The Challenge of a Farmhouse Son-in-Law-Chapter 1003 - 998: The Death of Gu Wen

Huang Xiangwen bitterly complained, "You’re nearly out of breath, yet you can’t forget about those worldly possessions."

"With the state you’re in now, even if you had all the land in the village, could you even farm it?"

Qin Changlin informed them that today would be the day, urging them to make preparations.

But in the current situation, how could they prepare? And what was there to prepare?

At home, they could at least make preparations for his death garments, a coffin, incense, and paper money—every necessary item—but now they didn’t even have a straw mat.

"Dabao, your father has suffered so much, wu wu..."

Recalling that Gu Wen had struggled all his life and now didn’t even have a straw mat at the end, Huang Xiangwen was overwhelmed by grief and burst into loud sobs.

Their children were also heartbroken, and Qin Changlin consoled them, "Auntie Gu, life and death are predestined. You mustn’t grieve too much. We’ve been trapped on this hill for so long, and the water is about to recede. We still need to conserve energy to survive."

On the other side of the hilltop, the villagers, hearing the crying from the Gu Family, turned to look. Erya put down her child and said to Shunzi, "I’ll go take a look; you keep an eye on the child."

Since Gu Wen had contracted tuberculosis, which was contagious, others kept their distance for fear of infection, especially under these circumstances, where contracting the disease could be deadly.

"Auntie," Erya said to Huang Xiangwen and Sanya as she helped them up, "let uncle go in peace."

After Erya was driven out of the Gu Family, they had become enemies, even though she managed to separate from them later with Youyou’s help; the bitterness in her heart remained unresolved. It was the first time in years that Erya had called them uncle and auntie.

Gu Wen finally stopped breathing, and the hill reverberated with the heart-wrenching cries of the Gu Family.

The villagers, on the other hand, seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

With the floodwater rapidly receding at the foot of the hill, they would soon have to move on, and no one wanted the Gu Family to lug Gu Wen’s half-dead body along with them.

"Mother, what do we do now? Dad... when the water recedes, should we take him back to the village to bury him?"

The village was not far from Lotus Village, but even without seeing, one could guess the devastated state of Lotus Village, right?

Somebody shouted, "Is there even a Lotus Village left now? It’s probably been buried under the mud. Gu Huangshi, I think you should just bury Gu Wen here; after all, it’s not far from the village. Gu Wen contracted tuberculosis, don’t let the living contract his disease."

Right then, Huang Xiangwen coughed, startling the villagers.

They quickly stepped back, worrying about infection.

The Gu Family members also had a difficult time. Now, they couldn’t afford to think about taking Gu Wen back to the village; they had no choice but to dig a grave and bury him on the spot.

Qin Changlin took Huang Xiangwen’s pulse, his brow gradually furrowing.

Throughout the journey, Huang Xiangwen, fearing Gu Wen’s disease would infect others, would not allow Dabao and Erbao to care for him; she did it all herself. If someone were to contract the disease, she would definitely be the first.

"How is it?" With the situation being so grave, Huang Xiangwen could no longer afford to grieve and looked anxiously at Qin Changlin.

Qin Changlin said, "It’s difficult to say at the moment, it might be just a cold."

"Auntie, you should bury him quickly. I’ll ask Shunzi to come help you dig the pit."

By now, Huang Xiangwen was not so afraid of death herself, but she was worried about it affecting her children; she hastily said, "Alright, alright, then you guys start digging a pit quickly. Dabao, dig it deep. After the flood, there won’t be anything to eat; don’t let stray dogs dig your father out."

"Don’t worry, mother."

...