13 Mingke Street

Chapter 9 This chapter is very exciting

On the topic of "equality for all beings," the hearse of the Inmoleis family can be said to have achieved the ultimate:Whether the passengers are alive or dead, sitting in this car is a great suffering.Ron is used to it, with his head pressed against the corner of the carriage and his feet sitting in a pigeon-toed position.

A fat man in an awkward position, but it can ensure his maximum stability, even snoring and sleeping.On the other hand, Karen was sitting in agony, constantly using his hands to support his bottom to maintain balance. The road in the city was fine, but once they left the city and headed to the suburbs, the road conditions became much worse, causing them to suffer from the bumps.Jeff and Mr. Mosan were shamelessly hugging each other in the continuous bumps, like lovers lying in bed sharing their hearts.Karen, who couldn't stand it anymore, tried to pull the "couple" apart several times, but the space in the car was so small that the two would soon find each other again in the bumps and embrace each other once more.If there were relatives in the car, this situation would not have happened. At least they would only have to endure limited vibrations in the coffin.But who made Jeff a lonely man and took advantage of the welfare; and Mr. Mosan, who was not on welfare but was better off than welfare.Karen had no right to comment on the "work attitude" of his family. Even if he made lunch today, he was still a "parasite" in this family.Finally,As Uncle Mason turned the steering wheel to the left, the hearse entered a yard that resembled a small factory, with a sign hanging at the entrance - Shius Crematorium."Hey, Ron, wake up!" Uncle Mason knocked on the car window and shouted.

"Oh, oh, we're here." Ron wiped his mouth and stretched lazily.Karen helped to lower the stretcher, and then together with Ron, they carried Jeff and Mr. Mosan down. Uncle Mason was responsible for stabilizing the stretcher to prevent it from sliding.At this time, a middle-aged woman in a gray work uniform walked over, holding paper and a pen in her hand."Wow, what a handsome young man."The woman stared at Karen first."Mrs. Shus, hello." Ron greeted warmly.Is this Mrs. Shus that Paul said prefers Ron?However, in the face of Ron's enthusiasm, Mrs. Shus only responded with a slight sound and then turned her attention to Karen.In fact, Mrs. Shus is quite good-looking. Although she is wearing a work uniform, her full figure can still be seen, and her skin is very fair.However, when Mrs. Shus pinched her own face, Karen still awkwardly reached out and took her hand off.

After all, although he could adapt to this attractive body, he couldn't adapt to being treated as a little boy and being teased.But Mrs. Xiusi directly grabbed Karen's hand and ran her fingertips back and forth in his palm, with a very obvious teasing meaning.From her gaze, Karen could see the greedy look of middle-aged men looking at young girls' figures."He is Karen, my brother's son." Uncle Mason handed over a cigarette."Oh?" Mrs. Xiusi was a little surprised, "Your nephew?"Mrs. Xiusi took the cigarette, let Mason light it for her, and continued, "I haven't seen him before.""A guy who has some family matters and I got a little injured." Uncle Mason explained."Injured?""Accidentally fell.""Fell from whose lady's windowsill?"

"Don't make this kind of joke. By the way, are you not busy today?""There is another one ahead, it's burning. It will be ready in a while.""Just one furnace?""I want to open more furnaces, but you have to bring me enough people to burn. Is the hot furnace cost-free?""Okay, let's push the 'guest' in first.""Okay, I'll go in and arrange it first. See you later, handsome. "Mrs. Xiusi threw a flirtatious look at Karen and turned to walk in first.Ron pushed Mr. Mosang alone, while Mason helped Karen push Jeff's stretcher."Mrs. Xiusi is a very enthusiastic person." Mason lowered his voice slightly and said to Karen."Yeah, she is." Karen nodded."Her husband passed away early, and she is now managing this crematorium. Although she hasn't remarried, she has many lovers around her."

