Siheyuan: Domineering life

the next day.

As soon as daybreak came, people started to come to pay their respects.

Some of the people who came were Yang Jun’s relatives, some were his former comrades-in-arms and colleagues, and others were people who came under various pretexts. They came to pay their respects in name only, but really to curry favor with Yang Jun.

As the host family, the Yang family will warmly entertain anyone who comes to pay their respects.

As a filial son or the only filial son in the Yang family (except the fifth son Yang Huai), Yang Jun could only stay in the mourning hall. Yang Chengdao, as the eldest grandson of the Yang family, stood at the gate of the ancestral hall to welcome the guests, and Yang Chengcai, Yang Chengyun and other sons also stood there as deputy greeters.

As the day grew brighter, more and more people came to worship. The entrance of the ancestral hall was filled with all kinds of cars. They were in a hurry. They first bowed to Wang Yuying, then exchanged a few simple words with Yang Jun and left.

As a filial son, Yang Jun could not leave the mourning hall. He knelt there and burned paper money. His sisters also stayed there, along with Yang Jun's children. As for his women, since they were not legitimate, they were sent home by Yang Jun early in the morning.

"Old Yang, I'm sorry."

Yang Jun was burning paper money with his head down when he suddenly heard a familiar voice.

When I looked up, it turned out to be Wang Erwa.

He did not come alone. He was followed by his old comrades including Li Lixin and Ji Demin.

They stood there with sad and solemn expressions.

"Old Yang, I'm sorry."

Everyone said in unison.

"Yeah." Yang Jun nodded.

This is not an occasion for excessive communication.

Afterwards, Wang Erwa and his group turned around and left.

They came to the yard, where there was a table where a dozen women were gathered around cutting mourning clothes. As there were so many people coming to pay their respects, the mourning clothes could not be taken out at once, so they had to ask Ma Xiangxiu, Hao Hongmei and others to help. Even so, there was still a lot of mourning clothes missing.

However, Ma Xiangxiu and the others still prepared a set of mourning clothes for each of Wang Erwa and his group. After all, they were guests and should not be treated with disrespect.

"Give me another piece of linen clothes." Wang Erwa said at this time.

After hearing this, Ma Xiangxiu and others stood there in shock.

You have to know that only filial sons and daughters can wear sackcloth. Even the closest relatives can only wear mourning clothes at most. Ordinary guests can only wear a mourning hat at most. But Wang Erwa and others wanted sackcloth, which was a bit against the rules.

Ma Xiangxiu only prepared linen clothes for Yang Jun and his three siblings, and did not prepare anything else. Faced with the sudden situation, they didn't know what to do.

"Mr. Wang, this... is against the rules, right?" Ma Xiangxiu asked weakly.

She naturally knew the relationship between Wang Erwa and Yang Jun. The two were brothers for life and death, and their friendship had remained as good as ever for decades. For a moment, she did not dare to make the decision.

"Why is it against the rules?"

Wang Erwa glared at me and said, "Don't you know the relationship between me and Lao Yang? Aside from not having the same mother, what's the difference between us and brothers?"

"Well said, we are Lao Yang's brothers." Ji Deming echoed.

"We are all Lao Yang's brothers." Li Lixin and others also said.

After hearing this, Ma Xiangxiu felt even more embarrassed and stood there not knowing what to do.

Fortunately, Yang Anbang came over at this time.

"what happened?"

Yang Anbang is the eldest son of the Yang family. The Yang family temporarily entrusted him with the funeral arrangements for their mother, and would let him take over after his cousin from his hometown arrived. Seeing that a dispute had occurred, he had to come and deal with it.

"Brother, you came at the right time. Mr. Wang and his men want to approve hemp clothing."

When Ma Xiangxiu saw Yang Anbang, she felt like she had seen a savior and quickly threw the hot potato to him.

"In sackcloth?"

Hearing this request, even the knowledgeable Yang Anbang was stunned.

However, he quickly reacted.

"Since Mr. Wang wants to wear sackcloth, why don't you prepare it quickly?"

Of course he knew that Wang Erwa and his old comrades had a life-and-death friendship with Yang Jun. Since they were willing to wear mourning clothes for Wang Yuying, why would he be unhappy?

Even if this matter does not require Yang Jun's consent, he can still make the decision, not to mention that Yang Jun will agree after knowing it.

"But... you didn't prepare any extra linen clothes?" Ma Xiangxiu looked at him with embarrassment.

"If you don't have it, go buy it. Buy it quickly."

"Okay, okay, I'll send someone to the city to buy it right away."

