Chapter 235: Chapter 234: Cannot Relocate
Village Chief Wu was somewhat surprised to see Lin Wanwan: "Who are you? What do you want with me?"
Lin Wanwan glanced around: "Village Chief Wu, can we talk privately?"
"Alright, follow me inside." Village Chief Wu led Lin Wanwan through the main hall and into the backyard. There was a small house in the backyard with an old-style stove and a mahjong table. On the table was a pile of long black tiles that Lin Wanwan couldnāt recognize, different from the playing cards she knew.
"Have a seat. Who are you and what do you want with me?"
Lin Wanwan got straight to the point: "Village Chief Wu, I wonder if you remember a young man named Gong Deyan? I am his daughter."
"Oh, youāre Deyanās daughter! Youāve grown up so much! Yes, you look like him!" Village Chief Wu looked Lin Wanwan up and down and added, "Your dad was the first in our village to attend a prestigious university. After graduation, he got assigned as an official in Hai City, what a pity, what a pity!
So, whatās your purpose in coming here this time? Are you asking me to take you to your grandparents?"
Lin Wanwan shook her head: "No, Iām not looking for them. When my parents passed away, they didnāt want me, and Iāve been living with my maternal grandparents since then. I suppose youāve heard about this, Village Chief Wu."
"Then what do you want to see me about?"
Village Chief Wu was, of course, well aware of the situation. He was in the same generation as Gong Deyan, a prodigy from childhood and the typical āideal kidā of other families, who made it all the way to Hai City University and even won a scholarship from the town.
He lived under the shadow of Gong Deyan all his life and got beaten a lot because of Gong Deyan when he was a child.
There was quite an uproar when Gong Deyan got married. All the young people heard about it ā Gongās parents claimed their son had an official lady pursuing him, but in the end, he married a woman from out of town working in Hai City, and it stirred up quite a storm in the village.
Later, Gong Deyan led his wife across the bridge from the east to the west of the village (their house was in the west), and everyone who saw his wife was astonished.
How could such a fairy-like person be a village girl from elsewhere? Anyway, the young people in the village instantly understood why Gong Deyan didnāt choose someone like himself from university, but an outsider.
With looks like those, which young man wouldnāt be fond of her?
Anyway, Old Wu quickly understood why Gong Deyan married her. Such a beauty, if married to him, he would treat her like a deity.
A few years later, Gong Deyan passed away unexpectedly, leaving behind a five-year-old daughter.
At the funeral, everyone felt sympathy for that doll-like pretty little girl, who was later taken away by her maternal grandparents because Gongās family didnāt want to raise her.
In the blink of an eye, it has been almost twenty years.
"Village Chief Wu, I want to take my parentsā ashes. Could you help me open the door to the cemetery?"
Upon hearing this, Village Chief Wu was surprised: "Take them away? Your dad belonged here, where will you take him? Have your grandparents agreed?"
Lin Wanwan shook her head: "I canāt communicate with them, so I came to speak directly to you."
Village Chief Wu slowly sat down and said: "Young lady, surely thatās impossible. Your parents are not only your parents but also the son and daughter-in-law of your grandparents. Such a major issue of moving their ashes canāt just be decided by you. You would need to discuss and reach an agreement with them."
Despite having some sympathy for Lin Wanwan, he couldnāt complicate matters as the village chief. Besides, family matters are always hard to sort out, and there are always complex situations in the village. People need to negotiate among themselves, and he canāt just intervene. This understanding comes from years of being a village chief.
"Oh, alright. Village Chief, could you open the door to the cemetery for me? Iāve never visited my parentsā grave and would like to see them." Lin Wanwan had anticipated that the village chief wouldnāt agree easily, but she proposed something challenging to achieve according to the broken window theory.
As Teacher Lu Xun said, if you directly ask to open a window, the other person may not agree; but if you propose tearing down the roof, the person will likely suggest opening a window.
"This is possible, but itās afternoon now, and thereās more eerie energy. Perhaps come by in the morning. Iāll open it for you then."
Lin Wanwan didnāt know there was a rule against opening cemetery doors in the afternoon, she frowned slightly but had no choice but to accept. She stood up and said, "Alright then, Iāll come back to trouble you tomorrow morning. Sorry for the bother."
"Okay then, Iāll make an exception this time. In the future, if you want to honor them, you must come on either the morning of Ching Ming Festival or the first day of the New Year, not any random day. Why didnāt you come a few days ago during Ching Ming?"
Without much explanation, Lin Wanwan directly apologized: "Iām sorry, thank you."
After leaving the village chiefās house, Lin Wanwan headed straight for the dual carriageway road across the lake from the village and caught a taxi to the bus station.
After a four-hour bus ride back to Yongcheng, Lin Wanwan wasted no time in arranging for coffee with Tan Qinghui.
The coffee was, as usual, ordered but untouched, though the necessary exchanges with the lawyer couldnāt be skipped.
Learning that Lin Wanwan visited the old house in Mian City today, Tan Qinghui was quite surprised and disapproving: "That family occupying the house and not leaving are clearly unreasonable people, Miss Lin. Why bother visiting? Leave this to me; thereās no point in getting entangled with them."
Lin Wanwan said: "I went there to scout the location and inquired about my parentsā burial site."
Tan Qinghui raised an eyebrow: "Is Miss Lin planning to relocate the grave? That might be challenging."
Lin Wanwan sighed: "I know. By the way, Tan, hereās the phone number of their village chief. Please contact him for me and let him know Iād like to donate some street lamps to the village since there arenāt any now. Iād also like to contribute funds to repair the aging bridge at the village head."
Tan Qinghui chuckled: "No problem, thatās good news, and the village chief will surely agree."
The two continued to discuss the house and issues concerning the Gong family before parting ways.
Arriving at the coffee shopās door, Tan Qinghui offered: "Miss Lin, you didnāt drive, did you? I notice you often take a taxi. Why not let me give you a lift?"
Lin Wanwan politely declined with a smile: "No need; I already feel bad for calling you out at night. You go ahead, while Iāll stroll around here a bit."
Tan Qinghui replied: "Alright then, letās stay in touch."
As Tan Qinghui walked towards the parking lot, Lin Wanwan glanced eastward down the old street, where Buzhou Studio was located. Since sheās here, Lin Wanwan decided she would visit it.
Despite the exhausting trip out of the province today, Lin Wanwan didnāt feel physically tired but was mentally drained and really wanted to find a friend to have a few drinks with.