Chapter 21: Twenty-first day after quitting the circle. Boss Liu is here? Come and sit down...
What a joke!
Li Erhai's mind was occupied by these big words, and his eyes were as big as copper bells.
Is this girl the owner of a funeral parlor hired by his sister-in-law? At her age, she's still just an assistant, not the boss?
After being shocked, Li Erhai almost laughed out of anger.
Grabbing Aunt Wang's arm and pulling her aside, he spoke anxiously, "Sister-in-law, what are you and my brother thinking about? Yes, I know he's pissed off by Boss Liu, and now he wants to fight back. But he can't just do it rashly, right? When Mom was alive, she loved him the most. If he finds a little girl to take care of Mom's affairs after her death, Mom won't be able to close her coffin! Besides, what's the difference between finding this little girl and finding my friend?"
The words "the coffin lid can't even be closed" were spoken with increasing volume, causing the neighbors passing by to look up.
Aunt Wang slapped her brother-in-law's hand away and explained with a frown, "There's a huge difference. Boss Sang at least owns a legitimate, one-stop funeral home. What does your friend have? Don't think I don't know. Your friend's family used to be in the business, but after his father passed away, didn't he sell the funeral home because of gambling?"
After Aunt Wang exposed the truth, Li Erhai's expression suddenly became a little embarrassed. He opened his mouth to refute: "That person has been influenced by it since he was a child, so he still has the ability."
Aunt Wang waved her hand, not wanting to listen to what he was saying. She simply said, "You don't need to worry about this. Your brother will have a good chat with Boss Sang. If Boss Sang is capable, he'll hire her. If not, he'll find someone else."
Li Erhai rolled his eyes. "What about the on-site recruitment thing? Mom's been gone for over half an hour, and now she's just lying there in bed. How can she have so much time for this?"
"So get out of the way here!"
Aunt Wang, who looked rather plump, rolled up her sleeves, revealing her sturdy arms. Grabbing Li Erhai's clothes, she took a deep breath and instantly lifted up her monkey-like brother-in-law and threw him aside.
Then he looked at Sang Qiqi: "Boss Sang, I'll take you into the house."
Sang Qiqi agreed and turned back to look at Li Erhai.
Li Erhai's face flushed red after being yanked away by his sister-in-law in such an embarrassing way in front of so many people. Noticing Sang Qiqi's gaze, he immediately shouted in a harsh voice, "What are you looking at?"
Stinky girl!
Seeing how furious he was, Sang Qiqi made a face and followed Aunt Wang into the living room just before he almost exploded.
There were many people bustling about in the living room. Sang Qiqi spotted a man who vaguely resembled Li Erhai. He looked about sixty years old, dressed in white, with a dark complexion and red, puffy eyes. He looked much more tired and worn than the monkey outside. She guessed he was the host, Aunt Wang's husband.
While Sang Qiqi was observing Uncle Li, Uncle Li was also observing Sang Qiqi.
Although Aunt Wang had been prepared in advance, Uncle Li was still shocked when he suddenly saw Sang Qiqi's overly young and beautiful face.
But... those eyes were clean and clear, without a trace of guilt in them, and they looked at each other calmly.
Uncle Li greeted Sang Qiqi first, then inquired about the procedures for handling the old lady's funeral. At their age, they'd experienced many deaths, and while they might not be completely clear on some funeral etiquette and procedures, they were certainly familiar with them. Uncle Li figured he could point out any areas where Sang Qiqi wasn't professional.
However, when Sang Qiqi finished arranging all the ceremonies in an orderly manner and asked, "What do you think?", Uncle Li didn't even have a chance to speak.
Uncle Li: “…”
This girl seems to be really capable!
After realizing it belatedly, the worry in his eyes began to dissipate, and he quickly said, "No problem, no problem. You are a professional, I will do as you say."
Sang Qiqi stopped talking nonsense and took out her phone to send a message to Bai Yingxin. Then she said to Uncle Li, "Since that's the case, I'll start making arrangements. The body will be kept for three days. The weather is getting hot, so I'll prepare an ice coffin for the old lady and have it delivered immediately. As for the items needed for the funeral hall, do you think I should arrange them or can you choose them yourselves? If I do, I have several price packages available. If you come on your own, the price will be calculated based on the items you choose."
