Translator: SJade, Editor: Dj22031
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Rural people went to bed early and got up early. Most people got up at around four o’clock. The women got up to carry water, cook and wash clothes. The men picked up hoes and went up to the mountains to do some work. They didn’t come back home until almost seven o’clock for breakfast.
Ye Ning got up at half past five in the morning, washed and tidied, and went out at six o’clock. She thought she was early enough, but Er Mazi and the others had been waiting for her for more than half an hour.
“Uncle Cai, you are here so early!!!” Ye Ning remembered that the appointment was at half past six.
“We haven’t been here long, let’s go in.” The third grandfather saw the three siblings arriving, and without saying anything, he led them into the old party secretary’s home.
The old party secretary knew their purpose, so he picked up his pipe to smoke it. He had the same idea as Er Mazi. He also believed that Ye Ning was selling this land without Ye Qingshan’s knowledge. If it was his child, he would stop him at any cost, but his family and Ye Ning’s step-grandmother didn’t deal well with each other, and the relationship between the two families had been bad for many years. Besides, he and the old accountant were old partners, and he heard that Ye Ning was not willing to give the land at a cheaper price. So, the old party secretary agreed to help write the deed without saying a word.
“Have you thought carefully?” Before writing, the old party secretary confirmed again.
“I have considered it carefully and decided to sell the land.” Ye Ning nodded, taking advantage of the fact that the village did not know what had happened to Ye Qingshan, she wanted to quickly sell the land. It would definitely not be sold at this price in the future.
There were three copies of the deed, one for the village, one for Er Mazi and one for Ye Ning. In rural areas, the deed was more useful than any other contract. Ye Ning, Ye Lan, and Ye Gu, the three siblings pressed their fingerprints. The deed had officially come into effect.
“Yesterday I gave you a hundred dollars as deposit, and now I’ll give you another two thousand and fifty. Please make it clear.” Er Mazi took the broken deed and read it over, carefully folded it and put it in his arms, and quickly took out a stack of notes.
Ye Ning didn’t shy away, and she counted it in front of the old branch secretary and Er Mazi.
“That’s right, I’m sorry to bother Grandpa, and Party Secretary. Xiao Lan and Xiao Gu have to go to school, so let’s go first.” When Ye Ning came, she took two packs of cigarettes and stuffed them into the hands of the Party Secretary’s daughter-in-law who was sending them out.
“Sister, is our land sold just like this?” She still hadn’t calmed down yet. Her mother was gone, her father was gone, and all the fields at home had been sold. Even though she knew that there was still a lot of money in the family, she still felt very sad, and disturbed.
“We have all the money, what do you think?” Ye Ning held Ye Gu’s hand, and the three of them returned home together. “This money will be our living expenses from now on. How is it spent? Where is it spent? I will keep a notebook to remember it.”
It was not that Ye Ning was too cautious, it was just that it was better to be clear about money, so as not to have unclear words in the end.
Ye Gu didn’t understand yet, but Ye Lan really felt that her eldest sister was too clear-minded, and she always feels that there was too much separation between the siblings.
“Sister, there is no need for you to be like this. Xiao Gu and I both believe you.” Their eldest sister said that she had found a job and would have a salary in the future. She and her younger brother were the ones who would be spending the money at home. No matter what, it was their eldest sister who would have to suffer.
“It’s not a matter of trust or distrust. You shouldn’t be a villain before a gentleman. As for this account, I will remember it first. From now on, you can read it if you want to read it. If you don’t want to read it, just leave it alone. It’s just a matter of writing a few words every day without getting tired. Of course I hope I won’t have to turn over this account in the future.” Ye Ning smiled, just because she thought this way now didn’t mean she won’t think so in the future.
Her own brother was so kind to her, but it was different after he got married and had his own children. Not that he was not good to her, but… Ye Ning didn’t know what to say, it was different anyway. To give the simplest example, when the eldest brother was not married, when Ye Ning had no pocket money, she would ask him directly for it and her eldest brother would transfer it to her as long as he had it. He never thought about keeping accounts and repaying the money. When the eldest brother got married, first of all, Ye Ning herself would never reach out to him like before, because she knew that her eldest brother’s money no longer belonged to him alone. If there was an urgent need or something, she would still use the word “borrow”, and she would return it to him when the money was recovered.
That was pretty much what it meant. Anyway, Ye Ning had seen and heard a lot about brothers and sisters turning against each other for money. Now that she had said it clearly and remembered it clearly, she could speak loudly in the future.
“It’s getting late. You guys go to school quickly. I’ll go to Mr. Wu in the neighbouring village to ask about the date and see which day is better in the second half of the year. Our dad has to return to his roots. In addition, we have to prepare a spiritual tablet to worship at home, lest he can’t find his way home.” Speaking of Ye Qingshan, the three siblings looked sad, and Ye Lan burst into tears again. She still couldn’t believe that her father was gone.
“Sister, let me go with you. I don’t have the heart to go to school now.” Ye Lan wiped her tears. It was useless for her to go. She had no heart to go to class.
“Let’s all go to school, otherwise if the three of us will not go to school at the same time, others will be suspicious.” Ye Ning raised her hand to wipe away Ye Lan’s tears, “Go get some water, wash your face, cheer up, dad sure won’t want to see us like this.”
