Gasp! She's a Time Traveler Using Modern Tech to Improve Ancient Life-Chapter 240 - 239: Paying Respects to My Parents

Lin Wanwan didn’t go directly to Huiping Village. Instead, she first took a taxi to the tobacco and liquor store to buy two packs of Huaxia cigarettes and two bottles of Maotai liquor. Then she located a funeral goods store to buy paper flowers, spirit money, incense, and a three-dimensional paper house.

After preparing these items, Lin Wanwan finally took a taxi to the eighth section of Huiping Village.

She had arranged to meet with Village Chief Wu from Huiping Village at eight o’clock, and while she was in the ride-hailing service car, she received a reminder call from him.

"Driver, could you please go a bit faster? Thank you," Lin Wanwan said to the driver in the front seat.

"It’s very close; just a bit more on the accelerator and we’ll be there," the driver of the ride-hailing service replied.

Indeed, as he said, less than two minutes after finishing the call, the car arrived at the destination.

Lin Wanwan was carrying large bags in both hands, and Village Chief Wu was smoking in his yard. Upon seeing Lin Wanwan on the village road, he waved, "Let’s go. The cemetery is to the north. I’ll take you there."

"Alright, thank you, sorry for the trouble." Lin Wanwan walked forward with her belongings and casually placed the cigarettes and liquor by the wall.

Village Chief Wu glanced over, "What’s this about? Take them away."

Lin Wanwan replied, "Just cigarettes and liquor, Village Chief Wu. No need to be polite, you’ve already helped me so much."

At this moment, Village Chief Wu’s wife also came out from the house. Her eyes swept over the plastic bag with cigarettes and liquor leaning against the wall. The bright red packaging of Huaxia was too eye-catching and was immediately noticeable.

She laughed charmingly and said to Lin Wanwan, "Oh my, look at the girl from the Gong family, all grown up. Truly someone from the big city, with a different aura. Stay and have lunch with us before you leave. Oh my, why are you being so courteous? Take these for your uncles."

"Hello, Auntie," Lin Wanwan nodded in greeting, not taking the polite words seriously. "I’ll get busy first."

After speaking, Lin Wanwan followed Village Chief Wu along the country path next to their house.

"Taking this shortcut will be faster, let’s go!"

"Alright."

As their figures disappeared into the courtyard, Village Chief Wu’s wife quickly stepped forward, picked up the plastic bag, and went inside. Upon opening it, she saw two bottles of Maotai and two packs of soft Huaxia cigarettes lying inside.

"Oh wow, this young lady is so generous. She truly intends to make arrangements for her parents."

Some things don’t need to be spelled out. Simply opening the door of the cemetery room wouldn’t naturally require Lin Wanwan to give gifts worth about five thousand, indicating there’s another intention.

Huaxia is a society of relationships. Some things may not be accomplished following strict procedures, even after three or five years; but with money, they may be done in three to five minutes.

Arriving at the cemetery, Village Chief Wu took out a key and unlocked the big lock on the door, holding a cigarette in his mouth, "Your parents are in the middle row; find out which niche exactly they are in. Be careful with the fire when burning things, you can use the broken pot over there."

Lin Wanwan nodded, "Thank you, sorry to trouble you."

About to see her parents’ remains and portraits, Lin Wanwan suddenly felt a bit apprehensive.

She took a deep breath and finally carried the offering items inside.

The room was somewhat dim, and sunlight streamed in through the narrow little window, floating in the air.

The dust in the room danced lightly under the golden sunlight, like gold leaf.

Lin Wanwan arrived at the wooden case full of urns and portraits in the middle row, her gaze slowly sweeping across the names on these photos.

Soon, her gaze was drawn to a portrait; it was a face that bore an eight-to-nine resemblance to her own.

Looking at the photo, Lin Wanwan even had the illusion of looking in a mirror. This must be her mother, no need to check the name.

The only difference between them was Lin Qingyao’s inherently classical nose, while Lin Wanwan’s was a more modern, sharp pointed little upturned nose.

No wonder she looked so much like her mother, no wonder people could recognize her at first glance.

Lin Wanwan stood before the wooden case, where two urns and portraits were placed side by side, staring straight at the portraits, with a thousand words in her heart but not knowing where to start.

Those dusty childhood memories gradually resurfaced with the portraits, and the images and voices of her parents slowly became clear in her mind, many once hazy areas finally became clear.

After standing for a while, Lin Wanwan squatted down, lit incense, inserted it into an incense burner, and placed it on the ground. Then she knelt down and bowed four times towards her parents’ urns and portraits.

She said nothing, not even an inner monologue.

At this moment, all she wanted was to quietly look at her parents’ portraits and etched them deep, deep in her mind, never to forget.

When the incense was almost burned out, Lin Wanwan came back to her senses, walked to the entrance, brought over the rusted old pot, and started burning the paper flowers, paper money, and paper house she had bought, using the free lighter.

Whether her relatives under Nine Springs can receive the paper money and the miniature villa made of paper and bamboo poles she burned, Lin Wanwan didn’t know. She just wanted to burn a little more for her parents, since this was the first time in so many years she came to pay respects to them.

After some time, Village Chief Wu’s voice sounded again, "Young lady, are you done? You can finish burning the paper money now."

With a husky voice, Lin Wanwan replied, "Yes," and threw the remaining incense sticks into the flames, watching them slowly turn to ash until not even a spark could be seen.

Her parents’ urns sat like this in the small niche in the middle of the wooden rack, without even embedded photos, looking much more bleak, cheap, and sad compared to the solid wood carved ones with embedded portraits on the sides.

Her grandparents never took her to pay respects before, the dislike for the Gong family almost openly shown. The two families moved from kinship to enmity, divided by two innocent lives.

The two bereaved families never consoled each other, but instead, they harbored mutual resentment.

"Are you done yet?" After a long time, Village Chief Wu urged again.

Lin Wanwan took one last deep look at her parents’ portraits, then turned and walked out of the cemetery room.

"Village Chief Wu, I’d like to bury my parents’ ashes underground. Is that possible? To buy a piece here on the side of the cemetery."

The dark-faced, middle-aged village chief picked up the key and lock, starting to lock the cemetery room door, with a cigarette still in his mouth, his voice inevitably muffled, "Well, it’s possible too..."

At this moment, a group of people came bustling across the field ridges, noisily interrupting Village Chief Wu’s words.

The visitors were a group of Gong family folks, including the Gong family’s elderly who were over eighty, their two sons and wives, grandchildren, and several people Lin Wanwan hadn’t met before. It was unclear whether they were nosy neighbors or the Gong family’s distant relatives.

Yesterday, Lin Wanwan visited the village chief’s home empty-handed. There were also a few chatting women in the courtyard at the time, so it was impossible to hide anything.