After saying that, Yang Anbang turned around and said to Wang Erwa and the others, "Everyone, I'm sorry. I didn't do my job well and didn't prepare so many hemp clothes in advance."

"But don't worry, I have already sent someone to buy it, and I will give it to you immediately when I get it back."

"What do you think?"

Seeing this, Wang Erwa sighed.

"Okay, that's it. Buy it and send it to us later."

The few of them did not continue to embarrass Yang Anbang. After they finished speaking, they straightened their mourning clothes and went into the ancestral hall together to keep vigil for Wang Yuying.

After the few people went in, no one spoke and knelt silently behind Yang Jun. They were keeping vigil for Wang Yuying as filial sons.

Seeing this, Yang Jun looked back but didn't say anything.

In fact, he knew in his heart that among these people, except for Wang Erwa who sincerely wanted to keep vigil for Wang Yuying, the others were more motivated by considerations of their own interests.

Without me, Li Lixin, Li Tiezhu and others would not have been able to climb so fast over the years, so it was only right and reasonable for them to see Wang Yuying off to her final journey.

At this time, the sky was already bright.

The snow outside was falling heavier and heavier. Even though people were constantly cleaning the yard, it was soon covered by white again.

Two long rows of temporary tents had already been built near the two side entrances outside the ancestral hall for guests who came to pay their respects to stay. Smoke was rising from the tents further away, and a large group of cooks were busy preparing breakfast.

Luo Xiaojun and his men set up the tent last night, and it is now ready for use.

The guests who came to pay their respects left in a hurry after the worship. They only paid their respects today, and they would come again on the day of the funeral. The host did not provide meals, and even if they did, they would not stay for dinner.

People who came to worship were in a hurry and left immediately after the worship. Even so, there was still traffic congestion in front of the ancestral hall.

Over the years, Yang Jun has made many friends, some are familiar friends, some are just acquaintances, and more are people who have nothing to do with Yang Jun at all. The reason they come to worship is mainly out of considerations of interests.

Who wouldn’t want to curry favor with a man as powerful as Yang Jun?

It was very cold in the mourning hall. Even with the air conditioner on, it still felt cold. The door of the ancestral hall was open and the cold wind blew in. Yang Jun, who was kneeling near the door, was shivering with cold. He could only rely on the faint fire in the brazier to keep warm.

He had been kneeling for several hours without moving. His legs were numb and he had lost all feeling in them, but he still knelt there motionless.

There are a lot of people coming to worship today, so he must abide by the rules and not move around.

It was almost nine o'clock when Luo Xiaojun came over to inform us to have breakfast.

Naturally, Yang Jun and his two siblings, Yang Mei, could not leave the mourning hall at the same time. They had to eat separately. Yang Jun asked Yang Mei to take Yang Liu, Yang Yu and all the other Yang family children to eat first, while he stayed behind to guard the mourning hall.

"Brother, I'm going to eat first and come back to take your place."

After saying hello, Yangmei took her sisters to have breakfast.

Suddenly, the mourning hall was empty, with only Yang Jun, Wang Erwa and his comrades left. Wang Erwa and his comrades saw that there was a lot of empty space, so they knelt around Wang Yuying's body and guarded her.

"Lao Wang, Lao Ji, Lao Li, Lao Peng... Thank you."

Yang Jun thanked him only when there was no one around.

After all, the other person took the initiative to keep vigil for his mother, so he had to thank him in some way.

When other people's parents died in the past, he didn't keep vigil for them.

"Hey, what are you thanking me for? Isn't it your duty to keep vigil for your mother?" said Wang Erwa.

"No need to thank me, we are all family." Ji Demin waved his hand.

Ji Demin still felt a little uncomfortable. Although he and Yang Jun were comrades-in-arms, he was more than 20 years older than Yang Jun and not much older than Wang Yuying. He usually called Wang Yuying "Auntie", which made him feel a little embarrassed. Now, he still felt a little awkward asking him to keep vigil for Wang Yuying.

"Old Yang, please don't be polite with us. It's our duty to keep vigil for our mother." Peng Kai said, "We wanted a sackcloth just now, but it was sold out. Otherwise, we would be filial sons like you."

After hearing this, Yang Jun was stunned for a moment.

However, he did not reject their kindness.

"Thanks, brothers."

"Hey, I told you not to thank me, why are you thanking me for nothing?"

It was breakfast time and there were relatively few people attending the worship at this time. Yang Jun took this opportunity to move his numb legs and change his posture to make himself more comfortable.

At this time, Luo Xiaojun came in.

"Master, Master's wife and the others have already boarded the plane and are on their way back. They are expected to arrive at 3pm."

