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墨書 Inktalez
"Ow, it hurts so much!"
"Why is this happening now? Didn't we calculate that it was still a month away?"
"It's a premature birth! Hurry, get her to the hospital!"
"Father, are you confused? Guo Cui is having her second child. If the government finds out, we'll be in big trouble!"
"What should we do?" The two men were clearly flustered, like ants on a hot pan, unable to settle down.
"Mom! Hurry up and call Aunt Zhang! Tell her to come here and help with the delivery!" At that moment, Guo Cui seemed to be the most composed one.
"Yes, yes, call Aunt Zhang. But it's almost one o'clock; she must be asleep. Is it appropriate?"
"What's more important now, Cui's life or Aunt Zhang's sleep? Just go get her! Even if you have to drag her here!"
"Right, right. I'm going right now." Zhou Kai's father hurriedly ran out.
Before long, Zhou Kai's father returned with a woman in her forties who was quite plump.
"Oh dear, what's going on? Why didn't you call for help earlier? Listen to me, Cui'er, breathe in and push. Zhou Kai, go get a basin of water for your mother. Zhou Xin, boil some water for her—use high heat! Hurry! Zhou Dad, grab some straw and clean clothes that Zhou Xin usually uses. Yes, and find that big pair of scissors Cui'er uses; premature births are serious business. If things go wrong, it could be a case of two lives lost. Ugh, I shouldn't say such things when there are still people at home..."
"Auntie, do you need help?" Wei Ning approached.
"Who are you? I've never seen you around here before. Come on, lend a hand! Support Cui'er... Yes, like that. Cui'er, push harder!"
The house was suddenly bustling with activity except for Wang Tuozi, who stood coldly observing everything unfold. His hands were busy calculating in his sleeves as a faint smirk appeared at the corner of his mouth.
"Oh no! The baby's coming out; it's a difficult birth! You need to step outside and not cause any more chaos. Cui, push! Push!"
"Oh no! The afterbirth has come out; what do we do? It's a difficult birth! Zhou Xin, we need to prepare!"
Zhou Xin's face changed dramatically. He knew Aunt Zhang was asking him to choose between his child and his mother. He hurriedly said, "Can't both be safe?"
"Not possible," Aunt Zhang urged. "Make a decision quickly; if you wait too long, it could mean a double tragedy!"
"The older one—children can be born again, but Cui cannot be in danger," Zhou Dad declared firmly.
"Alright."
Time passed second by second, and inside the room, Zhou Cui's cries grew weaker. Zhou Dad stood outside, sweating profusely with anxiety. After a while, a baby's cry echoed from within the room. Zhou Dad's expression brightened momentarily, but it was just a single cry; soon after, silence fell again.
Before long, Aunt Zhang emerged with a somber expression. "I did my best... Find a good place to bury this child. One life has come into the world while another has left it. Both lives are in the hands of fate. This is destiny. Cui struggled through the night; Zhou Xin, you should go in and take a look."
Zhou Dad took out a prepared red envelope and handed it over. Aunt Zhang glanced at it, then looked at the bowl of sweet red water and a bowl of longevity noodles prepared for her by the family, which contained two freshly fried eggs still steaming with heat. She sighed, "Forget it; the child is gone. What was supposed to be a joyous occasion has turned into a funeral. Poor Cui, poor child." She couldn't help but express her sorrow.
The room fell into an awkward silence as Aunt Zhang quietly walked out. "Oh, it's raining. It wasn't raining when I came here. Do you have an umbrella? Please lend me one; I'll return it tomorrow."
Wei Ning and Wang Tuozi discreetly returned to their guest room, both seemingly affected by the family's grief, not uttering a word as the night passed quietly with rain pattering outside.
Most farmers are diligent, and early the next morning, though there had been great upheaval at home, life had to go on. Zhou Dad got up as usual to gather pigweed, but when he reached the hall, he was horrified by what he saw. The sickle in his hand clattered to the ground as he cried out in anguish, "Cui'er!"
There hung a white silk from the beam, with Cui'er’s feet off the ground; her body swayed like a piece of paper in midair. Her eyes bulged out as she held onto the unfortunate infant who had never even seen the world before dying in her arms. It was clear that both had been dead for some time.
Guo Cui had committed suicide!
To lose two lives in such quick succession was an unbearable blow for any family. Zhou Dad aged significantly in that moment. When he managed to bring Zhou Cui down from the beam, her body was already stiff; even the Great Immortal would find it difficult to revive her.
It seemed that the pain of losing her child had driven her to make such an extreme choice.
The father and son of the Zhou family tightly embraced Guo Cui's lifeless body, their cries heart-wrenching.
At that moment, Wei Ning and Wang Tuozi had already woken up. Seeing what had transpired before them made Wei Ning's eyes redden as he began to cry as well. Wang Tuozi pulled him aside; clearly, this was not the time for farewells with the grieving family. He intended to leave without saying goodbye.
As Wei Ning stepped out of the door, a cold voice from inside the house said, "Are you really just going to leave like this?"
"Oh, right," Wang Tuozi said as he led Wei Ning to the grave of Guo Cui, where they bowed three times. He pulled out thirty yuan from his pocket and handed it to Zhou Xin, saying sadly, "Once a person is dead, they cannot come back to life. Please accept my condolences."
Zhou Xin didn't even look at the money Wang Tuozi offered. Instead, he coldly replied, "Is this really how you plan to leave?"
"What else can we do? We've already burned incense and knelt down. Are you expecting us to stay and mourn with you?"
"Exactly."
"Haha, that's funny," Wang Tuozi laughed instead of getting angry. "I've lived for so many years and have never heard such a request. It's amusing, truly amusing. But I'm afraid I have some urgent matters to attend to, so we'll be leaving now. You all take your time."
"Master," Old Man Zhou stopped Wang Tuozi. "I know this request may seem excessive for you, but we have our reasons. Since you arrived, our family has suffered a death, and if you leave now... it would not be good for us. So please stay for a few more days until the Seven Days of Mourning are over, and then we will see you off."
"No way, my mother is definitely waiting for me to return," Wei Ning protested immediately.
However, Wei Ning suddenly noticed that many people had gathered around them, each looking at them with cold eyes, even harboring some hatred. The people of Xiangxi were known for their straightforwardness and fierce character; they would help you if they liked you but would only recognize kinship in a fight. If you tried to "pull rank" in front of them, they would retaliate harshly. Thus, throughout history, Xiangxi had produced many bandits. The locals were very xenophobic; when Wei Ning sought lodging the previous day, if it weren't for Guo Cui seeing the money involved, they might not have found a place to sleep at all.
"Damn it! Don't let them stay overnight; they're bastards!"
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