My name is Ke Mingzhe, the son of Ke Zuo. The above was written by my father in 1967. He was the first generation of chemical refiners in China. Unexpectedly, more than 20 years later, I also became a chemical refiner. This was something I never expected. I became a chemical refiner in 2000. When I became a chemical refiner, my father had passed away. As for why I wanted to be a chemical refiner, I will slowly tell you below.
The first day I arrived at the crematorium, I was led in by the director. The reason I came to the crematorium was because my father died at the age of 60. When I came, it was the second year after my father's death. I love my father, and when I came here, I felt closer to my father. I was years old at that time.
On the first day, I was sent to the office. A girl in her twenties was sitting there. I was stunned. What was a young and beautiful girl doing here? Whose daughter was she
The curator looked at me and said.
"Your master is Yinyan. You should follow her from now on and ask her if you don't understand anything."
The curator left. I just couldn't believe it no matter what. This girl was the refiner and my master. She looked younger than me. I was shocked at the time. This girl wanted to be my master.
"Handsome guy, what's the matter? Don't you believe I burned people to death? I've been here for four years."
After Yinyan finished speaking, she looked at me. I didn't expect that such a beautiful girl would actually be a refiner. It was totally beyond my imagination. If she wasn't sitting here, walking on the road, I would never have imagined it, nor would I have believed that she was a refiner.
I called out "Master" in a low voice.
"Today is not my shift. We work in three shifts, one day on the job and two days off. Because you are here today, I want to welcome you. I will show you where we work today, and then we will go home and go to work tomorrow."
Yinyan stood up, Miao Tao.
I followed the master and entered the crematorium. There were twelve furnaces shining brightly. They were made of stainless steel and were tall. There were twelve furnaces. The floor was tiled and also bright. There was an operating table behind the glass, and it was spotless. It was completely different from what I had imagined. I had never expected that it would be like this.
"Our job is to operate these buttons here and send the dead into the furnace. Of course, it all involves a lot of technology."
This place is not as scary as I thought, I breathed a long sigh of relief. It took me more than three months to decide to come here.
The master and I will come out, Yinyan said.
"Are you driving?"
I thought to myself, I just graduated, where can I get a bike? I do have a bicycle, but I haven't ridden it for years.
I shook my head.
"I'll give it to you, don't think too much, I'm your master, this is what I have to do."
I got into Yinyan's car, a little red sports car, very cool.
Yinyan sent me to the gate of the community and said.
"Don't tell anyone else that I'm your girlfriend."
He said it very seriously, then drove away. I was stunned. What he said was really interesting.
Yin Yan's words made me think too much. What does this mean, is that I am your girlfriend? Let me just say that she is her girlfriend. If Yin Yan is my girlfriend, it would be a very impressive thing, but I think it is unlikely. She is my master, and I can't marry another refiner. It would be like putting two people together who can burn people to death. Then...
I can't imagine what that would be like.
When I woke up in the morning, it was raining heavily, but I had to go. It was my first day at work and what I was facing was not anything terrible.
I took a taxi to the crematorium and when I entered the office, Master Yinyan had already changed her clothes.
"You are late. You must arrive before four in the morning from now on."
"Yes, Master."
I don't want to explain. I played computer games until one in the middle of the night yesterday. Actually, I couldn't sleep. It wasn't because I was nervous, but because I was excited.
I'll change into my work clothes, Yinyan said.
"Once you enter the refining room, don't say any more nonsense. There are eight of us in this class, and everyone has a different temper. Just follow me and listen to me."
Yinyan took me in. These people were all here, busy, said a man.
“Master Yin, your apprentice is a true master. It seems that the director arranged it on purpose.”
"She's just a child, don't talk nonsense."
She treated me like a child? She was only four years older than me. At only four years old, you gave birth to a son? I didn't dare to say anything. This place still made me nervous. I felt a solemnity I had never felt before.
"Workbench number eight is yours, but you won't be able to get on the workbench today, and maybe for a while."
I was taken to the back of the studio, and when I opened the door, I felt very cold, even in the summer.
"Just sit here. The staff from the farewell hall will push the cart in. Then you will carry the body to the transport platform. I will show you, just once. If you make a mistake, the consequences will be unimaginable."
Yinyan's face was gloomy at the moment, and I was a little scared.
"Master, this is my first time..."
"This is the first time you call me Master. Shut up."
Yinyan is so amazing, she gave me a scare.
It is very clean here, the ground is shiny and spotless.
The hearse was pushed in, and the master looked at me. I understood, and I moved closer.
