I want to accompany him

  The village chief returned home, and it started raining heavily.

  "This terrible weather, it doesn't rain early or late, only when someone dies does it rain, tomorrow's funeral will be a real hassle!" Village King complained.

  "It's a pity that he died! The family he left behind is even more pitiful! Heaven is crying for them!" Xue Er sighed.

  "Heaven is really pitiful to them, this rain shouldn't have fallen!"

  "Heaven may have cried out all its tears by tonight." Xue'er said faintly.

  It's strange to say. After Zheng Shuang slept and woke up, the sky didn't rain anymore.

  "Xue Er, you said that old heaven was really crying for Da Gou and them last night!" Zhai Wang said as he walked out the door.

  "Hmm. As expected, I've cried all my tears dry."

  "You go and visit Da Gu's family, comfort his wife. Da Gu is dead, but he wouldn't want to see his woman suffering."

  "Alright, you go first."

  After finishing breakfast, they prepared to carry the coffin out for burial. Everyone was busy running around, looking for people to lift the coffin, finding ropes, and finding shovels, shouting and yelling, the whole courtyard was in a state of chaos.

  The coffin was placed on two long benches and began to be nailed down.

  Cuihua suddenly rushed onto the coffin, and the two women supporting her almost fell over.

  Cuihua fell onto the coffin and started wailing: "My husband, my man, you're gone, leaving us behind uncared for...; My husband, my man, I'll be a widow with our child, how can we survive...; My husband, my man, take me with you too, I don't want to live anymore..."

  Cuihua was patting around the coffin and crying with a nose full of snot and tears streaming down her face.

  The coffin is ready, it's time to lift the pole.

  "Alright, Eight Great Golden Guardians! Everyone, take your positions!"

  Cuihua heard the shouting, grasping the rope on the coffin tightly with her hands: "My Da Ge, my man, I cannot live without you, I don't want you to leave alone, take me with you if you must go......"

  Two women couldn't pull her away, and two tearful women had to pry open her hands with all their might before they could drag her away from the coffin.

  "By the side of Longshan! Wei oh!" The chief's loud shout, smashing the bowl to the ground, was followed by a chorus of "Wei oh!" from the Eight Great Warriors. The coffin left the bench.

  "Steady now! Left swing forward, right swing backward, great!" The leader of the Eight Trigrams shouted again.

  "It's started! Great!" The other monks immediately followed with their voices.

  The gongs and drums have started playing, the suona has begun to blow, and the wailing has grown louder.

  The funeral procession has set off.

  Cuihua followed behind the coffin, crying and stomping her feet. The two women supporting her were exhausted, with sweat and tears mingling together. The surrounding women couldn't stop wiping away their tears.

  "We've reached the fork in the road! Awesome!"

  "Swing right come forward swing left go!"

  The person who was holding the child quickly took him and ran to the front of the coffin, knelt down in the direction of the eight trigrams.

  The Eight Trigrams have changed shoulders.

  Cuihua cried until she was on the verge of collapse, and when she finally stopped, she had no strength left. Her two feet trailed on the ground as her body was supported by two women who held her up in mid-air.

  The Eight Great Masters changed shoulders, and with a loud "We've passed the fork in the road!", they quickly walked forward.

  The people who were carrying the child quickly pulled him up and dragged him aside, letting the Eight Great Warriors pass by before following behind them.

  Cuīhuā heard the shout, and with a burst of speed, she rushed forward again, determined to send Dà Gǒu up the mountain!

  "Grab Cuihua! Grab Cuihua for me! Can't let her go up the mountain!" Village King shouted three times in a row.

  The two women supporting Cuihua looked at Zhai Wang, and Cuihua desperately rushed forward!

  "Grab her! Pull her back! Two more women! Can't you hear?!" The village chief's voice was thunderous, drowning out all the other noises.

  Two more women passed by, and four women pulled Cuihua back.

