Courtyard House: Purchasing Agents' Comeback from the Great Famine

Upon hearing that Xu Damao would rather pay two yuan than carry the coffin, Yi Zhonghai's face turned as black as the bottom of a pot.

What's going on lately? Why is it that nobody wants to listen to this old man who's in charge of the compound anymore?

He looked at Xu Damao with a gloomy expression and said in a deep voice, "Xu Damao, your situation is different from Wang Feng's. Wang Feng has official business to attend to, but you, a warehouse guard, can just ask for a day off. As for your claim that your injuries haven't healed yet, you don't need to say that anymore. If you really don't want to carry the coffin, then you can pay three yuan."

Then, Yi Zhonghai looked at all the strong young men in the courtyard and said loudly:

"From now on, for those I call out, whether you really have something to do or not, if you don't want to go, then each of you will pay three yuan. If our courtyard can't find eight people to carry the coffin, we can just go outside and find people. This money will be considered as compensation for the hard work of those who carry the coffin."

Upon hearing this, Xu Damao could only smile wryly and nod in agreement.

"Okay, I'm willing to pay three yuan."

He'd be willing to pay, but he absolutely couldn't say he was feeling unwell. As a man from Beijing, he'd rather die than lose face.

Upon hearing that Xu Damao was willing to pay three yuan, Yi Zhonghai nodded and continued:

"Erdan, Dasheng, Guangtian, Jiefang, Shazhu, Gousheng, Weiguo, Jianming, the eight of you will go carry the coffin. Any problems?"

"no problem."

"Uncle, I'm fine with that too."

"Sir, are you carrying the coffin today or tomorrow? Please let me know in advance so I can ask for leave from the factory."

All seven men were willing to carry the coffin, but Sha Zhu frowned. Just as Sha Zhu was about to say that he was too weak to carry the coffin, He Daqing stood up and said:

"Shazhu's body hasn't fully recovered yet, so our family will contribute three yuan."

Yi Zhonghai nodded: "Alright, since Sha Zhu is willing to pay, then Zhiqiang will have to do the hard work."

"no problem."

With the last person agreeing, the eight coffin bearers were finally settled. Yi Zhonghai then said:

"It's not yet determined whether the burial will take place today or tomorrow. If the police come later and determine that it was an accidental death, then the burial will take place today. If the investigation finds that it was murder, then it may have to be postponed to tomorrow or later."

"Everyone, please disperse. The police will be here to investigate later. If it is confirmed to be an accidental death, we will notify you in advance. The eight pallbearers should go to the factory to ask for a day off."

Just as everyone was about to adjourn the meeting, Liu Guangtian stood up and asked:

"Uncle, Uncle, when we carried Jia Dongxu's coffin before, we went in the rain and were exhausted after a whole day. We only ate one cornbread. You won't make us go carrying the coffin on an empty stomach like the Jia family did this time, will you?"

When Jia Zhangshi heard Liu Guangtian mention their family, she instantly flew into a rage. She stood up, pointed at Liu Guangtian, and began to hurl insults:

"Liu Guangtian, you bastard, who are you calling a ghost? Do you believe I'll tear your mouth apart?"

Liu Guangtian curled his lip: "That's right. Last time we carried Jia Dongxu out of the city on empty stomachs, why can't we say anything?"

"Enough, all of you shut up!"

Yi Zhonghai roared, and the two immediately fell silent.

Yi Zhonghai looked at Yan Fugui, who sighed deeply. He didn't want to say a word, but since he had been asked, he had no choice but to answer.

"Don't worry, everyone. I guarantee you'll have enough to eat."

After saying that, Yan Fugui looked as if he had aged ten years, and he and the three aunts helped each other walk to the front yard.

"That's it, everyone disperse."

Yi Zhonghai waved to the crowd and told the old lady to hurry back and make breakfast. He then walked to the front yard with Liu Haizhong.

Qin Jingru tugged at Wang Feng's sleeve and whispered, "Brother Wang Feng, let's go take a look too. Don't worry, we can just watch from a distance. Yan Jiefang has already gone to the police station, and the police will be here soon. I want to see how the police are investigating."

Wang Feng looked at Qin Jingru helplessly and asked, "Yan Jiecheng's body has already been carried out. Aren't you afraid? Banxia, ​​do you want to go too?"

Qin Jingru said speechlessly, "Brother Wang Feng, am I that timid? It's just a corpse, isn't it? It's not like I haven't seen corpses before. Besides, I'm not even afraid of living people, why would I be afraid of dead people?"

"Hehe, since Sister Jingru wants to go, then let's go." Lu Banxia said with a smile.

"Alright, since you're not afraid, we'll just watch from a distance. Even though Yan Jiecheng has been washed clean, he still smells terrible up close."

"Uh-huh."

Qin Jingru smiled sweetly, took Lu Banxia's hand, and the three of them walked towards the front yard. They didn't even care about the stools. Anyway, no one in the yard would dare to steal their stools. They could take the stools back after watching the excitement.

The three of them arrived at the front yard and stood at the door of Aunt Wu's house, looking in the direction of the Yan family's house with Aunt Wu.

A short while later, Yan Jiefang arrived at the courtyard with two police officers. Wang Feng immediately recognized them as the same two officers who frequently visited courtyard number 95: one a young man and the other a middle-aged man.

"The police are here! Make way!"

Many people still came to the front yard to watch the commotion. Yan Jiefang pushed his way through, and two policemen approached Yan Jiecheng's body. The middle-aged policeman asked:

Who are the deceased's relatives?

Yan Fugui stepped forward, his face filled with grief: "Comrade police officer, I am the deceased's father."

The two police officers nodded, seemingly unconcerned about the stench emanating from the corpse, and squatted down to begin examining it.

After a while, the autopsy was completed, and the young police officer asked, "Did the deceased drink alcohol last night?"

Yan Fugui shook his head: "No."

The two police officers then asked who the first eyewitness was. After questioning Zhang Laoyan without success, they questioned Yan Fugui and Liu Yuhua about Yan Jiecheng's situation and whether Yan Jiecheng had shown any unusual behavior in the past few days.

The answer is clear: Yan Jiecheng had not shown any unusual behavior before. Liu Yuhua can also testify that Yan Jiecheng went to the toilet by himself in the middle of the night, even wearing his clothes and shoes, and that the front door of the house was opened by Yan Jiecheng.

By now, the two police officers were certain that this was indeed an accident. The middle-aged officer looked at Yan Fugui and said:

"According to our investigation, there were no injuries on Comrade Yan Jiecheng's body. It can be basically determined that Comrade Yan Jiecheng died in an accident. Moreover, his getting up to go to the toilet in the middle of the night was a voluntary act. During this time, if someone wanted to tie him up to the toilet and harm him, it would be impossible for him to be without any injuries."

"Now that it's been confirmed that it's not a criminal case, we'll head back to the station. My condolences."