Originally, it was the second elder sister's turn to be on duty that night. Since the eldest nephew went to the county hospital to get Dolantin and came back late, he didn't pick up the eldest sister. So the eldest sister stayed, and the two sisters worked as on-duty nurses together. The eldest sister was a light sleeper. In the middle of the night, she heard the big clumsy dog bark a few times and got up to turn on the light.
The skeleton on the bed was shaking like sifting chaff, trembling into a ball. Foam gushed out from the corners of Li Dafa's mouth, his eyes were wide open, and the world was turning into a bottomless pit, swallowing him up.
The eldest sister called the second elder sister, who was sleeping in the outer room, to get up. When the second elder sister saw the situation, she shouted, "I'm afraid he's dying. Quick, put on the funeral clothes."
So, the second elder sister found the funeral clothes in the box in the outer room. Li Dafa was still twitching, and it became extremely difficult to dress him. The upper garment was put on, but no matter what, the pants couldn't be pulled onto his legs.
The eldest sister said, "He's still breathing. Quick, go and get the pot lid."
The second elder sister rushed out of the door and was immediately swallowed by the pitch-black night.
The second elder sister knocked on the door of the doctor's house for a long time. The window lit up, and a woman's lazy voice came. The second elder sister smelled the warmth of the quilt: "What's the matter?"
The second elder sister said, "Sister-in-law, I'm the second elder sister of Li Dafa. I'm the one who helped you shell the corncobs last time. Please tell Brother Guogai that our fifth brother is dying. Please ask him to come and have a look quickly."
After a moment of silence, the second elder sister smelled the warmth of the quilt again: "Oh, unfortunately, Guogai went to see a patient in another village tonight and hasn't come back. You'd better think of another way."
The second elder sister said, "Sister-in-law, he's really dying. He's all curled up. Please ask the doctor to come and have a look quickly."
The woman said, "Sister, do you think I would lie to you? Guogai isn't at home tonight. It would be useless even if I went."
As she was speaking, the window went dark again.
The second elder sister of Li Dafa stood in front of Guogai's house. She knew that the doctor was sleeping inside. How could there be so many patients needing his house calls at night? She remembered that when she helped shell the corncobs at the doctor's house, she saw the couplets on the door frame: "Business prospers, reaching all corners of the world; Wealth flourishes, flowing into every river and sea." She joked with Guogai, "Your business is booming, but others are suffering."
The doctor said, "The 'business prospers' I mentioned refers to a great state, not just myself. It means our fellow villagers. When everyone is healthy, everything goes smoothly in doing business and working. When things go smoothly, people won't suffer. When people are healthy, they can earn more money..."
The wife of the scholar, who had seen the world, didn't take his explanation seriously.
Now, with his business booming and wealth flourishing, he didn't care about this small amount of hard-earned money at all.
On a late autumn night, it was as cold as being pricked by needles. On her way back, the second elder sister was complaining: "Fifth brother, my poor brother. Your second elder sister is useless. I couldn't invite the doctor for you. I helped them shell corncobs for a whole day and another half day, and sent them a big bag of fungus, but still couldn't win their hearts. If God wants you to go this time, then just go."
"Fifth brother, we've been fighting since we were kids. You're fifty-six and I'm fifty-nine, almost sixty. We're half buried in the earth already. I've been taking care of you by your bedside, but you never said a kind word to me. You're so respectful to the eldest sister, but you order me around. I feel so aggrieved."
"Fifth brother, I scold you, but if you really die, I'll be reluctant to let you go. I'm almost sixty, but I'm still in good health. Let me take care of you for a while longer."
"Fifth brother, don't die. You're only fifty-six. The King of Hell won't take you yet. If you die, our two elder brothers won't be able to come back, and there will be no one left in our parents' home. During festivals, who will come to see me? On the Dragon Boat Festival, you came to see me and brought me a pack of walnut cakes. They were already expired and oily. The scholar ate them and had diarrhea for three days. He hated you so much. You're such an honest person. How could you be so easily deceived? From a strange woman from another place to a pack of walnut cakes."
"Fifth brother..."
"Fifth brother..."
She was talking about the fifth brother in the pitch-black night, and her tears were flowing like a flood that couldn't be stopped.
When she arrived at the door of her house, the big clumsy dog barked twice again. Only then did she wipe her tears dry. With red eyes, she walked into the house, ready to accept the reality that she couldn't accept.
By the bed, the eldest sister was sitting. The eldest sister's hair had all turned white. With her hair loose at night, she looked exactly like a white-haired woman. She used to be a beautiful old lady. All five of their siblings had big eyes and long eyebrows. When they were young, if they had gone to the big market together, the fritter seller would have stopped frying, the vegetable seller would have forgotten the weight, and the pancake maker would have burned the pancakes. It was a pity that they had never gone together as a group. Now, the eldest sister's face was as haggard as a rag, looking ten years older overnight.
