Chapter 60 Blown Away

Xia Qing followed Aunt Xiuzhi into the supermarket and took a look around.

This small supermarket in the countryside looks very different from the one in Haicheng. After entering, there is only a long horizontal aisle for customers to walk and stand. Inside the aisle is an L-shaped counter. There is a partition at the corner of the counter. If the supermarket owner wants to enter or exit, he only needs to lift the partition or crawl under it.

"This place looks like the supply and marketing cooperative you used to see on TV."

She told Sister Xiuzhi.

Xiuzhi said: "This used to be a supply and marketing cooperative."

"what."

Xia Qing felt that he had gained some knowledge.

Then Xiuzhi went shopping, and Xia Qing looked around for a while. She suddenly noticed that there were yellow paper and bunches of incense on one side of the counter.

Xiuzhi saw her looking at it and said, "These are for burning paper. What are you looking at?"

Xia Qing said: "I'm just curious."

Xiuzhi said, "Well, it's not easy for you young people to work hard outside. Gu Zhi has been away for three years and has never come back to burn incense. There are incense sticks at home. I will go back and ask Gu Zhi if he has time to go to the grave and burn incense."

"Ah."

Xia Qing nodded.

Xiuzhi selected the items and checked out. Xia Qing rushed to pay, but with her thin arms and legs, there was no way she could beat Xiuzhi.

Xiuzhi said, "You don't have to go out. You're a guest, how can I ask you to go out?" She pushed Xia Qing to the side, and Xia Qing felt as if he was pushed away by a thick wall and it was difficult to squeeze through.

After paying, she wanted to buy some gifts for Xiuzhi such as cigarettes, alcohol, and milk, but Xiuzhi refused and pulled her out.

At this moment, Xiuzhi was like a strong woman again, lifting her like a chicken, leaving her no way to resist.

Xia Qing had no choice but to drive back to the village. In the car, she couldn't help but say to Xiuzhi: "Aunt, you are so strong."

Xiuzhi grinned: "I eat a lot, and the more I eat, the stronger I am. You should eat more too, and the more I eat, the stronger I am."

Xia Qing quickly shook her head. She wanted to say that she was afraid of getting fat, but then she thought that might be a bit hurtful, so she quickly changed her words: "I don't have a big appetite, I can't eat."

Xiuzhi started talking about her: "You young people are too pampered. You have never suffered any hardship. I'll ask you to work in the fields more and see if you can eat."

Xia Qing smiled and didn't feel offended. She just felt that Aunt Xiuzhi was a very straightforward and nice person.

After returning, Xia Qing parked the car in the alley in front of Lin Guzhi's house. She got out of the car and wanted to help Xiuzhi carry the things, but found that the two large bags of things Xiuzhi bought were very heavy. As Xiuzhi had just said in the car, she had thin arms and legs and could not lift them, so she had to give up.

After arriving home, she did not go to the main room to join the two men's conversation, but helped Xiuzhi cook in the kitchen, and Xiuzhi couldn't drive her out.

Of course, although she was helping, she mostly just watched from the side and saw how home-cooked meals in Shanxi Province were made. Xiuzhi's huge body stood in front of the stove, blocking her, and she couldn't squeeze through.

By noon, Xiuzhi had fried four dishes, cooked noodles, and made egg and tomato soup. It tasted salty, and Xia Qing thought it tasted pretty good. She also liked the noodles pressed on the noodle press, but her appetite was too small, so she only ate a small bowl.

Lin Guzhi, on the other hand, ate two large bowls of noodles with a grunt. It seemed that he had been away from home for a long time and really missed this dish.

During the meal, Xiuzhi talked about visiting the graves, and Lin Anquan said, "It depends on the time. If you have time, go to the grave. After all, you have to go back to Haicheng. If you don't have enough time, don't force yourself. You don't have to worry about this. I have visited the graves for you on July 15 and Qingming Festival in the past three years."

Xia Qing heard this and quickly interrupted, "Actually... we can leave tomorrow. It's already noon, and we'll have to walk at night, which isn't very safe." So Lin Guzhi agreed. Xiuzhi hurriedly went to get a few plastic bowls and put some of the cooked rice into the bowls. These plastic bowls were the takeaway boxes her family used when they ate out before, and they didn't want to throw them away after use, so who knows when they might come in handy.

After dinner, Lin Guzhi took the incense and the take-away box and went out. Lin Anquan led the way, and Xia Qing and Xiaoxi followed.

Lin Gu's family's grave was behind the village, a long way away. So Xia Qing got in the car. After getting to the roadside behind the village, he got out of the car and walked a long way into the field, where he could see several graves.

Lin Guzhi went over, quietly placed the lunch box in place, put the incense in the incense burner, inserted the incense, lit it, and kowtowed a few times.

Xia Qing was watching from behind Lin Guzhi, and suddenly she felt that the stinky uncle was so lonely at this moment. He returned to his hometown alone, but could only be sad in front of the grave.

She was so engrossed in watching that she didn't notice when Xiaoxi walked up to Lin Guzhi.

The little fellow knelt down like Lin Guzhi, scratched the ground with his hands, and gathered a small pile of dirt.

Lin Guzhi turned his head and looked at Xiaoxi, who said, "This is Dad's..."

Lin Gu was silent for a moment, then took out more incense, inserted it in front of the pile of earth gathered by Xiaoxi, and lit it.

He also waved towards the small mound of earth, thanking Lord Long from another world for taking care of him for the past three years, and expressing his remembrance from another world.

"It's blown away..."

He suddenly heard Xiaoxi say.

When he raised his head, he saw that the pile of soil behind the burning incense that Xiaoxi had gathered with her little hands had been blown away by the wind.

He touched Xiaoxi's little head and was speechless for a moment.

Xia Qing stood behind Lin Guzhi and Xiaoxi, and suddenly felt her nose sore.

……

They stayed at the grave until the incense burned out and then returned home.

After that, Lin Guzhi said goodbye to Lin Anquan and Xiuzhi, and set off with Xia Qing and Xiaoxi. They did not plan to stay in the city for another night, but just wanted to leave today, go wherever they wanted at night, rest for a night, and then set off again tomorrow morning and return to Haicheng.

Lin Anquan and Xiuzhi wanted to let the three of them stay at home to rest, but they refused. It was not good to disturb others all the time.

On the way back to the city, Xia Qing couldn't help but ask Lin Guzhi: "Uncle, are you sad?"

Lin Guzhi thought for a moment and said, "It's okay, actually. I don't feel that sad."

"Oh."

Xia Qing nodded, but she always felt that Lin Guzhi was very sad.

Lin Guzhi said: "It was the same at the beginning. When I was a senior in college, I knew that my grandfather had died. When I came back, my grandfather was already lying in the coffin, and I didn't feel sad.

"During the seventh day after my grandfather's death, I wore mourning clothes at home every day. I felt like a puppet, cooperating with others and doing whatever they told me to do. At that time, I wondered if I was too numb and cold-blooded. How could I not feel sad at all when my grandfather died?

"It was not until the funeral procession that the people in front of me cried and said, 'The son of filial piety is mourning.' I heard the relatives crying behind me, and suddenly I couldn't hold it in anymore..."

(End of this chapter)