Du's courtyard in Zhuangyuan Township, Xinglong County, Wenkang City, is immersed in great grief. Zhuangyuan Township is located at the junction of three counties, surrounded by mountains, with traffic congestion, it is a desolate, remote, barren and barren place.It is said that in the early years, there was a number one scholar in the township, and the township got its name from this.But this statement is only a folklore, and there is no confirmation in the county annals.According to the records of the county annals, in the entire Xinglong County, there has been a Jinshi in hundreds of years.It's still far from the champion!

However, in recent years, Zhuangyuan Township has produced a big man, and that is Du Linxiang.Du Sanwa, who ran barefoot on the ridges of the fields, mowed grass and herded cattle on the hillsides, is now a well-known entrepreneur.In Hezhou, the provincial capital, you can see the real estate developed by him everywhere, even the tallest skyscraper in the province was invested and built by him.Du Linxiang, who has developed, has done a lot for the village.Hope Primary School, Nursing Home, and several roads were all built with his donations. Three days ago, Du Linxiang's father died of a sudden cerebral hemorrhage.

The magnificent courtyard of the Du family was completely white, as if a heavy snow had just fallen.A archway was tied up with pine branches and white flowers at the gate, and strips of white cloth were tied around the necks of the two stone lions.The long soul-calling flag was hung on the flagpole of the threshing ground, and was blown by the evening wind, slowly floating up for a while, and falling down gently for a while.A tall stele pavilion was erected in the middle of the threshing ground, and four mountains of gold and silver were set ablaze around the stele pavilion. Clouds of thick smoke and flames sent ashes of yellow and white tinfoil into the air.

It was slowly getting dark.The main room has been arranged into a solemn mourning hall.The black lacquered coffin is placed behind a huge white curtain. In the middle of the mourning hall is a striking "Dian" character, and under the word "Dian" is the portrait of Mrs. Du.This old farmer, who has been facing the loess all his life and his back to the sky, has a kind face and a smile on his face.On the wooden table directly below the portrait are placed fruit offerings and an incense burner.In the mourning hall, only cigarettes curled up, but no sound was heard. After a while, an elderly monk led more than a dozen monks into the mourning hall.They first bowed to the portrait, then separated and sat down around the black-painted coffin.After a heavy wooden fish sound, the monks hummed at the same time.Many voices—clear, muddy, deep, passionate, old, and delicate—mixed together, sometimes high and sometimes low, long and sometimes short.No one could hear what they were humming, it seemed to be reciting scriptures and singing.The entire mourning hall became gray, only some light-colored satins with better texture, under the light of nearby candles, flickered coldly like will-o'-the-wisps.There was an endless stream of people changing incense sticks, cutting candle ends, burning paper money, and pouring tea, but they all tiptoed around.

After another half hour, Du Linxiang walked in with his brothers and sisters.According to the custom, relatives of the deceased are required to walk around the coffin in a circle until the early hours of the morning.Led by the monks in front, the Du family walked round and round the coffin, bowing every few steps.After walking a few laps, Du Linyang, the fifth brother, felt a little overwhelmed.He whispered: "It's so old, some red tape can be changed." Du Linxiang didn't speak, but glanced at him with cold eyes.The fifth younger brother was bored, so he had to follow behind step by step.

The mourning hall is surrounded by wreaths, and Du Linxiang would glance at it from the corner of his eye from time to time.From Zhao Xiaodong, secretary of the Wenkang Municipal Party Committee, to Zhang Qingbo, president of the Hongxi branch of a large bank, there were at least a dozen wreaths sent by department-level cadres.Especially the two wreaths in the middle of the mourning hall, signed by Tao Dingguo and Lu Youshun respectively.These two are the top leaders of the party and government in Hezhou, the provincial capital, and they are at the deputy provincial level.Du Linxiang glanced at his father's portrait again, and said silently in his heart: "Father, I, as a son, have honored you!"

