Volume 5: Qingming Chapter 5: Tomb Sweeping

After eating strawberries, petting the cat and playing with Tang Xiaotian, Jiang You's daily routine returned to normal after a fulfilling day.

The next day, he woke up at nine o'clock.

The aches and fatigue in my body disappeared. I twisted my foot and my ankle still hurt a little.

He felt for his phone next to his pillow. Chen Nan sent him a WeChat message, asking if he wanted to go to the hospital. He replied that the swelling had gone down, attached a real-time photo of his ugly ankle, and proposed the idea of "like cures like". So they decided what to eat for dinner as they wished: pig's feet and soybean soup, chicken feet stew, and ham fried with vegetables.

After playing a round of idiom chain, Jiang You got out of bed, washed up briefly, shaved, and looking at his almost disappearing neck in the mirror, he made up his mind to lose weight.

So he ran to lie on his side and lifted Jiang Mo's quilt, "Wake up, look outside, the sun is shining on your butt. Spring is here, don't be lazy, I will start to lose weight from today."

Jiang Mo closed his eyes, raised his leg and kicked Jiang You in the stomach. Jiang You grabbed his ankle and at the same time, a ball of spider silk stuck to Jiang You's face.

Jiang You let go of his hand and sat down on the edge of the bed while pulling the spider silk off his face.

"We're going to visit the graves today. Let's have breakfast first, then go buy some chrysanthemums, fruits, and green dumplings, and burn some paper money for them."

Jiang Mo sat up cross-legged, head down, as if thinking about something.

"Wake up," Jiang You picked up Jiang Mo and said, "Tell me what time did you go to bed last night?"

More than an hour later, they arrived at Wangshan Cemetery. The cemetery was surrounded by large fields of rapeseed flowers, golden in color. They took two iron buckets at the entrance.

He first visited the grave of Jiang You's parents, placed flowers and tributes, lit incense, burned paper money, then led Jiang Mo to bow three times, and then went to Jiang Mo's parents, ready to go through the process again.

He had just arranged the offerings and lit the incense when the wind blew the thick smoke from the cemetery next door into his nose. He stood up, coughed twice, picked up Jiang Mo and walked two steps back.

"Hey, is that you?"

He saw a man with a similar build and dress to him in the cemetery next door using a branch to poke paper money in an iron bucket, and the smoke was coming out of the bucket.

A little girl about the same age as Jiang Mo stood not far away, covering her nose and mouth with her hands.

Jiang You recognized them - the father and daughter who had gotten separated in the Science and Technology Museum. He took a look at the words on the tombstone.

The tomb of his beloved wife Gu Yao was erected by her husband Fang Wensong.

This is a monument erected on the winter solstice four years ago.

"It's you," Jiang You said to the little girl , "Your name is Fang Hui, right? Do you remember your uncle? We met at the Science and Technology Museum," he waved his hand at her, "You mistook me for your father and took the little lion. Do you remember?"

Fang Hui looked at him and nodded.

The smoke gradually became smaller.

The tin foil folded into ingots turned into yellow- gray ash in the flames .

"Xiaohui, call me uncle." Fang Wensong said.

"Uncle." Fang Hui looked at Jiang You and then her gaze fell on Jiang Mo. She took a few steps forward and walked to Jiang You's side.

Jiang You put the minced ginger on the ground.

Fang Hui looked at Jiang Mo and said, "My name is Fang Hui, what's yours?"

Jiang Mo turned his head away.

"He's quite introverted," Jiang You touched Jiang Mo's head, "His parents passed away last year in a car accident, and he was in the car at the time."

Fang Wensong glanced at the words on the stele: the tomb of his sister He Qiaochun, his brother-in-law Jiang Yuanchen, and his brother He Yunfei. He was a little unsure about the relationship between Jiang You and Jiang Mo, so he asked tentatively, "What is your last name?"

"My name is Jiang You, and I'm his guardian now," Jiang You sighed, "He has become much more cheerful now."

"The child is still so young..." Fang Wensong looked at Jiang Mo sympathetically, "Six years old, or seven? My daughter is seven years old and in the second grade."

"Almost. Almost seven."

"Have you been to school yet?"

"Not yet , maybe next year. It's better for boys to start school later."

Jiang Mo raised his head and glanced at Jiang You.

"I could remember things at the age of six," said Fang Wensong.

"yes."

"When my wife passed away, Xiaohui was only three years old. Four years have passed in a flash," Fang Wensong sighed. He watched Fang Hui take out a lollipop from her pocket and put it in Jiang Mo's hand. "If her mother were still alive, she would be so happy to see Xiaohui grow up so big and become so sensible."

Jiang You took the lollipop from Jiang Mo's hand, tore open the package and stuffed it into his mouth.

He took out a lighter from his bag, squatted down beside the iron bucket, lit the yellow paper and put it into the bucket, then poured the gold ingots into it.

Fang Wensong handed him the branch, he took it, turned over the gold ingots in the bucket, and let the flames come out.

"Are you raising your daughter alone?" Jiang You asked.

"My parents will help take care of it, what about you?"

"I'm alone, I run my own shop, I have more freedom," Jiang You moved to the side to avoid the smoke, "I watch the shop, and he draws on the side, he's very well behaved."

"It's still hard work. What business do you do?"

"Selling postcards, on Cultural Street."

"Cultural Street has done well in recent years . I work at the Justice Bureau. Before her mother got into trouble, I wanted to escape, but now I dare not move at all." Fang Wensong glanced at the sun and said, "Leave me your contact information. Last time I came to my senses, I found that Xiaohui had taken your toys. I searched the Science and Technology Museum twice, but I couldn't find you. There were too many people inside."

"It's just a stuffed toy, nothing special."

"Thank you again. If anything happens to Xiaohui again, I really don't know what to do," Fang Wensong looked at the two adjacent tombstones. "They are neighbors down there. This is also fate for us."

"That's true."

After taking out their phones and adding each other as friends on WeChat, Fang Wensong said goodbye to Jiang You, "I have something else to do at home this afternoon. Let's find a time to chat and have dinner. I'm not talking about anything else. I just feel comfortable chatting with you and want to be friends with you."

"I understand. Go ahead and do your work. I have free time anyway."

"Okay, okay," Fang Wensong took Fang Hui's hand and said, "Xiao Hui, say goodbye to your uncle and brother."

"goodbye!"

"Goodbye." Jiang You took Jiang Mo's hand and waved to them.

After watching the father and daughter walk away, Jiang You looked at Gu Yao's tombstone.

A woman sat on it.

Long hair fluttering.

She stared at the backs of Fang Wensong and Fang Hui.

When the fire was almost burned out, Jiang You stood up and said, "Bow three times on behalf of your uncle."

Jiang Mo walked to the center and bowed three times.

Jiang You lit a cigarette. "He Yunfei went to Africa. He has become sensible. Jiang Yuanhao has never come to see me..."

The woman turned and looked at Jiang You.