False evidence

Chapter 195 Respect for Everyone
Those who had been driven out, including Longhair and Bamboo Pole, had all gathered back in the courtyard.

I called to the monkey, and we collected the items we had previously "scavenged" from those "carriers" and placed them in front of Uncle Cheng's photo.

Seeing this, Yan Fengwei turned around and shouted loudly to the onlookers outside the courtyard:
"Gentlemen, Uncle Cheng doesn't want to make a big fuss, but you've all seen what's happening today! Today is today! As the saying goes, a close neighbor is worse than a distant relative! How about... we, the neighbors, say goodbye to Uncle Cheng first?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, someone immediately said, "Chengzi left? Why didn't any of you tell me?"

An elderly man with a cane walked in, his steps unsteady.

Yan Fengwei tried to help him up, but was instead knocked aside by his cane.

The old man, leaning on his cane, walked through the crowd in the courtyard to the entrance of the main room. His reddened eyes blinked a few times, he looked at me for a moment, then suddenly tapped his cane on the ground and said:
"You're not a filial son! At least lend me a hand!"

There were actually seven or eight people who came in with the old man; they all squeezed through the crowd.

Upon hearing this, I quickly stepped forward and supported the old man's arm. The old man then tossed aside his cane, pointed at the photo by the door, and cried out, "You... how come you're faster than me!"

As I listened to his simple words, my eyes welled up with tears.

However, the old man whispered quickly, "You mustn't cry! You hold the door lintel of that Fang family's house shut!"

As the old man broke down in tears, some of the others who had followed him in knelt down, while others simply stood there, covering their faces and weeping.

After seeing off the old man and his group, about ten more groups of neighbors and 'relatives' from the surrounding area came and went, some bowing and others kneeling and kowtowing.

The oldest one was none other than that original old man.

The youngest is only three or four years old.

As soon as the last group of neighbors finished paying their respects and stepped out of the house, I immediately turned to the courtyard and said, "All the younger generations who never knelt before me in life, kneel down!"

"Whoosh whoosh..."

The courtyard was filled with kneeling figures.

"That's enough!" Gao nudged me.

"no!"

I looked up and met the gaze of an elderly man with a fierce expression across from me.

Yan Fengwei, who was standing next to me, put his arm around my shoulder and said loudly in a chorus, "Are you going to cry or laugh on the road to the underworld? You can't keep a straight face like that!!"

I immediately raised my hand and pointed towards the kneeling crowd, then directly at the old man.

The old man raised his white eyebrows and glared at me angrily.

But just before I looked at Yan Fengwei, he wiped his eyes with his sleeve and 'cried'.

“You’re being a bit too domineering,” Bai Jing said, moving closer to me.

Yue Rong also leaned closer and whispered, "I don't think so. One crackdown is better than more trouble later."

"It's time to kowtow," Yan Fengwei said as he turned to my side.

I patted his shoulder, stepped forward, and, suppressing a sob in my throat, shouted in a high-pitched voice:

"Uncle Cheng! I'm seeing you off! Have a safe journey! Don't look back! I'll take care of my sister for you!"

The entire courtyard was filled with people kowtowing three times, amidst a cacophony of cries, some genuine and some feigned.

Immediately afterwards... they were all driven out by Yan Fengwei and others, either gently or forcefully.

At that moment, the previously bright sky suddenly turned gloomy.

Not long after, it started to rain.

Inside the main room, the lawyer surnamed Ding pointed behind me and asked, "Who are these people?"

Yan Fengwei completely ignored him, put his arm around my shoulder, and shouted:
"Do you remember what I told you about when I first met your sister-in-law?" He pointed to the oldest of the group who had come with him: "This brother is the one I 'heroically rescued' from back then, the one who cracked my head open with a flowerpot! These guys are all from the Dongtaimen Market Supervision Bureau, I specifically brought them here to drink with you!"

I was speechless for a while.

It turned out to be the case.

No wonder they all have such a powerful aura.

I did consider calling in reinforcements at first, but I also thought the situation would be difficult to manage and might even be used against me by the other side.

But now, a friend brought his friends and several market regulators to have dinner with me, and no one could say anything about it.

All I can say is that Yan Fengwei is no ordinary cunning man.

He looked around and waved his hand: "You've all bowed, right? Those who were going to cry, have cried, right? If you're all done, go eat! No matter if it's a big or small funeral, if you're doing something for my brother, I'll treat you to a meal!"

Once they left, the room became much quieter again.

It started raining outside, and since I don't like the dark, I turned on the light.

The old man with white eyebrows shouted, "No lights are allowed in front of the coffin!"

"Have you set up a mourning hall? If you really use this as a mourning hall, the elders will cry and hug you three times!" I looked at his sleeve.

The old man naturally understood what I meant.

He just symbolically wiped his eyes, and those two howls were all bark and no bite; there was no way his sleeves would get wet with tears.

Those who remained, besides the old man and the two lawyers on the other side, included a middle-aged man in his fifties and a middle-aged man and woman who appeared to be a couple.

Without needing to introduce themselves, one could almost guess that these were all Uncle Cheng's elders and 'close relatives'.

The middle-aged man stood up, took out his cigarette case, shook out a few cigarettes, and handed them to Gao He with a smile, "Old Gao, have one to calm your nerves."

Seeing that Gao He had taken the cigarette, he lit one up himself, took out a lighter to light it, and casually handed the cigarette pack to me: "Hengheng!"

I said coldly, "In such a small room, with three women inside, aren't you afraid of choking them with your cigarette smoke?"

Gao lit his cigarette and immediately stubbed it out.

The middle-aged man looked embarrassed, walked to the door, and threw away the cigarette he had just lit.

He was nothing compared to the most embarrassed old man, the one with white eyebrows, who already had his pipe in his mouth. Another middle-aged man was striking a match, preparing to light his pipe for him. Upon hearing what I said, he froze on the spot.

"cough!"

The white-browed old man coughed.

The middle-aged man glanced at me, struck another match, and went to light his pipe again.

Just then, someone came in carrying a tea tray. I grabbed the teapot, opened the lid, and poured all the tea onto the floor.

"Uh-da! Uh-da..."

The person serving the tea yelled and jumped back.

Almost everyone else was also splashed with hot water, some backing away, others pulling their legs back.

The white-browed old man had just taken a demonstrative, deep drag on his cigarette when this startled him, causing him to cough incessantly, his face turning red and his neck thickening.

After the commotion subsided, I said in a deep voice, "Whether you are elders or peers, regardless of your status, I respect each and every one of you. But respect is mutual. This is not a feudal society, and there is no such thing as male superiority over females. When we are in the same room, a real man should act like a man and not make the women feel annoyed!"

After saying that, I put the teapot back on the tea tray and said to the person who served the tea, "Er Gouzi, Uncle Cheng liked to drink green tea and didn't like jasmine tea. Go and get another pot."

"Er Gouzi" turned his back to the others, frowned, glared at me fiercely, and then turned and left.

(End of this chapter)