Chapter 65
In less than half a day, the entire military compound knew that Ye Qingzhi’s father was about to pass away, and she was now packing to go back.
“Mama, what is ‘dead’?” Yangyang asked, following Ye Qingzhi in and out.
“‘Dead’ means gone, and you can never see them again,” Ye Qingzhi said, stroking Yangyang’s small head. “You’re still young. You’ll know when you grow up.”
“As big as third brother?” Yangyang asked, looking at Ye Qingzhi curiously.
“You have to be as big as your big brother to know,” Ye Qingzhi said, giving him a biscuit. “You sit here and eat your biscuit. Mama has to pack.”
“Ma, is Grandpa really going to die?” Ye Anmin asked, helping to pack.
He and Ye Anjie had never been to their grandparents’ house, nor had they ever seen them. As for their mother’s relatives, they had only seen their eldest and fifth uncles, and not many times, so they had no impression.
“Yes. He was fighting with the next village over irrigation water. He’s not young anymore. Why is he still getting involved in these things?” Ye Qingzhi asked, searching the original host’s memories. She found that Ye Shuiping was a fierce and aggressive person. He had often fought when he was young, and even after he got older, he still liked to stand up for others and show off.
“Are we going back too?” He Jingyan asked, pursing his lips.
Ye Qingzhi thought of his days in Dayangcun. They must all be bad memories.
“Jingyan, it’s fine if you don’t want to go back. You can stay at Auntie Xiaorou’s house, or Auntie Gu Yao’s house. Mama will give them your food rations and also leave you some money,” Ye Qingzhi said seriously.
He Jingyan glanced at He Jingyang, who was eating like a little pig, and shook his head. “I’ll go back with you.”
His parents were going back this time, and there would surely be a lot of things to do. He was the eldest son of the family and should take good care of his younger brothers.
It was a good thing it was summer. If it had been winter, just the clothes would have filled several sacks.
They would just wear the sandals on their feet. They didn’t need to bring any extra. They would bring two towels, toothpaste, and toothbrushes, and also some food to eat on the way.
She wouldn’t prepare any gifts. She was going back for a funeral. She was rushing back in a hurry. How could she have the time and energy to prepare gifts? She believed that her relatives and friends back home would understand.
Finally, there were the two chickens and the vegetables she was raising at home. She entrusted them to Gu Yao and Yang Xiaorou and also gave them the key.
“You can pick the vegetables in the yard. Don’t pick the few loofahs and bottle gourds that are already old. I’m leaving them to make loofah sponges and water ladles. Don’t forget to feed the chickens. And my clothes in the yard, please help me collect them in a bit,” Ye Qingzhi said, picking a few cucumbers and a few tomatoes to eat in the car.
“You can leave it to us. How long will you be back for this time?” Yang Xiaorou asked, going home to get a bag of beef jerky and a bag of biscuits and candies. “Take these with you to eat on the way.”
Ye Qingzhi shook her head. “I have my own. You should take them back.”
“I know you have some. These are for the children. Don’t be so polite. Every time you give me vegetables, I always accept them gracefully,” Yang Xiaorou said, feigning displeasure.
Gu Yao also had candy and pastries, and had also boiled twenty eggs. “Eat the eggs today. Don’t leave them overnight. These are all the candy and pastries I have left. You should take them all. When you get back to your hometown, you can’t have too much.”
Ye Qingzhi nodded, her voice choked with emotion. “Thank you.”
“Why are you thanking us? Have you packed everything? Do you need our help?” Yang Xiaorou asked, looking around.
“It’s all packed. We’re just waiting for Qiming to come back from asking for leave,” Ye Qingzhi said, glancing at the door. She didn’t know if he could get leave.
As soon as she finished speaking, she saw He Qiming run in and pull Ye Qingzhi aside.
Auntie Ye had sent him another telegram. This time, he was in the office, so he had immediately called back.
