When I got up in the morning, it was snowing lightly. The road was very slippery and I drove very slowly.
I sat down in the office. The room was warm and well heated. The pots of flowers grown by Master Shen on the windowsill were very lush, which reminded me of Mao Xiaoli. If she stood in the snow in her mourning clothes, you might not be able to see her suddenly.
I changed my clothes and went to the morgue. There were twenty-four dead bodies, which was quite a lot today. I estimated that we would be finished by two in the afternoon at the earliest.
I carried the body to the farewell hall and then to the refining room. There were bursts of crying.
In this sad atmosphere, sometimes you feel numb. Listening to their crying is just like our normal talking. There is no difference between crying and laughing.
However, the expressions of our staff are always serious. It is our rule not to smile during working hours, and it is also a kind of respect for the dead.
I didn't eat lunch at noon. I sent the last four dead bodies to the farewell hall, waiting to be told it was over. When I sent them to the refining room, everything was over.
It was almost two o'clock when I finished my work. I took a shower, changed my clothes, and felt a little tired, so I sat on a chair and smoked. I heard a voice calling me, which became clearer and more real. I thought, this is not a good feeling.
I opened the door and went out, walked to the car, and Zhang Xiaoxue ran over.
"Brother Mingzhe, wait for me."
I got in the car and she got in too.
"Brother Mingzhe, take me out for dinner."
"You didn't eat?"
"No, I don't want to eat today. Master Liu sent the body to the wrong furnace. When he found it, it had already burst into flames with oil. The family members started to make a fuss. We used to watch from behind glass, but now we have separate rooms, one furnace per room, and we watch on the TV screen. It's very frustrating to deal with this matter."
"I don't think it's a big deal. Isn't it just that I sent the wrong attribute?"
"Brother Mingzhe, you may not know that this matter is very important to the family members. Master Liu is old after all."
"Tiantian Master Liu is alone, and he won't look for anyone else."
"No one wants to do that every day. Only newcomers can take over for a period of time."
None of us wants to make a mistake. Master Liu presses the button on the conveyor platform every day, and it is inevitable that he will make the wrong move. He repeats this work every day, and this is the first time that such a situation has occurred to Master Liu.
I had just started the car when I heard someone calling out from the manager's office.
"Maybe he's scolding Master Liu!"
I was very angry, so I got off the car and went to the director's office.
"Mingzhe, don't worry about it."
I didn't listen. When I entered the office, the manager was really cursing Master Liu.
"Manager, Master Liu will retire next year, right? He is not much younger than your father, and he has been working in this job all his life. Think about it, is it okay for you to do this? He was wrong. Who is perfect? This is the first time he has made a mistake..."
I let out a breath and the director looked at me blankly.
"Okay, well said, Lao Liu, I won't scold you anymore. Remember, you will be responsible for all the losses caused by your mistakes at work."
"Captain, you can't do this."
My manager started making a scene, and Master Liu actually pulled me up with tears in his eyes.
"Mingzhe."
Zhang Xiaoxue came in, persuaded the manager, then pulled me out, and Master Liu also came out.
I got in the car, Zhang Xiaoxue.
"It's none of your business. It's someone else's business. It has nothing to do with you. Do you know who Master Liu is?"
"who?"
"The director's uncle, dear uncle."
I was dumbfounded. If he was my real uncle, he would at least arrange a good place for me. Besides, my dear uncle, why would you scold him like that
"So, don't worry about what's going on here."
"What's going on?"
"I have no idea."
Zhang Xiaoxue shut up.
I took Zhang Xiaoxue out to dinner with me, just to get her to talk, but she refused to say anything and kept talking about other things.
"Mingzhe, you and Yinyan are not suitable."
I didn't say anything. After sending Zhang Xiaoxue home, I went to Yinyan's place. She was not at home. I called her on the phone, but she didn't answer.
I went to see my mother, and her complexion had actually improved a lot. However, when she saw me, the smile on her face disappeared instantly. I was stunned for a moment. Am I so annoying to my mother in her heart
I stayed for a while and then left.
After the snow, the weather turned cold, with the temperature dropping to minus 20 degrees Celsius, which is the most normal temperature in the Northeast in winter. The coldest time is 36 or 37 degrees Celsius.
I went to stand on the bridge. It was colder there than anywhere else. The north wind was blowing. I thought about my mother. Am I so annoying to her in her heart
I shivered. The biting north wind penetrated my cotton-padded clothes. When I was about to get off the bridge, Yinyan stopped the car and I got in.
"Aren't you cold? What's wrong with you?"
“Upset.”
Yinyan looked at me and didn't say anything. I wanted to tell Yinyan that she called my name, but after thinking about it, I didn't say it.
That day, Yinyan and I both felt something was not right. We had nothing to say, so we watched TV and then I went home.
I went to work, and I didn't seem to be tired of my current job. However, when my name was called, I was always confused, which was definitely not a good thing.
I was busy until noon and finished my work. Mao Xiaoli came in and looked at me and smiled. That smile felt eerie.
"Mingzhe, you are really not suitable to work here."
"Where I work is my business."
"You don't have to hate me. I just want you to see what you can't see in the crematorium. You will never see what happens in the office."
