I am chasing a rough man in the 80s
Chapter 25: The Coffin Lid Won’t Stay Down

Chapter 25: Chapter 25: The Coffin Lid Won’t Stay Down

Suizi’s dream was chaotic and overly long.

Having dreamt about the scene before death, she then dreamt of herself as a ghost, sitting on the ancestral mansion’s wall. She watched the leaves outside the yard turn from yellow to green, eagerly anticipating Yu Jingting’s annual return to the ancestral house.

The man she couldn’t recall when she was alive, left an indelible impression on her after her death.

In her dreams, Suizi was filled with hatred, yearning to drag Li Youcai down to hell with her and devising all kinds of plans to make sure he didn’t die peacefully.

In reality, it was almost 2 am.

The mother and son of the Yu family, bundled up in their cotton-padded jackets, stood in front of the brick bed, anxiously watching Suizi.

It was too late at this point, given the inconvenient transportation in the village, there was no way to go to the hospital.

The village doctor came to examine her, but couldn’t provide much help.

Since Suizi was pregnant, they dared not use any medication or acupuncture. While she was deliriously murmuring and running a fever, they could only pile on more quilts and stoke the brick bed to warm it.

"What the hell is she babbling about?" Yu Jingting was getting desperate, like a potato charred on the stove.

Listening to Suizi’s gibberish, he put his ear next to her mouth.

"Mom, why does she keep talking about regret?"

"Isn’t marrying you, you nitwit, the biggest regret of her life?"

Wang Cuihua boiled an egg, peeled it, and started rolling it on Suizi’s body.

They had tried every folk method they could think of to break her fever, but none seemed effective.

When science was of no help, it was time to consider the mysteries of the metaphysical.

"Maybe Suizi has been frightened out of her wits. I’ll perform a dance to see if I can bring her senses back," said Wang Cuihua, as she went to find her tambourine.

Yu Jingting hurried to stop her.

"Just stop it, it’s useless. It would only scare the hell out of a sane person."

Wang Cuihua knew that her methods were meant to bluff outsiders, and couldn’t be applied when her own family was in trouble.

"Let’s burn some newspaper and bring a metal spoon."

In the village, if a child got scared, either a strip of newspaper would be burned above the child’s head, or a metal spoon would be hit against the door frame. It was said that these methods would bring back the child’s lost soul.

Wang Cuihua decided to try both methods.

Whether it was effective or not, this knowledge had been passed down through the generations.

"Chen Hansui, come home!" Wang Cuihua stood at the door, banging on the doorframe.

Yu Jingting, meanwhile, was at the brick bed, burning the newspaper.

In her dream, Suizi heard this noisy disturbance, her brow furrowing tighter and tighter.

The particular scent of the burning ink mingled with Wang Cuihua’s repeated calls for her to come home. Suddenly, a path appeared beneath the feet of the Suizi trapped in her dream.

Light and hope flooded the darkness, her confusion suddenly dissolving.

She had travelled thousands of miles and read thousands of books, but she had neglected the simple flavor of life; this was her biggest regret.

As she sat on the wall of the Yu family’s ancestral mansion, watching Yu Jingting waiting for her year after year, her heart was filled with regret.

In her youth, she lacked the courage to face the uncertainties of life and chose to escape. In reality, she had taken the wrong path.

Looking at the world from a different perspective, what she wanted most was to hold on to this lingering scent of everyday life.

The faint smell of everyday life was like the smell of burning pig hair - pig hair?!

Suizi realized that the scent was very similar to the smell of singed pig hair during the Chinese New Year slaughter. The more she smelled it, the more real it felt.

"Fuck! You’ve set Suizi’s hair on fire!!!"

Wang Cuihua attacked Yu Jingting with the metal spoon, while he fumbled to smother the flames.

While burning the newspaper by the brick bed, a small piece had fallen and burned a patch of Suizi’s hair.

Thankfully, it didn’t burn her skin, but one side of her hair was noticeably shorter.