The person lying on the bed had already been dressed in the funeral clothes, with a big white character "Shou" (longevity) on the chest. Li Dafa was silent, with his eyes closed.
The second elder sister rushed over, with tears pouring down: "Fifth brother, I'm useless. I couldn't invite the doctor, and in just this short time, how could you have left? I've been taking care of you for so long, but you didn't leave me a word..."
A series of sounds came from the bed. The second elder sister looked up and saw that it was Li Dafa speaking. Her eyes were again filled with tears like a sudden downpour: "Fifth brother, you scared me to death. I thought you had left. Sure enough, the King of Hell didn't take you. You're okay."
Li Dafa woke up. Seeing the second elder sister crying and seeing the bright funeral clothes on himself, he realized that he had just reported to the King of Hell and been sent back. He was angry about the funeral clothes on him. He made another series of sounds. The eldest sister put her ear close and heard clearly that he didn't want to wear this thing. Even if he was going to leave, he wanted to wear a new set of worldly clothes.
The eldest sister and the second elder sister worked together and took off the funeral clothes from him like peeling off the skin. Only then was Li Dafa satisfied.
After a whole night of tossing and turning, the eldest sister and the second elder sister were extremely tired. When the sun rose, the two sisters were like two rags, listless and wrinkled.
At this time, Guogai came, looking energetic. He was carrying a medicine box and his head seemed to be shining. He was almost like the old Nezha except that he didn't step on the clouds.
Guogai said, "I was so tired last night. I cupped a whole night for an old man in the neighboring village, and black blood came out. When I came back this morning, my wife told me that Li Dafa had a little accident. I think he's okay. His complexion looks good. Come on, let's continue with the nutrient injection."
Guogai didn't go out last night. In the morning, he was scolded by his wife. Out of conscience, seeing the free labor and the Northeast fungus, he came to play the role of a Monday-morning quarterback.
Guogai tried hard to find some clues on the old tree bark with his four eyes. When the needle was inserted, the nutrient solution in the syringe suddenly had no next drop. The syringe was like the roads in the city, already jammed and couldn't be unclogged.
Guogai tried another piece of tree bark. Still jammed.
Guogai pulled out the needle and walked out of the house. To the eldest sister who followed him out, he said, "The blood vessels are blocked. The injection can't get in. The nutrient solution can't be infused. The lifespan is really coming to an end this time."
The eldest nephew bought three Dolantins from the hospital, but they were of no use either. These three Dolantins were given to Guogai to cover the injection fees for this period.
After all the fuss, the two thousand yuan of public funds left by Li Dafa had been reduced to less than one thousand yuan.
The eldest sister said, "Fifth brother doesn't like the funeral clothes. We should buy new clothes for him. It's almost winter. Let's buy a down jacket, make a Zhongshan suit. Fifth brother liked Zhongshan suits the most when he was young. Also buy a pair of leather shoes and a new set of long underwear. How much would this whole outfit cost? Second sister, ask when you go to the market."
The second elder sister went to the market. She walked past clothing stores, ready-to-wear processing stores, shoe stores, and underwear stores. After going around, she reported to the eldest sister: "For a general down jacket, the kind with duck feathers, the discounted one, it would cost at least 300 yuan. The ones that cost more than 100 yuan are simply unwearable, with a smell of duck feces. To make a Zhongshan suit, with a general fabric, it would cost at least 400 yuan. The labor cost is too high. A pair of leather shoes, the leather ones cost at least 200 yuan, and the artificial leather ones cost more than 100 yuan. But the leather ones are breathable while the artificial leather ones are stuffy. A set of long underwear, the pure cotton ones cost at least 100 yuan, and the ones with chemical fibers cost 50 or 60 yuan. But fifth brother has been working hard all his life and hasn't enjoyed any blessings. At least when he dies, he should wear something comfortable. On average, it would cost about 1000 yuan."
The two sisters thought about it. They felt a bit reluctant to take out money from their own pockets. So the plan to buy new clothes was temporarily put on hold. Anyway, there are many shops in the town, and it's convenient to buy them at any time.
The most important thing at the moment is the house problem.
This time, the second elder sister was very fair and said firmly, "Let's sell it. Divide the money into four shares. Each of our four siblings will get one share."
The eldest sister's husband objected and protested: "You say it so easily. Who helped build this house back then? My family contributed both money and labor."
The second elder sister said, "Although my family didn't contribute money, I also contributed labor. My scholar husband worked as a laborer and even lost his glasses."
When building the house back then, when the scholar was mixing cement, he bowed his head and his glasses fell into the cement with a click. He immediately became like a spinning top, running around in circles, which made everyone laugh and tease him as a good-for-nothing.
The eldest sister's husband said, "To be fair, the house was built with the contributions of both our two families in terms of money and labor. Let's not argue about who contributed more. Those two brothers just came to have a look and left, waiting only to divide the money. How could there be such a good thing? Well, let's sell the house and divide the money equally between our two families."
