Ita Era

Chapter 10 Peach Blossom Village (Part 8)
Back at the village chief's house, the village chief's daughter-in-law lit a brazier at the door. Stepping over the brazier, Ding Shi took a set of clothes from the village chief's daughter-in-law's hand and then used a ladle to fetch spring water in the backyard to take a bath.

He changed into a gray outfit. Looking in the mirror, Ding Shi realized the clothes were undeniably ugly, but clean and comfortable. After combing his hair, he felt his good looks were enough to cover up the clothes' ugliness. The village chief's daughter-in-law helped Ding Shi wash his clothes, and he expressed his gratitude.

Breakfast was good. The main dish was rice porridge, and the side dishes included pan-fried tofu, stir-fried green beans, stir-fried green peppers with fermented black beans, and stir-fried cabbage. The oil and salt were generous, and my daughter-in-law's cooking skills are quite good. Ding Shi ate three whole bowls of rice before he stopped eating.

The village chief's son was a contractor in the county town and wasn't home at the moment. His daughter-in-law, however, was quite poised and led Ding Shi to the guest room on the first floor. Knowing that Ding Shi had been busy helping his father-in-law all night, she told him to rest first and wake him up for lunch.

Exhausted, Ding Shi lay on the bed, drowsiness creeping in. Just as he was about to drift off to sleep, the village chief pushed open the door and entered: "Little Ding, Little Ding."

Ding Shi opened his eyes and stared at the village chief, wondering how far this village skinflint could exploit him.

Ignoring Ding Shi's exhaustion, the village chief coldly said, "I just received some terrible news. Grandma Wang passed away at home. Could you run errands for me?"

Task: Grandma Wang's funeral.

Grandma Wang, the one who was Zhao Liu's grandson?
Ding Shi struggled to get out of bed, put on his shoes, and went to Grandma Wang's house without saying a word.

Casual dungeon? Casual dungeon? Ding Shi had an urge to teleport to the island, grab the little angel by the neck, shake it back and forth like a noodle, and then loudly demand: Is this what they call a casual dungeon?
The village chief added insult to injury behind Ding Shi's back, saying, "I stayed up too late last night, I need to catch up on some sleep. You can handle things yourself, no need to notify me."

Ding paused for a moment, then continued walking forward.

Rationally speaking, the system wouldn't be so shameless as to try and exhaust itself. The main reason for its fatigue is Li Si. Li Si is a player, a variable in Peach Blossom Village, and his variables are not considered by the system. After the variable occurs, if the system isn't too malicious, it should give it time to rest. And that's exactly what happened; even the village chief needs to catch up on sleep, so the assistant can naturally get a good night's rest as well.

But why did Grandma Wang choose this time to die?
Two answers. First answer: The system is inhuman. Second answer: Grandma Wang's death is related to her godson Zhao Liu. Zhao Liu is a player, and also a variable.

……

When Ding Shi arrived at Grandma Wang's house, there were already about ten people in the yard. Ding Shi recognized some of them; they were elders of the Wang family in the village, as well as Grandma Wang's nephews and nieces.

The person in charge was Grandpa Wang. As soon as Grandpa Wang saw Ding, he reached out and called out, "Little Ding, come here."

Ding Shi walked up to Grandpa Wang and said, "Hello, Grandpa." Sweet talk doesn't cost anything.

Grandpa Wang nodded: "Although Grandma Wang is a daughter-in-law of our Wang family, we have always respected the village committee. We, the Wang family, are grateful for your help as a representative of the village."

Ding Shi: "Grandpa, just tell me what you need me to do."

Grandpa Wang said, "Several women are wiping Grandma Wang's body and changing her clothes. You young people need to figure out a way to move the coffin down first."

Grandma Wang's house is one and a half stories high, with a 150-centimeter-high attic. In the attic, there is a coffin that Grandma Wang prepared many years ago. At that time, cremation was not yet practiced in some rural areas, and many people would start preparing for their own funerals after the age of fifty. Most of the coffins were purchased by the elderly themselves.

Ding Shi and the three young men walked to the stairs, a small wooden staircase, the problem being that it was only 20 centimeters wide. Ding Shi asked, "How did you get the coffin into the attic back then?"

A young man answered, "Take down the partition wall of the attic and hoist it up with a rope."

"Good, very good!" Ding Shi smiled and asked, "Do you need me to dismantle the partition and find a rope?"

The young man said, "We have ropes at home. It's better for the villagers to do the dismantling of the barriers so that things can be explained clearly afterwards."

Fine! The lives of working people aren't important.

