A little madman moved into the courtyard house next door.

Having acquired the house, Xiao Sanfeng knew it was only June, and the People's Commune wouldn't be established until the end of August.

Now, it's fine to sell the game to the supply and marketing cooperative. But after the commune was established, the game hunted had to be sold by the brigade and then converted into points.

Selling the game won't be very convenient then, so I need to make as much money as possible now.

Over the next few days, Xiao Sanfeng continued to take out pheasants and rabbits from his spatial storage and release them into the mountains and fields, sending Wangcai and Xiaofei to retrieve them.

Xiao Fei also went out hunting by itself, and somehow it brought back a muntjac weighing over 60 pounds.

Bai Wushuang hasn't been busy in the fields these past few days; she's been going to the street every day to sell her prey.

The date is March 25st.

Bai Wushuang carried a basket of pheasants and rabbits to town, while Xiao Sanfeng, bored at home, started singing local folk songs.

"One child is one, two children are two, and three children go up the mountain to steal peas."

"The fourth child eats, the fifth child dies, and the sixth child goes to the market to buy mats."

"Seven children carried the coffin, eight children buried it, and the ninth child cried so much he couldn't get up."

"When the tenth child asked him why he was crying, the ninth child said: It's not worth it for the fifth child to die."

This is a local legend: there used to be ten brothers in the area. The eldest and second eldest brothers divided their parents' wealth, leaving their younger brothers behind.

To feed his younger brother, the third brother stole peas from his older brother's house on the mountain. The fourth brother cooked them and they all ate them together. The fifth brother took the blame for the third brother and was beaten to death. The group of younger brothers buried their deceased fifth brother with tears in their eyes.

The veracity of the story is impossible to verify, but the local children have turned this folk song into a well-known local tune.

………………

Around noon, the village chief led a group of people to Xiao Family Village, including a man in military uniform carrying a wooden box. They headed directly towards the Xiao Family compound.

Some villagers, seeing these people arrive, also came over to watch the excitement.

As soon as the village chief entered the courtyard, he shouted, "Clan chief, come out quickly! Something has happened!"

Xiao Jingming came out of the house and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Clan leader, Xiao Chuhe is in trouble. These are people from above."

Xiao Jingming walked over and asked, "What's wrong with Chu He?"

The village chief said, "Clan chief, let me introduce you. This is our town mayor, Yao; this is Minister Yan from the county's armed forces department; and these are Officer Chen and Officer Li from Sijiu City."

A man in military uniform saluted and said, "I am Officer Chen from the Armed Forces Department of the Eastern District of Beijing. Comrade Xiao Chuhe sacrificed his life while on duty. Officer Li and I are responsible for escorting Comrade Xiao Chuhe's ashes back to his hometown and handling subsequent compensation matters."

Xiao Jingming said, "I am Xiao Jingming, the clan chief of Xiaojia Village. You can hand this over to me."

"Chief Xiao, according to the regulations on compensation and Comrade Xiao Chuhe's last wishes, we need to hand over the responsibilities to his son, Xiao Sanfeng."

"Xiao Sanfeng is only 10 years old this year, so this matter still needs to be handled by me, the clan chief."

"Clan Chief Xiao, we must see Xiao Chuhe's son, Xiao Sanfeng."

Xiao Jingming had no choice but to send someone to find Xiao Sanfeng.

…………

Xiao Sanfeng was standing in the house in a daze when a villager came over and said, "Sanwa, your father's dead. Come with me to the courtyard."

"Your dad's the one who's dead, your whole family's dead."

"Sanwa, it's true. People from above have come, carrying a wooden box. They said your father died in the line of duty."

Xiao Sanfeng exclaimed in surprise, "Holy crap, my dad spent five years' worth of money, and he's already been put in a box before we even met!"

"How am I supposed to get to Beijing and seek refuge with him? God, please stop messing with me!"

The villagers said, "Sanwa, what are you doing, acting all mysterious? They're still waiting for you to come over!"

