Courtyard House: Purchasing Agents' Comeback from the Great Famine

Wang Feng drank a pound of ginseng and tiger bone wine at noon, and Lou Xiao'e also drank half a pound. After drinking the wine, Wang Feng felt nothing at all, which left him speechless.

It seems his constitution is too strong; drinking this kind of tonic wine is no different from drinking water for him. Using himself to test the effects of this wine is simply not feasible.

After drinking half a jin of liquor, Lou Xiao'e felt quite energetic. After finishing her meal, she didn't even finish a pot of tea before she eagerly dragged Wang Feng to her room, which made Qin Jingru roll her eyes.

......

Courtyard 95.

Liu Yuhua led a middle-aged man dressed in a steel mill uniform into the courtyard, arrived at the Yan family's house, and said:

"Director Yan, this is Yan Jiecheng's home."

Today, Liu Yuhua also took a day off. After Yan Jiecheng's coffin was carried out of the compound, she went to the factory and reported Yan Jiecheng's accidental death to the factory.

After all, Yan Jiecheng was a formal employee of the steel rolling mill. Although he did not die on duty, he was still entitled to some funeral expenses and other subsidies from the factory.

Director Yan nodded and sighed softly, "Let's go."

Director Yan never expected that Yan Jiecheng would die like this, and in such a pathetic way.

Ever since Yan Jiecheng joined the factory, he had followed Director Li's orders to make things difficult for Yan Jiecheng. But how long had it been? The man had just disappeared without a trace, leaving him deeply saddened.

The two entered the Yan family home and saw Yan Fugui, who looked utterly dejected. Liu Yuhua introduced him:

"Dad, this is Director Yan, the workshop director of Jiecheng."

Yan Fugui raised his head, looked at Director Yan, and immediately burst into tears.

"Good morning, Director Yan. Please, have a seat. Yu Hua, go and make some tea."

Director Yan waved his hand: "No need."

As he spoke, Director Yan walked up to Yan Fugui, patted him on the shoulder, and comforted him:

"My condolences, comrade."

"I came here on behalf of the factory to visit the families of the workers. Jiecheng was a hard-working and dedicated worker in the workshop. I never expected him to leave us like this."

"In addition to the standard funeral allowance that our factory provides, there is also a one-time subsidy for the accidental death of a formal employee. In addition, Director Li personally gave me 20 yuan to bring to you. As Comrade Yan Jiecheng's direct supervisor, I also gave 10 yuan. This is our condolences to Comrade Yan Jiecheng's family."

Director Yan took out more than 100 yuan from his pocket and said, "Old comrade, since Comrade Yan Jiecheng did not die on duty, the standard funeral expense for our steel rolling mill is two months of Comrade Yan Jiecheng's usual salary, which is 36 yuan."

"Furthermore, given Comrade Yan Jiecheng's family situation, you are a senior comrade with a formal job, and your wife Liu Yuhua also has a formal job. You have no children, only a mother who is unemployed. According to our factory's standard survivor's relief payment, it is six months' salary for Yan Jiecheng, which is 108 yuan."

"The funeral expenses are 36 yuan, the survivor's relief fund is 108 yuan, and the condolence money from Director Li and myself is 30 yuan, totaling 174 yuan. Old comrade, is that correct?"

Upon hearing this, Yan Fugui did not answer Director Yan's question, but asked with a dejected expression:

"Director Yan, can my second son take over my son Jiecheng's job?"

Director Yan slowly shook his head and sighed, "Old comrade, I'm sorry, but the factory's regulations state that only the family members of workers who die on duty can take over their shifts. Comrade Yan Jiecheng's situation does not meet the requirements for taking over."

After saying that, Director Yan handed 174 yuan to Yan Fugui and took out the banknotes and inkpad.

"Old comrade, take a look. If there are no problems, please sign your name and put your fingerprint on it."

Upon hearing that Jie Cheng could not take over his job, Yan Fugui sighed, then signed his name and pressed his fingerprint after reading what was written on it.

Director Yan put the note away and said, "Old comrade, if there's nothing else, I'll be leaving now. Please accept my condolences."

"Director Yan, take care. Yu Hua, go and see Director Yan off."

"Why."

Liu Yuhua saw Director Yan out of the compound and then returned to the house. She didn't speak to Yan Fugui or say anything to comfort him. She had already comforted him before. She had been busy all day and had fulfilled her responsibilities as a daughter-in-law. She went back to her room and closed the door.

Watching Liu Yuhua's retreating figure, Yan Fugui slumped onto the stool, his face ashen.

His son was not even 22 years old! How could he die?

They finally managed to get Jie Cheng a permanent job at the steel rolling mill, but he died before he could even start receiving his salary for a few months. Now they're not even allowing his family to take over the job. How can he accept this?

He knew that since his death wasn't on duty, his family wasn't allowed to take over his job. But he still wanted to see if the factory could take pity on his family and let Jiefang take over Jiecheng's job. However, when he saw Director Yan's businesslike attitude, he knew that was impossible.

Jie Cheng owes him 1150 yuan, and has only paid him back 50 yuan so far. There is still 1100 yuan left to pay back.

With his son gone, his job gone, and his money gone, Yan Fugui was completely devastated.

......

Four o'clock in the afternoon.

Yi Zhonghai, the three aunties, and eight coffin bearers returned to the courtyard. Yan Jiecheng's funeral arrangements were now complete.

In less than a day, from the discovery of Yan Jiecheng's body to the return of the burial party at four o'clock in the afternoon, it only took about ten hours in total.

This was the fastest funeral arrangement ever made for No. 95 Courtyard since the founding of the People's Republic of China. There was no other way; food was scarce everywhere, and it was impossible to arrange a banquet. Cornmeal was now 1.5 yuan per kilogram, and the Yan family was so stingy that they couldn't bear to hold a banquet.

When grain was cheap, people in the courtyard would give a few cents to those who gave more, and a few dollars to those who gave less. As long as the food was slightly subpar, they could still make a profit.

But cornmeal is so expensive now. Even if we don't cook any dishes and just eat cornbread, we'll still have to rely on Grandma's house. Yi Zhonghai knew what kind of people the Yan family were, so without asking any questions, he directly decided not to hold a banquet for them.

......

Courtyard 28.

Wang Feng and Lou Xiao'e had already gotten up by this time. They had fought two battles with Lou Xiao'e that afternoon. Wang Feng attributed Lou Xiao'e's eagerness today to the ginseng and tiger bone wine.

Lou Xiao'e has such a strong constitution, yet she still developed these symptoms. It seems that the ginseng and tiger bone wine is still too potent.