Chapter 395: Wooden Boards
Chapter 395: Wooden Boards
The sky was barely bright when Lu Jiaxin woke up. After washing up, she went out for her morning jog. The inland areas were still underdeveloped, and the roads in the county were uneven.
As she left the county and ventured into the outskirts, a faint orange-red hue appeared on the horizon, and the fresh air was filled with the fragrance of the earth.
Lu Jiaxin looked up at the pale blue sky, still twinkling with a few bright stars. She couldn't help but sigh; rapid industrial development had also severely damaged the environment, and in two to three decades, it would be hard to see such a clear sky again.
At 7:30 a.m., just as Lu Jiaxin was finishing her breakfast, Captain Du arrived. After exchanging greetings, the group set out directly for Dingjia Village.
When they were about halfway there, their car got stuck in a pit and couldn't get out. Lu Jiaxin called for He Bin and asked if he knew of any shortcuts nearby.
Captain Du was getting frustrated. He had sent people to check the road conditions the day before and hadn't found any issues. He hadn't expected such an obstacle to pop up at the last minute. He tried to persuade her, "Comrade Lu, we're still over ten miles from Dingjia Village, and once we get there, we'll have to climb the mountain. Why don't you wait here? We'll get the car out soon."
Lu Jiaxin smiled and said, "It's fine. I jog for an hour every morning. A ten-mile walk is nothing."
The road was full of potholes, and the bumpy ride was making her feel sick. She could endure it when they were rushing, but now that they had encountered a problem, it was better to just walk! Most importantly, the Feng Shui master had already calculated an auspicious time for exhuming the grave, and they couldn't be early or late. With all these potholes, even if they managed to get the car out quickly, who knew if there would be more obstacles ahead.
Captain Du looked at Gu Wenfeng, and seeing him nod, he signaled for some of the group to follow Lu Jiaxin on foot while leaving the rest behind to push the car out.
The mountain path was difficult to navigate, so Lu Jiaxin changed into her white sneakers. As they were there to exhume a grave, she was dressed in white.
Seeing her brisk pace, Captain Du finally believed that she exercised regularly and wasn't the type of delicate young lady who would complain of tiredness after a few steps.
When they reached the foot of the mountain, Lu Jiaxin saw a group of people waiting there. These people had been hired by the village branch secretary and He Bin—six burly men with robust physiques.
Because of the grave excavation, He Bin had offered a high price of 100 yuan. In those days, rural folks couldn't leave their villages to find work, and they relied solely on their small plots of land for a living. The opportunity to earn 100 yuan in a day was like a windfall. Many would have jumped at the chance, but this job wasn't for everyone. The six men He Bin had chosen were all tall and sturdy, exuding masculine energy.
The village branch secretary's surname was Ruan. Upon seeing Captain Du, he immediately stepped forward to greet him.
After shaking hands with Captain Du, he was introduced to Lu Jiaxin, "This is Comrade Lu."
Having learned about Lu Jiaxin's background, he was impressed. In just two years in Hong Kong, she had not only gained admission to the University of Hong Kong but had also accumulated a substantial fortune. And now, for the sake of relocating a grave, she had generously donated one million Hong Kong dollars to the county for road construction. Although only half the money had been received so far, the road leading to their commune had already begun construction.
Secretary Ruan looked at Lu Jiaxin's youthful face and praised, "Comrade Lu is truly accomplished at such a young age. Ms. Gu must be very proud of you in heaven."
Following He Bin's lead, everyone referred to Gu Xiuxiu as Ms. Gu.
Lu Jiaxin politely responded and then asked, "Secretary Ruan, won't the Ding family cause any trouble? On such an important day, I don't want any unexpected problems."
Secretary Ruan patted his chest and assured her that everything was under control. The Ding family would definitely not dare to show their faces and cause any disturbances. As for trouble, that was out of the question.
With these assurances, Lu Jiaxin felt relieved.
The mountain path was rugged and uneven, but the bushes and grass on either side had been cleared. Captain Du had initially thought that Lu Jiaxin, being a city girl, would struggle with the mountain path, but to his surprise, she navigated it more steadily than he did, showing no signs of being unaccustomed to such terrain.
Secretary Ruan watched Lu Jiaxin's retreating figure in astonishment and said, "Captain Du, I thought Comrade Lu grew up in the city? Why does she move through the mountains like she's flying?"
Captain Du smiled and said, "Although she did grow up in the city, she jogs every morning, and with her healthy diet, her physical fitness is definitely better than that of the girls in your village."
Secretary Ruan quickly agreed. The aura of this young lady was intimidating, and he didn't dare speak loudly, "Captain Du, the county promised to provide us with electricity in July. It's already late July. What's the progress on that?"
Captain Du immediately assured him, "I'll report this to the leaders as soon as we get back. We'll definitely get this done before the end of the month."
With this promise, Secretary Ruan also felt relieved.
After walking for almost half an hour, they finally arrived at the grave, which was just a small mound of earth with a new tombstone erected in front of it. Without needing to ask, they knew that the tombstone had been set up by her aunt a couple of years ago.
Lu Jiaxin held the incense, candles, and offerings. She first burned incense, prayed, and recited scriptures to pay her respects. Then, it was time to exhume the coffin. During this process, Lu Jiaxin knelt by the side.
They had expected it to take a long time to dig out the coffin, but just a few minutes into the process, the bone collector signaled for them to stop. It turned out that they had already reached the remains.
The bone collector was essentially a bone assembler, but the former title was more respectful.
Lu Jiaxin wanted to get up and take a look, but Gu Wenfeng quickly stepped forward and stopped her, "Boss, just stay kneeling here. The bone collector will take care of collecting the remains."
Although they were exhuming the remains of her grandmother, what they found was not a coffin but a pile of bones... He was worried that the boss would have nightmares after seeing this.
"What's going on?"
After hearing the bone collector's explanation, Lu Jiaxin finally understood. The Ding family had not used a coffin to bury her grandmother. Instead, they had simply nailed a few wooden boards together to form a box and buried her like that. Now, nearly four decades later, the wooden boards had rotted away, leaving only the bones in the soil.
Lu Jiaxin lowered her head and remained silent.
Gu Wenfeng said, "Boss, don't be sad. Once we get back to Hong Kong, we can place your grandmother's remains in the coffin you bought."
During last summer's vacation, Lu Jiaxin had spent a large sum of money to custom-order two nanmu coffins. As the coffins were heavy and inconvenient to transport, she had also ordered two smaller coffins. The plan was to transfer the remains into the larger coffins once they arrived in Hong Kong.
Lu Jiaxin didn't say anything more. She just knelt there quietly.
The bone collector had to dig out each bone carefully, mark them, and then place them into the small coffin. With the increased workload, it would take even longer than expected.
The sun was scorching, and Lu Jiaxin's face soon turned red.
Gu Wenfeng brought some water and said, "Boss, please get up and have some water. Your grandmother and Ms. Ding will definitely not blame you."
Lu Jiaxin didn't try to be strong. She was not only thirsty but also felt a numbness in her legs. When she tried to get up, she almost fell, so she simply sat on the grass mat.
Just as she was drinking, a person suddenly rushed down from the mountain on their right. Gu Wenfeng, Miao Na, Wang Lin, and the others reacted swiftly, immediately shielding Lu Jiaxin in their midst, while Zong Jinghua even drew his wooden staff.
(End of Chapter)
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