The dressing of the corpse was a communal effort, with all sons and daughters joining hands to lay out the cushions, quilts, and covers. The grandchildren all knelt on the ground, as the sons and nephews lifted the elder into the coffin wood without sealing it with a lid; Mourning—the first three days following death, the elder lay in the coffin to receive condolences from kin and fellow villagers, burning incense and paper offerings while circling the coffin in sorrow;

The sealing of the coffin took place on the evening of the third day. After one last encounter with the deceased, the coffin was sealed amidst a crescendo of grief with cries that pierced the heavens; Funeral ceremony—from the fourth to the seventh day marked the first tier of the grand funeral ceremony, with sons and daughters preparing meals for the villagers who came to mourn, arranging various paper effigies, hiring opera troupes, and clarinet players for the related tasks. The elder remained in their former room, with the burning of paper offerings and incense unceasing, and the offering table laid with five bowls of food, five kinds of fruits, and five kinds of pastries; Moving the spirit—on the eighth day, a huge mourning tent was erected on the main street, where the elder's coffin wood was relocated to receive offerings. The tent was divided into an inner chamber for women to weep and an outer for men to kneel and receive the mourners; At the entrance of the mourning tent, various paper-made items including houses, vehicles, horses, people, furniture, and appliances were displayed… Wreaths came in two varieties, one made of paper and the other fresh flowers, roughly totaling over twenty. Chefs and helpers got busy, washing, cutting, stir-frying, several large stoves were set up. The opera troop started singing, and banquet tables were arranged with about sixty tables a day, serving millet porridge and mixed vegetables for breakfast, steamed bread and mixed vegetables for lunch, and flavored noodles for dinner, said to be traditional, a practice observed by every household; At night, the opera troupe took a break, replaced by a percussion band, playing a mashup of modern songs, including "Journey to the West", "The Moon Represents My Heart", and "The Sea Voyage Depends on the Helmsman". After ten at night, two beautiful ladies in scant clothing danced a few modern sequences, interspersed with the setting off of firecrackers and fireworks, creating non-stop noise in the sky and on the ground, bustling with people coming and going. Past midnight, the crowd dispersed, leaving the sons and daughters behind in the mourning tent to guard the spirit and discuss the funeral details! Ten, wailing for the spirit—all grandsons and granddaughters must cry out loudly—crying and shouting passionately. Not doing so was considered unfilial, even if many shed no tears, but they had to cry and shout convincingly. The starting and stopping of the wailing followed the commands of a woman similar to a master of ceremonies; when female guests came to pay respects, the women wailed, and for male guests, the men did. Those participating in the wailing were well-trained, starting and stopping seamlessly, transitioning from crying to laughter within three to five seconds; the command to start was "Mourning begins", and to stop, "Cease the mourning", implying to console each other; I, who only shed tears silently, was an alien race, causing many onlookers to gossip;

Eleven, inviting grandmother home—on the eighth day of the mourning, four relatives carried grandmother's portrait and offerings over five miles to the cemetery to perform a soul summoning ceremony, with nearly a hundred direct descendants clutching soul summoning incense sticks and dressed in mourning attire accompanying; after inviting grandmother home, they held a joint offering ceremony; after the spirit was summoned home, grandmother's maternal family came to offer their respects, taking a dominant role, able to point fingers and nitpick, with the eldest uncle and the second uncle nodding obsequiously, their gestures of returning respect also particularly diligent;

Twelve, inspecting the grave—on the ninth day, the day of the grand funeral, in the morning, the eldest uncle dressed in funeral attire (a white robe of thick cotton cloth) carried a basket of cookies and white liquor following the Feng Shui Master to inspect the grave site, choosing the best location to dig. Nephews were instructed to dig according to the planned spots; Thirteen, wearing cloths—many women entered through the back of the mourning tent, each bringing a bundle of cloth and two packs of cookies. Curious, I asked and found out that these were cloths sent by daughters-in-law from their maternal homes, marking the beginning of the grand funeral when younger relatives must wear cloths. Daughters-in-law, granddaughters-in-law, and nieces-in-law wore different cloths, generally white for men and daughters-in-law, and striped or floral for granddaughters-in-law and nieces-in-law. Most cloths sent from the maternal homes were homespun, but the material conditions of the second daughter-in-law's maternal family were good, providing a striking satin-like floral bedsheet cover; as soon as the second son put it on, he straightened his back considerably; Fourteen, daughters offer tributes—two large tables, each with five items—pig's head, fish, chicken, rabbit, fruit basket; Fifteen, the grand funeral ceremony—quite elaborate. Women were not allowed to gather close to watch; led by the eldest and second uncles, all sons and nephews completed the ceremony in front of the funeral vehicle while women lined up behind, required to cry loudly to enhance the atmosphere. Along the journey, no paper money was scattered, only a soul summoning rod needed to be carried, with mournful hues of the clarinet accompanying. Once at the graveyard, villagers specializing in placing coffin wood into pits came with exclusive tools; aligning with the revealed board on grandmother's coffin, they lowered it in, all throwing in their soul summoning rods, hemp ropes from their waists into the pit, then, the son filled the soil. The eldest and second uncles shook, unable to grasp the shovels, tears streaming down; at this moment, everyone truly cried... After shoveling a few times, the relatives backed away about twenty meters, leaving the villagers to keep filling the soil, forming the grave mound, and standing the wreaths. Once everything was set, the relatives had another round of wailing and offering their respects, then returned the same way they came. Sixteen, The Third, Fifth, and Hundredth Day rites—daughters put out the offerings, the whole family conducted a grand sacrificial ceremony. Because Wang Dacheng was young, his funeral procession had some differences. Nonetheless, it was an event that occupied nearly a week.