"Uncle, you don't have to tell me these things.""Hey, I have to remind you, I've been your age before." Mason reached out and knocked on the iron plate of the stretcher cart, making a "clang clang" sound. "At this age, even an iron plate can be pierced by a boy.""..." Karen."You're getting older, find a decent girlfriend in the future." Mason reminded again."Okay, Uncle, I know." Karen understood that Mason wasn't intentionally trying to badmouth Mrs. Xius, but he didn't want his young nephew to be seduced by her.As they walked inside, Karen could clearly smell a greasy odor.It was greasy...not fragrant or sweet, more like a bedroom that had gone moldy during the rainy season.However, the furnishings inside were clearly aged, this must be an old crematorium."In the early years, this crematorium was almost unable to continue operating and almost got acquired by a larger one."

"Then what?" Karen asked."Then that large crematorium was discovered. In order to save costs, they all started operating at night and would give the ashes of the previous day to the families of the deceased today."Upon hearing this, Karen's eyes widened. Could there be such a practice?"Doesn't that mean...""Yes, they would send their loved ones to be cremated and then bring back the ashes of a stranger. The funniest part is, they continued this for several years.""That's so tragic.""After the news broke, the owner of that crematorium was found dead at night, presumably killed by someone with a stone. The police couldn't find the culprit because there were too many suspects with motives."Karen nodded and said, "They deserved to die."Put yourself in their shoes, if you were grieving the loss of a loved one and sent them here to be cremated, only to bring back the ashes of a stranger. And to make it worse, you had been worshipping that urn of ashes for years. Karen felt the urge to kill someone as well.After that large crematorium went bankrupt, Mrs. Shius's crematorium was able to continue operating, but it's been difficult. Other cities have already seen the rise of large-scale funeral companies."

They can connect everything from the hospital, to our bereavement care society, to the crematorium, and the transportation in between.In Luo Jia City, they also opened a branch. A while ago, Winnie received a call from them, saying they wanted to acquire our family.""Grandfather won't agree," Karen said."Of course, father won't agree, and I won't either! Do you know what they do? They transport and manage the bodies centrally, then have a centralized mourning and cremation or burial. It's like wholesale vegetables in the market. These capitalists should be hanged on street lamps! They only care about money and have no understanding of bereavement care or respect for the deceased!"Hearing this, Karen couldn't help but think of Jeff and Mr. Mosan, who were almost kissing in the hearse, and her uncle.

How can you have the audacity to say the word "respect"?"Our family is doing okay, even though they plan to block our suppliers, but because of your grandfather's connections, our business has been able to survive," Uncle Mason's tone became more subdued, "But here at Mrs. Shius's place, things have started to become difficult again."At this moment, Ron, who was pushing Mr. Mosang in front, turned around and shouted:"Ah ha, that's why I support the Yage Party, only they are willing to punch those damn capitalists back!"As he said this, Ron even waved his fist.The Yage Party, Karen had read about it in the newspaper a few days ago, it was a left-wing party that had been gaining momentum in the city of Luojia in recent years.However,after hearing the three words "Yage Party",Uncle Mason immediately shouted:"Are you crazy? Supporting those lunatics will only make our current lives a mess!"

Ron shrugged his shoulders, seeming too lazy to argue with the boss, and continued pushing the stretcher cart.Karen looked at Uncle Mason, whose neck was turning red with anger, and she could understand why, because he was explaining the weakness of the petite bourgeoisie.This is not sarcasm, although it may sound like it, but ultimately it is the inconsistency caused by social class.After walking through a not-so-long corridor, Karen and the others finally pushed the stretcher cart to the "crematorium".There were three incinerators in the crematorium, but only one was in operation.Through the glass window, Karen saw a disheveled and bearded man sitting on the ground.And at this moment,The incinerator that was originally in operation also stopped.A worker with graying hair but looking energetic opened the door and shouted to the man:"Sir, please come to pick up your wife."

