Chapter Twenty-Eight: Death
Zhang Xiaohun lay quietly in his mother's arms, motionless and very peaceful. Lin Miaoxiang was very unsteady in her heart, and she jumped wildly. She raised her eyes and glanced at the entrance of the village, looking very expectant.
The entrance to the village was still empty, and there was an inexplicable silence. Lin Miaoxiang looked at it for a long time, feeling very lost. She leaned over and sat on the cool bed, teasing Zhang Xiaohun in her arms. Unexpectedly, Zhang Xiaohun fell on his shoulders silently, ignoring his mother's teasing, and completely lost his former liveliness.
After a while, Lin Miaoxiang felt very bored, so she got up and walked back to the house. She handed Zhang Xiaohun to her sister Zhang Yuanchun to watch, and she walked into the kitchen and started to get busy.
The night gradually enveloped the small village of Zhangjiakeng, and except for the occasional barking of dogs, there was silence all around. Lin Miaoxiang's heart was really quiet, and there was an extremely anxious look on her face.
It's already past dinner time, and Zhang Longfei hasn't come back yet. Lin Miaoxiang waited for the girls to finish washing, and then forcibly gave Zhang Xiaohun a bath with her temperament.
Seeing Zhang Xiaohun gradually fall asleep, Lin Miaoxiang's heart became more and more panicked. She involuntarily clenched the fan in her hand, and there was a hint of panic on her face.
When she left in the morning, Lin Miaoxiang was very happy to see that Zhang Longfei finally put on the new shirt she bought for him. She also made fun of Zhang Longfei at the time, saying that he was Zhu Bajie on the sedan chair. During breakfast, Wei Chunhua inadvertently said that when Zhang Longfei ate 6 steamed buns in one go, Lin Miaoxiang was still playing haha, saying that Zhang Longfei was too tired these days, and it was natural to eat too much.
It's just that now that she thinks about it, Lin Miaoxiang's heart suddenly swelled with a hint of ominous feeling. Lin Miaoxiang thought about it again and again, and finally put down the pu fan in her hand and hurriedly got dressed.
When Zhang Daqiang heard Lin Miaoxiang say that Zhang Longfei hadn't returned home yet, he also felt very abnormal. He hurriedly got up and said hello to the fat aunt, then grabbed the flashlight and walked out of the house with Lin Miaoxiang.
The road outside the village was dark, and you couldn't see your fingers. Zhang Daqiang turned on the flashlight and shone it around, and said worriedly: "Little Hun Mom, didn't Long Fei say anything to you when he went out in the morning?" ”
"Nope." Lin Miaoxiang's mind still had the moment when Zhang Longfei put on his new shirt.
"That's weird. I heard him say that the work in the town is coming to an end, so it won't be a drink with your brother-in-law and them, right? ”
"Impossible." Lin Miaoxiang replied. "There's no way he's going to drink with my brother-in-law."
"That's weird." Zhang Daqiang sighed slightly and said worriedly.
The two waited at the entrance of the village for more than an hour, but still did not see Zhang Longfei. Lin Miaoxiang suddenly couldn't hold it back, and tears fell from her eyes in a hurry.
When Zhang Daqiang saw Lin Miaoxiang's appearance, he was also very nervous. He suggested that he go home and ride a bicycle and look for it along the road with Lin Miaoxiang. Lin Miaoxiang had no idea at this time, and she had already messed up.
Zhang Daqiang rode a bicycle to carry Lin Miaoxiang in the dark night, and found the construction site on the edge of Hexia Middle School along the Liulangshan mountain road. They searched around the construction site again, but still couldn't see any trace of Zhang Longfei.
Lin Miaoxiang's heart was terrified, frightened and afraid. She looked at the endless darkness around her, and couldn't help but open her throat and shouted: "Zhang Longfei, Zhang Longfei, where are you?" Where are you? ”
The hysterical cries of the women spread around the construction site, dispersing into the endless darkness without the slightest echo. Lin Miaoxiang roared a few times in succession, but still didn't respond at all. She squatted down in despair, covered her face and began to cry.
Zhang Daqiang was also frightened by Lin Miaoxiang's actions. He comforted Lin Miaoxiang and said that Zhang Longfei might have something to do, maybe he would go home tomorrow morning.
"No, no......" Lin Miaoxiang shook her head bitterly. A trace of sadness suddenly surged through her heart, an extremely desperate sadness.
It wasn't until midnight that Zhang Daqiang accompanied Lin Miaoxiang back to Zhangjiakeng Village from Hexia Town. He comforted Lin Miaoxiang all the way and said that he would look for it early tomorrow morning, so that she should not worry too much.
How could Lin Miaoxiang not be worried? Her feelings told her that something must have happened to Zhang Longfei. She knew Zhang Longfei's character, knew that she would not disappear quietly for no reason, and knew that she would not leave her and her children alone.
Sure enough, the next morning, as soon as it was dawn, the village chief Zhang Xinwei knocked on the door of Lin Miaoxiang's house in a hurry. As soon as Lin Miaoxiang heard Zhang Xinwei's words, she fell to the ground and fainted.
It turned out that Zhang Longfei, who had not returned overnight, was found to have fallen from Liulang Mountain with a car and fell into a ravine on the side of the road. By the time he was found, he had already lost his vital signs.
In the morning, Zhang Yuanchun had just woken up from his sleep when he heard a noise in his yard. She quickly rolled over and raised her hand to rub her sleepy eyes.
