Discount

The temperature dropped.

It was not late autumn, nor early winter; it was truly the start of winter.

In the cold weather, as long as the wind outside wasn't too strong, basking in the sun outside was actually much more comfortable than sitting inside a cold, damp house.

Paul and Ron were currently sitting in the courtyard on small wooden stools, one each. Last month had been extremely busy, so busy that sometimes they wished they could squeeze onto the Stretcher Cart with a "client" and take a quick nap together.

These past few days, however, finally felt leisurely again.

Of course, as experienced employees of the funeral society, they also knew this was the last little bit of leisure for the year, because many elderly people could not make it past the hurdle from deep winter to early spring.

Perhaps in early autumn, they had prepared themselves; in early winter, they had hardened their resolve. But when the true cold snap arrived, the kind where they had to drag their stiff, old limbs to fight the weather, many elderly people once again had to surrender to fate, letting the rotation of the seasons sweep past like a broom, sweeping them into the ultimate destination of life.

Ron had a cigarette dangling from his lips and was playing with a deck of cards, muttering from time to time about how regretful it was that last night's good hand hadn't yielded any real returns.

Paul, on the other hand, was reading a book on electrical engineering, making notes with a pencil every now and then.

Kallen carried a pig's head and walked into the courtyard.

"Yo, Young Master, what are we making for a good meal today?"

Ron immediately stood up and hurried over.

Ever since the young master's injuries had healed enough for him to walk, the daily work meals could be described as exceptionally rich and exquisite. Various dishes-not to mention eaten, Ron hadn't even heard of before-were served on the table every noon, and that taste was simply comforting to the extreme.

Paul also closed his book and looked over.

"Ron, get me a basin and fill it with some water."

"Got it, Young Master."

In this world, the vast majority of people actually did not resist playing assistant to a cook.

Soon, Ron brought over an aluminum basin filled with water.

"Ah~"

Aunt Mary walked out of the living room, yawning, and handed Kallen a gas blowtorch at the same time.

Kallen took the blowtorch and smiled, saying:

"I didn't think we actually had one at home."

As he spoke, Kallen ignited the flame and began using the fire from the blowtorch to burn away the hairs on the pig's head.

Aunt Mary said, "Some clients have a lot of body hair, and you need to use this to remove it."

Kallen asked with some curiosity, "Isn't it better the more body hair you have? It looks more masculine."

Aunt Mary shrugged. "Not all body hair grows on the chest."

Immediately afterward, Aunt Mary used the experience of someone who had "inspected countless clients" to sigh with emotion:

"Some people have body hair growing in other places, it's disgusting to death."

"Hehe."

Kallen chuckled while continuing to carefully scorch the pig's head.

Aunt Mary looked on at the scene with curiosity and continued the previous topic: "There are also some people who, while alive, thought having vigorous body hair was a very masculine thing, even feeling it was a deeply narcissistic charm, yet they couldn't smell the odor on themselves. Even after they die, the residue can still be smelled, and their wives had already felt disgusted and averse to it for God knows how many years.

People can't do anything about it while they're alive, so after someone dies, their wives will often strongly request to get rid of their husbands' body hair when doing the mortuary makeup."

"For the sake of looking better?"

"No, I think it's purely to vent their anger."

"Such love is truly enviable."

"Who told you it's usually the husband who leaves before the wife?" Aunt Mary tidied her hair. "And there are also some men who just love finding wives much younger than themselves. The ones whose body hair can't be preserved after death are still considered the better ones; having hatred and resentment at least still means they cared. We've seen plenty of those kinds of wives who bring their lovers to attend their husbands' Memorial Services after the husband dies."

If business was not busy and the relatives were all in the city, the time from a person's death to the holding of the Memorial Service and burial was actually only about three days.

"That's why I no longer believe in love," Ron said.

"What about that little nurse of yours from the sanatorium?" Kallen asked.

"Oh god, don't mention her. My heart has already been shattered into pieces because of her."

"Didn't you ask her out? I remember you wanted to invite her to the movies."

"I did ask her out. We watched six movies together."

"Did you eat popcorn?" Kallen asked.

"We licked each other's ten fingers clean, and every time the movie finished, because the sanatorium was closed, I had to accompany her to a small inn to get a room and rest in order to take care of her."

"Isn't that great?" Kallen put down the blowtorch and began to scrape the pig's head with a knife. "You watched the movies, and you did the deed. Didn't you plan to propose to her?"

"I promised her that I wouldn't drink anymore, wouldn't play cards anymore, would work hard, and would hand all my income over to her to manage. She was very moved."

"And then?"

