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墨書 Inktalez
"How can this be your fault?" Several elders immediately comforted him.
Qing Shusheng's father-in-law, Liu Xiuzhen's father Liu Dezhou, patted Qing Shusheng on the shoulder and urged him to sit down. "An Bingwen is our nephew from Liu Family Village. Many years ago, his grandfather moved to Liu Family Village to escape the flood. His family was originally from a scholarly background and of noble descent before they settled here. Now that he has passed away so young, we in Liu Family Village must ensure he is treated with respect."
Upon hearing Liu Dezhou's words, the other elders in the clan nodded in agreement.
"Although An Bingwen cannot be buried in the ancestral graveyard, there is a good plot of land at Tiger Head that I have already set aside for him. It faces southeast, towards his hometown, so let’s bury him there," Liu Dezhou said before picking up his cane and slowly making his way home.
After finalizing the burial site, Qing Shusheng began to discuss and arrange the remaining matters with the other elders in an orderly manner.
Since An Bingwen passed away from illness before reaching forty years old and his ancestors were not Tujia people, they did not follow Tujia customs of keeping the body for three days or hiring a Taoist priest for rituals. Instead, everything was conducted according to Han Ethnicity customs. Therefore, after new clothes were hastily prepared that night, he was sent off.
Zhi Lan had not brought An Shaojie and Shaw Min back to Dazhuang nor informed them that their father had passed away forever. She kept them in the small village to play at home with Lin Xi.
It was only after An Bingwen was placed in the coffin that Zhi Lan brought An Shaojie and Shaw Min from the small village, helping them put on mourning garments and headbands, so that Shaw Min and An Shaojie could kneel before An Bingwen's coffin.
As the coffin was lifted, Qing Shusheng picked up An Shaojie and placed him across the coffin, supporting him. After walking a short distance, he carried him down again.
This time, An Shaojie obediently allowed Qing Shusheng to carry him up and down without glaring at him with hostility as he usually did. Normally, he wouldn’t even allow Qing Shusheng to touch him.
After sending off An Bingwen, Bai Cuifen hardly left the house for a long time except for occasionally going to the vegetable garden in the morning or evening to pick some greens.
However, villagers often saw An Shaojie leaving with a bamboo basket in the morning or evening, either going up the mountain to gather wild vegetables, mushrooms, kudzu root, medicinal herbs, or picking things from the fields.
Three months later, it was the scorching June.
The peach blossoms had faded, the pear flowers had fallen, and both the cold spring and warm spring had passed. After the vibrant flowers had retreated, Liu Family Village was nestled within a lush and verdant landscape of early summer.
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