I don’t know what Mao Xiaoli means. I just can’t figure out what kind of fighting style and thinking this woman has.
Mao Xiaoli left with a smile, a rare smile, but this smile scared me a little.
I came out of the office and heard someone calling my name again in the corridor. I definitely didn't answer. I pretended not to hear it, came out, and walked towards the car, feeling uneasy.
I got in the car, sat down, and lit a cigarette. Someone tapped me and called my name. I was so scared that I agreed. I looked in the rearview mirror and didn't see anyone. I looked back and there was no one. I thought it was over, so I agreed.
I was sweating coldly and my hands were shaking. I jumped out of the car. The ghost was actually in the car. What did she mean by pestering me? It was a woman's voice. Why was it like this
I wanted to call Yinyan, but I didn’t. Maybe this kind of thing needs me to handle.
As I was hesitating, Mao Xiaoli came over with her bag, ready to go home.
"Mingzhe, have you been tricked? I have a way, but you may not be able to beg me."
I stared at Mao Xiaoli in a daze. It seemed that she was not afraid of this incident at all. In fact, it was just a trivial matter in her eyes.
"What if I beg you?"
"Then I'll help you, but I have conditions. Maybe we can talk about it."
Mao Xiaoli got into my car. I hesitated for a moment, got in, and drove out of the crematorium.
"Please treat me to a meal first. I don't remember any man treating me to a meal in my life."
I don't believe this. As for Mao Xiaoli, she is actually quite pretty, but her age has concealed her original beauty. I have never heard anyone talk about their feelings for Mao Xiaoli. Is it that they don't know, or do they not want to talk about anything related to Mao Xiaoli
Mao Xiaoli and I went to a small restaurant. It was clean and the food was exquisite. After we sat down, she said she liked it. She didn't expect that I would bring her to such a place.
Mao Xiaoli is a good drinker and she drank more than half a catty of white wine by herself, but I didn't notice that.
Mao Xiaoli didn't say much and seemed to be thinking about something.
"Sister Mao, what are the conditions?"
"Wait, wait until dark. I'm waiting for dark."
I was a little nervous. I had to wait until dark. What conditions would it take to wait until dark
"In fact, that blood was indeed my own. There is a disease in my family that requires bloodletting. I have been doing it since I was a child. I feel uncomfortable if I don't do it. Later, I heard about using blood to grow flowers, so I came up with this idea. I didn't expect that the flowers would bloom brightly."
Mao Xiaoli suddenly mentioned this to me, which made me feel somewhat uncomfortable.
"Don't think too much about it. Your sister Mao is just like that. She's weird, but not bad."
I think that human beings are not inherently bad; bad is a relative term.
It was dark, Mao Xiaoli got up and got in the car.
"Go to the water side."
I know that community. It's close to the Xixi River, with nice scenery. The price is not cheap either, nearly 8,000 yuan per square meter.
After entering the community, there is a Yue house on the first floor, which is decorated with a cultural atmosphere.
"It's just me. I'll make you some tea."
Mao Xiaoli made tea, and I knew that it was also high-quality tea.
I looked at a painting hanging on the side, not big, just the size of a palm, with a person's face on it, the whole painting was occupied by the face, both the person and the painting were beautiful and delicate. However, it gave people a weird feeling.
While drinking tea, Mao Xiaoli changed into home clothes and sat opposite me.
"You graduated from college?"
"right."
Mao Xiaoli didn't ask any more questions. I thought she would continue asking. After drinking tea for a while, she said.
"Come upstairs with me? There's no way to finish the food, and there's no way to drink enough tea."
Mao Xiaoli gives me the feeling that I can’t understand this woman.
I went upstairs. There were gauze curtains drawn upstairs, and one whole wall was a floor-to-ceiling window, which was also very beautiful. There was a sofa in the middle, forming a circle. The walls were covered with paintings of different sizes, arranged in a reasonable layout. However, they were all paintings of women's faces. The entire painting was a face. I was wondering if Mao Xiaoli had a problem
"These are the face paintings I created over the past 20 years."
I was amazed by Mao Xiaoli's talent, and face painting was the first time I heard of it.
"Sister Mao, you are so beautiful."
It looks good and I said after taking a look at it.
“Of course, this is my lifelong pursuit.”
"But if you don't put it on display, there's absolutely no problem in letting the world recognize you."
"It's not time yet, I think, there's no rush."
Mao Xiaoli sat on the sofa and admired it. She seemed to be enjoying it. I wondered what the conditions were for her to negotiate with me. Was it just for me to come and see the face painting? I don't think it's that simple. Because this ghost calling my name is not a simple matter.
I didn't say anything. Looking at those paintings always made me feel a little uneasy. Mao Xiaoli seemed to be hesitating whether to do this or not.
I didn't ask any further questions and just looked at the face paintings.
"I'll give you a painting.
Mao Xiaoli took off the face painting she was looking at and wrapped it up for me.
Sister Mao, I don’t know how to paint, it’s a waste of your hard work.
Don't say that. I really haven't given a face painting to anyone. You are the first one.
I find it strange that Mao Xiaoli did not state the conditions. (To be continued)