Song Wei’s shout stunned everyone in the courtyard.
Father Wen, who was stepping on a bamboo ladder to pin white flowers on the door’s lintel, nearly lost his balance and fell.
The father and son of the Xie Family, just back from chopping coffin wood in the mountains, stared wide-eyed.
The Song Family members who were talking earlier fell silent.
All eyes turned toward the outside.
They saw Old Song dressed in coarse cloth, pants rolled up high, dew-soaked, with yellow mud on his cloth shoes, holding two wild rabbits that seemed freshly caught.
A coffin prepared for him was placed in the central room, yet here he was, standing alive outside, asking what just happened.
"Damn, have we seen a ghost?"
Uncle Xie tossed aside his chopping knife and walked quickly to the door, looking at Old Song excitedly, "Second Brother, is it really you?"
Old Song was somewhat confused and anxious, "Old Xie, who got into trouble?"
Uncle Xie placed a hand on Old Song’s shoulder, pressing to feel the solid presence of a live person, then glanced at the white flowers, white silk, and mourning clothes in the courtyard, suddenly feeling awkward and too embarrassed to speak.
Song Wei came over, "Dad, weren’t you at the mine?"
"Yeah!" Old Song nodded, "I was at the mine, but then realized I was tricked, so I discussed with my in-law how to escape. When the mine collapsed, we got separated. During the chaos, I met the eldest son from your Aunt Jiang’s family. He was also working at the mine; luckily he pulled me, and I escaped from that hellhole. Later, your big cousin took me to stay at his house for two days, saying our road home was washed away, so I should wait until it was fixed to return. I couldn’t rest easy, so I took the mountain path and came back early."
As he spoke, he handed the rabbits to Song Wei and added, "I happened to encounter the traps I had set before, and they caught two rabbits, so I brought them back on the way."
Song Wei looked at the rabbits in his hand, feeling a bit speechless.
Granny Song heard Old Song’s voice, wiped her tears, and rushed out in a few steps.
Seeing him, she hesitated for a moment, then, half-angry and half-amused, said, "You old fool, why didn’t you come back to tell us you were alright earlier, making the whole family cry ? Look at yourself, did you roll in a mud pit or what? Get inside and clean up."
Old Song looked at his wife, after not seeing her for two months, she had slimmed down a lot, probably because she was anxious and worried about the mine issue, with blisters on the corners of her mouth.
Fortunately, she was still the same person with a sharp tongue but a soft heart.
Old Song now understood everything.
The family thought he was dead and was preparing for his funeral!
"Isn’t it me coming home now?" In front of everyone, Old Song didn’t have the face to say comforting sweet words, he chuckled awkwardly and addressed the relatives, "It’s all my fault for not coming back earlier and putting everyone through a lot of unnecessary work."
"Hey, what nonsense are you talking about! For something , it’s better to have worked in vain," Father Wen came out, looking at the unharmed Old Song, feeling a rush of relief.
"Yes, yes, it’s good to have worked in vain," Uncle Xie echoed, clapped his hands, and reminded everyone, "Now that Second Brother is back, let’s clear everything up! Later we’ll have rabbit stew."
With that, he took the two fat rabbits from Song Wei’s hand and, with a cheerful look, glanced at Old Song, "Second Brother, why don’t we have a good drink later?"
"Of course, of course." Old Song, who was never good with words, nodded repeatedly.
With Old Song back, everyone’s faces turned from gloomy to bright, and they worked with more energy, soon dismantling the memorial hall, moving the coffin out, the white silk and flowers were considered ominous and were set on fire outside, then Song Wei set off two strings of firecrackers, and Granny Song found a set of new clothes, hardly worn by Old Song, and helped him put them on, only then did they welcome him in, she also sent Song Fang to buy a few pounds of meat from Liu Sanhuozi’s house with copper coins.
The originally somber and heavy funeral feast quickly turned into a reunion banquet to celebrate Old Song’s return.