gown was soaked by the rain and was shaking alone in the wind.

Zhenyi walked out quickly and hurried to take back the long gown.

When Orange came out of the house with his tail hanging down, he saw Zhenyi, who was soaked in tears, holding her soaked gown and looking at the soaked world.

It rained heavily for a whole day and a whole night.

The next day, after the rain stopped, the noise remained.

When some people heard the news of Wang Zhefu's death, they gathered in groups outside the Wang family courtyard, saying things like "This is retribution", "He offended the gods and was taken away", and "There is indeed a punishment from heaven".

It was not until the people from the Chen family came and the people from the General's Mansion arrived one after another that the crowd surrounding the Wang family's gate quickly dispersed.

Chen Ningtian came, and Baoyin and Ertu also came with Mrs. Dolan.

Zhenyi never shed tears in front of others, but she spoke very little.

Ertu had many words of comfort but he didn't know where to start. He looked around the hall and asked Zhenyi, "Why is there no incense burner? I want to burn some incense for the teacher."

"Grandfather has instructed us not to make a big fuss about it, nor to waste time burning incense and paper." Zhenyi's voice was very low: "There is no need to send him all the way back to Nanjing, just cremate him and bring him back."

After the Qing Dynasty entered the Central Plains, Manchu and Han cultures impacted and merged with each other, but each had its own persistence. For example, when it came to funerals, the mourning period between Manchu officials and Han people was very different in actual implementation, and the same was true for funeral ceremonies. Ertu vaguely knew that most Han people could not accept the burning of bodies after death.

Ertu hesitated for a moment, then took the initiative to say, "I can have the teacher's body sent back to Jinling."

In the summer, a lot of ice is needed to preserve the coffin. The cost of transporting it thousands of miles must be high. This is a considerable expense. He thought that the teacher might not want to cause trouble for the family. Mrs. Dong, who was wearing mourning clothes, thanked Ertu and declined the offer: "We appreciate the young general's kindness, but the dead are the most important, so we will follow his wishes."

This was also the last persistence of her husband. Until his death, he never compromised with the things he fought against. He was still the fool who was trying to shake a tree with an ant.

At night, the old lady sat under the lamp, talking to herself or to her granddaughter:

"I blame him."

"Respect him, too."

The man who was both resented and respected, turned into a fire on a night of Lesser Heat as his relatives, friends and students watched him.

The fire was much hotter than the heat. It reflected in Zhenyi's eyes and burned in her heart.

Juzi looked at the fire, then looked at Zhenyi, thinking about Old Wang's last words. Juzi moved closer to Zhenyi and guarded her quietly and firmly.

Mrs. Dong finally collected some of the broken bones and put them into the urn. As she picked them up with her own hands, she whispered, "I listened to you, but I can't do everything you say... I still have to make some decisions."

The children who were unable to see each other for the last time must always have something in their minds.

The letter has been sent back to Jinling. Before waiting for Wang Xichen and his brothers to arrive, Mrs. Dong needs to take care of the affairs and personal relationships here one by one.

Zhenyi also has to say goodbye to her good friends.

Chen Ningtian cried again and again, crying because Grandpa Wang passed away and because Zhenyi was about to leave Jilin.

Zhenyi no longer went to the private school. Old Lady Dong chose the ten-day holiday of the private school and took Zhenyi to say goodbye to her teacher, Old Lady Bu, in advance.

"It's better for her to go back... I don't have anything else to teach her." Mrs. Bu said to Mrs. Dong.

After four years as a student, Zhenyi was very grateful to her teacher. She knelt down and kowtowed to her teacher in a proper manner.

Old Madam Bu concealed the reluctance in her eyes and signaled her granddaughter to help Zhenyi up.

Madam Bu looked at Zhenyi and said slowly, "If it's convenient, please write more letters when you have time."

Zhenyi raised her hand and bowed again, her voice a little hoarse: "Yes, I'll take note of it. Please take care of yourself, teacher."

After Zhenyi left with Old Lady Dong, Chen Ningtian's tears finally fell again. She cried and asked her grandmother, "Grandma, can't we keep Deqing here?"

Baoyin also asked Mrs. Dolan the same question.

Baoyin didn't cry yet, but she was extremely anxious. She grabbed her mother's sleeve and begged: "Eji, let's find a way to let Zhenyi stay. I don't want her to leave!"

Mrs. Duolan could only sigh and say, "Baoyin, you should have learned a saying - all good things must come to an end."

"Who said we have to go!" Ertu, who was sitting nearby, suddenly stood up and said, "I'll go and tell her to stay!"

"What do you have to say?" Mrs. Duolan looked at her son seriously and reminded him: "Ertu, don't forget that you are a bannerman."

Ertu clenched his fists: "Eji, I know!"

Mrs. Dolan slowly frowned and shook her head: "It seems you don't know."

At this time, a servant's report sounded.

After leaving the Chen family, Mrs. Dong brought Zhenyi to say goodbye to Mrs. Dolan.

　There are always separations in life, but Zhenyi has to keep moving forward.

Good night everyone.

　
(End of this chapter)