I feel quite comfortable staying at home, and when I have nothing to do I go to Chixian to chat with Liu Shougui.
That day, the director of the Chi County Crematorium came to me and told me that I could be a formal employee of the county crematorium. I will talk to the director for you and ask you to transfer me here. I wonder if you are willing
I thought about it for a long time and said okay, Liu Yang is here and it’s close.
I told my father about this and he let me make the decision and he would support me in whatever I do.
I thought I would succeed soon, but I didn't expect that Li Feng would not let me go. I was already fired, but she actually stopped me and wouldn't let me enter the Chixian crematorium. She had a special relationship with the director.
Mao Xiaoli called me and said that she knew who did it. It was Zhao Gang. His wife was cheated on by the farm manager, so Zhao Gang took revenge.
The man who Zhao Gang delivered the body to was an honest and good person, but he unexpectedly got into this trouble. However, no one talked about it and there was no way to investigate it. He must have died of a heart attack. I think, it seems that this man was pushed to the limit and could do anything.
The director of the Chi County crematorium came over and shook his head.
"Li Feng is a very domineering person. He has a very good relationship with the director. She just wants to deal with him. It seems that your entry into the crematorium will be another matter. In other words, you should never enter the crematorium again."
I didn't expect that Li Feng would play so cruelly with me.
Mao Xiaoli called me and wanted to say something, but didn't, and instead talked about other things.
Actually, I don't want to do anything to Li Feng. If I want to, it's very simple. The director is dead, and it would be too easy for me to torture her. But I won't do it. Someone else will do it. She doesn't understand the depths of the water here. She doesn't know. She is lucky. She was able to hold the black corpse and nothing happened to her.
Maybe this is fate. Ending life in the crematorium like this may not be a bad thing.
The reason I went into the crematorium was because I missed my father, but now I have gotten over it.
I am here with Liu Shougui every day and have learned a lot from him.
That day, Liu Shougui found me a private job. Generally speaking, these private jobs were about coffin burials, secret burials, or when the family owned a mountain or had their own land or something.
Liu Shougui asked me to go by myself to a farm in the suburbs. Sure enough, the farm backed by a mountain was really big. I like this kind of farm and hope to have one of my own in the future, raise a few horses and live a pastoral life.
There are so many people here, dozens of them are outside. I went in and the male host came over.
“I’m a makeup artist.”
"Thank you for your hard work."
I went in. The old man died of natural causes. The makeup was easy to put on. It was not difficult. I took one look at the old man's photo and remembered it. I closed the door and started to put on makeup. It took me more than an hour to finish. The family member looked at it and nodded, and gave me a black bag. I came out, got in the car, and opened the black bag. There was one thousand yuan, not bad.
I bought some wine and food and went to Liu Shougui's place. I liked it there. Although there were so many ownerless urns, it was really quiet. Liu Yang also came over after get off work, and we lived there.
The days went by like this, and Mao Xiaoli's skin circumcision was still not arranged. I left the crematorium, and this time I didn't have to do her skin circumcision, and she might become a new candidate.
I didn't expect that twenty days later, Li Feng would come to the tower to find me. I was so surprised. She came in out of the blue and scared me.
"Master Ke, I'm here to ask you to go back."
Judging from Li Feng's expression, he was unwilling. I didn't know what happened.
"I'm sorry, I can't go back, please."
The director who came with Li Feng pulled me aside and whispered.
"Master Ke, please give me some face. The manager has come to invite you personally."
"No, I don't like the crematorium. I'm quitting."
Later the director told me the truth. Someone ordered me to put on makeup in the makeup room of the crematorium. Tomorrow would be the day for cremation.
"You can find anyone."
"But the family members picked you. We can't afford to offend this family member. Besides, this makeup is not easy to apply. After being burned by molten iron, there is almost only bones left on the head. Our makeup artist at the crematorium said this job is difficult and was afraid that the family members would be dissatisfied, so they picked you."
"I'm sorry. It's not that I don't give you this face. Think about it, if you come out of the crematorium and then go back, there are rules. I have already washed my hands in the black basin here."
Actually, I didn't wash my hands.
"Have you washed your hands?"
The director was stunned. He knew that people who had washed their hands were not allowed to enter the crematorium, let alone those with makeup on their hands. That was even more evil. If they didn't die, their hands would rot.
"This is really troublesome."
Director Li Fenghe has passed away. He was a good person and always cared about us.
Liu Shougui said.
"Are you really not going back to the crematorium?"
"I haven't decided yet. I was fired even though I wanted to go back. I thought about going to the county crematorium, but Li Feng did something about it."
“This is an opportunity.”
"I don't think it's necessarily an opportunity, because Li Feng is here. Even if I go back, she will have to deal with me. Because there is no way this time. I'm afraid Li Feng can't deal with this person either."
The next day, Liu Shougui and I were planting vegetables outside the tower. Liu Shougui had opened up a lot of land, and then Mao Xiaoli came on her own.
"Sister Mao, why are you here?"
"Be a lobbyist. There is no other way. You found me."
"Sister Mao, I'm not denying you this favor. I've already said I'm done with it."
Mao Xiaoli looked at my hand and smiled.
"You silly brother, others can't see it, but can't I see it?"
"But I don't want to go back. Will Li Feng kill me after he's done with me?"
"Li Feng's forehead is blue. She won't live long. I'm leaving this to you."
I frowned. Li Feng's forehead was indeed black, but he didn't necessarily have to die!
"That's Guihei. He's offended a ghost, a big ghost."
"Just think about it. She went to the crematorium and did whatever she wanted. She was just brave. I think something bad will happen sooner or later. This time she lost her life. It's not good."
