Da Yu died

  Xue Er woke up from her sweet dreamland when the sky was already bright.

  She sat up and saw Zheng Shuang had woken up.

  She stretched her waist and smiled: "I was tired of you last night and couldn't wake up."

  Zheng Shuang smiled and touched her full breasts with her hand: "Who made you forever so cute! Always making me passionate?"

  "You must be more tired than I am. You lie down and I'll get up to cook." Xue Er said, putting on her clothes.

  Zheng Shuang finished washing up, and Xue Er's meal was also ready.

  Xue Er specially cooked egg drop soup for Zheng Shuang, with some pickled vegetables added to stimulate the appetite.

  Zheng Shuang drank soup and praised Xue Er. Xue Er looked at Zheng Shuang with a smile.

  After having breakfast, Xue Er said: "I was tired last night, so don't go out and have fun today, also to avoid drinking. How about having steamed spicy meat for lunch?"

  "Alright, alright."

  The steamed spicy pork in the village is very special. When people in the village slaughter pigs, the pork will not be sold in town, but only to people in the village, who buy it by the catty. Those who buy more or the owner of the slaughtered pig will cut some of the pork into small pieces, about 1-2 liang each, and marinate them in a jar filled with Sichuan peppercorns, which are very spicy. After half a year, they will be taken out to steam and eat. The meat absorbs the salty and spicy flavors, and no seasonings need to be added when steaming. When steamed, it is fragrant and spicy, making your mouth numb, and it's extremely delicious to eat.

  Zheng Shuang heard about steamed pepper pork and repeatedly said it was good.

  "I'll keep you company for a couple of drinks at noon." Xue Er said excitedly after Zheng Shuang agreed.

  "Let's watch TV!" Zheng Shuang turned on the TV and Xue Er sat down beside her.

  Xue Er felt time passed really quickly, and before she knew it, it was already noon. Xue Er got up to cook lunch.

  Zheng Shuang was eating steamed spicy meat, his mouth numb and tingling. After drinking a few cups of strong liquor with Xue Er, she served him a bowl of rice.

  "Lazi meat can be served with rice, and you can have an extra half bowl." Zheng Shuang said with a smile.

  In the blink of an eye, the rice in Zhai Wang's bowl was gone.

  Xue'er reached out and took the bowl of Zhai Wang, ready to go refill it for him.

  "Chief! Chief! Something's wrong! Something's wrong!" Niu Chui rushed in.

  Xue Er's hand holding the empty bowl stopped in mid-air.

  "What's going on, rushing about? Speak!" The village chief merely turned his head, without leaving his seat.

  "Big Wok, Big Wok! He was blasting rocks and got blown up!"

  "How is it?" The village chief suddenly stood up.

  "It's very dangerous! Blood..."

  "Quickly!" The village chief ran outside.

  The crowd surrounded a mass of people, and from within came the sound of a woman's crying. The village chief parted the crowd to see Da Yu covered in blood.

  "Chariots! Chariots!" the village chief shouted.

  "Dongcao is calling for a car at the crossroads."

  "Zhai Wang crouched down: 'Dà Gǒu! Dà Gǒu! Hold on for me!'"

  "Stockade... king... my home... home..." Da Gu's words were left unfinished as his eyes closed.

  Zhai Wang stretched out his finger and placed it on Da Gu's nostrils.

  Zhai Wang stood up, shook his head, and a few tears rolled down from his eyes.

  "My nemesis! You're leaving me like this?!" Cuihua pounced on Dashu, pounding him one moment and her own chest the next.

  The village chief wiped away his tears and ordered the women beside him: "Pull her up! Console her!"

  "Zhai Wang turned his head and shouted: 'Wang Wen! Wang Wen!'"

  "Over here." Wang Wen squeezed over.

  "Niú dāi!" The village chief shouted again.

  "Here!" The calf was right next to Boss Wang.