After sending her younger siblings away, Ye Ning took out two bottles of wine from her bag and walked towards the next village.
Mr. Wu was a well-known Feng Shui master in their area. Anyone who had a wedding or if someone died in their family, they would come to him to choose a date. He also visited cemeteries and did fortune telling, soul calling, etc. In short, there was nothing he couldn’t do. He was a strict person. It didn’t matter if you are looking for him, no matter how others asked him, unless he wanted to, he won’t tell anyone anything. As time went by, more and more people started looking for him.
It was already past 9 a.m. when Ye Ning arrived. She knocked on the door and a little girl came out.
“Hello, I’m looking for Mr. Wu.”
“My grandfather happens to be at home. Come in with me.” The girl glanced at Ye Ning and led her in.
As soon as she entered the door, she saw an old man with a goatee, looking at Ye Ning inscrutably.
“It’s strange, your face is really strange.” After a while, the old gentleman said strangely.
Ye Ning felt a little fearful in her heart. Could it be that this old gentleman really had some skills and realized that she was not from this world?
“What’s wrong with me?” Ye Ning asked carefully.
“Nothing is right.” The old man looked at Ye Ning carefully, “Judging from your appearance, you had a bad fate. You were to have no parents, and your sister and brother would die young. But now it seems that your life will go smoothly, and you will become rich and noble. It’s really strange that your hands and feet are healthy.”
To be honest, Ye Ning didn’t believe this at first. But ever since she came back from the dead, she started to believe in ghosts and gods. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have come to ask Mr. Wu for help in making spiritual tablets. Unexpectedly, he found it as soon as she came. She had found a master with real talent and learning.
“This is a good thing for me, it’s just that it’s a bit weird.” Ye Ning said with a smile.
The old gentleman stared at her for a while and nodded, “It’s a good thing. What do you want from me?”
“I came here because my father died unexpectedly and his body could not be found, so I planned to build a tomb for him, but my family is in a special situation. Now there are only three of us, me, my sister and my brother. However, my brother is still too young and will inevitably be bullied in the village, so I plan to conceal the news of my father’s death first. After my sister’s high school entrance examination is over, I will take my younger siblings to the city and come back to hold the funeral. So I would like to ask which day is better in the second half of the year, and I will ask you to help me check out the cemetery, and then I want to bring a spiritual tablet home, so that my dad will have someone to worship him and will not be bullied by those lonely ghosts.”
Mr. Wu nodded, indicating that he understood, “You are a filial and smart child. Do you have your father’s birth date?”
“Yes, I brought it.” Ye Ning handed the note in her pocket to the old gentleman.
“In the second half of the year…, your siblings will all go to school. It would be better to have the funeral between June and September.”
The old man calculated with his fingers, “July 16th is the best day. Looking for the cemetery can wait until your sister takes the high school entrance examination again so as not to attract attention.”
“Thank you, Mr. Wu.” Ye Ning took the date given by the old man and put it away carefully, “I have to trouble you about the spirit tablets.”
“Well, come in three days.” Mr. Wu stood up and sent Ye Ning away.
When she was leaving, Mr. Wu suddenly said: “Although I don’t know why your fate has changed so much, I guess you have encountered some kind of opportunity. In this case, you should do more good deeds in the future. It’s also good for me.”
Ye Ning looked back, bowed to the old man, and said with a smile: “I know, I will definitely do more good deeds.”
She would rely on prophets to get rich in the future, so this could be considered a partial fortune, right? Regardless of whether she made money or not, she would do more good deeds in the future. She had always remembered a saying, if there was gain, there must be loss. If you get too much, you should give up some.
On weekends, the three siblings rushed to Mr. Wu’s house early in the morning. Ye Qingshan’s spiritual tablet had been prepared. Mr. Wu wrapped it in cloth and handed it to Ye Gu. The three siblings went home with heavy steps.
After placing the spiritual tablet in Ye Qingshan’s room, the three siblings lit incense, knelt on the ground and kowtowed three times.
Ye Ning raised her head and said in a deep voice: “Dad, if you hear the voices of us three siblings, come home and don’t wander outside. When Xiao Lan’s high school entrance examination is over and we will settle down in the city, we will set up a tomb for you there as well. The gold ingots burned today were all folded by us three siblings. Don’t be too frugal. We will burn them for you more often in the future. If there is anything missing, just tell it to us.”
“Dad, hurry up. Come home, don’t stay lost, us three siblings are waiting for you at home.” Ye Lan cried while burning gold ingots, “You must entrust your dreams to me.”
“Dad, don’t stay lost, you must come home.” Ye Gu followed.
After putting on the incense, Ye Ning took her sister and brother out, took a look at the room, and gently closed the door.
“My leave is getting over soon. I have to go back to the city. Xiao Lan, take care of yourself and our brother at home. If people from the old house come, just tell them that our father will be back soon and will rush to do the spring ploughing.”
Ye Ning was worried that people from the old house would make trouble again.
“Sister, don’t worry, I won’t be afraid if they come.” Ye Lan’s face sank. It was not like they had never come here before, and it was not like she hadn’t driven them away before.
Even if Ye Ning was worried, she still had to go to the city. One was because, as she said, the school leave was getting over soon, and the other was to inquire about work.
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