Ye Qingzhi’s mother, Ding Aixian, and Ye Qingshan were right next to Auntie Ye. They said that Ye Shuiping would not make it through the night. The weather was too hot now, and the body could not be kept. The burial would be in two days. Even if Ye Qingzhi rushed back, she would not be in time for the funeral. They told them not to go back and just to send them the travel expenses.
“What do you mean? They don’t want me to go back?” Ye Qingzhi asked, looking at He Qiming in confusion.
“That’s what your mother-in-law and your older brother-in-law mean,” He Qiming nodded.
When he had heard this request, he had been just as shocked as Ye Qingzhi. A father had passed away, yet the mother and the brother would not let the sister go back for the funeral, but instead asked her to send them the travel expenses. Where did this put Ye Qingzhi?
Ye Qingzhi sneered. She should give them the travel expenses, and she didn’t have to go back?
If she really didn’t go back, who knew what the villagers would say about her.
She didn’t care, but she absolutely could not implicate He Qiming and the children.
“What happened?” Gu Yao asked, walking over.
After a moment’s hesitation, Ye Qingzhi opened her mouth, looking as if she found it hard to speak.
“Yes, did something happen? If there’s anything, just let us know. Maybe we can help,” Yang Xiaorou also walked over.
Ye Qingzhi sighed softly. “My mom and my older brother told me not to go back and just to send them money.”
“How can that be? You’ve sent them the money, but outsiders don’t know. A father has passed away, and the daughter doesn’t go back. This is going to get you a bad reputation,” Gu Yao’s voice rose a few degrees.
In China, the dead were more important than the living. The funeral was the most important event in a person’s life. As a child, unless there was really no way, they had to go back to arrange the funeral for their parents.
Although Ye Qingzhi was far away, it was not impossible for her to go back. She could be late, but she could not not go.
“Qingzhi, don’t listen to your mom and your older brother. You must go back. Even if you miss the funeral, you have to go to your dad’s grave and burn a stick of incense. This is your filial piety as a daughter,” Yang Xiaorou said with a hidden meaning.
People’s tongues had no bones. A twist and a turn could determine a person’s life or death. Ye Qingzhi had to go back and show her face. Otherwise, she would be criticized to death.
They didn’t care if you had listened to your mother and brother and had sent the travel expenses home. They would only see that Ye Qingzhi, as a daughter, had not even gone back when her own father had died. She was an unfilial daughter who was worse than an animal.
An explanation? Who would listen to your explanation? Even if they knew the truth, they would not defend Ye Qingzhi. Instead, they would add fuel to the fire and pour more dirty water on her, so that they would have more to talk about.
“I know,” Ye Qingzhi said. She was not a three-year-old child. Even if she had not been married or had children in her past life, and had little experience, she had seen a lot and knew how terrible people’s tongues could be. She turned to look at He Qiming. “The luggage is all packed. Can you get leave?”
He Qiming and the children did not have to go back, but she, as the biological daughter, had to.
“I’ve asked for half a month’s leave. Time is tight. We’ll leave now,” he said. As long as it was not during a mission, or if there was an urgent mission, for this kind of thing, if they asked for leave, the leaders would approve it very readily.
“Jingyan, Anmin, Anjie, are you packed?” Ye Qingzhi asked, turning to the few children.
He Jingyan and Ye Anmin were carrying a basket. Ye Anjie was empty-handed. As for Yangyang, he insisted on carrying his small basket, which was filled with his favorite toys.
“We’ve already packed. Mama, let’s go,” Ye Anjie said, taking Ye Qingzhi’s hand.
Ye Qingzhi looked at Yang Xiaorou and Gu Yao. “I’ll leave the house to you.”
“Hurry up and go. With me and Xiaorou at home, you can be a hundred thousand percent at ease,” Gu Yao said, carrying a bag of luggage and walking them to the main gate to get in the car.
When they arrived, Old Mrs. Li was already waiting there.
“Little Ye, I’ve already heard. Some things are just fated. You should look on the bright side and not be too sad,” Old Mrs. Li said, holding Ye Qingzhi’s hand. Knowing that they had to catch a bus, she stuffed something into her hand. “I’ve made a few pancakes and also stir-fried some vegetables. You can just roll them up and eat them.”
