Uncle Fang refused to hold a grand funeral, saying that Aunt Fang had died a violent death and it was not appropriate to have a grand funeral. He said that the funeral should be simple and that the government also advocated that funerals should be simple and not extravagant. This perfectly legitimate reason left Uncle Fang and his brothers with no way to refute it.
Although the funeral was simplified, the money still had to be given as a gift. Uncle Fang set up more than twenty tables and even invited distant relatives he hadn't seen in a long time. Everyone who came had to give a gift. Chinese people value face and relationships, so even though he had a lot of complaints, he still gave the money.
The funeral was handled entirely by Uncle Fang, and everything was truly kept simple. The tofu rice was also authentic tofu rice; there was not a trace of meat on the table. There was fried tofu, dried tofu, soft tofu, firm tofu, tender tofu, fried tofu, stewed tofu...
The banquet was made entirely of tofu, and the chef's skills were not very good. The food was hard to swallow, and the guests only ate a few bites before stopping. The table was left full of food, and no one took any home.
All of that aside, what truly ignited the anger of Fang's father and brothers was the inferior quality of the gold and silver banners. At first glance, it was impossible to tell the difference, but when they tried to erect the banners, they failed three times, a truly bizarre occurrence.
At the time, some people said that it was Aunt Fang's vengeful spirit that was restless. Anyway, they said it in a very serious manner. Xu Tianlai and his brothers and sisters were so scared that they lost their souls. The filial sons and grandsons all knelt on the ground and cried, but the gold and silver banners still could not be erected. After being tossed around for a while, they were even broken apart.
Now everyone understood. This wasn't a gold or silver banner at all; it was just a hastily made paper frame. No wonder it couldn't stand up. The Xu family was incredibly unethical; they even dared to skimp on money meant for the dead, without fear of retribution.
Fang's father and his brothers were furious. They slapped each of Xu Tianlai's brothers hard across the face. No one dared to fight back. After all, a mother's death is the death of her uncles, and if they did, they would never be able to stand up straight again.
In the end, it was the village elders who mediated and bought high-quality gold and silver banners. After they were erected, Fang's father and the others calmed down a bit, but the feud was now permanently established.
What's most infuriating is that the funeral expenses amounted to tens of thousands of yuan, all of which were pocketed by Uncle Fang. He refused to give out a single penny. Xu Tianlai and his brothers tried to talk to their father, but he was heartbroken by the family and completely ignored them.
Life was uneventful, and Aunt Fang's death was almost forgotten. Fang Yanming was very busy. Mao Fangfei's due date was approaching, and he was worried all day long. He couldn't sleep well and soon developed panda eyes.
Three months after Aunt Fang's death, Fang Yanming heard news about the family again, from his cousin.
"That old man is shameless! Your aunt has only just passed the forty-ninth day memorial service, her bones are barely cold, and he's already getting married and holding a proper banquet. Humph, what a shameless old man!"
Fang Yanming was not surprised. If his uncle had any affection for his aunt, he would not have done such a despicable thing as smoking in the house while his aunt was seriously ill, let alone making his aunt sit in a hard seat for more than ten hours while she was seriously ill. His former uncle was really despicable.
"He's tasted success now. He collected about ten thousand yuan in funeral money for my aunt's funeral, and he wants to make another fortune at the wedding. I hope my parents won't go."
"No, your dad wanted to go and smash up the banquet, but your mom stopped him. Just watch, that old man will get his comeuppance!" my niece cursed angrily.
Although she also disliked Aunt Fang, the person was dead, so there was no need to care about anything anymore. However, Uncle Fang's actions were too immoral, and scolding him was too lenient.
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