The next day, Ye Tianxin and her grandma took out some tools from the storage room and went to the Ye family’s old cemetery.
Cremation was not popular back then.
People in Jiameng town were buried in the ground after they died.
Ye Tianxin’s grandfather and other relatives of the Ye’s family were all buried there.
The triangular graves were next to each other. They were covered with weeds and brambles.
Ye Tianxin took a sickle and chopped down the dead branches and brambles that grew on the graves.
She rarely did such work; she didn’t even hold the knife correctly.
She didn’t cut much, but she made a blister on the palm of her hand.
“Let me do it.”
Grandma took the knife from Ye Tianxin’s hand and cut the dead branches quickly.
Grandma did all these things alone before.
The morning fog dissipated, and the warm winter sun shone through the fog on this quiet mountain.
Xie Xuning walked out of the fog. As soon as Ye Tianxin saw Xie Xuning, she asked, “Dad, why are you here?”
“I am here to give you a hand.”
Xie Xuning was a man, so he should have done all the heavy lifting.
“Mom, let me do it.”
Grandma said, “No, I can do it.”
The family of three worked together.
After a while, the graves that were covered with weeds were cleaned.
Ye Tianxin’s face was covered with a thin layer of sweat.
“Dad, you came here overnight, didn’t you?”
Xie Xuning nodded, “Well, I should come to the grave to pay my respect for my family, too.”
After that, Grandma took both Ye Tianxin and Xie Xuning to recognize the graves one by one. She told them the relationship of the people buried in the graves with them.
Three sticks of incense, two red candles, a stack of paper money, and a string of firecrackers…
This was how people paid their respects.
“Old man, I brought Tianxin to see you. I will be with you soon.”
The last grave belonged to Ye Tianxin’s grandpa.
Grandma stood in front of the grave and whispered.
She used to be like this. When she came alone, she always liked to talk to him.
“Tianxin, come here, and kneel for your grandpa.”
Ye Tianxin and Xie Xuning knelt at the same time and kowtowed according to the traditional customs
Then Grandma let Ye Tianxin and Xie Xuning stand up.
Xie Xuning lit the firecrackers aside, and the paper scraps of firecrackers splashed everywhere.
There was a faint smell of gunpowder in the air.
“Old man, we will come back to see you next year.”
Xie Xuning took the tools, and Grandma and Ye Tianxin followed.
Grandma said to Ye Tianxin, “Tianxin, don’t cremate me like everyone else in the city. I want to be buried here when I die…”
“Grandma, it’s going to be New Year soon. Don’t say such things. I hope you live long enough to watch me get married and have babies.”
Grandma said with a smile, “I wonder if I can live to see the day… ”
“Grandma, you certainly can. I’m still waiting for you to make some beautiful little clothes for my future baby.”
Ye Tianxin had felt that her grandma’s mood was a bit wrong since last night. However, she couldn’t tell what was wrong.
It’s probably because Wu Cailan made a fuss yesterday afternoon.
Guan Chenxi brought out the prepared breakfast when they returned to the courtyard.
Ye Tianxin went to fetch water for Xie Xuning to wash his face. After tidying up, the family of four sat on the sofa and had breakfast.
“Dad, Zhai Shanshi came to me last night and gave me a notebook. I found something strange at some point.”