Reborn as a Landlord-Chapter 1708 - 871: Closing One’s Eyes (2)

As everyone said, Lady Zhou is a "strong-willed" person.

Even in such a situation, Lian Shouxin was still unwilling to give up. He had Wu Lang bring the medicine bowl, and he took the spoon himself to personally feed Old Master Lian the medicine.

However, no miracle occurred. The amount of medicine fed in was the same that flowed out.

Lian Shouxin tried a few times, but in the end, could only let go in dejection. Just then, Lian Manman noticed that Old Master Lian’s quilt seemed to move. Lian Manman blinked her eyes, afraid that she was seeing things because she hadn’t slept all night, so she asked Xiao Qi to take a look.

Xiao Qi saw it too.

"Grandpa’s hand seemed to move just now," Xiao Qi said.

Lian Shouxin quickly climbed onto the kang, and lifted the quilt. Old Master Lian’s hands, with their large knuckles and rough skin, were characteristic of tenant farmers’ hands that had worked hard all their lives.

Everyone saw that indeed, Old Master Lian’s fingers twitched.

"Dad..." Lian Shouxin grabbed Old Master Lian’s hand, nervously watching his face.

Old Master Lian’s eyes did not open, but beneath his eyelids, his eyeballs moved slightly. Then, his mouth twitched a couple of times.

"Old Master is awake, Old Master is awake."

"He must have known his old son came back, the Old Master is holding on just to see his old son," some villagers outside discussed.

"Dad, Dad, wake up, open your eyes and look, I’m back," Lian Shouxin said with a bit of a choke in his voice.

Perhaps touched by Lian Shouxin’s filial piety, the heavens allowed Old Master Lian to slowly and painfully open his eyes. Those eyes no longer had the spirited look of the past.

Lian Shouxin hurriedly moved closer to Old Master Lian’s eyes, calling out for his father.

Old Master Lian’s gaze finally fell on Lian Shouxin’s face. It was unclear if he recognized Lian Shouxin, but his mouth moved again, only to emit two meaningless "ah" sounds.

Lian Shouxin leaned his ear close, but this time, no "ah" sound was heard.

"Wu Lang, Xiao Qi, Manman, come quickly, let your grandpa see you," Lian Shouxin wiped his face with his hand and waved for Wu Lang, Lian Manman, and Xiao Qi to come closer to Old Master Lian, so he could see them.

Lian Shouxin now realized that Old Master Lian was at death’s door. He hoped that in the end, Old Master Lian could see his children.

"Dad, these kids came back with me, to see you. Dad, look at them," Lian Shouxin said loudly, urging Wu Lang, Lian Manman, and Xiao Qi to greet him.

"Grandpa." The kids all called out.

Old Master Lian opened his mouth twice, let out a meaningless "ah," and then slowly closed his eyes again. He returned to lying there motionless, with only slight movement of his mouth and faint, labored breathing, indicating he was still alive.

"At Old Master’s age, it’s not considered dying young. His children and grandchildren are all here..., alas, let’s start preparing the funeral," said Doctor Li, cupping his fists towards Lian Shouxin before turning to leave.

There was nothing more he could do here.

Old Master Lian took his last breath at 9 am.

From the time he fell into a coma until he passed away, he never spoke another word.

"The children and grandchildren are all here, the old son and his family came back from far away; Old Master has no more concerns and left," said some of the village elders.

Those who heard nodded, and no one refuted such words.

When Old Master Lian passed away, all of his sons were present. Of the grandchildren, except for Sanlang who was married into another family (in the patriarchal sense, Sanlang was no longer considered part of the Lian Family, so his presence or absence was insignificant), and Si Lang, who was missing and silently ignored by everyone, all the other grandchildren were there. Among the two daughters, the elder daughter was too far away, but the rest of the eldest daughter’s family was present.

In folk customs, life and death are major events, with death being the more significant. For these significant events, it is essential for the children and grandchildren to be present to send off the elder. If no one knows when an elder takes their last breath, or if few people are around, it is considered very pitiful. No matter how filial grandchildren are usually, if they are not present at this time, they will be criticized.

Lian Manman felt that such customs stemmed from people’s fear of death.

Once Old Master Lian breathed his last, the house inside and out was filled with cries.

"Dad, Dad, take me with you."

Lian Shouren cried the hardest, and Lian Lanlan cried the loudest. When Lian Shouxin and the others returned, the Lian Lanlan family initially stayed in the west room, then timidly came over, not daring to speak much, cautiously watching Lian Shouxin’s expressions.

Lian Shouxin treated Lian Lanlan as if she were invisible.

Everyone knelt on the ground, except for Lady Zhou, who remained seated cross-legged on the kang. Even at this time, she did not shed a tear, nor was she willing to cry, only pressing her lips tightly together.

The cries inside the house made it unnecessary for anyone outside to announce that Old Master Lian had passed. Immediately, the village elders like Lizheng and Father Chunzhu, along with Wu Yugui, Wu Yuchang, and others came in.

With Old Master Lian’s passing, funeral arrangements needed to be made. Among tenant farmers, it was customary for everyone to help with funeral arrangements.

...

Adding updates from yesterday, Ruoyan will dive back into writing today’s Chapter. It’s almost the end of the month again, so I’m asking everyone who has pink tickets saved up to please support me. (To be continued. If you like this work, feel free to visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote with recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read on m.qidian.com.)