In September, Qian Yixiu attended two feasts in the village. One was a celebration, as Lady Xu gave birth to another son, named Qian Yijin, or baby Jin. The other was a funeral; Second Grandpa, whom Qian Yixiu would call Second Great-grandpa, passed away. He was the eldest of the older generation in the Qian family.
Such is life, with births there are deaths, in a never-ending cycle.
The Qian family was known for their longevity in the region. Second Grandpa died at seventy-eight, which was considered a rare old age. Old man Qian was sixty-five, and Old woman Qian sixty-four, both still alive, a rarity in ancient rural areas. Especially Old woman Qian, who managed to survive a serious illness and, although movement was now inconvenient for her, she had a rosy complexion that was more radiant than many middle-aged people.
