Master Liu from the urn room came in and scared me. He walked without making any sound.
"Master Ke, the grandfather of a friend of mine passed away. Can you help take care of him? Here's ten dollars."
He put the money on the table.
"Master Liu, we don't need this anymore. Just take the money back. This is absolutely fine."
"This is the rule, you don't understand."
Master Liu is gone. Rules? What rules
I didn’t understand. When I got home, my father had already prepared dinner.
"Dad, would you like a drink? I'll go buy some wine."
"good."
I came back with the wine and sat down to drink, and my father asked me.
"Did you give the money to Bai Jie?"
"Well, she took her father to see a doctor."
We never mentioned this matter again after that. When I told my father that he should find a partner, he glared at me.
After my mother left, my father has been single. I don’t know why he didn’t look for a girlfriend. Maybe he felt sorry for me. I owe my father too much in this life.
The next day, as soon as I entered the office, Master Liu came in.
"That's the guy on stage number one."
"I understand. I will clean the stove. Don't worry."
I entered the crematorium, lit the furnace, sat aside and lit a cigarette as usual, then entered the morgue, carried the body carried by number one onto the cart, got in, and lifted the shroud. It was an old man in his eighties. After he was carried in, I stood aside and watched.
The master came in suddenly and scared me.
"Why are you here?"
"Where's Bai Jie?"
I told the master.
"Oh, well, when you finish your work today, come over to my place."
"office?"
"right."
The master went out, and his tone made me feel a little nervous. It seemed that something had happened.
I finished the work at around one o'clock, changed my clothes, and went into my master's office.
"master."
"Let's go eat."
The master said as we were drinking.
"I'll go outside the city with you tomorrow."
"What's up?"
"You'll know when the time comes."
I don't know what the master is doing, but judging by his expression, he looks very serious.
It's almost April, and it's still very cold in the north.
My master and I set off early. I sat behind my master in the second class. After riding for more than an hour, we entered a village.
There were people waiting for us in the village, two old men.
The master waved to them, and two people led us up the mountain. When they arrived at a grave, they stopped. I kept wondering, what was the master going to do
In fact, I know very little about my master, or even say that I don’t know my master.
They were whispering something to the master, but I couldn't hear them. After a while, the master nodded, and the two of them went down the mountain.
"Ke Zuo, the master brought you here today to collect the bones. The ancestral tomb of this family was robbed, and the bones are not complete. So I was asked to collect the bones in their entirety."
I was stunned. They could have picked them all up by themselves! Why did they have to ask the master to do it
"Some of these bones were thrown away and couldn't be found, so let me find them."
They couldn't find it, but the master could? This is weird.
The master cleaned up the dug-up grave and picked out the bones. It was the first time I saw a dead person's bones. The master didn't wear gloves. He picked them out piece by piece and then put them on display. My scalp tingled as I watched.
The master arranged it very familiarly.
"Two bones are missing, one is the leg bone and the other is the pubic bone."
"Where shall we look for it?"
The master ignored me, took out a cigarette and lit it, and I don’t know what he was thinking about.
The master's bone-picking made me feel weird and strange. I couldn't figure out how the master would find the bones.
The master stood up and walked away. I followed him. Half an hour later, the master stopped by the river and looked at the river. It was a small river that came down from the mountains. The river had thawed at this time of year.
"Go down, that's the location."
I looked at my master. At that time, my master was like a father. If he told you to get into the frying pan, you wouldn't dare to say no. You should respect your master like a father.
I took off my shoes and rolled up my trouser legs. The river water was freezing and I shivered. I walked to the place the master pointed out and reached out to fish it out. Surprisingly, I pulled up the leg bone.
I went up and put on my shoes. The master asked me to hold the leg bone and continue walking. I walked around the mountain for most of the way and searched in a pile of weeds for a long time. Finally, I found a bone.
I was so amazed, it seemed as if the master had put it there himself.
We walked back to the corpse and put them together, and sure enough, the corpse was complete.
I was completely confused about what had happened and couldn't make any sense of it. One was, why were two pieces of this person's bones thrown away? The other was, how did the master find two bones so accurately
The owner of the house came and after seeing the complete bones, he knelt down and cried. My master and I stood aside and my master was smoking a cigarette.
A few minutes later, the family collected the bones and gave the money to the master.
My master and I returned to the village, said.
"One hundred dollars, fifty for you and fifty for me."
The master handed me fifty yuan and I shook my head.
"Master, I don't want it."
"Here."
The master said loudly, which scared me. I reached out and took it. In just a short while, one hundred yuan was gone. I could hardly believe it.
The master got on the bike and I sat in the second class.
When I got home that day, I was also in a daze, as if everything that happened that day was like a dream.
The next day, when I went to work, I entered the office and Bai Jie was already there. She had changed her clothes and the office was clean. There was actually a pot of flowers on my desk. I had never thought of growing any flowers or plants here.
"Your father..."
"The operation is over. My mother is with me! The doctor said that once it recovers, it will be the same as before. Master, here is the soy milk. It's hot."
Bai Jie brought the soy milk to my table. It was served in an iron cup. I was puzzled as to how she brought it. It was not cold yet. I looked at Bai Jie and said nothing.
The soy milk is very fragrant and I feel very comfortable drinking it. I didn’t eat breakfast in the morning.
Entering the crematorium, Bai Jie lit the furnace and said.
"Master, when can I help you carry the body?"
"You can't do this job."
"Why?"
"My master told me this. I don't know the reason."
Bai Jie looked at me blankly.
"Work."
Bai Jie is in good spirits. It seems her father is fine. I feel relieved.
We finished it at noon, said Bai Jie.
"Master, I'll treat you to a meal."
"Okay, I'll treat you, and then go see your father."
