The Evil Man’s Lazy Lady Chapter 28 (Part 1)
Chapter 28: Pity (1) Original translation is from tenderflower's blog.
Shu Lan was woken up by her eldest aunt. Zhu-shi changed her into a plain white shirt and skirt. Apart from the two buns, she had no hair accessories, and even the headband was pear white.
“Ah Lan, your father is here to pick you up. Be obedient for a while, you know?”
Looking at her aunt who lowered her head and smiled, Shu Lan nodded obediently, suddenly feeling a little nervous.
These days, she had hardly seen her grandfather and two uncles. When she went to look for her grandmother, she could always hear her sighing softly or heavily. The maids in the family walked quietly. They did not speak or laugh like before. Even when Brother Yuanbao came over, he was often dazed and looked at her with a look she didn’t understand.
What disturbed her the most was the plain white clothes.
Everyone said she was beautiful and most suitable for wearing pink. Whether it was at home or her grandmother’s house, most of the clothes prepared for her were pink, and then there were bright colors such as mauve, apricot yellow, and pinkish-red. Except for the inner clothes, she rarely wore plain white. The time she remembered most clearly was the days when the second aunt of the Xiao family died...
She suddenly thought of the day Xiao Lang came. The maid came in and said something. He ran out, and then, everyone around her changed in various ways.
Shu Lan became more and more nervous. Before stepping out of the house, she suddenly remembered something, and gently took Zhu-shi’s hand: “Eldest aunt, do you know about Uncle Xiao getting lost in the mountain? Has he come back?” Her almond eyes looked at Zhu-shi expectantly, and deep in her eyes was fear she didn’t even realize.
Zhu-shi sighed lightly, and patted her head, but did not speak.
Those who were troubled would sigh. This was one of the few words Shu Lan remembered.
Then she saw Daddy in a gray shirt, his eyes were sunken, and his face was pale. He seemed to have lost a lot of weight. Her older brother standing beside him had red eyes. He lowered his head as soon as he met her gaze.
When she got into the carriage, Daddy put on coarse linen clothes himself, then handed one to her brother, and finally took out a small one to put it on outside for her. The memories she thought she had forgotten all of a sudden flooded up. Shu Lan was in disbelief as she touched the rough belt, which was somewhat worn, and murmured: “Daddy, has anyone in our village died again?”
Shu Maoting also patted her head, “Good Ah Lan, your Second Uncle Xiao is gone. You go and kowtow to him.”
Shu Lan wanted to ask “Where did Uncle Xiao go?”, but she couldn’t ask because she knew what “gone” meant.
She just didn’t understand. How could Second Uncle Xiao die? He was so tall, taller than Daddy. He was so strong. His arms were thicker than her own legs, and his hair was so black, how could he suddenly die?
She didn’t believe it, but tears flowed of her own accord.
When the carriage entered the village, Shu Lan heard a mournful suona and a few dry hoarse cries. She raised the curtain of the carriage and saw several people in white clothes walking around the village, throwing paper money as they walked. That was the custom of the village. Before the burial, relatives and family members must cry around the village, build a small house only two feet high with bricks in the east field, pray, and then start from the other direction. After returning home, the next step was to carry the coffin to Beishan’s cemetery for burial.
Xiao Lang’s family had only one relative, his grandfather, and uncle.
Shu Lan still wanted to distinguish who was in the group of people in white and wanted to find the tall and thin figure, but the carriage had already driven past.
Shu Maoting took his daughter down, led her inside, stopped at last, and said to the two of their brother and sister: “Go and kowtow to the second uncle.”
Shu Zhan led his younger sister over, knelt down next to Xiao Lang, bowed solemnly to the red coffin, and knocked his head on the ground, making a muffled sound. When he got up, he wanted to say something to Xiao Lang but felt it was useless to say anything, so he patted him on the shoulder, stepped aside silently, and made room for his younger sister.
Shu Lan looked at the big red coffin, walked forward in a daze, and kowtowed as Shu Zhan did just now.
The moment her head touched the ground, she remembered many things from her childhood.
Second Uncle Xiao came back after catching the pheasant and made a shuttlecock for her and her older sister with the beautiful tail feathers of the pheasant. It was even more beautiful than the ones sold in the warehouse. Although she could only kick it twice. The apricots on the tree in the summer were ripe, and she couldn’t reach them, so Second Uncle Xiao lifted her up at once, tall and steady. When Xiao Lang bullied her, if her mother didn’t believe her, she went to Uncle Xiao to complain. Uncle Xiao didn’t ask Xiao Lang, he grabbed his arm and slapped him on the butt. He still asked her to follow like him and beat him. When they returned from hunting in autumn, Uncle Xiao would pick a large handful of red mountain dates for her to eat. They were sour and sweet. In the cold winter, Uncle Xiao would come over to drink with Daddy. The two sat cross-legged on the two ends of the heated-brick table and she slept aside. When she woke up, she could hear Uncle Xiao heartily talking about interesting things in the mountains...
However, the second uncle Xiao, who loved her and spoiled her, was now lying in this coffin and would never wake up again.
She whimpered and cried, and the crying became louder and louder. Slowly, she couldn’t control it. The crying turned into sobbing, and she was almost unable to breathe...
T^T don't make me cry.
ReplyDeleteThis made me so sad :(( rest in peace uncle !!
ReplyDelete😭😭😭😭 my nose is sour and tears popping out
ReplyDelete