Immediately, the old worker saw Mason and a smile appeared on his face as he waved and greeted him:"Hey, Mason.""Mr. Darcy!"Uncle Mason stepped forward and handed Mr. Darcy a cigarette."How many today?" Mr. Darcy asked while lighting his cigarette.Mason made a gesture with his hand indicating "two.""Oh, God pity you," Mr. Darcy chuckled with schadenfreude.He knew very well the great loss that cremation meant for the Inglese family.In fact, there would be no actual loss, but with the potential profits from traditional burials, the loss of those profits was seen as a "loss.""Sir, please come to pick up your wife," Mr. Darcy reminded him, blowing out a smoke ring.

The man raised his head in confusion, then silently stood up. But when he saw the crematorium through the glass window, he leaned back against the wall again, seemingly resisting everything in front of him.Yes, who could accept that their beloved partner had turned into a pile of ashes in an instant?Karen heard Uncle Mason quietly ask Old Darcy, "What's wrong?"Old Darcy took a puff of his cigarette and shook his head disdainfully, responding in a low voice, "No tip, and the company won't buy the urn, ha."If the guest gives a tip or purchases some "merchandise" from the company, they will naturally receive special treatment. For example, if you are afraid or uncomfortable, the cremator Old Darcy will help you put the ashes into the urn and hand it to you.Of course, some people want to personally collect their loved one's ashes, so Old Darcy will carefully crush the bones for you to put in the urn.

The man didn't know if he was broke or just didn't understand these things. In his eyes, there was only confusion. Looking at his foolish appearance, Old Darcy sneered, "He's a psychology professor, yet he doesn't even understand this." Huh? This position caught Karen's attention. What a coincidence, she ran into a colleague. Karen approached the man and whispered, "You should go pick up your wife now." "I...I..." The man's hands were trembling. It was clear that he was struggling with intense inner turmoil. In fact, if you have a good relationship and live together for a long time, when your loved one passes away, you won't feel the same kind of horror when looking at their body or ashes, instead you will feel...normal.

But some people's emotions and psychology are special, just like Karen once received a patient who was deeply in love with his wife. However, when his wife was giving birth, he chose to accompany her in the delivery room, which was a very loving gesture, but... since then, he has been left with severe psychological trauma and had to choose to divorce his wife. It even got to the point where he would tremble in fear at the sight of women and children."Are you still afraid of your wife?" Old Darcy urged, "Hurry up, people are still waiting in line.""I... I'm not..." The man's face showed a struggle and self-blame. Obviously, Old Darcy's words "Are you still afraid of your wife?" made this husband feel deeply guilty and self-blaming.Mentally, it can also be divided into "physiological" and "psychological". "Psychological" can be overcome, but "physiological" is really difficult to deal with."I'm not... not afraid of her... it's just that I..."Karen sighed,reached out,and patted the man's shoulder.Alright,I'll do it for the sake of our profession.

Karen turned around and walked up to Mason:"Uncle, we need to hurry back home. I'll help him collect the ashes."Upon hearing this, Mr. Darcy felt slightly unhappy and said indifferently:"Your nephew is really kind."There was no praise in his tone.Mason shrugged and said, "Mr. Darcy, I also need to hurry back home. If I'm late, Mary will blame me.""Alright, alright."Mr. Darcy gave up and said, "You two push the body up first, I'll go pick it up."Ron pushed Mr. Mosan inside, and Karen hesitated for a moment before helping Ron lift Mr. Mosan onto the platform of the cremator.

Although Mr. Mosang "manifested" last night,expressing his obsession with not wanting to be cremated;but Karen couldn't help him, even if the previous "Karen" left him six thousand Lu coins, it would be enough to buy a coffin at cost, but what about the expenses for a burial plot?Most importantly... what reason or qualification does he have to ask his family to give extra treatment to an ordinary client?Grandpa is still alive,even if Grandpa is gone, Uncle is still here,this family, it's not his turn to... well, it's not his turn to ruin.After finishing these tasks, Karen walked over to Old Daxi and watched as he used an iron hook to dig through the ashes.Old Daxi turned his head to look at Karen standing behind him,and asked:

"First time here?""Mhmm.""Never seen it before?""No.""Well, well, well, what a young master." Old Darcy teased.The first time the male members of the Inmores family saw the ashes.Karen pointed to the pile of bones on the ground and asked, "Shouldn't it be ashes?"The word "ashes" was pronounced heavily by Karen.In his mind, after cremation, the ashes should be white, like flour.But what he saw in front of him was a pile of bone fragments, with some ashes mixed in, but mostly large pieces of bones.

