Fusion System: Rebirth in a Courtyard - Bird Fighting Chronicles

Chapter 195 The Dust Settles Down: A Kind Burial

On the return trip from the steel rolling mill, the atmosphere in the carriage was somewhat quiet. Xiaoyu, tired from playing, leaned on Su Qing's shoulder and fell asleep, her little face still flushed with excitement from the workshop visit. Lin Chen gazed at the street scenes flashing past the window, Zhou Jianguo's parting words echoing repeatedly in his mind, like a pebble thrown into a calm lake, creating ripples.

"Xiao Lin, there's something I think I should tell you," Zhou Jianguo said, pulling his hand away from the crowd and lowering his voice, a hint of sadness hidden in the wrinkles around his eyes. "That old man Yi Zhonghai passed away in '85. His ashes have been sitting in the funeral home ever since, unclaimed. I've mentioned it to my old buddies at the factory a few times, but nobody wants to get involved. After all, what happened to him back then was too ugly."

The name "Yi Zhonghai" was like a rusty key, unexpectedly unlocking the floodgates of Lin Chen's deepest memories. The cold wind in the side room of the central courtyard when he first woke up after his rebirth, the apprentice benefits that were cut in the workshop, the chicken theft case that was favored at the general meeting of the whole institute, the shadowy figure sneaking into the archives room in the middle of the night... those tense scenes overlapped with the modern scene of the steel rolling mill in front of him, making him feel a bit disoriented and disoriented in time and space.

"Thinking about Yi Zhonghai?" Su Qing gently adjusted Xiaoyu's collar, her voice soft yet precisely hitting the nail on the head regarding Lin Chen's thoughts. From Lin Chen's occasional remarks, she had already pieced together the image of that shrewd old man, and she also knew what role he had played in Lin Chen's predicament during the early stages of his rebirth.

Lin Chen nodded, his gaze falling on the familiar old locust tree outside the car window. It was under this tree that he had taught Jia Geng a lesson for stealing grain. "I'm wondering, what did he gain from his whole life?" Lin Chen's voice carried a hint of emotion. "He schemed for half his life to secure his retirement, drove away his apprentices, cut benefits, and in the end, he was abandoned by everyone, with no one even caring about his affairs after his death. It's quite pathetic."

Su Qing was silent for a moment, then said softly, "His scheming is certainly hateful, but that fear of 'dying alone' may also reveal the helplessness of ordinary people. You said back then that you would not involve the elderly and children, nor harm the national interest, and you have always adhered to this bottom line. Now that he is a skeleton, we can't let him remain helpless in the funeral home forever."

Lin Chen turned to look at Su Qing. The setting sun streamed through the car window, softening her features. He suddenly remembered when they first met in Zhangcheng. She had been just like that, offering him a way out when he was turned away by the gatekeeper, and silently supporting him when he was criticized for hoarding rice. This understanding and kindness was a key reason why he had gradually shed his resentment after his rebirth. "You're right," Lin Chen said, holding Su Qing's hand. "Grievances aside, letting him rest in peace is a basic human duty."

By the time they returned to the courtyard house, dusk had fallen. Qin Huairu's tailor shop had just closed, and she was directing Jia Dang to move fabric into the yard. Seeing Lin Chen's family return, she quickly wiped her hands and greeted them, "You're finally back! I stewed an old hen; I've been waiting for you." Jia Huaihua, holding her child, stood to the side and smiled in agreement, "Xiaoyu must have been starving; I stewed his favorite red date porridge."

At the dinner table, Lin Chen brought up Yi Zhonghai. The moment he finished speaking, the noisy table fell silent. Liu Guangtian's hand, which was picking up food, froze in mid-air, his brow furrowed: "Brother Lin, you need to think this through. Back then, Yi Zhonghai caused us a lot of trouble. When my father lost his job, he stabbed him in the back many times."

Liu Guangfu nodded in agreement: "That's right, Brother Lin. Back then, he cut back on the apprentices' benefits. My brother and I suffered so much with my father. Now, if word gets out that we're arranging his funeral, people will think we're stupid."

Qin Huairu put down her chopsticks, still clutching a half-eaten chicken bone in her hand, her eyes filled with complex emotions: "Speaking of which, Uncle Yi did help me a lot back then, helping me take over the business and giving me preferential treatment in terms of technology, but all those benefits were obtained through scheming. He withheld Dongxu's work injury compensation and used my resettlement fee as leverage. I'll never forget that." She paused, looking at Lin Chen, "But then again, he left all alone, which is quite pitiful."