“Thank you, Ma’am. I won’t be polite with you then,” Ye Qingzhi said, not refusing.
“Why be polite with me? You should hurry up and go. Don’t miss the train,” Old Mrs. Li said, waving her hand.
Looking at the small car leaving, Gu Yao couldn’t help but sigh with emotion. “How can such a good person as Qingzhi have such a mother and brother?”
“Isn’t that the truth? Her ex-husband was no good either. It’s a good thing she met Regiment Commander He. It’s a case of suffering coming to an end,” Yang Xiaorou said in agreement.
“What’s going on? What’s wrong with Little Ye’s mother and brother?” Old Mrs. Li asked, hearing their conversation, her face full of curiosity.
At the Li family’s house, Li Jinfeng was itching to know about Ye Qingzhi’s situation, but she was in confinement and couldn’t go out at all.
Finally, when Old Mrs. Li came back, she quickly asked, “Did you give the things to Qingzhi? How is she? Did she cry? Is she very sad?”
“I did,” Old Mrs. Li said, picking up a kettle and drinking several mouthfuls of water directly from the spout. She wiped her mouth and said with some disgust, “Little Ye’s mother and brother are really not human.”
“What’s wrong? What’s going on? What happened?” Li Jinfeng asked immediately.
“They told Little Ye not to go back and to send them the travel expenses in cash. If Little Ye had really listened to them and not gone back, she and Regiment Commander He would have been criticized to death,” Old Mrs. Li pouted.
Li Jinfeng sneered. “That’s not all. Although Qingzhi doesn’t say much, you can tell from her few words that her parents’ family sold her for grain. Later, when her in-laws’ family had trouble, her parents’ family never cared.”
“What kind of parents’ family is that? Since they traded Little Ye for grain back then, the father-daughter relationship was already over,” Old Mrs. Li said, looking down on Ye Qingzhi’s parents even more.
Although that was the case, as long as their blood ties were not broken, she had to attend this funeral.
Meanwhile, Ye Qingzhi, He Qiming, and the others had already arrived at the town. Just as they were about to get out of the car, they were pulled back by He Qiming.
“No need. Wang Heng will take us directly to Wushi,” He Qiming said.
There were only two buses in the town now, one in the morning and one at 2:30 in the afternoon. The morning bus had already left. If they took the afternoon bus, they would not be able to catch the bus from Wushi to Anshi.
“This… I’ll have to trouble Squad Leader Wang then,” Ye Qingzhi said with embarrassment.
“It’s no trouble. I happen to have something to do in the city,” Wang Heng said with a smile.
A small car was of course more comfortable than a bus, but the road conditions were not good now. It was bumpy all the way. Ye Qingzhi felt a little uncomfortable and leaned on He Qiming’s shoulder to rest with her eyes closed.
After waiting for more than half an hour in Wushi, the few of them took another five-hour bus ride to Anshi. They rushed to the train station without stopping. After waiting for an hour, the few of them finally got on the train.
“Mama, we’re on the clattering train again,” Yangyang said excitedly.
Ye Qingzhi’s expression was a little tired, but she still smiled at him and said, “Yes, we’re on the clattering train again. In a few days, we’ll be able to see Grandpa and Grandma. Are you happy?”
Yangyang sighed like a little adult. “Happy, I guess?”
He Qiming put away the luggage. Hearing Yangyang sigh, he rubbed his head with a laugh. “What are you doing?”
“Grandpa and Grandma are good to Yangyang. Uncle and Auntie don’t like Yangyang, and the other older brothers and sisters also don’t like him,” Yangyang said, his small brow furrowed.
Ye Qingzhi picked up Yangyang and put him on her lap. She turned to He Qiming and said, “This little guy’s memory is not bad.”
But He Qiming felt that it was not that his memory was good, but that the memory was too deep.
Thinking of the bullying Jingyan and Yangyang had suffered at the old house, he would have to pay it back sooner or later.