Courtyard House: Purchasing Agents' Comeback from the Great Famine

After the two police officers left, Yan Fugui slumped to the ground, his eyes filled with dejection.

The three women also plopped down on the ground, shaking Yan Jiecheng's body repeatedly with their hands, and broke down in tears.

"Waaaah, my poor Jiecheng, why are you so unlucky? Why were you so careless? What are your father and I going to do now?"

Yan Jiefang and Yan Jiekuang, the two brothers, also cried. After all, he was the older brother they grew up with, and he had suddenly died. How could they not be heartbroken?

When Yan Jiedi saw her two older brothers and parents crying, she started crying too. Only Liu Yuhua stood there expressionless, watching the family cry, and it was unclear what she was thinking.

Yi Zhonghai sighed, walked up to Yan Fugui, patted him on the shoulder, and comforted him:

"Old Yan, please accept my condolences. The police have now investigated and determined that Jie Cheng's death was an accident. I'll go to the factory later to ask for a day off. Leave the funeral arrangements to me."

Yan Fugui, his eyes red-rimmed, nodded: "Old Yi, thank you for your hard work."

Yi Zhonghai waved his hand and sighed, "Old Yan, don't say that. We've known each other for so many years. Now that your family has encountered such a big problem, I will definitely help as much as I can."

After saying that, Yi Zhonghai walked towards the Central Court. He still had many things to arrange. Today, he had to carry Yan Jiecheng out of the city for burial, notify people, and arrange for people to buy a coffin and funeral clothes. There were a lot of things to do.

When Wang Feng saw Yi Zhonghai about to leave, he quickly stopped him, took out a dollar from his pocket and handed it to Yi Zhonghai, then went back into the house with Qin Jingru and Lu Banxia.

Back in the house, Qin Jingru realized that the stools hadn't been brought back yet, so she asked Lu Banxia to go back and get them.

"Brother Wang Feng, I feel this is too strange. You tell me, Yan Jiecheng is such a grown man, and he wasn't drunk last night, how could he possibly fall into the latrine and drown? Could it really be as Jia Zhangshi said, that Yan Jiecheng's vow has come true?"

Lu Banxia brought the stool back and asked in surprise, "Sister Jingru, what kind of vow is it?"

Qin Jingru chuckled and immediately recounted how Yan Jiecheng had stolen their family's chickens, and how Jia Zhangshi had caught them in the act, leading to the two of them swearing oaths to each other.

After listening to Qin Jingru's account, Lu Banxia opened her mouth wide enough to fit a sausage, and said incredulously:

"Sister Jingru, you know what, it's actually possible. Otherwise, it's too strange for such a grown person to drown in the latrine for no reason. Even if it's a six-year-old child, even if he can't climb out, wouldn't he call for help?"

Hearing the two women's conversation, Wang Feng said speechlessly, "Alright, this is someone else's business, so stop making wild guesses. Whether Yan Jiecheng fulfilled his oath or died accidentally, it's none of our business."

"Jingru, after Banxia goes to work later, the two of us will go to Goose's place and won't be back for the next couple of days. Banxia, ​​after you get off work, go straight to No. 28 Courtyard. There must be a lot going on in the courtyard these next few days, so it's best if we stay out of there to avoid being asked for our help. After all, it's hard for us to refuse when they ask for our help with something like this."

"Okay, Brother Wang Feng, I'll do whatever you say."

"OK."

Qin Jingru and Lu Banxia nodded in agreement, and Lu Banxia went to the kitchen to make breakfast. It was already past six o'clock, and if they didn't make breakfast soon, they would be late for work.

None of the three had much of an appetite for breakfast; they couldn't even finish a bowl of noodles before they were too full to eat anymore.

Today's events were truly disgusting. Although neither Lu Banxia nor Qin Jingru witnessed the horrific scene firsthand, they could still imagine it in their minds.

Lu Banxia cleared away the bowls and chopsticks; it was already 7:45. She rode her bicycle to the steel rolling mill.

After Lu Banxia left, Wang Feng and Qin Jingru also pushed their bicycles out. There were still some messy things to do in the courtyard, so they decided to leave it to the people in the courtyard. Anyway, he had already contributed one yuan, which was not bad.

This time, the drowning of Yan Jiecheng in the latrine was done perfectly. Even the police couldn't see anything unusual. Although the people in the compound didn't say anything, most of them suspected that Yan Jiecheng had fulfilled the poisonous oath he had made back then.

Not long after Wang Feng and Qin Jingru left No. 95, Yi Zhonghai arranged for someone to buy back a coffin and funeral clothes.

Without any unnecessary procedures, Yi Zhonghai directly ordered eight coffin bearers to carry the coffin out of the city, with the three aunts and Yi Zhonghai following along the whole way.

The weather was sunny today, making it much easier for the eight people carrying the coffin than before. In addition, the third aunt had steamed dozens of cornbreads, so at least it wasn't like the last time when they carried Jia Dongxu's coffin, where they were not only soaked in the rain but also carried it on an empty stomach.

......

Courtyard 28.

After Wang Feng and Qin Jingru arrived at No. 28 Courtyard, Qin Jingru told Lou Xiao'e what had happened in their courtyard that day. Lou Xiao'e had a good appetite that day, but after Qin Jingru's words, she started to feel nauseous, which made Lou Xiao'e roll her eyes.

Lou Xiao'e didn't even know Yan Jiecheng. So many people are born or die every day in this world, what does it have to do with her? Besides, this Yan Jiecheng had stolen their chickens before, it would be better if someone like that died.

Lou Xiao'e is not as naive as she used to be, especially after her father was betrayed by Chairman Chen, which led to her parents being imprisoned and her becoming a wanted criminal. If she were still as naive as before, she would have wasted her life.

Lou Xiao'e knew that Wang Feng and Qin Jingru didn't have much of an appetite today. After hearing those disgusting things, she also lost her appetite. At noon, she only made a dish of stir-fried green peppers and eggs, and a dish of hot and sour cabbage.

Wang Feng went for a walk outside and brought back four bottles of ginseng and tiger bone wine. At lunchtime, he opened the bottles, poured a glass for Lou Xiao'e, and then poured one for himself, saying:

"Son, try this wine."

Lou Xiao'e was a little surprised and asked, "Brother Feng, what kind of wine is this? Why is this bottle so strange? I don't think there are any wine bottles with this kind of packaging in Beijing."

Wang Feng laughed and immediately told Lou Xiao'e about the ginseng and tiger bone wine.

Upon hearing this, Lou Xiao'e's eyes widened. Knowing that this was a good thing, she didn't waste any words and took a small sip from her wine glass.

"How's it going, son?" Wang Feng asked.

Lou Xiao'e didn't say anything, and drank the wine in her glass in one gulp.

After a while, she felt much more energetic, and even the nausea she had felt earlier disappeared. Moreover, she felt a surge of energy throughout her body, as if she had become stronger.

"Brother Feng, this wine is really good, it tastes great. After drinking this glass, I feel more energetic and even a bit stronger."

Upon hearing Lou Xiao'e's evaluation, Qin Jingru eagerly said, "Brother Wang Feng, quickly pour me a glass, I want to try it too."

Wang Feng waved his hand and said seriously, "Jingru, you are pregnant now, so you shouldn't drink this kind of tonic wine. What if it affects the baby? Don't worry, we have plenty of this wine at home. After you give birth, you can drink as much as you want."

"Oh, okay."

Qin Jingru's main trait is obedience; she will never object to anything Wang Feng says.