Siheyuan: Domineering life

Day four, nothing happened.

The fifth day was the day of Wang Yuying's funeral.

The weather turned cold the night before and snowflakes began to fall from the sky again. At dawn, the snow was getting heavier, and it seemed that the whole day was immersed in solemnity, adding a bit of desolation to the sad atmosphere.

Luo Xiaojun led hundreds of guards to clean the snow day and night. Any white snow on the ground would be cleared away within ten minutes.

Before daybreak, clan leader Yang Mingsheng led the clan members to prepare for the day's business. A large tent was set up on the west side of the ancestral hall's main entrance, and the account table was set up there early. Although Yang Jun said that he would not accept gifts, the names of the guests who came to pay their respects still had to be registered in order to prepare for future interactions.

The door of the mourning hall was open. A few steps inside was a pitch-black coffin. It had been covered with an embroidered coffin cloth during the burial yesterday, which looked very solemn.

There were many people kneeling around the coffin, including Yang Jun's sister, brother-in-law, his goddaughter, godson, and his own children. Dozens of people were kneeling there, and the scene looked very spectacular.

Yang Jun looked listless, as if he hadn't washed properly for five days. His hair and beard were messy, and he had dark circles under his eyes, looking like a street beggar.

He got up early in the morning, and the first thing he did was to go to the toilet. Then he came back and burned paper money in front of the brazier. Today was a big funeral, and as a filial son he had to be busy all day. He didn't dare to drink water casually, for fear of delaying things.

It was almost seven o'clock and time for breakfast. After Yang Mei and the others came back from breakfast, it was Yang Jun's turn.

Yang Jun waved his hands to indicate that he was not hungry.

"Hubby, you should eat something. You have a long day to make. I'm afraid you can't hold on." Yi Qiu Shui looked at him worriedly.

"Hey, I'm really not hungry. Leave me alone and go eat."

After that, Yang Jun said to his son Yang Chengdao: "Chengdao, take your mother to eat."

"Dad, you should eat something."

Seeing that Yang Jun didn't say anything, Yang Chengdao sighed and said to Yi Qiushui: "Mom, let's go."

Afterwards, the mother and daughter went out to eat together.

After they left, my cousin Yang Mingsheng came.

"Jun'er, everything is ready. We are just waiting for the guests to arrive. Do you have anything else to say?"

Yang Jun shook his head and said, "Uncle, I don't have anything special to tell you. Just make the arrangements."

He was confident in his cousin's work. In his hometown, he was the manager and had never made any mistakes in decades. He had nothing to worry about.

"Your father's grave has been opened. Do you still want to go and take a look?" my uncle suddenly said.

When his father Yang Gui moved the grave, he had already reserved a space next to it. Now that his mother has passed away, Yang Jun plans to bury the two of them together.

"no need."

Yang Jun shook his head and said, "Uncle, you decide."

What's so good about it? My father was cremated when he died, and their grave was moved here along with his ashes. Even if you want to see it, you can only see the ashes.

"Okay, now that you put it that way, I have an idea." Yang Mingsheng nodded.

"Uncle, let me go and take a look." Yangmei said suddenly.

Yang Mingsheng was stunned for a moment, then said, "Go and have a look, your cousin is guarding there."

"Thank you, uncle."

Yangmei was deeply touched. Her cousin was so thoughtful that he even let his own son guard the ashes.

Yang Mei stood up and turned to Yang Yu and Yang Liu and said, "Third sister, yes, fourth sister, do you want to join us?"

Yang Liu thought for a moment and said, "Let's go and have a look. Maybe this will be the last time."

Isn’t it true? After this joint burial, the coffin will never be opened again unless there is a special reason. This is the so-called last sight.

"I want to go too." Yang Yu said.

Afterwards, the three sisters got up and went to the cemetery behind the ancestral hall.

At this time, Luo Xiaojun came over.

He squatted beside Yang Jun and whispered a few words.

After hearing this, Yang Jun nodded and said, "Please help me welcome them."

"Yes, uncle."

The people who came were the leaders and Yang Jun's colleagues. Yang Jun should have greeted them personally, but he could not leave the mourning hall, so he had to let Luo Xiaojun greet them.

Wang Yuying's funeral was originally handled according to the rules in the city, but now it is to be held according to the style of her hometown. He must abide by the rules of his hometown and stay with Wang Yuying at all times.

Now he can't stand there and thank the guests like the people in the city do. This kind of funeral procession has the characteristics of local culture.

After Luo Xiaojun left, Yang Jun turned around and said to Sun Zhaocai behind him: "The guests will be arriving soon, let them all go out, the mourning hall does not need so many people."