"Old Daxi was puzzled and said, "That's how it is.""Oh, I see." Karen suddenly realized that she had been deceived by the movies and TV shows from her past life.At that moment, she saw Old Daxi throw the extinguished cigarette butt on the ground. Karen reached into her pocket and took out the pack of cigarettes that Paul had given her. She pulled out one and handed it to Old Daxi.Old Daxi took the cigarette, his expression improving, but he still couldn't help but remind her, "Good people don't act like this.""Hehe." Karen understood what he meant and could only explain, "He used to come to our school and give us a public lecture, so he can be considered my teacher."Upon hearing this reason, Old Daxi's expression softened.

Old Daxi smashed the filter with a bang,"Oh, I see."Immediately,Old Daxi put on a glove with his left hand and picked up a small hammer with his right hand, squatting down.He began to knock and break these large pieces of bones, smashing them into smaller pieces."Does everyone take the ashes away like this?" Karen asked curiously.Old Daxi chuckled and said, "Most people only take a small portion.""Oh." Karen continued, "Um...""Can't you see I'm busy? Look at your uncle's face." Old Daxi shrugged and continued to knock on the bones, "And also for your grandfather's sake."The large bones were smashed one by one.

Old Daxi stopped and pointed to the table diagonally in front of him, where a row of various styles of urns were placed."Bring one over.""Oh, okay."Karen walked over and glanced at the urns, only to find that even the cheapest one cost 1000 Lu coins.For an ordinary worker, that was half a month's salary.Of course, there were even more expensive ones. Karen saw a very exquisite and elegant urn with a price tag of 50,000 Lu coins.However, it was covered in a lot of ash, obviously belonging to an old actor.After all, many people chose cremation not only for religious reasons, but also because it was cheaper than burial. So this 50,000 Lu coin urn was destined to be difficult to sell.Karen picked up the 1000 Lu coin urn and brought it to Old Daxi."Um, I will have my uncle give you the money."

Old Daxi "huh"ed, waved his hand and said generously, "No need.""How can this be, it's 1000 lu coins.""The cost is only 50, and the wholesale price is even cheaper.""..." Karen.Damn,It's really dark.Old Daxi was a little confused, "Didn't you used to help out at home?""I...didn't."This part of the memory, the previous "Karen" didn't have it in her mind.

"That explains it, your family sells coffins and clothes, it's similar to this.""Really?"Karen smiled awkwardly.Haha, so my family is also involved in this dark business.Old Darcy began to pack the ashes, carefully selecting the larger bones to be placed at the bottom, the smaller ones on the sides, and the medium ones in the middle...The layers were distinct and orderly;It made Karen feel like she was watching a chef...arrange the dishes.In the end,With almost nothing left behind,Old Darcy placed almost all of the ashes into the urn.

The skull, which was hard and difficult to burn, was finally placed in the top middle position by Old Darcy;Then,With a "snap",Old Darcy closed the urn."Take it with you.""Okay, thank you.""Ha."Karen bent down,And picked up the urn.It's hard to imagine that not long ago, this was a living person. Well, even before entering the crematorium, she was still a complete person.

Now,In the box in your own hands.Karen came out and as she walked towards the man, he instinctively reached out his hands, but then hesitated."She...she...""I have brought out your wife, please don't mind. Now, I will hand her over to you."Hearing this, the man's expression immediately softened and his tone became slightly calmer:"No...you are a gentleman."He finally reached out and took the urn of his wife's ashes, holding it in his arms.

