13 Mingke Street

Chapter 40 It's My Turn

Aunt Winnie was on the phone when she saw Aunt Mary passing by the living room, holding a coffee pot in her hand."I'll bring it down for you later," Aunt Winnie said into the phone to Aunt Mary.

"It's okay, I'll take it down myself. The scene of the mother and daughter who jumped off the building was quite tragic, I'm afraid Molly will be scared if she stays down there alone for too long.""Okay."Aunt Winnie smiled and continued to dial the next phone number, while making notes on the roster next to her.She wasn't sure what gift her nephew was planning to bring, but now, the thing that the Inglese family disliked the most was having nothing to do. After all, the oppressive atmosphere would be unbearable.Aunt Mary returned to the basement with a coffee pot in hand, standing at the door of the workshop. She was surprised to see Mrs. Molly sewing the skin of the corpse with a needle and thread.The needle moved quickly, without hesitation, everything seemed natural and calm."You really surprised me."

Mrs. Molly smiled when she heard Aunt Mary's words and said, "I just feel sorry for them, so I don't feel scared at all. Is this normal, ma'am?""I've told you, just call me Mary. It's normal for most people to not feel afraid of their own family members' bodies.""But they're not my family.""Pity is also a kind of emotional attachment."Aunt Mary sighed and sat down on another round stool next to her.It was easier to handle Sisso and his mother. Sisso died from poisoning, so he just needed to be made up.His mother hanged herself, so her makeup needed to be heavier. The broken bones in her neck could be covered with clothes, and then the skin could be tightened with a stapler at the back of her neck, so she would look normal lying in the coffin.Tomorrow is the funeral, so there isn't much time left. Plus, there are four bodies to prepare, so even with Molly's help, they still need to work quickly.Also, the mother and daughter who jumped off the building have severe damage to their faces, so they need to be filled and stitched up again.

Aunt Mary also picked up the needle and thread and said to Mrs. Molly, "Molly, do you still have any pigskin left over there?" "Here." Mrs. Molly handed over the plate. "You haven't used much?" Aunt Mary glanced at the plate and curiously stood up to look at the face that had already been repaired by Molly. "Just need to keep the face normal, right? I used skin from other parts of her body." "That's not very appropriate." "Inappropriate?" Mrs. Molly asked in confusion, "I think if I were them, I would rather choose to sew skin from other parts of my own body onto my face than use pigskin." Aunt Mary suddenly felt that Mrs. Molly's words made sense, because if she were in their shoes, she would make the same choice. However, after a while,

Aunt Mary spoke up again:"Relatives may not like it if they find out.""Okay, I understand."Aunt Mary looked at the girl in front of her, who was being repaired by her, and sighed:"Sometimes, it can be really helpless."Mrs. Molly picked up her coffee cup and drank it all in one go;Then, while pulling the needle and thread, she said:"Madam...""Call me Mary.""Mary, life is sometimes like a durian cake, it may just smell bad."

Aunt Mary thought Molly was just comforting herself, so she joked in response, "But I'm allergic to durian." ... "The coffins can be placed side by side, the husband's here, the wife's here, the mother's here, and the little girl's... let's put her in the middle." Mason arranged while Ron nodded beside him. "The tables and chairs should be spread out a bit, so the guests don't have to sit inside. Let's put them all in the yard, so the interior space will look bigger." "As for drinks, they will be delivered later, all of them are good quality." "For food, my nephew Karen will take care of it." "You have arranged everything very well, sir." Ron said. Mason took a few steps back.

Bowing towards the location of the first floor living room's corpse table, he said:"Sir, the coffin hasn't been placed yet.""Wait until the coffin is placed, then I will bow. I will feel disgusted otherwise.""It's not that bad, sir. Although the scene of death is gruesome, we have seen worse...""Ron, I am disgusted with myself."Ron fell silent.Mason opened the first floor window's curtain and saw the crowd still gathered outside in the yard."They are very organized. Since I came back at noon until now, they have been very organized. Look at them now, what are they doing? Practicing slogans?""Yes, sir." Ron nodded. "They are indeed practicing slogans. I think it's for tomorrow.""But they should leave now, the reporters' cars have already left."