"Tell me about your set meals."
"OK."
Sang Qiqi's funeral hall decoration package is actually divided into four levels: ordinary, affordable, luxurious and supreme.
The difference between these four tiers isn't huge, as the main difference in cost lies in the amount of materials used. For example, the standard tier only has two wreaths, and fewer flowers like white chrysanthemums and offerings. Compared to the luxury and supreme tiers, it's certainly a bit simple, but for ordinary people, it's more than enough.
Sure enough, after listening to the introduction, Uncle Li chose the Huimin grade.
More than ten minutes later, the tattered van stopped in front of the small villa, and Bai Yingxin and Jingyu got out of the car. The former waved to Sang Qiqi, who walked over and said, "Thank you for your hard work. I'll treat you to a meal and give you some money later." Then she swiftly carried down all the necessary items, such as the ice coffin. While helping Sang Qiqi move the things, Bai Yingxin whispered, "You're too polite. Just treat me to a pork tenderloin pancake. My boss ate the pancake this morning, and I was so angry that I didn't talk to him all morning."
Sang Qiqi glanced at Jingyu who was following behind and asked Bai Yingxin, "Didn't he reimburse you?"
Bai Yingxin: "If you eat my cake for free, I will put his head on it."
Jingyu followed behind with an expressionless face, listening to the man and the ghost talking as if no one was around. He wasn't eavesdropping on purpose, he just had good ears, especially when someone said something bad about him, his ears would automatically upgrade to a thousand-mile hearing, making it even more useful.
After moving it back and forth twice, Jing Yu finally caught Bai Ying's distraction and walked over to Sang Qiqi, asking, "Is there a different price for this today?"
Jingyu helped a lot, so Sang Qiqi was naturally generous: "I'll give you 400, 200 for transportation, 200 for labor, and I'll treat you to a meal."
Jingyu: "Deal."
After Jingyu and his companions finished moving their belongings, they left. Sang Qiqi quickly arranged the wreath of white chrysanthemums and placed the black and white memorial in front of the ice coffin. Then, she washed her hands and went to the old lady's bedroom. She put on gloves, carefully cleaned and dressed the old lady, and with the help of Uncle Li, she placed her in the ice coffin.
Then close the ice coffin.
Only at this moment did Sang Qiqi have time to take a breath.
Uncle Li and Aunt Wang had been standing beside Sang Qiqi, witnessing the whole process of her skillfully setting up the mourning hall and changing the old lady's clothes. The two looked at each other, and the worry and uneasiness in their eyes had disappeared without a trace.
Uncle Li pulled Aunt Wang aside, his tense body gradually relaxing as he softly instructed, "I didn't expect that Boss Sang, despite looking so young, could do such a good job. Let's give her some extra money as a thank you for helping me out in this emergency."
Aunt Wang naturally had no objection.
While the two were talking in private, Sang Qiqi had already contacted the funeral home and hearse in advance, and was waiting for a special staff member to come and take the old lady to the funeral home after the three-day period of rest.
After telling Uncle Li and Aunt Wang the news, Sang Qiqi pulled out her phone and opened her photo album. "Uncle Li, I have some free urns here. Take a look and see if you need them. If you don't like them, you can buy other urns in my store or buy them directly from the funeral home."
Before Uncle Li could say anything, an old yet powerful voice rang in Sang Qiqi's ears: "Of course I have to take it if it's free!"
Sang Qiqi subconsciously turned her head and saw a shadow quietly crawling out of the ice coffin, hunching over and swaying as it squeezed into Sang Qiqi's side.
The old lady frowned, squinted her eyes and stared hard at Sang Qiqi's phone screen. After staring at it for a long time, she kept complaining, "Why is it that you're still presbyopic? You can't see anything clearly."
