13 Mink Street

Chapter 4 Care for the dead（2）

The atmosphere at home is actually quite nice, as Grandfather's authority is heavy, and no one dares to stir up any conflict under his watchful eye.

Upon arriving at the dining table on the second floor, Mina was helping her mother set the dishes.

Mary's Auntie, seeing Caron descending the stairs, deliberately sneered:

"Our young master has finally come down to breakfast by himself. No need for your loyal maid auntie to serve you upstairs anymore?"

Mary's Auntie was such a person. Her mouth was sharp, and she enjoyed***. In the family, aside from Grandfather, whom she dared not offend, everyone else, including her husband, children, younger sister-in-law, and Caron, was a target for her sharp tongue.

Caron flashed a warm smile and said sincerely:

"Thank you, Auntie, for taking care of me these past few days. It's thanks to you that I've recovered so quickly."

According to Caron's memories, although this auntie had a sharp tongue, she treated him just as well as her own two children, somewhat resembling a "sharp-tongued but kind-hearted" personality.

"Huh..."

Unexpectedly, Mary's Auntie didn't know how to respond as her usually taciturn and introverted nephew suddenly spoke such fluent words of gratitude. She could only purse her lips and say:

"Let's eat."

"Alright."

Caron sat down at the dining table.

Breakfast consisted of sandwiches, scrambled eggs, milk, and some small sausages.

Taking a bite of the sandwich and chewing slowly,

Although he had only been there for half a month,

Caron already missed the duck blood rice noodles with three spoonfuls of chili oil.

At that moment,

The sound of a car horn came from outside.

"Your father is back."

Mary's Auntie went to wash her hands at the sink and then untied her apron.

"You guys continue eating. I'll go see if your father brought me any 'surprises.'"

Unlike other husbands who might bring back a ring or a designer bag as a gift for their wives, or even a bouquet of flowers as a small surprise, Uncle Mason would bring back a "corpse" for his wife.

For Mary Auntie, even a normally deceased corpse was considered a "surprise." She hated those who died under abnormal circumstances the most, as they were more troublesome to handle.

Caron put down his fork. In his subconscious, he considered himself an adult, and when something happened at home, he naturally couldn't sit at the table and continue eating like children, so he followed Aunt Murray downstairs.

The first floor was spacious, and there was a small platform with three steps in the southeast corner, which was used as a "mortuary stand" for placing coffins.

And at that moment,

The two helpers of the family, Paul and Ron, were pushing a stretcher covered with a white cloth inside.

Uncle Mason didn't come down. He was somewhat arrogant and self-important. Although he had to work under his father's authority, he only drove and rarely came into contact with the corpses.

According to Caron's memories, although Uncle Mason was unreliable in investments and could be considered a spendthrift, he was a funny and humorous person in life and treated his family well.

Mary's Auntie approached, uncovered the white cloth to take a look, and then let out a long sigh of relief.

The corpse was a young man. The death did not look terrifying. Although his body was lying flat, his face was turned ninety degrees to the right.

"Frozen to death?" Mary's Auntie asked again, "Welfare case?"

Although it was just the beginning of winter and not freezing yet, incidents of drunks or homeless people freezing to death on the roadside had already occurred.

As for the welfare case... there was a special fund office established by the municipal government, churches, charitable organizations, and other parties to give those who had no relatives or friends... in other words, those who had no one to pay for their funeral expenses... a dignified funeral.

Welfare cases need to be actively pursued by multiple funeral homes. Basically, they were divided according to districts, and after layers of exploitation, the profit that actually fell into the hands of the funeral home was already so thin that it could almost be ignored. However, it could ensure the operation of the funeral home, as even if they didn't work, they still had to pay their employees' salaries.

Correspondingly, handling welfare cases is also easier, as there are rarely relatives and friends coming to oversee and nitpick;

The body is simply prepared, placed in a coffin, and with Grandpa dressed in his priestly robes standing beside the deceased. A few photos are taken by the personnel sent by the relevant government department for record-keeping, and that's until the end of the month when the funds are disbursed.

"Yes, ma'am, I know him. His name is Jeff, a poor guy who always loses at cards. Alas, I'm even more unlucky, as I'm never around when he goes to the tavern to play." Said Ron.

"Ma'am, we have another case to attend to at the Flower Water Bay Nursing Home," said Paul.

Aunt Mary immediately reminded loudly, "Make sure the nursing home attendants give the person a bath first, or don't bother bringing them back. Last time, the old man we picked up had feces caked all over his body."

"Yes, I understand," Paul quickly assured.

After that, he and Ron exchanged the empty trolley for an empty hearse and left.

"Beep... Beep..."

Uncle Mason, sitting in the car with a cigarette in his hand, honked the horn twice.

He first called out to Karen, "My little Karen, looks like you're recovering well."

"Yes, Uncle," Karen responded.

"Haha, that's great." Then, he turned to his wife and shouted, "Dear, I want to have your meat pie for lunch when I come back. It's one of the two best meals of my life!"

"Eat it in the bathroom, I'm not free!"

Uncle Mason shrugged and continued to smile shamelessly, "Oh, that's my other favorite!"

Aunt Mary couldn't hold her expression anymore, turning her head with her lips quivering.

"Let's go, dear!"

Mason started the car and left.

Aunt Mary took a deep breath and reached out to push the stretcher.

Karen naturally came over to lend a hand;

Aunt Mary glanced at Karen and didn't move.

Karen looked at herly.

"Karen, you seem different from before."

"Maybe so."

Karen didn't bother hiding the fact that he was a "time traveler." In fact, as a "time traveler," there's no need to worry about this point. Who among the people around you would believe that your soul has been replaced?

Crazy!

"Let's go to the basement."

"Alright, Aunt."

The aunt and nephew pushed the stretcher carrying the body down the slope leading to the basement, with a flat section in the middle for a smooth transition.

When going down, one has to control the speed to prevent the body from sliding off.

"It would be great if we could install an elevator," said Karen when they reached the basement, gripping the stretcher handles with some effort.

"Like the ones in department stores?" Aunt Mary mocked, "Are you crazy? That would be so expensive!"

The basement had only one floor, divided into three rooms or functional areas.

One was a storeroom... Actually, it couldn't really be called a storeroom, as it contained many items needed for the funeral home, neatly stacked.

Another was the morgue, which was empty, and inside, Karen didn't see any refrigerators.

Karen didn't ask why they didn't buy a fridge, because he was sure Aunt Mary would have responded, "Are you crazy? That would be so expensive!"

But this also showed that the Inmerles family's business wasn't very big, as they didn't even need to "stock up."

But from another perspective, it also revealed that regardless of the era or cultural background, the business of the dead... is truly profitable.

The last room was Aunt Mary's workspace, where she needed to perform "beautification" on the deceased.

Even the most beautiful people in life will look quite... ordinary after death.

And there are even more cases of non-natural deaths, which make the workload even greater.