The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 472 - 561: Worship and Sacrifice

Chapter 472: Chapter 561: Worship and Sacrifice

Equally infuriated was Manbao standing to the side.

She wanted to act but was tightly gripped by Old Zhou, so all she could do was to glare fiercely at the two men.

Zhang Second happened to catch her glare and immediately exclaimed, "Look, look, cousin, you’re really not good at teaching children. This must be your little daughter, right? It’s one thing for her not to call me ’uncle,’ but she’s even glaring at people!"

He declared, "If you ask me, kids like her should have been thrown away at birth, so as not to waste food when they grow up."

The village chief laughed angrily, thinking that this was Zhou Yin’s child—throw away what now?

He was too lazy to argue with such people, knowing that the stingy Uncle Jin would never really let them take advantage; he turned around to leave but hadn’t gone far when Zhang First and Zhang Second said, "Think it over yourself, consider whether what we said makes sense. If it comes to it, we’ll stay here tonight and leave after you’ve thought it through."

Old Zhou: ... You dare to stay?

Zhang Second said, "Cousin, you still have two unmarried sons at home, no, actually that’s three including this bad investment."

Old Zhou’s face darkened as he banged his smoking pipe hard on the floor and demanded, "Who are you calling a bad investment?"

Zhang Second, fearing him not at all, glanced contemptuously at Manbao before getting up, "Alright, cousin, think it over. I haven’t been to see your new house since it’s been built, I’ll go have a look."

The two brothers were about to head toward the small courtyard, but somehow, just as they were leaving the main yard, they slipped and fell flat on the ground with a thud.

Standing right in front of them, Zhou Daliang burst into hearty laughter and jested, "Uncles, don’t be shy, up you get, up you get!"

Seething with anger, they cursed Zhou Daliang, "What the hell are you saying, you little brat?"

Zhou Daliang then scraped the ground with his shoe, kicking up a little dust and covering them with it until they were dirty and grimy, before laughing and saying, "Who’s calling whom a brat? My wife says I smell lovely."

Everyone was laughing when the village chief suddenly entered quickly from the main gate, slapping Zhou Daliang’s head and saying, "Cut the nonsense, we have guests."

"No, why would there be guests at this time..." Zhou Daliang quickly fell silent, for he had seen Old Master Bai, Old Madam Bai, and other Bai Family members walking in.

Old Zhou, in his grief, had not noticed until Manbao tugged on his hand; only then did he come back to his senses and look up to see Old Master Bai leading Old Madam Bai inside.

And Old Madam Bai was also holding onto Bai Shanbao’s hand.

Ms. Liu smiled kindly at him and then proceeded to the ancestral hall.

Old Zhou came to his senses and immediately instructed Manbao to go and light incense for them.

Manbao, having already done plenty of such tasks that day, took a handful of incense, lit it, passed it to them, and then returned to her seat.

Ms. Liu looked at the coffin in front of her, bowed sincerely, and then turned to Bai Shanbao, saying, "You are the junior; it’s proper for you to kneel and bow when paying respects."

Old Zhou hurriedly waved his hands, "That won’t do, that won’t do. A simple bow from the young master is enough."

But Bai Shanbao, after looking at his grandmother and then at Manbao, who was seated kneeling to the side, went ahead and knelt down.

Onlookers were surprised beyond measure, and Ms. Liu, with a smile, explained, "This is our custom; Shanbao and Manbao are of the same generation; in the ancestral hall, they are both juniors, and it’s only proper to show respect when paying homage to elders."

Everyone thought that literate families indeed had many rituals.

Old Master Bai also paid his respects; after placing the incense on the altar, he gazed at the coffin for a long time in silence and heaved a profound sigh after a while.

Last night, the people of Qili Village had exhumed a grave overnight, a fact that could not be hidden from Ms. Liu, nor from Old Master Bai.

It should be said that this matter could only be kept from outsiders; it was impossible to hide from the villagers of Qili.

So he and everyone in Qili Village knew that now, inside the coffin, lay the bodies of Zhou Yin and his wife.