Younger sister Zhang Yingchun and Zhang Tanchun were still sleeping next to each other, and they didn't mean to wake up at all. Grandma Wei Chunhua actually sat at the head of the bed with Zhang Xichun in her arms, closed her eyes and said nothing, her face full of sorrow.
When Zhang Yuanchun saw it, his heart suddenly panicked. She called her grandmother softly, and when she saw that Wei Chunhua didn't take care of herself, she thought she was asleep, so she ignored her and got dressed quickly.
Zhang Yuanchun pushed open the door and was immediately stunned by the scene in front of him. There were people standing inside and outside the door, and even Li Ran's father, Li Guangkun, came. They all had solemn expressions and did not smile, as if something big had happened. Some are whispering to each other, and some are sighing incessantly.
Seeing this, Zhang Yuanchun's heart sank. She hurriedly slipped through the crowd, but saw her mother Lin Miaoxiang sitting on the edge of the gate, her face was gloomy, her eyes were swollen, and she kept sobbing.
Zhang Yuanchun was shocked when he saw Lin Miaoxiang's sad appearance. She hurriedly ran to Lin Miaoxiang's side, knelt on the ground, and reached out to hug Lin Miaoxiang's arm tightly.
As soon as Lin Miaoxiang saw Zhang Yuanchun, she was immediately sad. She hugged Zhang Yuanchun and couldn't help crying. Zhang Yuanchun saw that Lin Miaoxiang was heartbroken, cried bitterly, and cried with Wow.
At this time, several women came over, gathered around Lin Miaoxiang, and comforted Lin Miaoxiang in a whisper. The fat aunt also walked over with Zhang Xiaohun in her arms, and kept sighing. Zhang Xiaohun lay quietly on the fat aunt's shoulder, silent, very peaceful.
Zhang Yuanchun wondered even more. She didn't know what was going on, but she knew it wouldn't be a good thing, or her mother wouldn't be like this.
Just as Zhang Yuanchun opened his eyes and hesitated, there was a sudden commotion in the crowd. "Coming, coming, coming back."
When Zhang Yuanchun was still wondering who was coming back, he saw his neighbor's uncle Zhang Daqiang pulling a flatbed truck and walking over slowly, while Zhang Xinwei, the village head, pushed his father's bicycle and followed closely behind, shaking his head and sighing.
"Where's Daddy?" Zhang Yuanchun was about to ask his mother.
Unexpectedly, Lin Miaoxiang stood up suddenly, wailed, and staggered towards Zhang Daqiang. Zhang Yuanchun was suddenly frightened by his mother's actions, and quickly stood up and followed closely behind Lin Miaoxiang.
Zhang Longfei lay quietly on the flatbed, not moving. Zhang Yuanchun glanced at it secretly, and saw that his father's face was distorted, and there were traces of blood on the corners of his mouth, which seemed to be out of breath, and he was immediately frightened and cried.
Lin Miaoxiang lay on Zhang Longfei's corpse in pain, wailing incessantly, and kept slapping the flatbed truck with her hands. "Zhang Longfei, you bastard, you wake me up, you wake me up......" Lin Miaoxiang's voice was hoarse and sad, which made people sad to hear and moved.
Several kind-hearted women hurriedly walked over, stretched out their hands to set up Lin Miaoxiang, and whispered in her ear to comfort her. Zhang Daqiang, who looked solemn, continued to pull the flatbed truck and walked into the door of Zhang Longfei's house.
Zhang Yuanchun was so frightened by the scene in front of him that he couldn't stop sobbing and crying secretly. She stood quietly at the back of the crowd, listening to the gossip of the crowd, and then slowly understood what was going on.
Under the command of Zhang Xinwei, everyone at the scene worked together, and a simple mourning hall was quickly built in the hall of the Zhang family. Zhang Daqiang cleaned Zhang Longfei again and changed into new clothes, and then he and Li Guangkun carried him into the mourning hall.
Zhang Tanchun also seemed to be awakened by the noise outside. She and her sister Zhang Yingchun stared curiously at the busy crowd with the door frame, obviously not knowing what was going on. However, my sister Zhang Yingchun frowned tightly and was silent, as if she understood something.
It didn't take long for a police officer from the Hexia Police Station to ride a bicycle to Zhang Longfei's house. He found the village chief Zhang Xinwei to understand the situation, and asked Zhang Xinwei to sign the record, and then rode away.
Lin Yuxian and Xu Wanrong also came. Lin Yuxian still looked serious, but there was a little more sadness between his eyebrows. Xu Wanrong couldn't help but burst into tears when she saw her daughter's grief-stricken appearance.
Zhang Yuanchun snuggled tightly to his mother's side, and his heart was unusually sad. She knew she would be a fatherless child from now on.
According to the custom of western Henan, when a loved one dies, he must stay at home for seven days before holding a funeral. However, Zhang Longfei died unexpectedly and died in middle age, so his funeral was in a hurry. After Zhang Longfei's body was cremated, Zhang Xinwei's relatives and friends let him be buried in peace.
For several days, Lin Miaoxiang still did not recover from the grief of losing her husband. She didn't eat or drink, she lay on her side on the bed and was silent. Sister Lin Miaofeng had no choice but to sit silently on the side with Zhang Xiaohun in her arms, secretly sad.
Since learning the news of Zhang Longfei's accidental death, Lin Miaofeng has been staying at Lin Miaoxiang's house. She never expected that Zhang Longfei would encounter such a flying disaster, and she blamed herself in her heart. She knew that she persuaded Lin Miaoxiang to let Zhang Longfei go to work at the construction site in Hexia Town. If there is no "extra move" of her own, my sister at least has a complete home now.