Chapter 64 Passing away
"Ha ha!"

Old Man Chang laughed particularly heartily, "Didn't we rely on these eyes to survive in the past?"

"I knew Deming was not an ordinary person from the first day he came to the city."

"Yaxuan (Mr. Rong Si), do you think anyone coming to the city from the countryside for the first time would not be timid and submissive?"

"What about Deming? Even if he wears clothes full of patches, he always looks like a nobody when he comes to the city or comes home."

"This kind of person is either very knowledgeable or completely ignorant. Deming, it's obviously the first kind."

"Yaxuan, you see, he graduated from No. 5 Middle School in just two years. It's just that Deming didn't want to go to university. Otherwise, would the teacher have come to our house so many times to do the work?"

"Great! Second brother, you are really great!" Fourth Master Rong was full of admiration and gave him a thumbs up. "No wonder, before Deming entered school, you gave away your two favorite Kangxi famille rose vases and made him a set of clothes."

Old Man Chang shook his head, disagreeing: "Not really. Yaxuan, this person always emphasizes empathy. These clothes and the like are just external things, and they will pass away."

"It depends on the person. Baozhen treats Deming as his own brother. The clothes are just my way of giving Baozhen face."

"After spending some time together, our family truly considers Deming one of our own."

"cough!"

"Second brother, you."

“It’s okay”

Three days later, a white sail - the soul-guiding flag - was hung in the courtyard of No. 81 Gulou East Street.

Wang Kui finally got over this hurdle and passed away in a coma.
She had no children during her lifetime, so her two children, Renchun and Yichun, acted as filial sons and grandsons. They wore white cloth on their heads, white coarse linen jackets without any seams, hemp ropes around their waists, and straw boots on their feet. They knelt in front of the brazier, burning paper money and crying heart-wrenchingly.

Yan Baozhen had a white cloth wrapped around her waist because she was pregnant. She sat on a cushion nearby, tears streaming down her face.

Old Man Chang and Old Master Rong Siye also had white cloth wrapped around their waists, their faces looked grim, and they sat on chairs without saying a word.

Wang Deming had asked for leave from the TCM training class and his master Xia Xiwu in advance, and was busy serving vegetarian noodle soup to the people who were keeping vigil. "Sister, take the children to have some."

“The children are still young”

"Yeah," Yan Baozhen agreed, but her body didn't move.

Wang Deming saw this, sighed inwardly, and persuaded Old Man Chang: "Master Chang, Fourth Master Rong, you two should eat a little too. If the stepmother knew about this, she would be pleased."

"Although she has no children, both you and the children treat her as a real relative."

"Cough!" Old man Chang coughed unconsciously again, but he swallowed hard and didn't spit it out.

After clearing his throat, Old Man Chang said in a hoarse voice: "Baozhen, Deming is right!"

"Don't be too sad. With the two children, Renchun and Yichun, throwing pots at the step-daughter-in-law, she died peacefully."

Fourth Master Rong also tried to persuade her: "Baozhen, we all know that you and your step-eighth daughter-in-law are as close as mother and son. But if you do this, your step-eighth daughter-in-law will not be at ease when she leaves."

"Deming, take your sister and the children downstairs and let them lie down in the north room for a while."

"My second brother and I are here to guard it."

"Ah."

Wang Deming first carried the two children who were crying breathlessly to the kang in the north room, and then came back to support their sister.

My elder sister sat on the edge of the kang, leaning against the north wall, looking at her two children who had fallen asleep from exhaustion, and then looking at the furnishings in the north room, she couldn't help but burst into tears.

As if she was talking to herself: "When I first got married, I was young and my mother-in-law was very strict."

"They still look down on me because I am Han Chinese, saying I am not good enough on both sides."

A phrase that was often said was: "Even if they are the princes and grandchildren of the Zhenghuang Banner, they have to serve in the army of the Xianghuang Banner and obey the rules, otherwise they will be beaten with a horse whip."