Mason took out a cigarette and handed one to Ron;Ron pulled out a lighter and lit both Mason's and his own."I really wish we could set up a double-barreled shotgun at the memorial tomorrow, and when the memorial starts, I'll walk out with the gun.""Oh, sir, that's not very proper.""Is it...""I need two double-barreled shotguns, otherwise what will I use.""Yes, two."Mason pointed in a direction: "You walk out with the gun from there tomorrow, and I'll walk in with the gun from the entrance, and then we'll go bang bang bang!!!""Yes, yes, and it would be best to set up a wire mesh at the entrance to stop them.""Yes, that's it."

Mason, who was holding a cigarette, suddenly felt down, and Ron was the same.The two big men stood face to face in the empty mourning hall;"Ron, go outside and see if the wine delivery truck has arrived.""Okay, sir."In the courtyard,Alfred sat on a chair with his legs crossed;Earlier, there were a few female reporters outside who deliberately took a few photos towards him.Ron walked out, looked around and saw no sign of the wine truck, stopped and looked at Alfred, asking:"Hey, buddy, I always thought your work clothes look good, where did you buy them?""The boutique clothing store on Rhine Street." Alfred replied.

"That's the neighborhood where Piajia and Mrs. Simo live. It can no longer be called a wealthy area, it has to be called the "elite area".Ron immediately laughed when he heard this."Yes, I often buy clothes there. The clothes in other stores don't have that kind of taste.""Indeed." Alfred tugged at his collar. "This one was specially designed by the prince of the Royal Blue Kingdom when he visited the miners' district in Bellwin last year to show his concern for the people."The Royal Blue Kingdom does have a royal family, but most of the time they are just mascots and occasionally provide tabloid news to enrich the lives of the citizens."Friend, you shouldn't be a corpse mover. You can go be a salesman, the commission is higher." Ron suggested.Alfred smiled,He lowered his hat to block the moonlight that had already come out,Said;"But I prefer to be in contact with corpses. Different corpses give me different sensations, I quite like this job."

"Hiss..."Hearing this, the old corpse mover Ron couldn't help but shiver."Miss Mina and the others are back from school, I'll go greet them so they won't be scared by the lingering hyenas outside.""Okay."Alfred stretched lazily,Looking up at the young figure sitting on the third floor balcony behind him...."The people outside have finally left." Karen said as she peeled an orange.Puerh drank some black tea and then began to taste the bowl of carp noodles in front of it.

"The taste is good, but I feel like this dish could be better.""Because not everyone in our family is a cat, I still have to prepare dinner for the whole family after I finish cooking for you.""I'll forgive you this time, for the sake of the new dish.""Hehe."Karen threw the orange peel into the trash can next to the dining table, then walked upstairs and shook the rope at the corner of the stairs, and the crisp sound of bells rang.Originally, there was no such thing in the house, it was Karen's own arrangement.Every time she finished cooking, she would shake the bell and wait for her family to gather for the meal, giving herself a sense of satisfaction in the ritual.It's time for dinner.Mina, Rent and Chris, who came back from school, didn't know what happened at home today, but they could feel that the adults were not in a good mood today, so they were also very quiet, unlike their usual selves who liked to share interesting things from school at the dinner table.Dis still sat at the head of the table, his gaze sweeping over the faces of his family members, and he said,

"When enjoying food, it is important to be as enthusiastic and joyful as possible, as this is the most basic form of respect for the person who prepared the food."Everyone picked up their forks and began to eat.Dis was the first one to finish and left the table.After Dis left, Uncle Mason said to everyone:"Mina, Chris, and Lunt, please take a day off tomorrow to help at home. Except for Aunt Mary and Miss Molly, everyone else should rest early tonight and start work at four tomorrow."After dinner,Except for Aunt Mary and Miss Molly who stayed up late to work, everyone else went to bed early.Karen took a shower and walked back to her bedroom."Brother, is something happening at home?""It has nothing to do with you, don't think too much, just go to sleep early."

