Chapter 5

Although Liu Xiangdong and his wife were not particularly filial, they were good at keeping up appearances.

The sound of firecrackers crackled in the air, followed by a cloud of white smoke. A red plastic canopy was set up temporarily, with borrowed tables and chairs of varying heights. Several large pots outside simmered with dishes for the banquet. Liu Xiangdong had asked his uncles from his hometown to handle the guest registry while he knelt before the ice coffin with his two sons.

Guests who came to pay their respects would bow or kneel once, and each time, Liu Xiangdong and his sons, with white cloth tied around their heads, would kneel in return.

Jian Li, having attended the funerals of two elderly relatives in her previous life, was a bit confused by the scene.

She whispered to her mother, “Why is it being done like this?”

In the factory compound, funerals were usually simple: a brief ceremony followed by cremation. The textile factory had its own funeral home and cemetery, making it easier for children to visit their parents’ graves later.

But Grandma Liu’s funeral was more like what she remembered from rural traditions.

Wang Mengmei sighed, “Because your Grandpa Liu passed away first. Back then, he insisted on being buried in the family’s ancestral tomb in the countryside, so now your Grandma Liu has to follow him.”

Wang Mengmei felt sorry for the old woman.

The old lady had repeatedly expressed her reluctance to be buried in the countryside. Unlike Jian Feng’s father, who had moved with the factory from another city, she was originally from a rural area in a nearby county.

When they had farmed in the countryside, her in-laws had favored other sons and given them better plots of land while leaving her and her husband with sandy, infertile fields.

During the famine, they had nothing to eat but sour weeds, and her sisters-in-law wouldn’t lend even a bowl of cornbread.

With no other choice, the couple went to the city to beg and by sheer luck secured temporary jobs, eventually becoming permanent workers at the factory.

The old lady was a kind woman, but just mentioning her brothers-in-law and their wives filled her with rage.

“They were my own family, but they wouldn’t even share a bowl of porridge. They wanted to watch us starve to death,” she had said, spitting in disgust. “I’ll die before I ever go back there!”

She had also kept her husband from returning. Since their inheritance had been unfairly divided, she had insisted they owed nothing to the family and would not depend on them for support in old age.

But her husband had thought differently.

He secretly sent gifts and money to his family and, even on his deathbed, was determined to be buried in his hometown.

He had gotten his wish, but it had left the old lady suffering in the end. She was now destined to be laid to rest in a place she had despised for most of her life.

Wang Mengmei and Jian Li offered their condolences, bowed, and then went to sit with Wang Liming’s wife, Xue Fang, who waved them over.

“Come, have a seat!”

“You got here early,” Wang Mengmei said.

Xue Fang smiled. “Our little Beibei was hungry, so I thought we’d come early, eat, and head home quickly.”

She scooped some peanuts into a small plate for Jian Li. “Here, have a bite while we wait for the hot dishes.”

Jian Li grinned and shared them with four-year-old Wang Beibei, making the little girl giggle. Wang Liming was the most upright of her father’s childhood friends.

In her last life, he had been the first to move to the south, working construction before getting lucky with a small subcontractor who promoted him to oversee the site. With that break, Wang Liming had bought a house and started a tile wholesale business. He had invited Jian Feng to join him, but her father, having lost his drive, stayed behind.

Eventually, they had lost touch entirely.

Little Beibei was thin and frail, looking like a tiny bean sprout despite her age. Jian Li played with her while eavesdropping on the adults.

Wang Mengmei looked around and whispered, “Why are there so many people here?”

She had expected maybe seven or eight tables but counted nearly twenty, with more guests standing after paying respects.

“Sister-in-law, didn’t you hear?” Xue Fang chuckled. “Liu Xiangdong invited everyone he knew from the compound. He even personally delivered invitations, naming each recipient. Even Old Zhang, who tends the boiler and keeps to himself, got one.”

Old Zhang had been a loner for years, childless and reclusive, yet even he had been given a proper invitation.

Xue Fang wiped her daughter’s mouth, her tone tinged with disdain. “Those two are shameless.”

Sending out invitations like that was unheard of.

Most of the guests felt too embarrassed to come empty-handed, so they brought at least five yuan as a condolence offering.

Wang Mengmei watched the guest registry being filled with cash. Liu Xiangdong’s wife, Zhang Qin, greeted everyone with a smile so wide it looked painful. The stack of bills on the table grew by the minute.

“Them? Raising kids like that is no better than raising wolves,” Wang Mengmei muttered angrily.

Neglecting their mother in life only to profit from her death—what a disgrace!

Xue Fang sighed too. Her husband wasn’t home, but if he had been, she would have had a few words for him. Despite the bonds of childhood friendship, she thought Liu Xiangdong and his wife were truly despicable people.