Sang Qiqi pursed her lips to stifle a smile, pretending to introduce them to Uncle Li. "I have three types of free urns here: wooden, copper, and ceramic. The wooden ones are made of pine and have been treated for corrosion. The copper ones are meant to ward off evil spirits, but they're slightly more likely to oxidize and rust. As for the ceramic ones, they're moisture-proof and insect-proof, so they're pretty much the same. I can also help with engraving designs if needed."
"The wooden and ceramic ones sound good," the old lady muttered. Seeing Uncle Li frowning and still thinking seriously, she became a little impatient. "Hey, you're sixty years old, and you're still dragging your feet when helping me choose an urn."
Another minute passed, and Uncle Li, finally finished thinking, waved his hand and pointed at the copper urn: "This has a good meaning and looks solid. I'll choose this one."
old lady:"……"
Sang Qiqi: “…”
Sang Qiqi was silent for two seconds, then suddenly slapped her forehead. "It suddenly occurred to me that this copper urn seems to be sold out. How about getting a pine one instead? Pine has a calming and elegant feel, which is also quite nice. I still have a ten-year warranty on it, so if there's any problem with the urn, you can always come to me for a replacement."
Uncle Li didn't have high expectations for the urn to begin with, so when he heard about the ten-year warranty, he immediately nodded in agreement: "Okay, Boss Sang will arrange it."
As soon as she finished speaking, Sang Qiqi heard a relieved sound from beside her: "Hu——"
Sang Qiqi: “…”
This old lady is quite interesting.
In ancient times, the funeral process followed the following steps: 1. Keep the body, 2. Announce the death, 3. Condolences, 4. Seal, 5. Send, and 6. An. "Stay" refers to the placement of the body, "Announce" refers to the announcement of the death, "Diao" refers to the mourning process, "Seal" refers to the burial, "Song" refers to the funeral procession, and "An" refers to the burial. While some changes have been made, they are not significant. After the first step is completed, the neighbors who went to announce the death have mostly returned. Next, relatives and friends of the host family will arrive, and the memorial ceremony will continue the next morning.
Therefore, there was nothing happening for Sang Qiqi during this period.
But Sang Qiqi didn't leave. Seeing everyone busy around, she lent a hand, helping fold gold ingots in her free time. Those folding the gold ingots were all mothers and grandmothers. They had already learned about Sang Qiqi's identity from Aunt Wang and had discussed it privately for a while. Now that Sang Qiqi had taken the initiative to approach them, they naturally didn't miss the opportunity to exchange pleasantries.
"How old are you, little girl? It's quite rare to find girls doing this kind of work. I just saw you dressing an old lady, and you looked so skilled. You're amazing."
"Yeah, yeah, she looks about the same age as the girl from Erhai's family."
Sang Qiqi was too embarrassed to say that she had been dead for twenty years, so she told him the original owner's age.
"That's two years younger than the girl from Erhai's family. You have such a pretty face, you're more than qualified to be a star!"
Sang Qiqi was happy.
This auntie has quite good taste.
She said: "To be honest, I used to be a star."
The aunt was surprised: "So amazing? Your major has made quite a big leap."
After chatting for a while, a white-haired grandmother came over. As soon as she came over, she complained quietly: "I saw Liu Wenliang when I just came here."
Liu Wenliang?
Sang Qiqi was unfamiliar with this name, but others were not.
This Liu Wenliang is the boss of the funeral home in town.
The aunt who had been talking to Sang Qiqi was a little surprised when she heard this. As she dropped the folded gold ingots into the snakeskin bag, she asked curiously, "The Feng family and the Li family are in two different directions. Why did Liu Wenliang come here?"
"Who knows? He looks sneaky. I guess he's here to see if the Li family has hired anyone—"
Before he could finish his words, a young man suddenly rushed to the blind spot of the right path and shouted at the top of his voice, "Hey, Boss Liu is here? Come and sit down!"
Liu Wenliang: “…”
Liu Wenliang was completely numb.
