ebookland Chapter 2: Matters Related to Mourning
Chapter 2: Matters Related to Mourning
Aunt Mo frowned slightly, her face full of worry. Turning around, she saw Lan Zhi sitting in the car waiting for her. She steeled herself and gritted her teeth, saying:
“My daughter and I don’t have anything to gain. If the girl is willing to go, I don’t care even if she’s a ghost.”
As she spoke, she urged Lao Wu to hurry up and drive straight to Kangzhuang Village.
On the way, Aunt Mo held her hand and, with tears streaming down her face, told her about Mo Ning.
It turns out that five years ago, Mo Ning suffered an accident and injured his hands and feet. Since then, he has been bedridden and has been living a life of eating and defecating in bed.
He was a proud man, and he couldn't accept living like this, so he tried to kill himself several times, but Aunt Mo stopped him each time.
Unable to die, he began to give up on himself, refusing to take medicine, eat, or drink water, hoping to starve himself to death.
Aunt Mo felt sorry for him and knelt down to beg him until he finally agreed to eat. But there was no light in his eyes anymore, and he didn't seem to hear anyone who spoke to him.
The most terrifying thing is that he never spoke again after that. His mouth remained closed for three years, and the villagers all said that he was a mute who couldn't speak.
Last month, Aunt Mo received a letter from her family saying that her brother was seriously ill and didn't have much time left. She wanted to go back to see him off on his final journey, but her family home was too far away, and it would take her at least two months to make the round trip.
She was worried about leaving Mo Ning in the care of others, so she came up with the idea of finding a wife for Mo Ning to take care of him.
So she sold the few pieces of jewelry she had left and gave them to the matchmaker, hoping to find a kind-hearted girl to take care of him.
At this point, Aunt Mo began to sob.
“Child, I didn’t mean to harm you. First, I wanted to go back and see my brother from my maternal family. Second, I was afraid that I was getting old and my health was failing. What would Ning’er do if I passed away one day without anyone by my side?”
She listened quietly to Aunt Mo's words, feeling a pang of sorrow in her heart.
That Mo Ning, he was able to keep quiet for three years, he must have been desperate about life!
She suddenly felt more sympathy for him and more pity for Aunt Mo.
As soon as their donkey cart entered the village, the villagers followed it to watch, all wanting to see what kind of girl would be willing to marry into such a family.
Fortunately, before entering the village, Aunt Mo put the veil back on her head; otherwise, she would have been nothing more than a monkey being watched and ridiculed by everyone.
As she reached out to touch Xiaoxin's necklace, thinking that she would have to figure out how to use it later, the donkey cart stopped.
The crowd surged forward, chattering excitedly.
"Aunt Mo, you really brought home a new bride? Money really can make the devil turn the millstone!"
"Oh, is your son allowed into the bridal chamber?"
"Hahaha, has anyone ever heard of a cripple being allowed to enter the bridal chamber?"
"If we can't go to the bridal chamber, that's easy to solve. Do you need any help? We can help you..."
"Hahaha……"
The mocking laughter from the crowd brought tears to Aunt Mo's eyes. She took Lan Zhi's arm and whispered:
"The villagers love to joke, don't take it to heart, come inside!"
Old Wu kindly closed the door for Aunt Mo, then called out to the crowd:
"We're all neighbors, can you please stop being so foul-mouthed? Do you know how hard it is for those widows and orphans?"
"Hey, old Wu, you think they've had it tough, then why don't you go and marry into their family!"
"Snapped!"
Old Wu raised the whip in his hand and lashed it at the woman who had spoken. The crowd dispersed, laughing and joking.
Before entering the house, Aunt Mo tugged at Lan Zhi's sleeve, nervously reminding her...
"Young lady, don't be too surprised when you see him. If you want to leave, Aunt Mo won't stop you, but please give him some face, okay?"
Aunt Mo was a little worried because she hadn't spoken a word the whole way.
She nodded.
"Yes, I know what to do."
Although Aunt Mo felt uneasy, she still pushed the door open quietly.
She followed cautiously behind Aunt Mo, her heart pounding with anxiety.
When they arrived at the bedside, Aunt Mo softly called to the person on the bed.
"Ning'er, this is Miss Lanzhi, your new wife. Open your eyes and look at her."
Following Aunt Mo's gaze, Lan Zhi looked at the man lying on the bed.
He lay there stiffly, like a lifeless shell.
His body was pressed tightly against the bed board, as if he had become one with it.
Even though he was covered with a blanket, you could still tell that he was very thin and bony.
When Lan Zhi looked at his face, she was even more shocked.
His cheeks were sunken and pitted, and his face was as pale as paper.
His tightly pressed lips were dry and pale, and his eyelids seemed to flutter slightly, but he ultimately did not open his eyes.
When Aunt Mo told her what he had said, she had thought that this man would probably suffer a lot, but she never imagined that he would suffer like this. To be precise, he was not like a human being at all.
Yes, at this moment, he really didn't look like a human being; he looked more like a dried-up corpse.
Fortunately, he had Aunt Mo to take care of him, and he was clean from head to toe. Apart from being clean, she couldn't find any other good qualities in him.
She breathed a sigh of relief and looked back at Aunt Mo. Aunt Mo seemed afraid that she might say something, so she quickly pulled her out the door and then cautiously asked...
"Did it scare you?"
She nodded slightly, without any hesitation.
"He really looks scary."
Hearing this, Aunt Mo became a little nervous.
“Girl, Aunt Mo can tell you’re a kind girl. If you really don’t want to stay, please take care of him for me for two months. You can leave when I come back. I really don’t know who else to ask for this favor. So, Aunt Mo is begging you, I’ll exchange two hundred taels of silver for two months of your freedom, okay?”
As she said this, Aunt Mo's eyes were filled with tears, and she was about to kneel down when she was stopped.
"Aunt Mo, how can I accept such a great gift from you? Please go and see your uncle. I will take good care of Mo Ning."
Her words brought a look of gratitude to Aunt Mo's face.
She nodded hurriedly, and then said:
"I have to set off this afternoon. I'm afraid my brother can't wait. I'm leaving Mo Ning in your care."
As she spoke, she took a cloth bag from her bosom.
"Here is some loose silver, enough for you to live on for two months. Please take it. I will bring some silver back from my parents' home when I return."
Lan Zhi quickly pushed the loose silver into her arms.
“Aunt Mo, take this money for your journey. I have some savings of my own, enough for the two of us to live on.”
Aunt Mo shook her head in surprise.
"No way! You're helping me take care of Ning'er and then spending money on her? Absolutely not. I've already set aside money for the journey. Here, take these loose coins."
Seeing that Aunt Mo was determined, she took the silver pouch, took out a few pieces of silver from it, and then handed the pouch back to Aunt Mo.
"Judging from Mo Ning's condition, he can only eat some thin porridge. This amount of silver is enough."