Bow Their Heads (Thanks to Boss Zhenxiang~Ya for the Tip!)

Su's Funeral Company.

The special funeral mission had been activated, and the corresponding mission store had opened as well.

Mission supplies could be exchanged there.

A high-quality suona.

Special Breathing Technique.

A grandmaster-level traditional Chinese aura.

Plain ancient-style men's clothing.

Without a doubt, this was another exclusive mission set. Su Chen exchanged for all of it at once.

When he had accepted the mission, he had been worried about where to get a suona. Now, the system store had completely solved his supply problem.

After exchanging for the mission supplies, Su Chen could use them at any time. All that remained was to wait for Principal Tang's funeral.

Poverty Alleviation Hospital.

More and more people gathered in the hallway. People from the surrounding villages and even nearby towns had heard about Tang Ying and rushed over in alarm.

Many elderly people still had farming hoes and all sorts of tools slung over their shoulders.

Their expressions were tense, and they all found it hard to believe.

Quite a few people could not help wiping away tears and snot as they remembered how perfectly fine Principal Tang had been just half a month ago.

"How could she suddenly become this sick? At the beginning of the month, Principal Tang even came to my home for a visit about my child. She was perfectly fine then!"

"Yeah, it was too sudden! My legs are going weak. If I hadn't come here myself, I wouldn't have believed it even if you beat me to death!"

"Ah, good people never live long!"

"We didn't dare tell the children. The two kids in my family usually call her Mama Tang. Just thinking about how she's suffering now makes me want to cry! No, no, when you get old, it's easy for sand to get into your eyes."

The people gathered here were all elderly. After all, these were impoverished villages and towns; only the elderly and children remained in the villages.

All the young and able-bodied people had gone out to work.

Just then, several unfamiliar faces appeared in the hospital hallway, both men and women.

The school's two trainee teachers were accompanying them.

They bore some resemblance to Principal Tang.

When the woman at the front saw the packed hallway, she immediately frowned.

"Why are there so many people? Where's my aunt?"

"She is in the ICU. She's in a deep coma and in danger of dying at any moment!"

Xiao Lin explained from the side.

At the same time, he gestured for everyone to make way. The woman at the front was the daughter of Principal Tang's older sister, her only niece.

She was also Tang Ying's only remaining relative.

Upon hearing that,

the woman and the people behind her changed expressions.

"What? Why didn't you tell me she was already in the ICU? The medical expenses must be huge, right?"

"Why didn't you tell us sooner? We don't have that kind of money!"

Her husband immediately cut in from the side, his mean and sarcastic nature showing at once.

He glanced at the people around them. They were all old folks and children from the villages and towns, and everyone was now looking their way.

"Everyone has already raised money to cover Principal Tang's hospital expenses. You don't need to worry about spending any of your money!"

Hearing their coldhearted words, Xiao Ai spoke bluntly.

She felt terribly uncomfortable. She had not expected the selfless, kind, and loving Principal Tang to have relatives like this.

From the moment they had contacted them, these people had been impatient and unwilling.

They did not seem to want to visit Principal Tang at all.

If they had not been Principal Tang's only remaining relatives, she and Xiao Lin would never have invited them here.

Noticing the strange looks from the people around her, the woman quickly gave an awkward laugh.

"Hehe, don't misunderstand! It's not that I can't bear to spend the money. I'm mainly worried about my aunt suffering. The ICU here isn't as good as the one in our city. If I'd known, I would have taken my aunt to a provincial hospital!"

"Quick, take us in to see my aunt!"

Led by Xiao Lin, the group entered the ward.

The sounds of medical equipment operating echoed through the empty room, while a distinctive disinfectant smell filled the air.

It was not pleasant.

Under normal circumstances, ICU visits were not allowed so easily. However, Tang Ying's condition could no longer be viewed optimistically.

Since it was not currently a time of emergency treatment, the doctor allowed them inside.

They looked at Tang Ying lying unconscious on the hospital bed, her face haggard and pale.

The woman frowned again, looking unpleasant. Rather than approaching the bed, she asked the doctor standing in the room with them,

"My heart starts racing the moment I enter a hospital. I'm terribly nervous. Could you tell me about my aunt's current condition?"

Behind her stood her husband, along with their son and daughter.

The doctor briefly explained Tang Ying's condition without concealing anything.

Even in the most optimistic scenario, she probably would not survive past tomorrow.

The woman's expression immediately changed. She hurriedly grabbed her two children and rushed to the bedside, tightly clutching Tang Ying's rough, aged hand as she wailed,

"What a bitter fate, my dear aunt!"

"It's all my fault. I've been too busy to make time to visit you. You haven't even met my two children! You can't just leave like this without a word!"

The sudden scene caught the two trainee teachers off guard. The woman who had been so sharp-tongued and cruel earlier was actually this remorseful and sincere?

The two exchanged looks. Xiao Ai felt somewhat regretful; perhaps she had misunderstood the woman before.

She had thought the woman did not want to come.

She had not expected family affection to show itself in hardship.

Seeing Principal Tang like this, had her niece's heart begun to ache for her too?

Just as they were about to step forward to comfort her, the woman pulled her two children to their knees and told them to bow to Tang Ying.

"Come, Zi You, Zi Min, hurry and bow to your grandaunt! Maybe if she hears your voices, she'll wake up!"

The noise in the ward drew many people in the hallway over to watch.

Hearing the woman's wailing, many elderly people standing outside the ward secretly wiped away tears. They could not bear to lose Principal Tang either.

"It has been more than ten years, and this is the first time I've seen Little Tang's relatives come to visit her."

An elderly man with graying hair spoke sadly.

Over the past decade or so, Tang Ying had practically struggled on with her life, yet no family members had ever been heard of visiting her.

Who would have thought that, after all this time,

it would be at the end of her life?

His words stirred another wave of sighs.

Perhaps crying was contagious, or perhaps the adult world held too many hardships. Listening to the wailing in the ward, everyone's eyes grew damp.

The woman made the children bow twice and call Tang Ying "Grandaunt," and that was considered acknowledging their kinship.

"Auntie, the children are calling for you. Wake up! Open your eyes and look at the children!!"

When Tang Ying on the bed did not respond, the woman immediately cried out.

People wailed inside the ward while people in the hallway wiped away tears.

Bai Xiaonian, standing at the ward door with her grandfather, seemed to understand that Principal Tang was about to leave her. She immediately burst into tears.

"Principal Tang! Principal Tang!"

She cried, and the children standing in the hallway who had come with their grandparents began crying too.

For a moment, the entire hospital was filled with crying and wailing.

No one noticed that Tang Ying's finger, lying on the hospital bed, trembled sharply.

Thanks to Boss Zhenxiang~Ya for the tip!

What a generous boss!!

An extra chapter tonight!

Thanks, everyone, for the monthly votes!