After he finished dealing with the Feng family's old man's case, he saw three missed calls on his phone. The caller was none other than Chen San, whom he had recommended to the Li family. Chen San was a friend he had met while going to buy supplies. They discovered they lived not far from each other, so they naturally chatted a little more and added each other's contact information. This time, Liu Wenliang was asking for help, explaining the situation clearly: "I suddenly had something happen and can't make it. I'd be grateful for your help. Otherwise, the host family won't be able to find a funeral guest."
Chen San readily agreed, but before agreeing, he said, "But the fees here will be based on the costs in our area, which may be a little different from yours."
Liu Wenliang thought at the time that since they were all in the Fuping District of Beijing North, they could be considered the same place. Even if the cost was different, how much could it be? Therefore, he didn't specifically ask Uncle Li and agreed directly.
Now, he called Chen San back, and heard Chen San say in a gloomy tone on the other end of the phone: "Boss Liu, this business you introduced to me is not good. The owner is stingy and insists that my fees are too high. He also said that no one else would come to me. I can't help you with this, and you can't blame me."
When Liu Wenliang heard "You won't look for anyone else but me", he was completely stunned.
What's the meaning?
The Li family didn't let Chen San take over this business, so what should the Li family do now?
Liu Wenliang was worried about something and listened absentmindedly to Chen San's rambling for a long time. He didn't hear clearly what the other party said. He just walked out immediately after the other party hung up the phone, wanting to go to Lao Li's house to see what the situation was.
If they haven't found a funeral host yet, he can help now.
Unexpectedly, as soon as I walked over here quietly, I saw the youngest son of Old Li rushing over like a gust of wind. Not only did he recognize him at a glance, but he also raised his voice very loudly, as if he was afraid that others couldn't hear him!
Liu Wenliang's face flushed red, and he waved his hands repeatedly: "No, no need!"
"Stop, I'm already here." Old Li's youngest son was young and strong. When he reached out and grabbed Liu Wenliang's wrist, it was like a layer of iron was clamped on it. The force made Liu Wenliang unable to resist at all. He could only struggle to push his feet against the ground and said with tears in his eyes, "I really won't come!"
This hilarious scene was clearly seen in public by the neighbors and fellow villagers who were looking over.
The aunt beside Sang Qiqi laughed out loud: "Yucheng must have done this on purpose, so mean and wicked."
The others laughed as they watched, some even offering to help Li Yucheng invite Liu Wenliang over. Liu Wenliang listened to the teasing voices ringing in his ears, feeling embarrassed and regretful at the same time - he should have known not to come, regardless of whether the Li family had invited anyone or not!
"Yucheng boy, let go!"
Li Yucheng raised his eyebrows slightly, noticed that neighbors and fellow villagers had also gathered around, and finally let go.
He didn't intend to go too far, but since Liu Wenliang had come and was caught red-handed by him, he had to teach him a lesson.
Liu Wenliang hadn't expected Li Yucheng to let go so quickly. He was caught off guard and stumbled, landing flat on his butt on the gravel pavement, causing his face to grimaces. But he didn't have time to dwell on it. He hurriedly got up from the ground and ran.
Looking at his back, it looked like countless vicious wolves were chasing him.
Li Yucheng snorted as he stood there, then turned to see Uncle Li coming towards him. He walked over and muttered, "How dare he come here!"
Uncle Li witnessed the entire process and couldn't help but laugh at his son's way of venting his anger. In fact, after seeing Sang Qiqi skillfully handle the old man's funeral, Uncle Li's unresolved anger had mostly dissipated. He and his wife had calculated that Sang Qiqi's total cost was cheaper than Liu Wenliang's, so it could be considered a blessing in disguise for them.
Patting his son on the shoulder, Uncle Li casually explained, "He just wants to make money, but his conscience is against it, and he's very twisted. Don't worry about him."
After the little farce ended, the audience still felt a little unsatisfied.
The aunt sitting next to Sang Qiqi said, "After this incident, Liu Wenliang's business will probably be much worse in the future."
"He asked for it."
A few people chattered again, but the topic quickly shifted from Liu Wenliang to Sang Qiqi, and the content went from praising her funeral services to asking if she had found a boyfriend. When Sang Qiqi heard this, she immediately grabbed a handful of sunflower seeds and ran away.