Xiao Sanfeng had no choice but to go out, lock the door, and follow the villager who came to deliver the message to the courtyard.

Upon arriving at the courtyard, Xiao Sanfeng found it already crowded with people. He went inside, where a large table was set up near the entrance to the main hall. On the table sat a wooden box and a black-and-white photograph.

Xiao Sanfeng walked into the main hall, where the clan chief and village chief were sitting, along with several other people he didn't recognize.

When the village chief saw Xiao Sanfeng enter, he said, "Officer Chen, this is Xiao Sanfeng, the adopted son of Xiao Chuhe."

Officer Chen stood up and walked over, saying, "You're Xiao Sanfeng?"

"It's genuine, no doubt about it. If you don't believe me, you can ask all the villagers here."

"No, are there any other adults in your household now?"

"Yes, I was sick before and was abandoned by my biological parents and left with my maternal grandmother. I've been living with her ever since. She's gone to town to sell things right now, and she should be back soon."

"Okay, let's go to your house now. We'll discuss your father's funeral arrangements together when your grandmother gets back."

"Okay, let's go to my place!"

Xiao Jingming began, "The Xiao family has its own rules: the deceased must have their funeral arrangements held in the ancestral home courtyard."

Xiao Sanfeng had no choice but to say, "Alright, let's get this done here!"

Seeing this, Officer Chen also spoke up, "Then let's do it here, but we'll have to wait for Xiao Sanfeng's grandmother to come back."

Xiao Jingming had no choice but to send someone else to check if Bai Wushuang had returned. If she had, he was to call her over directly; if she hadn't, he was to go to town to find her.

…………

After a while, Bai Wushuang entered the main hall. After introducing themselves, they began to discuss business.

Officer Chen took out a wooden box, a red booklet, and an iron plaque from his briefcase, saying, "Comrade Xiao Chuhe sacrificed his life while on duty. Because his work unit involves classified information, all funeral and compensation work will be handled by our Dongcheng District Armed Forces Department."

"This is the First-Class Merit Medal posthumously awarded to Comrade Xiao Chuhe by higher authorities. And there's also the plaque for his family of honor."

Xiao Sanfeng accepted the wooden box and plaque; from now on, he was also a martyr's family member. He had gained another protective charm in this world.

Officer Chen then took out another file folder and said, "Inside here are Xiao Sanfeng's martyr's family pension certificate and household registration book, keys, property ownership certificate, grain and oil supply book, coal supply book. Also included are Comrade Xiao Chuhe's estate and pension."

"Xiao Sanfeng's household registration was originally in the staff quarters of Xiao Chuhe's workplace. Due to confidentiality issues with his workplace, Xiao Sanfeng's household registration has now been transferred to Hongxing Street in Dongcheng District."

"The house was also arranged by the Hongxing Subdistrict Office in the front east wing of the courtyard at No. 93 Nanluoguxiang in the jurisdiction. The Armed Forces Department has already transferred three east wing rooms and one side room to Xiao Sanfeng's private house as compensation."

"Comrade Xiao Chuhe was a captain at the administrative level 20, with a monthly allowance of 72 yuan. After his sacrifice, a year's allowance was paid as a pension, and one month's allowance was paid as funeral expenses."

"Comrade Xiao Chuhe did not have many expenses during his lifetime. This passbook contains his estate of 5720 yuan. The pension and funeral expenses of 936 yuan were also deposited into the passbook. The passbook was also changed to Xiao Sanfeng's name."

"Given that Xiao Sanfeng is only 10 years old, he can receive 30% of Xiao Chuhe's last month's allowance each month as child support, living expenses, and tuition fees until he turns 18."

Xiao Sanfeng took the file folder, secretly delighted: "This is like a pie falling from the sky! I have a house and money. I can also get 21.6 yuan every month. Even without the system's rewards, my life is already soaring."

"Thank you for your concern, superiors. Thank you, Officer Chen. Thank you, leaders." Xiao Sanfeng had to be polite since he had gotten a good deal.