The second elder sister called the two elder brothers in Tianjin and Jiamusi respectively. The two elder brothers were quite reasonable. They said that since they hadn't taken care of anyone, they had no opinion about the house matter. Let the two sisters handle it as they liked.
The second elder sister was originally afraid of being at a disadvantage in dividing the house property, so she brought up the two elder brothers as a shield. In fact, she was also reluctant to divide the property among those two distant relatives who neither contributed money nor labor.
This time, she won again.
This small mountain village is going to be renovated. The changes in the new era are like "Suddenly, as if the spring breeze had come overnight, thousands of pear trees were in bloom." Recently, with the change of the wind, thousands of pear trees are in bloom, and the mountain village is going to become a town.
Not long after Li Dafa was discharged from the hospital after the operation, he heard this news. At that time, he was chatting with Liu You. After getting cancer, many people were superstitious about patients going to visit others. To drive away bad luck, some people would even set off a string of firecrackers after the patient left. Li Dafa knew this rule well, so he gave up the hobby of going to visit others. But the old neighbor Liu You's family didn't care. Not only did Liu You's wife often send food over, but she also invited him to sit and chat every now and then.
When learning that everyone would live in apartment buildings in the future, Liu You's wife said, "Living in an apartment building would be clean, but where would I put my farming tools? Where would I raise ducks and pigs? I can't drive the piglets upstairs, can I?"
Liu You said, "There's a garage to put the tools. But you should raise fewer chickens, dogs, geese and ducks. There's not much space left in the garage after putting the tricycle and the tools."
Li Dafa said, "Ridiculous! Since ancient times, the countryside should have the look of the countryside. Every family should have cooking smoke and willow trees. What's the point of living in an apartment building and farming?"
Liu You said, "There will be no land in the future. The land will be covered with factories. Everyone will be part of the working class. Go to work in the factories to earn money and buy food to eat."
Li Dafa was even more angry: "Everyone is going to earn money. Who will plant crops and harvest grains? Where will we buy grains from? A printing press can print money, but grains are grown, not printed. It's simply ridiculous."
He always thought that this ridiculous thing couldn't be implemented. He watched the News Broadcast every day and thought that in the new era, roads could be paved, bridges could be built, water and electricity could be supplied, and new houses could be rebuilt. It was impossible to drive the farmers off their land, into factories and into apartment buildings.
However, the document has been clearly stated. Next spring, when the flowers are in bloom, the countryside will be renovated. Li Dafa's house will also face the fate of being demolished. At that time, the homestead will be measured and money will be given according to the area. Farmers can use the demolition compensation, plus some of their own savings, to move into spacious and bright apartment buildings with dignity. Those farmers who have been called "country bumpkins" all their lives will finally hold their heads high, shake off the big hat of the peasant class, and stride into the great era of the working class.
Li Dafa of course didn't know about this document. Otherwise, he would have been so angry that he would have jumped out of bed, three feet into the air, just like when he refused to sell the land to Zhao Youcai.
In the past, a house where someone had died couldn't be sold. Country people were afraid of bad luck. But now, with the call of the new countryside, the land is valuable, and the value of Li Dafa's house has multiplied.
The two sisters meant to spread the word while they were still here. It would be convenient for people to come to see the house and negotiate the price. If Li Dafa passed away and the two sisters went back to their respective homes, it would be very inconvenient to sell the house and people would have to go back and forth.
The asking price for the four big north rooms plus an eight-meter-long courtyard is 60,000 yuan, payable in one lump sum.
Liu You's wife, being in a favored position, came in and asked: "I can't afford to pay such a large amount at once. I've been raising pigs these years, with some losses and some gains, and haven't saved up that much money."
Guogai, the doctor, finally didn't miss this opportunity, but he also couldn't afford to pay this amount. Theoretically, he should have no problem, but his money has been used to support his son and daughter who bought houses in the city.
Wang Dapang just bought some land. His small grocery store has been on a downward trend these years. Many people go to the big supermarkets in the town to buy things. Spending the same amount of money, it's both imposing and convenient, and there are also small temptations of low discounts, such as five-cent steamed buns, with a limited-time offer of five for a special price. Many people queue up early in the morning just for five steamed buns. The small grocery store in the village is just for emergencies. So he also can't afford to pay this amount.
Li Dafa's house, which was like an unwanted steamed bun in the era of fine grains, has suddenly become a hot cake after being dressed up by the new era's trend, emitting an attractive smell. Many people want to take a bite, but they have to privately weigh the money in their pockets, so there are no buyers for the time being.
Li Dafa clearly felt that recently more people came to visit him at home. Those villagers who hadn't been seen for years all popped up like mice, each bringing a few walnuts or dates to visit him.
He liked having people visit him. He didn't know that those people were actually coming to see the house, and only incidentally came to see him and say