"My Linda... Did she really leave?" Karen answered, "From a physical standpoint, yes, she did leave." The man lifted his head, his eyes filled with hope. "But in the spiritual world, she is still alive, living within your mind. You think, and she is there." "Yes, yes." The man nodded continuously, "As long as I think, she is there, she is still by my side, no, she is even closer to me, my Linda." A smile appeared on the man's face, not a sinister one, but warm, gentle, and sunny. "Linda believed in the Berry religion, according to its teachings, her body needs to be cremated; do you know, bringing her to the crematorium was like torture for me. Thank you, after Linda's departure, all my friends advised me to accept it, but you are the first one to tell me that she is still here. Thank you, I am really grateful to you." "You're welcome."

The man left with the urn in his arms.Karen leaned against the wall in the aisle and slowly pulled out a cigarette.At this moment, Mason walked over and asked angrily, "When did you learn to smoke? Who taught you?"Karen replied, "Aunt Mary."Karen wasn't lying. The first cigarette he had since waking up in this world was given to him by Aunt Mary."Um...okay."Uncle Mason immediately changed his tone and changed the subject, "Karen, I know you are kind, but you can't help everyone. If you get used to being kind, you will find that there are too many people in this world who need help.""Uncle, I just..." Karen wanted to explain, but didn't know how to explain the reason for "accompanying". He could only nod and say, "Yes, Uncle, I know I can't help too many people."

"No, it's not a matter of whether you can help or not, but when you find more and more people in need of your help and you are unable to do anything, you will feel pain." Karen paused for a moment and nodded, "You're right." Mason was satisfied with Karen's attitude and shrugged, "Also, many times being a good person doesn't come with good rewards." As he finished speaking, the man who had left with the urn earlier came running back. He stood in front of Karen and bowed again. This sudden bow caught Karen off guard and she instinctively bowed back. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I forgot that I still owe money for the urn." The man took out a worn and old-fashioned wallet. Of course, the adjectives used to describe it were meaningless and pale, because the key point in describing the wallet was its... thickness.

It is very thick, to be precise, it is very swollen!Swollen to the point where it can't even close!The one hundred lira banknote bears the image of the Rotland Emperor, the ruler of the history of the Rulan Kingdom,But at this moment,The Rotland Emperor is almost so tight that he wants to burst out!It turns out that he didn't come to cremate because he didn't have money, nor did he have money to give tips, nor did he have money to buy an urn, but... he never thought about that, he didn't have the experience of living conveniently without spending money."I have already paid the cremation fee, how much is the urn?" the man asked, "Sorry, I almost forgot and just left holding Linda's hand.""Five... cough... one thousand lira."Karen wanted to say 50 as the cost price.But then she thought that Old Darcy had helped, and he had packed the ashes very well, so this one thousand lira should be used to pay for the urn.

He never thought about making a profit from the price difference.After all, he didn't lack small money in his previous life; in this life, he didn't have to worry about food and drink for the time being, and the previous "Karen" had saved him 6,000 Lu coins in secret."Okay."The man took out all the money from his wallet, put away the empty wallet, and handed a thick stack of money to Karen.The thickness,The weight,Uncle Mason's eyes were wide beside him.Well,Karen, who was not moved by small money before, now had her eyes widened.This thick stack of money is worth at least 20,000 Lu coins, no more, no less!

Subconsciously swallowing a mouthful of saliva, Karen spoke up, "This is too much for you...""Not at all, this is your counseling fee. Your psychological services are worth this price. And you even returned Linda to me. This small amount of money is not enough to thank you for your tremendous help!""But this time, I only had time to withdraw this amount of cash from the bank. If I had known, I should have withdrawn more...""No, no, it's enough. It's more than enough," Karen reassured him."I...I didn't bring my business card. My name is Piajie, Piajie Adams. Where is my business card...Do you have one? I hope to contact you in the future for further discussions.""I don't...""I have one, I have one."Uncle Mason immediately took out his own business card and handed it over. It read "In Memoriam Care Company."Piajie took the card and smiled, "I will visit you at the address on this card in the future. Thank you again."As he said this,

Piajie bowed to Karen again.Karen, holding a large stack of banknotes, immediately returned the gesture.Then, Piajie "held" his wife's hand and left again.Karen counted out a thousand Lu coins, ready to give to Old Darcy later.The remaining money, Karen handed to Mason.Mason just smiled and pushed the money back, saying:"You keep it for yourself.""Do I not have to pay taxes?" Karen asked.The money was a lot, but compared to life, life was definitely more important.

