Chapter 0020: Centennial Charity Cemetery
I don't know why, but the man's attitude suddenly improved.
"My last name is Pan, but you can call me Fatty."
"Fat brother? Were you ever fat?"
"Yes, at that time I had a strange disease and was as fat as a balloon. It was that friend who cured me." The man smiled.
"There are no restaurants on this street, so we all cook our own food. If you don't mind, come and have a meal with me at noon."
"Thank you so much, I'll pay for your meal."
"No, it's just plain food, not worth much."
Fat Brother went into the compartment at the back of the shop and started working. Soon the smell of rice wafted in the air.
I sat outside and waited patiently.
It's still a long time before dark, so it's nice to have a place to kill time. What's more, I can find out about the situation of Coffin Shop No. 44 from Fat Brother.
It’s a small grocery store, but the goods are all arranged in an orderly manner.
Fat Brother should be the youngest boss in this town.
Not long after, Fatty came out with two plates of side dishes, and took an empty plate. He took two bags of dried meat from the shelf, opened them and poured the meat into the plate.
"I usually eat alone, so there aren't many dishes. Xiao Li, just eat whatever you can."
"It's already very good, thank you, Fatty."
How to quickly get closer to a stranger? Having a meal together is definitely the best choice.
While eating and chatting, Fat Brother talked a lot more.
"Fat brother, can you tell me what happened at Coffin Shop No. 44?"
"It's okay for me to tell you, but I hope you can do me a favor after listening to me." Fat Brother paused and put down his chopsticks.
I nodded happily: "Of course, what do you need me to do, Fatty?"
"Don't be impatient. I'll tell you after I finish telling you about the coffin shop." Fat Brother waved his hand and took a sip of water to moisten his throat.
I also put down my chopsticks and gave him a cigarette.
He hesitated for a moment before taking it and smoking it with a little unfamiliarity.
"I haven't smoked since I got married, but I don't know why today, I just wanted to take a puff." Slowly exhaling the smoke, Fat Brother narrowed his eyes and looked at the big house with white walls and black tiles outside the store.
"The coffin shop is a taboo here. Normally, no one dares to go near it, and no one is willing to talk about what happened there. Because anyone who has anything to do with that shop will have a bad ending."
"I believe you can see that the coffin shop's house is not a modern building. It is an old house that has been standing there since I can remember, and it may be more than a hundred years old."
"I heard from the elderly that the old house was originally a funeral home, which was a place used to store corpses in ancient times. Later, the funeral home was no longer used and remained empty for decades. I don't know how it was bought and turned into a coffin shop."
"The charity cemetery became a coffin shop . It was also a place for storing coffins, so there didn't seem to be anything inappropriate, but that's where the weird things started."
"The first owner of the coffin shop had a booming business in the first year and made a lot of money. Many people on the street envied him at that time."
"However, the next year he suddenly went mad and killed his wife and children! The bodies were hidden under the bed, and he hanged himself. They were not discovered until they started to stink."
So cruel?
I shuddered.
"After that, there were two new bosses. Their business was good at the beginning, but they all died inexplicably soon after."
"No one knows why, but that coffin shop is just so weird."
"Some old people said that the charity cemetery was originally a place for lonely ghosts to take shelter from the wind and rain. If someone occupies their territory, they will definitely be unlucky. I just don't know why it is so tragic!"
"It can be said that every coffin shop owner had a bad ending. Until the fourth year, a young man about your age came and took over the coffin shop again."
It seems that this young man is a turning point.
I asked curiously, "What happened to him?"
"Yes, he took over the coffin shop for more than a year. Not only did he survive, he is also living a good life." Fat Brother exhaled a long puff of smoke, seeming to be lost in memories.
"His last name is Lin. He is the friend who treated me. In the year he was here, this street became lively, as if it was coming alive, unlike the dead and gloomy state it is now."
"Where did he go after that?" The coffin shop was closed and it was obvious that the young man had left.
"I don't know. Suddenly one day he never showed up again. Our street has become like this again. All those who can walk have left, leaving only the old, weak and sick waiting to die."
Fat Brother shook his head and sighed, then smiled again.
"But I believe that one day he will come back, just like we are now, smoking and chatting together."
"Fat brother, if I'm not mistaken, the matter you want me to help with is related to him, right?"
Fat Brother paused, looked at me for a long time, and smiled again: "You and he really look alike. If you run into him one day, please tell him that Fat Brother really wants to drink with him again."
"I don't even know him, how can you be sure I can meet him?" I was very curious .
"I don't know, it's just a feeling. I feel the same thing in you as he does." Fat Brother's eyes were complicated. He said no more and stood up to clean up the dishes.
I sat in his grocery store all afternoon, thinking about what he had said.
Time passed slowly and the sun set.
The people in the town closed their shops in a hurry and no one would spend the night here.
"If you want to go into the coffin shop, let me remind you not to open the red coffin." Fat Brother locked the door, left in a hurry after saying a few words.
