Cheng Tianyuan helplessly whispered: "But she always said she wanted to go back to live, and she was scared in her heart."
"What are you afraid of?"
Ahu asked.
Cheng Tianyuan replied: "In our hometown, if an old man dies and wants to have a funeral in his hometown and bury him on the mountain, it can only be the old man who died in the same village.
If someone dies outside, especially an old woman, they are not allowed to go back to their hometown to hold the funeral.
People in the village thought that this would be too unlucky and would be bad for the feng shui of the entire village.
Although most people know that it is superstitious rhetoric, it is passed down from one generation to the next, and no future generation dares to violate it."
Ahu said "oh oh" several times and nodded in understanding.
"Yes! This is indeed the case in some rural areas."
Cheng Tianyuan explained: "When my father passed away suddenly, I had no preparation at all.
But I just took his old man's ashes back and didn't hold a big funeral there. Besides, he was a descendant of our sect's Chengjia Village, so no one dared to say otherwise.
But my mother is different. She is a woman and her surname is not ‘Cheng’. If she did not die there and wanted to have a funeral in the village, the villagers would definitely not agree.”
"But my godmother's illness is not that bad!"
Ahu couldn't help but persuaded: "Can't we wait until the old lady is dying and then take her back with her?"
Cheng Tianyuan shook his head helplessly: "My mother is worried... Maybe she finds herself in a trance, always unable to remember things, secretly guessing something, always thinking that she is going to die soon, so she always secretly tells me that she must take her back to her hometown."
Ahu was extremely embarrassed and asked: "Then what should you do?
My sister-in-law and Ranran are all here, so there is no way they can get away! How can you take your godmother back to Chengjia Village alone! My sister-in-law definitely doesn’t want to!"
Cheng Tianyuan was speechless, then sighed helplessly.
"If she wanted to, I wouldn't have to come out to have a drink with you.
We have known each other for so many years, how many times have you seen me drunk?
ah?"
Ahu suddenly nodded, then chuckled.
"No wonder I always feel weird! Okay! It's not a big deal. Let's discuss it with my sister-in-law. She is such a tolerant person, how can she not understand you and your godmother?"
Cheng Tianyuan whispered: "If it was my mother who was dying, then she would definitely agree.
But now my mother always urges me to take her back, and she really can’t leave, so she only agrees to me taking my mother back to stay for a few days.”
Ahu understood and agreed: "There is no way my sister-in-law can go away! Her career still can't spare time, and Uncle Xue and Auntie are too old, so they can't live without people every day.
Xiaopeng and Xiaoyu are both still young, so Xiaoxiao has to go to school, Yangyang has to go to work, and she has to rely on her sister-in-law to support her at home and outside."
"I know."
Cheng Tianyuan lowered his eyes and murmured: "She is not unfilial to my mother, she just thinks that it is best for her to let the old man recuperate and stay in a better environment."
"That's for sure!"
Ah Hu asked back: "Where can I find a more comfortable and better big garden to live in than Xinyuan?
Let’s not talk about the whole world, but in terms of national level, Xinyuan is one of the best!"
Moreover, the people in the village... made irresponsible remarks, which made my mother feel depressed."
Ahu frowned and asked: "What's going on?
What did the people in the village say?"
"What else could there be?"
Cheng Tianyuan's face darkened and he said: "It's just gossip about me possibly getting married in the imperial capital.
Some people of my generation speculate that I will never return to my hometown in this life, and even my old mother wants to be buried outside."
Ahu swallowed his saliva and muttered dissatisfiedly: "What nonsense are you talking about! You know nothing! I understand that this is the case in the village. Everyone likes to gossip about other people's families. The east is long and the west is short - you are a mortal!"
"I'm alright."
Cheng Tianyuan said: "But my mother can't, she cares very much.
Firstly, she hopes to go back to her hometown and be buried with my father, and secondly, she doesn’t want others to gossip about me.”
Ahu couldn't help but ask: "You said you did a lot of good for your hometown and donated a lot of money to it. Why do you still have family members talking about you like this?"
“When many people speak, their minds become more confused.”
Cheng Tianyuan said solemnly: "Most people think that I am still a conscientious person who has never forgotten my hometown when I got rich.
But there are also some who are very jealous, secretly saying that I am married into the imperial capital, otherwise how could my descendants not return to Chengjia Village, not even for the Chinese New Year."
Ahu rolled his eyes: "What a shame! Some people are like this, and they don't like other people! They are jealous, but can't find any other way to find a balance in their hearts, so they just want to fabricate some bad things to smear the family!"
"In rural areas, most men who marry into a woman's family will be looked down upon."
Cheng Tianyuan explained: "Unless the family situation is very bad, extremely poor, and unable to marry a wife, no man will be willing to marry his wife Fang's family."
Ahu snorted disdainfully: "They are just jealous of you! They must be!"
Cheng Tianyuan depressed and whispered: "How dare I say these words to Lingling... But now we have very few opportunities to go to our hometown. Xue Yang and Xue Xin don't have my last name, so people from my hometown will inevitably talk about it.
I'm guessing I'm here as a bride-in-law."
Ahu rolled his eyes and asked: "Does Godmother know about this?"
"Know."
Cheng Tianyuan explained angrily: "My mother was in good health before, but she insisted on paying homage to my father every year.
At that time, we went back almost every year during Qingming Festival, and my mother must have heard a lot."
It was not until later that the old man was too old to bear the hardship of traveling back and forth, so he went alone.
In the past two or three years, there have been a lot of things at home. He has to go to work and take care of three elderly people. He doesn't like to go back to his hometown, so he goes back less and less often.
He himself didn't like to go back, so how could he encourage others to go back! A-Hu gave him a look of pity and whispered: "It's not easy."
Cheng Tianyuan scratched his gray hair and smiled sadly.
"It's a lot of troubles! My mother is clamoring to go back because she's afraid she won't be able to make it in time.
She is a traditional rural thinker from the older generation. How can a group of young people understand her? I also felt that the old man could not come back at this time, but I couldn't resist her pleading and anger.
To be honest, I'm the same as you, I don't think it's necessary to go back to my hometown.
My home is here, my relatives are here, my hometown is just an old memory from decades ago and has no other meaning."
Ahu thought for a while and couldn't help but ask: "Then...what should you do now?"
Cheng Tianyuan rubbed the screen of his mobile phone and explained: "My wife agreed that I would take the old man back for a few days to see if he can adapt to it.
If that doesn't work, I will coax her to come back and promise her that I will take her back when she is dying, and promise that she will be buried with my father."