Chapter 8: Gu Qiangwei Puts on a Show, Mourns the Dead

When they heard the word sacrificed, Wang Shufen and Zhao Minghua’s legs gave out, and with a heavy thud, both collapsed onto the floor.

Gu Qiangwei, though not truly shocked, still understood how the two must be feeling and quickly joined the act.

Gripping the doorframe with one hand, she fought to stay upright. “No, how could this be? How could my husband have died in action?”

“This can’t be true. It’s all a lie, right?”

“This can’t be happening!”

“We just got married…”

Gu Qiangwei launched into a dramatic performance, tears gushing from her eyes as she slowly slid down to sit on the floor, holding onto the doorframe.

The elderly couple remained seated on the ground, their faces full of disbelief.

Upon hearing Gu Qiangwei’s words, Wang Shufen suddenly looked up. “You said the one who died… who was it?”

“It was Comrade Lu Zhoushan.”

“The army, in recognition of Comrade Lu Zhoushan’s sacrifice for the country, is offering a condolence payment of 500 yuan.”

“We hope his family can live a little better with this.”

“This box contains his ashes. His body was found on the battlefield, but he was unrecognizable, so we brought back only his remains,” the soldier explained as he slowly passed the box forward. Gu Qiangwei pretended to faint from grief.

In the end, Wang Shufen was the one who received the box.

She held it in her arms, tears falling like rain. So this red flag-wrapped box contained her youngest son’s ashes.

“Part of his remains have been buried in the Martyrs’ Cemetery.”

“Comrade Lu Zhoushan is a martyr and will always have the respect of the people.”

After speaking, the soldier saluted. Another soldier handed over an envelope containing the condolence money, which Gu Qiangwei reached out and accepted.

Wang Shufen and Zhao Minghua remained sitting on the ground, clutching the box, sobbing uncontrollably.

She touched the box, her tears streaming down. “Zhoushan, how could this be? How could you die?”

“Didn’t Mom tell you to be careful on missions?”

Wang Shufen’s heart was in pieces, and Zhao Minghua didn’t fare much better. He sat there looking like he had aged ten years in an instant.

Suddenly, Wang Shufen came to her senses. “Then what about my eldest son, Lu Qingming?”

“Comrade Lu Qingming is fine. He was seriously injured but is receiving treatment at a nearby hospital. Once he recovers, he will return to the army.”

Upon hearing that, Wang Shufen said nothing more and continued crying, as did Zhao Minghua.

Gu Qiangwei leaned weakly against the door, still pretending to sob. The neighbors heard the weeping and rushed out to see what had happened.

Their home had already been ransacked—could it be another theft?

The neighbors came out to watch and, seeing all three people in the house weeping, asked around and soon learned that Gu Qiangwei’s husband had died in the war. Some felt genuine sympathy, while others were just there for the drama.

In the past, Wang Shufen had always been proud and boastful in their courtyard compound.

She would often brag about her two sons being soldiers—especially the younger one, who she claimed was outstanding and might even be promoted to company commander someday.

Even if the older son was just average, at least he was honest and dependable.

With both sons in the army, she had always said their family would have a good life in the future.

She had said that kind of thing many, many times—not only praising her sons but also belittling others’ sons. So now, some neighbors were clearly enjoying the irony.

Everyone actually knew her sons had only recently joined the army and were just ordinary soldiers. They hadn’t even made it to squad leader, let alone company commander.

The two soldiers stood there a while longer, said everything they needed to say, and then left.

Once they were gone, the neighbors started whispering.

“She always flaunted her younger son. Who would’ve thought he’d die on the battlefield?”

“I didn’t expect it either!”

“What a tragic family. Their house was emptied by thieves, and now the younger son is dead too.”

Sigh.

Still, someone had died—he was a soldier, no less—so the neighbors didn’t gossip too long before going back inside.

There are some things best left unsaid.

Once the neighbors were gone, Gu Qiangwei slowly shut the door, her face streaked with tears. She placed the condolence money envelope on the table.

She hadn’t taken it out for them—it was only so she could more easily take it with her later. She had no intention of letting them keep it.

In her past life, they had lied to her for decades and wasted over 20 years of her youth. If she took this money in this life, it was still too generous to them!

As she set the money on the table, Wang Shufen walked by holding her son’s ashes and casually stuffed the money into her pocket.

Zhao Minghua saw it but said nothing.

The old couple sat beside a borrowed folding table, and Gu Qiangwei took a seat on a chair to the side.

The old couple cried bitterly, while Gu Qiangwei buried her face in her arms on the table, joining in the weeping.

At first it was only fake crying, but then she thought of how she had given twenty years of genuine love in her past life, yet never received a shred of honesty from the two of them.

She had also let down so many others. The sorrow overwhelmed her, and she broke into real, unrestrained sobs.

Seeing Gu Qiangwei cry like that, the old couple couldn’t help but feel a stab of pain. Their collective wails grew louder.

The neighbors, hearing the noise, could only sigh helplessly inside their homes.

Eventually, Wang Shufen’s stomach growled audibly, and Zhao Minghua was hungry too.

“Let’s eat something first.”

Wang Shufen sniffled and said, “Qiangwei, go out and buy some groceries. Let’s eat something first.”

“The dead can’t come back.”

She began crying again as she spoke. Gu Qiangwei’s eyes were red from crying. She washed her face and, looking dazed, left the house.

After a few steps, she turned back. “Mom, I don’t have any money.”

Wang Shufen had no choice but to hand her the five yuan they had borrowed from the neighbors a few days ago. “Just buy a little something, whatever’s enough. Your dad and I don’t have much appetite anyway.”

Gu Qiangwei nodded and left with the money.

They had cried for two to three hours in total. Toward the end, Gu Qiangwei was just silently wiping away tears.

She had cried out all her grievances from the past life. From here on, things would be different.

No one was going to bully her again.

She was no longer the same woman she once was.

Gu Qiangwei wandered around for a bit outside to give the old couple time to adjust, then returned with some groceries.

While cooking, she acted distracted and vacant. The old couple noticed but said nothing.

Once the food was ready, the old couple sat down at the table. The box of ashes sat on another table nearby—they would glance at it from time to time.

Earlier, they had told Gu Qiangwei not to buy too much, saying they had no appetite. But now, their hunger was real.

That afternoon, Gu Qiangwei had bought a small piece of fatty pork and rendered it into lard cracklings to stir-fry the vegetables. The old couple devoured the meal, their mouths slick with grease.

Watching them eat, Gu Qiangwei’s lips curled into a cold sneer.

They had done the same thing in her past life—after a short time, they quickly “recovered.”

She had thought they had accepted their younger son’s death.

But the truth was—they had known it wasn’t the younger son who died. It was the elder one.

Otherwise, how could they have come out of grief so quickly?