My happy life in a courtyard house with triplets.

Chapter 390: Funeral Procession, Broken Rope, Embezzled Money

After taking He Yushui away from the hospital, Zhang Lei, fearing that He Yushui might do something rash, stayed close to her and coaxed her, "Yushui, is there anything you like lately? Brother Zhang Lei will buy it for you—clothes, shoes, jewelry, whatever you want."

He Yushui shook her head and said, "Brother Zhang Lei, don't worry about me, I'm fine. This all happened so suddenly."

Zhang Lei patted He Yushui and said, "Yushui, as long as your dad is alive, there is hope. Besides, he's only injured; he might still be cured."

Hearing Zhang Lei's words, He Yushui's hope was rekindled, and she said, "Brother Zhang Lei, are you serious?"

Zhang Lei nodded and said, "Really, your dad was only injured in a beating, it should be easy to treat. If our country can't treat it, we can always spend money to go abroad for treatment."

Upon hearing about seeking treatment abroad, He Yushui said somewhat guiltily, "Brother Zhang Lei, that must cost a lot of money, right?"

Zhang Lei looked at her and said, "It's worth it no matter how much money it costs, as long as you can accept it. Besides, I'm willing to spend money on you."

At this point, He Yushui felt like she had found someone to rely on, and snuggled into Zhang Lei's arms, saying, "Brother Zhang Lei, it's so good to have you."

Zhang Lei smiled and looked at He Yushui, saying, "Since I'm so good to you, you'll have to have more children for me in the future, so that my Zhang family can have more descendants."

Hearing Zhang Lei's teasing, He Yushui nodded seriously and said, "Don't worry, Brother Zhang Lei, as long as you let me have a baby, I'll have one for you, until I can't have any more."

Hearing He Yushui's enthusiasm, Zhang Lei smiled and said, "Good, good, good."

However, on the other side, the He family...

He Wenyuan looked at He Wenhui cautiously and asked softly, "Sister? What have you thought about what I told you before?"

He Wenhui looked at her younger sister and said helplessly, "Wenyuan, aren't you worrying too much? Your sister wants to get married, do you need to urge me? Don't you know what our family's situation is right now?"

He Wenyuan looked at He Wenhui and said seriously, "Sister, the person I'm talking about is different from others. He's rich, tall and handsome. You two are a perfect match."

He Wenhui looked at her with surprise: "Who is this person? You describe him so well, do I even know him?"

He Wenyuan looked at He Wenhui and lowered his voice: "Sister, you know him, and he's helped our family a lot."

Upon hearing this, a certain figure instantly flashed into He Wenhui's mind. She stared intently at He Wenyuan: "Wenyuan, why do you insist on setting me up for marriage? Isn't it good enough for me to stay home and take care of you, our mother, and our younger brother?"

He Wenyuan looked at his sister and sighed, "Sister, you take care of us, but you know our family's situation. No matter how hard you work to earn money, how much can you earn? There are so many people in our family, and we don't even have enough to eat every day. Besides, Zhang Lei said that if Mom's eyes can be cured, he's willing to pay for her treatment."

He Wenhui was stunned: "Wenyuan, who told you that?"

Seeing his sister's anxiety, He Wenyuan quickly reassured her, "Sister, don't be nervous. I was just saying. Besides, whether Mom's eyes are treatable or not, we need to go to the hospital for a checkup first. If they are treatable, can we not get them treated?"

He Wenhui nodded: "If it can be treated, it definitely should be treated. Otherwise, it will be so inconvenient for our mother to remain blind."

He Wenyuan quickly pressed his advantage: "Yeah, sis, think about it, if Mom's eyes get better, our family will gradually get better, right? But treating her eyes costs a lot of money. Besides, I think Zhang Lei is a good person and handsome, and I feel he genuinely likes you. Why don't you two give it a try?"

He Wenhui quickly changed the subject: "Alright, stop talking. I'll take Mom to get her eyes checked in a couple of days."

Upon hearing this, He Wenyuan immediately perked up: "Sister, that's right! Let's take Mom to get checked first. If her eyes can be treated, that would be wonderful!"

Looking at He Wenyuan's excited face, He Wenhui could only shake her head helplessly.

-

On the other side, there's courtyard house number 95.

Looking at the erected mourning tent with Jia Dongxu's coffin inside, Liu Haizhong hurriedly directed the men: "Everyone, get everything ready! By the way, where are the coffin bearers? Old Yan, Old Yan, have you found all the coffin bearers?"

Upon hearing Liu Haizhong's words, Yan Fugui immediately became angry: "What are you looking for? We didn't find it!"

Liu Haizhong also became a hot topic: "What do you mean 'didn't find it'?"

Yan Fugui glared at Liu Haizhong: "The people who carried the coffin definitely deserve some money. I went to ask Jia Zhangshi for it, but she wouldn't give me a single penny, saying she already gave you the money!"

Liu Haizhong then remembered the money Jia Zhangshi had given him before, and after thinking for a moment, asked, "How much money do you need?"

Yan Fugui calculated: "I should give at least 50 cents per person. The coffin is heavy, and it will take seven or eight people to lift it."

Upon hearing this, Liu Haizhong felt a pang of pain; he was about to lose four yuan.

He gritted his teeth and said, "Old Yan, I'll pay for it."

He then took out four yuan and handed it over: "Hurry up and make arrangements for the person, don't delay the funeral time."

-

At the same time, Zhang Lei and He Yushui walked to the entrance of No. 95 Courtyard.

He Yushui originally wanted to come back to get some clean clothes for He Daqing, but when she saw the mourning tent set up and the coffin placed in the courtyard, the atmosphere was very oppressive.