Jia Dang put down his bowl and said clearly, "Uncle Lin, I think you're right to want to bury him. The grudges of the past are things of the previous generation. We're living well now, and we can't let him not even have a proper burial place. Besides, this will also let Xiaoyu know that one shouldn't just hold grudges, but should have the capacity to forgive others."

Xiaoyu, munching on a chicken leg, said with a half-understanding, "Dad, the teacher said we should be kind people, and burying Grandpa is a kind thing to do, right?"

Lin Chen patted his son's head and looked at everyone: "I'm not trying to defend his mistakes. I know better than anyone what he did back then. But he's been dead for fifteen years, and those grudges should have faded with time. We're all doing well now, with stable jobs and harmonious families. There's no need to hold a grudge against a deceased person." He paused, then looked at Liu Guangtian and his brother, "Guangtian, Guangfu, wasn't your father able to enjoy his later years thanks to him keeping him in the workshop back then? Even just for that reason, he should be laid to rest."

The Liu brothers exchanged a glance and fell silent. Years ago, after Liu Haizhong was demoted, it was Yi Zhonghai who said to the workshop director, "Although Liu Haizhong has a fiery temper, his skills are still there," which saved his job and gave Liu Guangtian the opportunity to receive guidance from Lin Chen. They had always remembered this kindness.

"Okay, Brother Lin, we'll listen to you," Liu Guangtian said first. "Just tell us what you need us to do."

Over the next few days, Lin Chen began to handle Yi Zhonghai's funeral arrangements. He first went to the Civil Affairs Bureau, explained the situation, and the staff unearthed a dusty file. In the file, Yi Zhonghai's photo showed him as a young and spirited man, with a neatly pasted copy of his Level 8 fitter certificate and several "factory-level model worker" award stubs. However, later in the file, several disciplinary decisions were added, recording his misdeeds such as withholding benefits and stealing blueprints.

"This man was a key technical staff member back then, what a pity," lamented the veteran employee in charge of the archives. "When he passed away in 1985, we contacted his relatives, but no one was willing to come forward to claim him. At that time, he had only been out of prison for a few years, and his reputation was too bad."

After leaving the Civil Affairs Bureau, Lin Chen went to the funeral home. Fifteen years had passed, and Yi Zhonghai's urn was covered in a thick layer of dust, placed in a corner next to several other unclaimed urns. The administrator took out the register; the "Family Signature" section was blank, with only a note from the funeral home staff from years ago: "Unclaimed, temporarily stored."

Lin Chen carefully picked up the urn. The box was very light, yet it seemed to carry the weight of a person's decades of joys and sorrows. He suddenly recalled the first time he met Yi Zhonghai in the courtyard. The old man sat by the stone table in the middle of the courtyard, holding an enamel mug in his hand, his eyes sweeping over the courtyard with a dignified air. At that time, he was still immersed in his self-perception as a "moral saint" and never imagined that his own end would be so tragic.

"Let's choose a public cemetery," Su Qing suggested softly, looking at the urn in Lin Chen's hand. "Choose a sunny spot with a view of the distant mountains, and a peaceful one."

Lin Chen nodded. He didn't notify too many people, only Liu Guangtian and his brother, and Zhou Jianguo. Zhou Jianguo specially wore a brand-new Zhongshan suit, holding a bouquet of white chrysanthemums in his hands. Upon seeing Lin Chen, he said with emotion, "Little Lin, you've done a good deed. Back then, Yi Zhonghai cared most about his reputation. Now that you've seen him off on his final journey, he can finally rest in peace."

The public cemetery was built on a hillside on the outskirts of the city, a quiet and peaceful place shaded by lush trees. Lin Chen chose a sunny spot, and the staff helped dig the grave. As the urn was slowly lowered into the grave, many images flashed through Lin Chen's mind: Yi Zhonghai pretending to mediate disputes at a hospital-wide meeting, secretly altering attendance records in the workshop to help Sha Zhu escape responsibility, and the forlorn expression on his face as he looked at the empty courtyard before going to prison, saying "I was wrong"...

"He valued retirement more than anything else in his life," Lin Chen said, squatting down and gently brushing the dust off the tombstone. The tombstone was simple, with only the four characters "Tomb of Yi Zhonghai" engraved on it, without any birth or death dates or embellishments. "But he forgot that people's hearts cannot be won over by scheming."