The master took a look at the sign. It was the Rabbit sign. Rabbit 4, number 4. Can you recite the twelve zodiac signs? Do you know the order? I was stunned. This was a very simple thing. I really couldn't recite it. I didn't know the order. I shook my head.
Yinyan stopped, looked at me and sighed.
After she carried the body up, she gently pulled down the white cloth. I was shocked and almost screamed. It must have been a car accident. The driver pressed the 4 button and the body was sent in.
"This is your job. Remember, don't press the wrong button because it's not marked here. This is a folk custom. It's in a room over there. Family members can see it. It's behind the big glass over there. We can't see them, but they can see us operating. If you send the wrong person, you can just lie down on the transport platform and send yourself in."
I was terrified and sweating.
"I mean the seriousness. Don't really lie down on it."
The master walked out of that door. I was stunned. I tried desperately to think about it. I knew the twelve zodiac signs, but I just couldn't figure out the order.
The master pushed the door open again and handed me a piece of paper.
"It's very simple. Just be serious and careful. Hold them like you are holding your loved ones."
I feel uncomfortable just listening to it.
It was another surprise that the master's handwriting was so elegant and beautiful.
I was extremely nervous that day, but I still finished it without making any mistakes.
My master still made me carry corpses to the transport platform every day. I could never get used to it. I always had nightmares. I dreamed that they woke up, came back to life, stared at me, bit me...
I wanted to ask the master to let me go to the operating table, but I didn't dare. Yinyan is very capable, although she is only four years older than me.
There are all kinds of corpses, men, women, old, young, beautiful, ugly, especially those from car accidents and drowning, which make me feel terrified. At the moment when the white shroud is lifted, you never know what is underneath, and it makes you terrified every time.
I want to get used to it, but I can't. Every day I break out in cold sweats. It's as if my master has forgotten about me. I work one day and rest for three days. This makes me feel very comfortable doing this job.
But when I was with my friends and classmates, I never dared to say that I was the one who burned someone to death, because then I would have no friends. Before I came here, I had heard that these people had almost no friends, and no one wanted to eat, drink, or chat with someone who burned someone to death.
When I get home, my mother never asks me about this. I must take off my clothes at the door, and then she washes them for me, even though I always change clothes and take a shower.
I always feel uncomfortable with things like this, but I can't tell my mother.
I seldom go out and feel lonely. I am afraid that someone will know that I am a refiner.
Yinyan called me during her break.
"Come out."
The tone of command did not allow me to resist at all.
I went downstairs and Yinyan was waiting for me downstairs in the car, so I got in.
"Master, what is it?"
"It's okay, come with me to the countryside to play."
I was stunned. What did Yinyan mean
She is dressed very beautifully today.
I don't speak.
"You might say anything."
"I don't want to hold a dead body."
"Don't talk about work."
It seems that Yinyan doesn't like to talk about these things either.
I told her about my school life and she didn't say anything, just listened.
After driving for more than an hour, we entered the village.
"My second aunt's house."
The car stopped at the gate of a big house. When we entered the house, Yinyan's second aunt and second uncle were very lively. They held Yinyan's hand and looked at me.
That look was a little strange.
The meal was very rich. I don’t drink much, but I had to drink.
Yinyan's second aunt suddenly asked.
"Do your parents agree?"
"What?"
I was stunned for a moment.
Yinyan said.
"He is my apprentice, what is he talking about?"
I immediately understood that my master's second aunt treated me as her boyfriend.
I blushed. Actually, Yinyan is quite pretty, but a little too strong.
We had a lot of fun that day and didn’t go back until it was dark. Yinyan dropped me off and drove away.
I went into the house and my mother asked me where I had been.
"I went to her second aunt's home in the countryside with my master."
"I'm telling you, don't look for a partner who burns people to death."
My mother looked very unhappy. I knew that when my father was alive, she didn't like the smell of his body. She said that he always smelled like a dead person. So, my father didn't seem to be happy when he was alive. I could see that. After my father died, my mother seemed to be free of it. She never expected that I would enter the crematorium and become a refiner like my father. It seemed that I had returned to my original state.
When I decided to go to the crematorium, my mother did not try to dissuade me from going. Instead, she cried.
I have always seen my mother cry. When my father was alive, she always cried secretly. She didn’t dare cry in front of my father. In fact, even if she cried, my father wouldn’t say anything. He loved my mother. My mother didn’t know how many injustices she had suffered in her life. Sometimes I can’t understand. (To be continued)