Sha Zhu's Rebirth in the Courtyard: Starting with Hitting Someone in the Head

Chapter 314 The End of the Game

Liu Guangtian and Yan Jiekuang were cremated on the same day at the East Suburbs Funeral Home. Their ashes were initially stored in the funeral home's columbarium until a suitable burial site was chosen at the cemetery.

On the day of the cremation, Liu Guangfu completed the formalities and waited at the storage window. The staff placed Liu Guangtian's urn into the storage locker, locked it, and handed him a storage certificate.

Liu Guangfu took it and put it in his pocket. He turned and walked out, where he ran into Xiao Dang in the corridor. The two stopped a few steps apart.

Xiao Dang spoke first: "Liu Guangfu, your brother said before he died that this matter should end here, and that you should live well."

Liu Guangfu's expressionless face showed emotion. His brother was still thinking of him before he died. After several seconds, he finally spoke: "I understand."

Liu Guangfu left the funeral home and lit a cigarette at the entrance. The sun was bright, and he squinted. So much had happened lately; his second brother was gone. He was the only one left in the Liu family. He had to listen to his brother and live well.

Back at the recycling station, he sat at the table for a long time. This seat used to belong to his second brother, who kept the accounts here every day. The helpers went about their work as usual. Liu Guangfu watched them and remembered how his second brother would sit here and call out to him, "Guangfu, organize the warehouse. Make sure you know how much stock you have."

Back then, I found it annoying to hear it, and I would retort, "Brother, you're in charge. I'll just focus on picking up the goods." In just a few days, we've been separated by death, and now I can't hear it even if I want to.

Deputy Director Wang's case was quickly resolved. All sanitation departments in Beijing underwent a comprehensive overhaul. According to the "Regulations on the Security Management of the Scrap Metal Recycling Industry" implemented in January 1994, sanitation departments should have handed over their waste to material recycling companies; selling it privately to private recycling stations was itself a violation.

Deputy Director Wang was placed under investigation by the Party's disciplinary body (a regulation implemented in March 1994). He was suspended from his duties for investigation, subsequently dismissed, and transferred to judicial authorities. Throughout the entire sanitation system, all private waste collection channels were shut down, and waste was uniformly handed over to material recycling companies.

After the news spread, everyone in Beijing who was in the waste recycling business was cursing, saying that these two families had broken the rules and now everyone was suffering as a result.

Liu Guangfu sold his bread cart at the dealership and fired the driver. He kept two of the helpers he'd previously hired, and the three of them ran a recycling station, relying entirely on unpackaged goods. He managed everything himself, going through the accounts and estimating a monthly income of around two thousand yuan, enough for a comfortable life. Liu Guangtian gradually became less talkative, sometimes going an entire day without uttering a word.

Xiao Dang's situation was the same. She sold her van and fired the driver. She had previously hired three helpers, but kept one. She and Yan Jiedi calculated for two days, estimating a monthly income of 1300-1400 yuan. The two of them would leave before dawn to collect recyclables accumulated by elderly residents in the neighborhood, returning before seven o'clock to open the shop. They used their busy and fulfilling lives to forget their sorrow.

Qin Huairu went to help the Yan family on the day of the incident. After the cremation, she inquired about burial plots everywhere, visited two places, and finally chose a plot in the East Suburb Cemetery.

Both families were buried on the ninth day after their deaths. The two graves were separated by four rows of tombstones; from one side, one could see the fresh soil in the other. Qin Huairu stood beside Xiao Dang, watching the urn be placed into the grave, the soil filled, and the tombstone erected. Xiao Dang squatted in front of the tombstone, burning paper money, the flames turning the paper money into ashes that scattered. Qin Huairu watched her daughter's back, suppressing the slight upturn of her lips.

Yan Jiekuang is dead, leaving only two people in the Yan family. If Banggeng ever needs anything, Xiaodang can lend a hand. If she's gone, her two daughters can help take care of Banggeng. She outwardly appears sorrowful, shedding tears when she should, but inwardly she's smiling.

That evening, Xu Damao arrived at the courtyard, his expression strange as he entered. For the past few days, he had been thinking about how ruthless Brother Zhu had been, and he couldn't hold back any longer, so he came to get the truth out of him.

Xu Damao cautiously asked, "Brother Zhu, those photos...did you post them?"

He Yuzhu was drinking tea. He put down his teacup, opened a drawer, took out a stack of photos, and threw them on the table.

"Why would I put it up? The photos I printed are all here, you can see how clear they are." He spread the stack of photos out in front of Xu Damao. "The ones on the street are much blurry, you can tell at a glance they're copies. I guess Yan Jiekuang prepared this a long time ago. He got beaten up by Liu Guangtian and was so angry that he put them up as revenge. It has nothing to do with me."

Xu Damao picked up the photos and flipped through a few, glancing at He Yuzhu's expression. He Yuzhu tossed him a cigarette, lit it himself, and took a puff, his expression unchanged.

Xu Damao chuckled, lit a cigarette, and poured himself some tea. "Brother Zhu, pretend I didn't say anything."

He Yuzhu rolled his eyes at him and put the photo away. "You little rascal, you haven't come over for the past few days. You're convinced I did it, and you've been cursing me behind my back, haven't you?"

"That's impossible. I, Xu Damao, am not that kind of person. I just... just have a little bit of doubt." Xu Damao looked a little embarrassed.

"Alright, I know you too well."

It was dusk outside the window, and the pomegranate tree in the yard was full of small fruits, all green and with dense leaves.

A gust of wind blew from the top of the wall as He Yang rode his yellow dog back from the middle courtyard. The dog walked slowly, barely able to carry its owner. He Yang hummed an off-key children's song, pulled on the reins, slid off the dog's back, pushed open the door, and went inside, looking up and calling out, "Dad!" "Uncle Da Mao!"

He Yuzhu responded and quickly opened the doors and windows to ventilate the room, telling Xu Damao to get lost. He Yang had already run into the room to ask his mother for a soda, with the yellow dog wagging its tail behind him.

That evening, Qin Huairu sat on the kang (a heated brick bed) folding clothes. Huaihua, who was sewing buttons beside her, stopped after a few stitches and said, "Mom, I've been thinking about something. Before Yan Jiekuang's accident, you didn't seem surprised at all."

Qin Huairu's hands didn't stop moving. "The person is dead. What's there to be surprised about?"

"That's not what I meant." Huaihua put down the clothes in her hands. "You said before that if Yan Jiekuang continued to cause trouble, something bad would happen sooner or later. I thought you were just saying it casually at the time."

Qin Huairu put the folded clothes aside without replying. Huaihua looked at her: "Mom, did you already guess something?"

Qin Huairu considered for a moment before speaking: "How many of the people who died in this courtyard had a peaceful end? You may not know the people who died before, but you do know Liu Haizhong, Yan Bugui, and Wang Caifeng. I've told you how they died. Now even Yan Jiekuang and Liu Guangtian are dead. Plus, this courtyard is known for having no male heirs. Don't you find it strange?"

Huaihua was stunned. Qin Huairu didn't look at her, nor did she say anything more. She had an answer in her heart, one that she had since the three families were emptied out.

Huaihua snapped out of her daze and grabbed Qin Huairu's arm. "Mom, let's move. This courtyard house is too eerie."

Qin Huairu lowered her voice: "Huaihua, you're a smart person, don't say anything you're thinking. Save up some money these next few years, I don't have many years left. After I die, you three siblings bury me in Qin Family Village. You stay there and don't come back. Your... father is still alive, I'll make arrangements."