  "Let me go with the dead! I want to accompany him......" Cuihua struggled free from the grasp of the four women, crying in despair.

  "What's wrong with you, Village King?"

  "Who knows what Village King is thinking!"

  "If Cuihua remarries with her son..."

  Some people have started talking about it.

  The village chief came to the mountain village and changed many customs.

  However, the custom of young and middle-aged women sending off funerals has not changed: if they send their husbands to the top of the mountain, it means that they will not remarry; if they send their husbands to the fork in the road, they can remarry.

  Er Gou is single and has an old father at home. All future hopes are pinned on Cuihua's son.

  Everyone's heart is hoping that Cuihua will bring back the eldest son, which can also be considered as making up for Da Gou, leaving a legacy for their family and passing it down to future generations.

  Zhai Wang only let Cuihua send her to the fork in the road, and after that, Cuihua took her son out of the village to get married. Isn't the Da Jia family cut off from then on?

  Everyone is puzzled and discussing it enthusiastically.

  Cuihua insisted on sending the man up the mountain, even if it meant risking her own life.

  Zhai Wang didn't care and loudly gave an order, pulling Cui Hua back.

  At the fork in the road, the funeral procession split into two paths, one continuing on to the burial site and the other returning to the village.

  The people who accompanied the funeral procession up the mountain were close relatives and best friends. Women, except for the deceased's wife, would not accompany the procession up the mountain.

  Cuihua was dragged back, crying and making a fuss all the way, her throat also became hoarse.

  Zhai Wang stood at the fork in the road and watched as the funeral procession disappeared into the distance before turning around and heading back to the village.

  Some people speculated and guessed, but ultimately did not dare to question the village chief, so they could only secretly sigh and speculate in their hearts. Some even speculated that the village chief was deliberately dealing with Er Gou, letting him have no one to rely on in his old age.

  The village chief heard some gossip but treated it as mere rumors.

  After lunch, it suddenly rained.

  Some people sighed: "Dagou liked to drink a few cups of wine when he was alive, and heaven is sending him wine!"

  Some people sighed: "It's hard for Da Ge to live in the world, the road is difficult to walk, and God is washing the road for him, so that he will have a good way to go in the future!"

  Everyone finally reached a consensus: the heavens have eyes, it rained last night, it rained this afternoon, but only when Da Ge was being buried did it not rain, allowing him to rest in peace.

  Zhai Wang thought of Xue Er's words "the heavens pity the people", and his heart sighed: Xue Er, your heart is so soft and kind.

  After lunch, the cleaning staff began to clean up the messy scene.

  Zhai Wang felt physically and mentally exhausted, comforted Er Gou's family for a few words, and went home to lie on the chair.

  Xue Er arrived home a little earlier than Zhao Wang. She saw Zhao Wang's tired look, poured him a cup of tea, and said nothing.

  The village chief lay on the chair for a while, picked up his tea and slowly drank it down.

  Xue Er watched Zheng Shuang drink tea, still without saying a word.

  The village chief closed his eyes after finishing his tea.

  Xue Er stood up and placed both hands on Zheng Shuang's shoulders, gently pressing down.

  After a while, Village King opened his eyes and looked at Xue Er, saying "Thank you!"

  Xue Er smiled: "Being polite with me too?"

  Zhai Wang turned around and pulled Xue Er's hand: "Don't press anymore, sit down!"

  Xue Er sat opposite Zhai Wang: "Zheng Shuang, don't you feel like your heart is more tired than your body?"

  Zheng Shuang nodded.

  "Many things are beyond human control. Don't take Da Ge's death too much to heart."

  "Hmm. Da Ge thought he was preparing to build a house early, but who knew he would run into a mute cannon? Xue Er, you heard others gossiping, why didn't you ask me?"

  "What's up with you?" Xue Er asked in a flat tone.

  "Why did I let people pull Cuihua back home and not let her send Da Gou up the mountain?"