Yang Jun thought that some people would come to pay their respects soon, and it would be a bad impression to see the mourning hall full of people, so he drove everyone out, leaving only him and his three sisters.

"I know, Uncle Yang."

Afterwards, Sun Zhaocai stood up and said to the people in the mourning hall.

"We don't need so many people in the funeral hall. Everyone please go out."

When everyone heard this, they were stunned for a moment and turned their eyes to Yang Jun.

Seeing Yang Jun lowering his head to burn paper money, everyone immediately understood that it must be Yang Jun's instruction, otherwise even Sun Zhaocai would not dare to say so even if he had ten times the courage.

So everyone stood up and walked out.

After everyone left, the mourning hall suddenly became empty.

Yang Jun looked back and found that Sun Zhaocai and Sha Zhu were still kneeling there.

"You guys should go out too."

"Uncle Yang, we can't go out. We are your guards and must stay by your side at all times." Sun Zhaocai said seriously.

"Yes, godfather, we must protect your safety." Sha Zhu said in a buzzing voice.

"Forget it, you two stay."

Yang Jun thought about it and felt that it was still necessary to be vigilant. There were many people attending the funeral today, and there was no guarantee that there wouldn't be one or two people with bad intentions. Although he was not afraid and had the ability to deal with all of this, it would still be an extra safeguard to let the two of them stay.

At this time, there were only three people including Yang Jun in the mourning hall.

Now that everyone has had breakfast, people are coming to pay their respects one after another.

Everyone stood in front of the coffin and bowed, then squatted down and whispered "My condolences."

The process is very simple. After the worship, you leave the mourning hall and wait until the afternoon to see the elderly off.

There were a lot of people attending the funeral, at least five thousand if not eight thousand. The ancestral hall was crowded with people inside and outside, and even the parking lot at the entrance was full of people. Fortunately, Yang Anguo had got a lot of tents in advance, otherwise there would have been no place to shelter from the snow.

The guests were accommodated in tents and were served tea. They could not be treated poorly in any way.

Funerals are very complicated, with all kinds of customs and rules. Yang Jun didn't understand them, so he let his uncle arrange everything. Just after everyone finished eating, he was taken to "check the dishes". This kind of "checking the dishes" is a rural custom, which means that the filial son checks the food and can entertain the distinguished guests only after checking that it is correct. In fact, there is nothing to see. The uncle takes the filial son to the kitchen for a round, and then takes him back.

Yang Jun held a poplar wood mourning stick in his hand, spread his Baina shoes, bent over, and was led by a deacon to the kitchen. There was a suona leading the way, playing all the way to the temporary kitchen outside the ancestral hall.

There were people everywhere in and outside the ancestral hall. When they heard the sound of the suona, they all made way for Yang Jun. Everyone stood there quietly, looking at Yang Jun without blinking.

Yang Jun kept his head down and bent over the whole time, with the mourning hat covering most of his face. He could only see the road beneath his feet and nothing else.

Sun Zhaocai and Sha Zhu followed closely behind, both with nervous expressions, looking at everyone vigilantly.

Arrived at the kitchen.

All the chefs put down their work, stood in a neat row, and waited for Yang Jun to look at the dishes.

The deacon led Yang Jun around the ingredients first, then came to the front of the chefs and shouted, "Bow!"

It means thank you chef.

When Yang Jun heard the voice, he stood up straight and bowed to the chefs to express his gratitude.

Upon seeing this, the chefs nodded slightly as a return gesture.

It has nothing to do with status, they deserve this respect, even if Yang Jun is a high-ranking leader.

Afterwards, the sound of suona sounded again, and the deacon led Yang Jun back to the mourning hall.

Back in the mourning hall, Yang Jun placed the mourning stick upright against the side of the coffin, where there was another mourning stick.

The mourning stick originally belonged to Yang Huai, but Yang Huai could not attend the funeral, so it had to be left to him.

Yang Mei, Yang Yu and Yang Liu are married girls. According to the customs of their hometown, they are no longer considered members of the Yang family, so they naturally cannot hold mourning sticks, not even for keeping vigil. It was because Yang Jun felt sorry for them that he let them keep vigil for a few days. However, today is the day of the funeral, and outsiders cannot see his girls keeping vigil, so Yang Jun asked Sun Zhaocai to ask them to leave the mourning hall.

After returning to the mourning hall, Yi Qiu Shui quickly gave up his seat.

After Yang Jun knelt down again, he began to add paper money into the brazier.