Ding Shi took the nail puller upstairs and began digging out nails to dismantle the wooden planks. He carefully put the nails away, knowing that if he guessed correctly, he would be responsible for nailing the planks back on later.

Just as a single leaf falling heralds autumn, Ding Shi can now predict the system's next move simply by hearing an NPC burp. After removing two wooden planks, Ding Shi, in the attic, saw Zhao Liu dashing into the courtyard like the wind.

Ignoring everyone else, Zhao Liu rushed into the kitchen, grabbed a jar, and ran wildly towards the village entrance. Ding Shi's heart shattered at that moment. He had a guess: Grandma Wang died because Zhao Liu hadn't delivered the pickled vegetables to the minibus at eight o'clock in the morning as promised.

Zhao Liu's only job was to deliver pickled vegetables to the minibus driver every day and then deliver the meat the minibus driver gave him to his home.

Ding Shi recalled the scene from yesterday afternoon when Zhao Liu was chopping firewood at Cuihua's house next door, drenched in sweat, and the way Cuihua stared at him. That's it, that's the cause. Zhao Liu had spent the night at Cuihua's house; with a beauty in his arms, he forgot to deliver the pickled vegetables.

After figuring it out, Ding Shi immediately wanted to transform into a groundhog and howl at the sky: Why?
You guys messed things up, so why is it that I, the most dedicated person, am the one who gets hurt?

Damn! He hit his finger. Lost in thought, Ding Shi, in pain, put his index finger in his mouth and jumped around, then bumped his head on a roof beam. Squatting down and rubbing his head with a 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 was typical, consisting of three units: one with two rooms on the left, one with two rooms on the right, and one with two rooms on each side in the center, including a kitchen. The central unit had an open-plan living room without doors, which was called the "hallhead" in the local dialect of Taoyuan Village. The mourning hall was set up in the hallhead.

The Wang family had already begun setting up the mourning hall, removing the eight-immortal table and long benches, and placing the coffin open in the center. Several women carried the bed board to the mourning hall, placed Grandma Wang in the coffin, and pasted a piece of yellow paper on her face to avoid making her look frightening in death.

After the ceremony, the coffin lid is put back on, but no nails are driven in. According to local custom, the body must remain in the coffin for three days before the funeral procession. There are still many things to do during these three days.

Grandma Wang herself wasn't surnamed Wang; her husband's family name was Wang. The Wang clan head listed the funeral arrangements. First, a burial site needed to be chosen, which required a geomancer. They had to go to the end of the village to find Blind Zhao, and then lead him to the Wang family cemetery on the mountain to select a spot. Next, a tombstone needed to be erected, and the grave dug.

Secondly, we need to inform Grandma Wang's family. If they don't come, we can't let the matter rest. Grandma Wang's family lives in a village 20 kilometers away.

Next comes the vigil. During the day, relatives and friends are present, but at night, close family members are required to keep vigil.

Ding Shi overheard a bit, because the village office had already notified Grandma Wang's son that the family was riding the Jialing motorcycle towards Taoyuan Village. He only needed to represent the village chief at the funeral to express his condolences.

Zhao Liu returned, carrying an empty earthenware jar as he entered the house. Upon seeing the mourning hall, he stepped back out of the door, looking around to see if he had entered the wrong courtyard.

Ding Shi strode over and asked Zhao Liu in a low voice, "Didn't you bring the pickled vegetables this morning?"

Zhao Liu replied, "I delivered it." He instinctively felt he had gotten into trouble and subconsciously denied Ding Shi's question.

Ding Shi could obviously tell he was lying, and said, "Whatever makes you happy, bye-bye."

Zhao Liu hurriedly grabbed Ding Shi: "Wang Wu, what's going on here? Why is a mourning hall being set up?"

Ding Shi said, "Let's make a movie." He then left. If you're dishonest, I won't help; if you're honest, I might not help either.

A middle-aged man ran over, and Ding Shi knew he was the village accountant. The accountant leaned against the door of Grandma Wang's house, panting heavily, and shouted, "Wang Zhu was in a car accident, and his wife and son went to the hospital with him."

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

Ding Shi replied from the side: "Overloaded, not wearing a helmet, driving without a license."

The accountant said, "There is no danger to their lives, but all three are seriously injured and need to stay in the hospital for treatment. We will not be able to see Grandma Wang off on her final journey."

Upon hearing this, Ding Shi immediately had a bad feeling. He looked at Zhao Liu and breathed a sigh of relief. It's alright, this bad feeling has nothing to do with him.

(End of this chapter)