"Hmm, big brother, you should also go to sleep early."Karen sat down at the desk and took out the book "Light of Order" again, flipping through it once more.This time, he didn't skip pages, but read carefully from the beginning of the myth narrative.When the clock struck twelve, Karen silently put away the book, feeling somewhat unsatisfied.The atmosphere and immersion of this reading experience was incomparable to yesterday's.He went to bed,turned off the light,and silently looked out the window,you all look forward to tomorrow,and what I look forward to,

"It's tomorrow night....At half past three,the lights in the Inmores' house were all on.Ron and Alfred put the bodies of the family of four into coffins, pushed them out of the basement, and arranged them at the funeral.At this moment,there was a knock on the door from outside.Uncle Mason, with a cigarette in his mouth, cursed, "Huh, so early."Mina went to open the door: "Uncle Roth."Standing at the door was the Roth family, even Sarah's grandmother, who was supported by her daughter-in-law and granddaughter, came here. "

This spot is very cold outside;As Rote rubbed his hands and carefully asked Mason inside:"May I come in and see Siso now?""Sure, please come in."Uncle Mason immediately raised his hand to signal the music to start.Then,He, Alfred and Ron stood on both sides, indicating that the Rote family could come in to mourn.The mourning time was not long, they just looked at each coffin and then gathered back at the door.Uncle Mason took the initiative to ask, "Shall I drive you home?""No, no, no, you're busy today, we won't bother you."

Rote looks much older, and there is no shine in his eyes.At this moment, Rote's old mother took out an envelope from her pocket, wrapped in black gauze, and handed it to Mason.This is a funeral offering.Mason shook his head and said, "The funeral expenses have already been paid by someone else, and there is no one to receive the offering."The whole family is dead, who will receive the offering?The old grandmother insisted, "It's not much, just a small token for the funeral expenses."Uncle Mason politely smiled and said, "Madam, the funeral expenses have already been paid by someone else."But the old grandmother stubbornly stuffed the envelope into Mason's pocket,Her lips trembled,And she managed to say a few words:

"Their money...dirty."Uncle Mason's face immediately turned red, he raised his neck and took a deep breath.Roth pulled his own mother back, gesturing for his wife to take his mother out first. He took the initiative to apologize to Uncle Mason:"I'm sorry, my mother didn't mean it that way, it's just...just...""It's okay, I understand." Uncle Mason's eyes were a little red, but he still asked, "Should I send you back home with a car? By the way, how did you come here?"At this time, there was no tram."It's okay, we won't go home first. I plan to take my family to a nearby park today and spend the whole day there, then catch the latest tram back home.Last night, a reporter came and gave me money, a lot, 5,000 lira. They wanted me to come here today for an interview, and after the interview, they will give me another 5,000 lira.I refused and told them to find someone else, but I was afraid they would come to my house again today, so I thought of taking my family out to hide.Altogether, it's 10,000 lira. Even if it's summer all year round, I can't earn that much by selling slippers."

Rote took out his own cigarette from his pocket,smiled,"Cheap cigarettes, I won't give them to you."He bit one himself, took out a match, lit it,turned around,while walking out, he said;"Come out and hide, I'm also afraid that I won't be able to resist the temptation of ten thousand lus when the time comes, sigh, such a large sum of money."...Karen woke up at seven thirty.His routine has always been very stable, even if there is something going on at home in the morning, he doesn't have to wake up early, just like today, his responsibility is for the meals, breakfast is not included, only lunch and afternoon tea.

Standing on the third floor window and looking outside, it's already bustling. The group of "white roses" that appeared yesterday has gathered again today, still sitting quietly and shouting slogans. At the same time, a group of "workers" wearing overalls and obvious stains on their faces have come here with their slogan signs, joining the demonstration. I don't know where they came from so early in the morning, they must have rushed over without resting after their night shift. The reporters have also arrived and started taking photos. Of course, it's still early in the morning, it will definitely be even more lively by noon. Karen had breakfast and habitually read the newspaper. Today's "Luo Jia Daily" is going crazy, almost half of the newspaper is devoted to tracking the suicide of the worker representative's entire family during the protest. And in describing the process of the event, there are a lot of criticisms against the old mayor. It no longer seems like reading a news report, but more like reading a suspense novel, because many details here seem to imply that because of the protest, the old mayor lost face and sent someone to assassinate them. Are they no longer satisfied with a normal suicide?

