1952: Walking through Nantongluo Alley

Upon hearing this, the coffin deliverymen's faces immediately lit up with discontent and anger. They exchanged glances before strutting aggressively toward the house, muttering about demanding an explanation from the buyer. After all, in all their years in the business, this was the first time they'd encountered someone haggling over the price of a coffin.

The coffin bearers couldn't help but think to themselves: If they can't afford a good coffin, they can choose a cheaper one! If they're really short of money and can't even afford a cheap one, a straw mat will do just fine! Just as the situation was about to get out of control, Liu Haizhong rushed forward, quickly opening his arms, blocking the coffin bearers who were trying to enter like a wall.

He forced a smile, speaking in a tone as gentle and sincere as possible, saying, "Everyone, please calm down. Let's talk slowly and don't act rashly." However, one of the men carrying the coffin was clearly enraged. His eyes widened, and he roared at Liu Haizhong at the top of his lungs, "What else is there to say? Do you look like you intend to have a peaceful discussion?"

The man grew increasingly angry, his voice rising in pitch and intensity. "Are you telling me that if we don't give you that mere five dollars off, you're going to force us to move this coffin back?" Faced with such aggressive questioning, Liu Haizhong's smile seemed a little stiff and awkward, but he still forced himself to remain calm, quickly waving his hands and explaining, "Oh, no way, no way! You all worked so hard to bring this coffin here, how could we possibly let you go through the trouble of moving it back?"

After a brief pause, Liu Haizhong's eyes turned, and he seemed to have thought of a temporary solution, so he continued: "How about this, I will go into the house and discuss with the boss to see if we can find a solution that satisfies both parties. Everyone, be patient and wait for a moment." After that, he squeezed through the crowd and walked quickly into the house.

The man slowly extended two fingers, waved them in the air, and then said in an unquestionable tone, "Two minutes, at most. If you still don't agree to the price of 20 yuan, then don't blame us for being rude. Then we'll make a big scene at this funeral!"

At this moment, Yi Zhonghai, who had been observing the surrounding situation from a distance, suddenly noticed the unusual movement here. He frowned slightly, and his eyes quickly scanned the crowd, quickly locking onto Liu Haizhong and the troublemaker. Then, without hesitation, Yi Zhonghai took a long stride and quickly walked towards Liu Haizhong.

After a while, Yi Zhonghai came to Liu Haizhong's side. He asked with concern, "Second uncle, what happened? Why is there so much noise?"

Liu Haizhong quickly covered his ears with his hands, and at the same time leaned close to Yi Zhonghai's ear and lowered his voice to tell him the whole story of Jia Zhang's firm reluctance to pay 20 yuan.

After listening to Liu Haizhong's narration, Yi Zhonghai's face instantly turned gloomy. His chest began to rise and fall violently, as if a fire of rage was burning in his heart. After a long while, Yi Zhonghai finally couldn't help but shout angrily: "Nonsense! It's just nonsense! How can you do things like this!"

Yi Zhonghai was extremely furious at this moment! His eyes widened, his face flushed red, veins bulged on his forehead, and his chest heaved violently with anger.

That Jia Zhang is so outrageous! This is just nonsense! Yi Zhonghai cursed secretly in his heart. He knew Jia Zhang's temper very well. Once she asked for a discount of 5 yuan, it would be absolutely impossible for her to give her an extra cent.

However, in order to let Dongxu go with dignity and not look too shabby, Yi Zhonghai gritted his teeth and finally decided to pay the money himself. He sighed deeply, as if his heart was filled with endless helplessness and melancholy. Then, he slowly reached into his pocket and fumbled around. After a while, he finally pulled out a crumpled 5-yuan note.

Yi Zhonghai clutched the bill tightly, forcing a forced smile as he walked towards the men carrying the coffin. He handed the money over and said with a smile, "I'm so sorry, guys. Don't take it personally. The boss is in such a bad mood having to see his son off, so it's unavoidable that he's a little out of control. I hope you can be understanding and bear with me." He then bowed and nodded repeatedly to the men, expressing his apologies.