"Every time, my step-grandmother always stood by me and spoke for me: My mother's family is from the Jinwang family of Fuxiang Temple in Di'anmen. The dowry includes hundreds of acres of land in Nanyuan and two courtyards in Nanluoguxiang, but so what? It's all in vain! The key is that the daughter-in-law must be virtuous." "When I gave birth to a child, I couldn't raise the first one. It was also my step-grandmother who took good care of me every day. She was afraid that I would lose a lot of vitality, so she took the initiative to ask my mother-in-law for money to buy Wuji Baifeng Pills from Tongrentang."

“The kids love her, too.”

Wang Deming stood in front of his sister and was silent for a while. He could fully understand his sister's feelings for Wang Kui. He had no blood relationship with his godmother and god sister.
"Sister, if Stepmother knew you were so sad, she wouldn't be able to leave in peace."

He knelt down and tried to comfort her by holding her hands.

But when I touched them, I was immediately shocked. My sister's hands were so cold!
I quickly changed my gestures and put one hand on my sister's pulse; the other hand touched her forehead. Fortunately, she didn't have a fever, but she was weak due to excessive sadness. But I couldn't go on like this.

Wang Deming urged her to stop her, "Sister, your hands are cold and your heart is filled with depression. You can't go on like this. You are still pregnant."

"If I get a fever, the consequences will be disastrous."

"I'll write a letter home and ask Mom to come and take care of you!"

"Deming, I'm fine!"

"What!" Old Man Chang couldn't sit still anymore and shouted, "Baozhen, you are a double now!"

"Deming, send a telegram to your mother-in-law now."

"it is good!"

Old Man Chang personally brought the noodles over and said, "Baozhen, don't say anything. Eat something first to warm yourself up."

"You are pregnant and weak now. You can't stand it."

"Don't worry about the rest, just take care of your own health!"

As soon as Wang Deming came out of the west wing and pushed the cart to the courtyard gate, he ran into Zhang Shouchun who came to pay his respects.

Seeing Wang Deming's anxious face, Zhang Shouchun hurriedly asked, "Wang Deming, what's wrong with you?"

"Zhang Zhang Shouchun, you've come just in time. Go chat with my sister. She's too sad right now. I'm going to send a telegram to the countryside and ask my mother to come to the city to take care of her."

"Ah, is Sister Baozhen okay now? Do you want me to call a car to take her to the hospital? Where are the children?"

"It's fine now. I was worried that it would be bad for her to be so depressed all the time. The children are tired of crying and have fallen asleep now."

"Well, don't worry, I'll go accompany her now." Zhang Shouchun didn't talk much with Wang Deming and took Zhang Ma directly into the west wing.

"Sister Baozhen."

Wang Deming pedaled his bicycle chain until sparks came out, and soon he arrived at the Postal Administration on Gong'an Street in front of Tiananmen Square.

I sent a telegram to my godmother. Each word cost two cents, and the message was concise and to the point: Going into the city to take care of my sister.

After leaving the post office, we headed south and headed straight to Tong Ren Tang in Dazhalan outside Qianmen.

After entering, he went straight to the counter: "I want to buy Xiaoyao Pills, Wuji Baifeng Pills and Dingxin Pills."

"Wait!" The waiter turned around and was about to pull the drawer to get the medicine when he was stopped by an old man sitting next to him.

"Comrade, I remember you bought some reassurance pills a few days ago. Today, I saw that you looked anxious and came to buy some reassurance pills again. Is it convenient for me to ask you something?"

Wang Deming frowned slightly and looked at the waiter.

The clerk explained: "Comrade, this old man is our Tong Ren Tang's special counter inspector (equivalent to a pharmacist and store manager)."

"Although we don't open clinics at Tong Ren Tang and we mainly sell Chinese patent medicines, the old man has to review all the prescriptions written by doctors. If they don't know what medicine to buy, or if the medicines they buy have contraindications, the old man has to ask about it."

"So as to avoid any adverse consequences from taking our Tong Ren Tang medicine."

(End of this chapter)