Soon the young girl had the hot water ready, and Yang Chuxia mixed it to make it warm so she and Ms. Wang together could wash Land Officerâs wife, then dressed her in new clothes, shoes, and socks.
"Mom, help Grandma comb her hair, I donât really know how," Xiaxia said.
"Ah, Iâll do it!"
Normally, Ms. Wang would be quite reluctant to touch a dead body, but this was her own family member, so she wasnât afraid.
Once Land Officerâs wife was taken care of, Yang Dayong and Yang Dachuan returned, followed by others carrying a coffin.
Because Land Officerâs wife had passed away so suddenly, the news had not yet spread, so seeing Yang Dayong bringing back a coffin confused everyone.
"Mother, I have failed you!" When the coffin arrived and he saw Land Officerâs wife already dressed, Yang Dayong knelt to the ground and began kowtowing fiercely, his grief truly heart-wrenching to witness.
"Dayong, get up, your aunt wouldnât blame you. With your uncle unable to leave his bed, the family is relying on you for these matters," Yang Dachuan advised, stepping forward to console him, "There was no choice, this was the best coffin available in the coffin shop."
Only then did Yang Chuxia realize that Yang Dayongâs intense kowtowing was due to not finding a better coffin.
To the deceased, a good coffin is extremely important; the better the quality of the wood, the better their house in the netherworld.
"Father, didnât you go look in the city?" she asked.
"We didnât go; we were afraid weâd be too late," he replied.
True, after someone dies, they need to be placed in a coffin to set up the memorial hall. Delaying the setting up of the memorial hall means delaying the rituals, which in turn delays the burial. Funan heats up early, with a noticeable difference in temperature between March and April. If setting up the memorial hall gets too late, the body cannot be kept for the full seven days of mourning.
Thinking it over, Yang Chuxia said, "Uncle Dayong, you go take care of the other matters. Iâll send someone to the county city to check for a coffin, and if thereâs a good one, Iâll have it brought back. If not, weâll have no choice but to apologize to Grandma."
"Mm," Yang Dayong nodded, his eyes red and puffy, "I have to trouble you with this, my dear niece."
After a while, Ms. Luo arrived, and Yang Dayong entrusted Yang Qingkang to her care. With an incident at home and Ms. Liu Junior being locked up, there was no one to watch over the child.
Yang Chuxia quickly summoned Ye Yi and Fugui, instructed them to ride to the county city to buy a coffin, and emphasized that they must purchase a good quality funeral wood.
Riding horses would expedite the journey, and by the afternoon, the two had returned with the funeral wood.
It was top-quality pine, not comparable to nanmu but much better than willow.
With this new set, the previous one was discarded.
With the major preparations complete, the memorial hall was swiftly arranged, and white mourning banners were hung at the entrance of Land Officer Yangâs home. It was then that everyone was certain that Land Officerâs wife was truly gone.
"Mother, Iâm going to see Grandpa," Xiaxia said.
Once everything was in place, Yang Chuxia remembered what Yang Dachuan had said that morning, that Land Officer Yang could no longer leave his bed.
"Yes, you go. Comfort your Grandpa; at his age, this event must be taking a toll on him," Ms. Wang replied.
Old Yang and Land Officerâs wife used to live in the main house, which was eerily quiet when Yang Chuxia entered.
"Grandpa... Grandpa..."
"Is that Xiaxia?"
Land Officer lay on the bed, wiping away tears. As she entered, Yang Chuxia saw a young boy keeping watch and noticed that Land Officer Yang had significantly lost weight, aged a lot in just a few days, and the wrinkles on his face had deepened.
"Grandpa, you must take care of yourself."
"Iâm fine; Iâm just heartsick, but Iâll get over it in a few days," Land Officer Yang waved his hand dismissively, but Yang Chuxia feared that in a few days he might not be better after allâhis hands were trembling so much.