He glanced again at the Zhang brothers, still sitting on the ground, and sighed, "After so many years of being dead, they can’t even have a peaceful funeral."

The Zhang brothers, however, stared with gleaming eyes at the three people from the Bai Family, who seemed quite different from ordinary folks.

As they were about to get up and go over to chat, suddenly a crowd of young men appeared, and by the time the Zhang brothers managed to squeeze through, the Bai Family had already left their condolences and departed.

Angered but unable to protest in the face of the strong young men’s stares, the Zhang brothers choked back their words.

Of course, they weren’t afraid; it was just that they were getting on in years, with brittle bones, and these lads, clearly the local ruffians, weren’t worth arguing with...

Consoling themselves thus, they turned to seek out the Zhou Family to settle the score, convinced it was their responsibility given it was happening at the Zhou’s place.

Just then, the Taoist priests suddenly declared, "Immeasurable Heavenly Lord, the auspicious hour has arrived. Please, family and distinguished descendants, stand in order, as we are about to begin the soul-summoning ceremony."

Everyone stepped outside to give space to the Taoist priests, while the curious youngsters climbed atop the walls to watch.

They all saw Taoist Shouqing take out a bundle of talismans, while Zhou Dalang and the others had already prepared the offerings, bringing the ritual table and food, including chicken, duck, and fish.

Even those who had already eaten couldn’t help but swallow their saliva in unison.

Some began to whisper amongst themselves, "The Zhou Family is really splurging on this one, aren’t they? This must have cost five taels of silver at least, right?"

"Five taels? You’re dreaming! How many people are we in this village? Just look at how much we’ve eaten in this one meal, let alone the fact that Datou lies in the coffin, and that wasn’t just made; it was purchased quite large. Guess it’s more like three or four taels."

"Besides, they’ve hired a Taoist priest. Speaking of which, Zhou Jin really did right by Little Yin this time. Such a grand ceremony—if Little Yin’s spirit really is summoned back, he’ll have a place to return to."

Some of the younger ones said, "But didn’t the Zhang Family just say Uncle Jin mistreated Uncle Little Yin?"

"Pfft, can you believe what they say? You brat, you’re so young, yet you talk too much. Be careful, or you’ll end up disliked like Zhou Sanqi."

"...Wasn’t it you guys who said it first? And I never knew Liulang had a young uncle until now."

"You were just too young to know," and back then, who dared to bring up Zhou Yin in the village?

But now, it’s not a problem. As long as you don’t talk about what happened seven years ago. Not mentioning other things would actually be weirder."

So he said, "None of the Zhang Family are good folk, only the older generation was decent. This generation is lazy and useless. When Auntie Zhang was here, they loved to come by for a handout. After she was gone, they came over even more often, and that would have been fine, but every time they’d instigate Little Yin to stir up trouble with his sister-in-law. Truly brainless."

"That’s right. Little Yin was raised by his sister-in-law from the moment he was born. When he was just learning to recognize people, he would only acknowledge her as his mother."

"Did the great-grandmother approve?"

This was about Ms. Zhang.

"Of course, she didn’t. Dalang’s mother had a tough time of it back then. It wasn’t until Zhou Yin got a bit older that things started to improve."

"Actually, no one can blame Dalang’s mother for being fond of Zhou Yin. When it comes to doting on someone, no one in the Zhou Family can top him. Don’t be fooled by Zhou Jin being afraid of his wife now. Back when he was young, well... it was Zhou Yin who trained him up."

The gossipy teenager got excited, asking, "How did he ’train’ him?"

"Simple. If Zhou Jin wouldn’t listen or bullied his sister-in-law, Zhou Yin would immediately throw himself on the ground in a tantrum and tell his parents that his big brother was bullying him, and Zhou Jin would get a beating every time."

"Right. Most people get spanked when they are little, but it’s the opposite for your Uncle Jin. He was the only child and was very spoiled when he was little. But after he got married and became a father, he would get spanked from time to time, tsk tsk tsk..."