Karen noticed the name of the editor-in-chief...Humeir.After finishing breakfast, Karen began to prepare lunch.Grandpa, dressed in a priest's robe, happened to come downstairs;"Grandpa, have you had breakfast?""I have.""Okay." Karen nodded and continued to wrap her spring rolls.The dishes didn't need to be anything fancy, and Karen was too lazy to make anything special. Fried spring rolls, fried eggplant cakes, and egg fried rice were enough.Next, while busy in the kitchen, Karen could clearly hear the increasing noise downstairs;There were cries,There were speeches,

Even once, they shouted in unison:"Saxon, come out and apologize!"At half past ten,Karen came downstairs with spring rolls, and Mina, Rent, and Chris all went upstairs to help with the food and set up the plates. It was a buffet style, so if you wanted to eat, you had to get your own plate, and the same went for drinks.After setting down the plates,Karen wiped her hands on her apron;At this time, Grandpa was standing by the coffin, praying, while the people below were putting on a show;There were a few local celebrities, performing in an exaggerated manner, crying and holding onto the Saxon family's coffin as if it were their own parents who had passed away.The reporters were frantically capturing these moments;There was also a female celebrity, wearing a black dress, who seemed very cold. She first walked to the corner of the bathroom with her assistant, and when she came out, there seemed to be something in her eyes. She stood straight under the coffin, and tears slowly fell from her eyes.

The assistant next to her immediately instructed the reporters to hurry up and take photos.After the photos were taken,She took a handkerchief from the assistant and wiped her eyes while quietly complaining:"It's so noisy here, it's affecting my rest."The assistant comforted her in a low voice: "It's over now, it's over now, we received 100,000 lubei appearance fee."The female star's face immediately softened.However, when they were talking, they almost ignored the waiter standing next to them wearing an apron... Karen.Next, some celebrities from Luo Jia City came to offer flowers and condolences, and then one by one stood in the center of the stage to speak, targeting the former mayor of Sikesen.Mr. Morf caught Karen's attention."Mr. Morf is here, take a photo quickly."

"Quick, let the person in front move aside, they're blocking the camera.""Morv, right?"A middle-aged man with a tall and well-built figure, and elegant movements.What caught Karen's attention was not his appearance, but the fact that she happened to have a pack of Morv gold-framed cigarettes in her pocket, which were produced by his family's cigarette factory."Karen."A familiar voice came, it was Piajie."Mr. Piajie, if you want to pay your respects, you have to line up over there," Karen reminded him.Piajie shook his head and said, "I don't know them, I won't pay my respects.""Oh, okay. Would you like to try some spring rolls?""Hmm? I'll give it a try."

Piaget took a bite of the spring roll and pointed to the dipping sauce next to it, asking, "Is this fruit vinegar? Why is it black?""It's vinegar," Karen replied.There were several different flavors of dipping sauce next to the spring rolls and eggplant cakes, including sweet sauce, spicy sauce, sesame sauce, and local sauces from Luo Jia.Piaget dipped the spring roll in vinegar and then put it in his mouth, nodding and saying, "I think this food goes best with it.""Yes, your taste is just like mine."However, the spring rolls on the table were eaten a lot, and the other dipping sauces were replenished two or three times, but the vinegar was hardly touched."Daisy is here, Daisy!"Environmental activist Daisy appeared here, and the crowd immediately cheered.Daisy also gave a speech, and the reporters quickly recorded her words in their notebooks.

It's not about protecting the environment, but about attacking the four coffins lying here today, it's a trampling of freedom and democracy, a trampling of human rights.Especially the last few shouts:"Who gave him the courage to do this!Who gave him the qualification to do this!How dare he do this!"Daisy used "he" instead of "they", it's a clear reference."What a terrible speech." Piajie was still eating spring rolls dipped in vinegar.Karen said, "I thought she was here to criticize the fact that the four coffins shouldn't be buried together, it's not environmentally friendly.""Hehe." Piajie laughed, "Are you busy today?""Yeah." Karen nodded.