"Then, on the day before I was about to propose to her, a retired gentleman in the sanatorium who was about to be discharged confessed to her, and she agreed."

"Oh, that truly is a sad story."

"Who's to say it isn't? I was heartbroken over it for a long time. I actually got outcompeted by an old man."

"No, Ron, what outcompeted you was a retired gentleman of means."

"Well, that's true, but my fiancée just left me like that."

"Think about it from another perspective. Someone else's fiancée watched movies with you so many times before getting married."

When Ron heard this, he thought about it very carefully,

then a smile appeared on his face,

and he said:

"Young Master, the way you put it, I suddenly feel like I came out ahead."

"You certainly did."

At this moment, Paul suddenly asked, "Young Master, Madam, I have a question I'd like to ask you."

"Speak."

Kallen continued to earnestly scrape the pig's head; he had missed this particular taste of pig head meat for a long time. In his past life, the hometown county and city he came from actually had very few foods that could be called specialty delicacies, but this pig head meat was instead the most formidable one-fat without being greasy.

Because he had begun to take charge of the kitchen, the kitchen at home had now gradually undergone a "peaceful evolution."

Although the family members did not think Chinese cuisine was "heavenly," it was enough to make them realize just how simple and monotonous their previous diet had been.

Paul asked, "If you want to advance your relationship with a young lady, how should you bring it up?"

"Movies!" Ron immediately shouted. "The late-night screenings!"

Paul ignored Ron's suggestion.

Aunt Mary smiled and said, "Is it with the Kuchi Family's young lady?"

Paul nodded somewhat shyly: "Yes, Madam. Thank you, Madam."

This match for Paul had been arranged with Aunt Mary's help. The Kuchi lady's father was a carpentry master at a coffin factory; although their family background was very ordinary, the whole family was very honest and down-to-earth.

Naturally, Aunt Mary wouldn't introduce such a girl to Ron, but as for Paul, his diligence and reliability were obvious to all, so Aunt Mary had played the matchmaker.

"Have you visited her parents?" Aunt Mary asked.

"I've visited them. Her father is a very good man, her mother is also very kind, and my mother likes her a lot too. We've set the wedding date for the spring."

Kallen understood.

Paul had already completed the stage of talking about marriage, but he was stuck on the "sleeping" part.

This wasn't funny. There really were quite a few people in this world who dated with the sole purpose of sleeping together, but there were also some responsible people who thought about going through the legal procedures and proper etiquettes first, yet because they were too honest-or perhaps skipped a step-they couldn't find the right rhythm when they wanted to backpedal and find it again.

Kallen lifted the pig's head, inspected it carefully, and spoke to the pig's head:

"Paul, you can ask her if she wants to look at the moon by the window in your room."

Aunt Mary looked at Kallen with an expression as if she had seen a ghost, and then heavily knocked on the pig's head Kallen was holding:

"Your uncle taught you that?"

Kallen asked in confusion, "No, he didn't."

"Really not?"

"Really not."

Aunt Mary "hmph"ed. "As expected, you men of the Immerlis Family are all cut from the same cloth. Back then, that was how your uncle invited me, saying his room was on a very high floor and suitable for enjoying the moon.

And then out came Mina, and then out came Lunt."

"Hehe..."

Kallen couldn't help laughing out loud.

Aunt Mary looked at Paul and said, "Actually, things are very simple. If she really likes you, even if you tell her you're keeping an elephant in your room, she will 'believe' it and be willing to come to your room for a tour."

Paul rubbed his head, feeling somewhat guilty as he asked, "Really? Is that okay?"

Aunt Mary sneered. "She is your fiancée. Surely you aren't afraid that she'll call the police afterward to have them arrest you? What would she even say to the police: 'Officer, my damned fiancé forced me to lie down on the bed!'

If what you're doing is a crime, wouldn't those fellows from the Berry Church all be arrested and shot?"

Kallen very much wanted to remind his aunt that even marital coercion was unethical and illegal;

but upon second thought, it seemed the laws nowadays hadn't matured to that extent yet.

At this moment, a group of students holding banners walked down the road in front of the house. They were generally young, around middle school and high school age:

The leading student shouted:

"We want environmental protection!"

The other surrounding students shouted together: "We want environmental protection!"

"We want fresh air!"

"Fresh air!"

"We want clear river water!"

"Clear river water!"

Everyone in the courtyard just watched this group of students shouting slogans as they walked past.

Kallen was somewhat surprised; were environmental organizations already this prevalent in this era?

Ron pinched his voice and shouted in a low whisper:

"We want Lu Coins."

Today wasn't the weekend, so these kids must have skipped class.