"When she wakes up, won’t she cry the walls down?!" Looking at his wife, whose hair had been "ruined", Yu Jingting was in a state of panic.

"Mom, when you get a chance, tell her it was Jiaojiao who botched the haircut, okay? If she knew it was me, she’d be furious. Let her scratch at Jiaojiao, not me!"

The sound of hustle and bustle fell into Suizi’s ears, resembling the chaotic, yet comforting rhythm of human life, something she cherished.

"Jiaojiao is so unlucky to have a brother like you," Suizi opened her eyes and hoarsely said.

"She’s awake!" Mother and daughter of the Yu family exclaimed simultaneously, their faces reflecting the same expression of surprise and joy.

Their genuine concern and care were etched on their faces, which filled the void in Suizi’s heart and pacified her restlessness.

She had people who cared about her, people who loved her. She was no longer alone.

"I’m thirsty."

Yu Jingting quickly handed her the prepared cup. Suizi finished the warm, sweet water in one gulp.

After setting down the cup, Wang Cuihua brought a bowl over.

"Try some canned peaches."

People in the North strongly believe canned peaches can cure all types of diseases.

Whenever a child falls ill at home, opening a can of peaches is said to alleviate countless woes. They usually wouldn’t indulge in it, but they brought out their reserves for Suizi.

Although Suizi wasn’t keen on eating, the way the mother and daughter duo looked at her was like farmers watching their fattening pigs - eyes full of anticipation for her to eat up and get better quickly. She had to eat.

After she finished two pieces, Wang Cuihua took the bowl back, contented.

"Go to sleep, tomorrow you’ll be all better."

Whether it was her newfound positivity or the magical power of the canned peaches, Suizi no longer felt discomfort.

Her new life was just beginning, she wouldn’t trade it for the likes of that scoundrel Li Youcai.

She had to stay calm and act nobly, forcing Li Youcai to pay the consequences. He didn’t deserve to bring her down with him.

If she died, nobody would be able to control Yu Jingting.

She also wouldn’t be able to eat these delightful, local canned peaches...

"What are you doing standing there watching and not going to bed?"

Suizi watched as Yu Jingting, back facing her, stood in front of the kang bed, his silhouette reflecting a deep sorrow.

"Your... hair... I’m not going to sleep in the kang bed."

Feeling guilt-ridden, Yu Jingting gave up his right to sleep in the kang bed and did not dare to look at Suizi’s expression -

Let’s be clear - he’s not the spineless type of husband who fears his wife. He merely didn’t want her to awake the neighbors with her crying in the middle of the night.

Hiding his internal guilt but putting up a strong front, this conflicted demeanor amused Suizi.

"Alright, I’m not mad at you anymore, get in bed."

"Huh? Don’t you love your long braids?"

She used to spend a long time every day caring for her hair, which indeed was beautiful. It was glossy and black, resembling black satin.

"Hair will grow back, we need to look forward."

Yu Jingting somehow felt she was hinting at something, as if there was a double meaning.

But he felt limited by his cultural knowledge in interpreting Suizi’s nuanced words.

With her fever all gone, Suizi lay on Yu Jingting’s arm, staring at the dark ceiling, unable to fall asleep.

Touching her wide open eyes, Yu Jingting realized she was still awake and suddenly a quote popped into his mind.

"When you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you."

"Who taught you that?!" Are you a philosopher now?

Isn’t this from Friedrich Nietzsche’s "Beyond Good and Evil"?

Although it’s in the Dongbei dialect... It indeed captures the meaning!

"My mother-in-law taught it to me. She mentioned it once and I just remembered it. But I think the saying isn’t very reasonable. A normal conversation would be, the abyss asks you, ’what are you looking at?’ To which you respond, ’looking at you, got a problem?’ Then you fight with the abyss, but you, being petite, would definitely lose. Eventually, it’s me who urinates into the abyss and we win."

"...Nietzsche will turn in his grave."

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.