Zhang Lei pulled her around and headed towards courtyard number 90.

He Yushui asked, puzzled, "Brother Zhang Lei, why won't you let me in?"

Zhang Lei looked at her and said seriously, "What are you going in for? You'll just get some bad luck. Besides, given the Jia family's situation, what good things could they possibly have at their funeral? It might even cause trouble. Don't get involved. Your father is still in the hospital; nobody can say anything about it."

He Yushui nodded, agreeing that it made sense.

Zhang Lei added, "You can stay in courtyard number 90 for now. If you're unhappy, go play mahjong with Xiao'e and the others."

As he spoke, he pulled a wad of cash from his pocket and stuffed it into He Yushui's hand: "Change your mood. As for your dad's clothes, don't go back to get them, just buy new ones. He's paralyzed now, so he can't wear his old clothes anymore. Just buy some loose-fitting ones to wear, that'll be convenient."

He Yushui nodded obediently.

-

Inside courtyard number 95.

Yan Fugui frowned as he looked at the gift list in his hand—the Ye family had only sent money; none of them had come. They were all still at work or school. Ye Shuqin's grandparents, parents, and other family members had all gone to the No. 90 courtyard to take care of the girls and hadn't set foot here at all.

Soon, the funeral procession was ready.

Jia Zhangshi and Bang Geng led the way, crying and carrying the banner, while Liu Haizhong directed seven or eight people to prepare to carry the coffin.

Yan Fugui shouted, "Lift the coffin!"

Everyone quickly put their strength into lifting the coffin.

Liu Haizhong stared at the threshold and reminded everyone, "Watch your step, we're crossing the threshold!"

The first four pallbearers were quite strong, but the last four were rather thin, especially Yan Jiecheng, who looked tall and strong but had little strength.

Just as he crossed the threshold, someone tripped him, and Yan Jiecheng fell down with a "thud".

The weight shifted from front to back, causing the coffin to tilt violently and crash heavily to the ground with a loud thud.

Everyone was startled.

Before anyone could react, one of the ropes binding the coffin snapped with a "crack," and the entire coffin overturned to the ground, leaving a large hole in one of its corners.

Upon seeing this scene, Jia Zhangshi, who was in front, immediately flew into a rage, pointing at the coffin bearers and cursing, "You plague-ridden bastards! I told you to carry a coffin, and you dropped my son! My God, my son, my poor son!"

The pallbearers exchanged bewildered glances. One of them pointed at Yan Jiecheng and protested, "Jia Zhangshi, why are you cursing us? Yan Jiecheng himself tripped and knocked the coffin over. What does it have to do with us?"

When Jia Zhangshi saw that it was Yan Jiecheng, she rushed up and started beating him mercilessly, making Yan Jiecheng see stars.

Yan Fugui quickly stepped forward to stop her: "Jia Zhangshi, what are you doing! What are you doing!"

Jia Zhangshi pointed at Yan Jiecheng, then glared at Yan Fugui: "Yan Fugui, you better explain yourself! Your son threw my son to the ground, what are you going to do about this? If you don't give me a clear explanation, I'll just take my son's coffin to your house!"

Yan Fugui was so frightened that cold sweat poured down his forehead: "No, no, no, Madam Jia, let's talk this out!"

He quickly winked at Liu Haizhong.

Liu Haizhong quickly stepped forward and scolded, "Jia Zhangshi, what are you making a scene for? Aren't you going to hold the funeral? If you don't, the time will be too late! So what if she fell to the ground? We can just pick her up again!"

After saying this, Liu Haizhong, without waiting for Jia Zhangshi to refute, directly ordered someone to find a thicker rope and re-tie the coffin.

But when it came time to have someone carry them again, everyone looked at each other, and no one wanted to be in a group with Yan Jie.

Liu Haizhong had no choice but to temporarily replace a few more people.

Yan Jiecheng was immediately unhappy when he saw that he had been replaced, and shouted, "I haven't even been paid the three cents I earned for carrying the coffin!"

Liu Haizhong angrily shouted, "Yan Jiecheng, what time is it? You still dare to ask for money?"

As soon as he said it, he suddenly realized something was wrong: "What? Three cents? Didn't we agree on five cents per person?"

When everyone heard it was 50 cents, they all exploded:

"Liu Haizhong, what 50-cent party member? Wasn't it supposed to be 'carrying a coffin for 30 cents'?"

Everyone looked at Liu Haizhong, and Liu Haizhong looked at Yan Fugui.

Yan Fugui's face instantly turned bright red, and he wished he could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.

Everyone then realized that Yan Fugui had been the one to sabotage things and withhold their wages.

Some people directly cursed: "Yan Fugui, you dare to scheme for money from the dead? Aren't you afraid of retribution?"

Another person chimed in, "No wonder Yan Jiecheng fell and the rope broke; I think it's because Jia Dongxu's resentment hasn't dissipated!"

Everyone started talking at once, and the more they talked, the more heated it became.

Liu Haizhong looked at Yan Fugui, equally furious: "Old Yan, Old Yan, tell me, what kind of money can't you earn? Why do you have to make this kind of money? Doesn't it cause you a lot of trouble?"

Madam Jia Zhang finally understood, and pointing at Yan Fugui, she cursed, "Yan Fugui, how dare you embezzle my money? Are you looking for death?!"

He then lunged forward, trying to grab Yan Fugui's face.

Yan Fugui dared not let her grab him and turned to run home in fright.

Seeing this absurd and comical scene, someone burst out laughing.

Immediately afterwards, the others also burst into laughter.

What should have been a solemn funeral turned into a complete joke.