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墨書 Inktalez
"Dad," Jiang Yizhou looked at Jiang Maoqiang, who was reluctant to part with his chicken coop and pigpen, and could only sigh. "To be honest, I'm still paying off debts. In the future, making over ten thousand a month won't be a problem. Our family will be a big Boss then. Can we stop thinking about raising chickens and things like that?"
"I think that's fine, but how about we hold off on building this year? Let's pay off the family's external debts first, and we should also take care of Grandpa Yi Zhou's illness!" Jiang Maoqiang felt it was better to be cautious and suggested postponing the matter until after the Spring Festival.
In the end, Jiang Yizhou could only sigh again. Influencing others and getting them to accept one's viewpoint is a complex skill he had never mastered. He watched as his father made the final decision without much discussion.
Until his parents recognized his capabilities, they probably wouldn't let him act recklessly. However, Jiang Yizhou worried that if he revealed too much too soon, they might not accept it and would become even more doubtful. If he won the lottery, it might be easier for his parents to accept.
The twenty thousand yuan was hidden away by his mother in a secret place, serving as a sort of stash. Jiang Yizhou didn't follow her to see where it was and continued chatting with his parents for a while.
"Your Great-Grandmother's health isn't good; we're not sure if she'll make it through this Spring Festival. Your mom and I have been discussing preparations for her final arrangements with others. It's sad for her grandson; only one uncle has run away and doesn't dare come home. I wonder if we can send her off properly?" Hearing this from his father, Jiang Yizhou fell silent for a moment, feeling somewhat emotional.
In places like this, there aren't many criminal cases or unexpected accidents; most people's deaths are due to illness or old age when their health suddenly deteriorates. A cold can escalate into something severe, and the day of passing can often be anticipated—it’s predictable.
Those with money might be sent to the hospital to prolong their lives, but that's just a small minority. For both the individual and their family, it's painful. Most people feel that their time has come, lying in bed slowly approaching death. This was Jiang Yizhou's most intuitive understanding of death from his past life.
His parents didn't dwell on it much; such matters were expected and shouldn't be taken personally. It could be considered a bittersweet farewell since they were already in their nineties. The emotional fluctuations surrounding this event were even greater than those when Jiang Yizhou returned home.
Death is an understood reality and an unavoidable circumstance. It merely involves making noise and holding feasts to allow the younger generation to give the deceased a final send-off. Eventually, as the last handful of soil is placed on the grave, relatives and descendants will often perform rituals until the grave becomes unrecognizable, overgrown with weeds.
Jiang Yizhou talked with his parents about many things—who's expecting a child, who lost all their money gambling, who bought a motorcycle—just everyday gossip.
They chatted until around three in the afternoon. Jiang Yizhou helped his mother find the bedding she had sun-dried earlier from the wardrobe. They laid straw on the bed first, then placed two quilts on top as a base before adding a noticeably freshly fluffed soft comforter on top.
Without asking about the situation of the girl sleeping in the adjacent compartment, Jiang Yizhou felt drowsy, took off his coat and shoes, and crawled into bed.
At first, he was still somewhat awake due to the coolness, but gradually, after warming up the blankets, he immersed himself in them and fell into a deep sleep.
No one wanted to touch on heavy topics, and Jiang Yizhou was no exception. For instance, what would happen to him after death? In his previous life, he had clearly died once; although it was an accident, it was enough for him to realize the fact that he was about to die and that he had already experienced death once.
As for the cause of death, it was an ordinary car accident. As someone who often looked down at his phone, he hadn't paid attention to the road. A car ran a red light, and he didn't know how responsibility would be determined. His parents at home probably wouldn't know how much compensation they could receive. This might be the only and last time he contributed financially to his family since separating from them.
It was somewhat ironic that he died in such an unremarkable way, yet it reflected the value of life.
Jiang Yizhou had little emotional fluctuation regarding his previous death. The only fluctuation might be the disappointment he caused his parents and relatives or perhaps feeling relieved that he would no longer give them hope.
He could imagine that because of his death, the driver would argue with his parents and the insurance company. Ultimately, it would be determined that the driver ran a red light and he had died; compensation would be paid out, and the accident insurance he purchased would also pay a sum, with his parents undoubtedly being the beneficiaries.
Then the company expressed condolences to his parents who were handling his funeral arrangements and felt regretful for losing a hardworking employee. Due to pressing tasks, they quickly began recruiting new employees.
With few friends and his parents not adept at managing social media, later on, through his older brother's notification, they retrieved the password to access his account in order to withdraw any money inside and forgot to send out a mass message announcing his accidental death.
Since he rarely contacted anyone, in his pitiful social circle, most people simply felt they had gained another zombie friend.
Until years later at a class reunion, someone who saw the classmate list raised a question: "Does anyone have Jiang Yizhou's contact information? I see he hasn't updated WeChat in ages and hasn't replied to my messages!"
Then the diligent organizer found his parents using a decades-old phone number and realized that this once inconspicuous classmate who quietly disappeared from sight after graduation had been dead for several years.
Jiang Yizhou felt as if he had seen reality, dreaming of his experiences after death in his past life, from the loud bang to the sorrowful cries of his parents, and then to the simple funeral.
His busy older brother took half a month off work to help with the preparations and officiating of the funeral, comforting their parents before rushing back to his job. The atmosphere became somewhat oppressive after he learned the truth during a class reunion.
"Ah!" Jiang Yizhou suddenly sat up in bed, causing the straw bed propped up by two long benches to shake.
Covering himself with the blanket, Jiang Yizhou wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve, staring at the patterns on the quilt, lost in thought for a long time without speaking.
He did not want to leave quietly like in his dream or as might have happened in his past life, nor did he want to be forgotten by anyone other than his family, ultimately becoming just a cold statistic.
"Brother, what's wrong? Are you okay?"
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