Aunt Mary looked at Kallen and asked, "Kallen, have Mina and Lunt ever mentioned this matter to you?"

Before Kallen could answer, Aunt Mary spoke up again herself:

"That's right, why would children's matters be talked about with you?"

Although Kallen wasn't much older than Mina either, just as Uncle Mason had said that after Kallen recovered from his illness, he felt like he wanted to start calling Kallen Uncle;

in truth, the family truly no longer regarded Kallen as a child.

"What is it, Aunt?" Kallen asked.

"That environmental girl from Vienne came to Ruilan the day before yesterday," Aunt Mary said.

"The environmental girl Delis?" Kallen remembered seeing her name when reading the newspaper; she was passionate about promoting environmental protection concepts and enjoyed high popularity among Vien youth.

The Rojia City mayoral election was about to enter the final voting stage, and the challenger running against the old mayor was campaigning on a platform of environmental protection. Judging from the information gleaned from the newspapers, this environmental girl coming to Rojia City right now should be here to campaign for the candidate.

Of course, it could also be understood as a celebrity doing a commercial appearance.

Paul said, "Environmental protection is a good thing too, I suppose."

Aunt Mary glared at Paul instead, pointing at the group of students walking away as she mocked:

"What do they know about environmental protection? They just don't want to go to class."

Kallen carried the pig's head to the second-floor kitchen, preparing to cook.

Today's lunch staple was lentil rice, and because the heavy dish was pig head meat, Kallen added fewer diced meats into the lentil rice.

The side dishes were steamed egg custard, fish-flavored eggplant, and seaweed and egg drop soup.

Additionally, because the family really liked spring rolls, Kallen fried some more.

After the dishes were served, Dis took the head seat, Aunt Mary and Aunt Winnie along with Paul and Ron joined, and everyone began eating.

Uncle Mason wasn't home today; he had gone out to treat the officials in charge of the Hughes Crematorium auction to a meal, though before leaving he had specifically instructed Kallen to save some food for him.

The younger male and female cousins were at school today.

Cooking for the family could give one a great sense of satisfaction, similar to the fulfilling happiness of feeding pigs.

Kallen walked downstairs and first added dog food to the Golden Retriever's bowl.

Then he placed a plate of braised small mixed fish in front of Puer, additionally matching it with a cup of coffee.

The Golden Retriever stared at the plate of braised small mixed fish in front of Puer, its drool flowing freely as it suddenly felt that the dog food in its own bowl wasn't the least bit appetizing anymore; however, it didn't dare vie for food with Puer.

Puer happily took a sip of coffee first, and then leisurely ate the fish.

Kallen was already used to this strange feline combination. He walked upstairs, just in time to run into Dis walking down.

"The lunch was delicious, especially the pig head meat. There are matters at the church this afternoon, so I need to go over first."

"Have a safe trip, Grandfather."

"Mm."

Kallen walked to the second floor. Ron and Paul were already leaning back in their chairs, patting their bellies, while Aunt Mary and Aunt Winnie were drinking tea.

"Aunt, Great-Aunt, drinking tea right after a meal is bad for digestion," Kallen reminded them.

"Oh, is that so?" Aunt Mary hesitated, but still put down her teacup.

"Kallen, aren't you going to eat?" Aunt Winnie asked.

"I ate my fill while tasting the food." Kallen began to clean up and clear the bowls and chopsticks.

"We'll do it, we'll do it."

Aunt Winnie got up to help tidy up.

The telephone on the first floor rang. Aunt Mary went downstairs to answer it, and a moment later, Aunt Mary's shout came from downstairs:

"Hans Hospital!"

Ron and Paul, who had basked in the sun all morning and just finished a hearty meal, immediately shifted into work mode. The two of them hurried downstairs, while Kallen also put down the tableware in his hands, wiped his hands with a damp towel, picked up his coat, and followed them downstairs.

Usually, there were three people dispatched for a vehicle: the uncle plus two assistants. When the uncle wasn't home, Kallen would consciously go up to make up the numbers.

Paul went to start the hearse,

Ron went to carry the Stretcher Cart,

and Kallen gathered up the promotional brochures and price lists of the Immoreles Funeral Company.

Time was life; time was money.

Then everyone climbed into the vehicle as quickly as possible.

The hearse set off for Hans Hospital.

Hans Hospital was only a fifteen-minute drive from Mink Street. Once they arrived, Paul and Ron stayed in the vehicle to wait, while Kallen straightened his collar, tucked the briefcase containing the brochures under his arm, and headed inside.

He found the head nurse who served as their "contact," and she told him:

"They're trying to save the patient, but it probably won't work."

