"Uh... truly a case of self-inflicted suffering!"
Although the village chief said this, he still busied himself with genuine kindness, stepping forward. Ding Yun, playing along, also feigned surprise and moved to check on Yu Man's condition.
They then summoned someone from the village who knew about such matters.
After concluding that Yu Man was fine, with perhaps a mild concussion and needing to rest for a few days, Ding Yun, with the help of several aunts, moved Yu Man to the bedroom.
Then, she continued to discuss the subsequent arrangements with the village chief.
With Yu Man as a comparison, the village chief immediately felt that Ding Yun was an exceptionally sensible child, one who knew how to advance and retreat with propriety. Moreover, Ding Yun did not fuss over minor matters or details, so the two quickly settled on the funeral and burial rituals.
Tasks like holding the banner and the urn would not require anyone else's help.
Ding Yun would handle it all herself.
As for deviating from tradition, Ding Yun's explanation was that she was not only her grandmother's granddaughter but also her disciple. The funeral traditions for a spirit medium differed from those of ordinary people, and a disciple was more qualified to escort their master in death.
After all, disciples were obligated to serve their masters in times of need!
The villagers were not knowledgeable in these matters. Moreover, in the surrounding dozens of villages, there was only the original body's grandmother who was a spirit medium, and not even a single spirit medium's assistant. Even if they wanted to find someone to inquire about such customs, they wouldn't know who to ask.
Therefore, this excuse was sufficient.
The village chief did not dwell on this matter and quickly agreed. He immediately began to help arrange the subsequent affairs, such as inviting a professional mourning team, hiring chefs who specialized in handling banquets for both joyous and mournful occasions, and contacting the funeral home to make early preparations.
The few days before the wake were not particularly busy; the last day would be hectic. Early in the morning, the body would be sent for cremation. After cremation, the urn would be brought back. Then would come the rituals of mourning, holding the banner, and the urn. Once these processes were completed,
the urn would be taken to the public cemetery.
After placing the urn in the cemetery, another round of worship would be conducted, and paper money and paper houses would be burned.
Then, they would return home for the banquet.
The funeral rites would be considered complete after the banquet.
However, some places did not conclude the rituals with just one event. The most troublesome ones required ceremonies starting from the seventh day after death, continuing every seven days until the forty-ninth day, with another ceremony at the hundredth day, one for the anniversary, one for the annual death anniversary, and a larger ceremony for every tenth anniversary.
But these were matters for families with wealth and leisure.
In Ding Yun's village, it was not so complicated, with only one ceremony on the seventh day, one on the twenty-first day, and one for the anniversary. For the annual death anniversary, it was generally observed with just family members paying their respects.
As Yu Man remained unconscious, Ding Yun had even specifically pressed her sleeping acupoint, allowing her to sleep for another two days. Thus, there were no further incidents, and everything proceeded smoothly. Ding Yun's acupoint pressure was also perfectly timed.
The funeral rites had just concluded.
As everyone had just finished their meal and was returning to their respective homes,
her mother, Yu Man, groggily woke up.
Upon waking, she first felt an intense hunger, then a dullness in her head. Her memory of time was also somewhat hazy. After a while, she finally recalled where she was and what she was there for.
Following this, she naturally tried her best to stand up and find Ding Yun and the village chief, fearing that the two of them might conspire to seize her assets. All the belongings left by her mother should naturally belong to her.
By this time, Ding Yun and the village chief had thoroughly discussed the subsequent arrangements. The land was directly returned to the village collective, and the house was also donated to the village by Ding Yun.
It would be renovated by the village collective into a senior activity center.
The village collective's responsibility was to maintain her grandmother's grave for Ding Yun. During festivals, winter solstice, or the death anniversary, if Ding Yun was unable to return, they would help burn some paper money and the like. In short, the terms were very lenient, and overall, the village had certainly benefited greatly.
Therefore, the village chief had no reason to refuse and readily agreed. He also stated that any troubles concerning Yu Man
would be handled by their village collectively.
To make the village chief's assistance simpler and more legitimate, Ding Yun also handed over the will left by her grandmother to the village chief. Her grandmother might have long foreseen that she would not have a peaceful end, so she had specifically left a will in advance. The content of the will was that all her assets were to be handed over to her granddaughter, who would inherit the family business. As for her daughter, she had already established her own life outside and was reportedly living quite well.
With a car, a house, and a family annual income of a million yuan,
she did not need her old mother to worry about her.
Of course, this will was not present from the beginning, and its content was not as it was initially.
According to the original body's understanding, her grandmother had written her first will over thirty years ago. However, as she grew older and more events occurred, the content of her will continuously changed. For example, before the original body was born, her will stated that her inheritance upon death would go to her daughter. This was changed to her granddaughter only when the original body was five years old, after Yu Man had failed to provide any living expenses for four consecutive years or visit them.
Yu Xianglan, worried that her granddaughter might not be an adult when she died, specially changed her will to leave all her inheritance to her granddaughter. This way, even if her granddaughter was not an adult, she could use this money to complete her university education, find a job, and be able to survive independently.
Although the village chief was unaware of this aspect,
the existence of a will undoubtedly made things better.
It also made their assistance more legitimate.
Just as Ding Yun finished discussing the relevant matters with Village Chief Yu, Yu Man, feeling somewhat weak, approached them, questioning what they had done to her, why her head hurt so much, why she felt so weak, and where they had taken her mother's body, as only a memorial tablet remained in the house.
Considering that it was not appropriate for her as a daughter to openly argue or fight with her mother, Ding Yun
strategically positioned herself behind the village chief.
Letting the village chief handle the confrontation with her mother.
If one could leverage someone else's influence, why exert oneself? It was also quite comfortable to offer encouragement from behind!
The village chief was quite capable. He explained the situation while teasing Yu Man. Yu Man, in turn, accused them of trying to pervert justice, stating that they knew she had hit her head and fainted but had not sent her to the hospital.
They had simply let her lie there.
Speaking of which, Yu Man felt a throbbing pain in her head again. She couldn't remember what happened before or after she fainted, and a sense of panic washed over her. She immediately stopped arguing with the village chief.
Instead, she took out her phone and called for a taxi.
As soon as the taxi arrived, she quickly got in and asked the driver to take her to the county hospital for an examination.
In her opinion, her life was more important. She would go to the hospital first to see if there were any issues, and if there were, she would get them treated immediately. The remaining matters could be dealt with slowly.
What was hers could not be snatched away by anyone.