At the words "the dead deserve respect," Xie Songde's tightly furrowed brow relaxed.
He truly hadn't expected someone as young as Chen Miao to still honor the principles of the older generation in this profession.
Compared with Chen Miao, Boss Du of Good Fortune Funeral Home had lived all those years only to end up thinking of nothing but money.
"In that case, I'll leave my father in your hands, Mr. Chen."
Chen Miao stood and shook Xie Songde's hand.
Afterward, Chen Miao signed an agreement with Xie Songde. Chen Miao would provide a hearse, collect and preserve the body, and deliver it intact to Shannan Funeral Home. In return, Xie Songde would pay him a hundred thousand yuan, with half paid up front as a deposit.
Once the agreement was signed, Chen Miao immediately contacted Jiao Zhiyong, Tianmen Funeral Home's only remaining hearse driver, and explained the job ahead.
It was already eleven in the morning. By the time they reached their destination, it would be late, and they probably wouldn't be back until tomorrow.
Chen Miao therefore also had to arrange how to handle any requests for a vehicle during their absence.
After that, Chen Miao prepared a coffin weighing only about twenty jin. Since the old man would have been dead for two days by the time they collected him, Chen Miao also packed some preservative herbs, alcohol, and other supplies inside.
He planned to take three people with him: the driver, their sales representative Kong Fang, and Cao Jun, the west gate guard.
The route would be difficult, after all. Having two extra people to take turns carrying would make things easier.
Chen Miao hadn't chosen these three at random, and he would give each of them ten thousand yuan for their trouble afterward.
He chose Kong Fang not only because Kong Fang had brought in the job, but also because his frequent sales trips had left him reasonably fit and able to handle hard work.
He chose Cao Jun, the west gate guard, for the same reason: he was physically fit.
Besides, the west gate normally saw only hearse traffic. With the hearse away on this trip, no other vehicles were likely to come through, so taking Cao Jun along wouldn't disrupt anything.
As for the driver, Jiao Zhiyong, he had to make the trip anyway. Naturally, he was happy to carry a body for ten thousand yuan.
With everything arranged, the five of them set off.
Before leaving, Chen Miao put the wooden box containing his talismans and the Corpse-Control Bell into his bag, along with Notes on Achieving Divinity in the Mortal World.
Better safe than sorry!
An hour later, Chen Miao and the others reached the village where Xie Songde had parked his car.
After parking the hearse, they carried the empty coffin into the mountains.
The path into the mountains wasn't untouched wilderness covered in grass, but a trail that had long since been worn into the ground.
Even so, after an hour of taking turns carrying the coffin, Chen Miao and the other three were all feeling how difficult mountain paths could be.
When Xie Songde and his family had gone in before, they had stopped frequently and taken their time enjoying the outing, so the journey had taken over five hours.
Chen Miao's group moved faster, but it still took them nearly four hours!
And that was with an empty coffin. Once the old man was inside, they would have to keep it steady. They couldn't let him bounce around in there, could they?
The return trip would probably take more than five hours!
As they approached Blue Stone Village, Chen Miao surveyed it from a distance.
There appeared to be forty or fifty households. Because of the mountainous terrain, the homes weren't packed side by side like those in villages outside the mountains.
There were patches of open ground between each household in Blue Stone Village, and the vegetables growing on them gave a rough indication.
Which homes were occupied, and which were empty.
About four or five houses seemed unoccupied. Though the village wasn't as lively as those outside the mountains, it didn't feel desolate either.
He checked the time. It was already half past five in the afternoon, with a little over an hour left before dark.
They entered the village and passed the houses.
Almost every household had elderly people sitting out front, either doing handicrafts or chatting as they trimmed vegetables.
While Chen Miao looked at the elderly villagers, they studied his group in turn, curiosity in their eyes.
Of course, their curiosity wasn't directed at Chen Miao and the others, but at the coffin.
"This all happened rather suddenly. I've already had my family take the children home. Only my brother-in-law is there watching over my father now. As it happens, you can stay in the rooms my family used before, Mr. Chen."
With their destination almost in sight, Xie Songde turned and spoke to Chen Miao.
"All right. But your father has been dead for almost two days now. Even though it's cool in the mountains, we should take some steps to preserve him first."
Chen Miao thought for a moment, then added, "It would be even better if we could buy a quilt. From what I saw of the trail on the way here, there'll probably be room for your father to shift around inside the coffin, and the journey will jostle him. Filling the gaps with a quilt to hold his body steady would help."
"Sure. I'll follow your advice on that. I'll find a quilt."
As he spoke, Xie Songde pointed to a house. "Here we are."
As soon as they reached its entrance, Chen Miao and the others heard shouting from inside.
Xie Songde froze, then hurried in.
Chen Miao told Kong Fang and Jiao Zhiyong to watch the coffin outside, then went in with the tall, burly Cao Jun.
"If you don't pay up, I'll burn the corpse!"
That was what Chen Miao heard the moment he entered.
He looked up and saw Xie Songde standing beside another middle-aged man wearing glasses in the courtyard.
Both men were furious.
Facing them were four men around thirty, all with the look of street thugs.
"Don't push your luck!"
The man in glasses pointed at the bald man leading them, who stood with his arms folded across his chest.
"Push my luck? You've kept a corpse in my house for two days, and you think charging thirty thousand a day is going too far?"
"Do you know my mother was so upset she fainted when she found out there was a corpse in the room? I think thirty thousand is too little!"
"If you don't pay, I'll burn the corpse and clear away the bad luck for my mother."
The bald man spoke unhurriedly.
"You're taking advantage of our misfortune!"
The man in glasses was furious.
The bald man narrowed his eyes at him and sneered. "Taking advantage? Just tell me whether you're paying."
With that, the other three men behind him approached with cigarettes dangling from their mouths, all raising their voices.
"No money? Then you're not taking the corpse anywhere!"
"Why pretend you're rich if you haven't got any money? Ten thousand per person to carry a corpse, huh?"
"Heh, I say we just burn it. Everybody wins!"
Each remark provoked the man in glasses further.
Seeing that he was about to lose control and lash out, Xie Songde reached out and held him back.
Xie Songde looked at the bald man, his expression grim.
"Thirty thousand it is. We'll leave first thing tomorrow morning."
"Heh, now that's a generous boss. But if you leave tomorrow, that's another night with the corpse here. Another thirty thousand, making ninety thousand in total!"
"Tell you what, round it up to a hundred thousand, and I'll throw in a filling meal tomorrow."
Looking at the bald man's greedy expression, Xie Songde said nothing more. He merely nodded.
"Haha, get some rest early, boss. You can use my room for another night."
Once Xie Songde agreed, the bald man left his courtyard with his friends, all smiles.
As they passed Chen Miao and Cao Jun, they merely glanced at Cao Jun's sturdy build before leaving with their arms slung around one another's shoulders.
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