Huddled in a corner, she ate melon seeds while watching the old lady's ghost hunching over as it swayed here and there, as if looking for something.
Sang Qiqi originally didn't want to disturb her, but seeing her slightly irritated and anxious expression, she thought for a few seconds, threw the melon seed shells in her hand into the trash can, and asked, "Old lady, what are you looking for?"
The old lady said nothing and continued to walk back and forth.
Until she turned in front of Sang Qiqi and was caught off guard by Sang Qiqi's bright almond eyes.
The old lady took a step back suddenly, slapped her heart twice and said, "Why are the eyes so big? I almost died of fright."
Sang Qiqi: "I can hear you."
The old lady said: "What can I hear? What is the little girl mumbling to herself?"
After she finished complaining, she turned around and floated away again.
Two seconds later, he suddenly turned his head as if realizing something.
Then she met Sang Qiqi's big eyes that almost scared her to death.
Sang Qiqi smiled slightly.
old lady:"……"
A few seconds later, besides Sang Qiqi, there was another ghost hiding in the corner.
The old lady looked at the melon seeds in Sang Qiqi's hand and sighed with a hint of envy. Sang Qiqi pretended not to notice and only asked, "You haven't told me what you were looking for just now?"
"Here's my change!"
"money?"
The old lady nodded vigorously. "Before I died, I stuffed all my savings under my pillow. I just saw my eldest son's wife and the others packing up, but how come I didn't see a single cent? It's strange. I clearly remember putting it away. Although I'm old, my memory is much better than most people's. Logically, I must have remembered it right."
Sang Qiqi gossiped a little: "How much did you save?"
The old lady gestured and counted, "There's fifty-three thousand six under the pillow, and three hundred and twenty-three dollars and eighty cents in the bag. The money in the bag is still there, but the money under the pillow is gone."
That's a bit strange indeed.
Sang Qiqi stroked her chin, her brain working, and she analyzed carefully: "I don't think this money was lost after you died, otherwise your soul would be able to see it."
So... most likely someone took advantage of the chaos while the old lady was dying and unconscious and took her away.
She said to the old lady, "I'll find a chance to talk to Uncle Li about it later and ask him about the details."
Less than two minutes after these words were spoken, Sang Qiqi and the old lady saw Aunt Wang walking out of the old lady's bedroom with a small notebook in her hand, her expression a little serious.
Aunt Wang and the aunt next door were originally packing things for the old lady.
But logically, this should have been done by her and her sister-in-law Yan Chunfang. However, Yan Chunfang thought it was unlucky because someone had died in the old lady's bedroom, so she found an excuse of having a stomachache and went home to use the toilet.
Aunt Wang already knew what kind of person this sister-in-law was, and she was too lazy to argue with her. She didn't respond and went into the house alone.
Later, the aunt next door saw this scene and came forward to help while muttering in her heart that Yan Chunfang was really a bad person.
Both of them were quite capable, and in half an hour they had cleared the pile of debris from the house. While cleaning, Aunt Wang also unearthed a small notebook. It was very thin, with a yellowed surface, and it looked very old. Curious, Aunt Wang flipped through it and was surprised to find that it was the old lady's account book!
And the last page of the account book clearly states: Deposit of 53,600 yuan.
The date of signature was before the old lady went to the hospital for recuperation.
There was a line of small words written below this high figure: The eldest brother gets 40,000, and the remaining 13,600 goes to the second brother.
The old lady has so much savings?
Aunt Wang was shocked.
Over the years, she and Lao Li took the initiative to take over the responsibility of supporting the old lady, but the old lady refused to take advantage of them and gave money to the family every month. She and Lao Li did not spend the money, but saved it and used it for the old lady's medical treatment.
They had always thought that the old lady had no money left since she gave so much money every month. But they did not expect to see such a shocking figure in the account book. The question was... where was the money?
They didn't see a penny when they cleaned the house!
Thinking of this, Aunt Wang's expression became a little ugly. She quickly ran to the living room to find Uncle Li, stuffed the notebook into his hand, and gestured, "Take a look and see what's going on."
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