If I give this income to the public:Hey,Dis,Did you see it?I not only know how to cook, but I also know how to make money!So please don't kill me!"He said it's your what fee... Oh, consultation fee, that's yours, just take it and remember to keep it safe, or tomorrow I'll take you to the bank and open an account for you to deposit it.""Thank you, uncle.""No need to thank me, no need to thank me." Mason reached out and slumped Karen's shoulder, asking, "What you just said to that... that Piajie, I heard it all. Although I couldn't understand some of it, I could feel that you handled him well.How come I didn't know you could talk to people like that before?"

"Before, 'Karen' was an autistic patient, how could he possibly have a heart-to-heart talk with people?"I saw and learned some things in books.""Oh, I see. After I go back, I will discuss with your aunt and we can expand another project in our family, just like this time, psychological counseling or therapy.Do you know, those who have lost their loved ones, they are very sad and need someone to comfort them."Oh,Karen understood Mason's meaning;In fact, in his previous life, in high-end funeral homes, there would be counselors to comfort the relatives of the deceased and provide psychological counseling."Can you do this?" Mason continued to ask, "I mean, without forcing yourself.""I can, no problem."Karen answered confidently, based on his professional expertise.

"That's great, you know, every time I see those grieving families, my heart aches..." Mason held his chest."Uncle is really kind...""Because I know people in that kind of emotional state can be irrational, and they are more willing to spend money than usual, but I don't have enough ways to earn their money. When I think about it, my heart aches.""..." Karen."Do you really want to give Mr. Darcy a thousand lucre?" Mason asked."Yes." Karen nodded."Okay, I'll go give it to him." Mason took the thousand lucre and went inside to find Mr. Darcy.Behind the glass wall,Mr. Darcy used an iron hook to cut open Mr. Mosan's belly,and then pushed him into the crematorium.

Karen saw Mason approaching Old Darcy, who was first surprised, then smiled and even turned around to bow to Karen outside the glass wall.At this time,Ron also came out and lit a cigarette to relax."Ron.""Well, what's up, Master Karen?"Karen took out 500 lu coins and handed them to Ron."This money..." Ron was a little confused."The gentleman just gave it, and you deserve a share.""Really, thank you, thank you, Master." Ron happily put the money into his bag. He had no wife and was a spendthrift. Even after receiving his salary every month, he had to pay off the debts from the previous month. This extra 500 lu coins would be enough for him to enjoy two nights at the small tavern.

Karen asked:"By the way, Ron, did the government department call you to collect Jeff's body?"Ron was completely unprepared and answered directly:"No, that morning we were supposed to go to the Huashui Bay Sanatorium to pick up Mr. Mosang, but on the way through Mingke Street... it was either 125 or 130, anyway, we found Jeff frozen to death next to the garbage cans on that street.We had to bring Jeff back first before going to pick up Mr. Mosang, and the welfare form was also applied for by Mr. Mason afterwards."Sure enough!Karen immediately remembered what Uncle Mason had said when he drove past the row of houses, which was number 128:"However, two days ago, her family encountered some trouble and she asked me for help, so I helped her out... she and her husband are looking for a new house to move into..."So,Uncle was helping his first love's family,

Processed a corpse!Wait a minute,Karen suddenly realized a problem,That is, he had "seen" some scenes on the bodies of Mr. Mosang and Jeff;Mr. Mosang was unwilling to be cremated, which was proven by Aunt Mary, because of religious beliefs, Mr. Mosang was very resistant to cremation.And if what he saw at Mr. Mosang's place was true,Then the one he saw at Jeff's place, a woman with only legs and a face, is also... true?Karen immediately thought of the scene on the second floor when he passed by that house, those legs and the red high heels!So,Uncle's first love's house,

At this moment, there is a... monster living here!------------PS: This chapter is written really well, it deserves a reward.