The Pastoral Life of a Cultivation Master

Chapter 3307 The Time Is Wrong

Jia Zhangshi and Qin Huairu exchanged a glance, and smiles appeared on their faces.

In their view, since Yi Zhonghai had agreed to find a solution, it meant there was great hope for the matter, and turning the Xu family's house into the Jia family's house was just around the corner.

As night deepened, around 8 p.m., a series of intermittent, mournful sobs suddenly rang out from the main gate of the courtyard house. The sound echoed in the quiet night, sending chills down the spines of everyone in the courtyard.

"Who is making a funeral so late at night?" Yan Fugui's house was right next to the gate, so he was the first to hear the noise. He quickly put on his clothes, got up, and went out of the house to check, wanting to see who was wailing at the gate of the courtyard just as they were about to rest.

When Yan Fugui reached the gate, he saw a large group of people outside the gate, with Qian Meifang and Xu Ting at the head of the line.

The mother and daughter walked towards the gate of the courtyard house while crying and wailing. Behind them, some people carried two door panels, on which lay people covered with white cloths.

Yan Fugui understood that the Xu family father and son had been brought back from the hospital, so he quickly stepped aside to make way.

The other residents in the courtyard also came out of their homes. They watched the crowd enter through the gate and whispered among themselves, but no one stepped forward to stop them.

When someone in the family passes away, it is common practice to hold a funeral and keep the body in state. Even if neighbors have their own plans, they will not make things difficult for the family at such a time.

In the afternoon, Qian Meifang and her people had already tidied up the backyard, and the group placed the two bodies in the temporary mourning shed set up in the yard.

The laborers who helped carry the body received their wages and left one after another. Only then did everyone notice that there were still about a dozen men, women, and children standing in the Xu family's courtyard, all of whom were relatives who had come to attend the funeral.

I've never heard of any relatives in the Xu family before, but now that someone has died, so many people have come. It seems the Xu family still has connections.

The families who had initially planned to seize the house backed down upon seeing this scene. With so many relatives backing them up, Qian Meifang and her daughter were no longer isolated and vulnerable, making it significantly more difficult for them to gain an advantage.

Of course, we'll have to wait and see. Anyway, with the Xu family father and son dead, someone will step forward.

Yi Zhonghai's expression changed slightly in the crowd. He never expected that the Xu family had so many relatives and friends. It seemed that his promise to Jia Dongxu to help him get the house back was about to be subject to many changes, and he couldn't act rashly.

Yan Fugui also squeezed into the backyard. After seeing the situation clearly, the scheming in his eyes faded. He was good at scheming, but he also knew how to assess the situation. The other side had more people and more power, so it was obviously impossible to try to gain an advantage by being clever.

Of the three stewards, Liu Haizhong was probably the only one who didn't have much on his mind. He was just a little annoyed to see that the Xu family had set up a mourning shed next to his house and that the Xu father and son were still lying there.

However, nothing was said. You can't stop a neighbor from holding a funeral in their yard, since you never know what might happen.

However, aside from a slight annoyance, Liu Haizhong did not share the ulterior motives of Yan Fugui and Yi Zhonghai.

He Yuzhu also led He Yushui out of the house and stood on the periphery of the crowd, looking at the mourning hall from afar.

Looking at the sorrowful scene before her, He Yushui felt a pang of sadness and whispered, "Brother, Brother Da Mao is so pitiful. He only ate some mushrooms by mistake, how could he have passed away like this? He's so unlucky."

"So you must remember this lesson." He Yuzhu said calmly, "In the future, if you see wild mushrooms of unknown origin or wild vegetables and fruits outside, never touch them casually, and definitely don't put them in your mouth. Be careful, or you'll end up like this too." "Yes, I remember, brother." He Yushui nodded obediently. With the tragic scene right in front of her, she dared not be careless in the slightest.

She was completely unaware that the root cause of the Xu family's father and son's miserable end lay entirely with her brother beside her. If she knew the truth, it's uncertain whether she would still be able to remain so calm and obedient.

The Xu family, father and son, lived in a courtyard house, so when it came to funeral arrangements, neighbors in the courtyard would lend a hand if they could. In particular, the three elders in charge of the courtyard would always be there.

Yi Zhonghai, along with Liu Haizhong and Yan Fugui, the three stewards, walked to the front of the mourning tent.

"Please accept my condolences, Mr. Xu," Yi Zhonghai said to Qian Meifang with a sorrowful expression.

"Yes, please accept our condolences." Yan Fugui and Liu Haizhong both offered their condolences.

"Who are you all?" Qian Meifang didn't come up. Instead, a man who looked to be in his forties walked over. "I am Xu Wulin, Xu Wude's cousin. My sister-in-law is too heartbroken right now, so I'm in charge of handling the funeral arrangements for my brother and my nephew."

The three stewards, Yi Zhonghai and the other two, exchanged glances, their expressions unreadable. They had never actually heard of this Xu Wulin, but with Qian Meifang present, they couldn't say anything.

“We are the managers of this compound.” Yi Zhonghai pointed to himself: “I am Uncle Yi Zhonghai.”

He then pointed to Liu Haizhong and Yan Fugui, saying, "Second Uncle Liu Haizhong, Third Uncle Yan Fugui."

Xu Wulin nodded to the three men, "Gentlemen, what brings you here?"

Yi Zhonghai said with great compassion, "After all, we're all from the same compound. What are your rules here, and what do you need the people from our compound to do?"

“Gentlemen, there’s no set procedure for my elder brother’s funeral. We just need to keep his body in the courtyard for three days, and today counts as one day. The day after tomorrow, he will be cremated and buried in the ancestral grave. Everything has been arranged. Also, since many people have come from our side, we won’t trouble the people in the courtyard.”

"Hey, we're all from the same courtyard. Our courtyard is a fine siheyuan (traditional courtyard house), and everyone here is very kind-hearted. If you need anything, just let us know, and we'll all help."

Yi Zhonghai's heart skipped a beat. If he asked the people in the courtyard for help even without needing it, things might become difficult to ask for help later. Things might develop in a direction he didn't want.

"Yes, yes, whenever anything happens, we neighbors will always lend a hand," Yan Fugui chimed in. As for Liu Haizhong, he seemed to want to say something but couldn't find the right words, so he simply remained silent and stood aside.

"Oh, gentlemen, I don't need any help right now. After all, the Xu family is all here today, so we have enough manpower, and everything has been arranged." Xu Wulin's lips twitched, seemingly looking at Yi Zhonghai and the other two with special regard.

"By the way, gentlemen, since you are all here, please go and tell the neighbors in the courtyard that we will be keeping the body here for the next few days, so please forgive us for disturbing everyone."

After saying that, he called out to another young man behind him, "Dayou, take the basket we prepared earlier and go with the three old men to talk to the neighbors in the yard. Give each of them a handful of dates as an apology for disturbing them."

Before Yi Zhonghai could say anything, Yan Fugui burst into laughter, surprised that there was more to take. "Hey, let's start from the front yard then. I'll take you there."

Seeing Yan Fugui's actions, Yi Zhonghai felt helpless. This old Yan was really greedy, but there was nothing he could say. He could only nod and say, "Alright, old Yan, take this young man and go to each household to tell them."