I think, I am a master, I need to do this, a master should act like a master.
"Wait until you're discharged from the hospital! You'll be discharged in five or six days."
"Okay, then you don't have to come these days, I can do it myself."
"It's okay, my mother can take care of it."
After Bai Jie and I had dinner, I went home. My father was not at home, so I went to sleep.
When my father came back, I woke up immediately. I don’t know why, but I am always woken up by some very small noises during this period of time.
My father carried the vegetables and I got up and cooked them.
"Okay, let me do it. Your cooking is terrible."
My father cooks while I read, all his books. I seldom read before, but now I actually like reading. I guess I have nothing to do.
When I was drinking with my father, my father said.
"I'll introduce you to someone from our unit tomorrow."
I was stunned for a moment.
"Have you told anyone about my situation?"
"Yes."
"I mean, I burn people to death."
"What is burning people to death? It is the refiner, the one who sends people to heaven, the most noble and great person."
I thought to myself, I am your son. If I were not your son, you would stay away from me.
The next day was Saturday, and there was no such day as this in my life.
Blind dates were a must in that era. Even if two people met each other, they would find a matchmaker, as if that was the only way to make it formal.
The girl was pretty and quiet. We were eating and chatting, and then I said to her at the end.
"I work in a crematorium, burning people to death."
The girl's eyes suddenly widened and she looked at me in amazement. After a long time of coming to her senses, she ran away. The introducer and my father looked at me in shock.
I went home and was scolded by my father.
"You can't hide this. I won't do anything deceiving."
My father was speechless. It was probably the first time in his life that he lied to someone.
The weather is getting warmer and people are feeling more comfortable.
Bai Jie actually changed into spring clothes in advance. When I went in, she was there, having packed everything.
"Why don't you change your clothes?"
Bai Jie stood up and looked at me shyly.
"The clothes are very beautiful."
I said and she laughed.
We entered the crematorium and followed the same procedures.
It didn't end until the afternoon.
We came out and the master was in the office.
"Something happened tonight."
The master left after he finished speaking. After he left, Bai Jie said.
"He's a little scary."
I didn't say anything. I went to my master's house in the evening. He was already waiting at the door. When he saw me coming, he got in the car and left. I sat in the second class and didn't ask where I was going.
We arrived at a room in the east of the city. There were quite a few people standing there. When we walked over, a man came over.
"Master Yun, I'm sorry to trouble you with this matter."
My master and I were brought into a yard. The lights in the yard were on. It was getting dark at this time. There were bones lying on the ground in the yard. I thought, the master will always be inseparable from these bones. This is what I came to find the master for. What else could it be
"All of you, get out!"
The person has gone out, said the master.
"The graves of the two families were moved to the east mountain. At that time, the graves were too close to each other, so they rolled over and the two bodies became mixed up."
I thought, how can I sort it out if it gets messy? The dead can't talk.
The master didn't say anything. He squatted down and started picking up the bones, arranging them bit by bit. Half an hour later, the two skeletons were laid out. I thought to myself, who is the least aware of right and wrong? If it were now, they would have been burned to ashes, so what would be the point of picking them up
People from both families came in and picked up the bones respectively.
The master got 200 yuan that day and gave me 100 yuan. I said I didn’t want anything, so he yelled at me.
I have never understood this matter. There are two piles of bones mixed together. My family members can't tell them apart, but the master can? I think they probably believe that the master is a refiner and seek psychological comfort.
During the Qingming Festival, many people offer sacrifices.
I went to the crematorium and I couldn't sleep that night because I couldn't understand why the master picked up the bones.
I entered the cremation room and the master looked at me.
"Why are you here?"
"Master, there is one thing I just don't understand. If I don't understand it, I will feel uneasy."
The master glanced at Yi He and Yi He went out.
Yi He has never been accepted as my master's apprentice and was very unhappy. He talked to the field manager several times, and the field manager also talked to the master, but the master just didn't agree and didn't say why.
"explain."
"The bone picking incident."
"Actually, it's very simple. I always stay here and remember that everyone has their own smell, including the dead and bones. The smell will never go away, so you will always smell the smell of bones, just like everyone."
I was stunned. Was what the master said true? Anyway, I have never smelled it, but people say that if you stay here for a long time, you will smell like a dead person. I believe this, but do bones have a smell
"Okay, don't stay here, get out."
I came out of the crematorium and was walking on the street, and I met my classmates.
"Ke Zuo."
He called me, I turned around and saw it was my classmate, so I stopped.
"What are you doing now?"
"Oh, that's fine, just hang out all day."
We chatted for a while, and then he left. I didn't dare to say that I was burning someone to death. If I did, it would soon spread among my classmates, and maybe they would avoid me and wouldn't call me when they saw me. I didn't want to lose these things. Maybe they were very important to me, but how could I face it? This is also the contradiction I am facing. There are still many problems I will face in the future, and I will even have to bear them by myself without any solution.
When I went to Bai Jie's house, her father went home early because of money reasons. I could see that.
I sat down and chatted for a while. It seemed that Bai Jie's father was in good condition, so I took out a hundred yuan.
"I just got out of the hospital, and I have a lot of money to spend."
Bai Jie stood aside without saying anything, and her parents became anxious and said they didn't want anything.
"Dad, Mom, just accept what the master gives you!"
Bai Jie actually said this, and I understand what Bai Jie meant.
Bai Jie walked me out and said in a low voice.
"Master, if I really can't pay you back, you have to use me as collateral."
Bai Jie said half-jokingly, I know what that means.
That day, I went home and thought about Bai Jie. Actually, I also like Bai Jie. In this case, I will be with Bai Jie. There should be no problem. At least we are both refiners, and neither of us will dislike the other. (To be continued)