Reborn in the 1980s: Nine Stunning Beauties Get Pregnant Before Marriage

Upon hearing this news, Chen Yongqiang's heart sank.

Wang Laoshuan? The man who was enjoying a hearty meal of wild rabbit meat and sweet potato liquor with Ding Wanru just a few days ago.

Back then, Wang Laoshuan had made a promise to drink together again next time, but how could he have passed away so suddenly?

After processing this information, Chen Yongqiang asked, "He was fine a few days ago, how come he suddenly..."

Yang Dahai sighed, "Who can argue with that? This morning, his wife groped her way to my door and said that Lao Shuan got up to relieve himself in the middle of the night, collapsed in the yard, and never got up again. When they found him, his body was already cold."

"I'm coming right now," Chen Yongqiang whispered to Lin Xiulian as he turned to her.

"You stay home and rest. I'll go to Wang Laoshuan's house and see if I can help in any way."

Wang Laoshuan was an old bachelor in the village. He didn't marry a half-blind woman until he was over forty. The couple depended on each other for many years. Now that he's gone, how will his blind wife manage?

Chen Yongqiang followed Yang Dahai out the door in a hurry, his steps heavy.

His feelings were completely different from when he went up the mountain to pay his respects. Life and death are unpredictable; the person he had been drinking and laughing with just a few days ago was now separated from him by death.

When Chen Yongqiang arrived at Wang Laoshuan's house, a lot of villagers had already gathered in the courtyard.

Several men were busy setting up a mourning tent with bamboo poles and canvas, while women were going in and out of the kitchen, preparing items for the funeral.

Wang Laoshuan's wife, Zhang Shen, sat on the doorstep, wiping away tears with her sleeve: "Laoshuan, how am I, a half-blind old woman, supposed to live now that you're gone..."

The village chief's wife, Li Caifeng, squatted down beside her and comforted her, saying, "People can't come back to life, but life has to go on. Don't worry, the village will help you with any difficulties you encounter."

"Yongqiang's here." Yang Tiezhu was carrying a bench in when he saw him and greeted him.

Chen Yongqiang nodded; for such funerals, one had to find work to do. He walked to the woodpile, picked up his axe, and began chopping wood.

He chopped wood while listening to the conversations of the villagers in the courtyard.

Some say that Wang Laoshuan passed away suddenly, without even leaving a word.

Chen Yongqiang neatly stacked the chopped firewood at the entrance of the kitchen. Seeing that the water in the water tank was almost empty, he picked up the buckets and walked towards the village well.

Chen Yongqiang carried water back and forth three or four times until he had filled all the places where water could be stored before he put down the carrying pole.

"Yongqiang, take a break and have some water." Ding Wanru brought over a bowl of tea.

Chen Yongqiang took the bowl and asked softly, "What exactly is wrong with Wang Laoshuan?"

Ding Wanru only knew that Wang Laoshuan had a chronic illness: "I advised him to go to the county hospital for a thorough check-up, but he always said that farmers are not that precious and that he could just take a few doses of medicine."

"It's all because I'm not good enough at medicine and didn't discover it earlier," Ding Wanru sighed.

Chen Yongqiang silently finished the water in his bowl: "It's not your fault. We all know Uncle Laoshuan's temperament; he's as stubborn as an ox."

He looked at the busy villagers in the courtyard and knew in his heart that the funeral was only just beginning.

In northern villages like Shimen Village, there are a set of rules for funerals passed down from the older generation.

The first three days were a period of mourning. Wang Laoshuan's body was placed in a temporary mourning shed, with his head facing west and his feet facing east, covered with a white cloth.

Village chief Yang Dahai pulled Chen Yongqiang aside and whispered, "Yongqiang, go to town and buy some things. Make sure you have incense, candles, paper money, white cloth, and liquor."

Chen Yongqiang nodded in agreement. He knew that the funeral would take at least three days to be held: the first day to announce the death and set up the mourning hall, the second day to receive relatives and friends to pay their respects, and the third day to carry out the funeral procession and burial.

Li Caifeng reminded him from the side, "Wang Demin does business in the county town, so we need to send someone to inform him."

The most important thing right now is to send someone to inform Wang Laoshuan's distant relatives of the death.

Chen Yongqiang volunteered: "I'll go, and I'll buy what I need while I'm at it."

This Wang Laoshuan's real name is Wang Decai, and Wang Demin is his younger brother. He went to the county town to make a living many years ago and rarely returned to Shimen Village.

Yang Dahai pondered for a moment and nodded: "You are the most suitable person to go. Demin is stubborn, but you can still talk to him."

As he spoke, he pulled out a few banknotes from his pocket, "Take these first, and if it's not enough, you can pay for it yourself. The village will make up the difference later."

Chen Yongqiang pushed away the village chief's hand: "No rush, let's talk about it after we finish our business."

He went home, pushed his newly bought bicycle, gave Lin Xiulian a few brief instructions, and then rode out of the village.

It's more than 30 kilometers from Shimen Village to the county seat, and it took Chen Yongqiang more than two hours to reach the county seat.

He hadn't been to the county town for a while, and it had changed a lot; he could hardly recognize some of the roads.

After asking around, they finally found Wang Demin's grain and oil shop in the farmers' market in the west of the city.

The shop wasn't big. Wang Demin was sitting behind the counter, working on his abacus to check accounts. He was wearing a slightly worn Dacron shirt and looked a bit fatter than when he was in the mountains.

"Uncle Demin," Chen Yongqiang called out from the doorway.

Wang Demin looked up, paused for a moment before recognizing him: "Yongqiang? What brings you here?"

Chen Yongqiang stated his purpose directly: "Uncle Decai... he left this morning."

Wang Demin's smile froze instantly: "My brother, how did he die?"

"They said they got up in the middle of the night, fell, and couldn't get up," Chen Yongqiang briefly explained the situation.

"The village is currently helping to set up the mourning tent; the funeral will be held the day after tomorrow. What do you think...?"

Wang Demin remained silent for a long time before finally letting out a long sigh: "I understand. Thank you for coming all this way to deliver this message. Have some water first."

The two brothers did not get along well in their early years. Now that Wang Laoshuan has passed away, even if there is anything they can't let go of, they should let it go.

Chen Yongqiang took a sip of water and noticed that Wang Demin's grain and oil shop was doing quite well; in just a short while, several customers had already come in.

"Uncle Demin, please go ahead with your work. I still have things to take care of, so I won't stay any longer." Chen Yongqiang still had to go and prepare the items needed for the funeral.

"Then I won't keep you any longer. Please tell Village Chief Yang that if I can't get back tonight, I'll definitely be there tomorrow morning." Wang Demin said as he busied himself getting goods for the customer.

Every family has its own troubles. Wang Demin came to the county town to make a living and has now become a son-in-law living with his wife's family. He still doesn't know how to tell his family about this.

Chen Yongqiang responded and rode away on his bicycle.

On his way back, he thought that if he collected a lot of mountain produce in the future, he might consider selling it in the county town. In the town, it would take a whole day to sell the meat from two or three wild boars.

"It's just too far away, it takes three or four hours to go back and forth, so it's not worth it."

Chen Yongqiang decided to go back to town to buy the items needed for the funeral. Customs vary from place to place, and it's actually harder to find suitable items in the county town.