"Oh, I see." Yang Jun just responded lightly.

Seeing that Yang Jun had nothing more to say, Luo Xiaojun quickly left the ancestral hall.

At this time, Yang Chengdao came in.

"Dad, I'm done eating. I'll keep watch for you. You and your uncles can go eat."

Yang Jun heard this and shook his head.

"Wait for your second aunt and the others to come."

Yang Jun was in a very heavy mood and had not yet recovered from his grief. How could he be in the mood to eat at the moment?

Seeing this, Yang Chengdao moved his lips and jaw a few times, but in the end he couldn't say anything, and then went out to continue receiving guests.

About half an hour later, Yangmei and the others came back after dinner.

A group of people patted the snow off their bodies at the door, and stamped the mud off their feet before coming in.

"Brother, I'll take care of mom, you go eat something." Yang Mei squatted in front of Yang Jun.

"I do not……"

Yang Jun was about to say that he was not hungry, but he turned around to look at Wang Erwa and the others, then changed the subject and said, "Okay, you and the third and fourth sisters stay with mom, I'll go eat something."

He was not hungry, but Wang Erwa and the others came here early in the morning and had not eaten yet. If he didn't think about himself, he should at least think about others.

"Lao Wang, Lao Ji, Lao Li... let's go eat something."

Yang Jun called out and Wang Erwa and the others immediately followed him out.

After Yang Jun left, Yang Mei took over Yang Jun's position and knelt there to burn paper money. Yang Liu and Yang Yu knelt behind her respectively, silently guarding Wang Yuying.

"Old Yang, I'm sorry."

As soon as Yang Jun walked to the door, he met his colleague Lao Zhou. Lao Zhou was his deputy, who usually assisted him in handling work and was considered his right-hand man.

"Old Zhou."

Yang Jun called out, and the two of them simply shook hands as a greeting.

"If you need me for anything, just let me know. I'm watching over the unit at that moment, so you can rest assured." Lao Zhou said while bending over slightly.

"Okay, thank you for your hard work."

Today's occasion was not suitable for too much communication. The two of them just exchanged a few simple greetings and then Lao Zhou said goodbye and left.

On the way to the restaurant, Yang Jun kept shaking hands and greeting the guests. After about a while, he arrived at the west wing.

There was a temporary restaurant outside the ancestral hall, but considering Yang Jun's special status, the food was delivered to the west wing.

When we arrived at the west wing, the table was already filled with food.

Yang Jun let everyone in and closed the door. The room immediately became much warmer.

"Everyone, let's eat."

Yang Jun said something, and then everyone started to eat.

No one spoke, they just sat there eating in silence. The restaurant was so quiet that the only sound was the sound of chewing food.

There was no need for too much talk in this situation. They were all brothers who had risked their lives for each other. If Yang Jun really needed them, he would definitely ask for help. Therefore, they did not need to say anything or do anything. They should be ready to serve at any time.

Yang Jun didn't have much appetite, so he ate a little bit and then began to chew slowly, eating the rice grain by grain.

Wang Erwa and the others were not full yet, so he couldn't put down his chopsticks too early, otherwise they would go hungry too.

After about ten minutes, seeing that everyone had almost finished eating, Yang Jun put down his chopsticks.

Afterwards, they all returned to the mourning hall.

As soon as I arrived at the door of the mourning hall, I saw a huge black coffin placed under the porch.

The moment he saw the coffin, Yang Jun felt an inexplicable pain in his heart.

This was the proper procedure for funerals, and he knew it, but the moment he saw the coffin, he felt weak all over.

Maybe he was afraid of losing his mother, so he longed to go back to the past.

"Uncle Master, the coffin is here, look..."

Seeing Yang Jun coming back, Luo Xiaojun hurried over to ask for instructions.

Yang Jun walked to the coffin and stroked it with his hand.

The coffin is made of good material, very thick and heavy, and it is obviously the best one. It was custom-made last night and delivered early this morning.

"Change the coffin."

Yang Jun waved his hand and stepped aside.

"Change the coffin."

Luo Xiaojun shouted and everyone came to help immediately.

Those who helped were young and strong men, while women and children stood aside.

They first gently lifted Wang Yuying to the side, and then worked together to lift the coffin to the center of the mourning hall. After doing this, everyone carefully placed Wang Yuying in the coffin.

It is not the day of the funeral yet, so the coffin does not need to be closed, and the black lid is just placed aside.

After the coffin was replaced, Yang Jun knelt back to the original place, lit paper money, and began to keep vigil. (End of this chapter)