Song Tan’s Chronicle - Chapter 99

Chapter 99: Laughter at the Hall (Part 1)

Talking about falling and getting hurt gave everyone a new topic to discuss.

First, as people get older, they fear nothing more than losing mobility and suffering. Once bedridden, a person can lose their spirit and energy in just two or three months.

Second, it’s hard for the family to take care of them. With so much work inside and outside the house, they can’t even go out without tripping over the patient, who needs constant care.

The bedridden person suffers, and the caregiver suffers too.

The saying “long illness, no filial children” is true.

The topic sparked a conversation among the group, with everyone lamenting their age and health.

But Song Tan watched coldly. This group of old men kept talking, but those who should drink drank, and those who should smoke smoked. None of them took health seriously, and she felt truly speechless.

Song Youde also had a drink and thought about younger people who had passed away, sighing, “Sancheng, since you’re going over, eat first, then go and help out there.”

“No rush to come back. We have people here. When we had things going on at home, their family helped out too. We must go.”

The village had a rule: if you help others when they have something going on, they’ll help you when you do.

Of course, if a family never helps others, then naturally, no one will help them when their turn comes.

Rural areas have many rules and customs, unlike the city where you can just pay for complete services. Here, many things need to be arranged with the help of family and friends.

Everyone eating was also thinking, “If the person just passed away, they’ll need to go up the mountain the morning after tomorrow. We all live in the same village and have paid respects before, so we’ll go over tomorrow to pay our respects.”

Yunqiao Village still practiced burial customs, and the rule was to carry the coffin up the mountain early in the morning, but the hosting, rituals, etc., all happened the day after the person passed.

With the person just gone, there were many things to do: setting up the spirit shed, inviting the Taoist priest, preparing cigarettes, alcohol, and tea, hiring chefs… a series of tasks.

Song Sancheng couldn’t sit still and went over right after eating: “I’ll go check the situation.”

The remaining people discussed for a bit longer, then took their tools and headed up the mountain.

The young man operating the excavator, found by Zhang Yanping, was a rare honest person. Seeing everyone leave, he decided to continue working on the mountain.

If it were any other old hand, being paid daily, they might not have worked overtime.

Once he started moving, everyone else naturally got busy too, and soon the topic was forgotten.

In the village, it was normal for the elderly to pass away one after another.

Unexpectedly, in just an hour, Song Sancheng came back up the mountain angrily, holding a rake.

Song Tan, who was helping Qiao Qiao move stones and debris, saw her father’s furious face and raised her voice over the machine noise, “Dad, what’s going on?”

How did helping out turn into this?

Song Sancheng was fuming, “Don’t mention it! The three children of the Zhang family are really something!”

Hearing gossip, the men working nearby got excited and asked quickly:

“What happened? The kids aren’t filial?”

One person advised, “Hey, Old Song, take it easy. When kids grow up, they fly away. What can you expect from them?”

“Exactly, if you can see them a few times a year, you’re doing well.”

If only it were that simple!

Song Sancheng, face red with anger, said:

“You don’t know! This isn’t about filial piety; this is downright heartless!”

Whoa!
Song Sancheng was a decent man, so if he was describing someone like this, it had to be serious!

He continued:

“When I got there, I heard their eldest son bragging loudly on the phone with the funeral planner, saying to pick the most expensive things! He wanted the best burial clothes, an ice coffin, and a grand ceremony…”

“I thought, don’t we all want our elders to have a dignified send-off? This kid was doing well, treating the funeral with respect, right?”

“But then Zhang Wang directly swung a hoe at his son’s head! Everyone had to pull him away, and that’s when I found out what was really going on!”

Every village had some lazy folks, but Zhang Wang and his wife were not like that.

He had a slight limp, and she didn’t talk much, but they were both hardworking.

In those tough times, they had managed to raise three children despite hunger and lack of food.

They married early and had children early, so their eldest was forty and their youngest daughter was around thirty-one or thirty-two, all with their own families.

Although they didn’t visit often, Zhang Wang always proudly talked about his children, saying they called, sent things, or bought special items for their parents…

Elderly folks only want their children to be filial, right?

This was common in the village.

But only each family knew the warmth and coldness of their own lives.

Last week, when Song Tan went out to buy golden cherry, Zhang’s eldest son called saying he wanted to eat the local pearl flowers.

Pearl flowers were a type of wild vegetable in their area. When the branches budded, they had small leaves that could be blanched and fried with meat or cooked in soup, tasting unique.

So Zhang’s wife went up the mountain with a basket, but coming down, she slipped and broke her leg.

Without a phone, she lay there until Zhang Wang found her past noon. A neighbor helped carry her home, and they called their son. The son impatiently said:

“Mom, you’re so old, why go up the mountain? Do we lack food or drink?”

Then he added, “I’m at work. How can I come back? It’ll take hours! Isn’t my sister in town? Call her to get a car and take you to the hospital.”

The call then went to the daughter.

The daughter wasn’t happy either, saying, “Mom, why do you always rely on me just because I’m nearby? This is a big deal, call my brother and ask him to call 120.”

An ambulance would cost 500 yuan just for one trip.

And it would take over an hour and a half to get there. By the time they got her to the hospital, it would be four hours.

Plus, in the mountains, elderly people couldn’t use GPS. The ambulance would need Zhang Wang to guide them with a motorcycle.

Who could wait that long?

In the end, they found a driver from the village, who rushed her to the town hospital.

Halfway there, seeing her condition worsen, the driver got scared and took her to the nearest hospital.