“Acting so cold-hearted even toward his own mother—how could anyone expect to get along with him?”

Wang Mengmei thought the same, but she also knew her own husband well enough to feel a headache coming.

Although Liu Xiangdong had been selfish last time, which had disappointed Jian Feng greatly, she knew from experience that if Liu Xiangdong came crying, sharing tales of hardship, her husband’s soft heart would win out again.

The thought frustrated Wang Mengmei.

She glanced to the side and saw Jian Li tossing peanuts into her mouth, catching them one at a time with impressive accuracy, drawing applause from Wang Beibei.

“Wow! Big sister, you’re amazing!”

Wang Mengmei: …

Feeling the death stare, Jian Li immediately put down the peanuts and sat obediently.

She knew her mother was in need of someone to vent her anger on, so she decided to endure. After all, once they got home, her mother would direct her frustration at her dad instead!

Wang Beibei tilted her head, puzzled about why Jian Li had suddenly stopped playing.

Just as Wang Mengmei was about to scold her daughter, Jian Li quickly cut in, “Mom, look! The food is here!”

The distraction defused her mother’s brewing temper.

A family rule in the Jian household:
No scolding during meals.

Even as a child, Jian Li would only be reprimanded after she’d had her fill.

Sure enough, as the hot dishes arrived, Wang Mengmei’s anger dissolved into a simple command:
“… Eat!”

It was an authentic countryside feast.

Jian Li picked up her chopsticks, resolving once again: I’ll start dieting tomorrow!

The spread wasn’t fancy—Liu Xiangdong’s family was stingy. There were no pig trotters or ribs. The centerpiece was a large mixed stew made with fatty pork belly fried until crispy, combined with cabbage, tofu, meatballs, and glass noodles—an oil-slicked, fragrant heap of goodness.

Two other dishes—braised chicken and dried vegetable pork—were served in small bowls alongside a few basic vegetable dishes.

Most plentiful was the stew, along with a big plate of white steamed buns for the table. The meal ended with a spicy sour egg drop soup.

Jian Li devoured the stew with one hand and held a bun in the other. After finishing her first bun, she grabbed another, tearing it open to stuff it with dried string beans soaked in the savory pork broth. The flavors were rich, the beans tender and juicy. She fought her cravings and restrained herself from grabbing a third.

Wang Beibei, who usually played more than ate, was influenced by Jian Li’s hearty appetite and managed to finish half a bun herself. Xue Fang, her mother, was thrilled.

“Come visit our house anytime, Jian Li! Auntie will make you anything you want!”

Xue Fang adored Jian Li’s cheerful enthusiasm and hearty eating. In contrast, her own family treated meals like a chore—especially Wang Beibei, a well-known “picky eater.”

Jian Li grinned cheekily and, sensing an opportunity to escape her mother’s wrath, said, “Mom, I’ll go find Dad. He must be busy—I’ll bring him here to eat.”

She took off before anyone could stop her and searched the whole place before finally locating her father inside Liu Xiangdong’s house.

Liu Xiangdong was there too—just the two of them.

Alarm bells rang in Jian Li’s mind.

What was Liu Xiangdong doing alone with her dad?

She crept closer, eavesdropping.

Liu Xiangdong, eyes red from crying, was pouring out his grievances:
“Brother Feng, what am I supposed to do? Now that the old lady’s gone, my kids are in middle school—there’s no one to watch them. My wife can’t keep being jobless; how are we going to live? I only earn a hundred bucks a month—that barely covers school uniforms!

“Brother, can’t you ask around at the factory? Even a janitor job would help. Anything—just so there’s a little income…”

Jian Li: …

This again!

She suddenly remembered how things had played out last time. Liu Xiangdong had begged her dad to help. Her dad had indeed asked around, but there were no jobs available—not even janitorial work, since even the factory toilets had been outsourced.

Feeling guilty, her dad had eventually found a small market job for Liu Xiangdong’s wife, Zhang Qin. It was a menial helper position at a breakfast stall, paying just eighty bucks a month.

But Zhang Qin had quit after a few days, complaining about early mornings. Not only that, she spread rumors that Jian Feng was stingy.

Her mother, Wang Mengmei, had marched straight to confront her, leading to a massive falling-out between the families.

Looking back, Jian Li now realized Liu Xiangdong and his wife might have intentionally ruined the relationship—conveniently avoiding any obligation to repay their debts.

She snapped back to the present just as her dad said, “There really aren’t any openings at the factory… But, fine. I’ll try to find something—”

“Dad!”

Her sudden shout startled both men.

Liu Xiangdong’s head nearly exploded.

How did this girl always manage to show up out of nowhere?