It was almost one o'clock in the middle of the night, and the filial piety ceremony was over.Most of the people have dispersed, leaving only the sound of frogs and insects in the mountains.The villages in the mountains were flickering with lights all night, and the next day was the day when the old man was buried. The Du family wanted to keep vigil for their father here all night. The eldest of the Du family yawned and said, "Our father's funeral was well done. So many people came to mourn, and the parked cars almost burst the dam at the entrance of the village." The eldest lived with his parents in Zhuangyuan Township all his life. To be able to go out and do something earth-shattering like my younger brother.Du Linxiang was the third eldest, and he had a second elder brother above him, but it was a pity that he died young.The eldest brother is nearly ten years older than Du Linxiang, and looks old due to years of hard work. The two brothers seem to be a generation behind.

"What is this?" The fourth brother, Du Linbin, spoke up. Although he also wore hemp and filial piety, he was sipping tea carefully with his legs crossed.The fourth brother, Du Linbin, and the fifth child, Du Linyang, are both working in Du Linxiang's company now. Compared with their eldest brother who has spent his whole life in the countryside, they think they are more knowledgeable.He said with a little regret: "Wenkang and many leaders in Hezhou, the provincial capital, said that they would come to offer incense to the old man. Mayor Lu and President Zhang made several phone calls. But the third brother said he sent a wreath, That's enough, don't let people come here. If you want all these high officials to come here, that's a grandeur!"

"You know what!" Du Linxiang was really impatient with these two younger brothers.The ability is not big, but the airs are not small.People in the company avoided them like the plague gods.There is no way, who is called a brother, you can't drive him away.What's more, although the two have mediocre talents, their loyalty is unmatched by outsiders. Du Linxiang said: "People in our hometown are buried in the ground after death, and no one wants to be cremated. There is a leader during the funeral. Isn't it causing trouble for others? Maybe someday someone will report that a certain leader is in the body. At the scene, I knew that someone violated the policy for burial, but I didn’t care about it. Sending a wreath to express my heart would be very good!”

This is where Du Linxiang excels—he is thoughtful, sophisticated, and considerate for his "friends" at any time. His son Du Tingyu benefited a lot from this speech.He admired his father more and more, and blurted out: "Dad, you see things are deeper than others!" Then, he whispered: "This time I come back for the funeral, can I not leave?" "No!" Du Linxiang said firmly. Du Tingyu has studied abroad for many years. After graduation, relying on Lu Youshun's introduction, he worked in a large multinational company in Singapore.However, he always clamored to go back to Hezhou and work hard with his father.Du Linxiang also hopes that his son will inherit his father's business, but he is afraid that his son will join his company too early and become a pampered prince without training.