Zhou Jianguo sighed: "He was just too stubborn. If he had taught his apprentices properly back then and hadn't cut back on their benefits, with his skills, he would definitely have had someone to take care of him in his old age. But he insisted on going down the wrong path and ruined a great opportunity."

Liu Guangtian inserted a white chrysanthemum and said, "Brother Lin, my dad always told us back then that Yi Zhonghai was a 'hypocrite,' but now that I think about it, he was quite pitiful. He had no children, no one to accompany him in his old age, and in the end, he didn't even have anyone to see him off."

Lin Chen stood up, gazing at the distant mountains. The setting sun was slowly casting a golden glow on the earth. "It's all in the past," he said. "I hope he can understand in the afterlife that true retirement isn't about scheming to bind someone, but about exchanging sincerity for sincerity."

On the way back from the cemetery, Zhou Jianguo talked about Yi Zhonghai's life after his release from prison. "After he got out of prison, he didn't go back to the courtyard house. He rented a small, dilapidated house in the suburbs and made a living by repairing small farm tools. I saw him a few times then. He was dressed in rags and was completely different from before. He told me that he regretted it. He shouldn't have schemed against Sha Zhu and shouldn't have withheld his apprentices' benefits, but it was too late to say anything then."

"Has he contacted Sha Zhu?" Lin Chen asked. Sha Zhu was tricked by Yi Zhonghai into supporting him in his old age, but the two later had a complete falling out. After Sha Zhu moved to the military compound, he never returned to the courtyard house.

"He did try," Zhou Jianguo said. "He went to the military district guesthouse to look for Shazhu several times, but Shazhu refused to see him. The last time, he waited outside the guesthouse for a whole day. When Shazhu came out, he only said one sentence to him: 'I am not your retirement tool,' and then he left. Since then, he has never looked for Shazhu again."

Lin Chen fell silent. He could imagine Yi Zhonghai's despair at that moment, his life's scheming coming to nothing, without even a chance to apologize. He suddenly remembered what He Yushui had said years ago: "Old Master Yi schemed and schemed, but in the end, he only schemed against himself."

When they returned to the courtyard, a crowd had gathered. It turned out that Liu Guangfu had told everyone about Lin Chen arranging Yi Zhonghai's funeral, and the neighbors were all quite moved. Yan Xiaowei, holding his child, stood in the crowd and said, "Uncle Lin, my grandfather always said that Uncle Yi was shrewd and calculating, but you still managed to arrange his funeral. We really should learn from that."

Qin Huairu walked over with a bowl of freshly stewed soup and handed it to Lin Chen: "Have some soup to warm yourself up. Speaking of which, Grandpa Yi helped me take over the business back then, even though it was so that I could take care of him in his old age, it was still a great help to me. I've always wanted to thank him, but I haven't had the chance." She paused, "Tomorrow I'll go to the cemetery to burn some paper money for him, just to do my part."

Lin Chen accepted the soup, a warmth spreading through his heart. He knew that with Yi Zhonghai's burial, the grudges and entanglements of those years in the courtyard had finally come to a complete end. Of the former members of the retirement group, Jia Zhangshi had long since restrained her arrogance and relied on Qin Huairu for support; Liu Haizhong enjoyed his later years in peace, with filial children; Yan Bugui was abandoned by everyone and died of illness, his grandson seeing him off in his final moments; and Yi Zhonghai had finally been laid to rest, finding his final peace.

That night, Xiaoyu fell asleep, and Lin Chen and Su Qing sat in the courtyard enjoying the cool air. The moonlight shone on the gray bricks and tiles of the courtyard, making it appear exceptionally peaceful. "Do you think Yi Zhonghai will rest in peace?" Su Qing leaned on Lin Chen's shoulder and asked softly.

Lin Chen held Su Qing's hand, looking at the familiar scene in the courtyard. He remembered the cold wind on the morning of his rebirth, the tension when he first fused with the items, and the solid foundation he gained in the workshop through his skills... Along the way, he transformed from a vengeful man full of malice into an entrepreneur who understood tolerance. This transformation was aided by the system and, more importantly, by the warmth of those around him.

"Yes," Lin Chen said softly. "He received the punishment he deserved, and he also received the respect he deserved in the end. As for us, we should cherish the life we ​​have now, stay true to our original aspirations, and live our lives well."

Su Qing nodded, leaned on Lin Chen's shoulder, and smiled happily. The old locust tree in the yard rustled, as if telling the story of the years. Those grudges and entanglements had long since faded away, leaving behind the warmth and kindness between people, and the inheritance of the original aspiration of being down-to-earth and making a living through skills.