The leader, with a face full of flesh, grabbed the coins in his hand and snorted coldly, his voice booming like thunder: "What? There's only 5 yuan in here! I still need 15 yuan. Hurry up and give it to me!"

He stared at the people in front of him with wide eyes, as if he wanted to eat them alive. Even if the boss was experiencing the grief of losing a loved one, it could not be an excuse for these people to play tricks and delay.

At this time, Yi Zhonghai turned his gaze to Liu Haizhong and ordered in an unquestionable tone: "Old Liu, go into the house and ask the old lady for the remaining 15 yuan. Move quickly!"

As soon as the words came out of his mouth, Yi Zhonghai's mind suddenly moved, as if he had thought of a brilliant idea, and then he added: "Oh, by the way, when you go in, don't tell her that the 5 yuan was paid by me on behalf of my sister-in-law. Just tell her that the coffin delivery man felt sorry for him, so he decided to give him a 5 yuan discount. Remember, don't say a single wrong word!" When Liu Haizhong heard this, he couldn't help cursing in his heart: This Yi Zhonghai is really calculating! He obviously wants to stand out and be a good person, but he wants me to be the errand boy. But there is no way, who told him that he is the one in charge now, so he can only do as he is told.

Liu Haizhong nodded in agreement and turned to walk into the house. At this time, the men delivering the coffins heard Yi Zhonghai's words and saluted him with fists, praising him endlessly: "Oh, you are really kind-hearted and broad-minded! You are willing to pay 5 yuan for the boss out of your own pocket, and you don't even let us tell the boss the truth. This kindness is really admirable! You are the number one kind-hearted person we have met in all these years of delivering coffins!"

Yi Zhonghai was so flattered that his heart blossomed. The smile on his face became even brighter. He even raised his head a little proudly, thinking to himself: Hey, just for these few nice words from you, my five dollars is not in vain!

Liu Haizhong, who had taken out the money from the house, looked at Yi Zhonghai's arrogant look and complained in his heart: Humph, this guy really got it done! It's just a mere 5 yuan, and look how capable he is!

After sending the coffin bearers away, Yi Zhonghai called over Liu Haizhong and the others. At that moment, the heavy coffin was already before them. The next crucial step was to carefully place Jia Dongxu's body inside.

Yi Zhonghai waved his hand slightly towards Sha Zhu, motioning him to come up.

"Shazhu, later you and the second and third uncles will put Dongxu's body into this coffin." Yi Zhonghai ordered seriously.

However, upon hearing this, Silly Pig's face was full of reluctance.

It seemed as if asking him to do this was more difficult than climbing to the sky.

After all, carrying the body of the dead Jia Dongxu is unlucky no matter how you think about it.

Seeing Sha Zhu standing there like a wooden stake, not moving at all, Yi Zhonghai couldn't help but feel a little angry. He deliberately lowered his voice and shouted angrily: "What are you doing there? Hurry up and get back to work!"

Even though Sha Zhu was unwilling in his heart, facing Yi Zhonghai's majesty, he had no choice but to agree, and then reluctantly followed Liu Haizhong and Yan Bugui in.

When Liu Haizhong and Yan Bugui stepped into the living room, their eyes instantly locked on Jia Dongxu's feet, and they quickly rushed over to that location. It turned out that the two old men had already planned to leave the most unlucky part of the head for Sha Zhu to carry.

Liu Haizhong had a sly smile on his face and said in a sarcastic tone: "Hey, Shazhu, look at how strong you are. Dongxu's head has to be lifted up by you!"

Yan Bugui, who was standing by, quickly echoed, "That's right. Your uncle and I are already half buried in the ground. How can we have any strength left? So, please take care of Dongxu's head!"