Later, he agreed with his son to go back to China, but before entering the Weitong Group, he had to go through a lot of tempering—first he opened a street store, started a small business, then worked as a worker in a factory in Guangdong, and finally went to Beijing to work for a while salesman. Du Tingyu, a returnee master who left a multinational company, is now working as a worker in a furniture factory in Dongguan.His immediate boss is a working girl with only a junior high school education.Du Tingyu took advantage of the opportunity of going to the funeral to think about returning to his father early, but he was flatly rejected by Du Linxiang. In the middle of the night, the mourning hall became even quieter.Someone was dozing off on a chair, while Du Linxiang was smoking one cigarette after another. It was finally dawn, and the sun was shining on Zhuangyuan Township in the mountains.Accompanied by the sound of firecrackers and gongs and drums, the coffin of Mrs. Du was lifted by the crowd, and it went around the village to the back mountain and buried it.The locals have a custom that the burial should take the main road open to traffic.Because all the villagers in the village have to see him off, and every household has to set off firecrackers in front of the door, so the brigade has to walk two kilometers to reach the back mountain where he was buried. Friends in the officialdom were politely rejected by Du Linxiang, but there were also partners in the mall and many employees of the company. There were hundreds of people in the funeral procession, and the boss of the Du family walked in the front holding his father's portrait.A villager once said that Du Linxiang should simply let Du Linxiang hold the portrait, but he flatly refused.Seniority is orderly, the eldest brother is the eldest brother, Du Linxiang has great abilities, and he is still the third brother when he returns home. The cemetery was carefully selected by Mr. Feng Shui.It is said that surrounded by three mountains, Tibetan wind gathers energy, especially the tall and straight peaks in the west, and the gentle hills in the east.Mr. Feng Shui said that the mountain in the west is "Zuo Qinglong" and the mountain in the east is "White Tiger on the Right". .” Mr. Feng Shui specifically warned that the place is cool and humid, so a thick layer of paper money should be placed in the tomb.Lighting paper money before burial not only removes moisture from the old man's private house, but also makes the fortunes of future generations burn more and more prosperous. Just when the raging fire ignited in the pit, Du Linxiang burst into tears.He could no longer suppress the grief in his heart.At this moment, he is no longer an all-powerful entrepreneur, and he is no longer the strong man in the business world who speaks for himself in the company.He is Du Sanwa, just like when he was snuggling in his father's arms and acting like a spoiled child, or because he was naughty, he was chased and beaten by his father all over the village with a bamboo pole... Next, the Du family also prepared a sumptuous banquet in the village.Dozens of tables are placed on the square in the center of the village, and the dishes on the tables are all authentic farm dishes. On the way back from the back mountain, Du Linxiang wiped away the tears on his face, and his mood gradually calmed down.The company's vice president Lin Zhengliang and executive director Gao Mingyong and other corporate executives followed behind, as if they were always whispering something.Du Linxiang was very upset, and turned around and asked, "What are you muttering about?" The two looked at each other, and finally Lin Zhengliang stammered, "No... nothing!" Du Linxiang turned his head angrily, and continued walking forward. His wife, Zhou Yuru, was also in the team, and Jiang Xiaoyang was supporting her all the time, and kept persuading her, "Sister, don't be too sad!" Jiang Xiaoyang is really good at dressing up.A pair of plain white casual shoes, a black tracksuit, and a striking white Nike logo on the left chest.The combination of black and white is very suitable for this occasion, but compared with those heavy and depressing formal clothes, a sportswear looks out of the ordinary. Du Linxiang couldn't help but think of what happened with Jiang Xiaoyang a few days ago, feeling lost in his heart.Then he blamed himself again, and scolded himself fiercely in his heart: "Father's funeral has just ended, how can you use such brains?" The dam banquet is about to begin.As a representative of the Du family, Du Linxiang will speak on stage to thank relatives and friends who came to attend the funeral.The secretary prepared a speech specially for him last night.Du Linxiang was looking down at the manuscript in the audience, preparing for his speech in a few minutes.Lin Zhengliang and Gao Mingyong beside them were still muttering non-stop, and their expressions became more and more flustered. Du Linxiang was completely annoyed: "What the hell are you two doing today?" Gao Mingyong seemed hesitant to speak, while Lin Zhengliang shook his head blankly.Du Linxiang glared at the two of them viciously, then turned and walked towards the podium. At this time, An Youqi, executive vice president of Wisdom Group, walked over quickly.She stopped Du Linxiang and said in a low voice, "Give the manuscript to someone else. Brothers Lin Yang and Lin Bin, anyone can talk about it. You have to go back to Hezhou with us now." Du Linxiang was very surprised: "What happened?" An Youqi said, "I can't say a few words clearly, so I talked while walking on the road." Du Linxiang was outraged!What day is today, can I just leave?You An Youqi think you have a special relationship with me, so you can give orders to me? An Youqi didn't care about the change in Du Linxiang's expression, she turned to Du Linxiang's secretary and said, "Give the speech to someone else!" The secretary had no choice but to nod in agreement.Du Linxiang blushed with anger, but it was inconvenient to attack.In public, in front of your wife and son, you can't have a big fight with your mistress, right? With a livid face, Du Linxiang followed behind An Youqi and asked, "What's the matter?" An Youqi's tone was urgent: "An accident happened at the Hezhou Metallurgical Plant, it's a big deal!" Hearing that a major event had happened in the Hezhou Metallurgical Plant, Du Linxiang's anger subsided by more than half, and he unconsciously quickened his pace.Lin Zhengliang and Gao Mingyong followed closely behind. Several executives of the Wisdom Group got into three cars and left the scene of the banquet at a gallop.