The two seemed quite familiar with each other, but they didn't say much about the topic. Before long, Mr. Wei got up to leave, and the lecturer walked him to the door. When he returned to his office, a congregant came in from the side entrance and said sympathetically, "He's here again."
The lecturer handed over the money for him to take care of. "Put it into the general account."
As the congregant processed the payment, he couldn't help saying, "What's the point? They've been dead for over a hundred years. Why buy them little snacks? Besides, this money can't do anything for the dead."
The lecturer shot him a warning look. "Keep your mouth shut."
The congregant grudgingly finished the task, then stormed out of the office.
The lecturer shook his head helplessly and bent back over his desk to finish his work.
But before long, the office door opened again. The lecturer went out and found the congregant angrily pulling weeds. With a sigh, he said, "How many times have I told you? You never remember."
The congregant didn't turn around when he heard the lecturer's voice. Instead, he said furiously, "Aren't the people in the church all our brothers and sisters? Why deceive them? Every year, the huge sums donated by believers actually go toward training Players. Nobody looks after the people who've passed away. I secretly went to see them last time, and it had been ages since anyone cleaned the place. Mr. Wei still wants to buy food to offer them... If he knew that none of his efforts over all these years had actually amounted to anything, can you imagine how heartbroken he'd be?"
"This isn't deceiving them. It gives them something to lean on," the "lecturer" said. "If you tell him the truth,