After lunch and reading for an hour, Xia De went out.
He found a carriage from the corner of the street and headed east across the city to the cemetery outside the city. On the way, the bored Shade talked with the driver about the recent weather, complained about the high prices, and then talked about their respective jobs.
Perhaps because of Shade's slightly younger face and approachable tone, the driver was willing to chat with him for a few more words. This carriage was of course not his. The driver rented the carriage from the Tobesk Carriage Rental Guild in the city, picked up passengers in designated areas, and gave the daily income to the guild in proportion. The remaining money was used to support the family.
Although this kind of work earns more than the porters who carry bags near the station, it does not actually help the family escape poverty. The main reason is that the driver has five children.
Four of them are his own children, and the other is the child of his eldest brother who has passed away. In this era, it is normal for anyone to die suddenly, just like Detective Sparrow.
"My income has been pretty good lately. I even ordered milk from the Silver Parrot Milk Delivery Company, one bottle a day, for the children to share. Oh, sir, I heard from others that drinking milk can help you grow taller."
"There is such a saying... I remember that the milk from Silver Parrot Milk Distribution Company was very expensive, right?"
Xia De asked hesitantly, and the driver smiled:
"The price of milk ordered there dropped a bit some time ago. It seems that there is a problem with the warehouse. Before the repair is completed, the daily stockpiled goods need to be sold as soon as possible. Last time when I drove a middle-aged gentleman who works there, he told me the news. My neighbors are also planning to order some before the price goes up. This is really good."
Tobysk Public Cemetery is an important part of Tobysk's basic municipal engineering. Although it is a "public cemetery", in addition to members of the royal family, even nobles are buried here.
The park area is very large, and the choice of burial on the ground or in an underground tomb, in the shade or in the sun, and even the surrounding environment and density of tombs are all very particular.
The emergence of public cemeteries in the Steam Age was certainly not because the city hall had a large amount of funds and had nowhere to use them, but rather that during the expansion of the urban area of Tobysk, it encountered the problem of land occupation by the cemeteries originally surrounding the city.
In a world where the occult really exists, funerals are not a simple matter. Therefore, it was finally decided to build a city public cemetery in the east of the city. As for choosing the east, it was because the east of the city was adjacent to the mountains, while the other three sides were flat, and Tobesk would not choose to expand in the east.
Compared to the shabby country cemetery managed by Mr. Kopps, which Shade had visited once, the Tobesk City Public Cemetery was much more magnificent. There was a specially built road extending from the city to here, and except for the cemetery's carriages, no other carriages from outside were allowed to enter the park.
The slabs of stone were paved in the cemetery, connecting the various parks. There was not just one public cemetery, but it was usually divided into the northeast, east, and southeast. The eastern cemetery that Shade went to this time was divided into five parks. The No. 3 cemetery in the eastern cemetery where Mr. Watson, who had turned into bones, was buried was the so-called cemetery for the rich.
The burial site in the underground cemetery was even more expensive. Not to mention now in 1853, even more than 20 years ago when Mrs. Watson purchased the cemetery, the price was definitely more than 30 pounds.
The above information was all obtained by Shad from the driver. The journey was boring, and the two talked about many things. The driver was very happy to talk to someone like Shad. Therefore, when Shad got off the car, he gave him 5 pence as a thank you for keeping him company, and the driver took off his hat to thank Shad.
Since the city's public cemetery is managed by the city hall and the natural church, there is of course a church in the cemetery.
A small white church stood beside the gravekeeper's cottage, with an obituary posted on the door informing people of the identity of the person buried there today.
As Shade stood on the stone pavement in front of the chapel, sorting out his clothes, some guests who were attending the funeral arrived one after another. To attend such a funeral, you don't need to bring anything extra, just wear a black formal suit.
Going all the way inside, Shad found the old woman standing next to the coffin in the chapel. On the wooden painted coffin lid was a silver wrench symbol, which was the holy emblem of the God of Creation and Destruction, also known as the Goddess of Creation, and represented the faith of Mr. Watson, who had been dead for many years.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Hamilton."
"Good afternoon, Mrs. Watson, please don't be so sad."
Shad whispered a few words of comfort, and then old lady Watson introduced him to the middle-aged man in a black top hat who was also standing next to the coffin.
Although he is said to be middle-aged, he is actually almost fifty years old.