While helping the funeral arrangements for Wang Xiaoqiang, he heard some talk that Wang Dacheng's death was wrongful, and that since Wang Dacheng had been drinking with Erdiao and a couple of others, now that he was dead, Erdiao and the other two might be held criminally responsible.

Moreover, Wang Dacheng's death was unusual because news spread that there were only two empty bottles at the scene, which obviously wasn't enough alcohol to be fatal—how could someone die from drinking so little?

There must be some kind of conspiracy involved.

After receiving these fragmented pieces of information, on the night after Wang Dacheng's encoffinment, Wang Xiaoqiang quietly went to the house of Wang Dacheng, and seeing that only Li Ruifang was at home, he entered the house.

Surprised upon seeing Wang Xiaoqiang enter, Li Ruifang quickly became panicked and pulled him inside. "Little Qiang brother, why have you come at this time? If someone sees, you'll be scolded to death." "Sister-in-law Ruifang, I've brought you some money to spend..." Wang Xiaoqiang handed Li Ruifang a card. "There's a hundred thousand yuan inside— the secret is the child's birthday..."

Seeing this, Li Ruifang was on the verge of tears and said, "I don't want it. I can't take your money anymore..."

Wang Xiaoqiang felt somewhat embarrassed.

Li Ruifang picked up the child from the bed and handed him to Wang Xiaoqiang, saying, "Hold your son."

Wang Xiaoqiang took the child in his arms and stealthily slipped the bank card into his son's jacket pocket. The little guy seemed to know that his dad was giving him money as he broke into a smile.

Seeing this scene, a trace of warmth crossed Li Ruifang's face, but it quickly disappeared. Then she felt a sting in her nose and started crying softly, covering her mouth.

Wang Xiaoqiang spoke up, "Sister-in-law Ruifang, I've heard that Brother Dacheng drank himself to death at Erdiao's house..."

"Yes," nodded Li Ruifang.

Wang Xiaoqiang continued, "Logically speaking, since Brother Dacheng died at Erdiao's house, everyone who drank with him should bear criminal responsibility..."

"Is that so?" Li Ruifang was taken aback. "I've never heard of that, I don't understand these things..."

Although Li Ruifang had attended junior high, she really didn't understand the law.

"Exactly, and moreover, I've also heard that Brother Dacheng's death was unjust..."

"That, that I really don't know," she replied.

Li Ruifang's expression changed. "Who told you this? Who, who harmed him?"

"It doesn't matter who said it, what's important is who harmed him?" Wang Xiaoqiang said. "Can you tell me now, who was drinking with Brother Dacheng that day?"

"There were Erdiao, Zhang the Donkey, and Wang Dengshan."

Upon hearing these three names, Wang Xiaoqiang's heart shook. These three individuals, the first two were bachelors, and the latter had just recently divorced. When it came to character, they were all of the lazy and greedy sort.

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To put it unpleasantly, he was a village ruffian.

"How did Brother Dacheng end up hanging out with these people?" Wang Xiaoqiang said.

"Sigh, ever since he had this child, Wang Dacheng has become a completely different person. He boasts everywhere, and with the hundred thousand you gave him, he started spending wildly, often drinking and gambling, and stopped working,"

Li Ruifang said.

"Huh? Sister-in-law Ruifang, how much of that hundred thousand is left now?"

"How would I know? It's always been in Wang Dacheng's hands. I've been too busy these days; I haven't had the mind to check..."

Wang Xiaoqiang said, "Then you should check now to see how much money is left at home, and tomorrow go to the bank to check Wang Dacheng's account..."

Li Ruifang nodded, "My sister is in the county city; I will have her help check tomorrow."

"Alright, then I will head back first," Wang Xiaoqiang said, "You don't need to be too sad. I won't neglect the child in the future. Also, if anything happens, give me a call..."

Li Ruifang nodded. "Are you coming again tomorrow night?"

"Yes, I will come again at the same time tomorrow. I want to clarify the cause of Wang Dacheng's death. I want to avenge him, so he can rest in peace."

Li Ruifang nodded.

The following evening.

When Wang Xiaoqiang arrived at the entrance of Li Ruifang's home, he saw a figure sneaking into the Li family's house. Wang Xiaoqiang's eyes were sharp, and he recognized it was the bachelor, Erdiao, at a glance.

Seeing Erdiao enter, Wang Xiaoqiang did not go in directly. He slapped an Invisibility Talisman on himself, turned invisible, and then followed Erdiao inside.

Erdiao reeked of alcohol, staggering about and humming a tune, "Girl, when you marry, don't marry someone else, you must marry me... If you are to marry, don't marry someone else, you must marry me, bring your sister, bring your dowry, come in the horse carriage..."

"Who is it?" When Erdiao approached the door, Li Ruifang asked with a quivering voice.

"Uh, sister-in-law, it's me, Erdiao..."

"It's so late, what do you want..."

"Of course, I have something to do, I wouldn't come otherwise," Erdiao said, pushing the door open and entering.

Wang Xiaoqiang followed him inside.

"Erdiao, did I let you in?" Li Ruifang said with displeasure showing on her face.

Locals, when visiting, must not enter a house without being invited.

By barging in, Erdiao was clearly making an unwelcome intrusion—it was against the norms.

"Hey, given my relationship with Brother Dacheng, you can't stop me from entering..." Erdiao said cheekily as he plopped down on a chair, pulled out a cigarette and lit it, puffing smoke rings while he leered at Li Ruifang, his eyes radiating a blatant lustful gleam. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to cast your recommendation votes and monthly votes at Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read at m.qidian.com.)

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