Kallen sat on a bench outside the operating room and waited. Quite a few family members were sitting anxiously on the neighboring bench, waiting for news. Kallen noticed them, but he didn't approach them just yet.

For no other reason than that he was afraid of getting hit.

He simply sat there quietly, his back straight, as though waiting for an interview;

In fact, that was exactly what he was waiting for.

Actually, after spending enough time in this business, you gradually grew used to it. You might think it was inhumane to show up early and wait for a job while someone's family was still waiting for the doctors to save them...

But was slaughtering chickens and sheep to run a restaurant any kinder?

It was all the same, really. That was just how things were.

A Stretcher Cart was wheeled in from outside, with a mother and father accompanying it on either side, constantly encouraging their daughter, who was about to undergo surgery. The operation carried a certain degree of risk.

As the Stretcher Cart passed Kallen, the little girl turned her face toward him and gave him a shy smile.

Though she was young, she had a natural fondness for beautiful things and people.

Little boys instinctively wanted to get closer to beautiful women, and little girls lit up at the sight of handsome men. Such innocent preferences were natural in childhood. As people grew older, those feelings never really faded, much less disappeared; they simply learned to hide them.

Kallen smiled back at the little girl and made an encouraging gesture.

The little girl's smile grew even brighter.

Another half hour passed;

The doctor in charge of the "client" Kallen was waiting for came out of the operating room and removed his mask:

"We managed to save the patient."

"Oh!!!!!!"

"Thank God! God bless!"

"Mom, my mom! Oh my God, oh my God..."

His client had "backed out."

There was no disappointment on Kallen's face.

He stood up.

He began gently stretching his body. Sitting so straight for so long had left him a little numb.

Since he was no longer needed, Kallen turned, ready to leave quietly.

But just then,

The lights in the corridor suddenly went out.

"The power's out! The power's out!"

"What about the backup generator?"

"The backup generator! Get it running!"

The door to the little girl's operating room was pushed open, and a doctor shouted in a furious panic:

"Get the power on! Hurry up and get the power on! We haven't finished the surgery!"

The hospital descended into a degree of chaos.

Word came that there was a problem with the hospital's backup generator, and the power could not be restored anytime soon.

Then came another report: the environmental activist Delis had organized a student march and surrounded a coal-fired power plant. The students, fanatical about environmental protection, had clashed with the plant's workers, ultimately causing the power outage.

Kallen stood in the corridor.

He saw the little girl's father pacing anxiously and signing papers with trembling urgency, while her mother sobbed.

Doctors kept entering and leaving the operating room. From their eyes, the only part of their faces their masks didn't cover, Kallen could tell that things were looking very bad.

He turned his head.

He looked at the bench behind him, where he had been sitting earlier.

Then he looked at the briefcase tucked under his arm.

He felt that he ought to sit back down and keep waiting;

Yet he felt some resistance to sitting down again now.

So he stood there, and kept standing.

The scheduled operation had taken a terrible turn and become a desperate attempt to save her life;

As time passed, he watched the light steadily drain from the little girl's mother's face, her eyes becoming hollow and numb. Ignoring where he was, the little girl's father took out a cigarette and tried to light it, but he couldn't get it lit. His lighter even fell to the floor.

Kallen stepped forward, took out his own lighter, and lit the cigarette for him.

"Thank you, thank you." The little girl's father thanked Kallen, then, probably out of habitual politeness, asked numbly, "What do you do?"

"I'm a pharmaceutical representative."

"Oh, oh. Right."

The little girl's father kept taking deep drags on his cigarette, his eyes fixed on the operating room door.

At last, the power came back on. It was unclear whether the power plant had resumed operations or the hospital generator had finally started working.

But at that very moment,

The doctor came out and faced the little girl's father:

"I'm sorry."

"No..." The little girl's mother fainted on the spot.

Her father sank to his knees on the cold tiles of the corridor.

Kallen silently walked over to the nearby bench and sat down.

He had thought he was already accustomed to corpses after seeing so many at home. He could even joke casually with Aunt Mary while helping her work. He had thought he was used to it.

But in truth, he wasn't;

The true meaning of life and death lay neither in life nor in death, nor in either state, but... in the process of passing from one to the other.

The day slowly faded toward dusk.

Because of the power outage, all the surgeries originally scheduled for that afternoon had been canceled. The doctor also seemed to have recognized "Kallen's" profession, so the body was not taken to the morgue.

The little girl's father held her mother in his arms, both of them stricken with grief.

Kallen remained seated, sitting there all the while.

The head nurse came over, first crouching down to comfort the parents, then pointing toward Kallen. She meant well; at least, as far as the Immerlis Family was concerned, she did.