Sha Zhu cursed in his heart: "What damn bad luck!" Then he reached out without hesitation and pulled off the white cloth covering Jia Dongxu.

"Stop dawdling, hurry up and carry this guy away!" Sha Zhu urged others impatiently.

Seeing this, Liu Haizhong and Yan Bugui on the side couldn't help but cover their mouths and laugh. Their slightly sarcastic smiles made the whole scene seem even more weird.

At this moment, Sha Zhu bent down and was about to lift Jia Dongxu's head.

However, when his eyes inadvertently swept across Jia Dongxu's paper-pale face, he was suddenly frightened and trembled all over.

Jia Dongxu's eyes were still wide open, as if he was staring at something. Those empty, lifeless eyes seemed to conceal endless resentment and unwillingness.

Suddenly, a chill ran down Sha Zhu's spine and spread rapidly throughout his body. He had heard from the village elders that if a person dies with unfulfilled wishes or harbors resentment, they will die with their eyes open. Could Jia Dongxu's open eyes mean he was like that?

Thinking of this, Sha Zhu felt even more terrified. He didn't want to meet Jia Dongxu's terrifying eyes, so he quickly turned his head away, looking away. At the same time, he silently prayed that this terrible mission would end quickly so he could escape this terrifying place.

Sha Zhu, with a serious expression, placed his hands firmly under Jia Dongxu's lifeless head. He then raised his head and turned his gaze towards Liu Haizhong and another person standing nearby. He said slowly, "Second uncle, third uncle, are you ready? Let's start lifting."

After receiving a positive response from the two, Sha Zhu took a deep breath and shouted, "Three!" Following this command, the three men simultaneously exerted their strength, but soon realized something was amiss. Jia Dongxu's body was unexpectedly heavy, as if it weighed a thousand pounds. Despite exerting all their strength, they still struggled to place it easily into the coffin.

So, in order to place the body smoothly, they had to carefully shake it, trying to adjust the angle and position. However, at this critical moment, something unexpected happened: due to the excessive shaking, Jia Dongxu's head accidentally hit the edge of the coffin.

A loud "bang" resounded like thunder, sending shockwaves through everyone's ears. Liu Haizhong, in particular, shuddered with fear, his face turning pale. He had always been terrified of the dead, and the sudden noise nearly frightened him to death.

For a moment, all kinds of horrific images involuntarily emerged in his mind, and he even suspected that Jia Dongxu had come back to life and was causing trouble.

Liu Haizhong finally came to his senses, and his fear instantly turned into anger. He yelled at Sha Zhu: "Sha Zhu, what the hell are you doing? You can't even lift a corpse like this? You're really more of a hindrance than a help!"

Seeing Liu Haizhong was startled, Sha Zhu couldn't help but chuckle. "Hehe, sorry, uncle, my hand just slipped."

"Let's do it again. I guarantee that no accidents will happen this time." Liu Haizhong's face was ferocious, and his eyes were like copper bells, staring fiercely at the person in front of him. His eyes seemed to be burning with rage. If looks could kill, the other person would have been riddled with holes long ago.

He secretly swore in his heart that if this happened again, he would never let the other party off easily, even if it meant peeling off a layer of skin from Sha Zhu's body with his own hands.

But at this time, Sha Zhu seemed unaware and was still reciting the command to himself:..........With the last shout of "Throw!!", everyone worked together to lift Jia Dongxu's body high up, and then put it steadily into the coffin.

Fortunately, no unexpected situation occurred this time. Jia Dongxu's body lay smoothly in the coffin, as if sleeping in a quiet world.

Immediately afterwards, Liu Haizhong and another person quickly moved the coffin boards to the top of the coffin. Sha Zhu expertly picked up the hammer and nails and began to hammer them rhythmically. Each blow produced a "bang bang bang" sound, particularly clear and piercing in the silence. The nails bit by bit sunk into the boards, sealing the coffin tightly, as if locking away all the sorrow and misfortune.