Peach Haven Village (8)

Back at the village chief's house, his daughter-in-law lit a brazier at the entrance. After stepping over it and accepting a set of clothes from her, Ding Shi went to the backyard and used a dipper to scoop spring water over himself for a bath.

He changed into a gray outfit. Looking in the mirror, Ding Shi had to admit the clothes were truly ugly, but they were clean and comfortable. After tidying his hair, he felt that his handsome face was enough to cover up the outfit's ugliness. The village chief's daughter-in-law also washed his clothes for him, and Ding Shi thanked her.

Breakfast was pretty good. The staple was drained rice, accompanied by fried tofu, stir-fried green beans, green peppers stir-fried with fermented black beans, and stir-fried cabbage. There was plenty of oil and salt, and the daughter-in-law was quite skilled. Ding Shi ate three full bowls of rice before finally putting down his chopsticks.

The village chief's son was a construction contractor in the county town and was currently away. His daughter-in-law was generous and composed as she led Ding Shi to a first-floor guest room. Knowing he had spent the whole night helping her father-in-law, she told him to get some rest and said she would wake him for lunch.

Worn out, Ding Shi lay on the bed, and sleepiness quickly came over him. Just as he was about to chat with the Duke of Zhou, the village chief pushed open the door. "Little Ding, Little Ding."

Ding Shi opened his eyes and stared at the village chief, wanting to see just how far this village leech intended to exploit him.

Ignoring Ding Shi's exhaustion, the village chief coldly said, "I just received some Bad News. Grandma Wang died at home. Go take care of it for me."

Mission: Grandma Wang's Funeral.

Grandma Wang, the one Zhao Liu was pretending to be the grandson of?

Ding Shi struggled out of bed, put on his shoes, and headed silently for Grandma Wang's home.

A leisure instance? A leisure instance? Ding Shi felt an urge to teleport to the island, grab Little Angel by the neck, shake it back and forth like a noodle, and roar, This is the fucking leisure instance?

The village chief twisted the knife from behind him. "We were up too late last night, so I need to catch up on sleep. Handle anything that comes up yourself. No need to notify me."

Ding Shi paused, then continued onward.

Thinking rationally, the system should not be shameless enough to try to exhaust him to death outright. The main reason he was so tired was Li Si. Li Si was a player, a variable in Peach Haven Village. That variable was beyond the system's calculations. Once a variable appeared, if the system was not completely evil, it should give him time to rest. And that was indeed the case. The village chief needed to catch up on sleep too, so as his assistant, Ding Shi should naturally have been able to sleep soundly as well.

But why did Grandma Wang have to die at this time?

There were two answers. The first: the system did not treat people like people. The second: Grandma Wang's death had something to do with her adopted grandson, Zhao Liu. Zhao Liu was a player too, and thus another variable.

By the time Ding Shi arrived at Grandma Wang's house, there were already more than ten people in the courtyard. He recognized several of them as elderly members of the village's Wang clan, along with Grandma Wang's nephews and nieces.

Uncle Wang was in charge. The moment he saw Ding Shi, he beckoned. "Little Ding, come over."

Ding Shi walked over to Uncle Wang's side. "Hello, Uncle." Sweet words cost nothing.

Uncle Wang nodded. "Although Grandma Wang was a daughter-in-law of our Wang Family, we have always respected the village committee. We appreciate you coming as the village's representative to help us."

Ding Shi said, "Just tell me what you need me to do, Uncle."

Uncle Wang said, "A few women are washing Grandma Wang's body and changing her clothes. You young men need to figure out how to get the coffin down first."

Grandma Wang's home was a one-and-a-half-story house with a five-foot-high attic. In the attic was a coffin she had prepared years ago. At the time, cremation had not yet been implemented in some rural areas, and many people began arranging their own funerals after turning fifty. Most coffins were purchased by the elderly themselves.

Ding Shi and three young men went to the stairs. They were narrow wooden stairs, only about eight inches wide. Ding Shi asked, "How did they get the coffin into the attic in the first place?"

One of the young men replied, "They removed the attic boards and hoisted it up with ropes."

Good. Very good! Ding Shi asked with a smile, "So I'm supposed to remove the boards and find the ropes?"

The young man said, "There are ropes at home. As for removing the boards, it's better for someone from the village committee to do it. That way, everything will be clear afterward."

Fine! A worker's life was not a life anyway.

Ding Shi took a claw hammer upstairs and began pulling nails and dismantling the wooden boards. He carefully collected the nails, because if his guess was right, he would soon be responsible for nailing those boards back in place.