But she mistakenly assumed that Kallen, this "new face," this "young man," was too shy to approach potential customers, so she took it upon herself to introduce him.

At that moment,

The little girl's father stood up and walked over to Kallen;

Kallen raised his head and looked at his face.

"What do you do?"

Kallen hesitated, then answered, "Immoreles Funeral Company..."

"Thud!"

A fist struck Kallen's face, knocking him sideways onto the bench.

"It's because of you! It's because of you! You cursed my daughter to death! You cursed my daughter to death! You devils! You scum making your filthy money!"

Kallen slowly sat up, wiped the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand, and straightened his back again, as though he hadn't been the one who had just been hit.

Seeing him like this, the little girl's father loosened the second fist he had been about to throw. He turned back and went to comfort his wife again.

The sky

Began to darken.

Kallen remained seated there;

He had come for a job, for business, for money;

Now, that was no longer really why he was there. It was only one job. After being hit, he could simply leave, and his family wouldn't blame him.

Yet, at that moment, the business had become a kind of duty.

Finally,

The little girl's father, holding his wife as she leaned against his chest, walked up to Kallen once more;

Kallen raised his head again and looked at his face;

"Hey, what was it you did again?"

Kallen moved his still-aching left cheek and offered a faint, professional smile. Opening his briefcase and taking out a brochure, he said:

"Immoreles Funeral Company. Here to accompany your loved ones on their final journey."

"Young master, your face?"

Paul noticed the injury on Kallen's face.

"It's nothing."

Kallen shook his head.

After the hospital paperwork was completed, Paul and Ron loaded the little girl's body into the hearse. Her parents would follow in their own car as the hearse headed to Mink Street.

They would spend the night preparing and arranging their daughter's funeral, because only by doing so could they still feel that she was beside them, as though they were taking her to a shopping mall to pick out clothes.

Ron glanced at the car the little girl's parents were driving, licked his lips, and said:

"Look, they're driving a Santeland."

He had meant to remind the young master that this was a big job, but seeing that the young master was still sitting there in silence, he said no more.

The hearse returned to the Immerlis Family's home on Mink Street, and the Santeland behind it pulled up as well.

"Be careful carrying her down," Kallen reminded them.

The parents stood beside the hearse, waiting to "receive" their daughter.

"Understood, young master."

Paul and Ron carefully lifted the Stretcher Cart out of the vehicle;

As everyone went inside, Aunt Mary and Aunt Winnie stepped forward to comfort the parents and explain their services.

Kallen covered the side of his face with the hem of his shirt and went straight upstairs.

He was a little tired and wanted to lie down and rest. He hoped the parents wouldn't request Psychological Counseling.

"You're back, Kallen! Thanks for all your hard work."

Mina brought Kallen a glass of ice water. Her brother didn't like black tea or coffee; he only liked water with ice in it.

Rather than entering his room, Kallen took the water first.

"Kallen, your face?" The observant Mina noticed the injury on the side of his face.

"It's nothing."

Kallen had no intention of explaining.

Just then, the bedroom door opened, and his cousin Lunt, who shared the room with him, came out holding an environmental protest placard. He showed it off to Kallen:

"Kallen, I went to the environmental march Delis organized today! Delis is so cool! Look, she even signed this for me. Hehe."

Kallen froze.

"Kallen?"

Lunt moved closer to Kallen curiously, wondering why his older cousin had suddenly stopped responding.

Then,

Kallen threw the water in his glass straight into Lunt's face.

Splash!

With ice water splashed all over his face, Lunt looked at Kallen in bewilderment:

"Kallen... what's wrong...?"

Smack!

This time, it wasn't water,

But a slap from Kallen.

Lunt fell to the floor, clutching his face, staring in disbelief and utter fear at his older cousin, whose face was also injured.

At that moment,

The door to their grandfather's study opened, and Dis stood in the doorway.

Mina immediately helped the still softly sobbing Lunt to his feet.

"Grandpa, it's nothing, it's nothing. We were just playing around," Mina hurriedly explained.

Dis looked at Kallen and asked:

"What happened?"

Kallen looked at Dis and answered:

"He deserved it."

"Oh."

Dis nodded, turned, and walked back into his study. The door closed behind him.

"Kallen?"

Mina tried calling Kallen a couple of times. When he didn't respond, she took Lunt by the hand and led him down to the second floor.

"You're grieving."

Puer's voice came from the windowsill behind Kallen.

"You'll get used to it, because you'll discover there's nothing else you can do."

Kallen shook his head;

Puer smiled. "You disagree with me?"

Kallen braced both hands against the windowsill behind him.

He said:

"I'll ask Aunt Mary to give them a discount."