119 Relatives’ Gathering

“No need, I’ll take a taxi. There’s no need to go through so much trouble.” Guo Miao sat up and took her luggage to get a taxi.

Chen Tian took the luggage from her hands. “There’s no need for that, Miss Guo. It’s quite a distance from here to the urban area. Our car will be faster.”

Guo Miao thought about it again and again before finally getting into the car arranged by the Tong family.

It was an RV with all kinds of facilities inside.

There was a variety of breakfast on the table in the RV. There were soy milk and fried dough sticks, Western sandwiches and coffee, and lots of other things.

Guo Miao didn’t have much of an appetite and just sat on the chair in a daze.

“Miss Guo, please have some food. If you had a nightmare, you’ll feel better both physically and mentally.”

Guo Miao picked up her coffee and took a sip. It was an iced Americano without any sugar, and the cold and bitter taste made her sober up a lot.

Haicheng was only a two-hour drive away from Dongshan. The RV was very fast, so they arrived at Dongshan in a short while.

As soon as they reached the entrance of the Dongshan Village, Guo Miao saw her father’s siblings rushing in and out of the village, as well as the shed that was supposed to be at the entrance.

At this time, Dongshan Village still followed the most traditional funeral etiquette.

The large offering table was filled with offerings, and her grandmother’s coffin was placed in the innermost part of the shed.

The womenfolk of several families sat at the side. Her uncle and cousin knelt in front of the mourning hall and cried.

Her grandmother had a good relationship with the villagers when she was alive. The villagers all came to help out of their own accord, and there was an endless stream of people who came to offer their condolences.

Guo Miao stood at the door of the mourning hall, tears unconsciously flowing down her face.

The old woman who loved her was now sleeping in a coffin.

According to the customs here, the coffin had already been nailed, so she could not even see her grandmother one last time.

Guo Fu, who was also wearing a white mourning dress, walked over to Guo Miao’s side and patted her shoulder.

Xuxu was also crying, and the whole family hugged each other.

“I’m sorry, Dad. I didn’t make it back in time,” Guo Miao said in a low voice while crying.

Guo Fu shook his head. “Me too. I was so busy opening the shop in Haicheng that I forgot to come back to visit your grandma.”

Guo Fu was a man in his forties, but his eyes were full of tears.

Back then, her grandmother had gone against all odds to get Guo Fu to marry her daughter. Although they had been living a hard life after the marriage, her grandmother had never made things difficult for her son-in-law.

After that, she treated her son-in-law and two grandsons better than her own grandsons.

“It’s all my fault,” Guo Miao cried.

If she had included her grandparents in her plan earlier, her grandmother would not have passed away so suddenly.

She should have told her father earlier that she was going to bring her grandparents to Haicheng, but it was too late.

Guo Fu’s brothers and sisters also came up to comfort the father and daughter.

Both father and daughter had lived in the village for a long time. They had finally gone to work for a few months, but they did not expect the old woman to be gone.

Everyone also felt that it was a pity.

“I’ll bring Grandpa to Haicheng after this,” Guo Miao said to her relatives.

Guo Hua, Guo Fu’s sister, shook her head and gestured to Guo Miao to stop talking. She even used her eyes to signal Guo Miao to look at Guo Miao’s uncle’s family who was kneeling on the side.

“You can just tell us that. Don’t let your uncle hear it.” Guo Hua pulled the father and daughter aside and whispered, “You guys don’t know this, but your uncle is really terrible. He didn’t say anything when his mother was in trouble and didn’t pay a single cent. He even said that he wanted to split the demolition money.”

“Demolition money?” Guo Miao frowned.

“That’s right. The village wants to demolish all the mud houses and build new ones. Your uncle is here for the demolition money, but for so many years, he has never cared about your grandparents. What right do you have to ask for the demolition money? You’re dreaming.” As Guo Hua spoke, she sneered at the father and son who were crying in front of the funeral.

This time, it was because they came that the old woman got into an accident. They had a big fight and the old woman got a heart attack.

Guo Miao clenched her fists tightly. These two heartless relatives!

“And I heard that you’re in Haicheng. They want you to bring their children to school in Haicheng.” Guo Hua’s face was full of disgust. “They’re really shameless. They only know how to take advantage of their relatives.”