You have to burn paper money all day today, and you can't stop. So you have to burn them one by one, and not put them all in at once.

Next to Yang Jun, there was a pile of cut paper money. Not far away, Ma Xiangxiu, Hao Hongmei, Zhou Miaomiao and others were still cutting paper money in case of emergency.

At this time, guests came to pay their respects one after another.

Yang Jun knelt there, burning paper money and nodding in thanks.

It was still snowing heavily outside. After a while, the ground was covered with white snow. Luo Xiaojun and his companions kept sweeping the snow, trying their best to prevent water from accumulating on the ground. Fortunately, carpets were laid inside and outside the ancestral hall a few days ago, so no one would slip.

At about ten o'clock, all matters were in order, and my uncle came over and asked Yang Jun to go and see his mother's grave.

This is a custom that filial sons must visit the cemetery, and if the cemetery is not suitable, it needs to be modified.

Originally, this was going to be done the day before, but the cemetery was just behind the mourning hall and very close, so it was scheduled today.

Yang Jun threw away his shoes, picked up the mourning stick again, and went to the cemetery behind under the guidance of the deacon.

There were a lot of people gathered around the cemetery, most of them were members of the Yang family, and they were repairing the cemetery.

Seeing Yang Jun coming, they automatically made way, revealing the cemetery behind them.

When I got closer, I saw that my father Yang Gui's grave had been dug up, but his side of the grave was still covered with marble. There was an empty space next to it, which was obviously prepared for Wang Yuying.

A huge parasol was placed above the grave to prevent snow from falling into the cemetery.

"kneel!"

The deacon leading Yang Jun suddenly shouted.

Then, a snakeskin bag filled with straw was suddenly placed under Yang Jun's knees, and he knelt down without thinking.

He glanced in the direction of his mother's grave, which was considered as "visiting the grave".

In fact, there was nothing interesting to see, it was just a process. His uncle had already prepared everything for him, so he didn't need to worry about it.

Afterwards, Yang Jun returned to the mourning hall.

He placed the mourning stick against the coffin again and knelt beside the brazier to burn paper money.

It was too cold outside and his hands were frozen as he burned paper money while warming himself by the fire.

Burning paper money is just burning paper money. You can't let people see that you are warming yourself by the fire, otherwise it would be disrespectful.

He threw a handful of paper money into the brazier to make the fire burn more vigorously.

Seeing this, Yi Qiu Shui, who was standing by, looked at the snow on his body and added some more paper money into the fire with a distressed look to make the fire burn more vigorously.

Yang Jun turned around and glared at her, then asked her to go outside and do her work.

As the eldest grandson of the Yang family, Yang Chengdao was responsible for welcoming guests. He knelt at the gate of the ancestral hall. Whenever a guest came in to worship, he would kowtow to express his gratitude, and the guest would also bow symbolically as a return gesture.

Accompanying him were Yang Chengcai, Yang Chengyun and a group of younger brothers. Five or six brothers were kneeling there shivering. They could not leave even though it was very cold.

As for the other younger children, they were too young, so Yang Jun did not let them come.

Except for Yi Qiu Shui, all the other women were in mourning in their hometown in the city. They were just Yang Jun's concubines and could not attend Wang Yuying's funeral openly. They could only express their grief at home.

At two o'clock in the afternoon, it was time for the funeral.

Yang Jun knelt on the snow outside the mourning hall, burning paper money and looking in the direction of the mourning hall with tearful eyes.

A group of people were busy in the mourning hall, putting ropes on the coffin and preparing for the burial.

The horn next to us sounded very loudly, with a low and gentle voice, as if expressing the feeling of reluctance to leave.

Looking at the busy figures of the crowd, Yang Jun was overwhelmed with grief. Thinking that his mother would be buried soon and he would never see her again, he couldn't help crying.

The coffin was carried out quickly, and the deacon led Yang Jun in front to clear the way, and the group slowly walked towards the cemetery behind the ancestral hall.

Accompanied by the sound of suona, the group soon arrived at the cemetery.

Yang Jun knelt not far away, watching his mother's coffin slowly fall into the pit. At that moment his eyes were once again filled with tears.

"fall!"

With everyone shouting, my mother was finally laid to rest.

Yang Jun crawled to the grave on his knees and knelt there crying.

According to local customs, filial sons must wail when an old man is buried, otherwise it will be considered unfilial.

The reason why Yang Jun cried was because it came from the bottom of his heart. His low cry expressed his reluctance and longing for his mother.

After this separation, the mother and son will never see each other again.

I hope we can continue our unfinished fate in the next life. (End of this chapter)