A single leaf told him autumn was coming. Now, whenever an NPC so much as burped, Ding Shi could tell what kind of bullshit the system was about to pull.

After removing two boards, Ding Shi, still in the attic, saw Zhao Liu race into the courtyard like the wind.

Ignoring everyone else, Zhao Liu rushed into the kitchen, grabbed a jar, and sprinted toward the village entrance. Ding Shi's heart cracked on the spot. A suspicion formed in his mind: Grandma Wang had died because Zhao Liu had failed to deliver the pickles to the minibus at eight in the morning as agreed.

That grandson's only job was to deliver pickles to the minibus driver every day, then bring home the meat the driver gave him.

Ding Shi remembered seeing Zhao Liu chopping firewood at Cuihua's house next door yesterday afternoon, drenched in sweat, while Cuihua watched him. That was it. That was the cause. Zhao Liu had spent last night at Cuihua's house. With a beauty in his arms, he had forgotten the time to deliver the pickles.

Once he understood, Ding Shi immediately wanted to turn into a groundhog and howl at the sky: Why?

You people can screw around all you want, but why is the most dedicated one—me—the one getting hurt?

Fuck! He smashed his finger. Distracted, Ding Shi yelped in pain, stuffed his index finger into his mouth, and hopped in place—only to bang his head against a roof beam. Squatting down and rubbing his head with the hammer, Ding Shi felt wronged for the first time in his life.

With the help of several NPCs, the coffin was lowered from the attic.

Grandma Wang's house had a typical layout: three connected sections. The left section had two rooms, the right section had two rooms, and the middle section had two rooms on each side, including the kitchen. At the center of the middle section was the living room, an open room without doors. In Peach Haven Village's local dialect, this place was called the Front Hall. The mourning hall was set up there.

The Wang Family had already begun arranging the mourning hall. They removed the Eight Immortals table and benches, opened the coffin, and placed it in the middle. Several women carried over a bed board with Grandma Wang on it, brought her into the mourning hall, and placed her in the coffin. A sheet of yellow paper was stuck over her face to keep her deathly appearance from frightening people.

Once that was done, they put the coffin lid back on, but did not nail it shut. According to local custom, the body had to remain in repose for three days before the funeral. There was still much to do during those three days.

Grandma Wang herself was not surnamed Wang; she had married into the Wang Family. The Wang clan elder listed the funeral arrangements. First, they needed to select a burial site. That required a feng shui master, so someone had to invite Blind Zhao from the end of the village and take him to the Wang Family graveyard in the mountains to choose a spot. They also needed to make a tombstone and dig a grave.

Second, they had to inform Grandma Wang's natal family. Without them present, the coffin could not be nailed shut. Her natal family lived in a village twelve miles away.

Then there was the wake. Relatives and friends would keep watch during the day, while immediate family had to watch over the coffin at night.

Ding Shi only half-listened, because the village committee had already informed Grandma Wang's son. The family was riding a Jialing motorcycle toward Peach Haven Village. When they arrived, he only needed to attend the funeral as the village chief's representative and offer his condolences.

Zhao Liu returned. Holding an empty earthenware jar, he entered the house, saw the mourning hall, then backed out and looked around, as if checking whether he had come to the wrong courtyard.

Ding Shi strode over and asked Zhao Liu quietly, "Didn't you deliver the pickles this morning?"

Zhao Liu answered, "I did." Instinctively sensing that he had caused trouble, he denied Ding Shi's question.

Ding Shi could naturally tell he was lying. "Whatever makes you happy. Bye."

Zhao Liu hurriedly grabbed Ding Shi. "Wang Wu, what's going on here? Why are they setting up a mourning hall?"

Ding Shi said, "They're filming a movie." He tossed out that line and left. If you were not honest, he would not help you. Even if you were honest, he might not help you either.

A middle-aged man came running over. Ding Shi knew him as the village committee's accountant. The accountant braced one hand against Grandma Wang's front gate, gasping for breath as he shouted, "Wang Zhu got into a traffic accident! His wife and son were sent to the hospital too."

Zhao Liu knew Wang Zhu was Grandma Wang's son and anxiously asked, "What happened?"

From the side, Ding Shi answered, "Overloaded vehicle, no helmet, unlicensed driving."

The accountant said, "No one is in danger of dying, but all three were seriously injured and need to stay in the hospital. They can't come see Grandma Wang off one last time."

At those words, Ding Shi immediately had a bad feeling. He looked at Zhao Liu, then instantly relaxed. It was fine. This bad feeling had nothing to do with him.