  "Go to my house quickly, let Xueer give you 2,000 yuan, go and come back quickly, bring it to Wang accountant." Village chief Wang said, looking at the road, seeing that Dongmao had not returned yet, he said to Wang Wen: "You hurry up to arrange manpower, post a notice, who should do what. Niuchao and Dongmao will go to the town to purchase some goods later, you make out a list."

  "All right, all right. I'll just get a pen and ink." Wang Wen turned around and left.

  The village chief looked at the road again, and a small four-wheeled vehicle slowly drove over.

  "Damn it! The road is still too narrow!" Village King cursed and walked towards the car.

  The car stopped and Dong Mao jumped out of it.

  "Dong Mao, Da Gou is dead! This car, I rented it to go to town to buy things!"

  "Good." Dong Mao wiped his eyes: "Dai Gou died so pitifully!"

  "Wait for him, he has gone to my home to fetch the money. After he hands it over to Wang the accountant, you two can go there to withdraw it."

  "I know."

  "Be more careful with your spending! The Da Ge family was originally poor, so let's save a bit for them!" Village King reminded.

  "I know."

  Zhai Wang looked around: "Where's Er Gou? Why can't I see Er Gou?" The first sentence was spoken softly, the second one loudly.

  "Er Gou was just here, I heard his father is at home crying to the point of almost dying, he went to see his father!" someone said.

  "King Wen! Regardless of whether it's sunny or rainy, arrange for people to set up tents on this flat land!" Chief Wang threw a sentence at King Wen who was walking towards him from the opposite side, and went to see Er Gou's father.

  Zhai Wang entered the house and saw the old man sobbing, with Er Gou sitting beside him helping to wipe his chest.

  "A man can't come back to life once he's dead, Elder. Please try to be strong and accept the change. I've already arranged for someone to take care of Big Dog's funeral. Don't worry about not having money at home, the village will help out. Second Dog, from now on this family is relying on you!" Village Head patted Second Dog and then patted the old man.

  The old man knelt down with a thud: "Boss Zhai, everything is up to you now! Er Gou and Cui Hua must be in a state of panic, they've lost their leader."

  Zhai Wang helped the old man up: "Uncle Wang, don't worry, I've arranged everything. You should take care of your body, or this family will be in even more chaos."

  "Thank you, Village Chief Wang."

  "Second brother, you stay with your father for now, I'll take care of things over there."

  "Thank you, Chief Wang, you've worked hard."

  "We're all from the same village, don't be polite." The Village Chief said as he went out.

  In the evening, the Lingtai has been set up and the drummers have arrived. According to custom, it's time to burn the fire paper. When burning the fire paper, the drummers play in intervals, and the deceased person's relatives will wail for the dead, which is called "crying death" in local dialect.

  Death from old age is a natural death, with less sorrow. Accidental deaths cause more grief for the family.

  It's not yet time to burn the funeral paper. Cuihua has already burst into tears. Cuihua's crying is an outburst of inner sorrow. Because she hasn't formally mourned, her crying doesn't follow any rules, but it's sincere and heartfelt, making people sigh with emotion.

  The gongs and drums started playing, the drummers began to blow, and after a round of gong and drum playing, Wang Kuai announced the order of the paper money burners.

  The firecrackers have officially started.

  Cuihua's sentence "My man!" opened the prelude to formal crying. Then, she cried: "My man my husband - you left me and went away - ah... My man my husband - you left Dad and the kids to me - ah... My man my husband - ah... How can I live in the future..."

  The crying afterwards was not only for the hardships of one's own future life but also for the hardships and loving care of Da Yu during his lifetime.

  Several scenes intertwined, and everyone present burst into tears.

  The fire has gone out, it's already midnight.

  Some people left one after another.

  After a while, the sky floated with fine rain. Zhai Wang left a few people who loved to play cards to keep watch at night, and asked Wang Wen to arrange for someone to cook noodles for the people keeping watch.

  Everything is arranged properly. The village chief said to the card players, "You can just play with one or two yuan, no big bets are allowed, got it?"

  Everyone said: "Alright, alright. Chief Wang, you're exhausted today too, go back and rest!"

  The village chief walked home in the drizzle.