This is Mr. Watson's younger brother, John Watson, the youngest son of the former Earl of Watson. Although he also failed to inherit the title, this gentleman also has his own business in the local area thanks to his family's influence. Today he came to attend the funeral on behalf of his family.
Although Mrs. Watson said that there were some conflicts between the two, at least this conflict was not shown in front of Shade. The middle-aged gentleman politely thanked Shade for coming all the way, and Shade asked about the funeral process and confirmed that the pastor could be present.
This was the first funeral that Shad attended in this world. When he looked at the coffin in his spare time, he couldn't help but wonder how Mr. Watson, who was sealed in the wall after his death, would view the relationship between his wife and family.
"It's a funeral that's thirty years late."
Even though this funeral had little to do with him, he still couldn't help but sigh.
The funeral customs of this era were similar to the Western-style funerals in Xia De's hometown. Friends and relatives with sad faces would arrive, the ceremony would be presided over by a pastor from the church that the deceased believed in, and a family elder or a friend of high status would read a eulogy, and then the relatives would be asked to recall the deceased's life one by one.
All of these procedures take place in the cemetery chapel, and the longest process is when a licensed priest leads everyone in praying for the deceased, praying that his soul may rest in peace.
The Watson family and old lady Watson's relatives and friends sat on the long benches in the church hall. Because of the family's influence and financial power, today's guests almost filled the entire hall.
Shade's speech was very early in the order. After the funeral started at 2 pm, he was the second person to speak after the pastor. The eulogy was already prepared. He first stated his identity and then read the sentences on the paper in his hand that praised Mr. Watson and regretted his untimely death.
The whole process lasted for 10 minutes. After it ended, people politely applauded quietly. Several old ladies sitting in the front seats even covered their faces with handkerchiefs and cried. It was not known whether it was true or not, but Shad at least believed that Mrs. Watson's crying was real.
He couldn't leave now, and had to wait until the coffin was sent into the tomb before leaving, after all, the agreed check-out time was after the process. Only then could he walk to visit Mr. Sparrow Hamilton, who was not far away.
Since he didn't know anyone, Xia De found a seat in the back row near the church door and corridor. As he walked quietly to the back, a young girl wearing a black lady's hat with a white flower suddenly slipped him a note.
I thought it was something important, but when I opened it, I found an address written on it, and there were lip marks made by lipstick under the letters.
"Um... ... "
What do you think it will be
The voice in my head echoed in my ears.
"Things like asking for help when you're in trouble."
He replied, balling up the paper and stuffing it into his pocket, thinking of somewhere to dispose of it after the funeral.
Xia De is not in the mood to get to know a strange girl now:
"It's really interesting that people even chatted with me at a funeral."
He muttered quietly, and even though it was quiet, probably the people sitting next to him couldn't hear what he was saying.
“That’s really interesting.”
Hearing such a voice, Xia De was startled, thinking that someone had heard what he said. But then he realized that the voice came from his left, and his left was clearly a carpeted aisle between long rows of seats, so it was impossible for anyone to be there.
"What's going on?"
So he glanced to the left and saw a middle-aged man with a transparent body standing next to him.
He put his hands behind his back and looked with regret at Mrs. Watson, who was behind the small pulpit in the church, recalling her husband.
The middle-aged man with a transparent body was like a late guest at a funeral. After finding that there were no seats left, he could only stand at the back and watch the scene in front of him. But the transparency of his body and the constant chilly feeling proved that he was not a human.
Xia De did not show any panic. He just glanced at it and then looked away, complaining quietly in his heart:
"So, what's going on? I'm just here for a funeral..."
The fundamental reason for not panicking is that the man next to her is not strong.
To put it simply, you have encountered a ghost.
She gave the answer with a smile.
Shad still sat upright, occasionally looking to the left, and the ghost standing next to him was so focused on Mrs. Watson that he didn't notice that the people around him could see him.
Although the body was transparent, the face could still be seen clearly. It was just that Shade had never seen this face before, but he suspected that it was Mr. Watson. However, the unfortunate guy who died more than 30 years ago did not leave any photos, so Shade was just guessing.
"When did it appear?"
About one second before you made your exclamation, which is the same time when the old woman came on stage to speak.
"In that case..."
Shad tried hard to search his head for knowledge about "ghosts" because someone had died in the house where he lived not long ago, so after Shad came into contact with St. Byron's textbook, he focused on looking for relevant content.