But looking around, besides the three children Mina, Lunt, and Chris shuttling through the crowd, delivering food or pouring water, Uncle Mason, Aunt Mary, and Aunt Winnie were just standing there, their expressions frozen, like puppets."I don't like this feeling," Karen said.It's like in the Crown Ballroom, where everyone is dancing on top of "bodies."Out of all these people, how many are really here for the Siso family?Piajie nodded, seeming to understand something, and didn't mention that he recommended this business to Karen's family.After the environmentalist girl, Delice, went down, the old senator Haggart took the stage, leading the other senators in chanting slogans:"For the East District, for the East District, for the East District!""Send the traitors to hell! Send the traitors to hell!"They chanted slogans as they left the funeral, and next, they would head to the East District, where things were already heating up. They just needed to go over and join forces with Mr. Ford to fully ignite the grievances of the East District and turn the old mayor's stronghold into the forefront of opposition against him."Ah." Piajie sighed, seeming to have finished eating and putting down his plate. "I don't like politics."

"Yes, I don't like it either," Piajie said. "Just the thought of having to vote against a group of fools gives me a headache; but sometimes, I realize that I am also a fool.""You summarized it accurately. Would you like some fried rice?""Sure."Lunch passed, afternoon passed, and by the time evening came, a fat man with a protruding belly arrived.He seemed like a designer, walking with his hands behind his back, admiring the layout here, and even walking past the four coffins with his hands still behind his back."Not bad, I'm satisfied," Mr. Oka signaled for his assistant to make the final payment.The protest in the East district had been fully organized in the afternoon, and the other protest groups had caught up as well.Aunt Winnie was a little afraid.

Karen knew exactly what she was afraid of,In the end,Karen stepped forward and settled the final payment with the assistant of the fat man, and as usual, they paid in cash.During the settlement, Mr. Oka ate spring rolls and eggplant cakes on the side:"Well, what is this food? Although it's cold, it still tastes good.""It's spring rolls and eggplant cakes.""I can understand eggplant cakes, but what a strange name for spring rolls. Do you have any hot ones?""No, but I can prepare them for you and have them delivered to you. I guarantee they will be hot, but I'll need you to leave an address.""Okay." Mr. Oka nodded and signaled for his assistant to leave an address.Afterwards,

Mr. Oka walked out of the mourning hall."Boss, I thought you wouldn't come to pay the final payment. I know how much profit the funeral home makes. Just the deposit alone, they couldn't possibly lose money." Mr. Oka chuckled and said, "I'm doing it for Adam's sake."The funeral was considered over.Uncle Mason called Ron and Alfred to prepare to transport the coffin to the cemetery for burial.Karen stepped forward and said, "Uncle, Grandpa said to keep it at home today and bury it tomorrow.""Keep it at home?" Uncle Mason was a bit confused, but since it was his father's wish, he complied. He didn't bother to confirm with his own father. How could his nephew deceive him?And so, the four coffins were brought back to the basement.For dinner, they had noodles.

Karen simply fried a dish of stir-fried noodles, even though everyone's mood was a bit down, after a busy day, everyone was really hungry. At this time, a large amount of carbohydrates was definitely a real delicacy.After dinner, Aunt Winnie handed a list to Karen:"Karen, as you said, I recorded it according to the list of identities, and their addresses are listed behind. In addition, Mr. Fude did not come today, but his assistant came and left the address for receiving gifts.""Okay, thank you Aunt." Karen put the paper in her pocket and went to take a shower.He had been frying spring rolls and eggplant all day, and the smell of oil was very strong on his body. Before tasting the real "feast", it was best to clean up, not just in the mouth, but also the whole body.Even though it was so busy today, Aunt Mary still put clean clothes on her bed early. When changing clothes, Karen took out the list given by Aunt Winnie and held it in her hand."Brother, are you going out?" Lunte, who had been lying on the bed tired all day, asked curiously.

"Hmm, let's go for a walk.""I want to go too." Lunt sat up, "I'm so bored today.""I'll go for a walk with grandpa.""I'm tired, I'll just sleep. Brother, you can keep grandpa company."Karen walked out of the bedroom, closed the door, and went to Dis's study.She took a deep breath,exhaled slowly,raised her hand,paused for a moment before knocking on the door,Karen glanced at the list and address in her other hand.

Muttered:"I hope you all had fun.Now,It's my turn... to knock on the door."