"I tried to persuade her, but she didn't listen. There's nothing I can do."
"Sis, since you've come forward, I'll be cremated, but I won't go back to the crematorium."
"Well, brother, please give me some face. I won't go in. I don't like to see that ugly guy."
Mao Xiaoli left and Liu Shougui came out of the tower.
"What is Mad Mao doing here?"
It seems that the two people don't get along.
"Let me put makeup on that person, I agreed, but I won't go back to the crematorium."
"Okay."
The next day when I went to the crematorium, Li Feng came over with a man beside her. She didn't introduce him, she just said.
"Do your makeup well, or I'll take care of you if there's any trouble."
She is still pretending. If I turn around and leave, she will pee here, what an idiot.
The man followed me into the dressing room and took out several photos. I took them, looked at them for a few seconds, and then returned them.
"Master Ke, don't pay attention to her. She is just that kind of person. I think, after I finish dealing with this matter, I will find a way to get you back to the crematorium. Li Feng will not stay here. She is not suitable. No one will object."
I don't know this person, but he looks familiar.
I put on makeup, four hours.
Only bones were left on the face. Some of the bones were burned. I had to fill the bones, inject colloid, and do the facial work. It was very troublesome. It took four hours to finish. I felt a little dizzy, so I sat down and lit a cigarette. The man came in, took a look, and tears fell.
"My son went downstairs to check on the work, and this happened to him."
I have heard about this too. The molten iron tank collapsed and more than twenty people died.
"Everyone must die."
"It was too perfect. My son once told me that there was a makeup artist named Ke at the crematorium. One day, I really asked him to do my makeup. It was a joke. I didn't expect that this would happen a few days later."
I shook my head and covered myself with the shroud.
"I am sorry for your loss."
That day, I went back to Liu Shougui's place and Liu Yang was cooking there; she was having a day off that day.
Liu Yang asked me if I wanted to work as an inspector in a factory where one of her colleagues worked.
"I don't want to go. I'll just stay for a while."
In fact, I now understand what I am thinking. After putting on makeup today and seeing the finished makeup, I know that I can't leave the crematorium. I'm afraid I can't find that feeling anywhere else.
To my surprise, in June, the director came to me and handed me a notice, which stated that I was asked to return to work at the site and serve as the site manager. I felt dizzy. How could this be possible
The director said.
"Li Feng is sick, seriously ill, and I'm afraid he won't live for more than a few days. Even in Beijing, we can't tell what's wrong with him."
That's the poison that has entered the body, leaving a dark impression, there's no way to escape it.
"I'll be there tomorrow, come in and have a drink with me."
"No, Director Ke, I still have a lot of things to do at the crematorium. You'll be busy when you get there tomorrow."
The director left. I was stunned for a long time until Liu Yang called me in, then I woke up.
I went in and put the list on the table. Liu Yang looked at it and spoke for a long time.
"Damn it."
Liu Shougui also said that he really couldn’t figure out what kind of fighting style this was.
We were chatting when a person appeared on TV. I looked and was shocked to find that person was the deputy mayor. No wonder.
I told him about this, and Liu Shougui said that he heard that this deputy mayor was very upright and capable. In the two years since he came here, the city's economy has changed dramatically and the people have benefited a lot.
I have heard of this deputy mayor, but he rarely appears on TV. I heard that he doesn't like it and doesn't allow himself to appear in the newspapers. He is a deputy mayor who gets things done. I met a good person.
The next day, when I went to work, everyone in the venue was waiting for me in the yard and applauded.
"Okay, everyone go back to work as usual."
Everyone shouted.
I sat in that position, the position of the director. I had never thought of sitting on that chair. I don’t know whether my father had thought about it back then. Maybe he hadn’t.
I was the site manager, and I arranged my shifts so that I would go to the dressing room every two days to do my work.
Mao Xiaoli called me and said a lot of festive words. I understood what she meant. The skin cutting still had to be done. I thought, if I was just a makeup artist, it would be okay, but now I am the director, and doing this always feels a bit weird.
I grew up on the spot. I went to my father's grave and told him. I don't know if he was happy or not.
That day, when I got home, Yunbai actually came. She asked to come back, but I didn't agree.
"Actually, grandma is old too, and she can't live without someone to accompany her."
"She's coming too. She wants to come."
I hesitated for a long time and said.
"You can come back, but remember, I smell like a dead person. Also, you can't touch your father's things, not even a single thing, and you can't go to his room."
I took my father's photo to his room. He definitely didn't like seeing this woman.
Yunbai came back and brought his grandma with him. Things seemed much better with his grandma around. He could see his grandma and chat with her every day.
After Liu Yang bought a car, he came over every day after get off work. His mother would cook most of the time. I like the food his mother cooks, which always brings a special warmth to them. However, I could never change my opinion of her and it felt awkward.
When I was seven years old, my mother took me away from my father and grandfather and went to another city so that my father could not see me or find me. I know that he would look for me on the street and at school every day. I didn’t know why she did that at the time, and I couldn’t understand it. She took me to live in a man’s house. I didn’t like that man, and that man didn’t like me either, but he never beat me.
I don't want to think about these things.
The crematorium has started recruiting again, every three years. Some are transferred away, some don't work, and there's always a revolving door. No more than half of them can actually work here until retirement. They all have psychological problems here, and psychologists come all the time. Everyone accepts this.
This time we recruited six people, three refiners and three makeup artists, all of them were girls. It was really strange. Boys are becoming more and more timid. They are all very young.
I also intentionally found a few good masters to guide them so that they can stay here completely.
It is not easy to train a makeup artist, a mature refiner. (To be continued)