Chapter 47: The Manchu Coffin in the Room
That person was hit by a car and died. I always feel that it is my responsibility and I feel uneasy.
When I go to work again, Mao Xiaoli finds me and smiles at me, Xiaobai, maybe she likes this Xiaobai.
"You can work now."
"No, I don't have the chance. I can't operate alone yet."
"Then you need to work hard."
Mao Xiaoli smiled and left. I felt that my learning makeup had something to do with her. Maybe she told the manager about it. Thinking about skin cutting, I felt scared.
When I entered the dressing room, Zhao Juan told me that I would start my makeup today. I knew it had begun. Zhao Juan told me that it would take half a month to get the makeup done. But it suddenly started so soon today. It must have something to do with Mao Xiaoli. It's really strange that so many people are afraid of Mao Xiaoli. She rarely interacts with people, but these people really listen to her. I can't understand this.
Zhao Juan taught me seriously. She told me that I was her last apprentice and that she would teach me everything, even things that she had never taught others. In fact, I didn't want to learn so much. I just wanted to learn the things that a refiner knew. But I didn't learn much because my father Ke Zuo was a refiner.
I was half-hearted in my studies, but Master Zhao Juan was neither anxious nor angry. This made me feel a little strange. People who work in the crematorium all have strange tempers, but Master Zhao Juan has a gentle temper. She treats this female apprentice the same way. If she makes a mistake, she just corrects her and never gets angry.
I actually heard the sound of dripping water in the dressing room. I looked at Master Zhao Juan and her female apprentice, and they didn't react at all. I thought, maybe I was the only one who heard it.
Zhao Juan noticed my strange behavior and pulled me to the corridor to ask me.
"What's up?"
I hesitated, but still said it. I heard the sound of dripping water. Since Zhao Juan is my master now, I have to tell her that I have lost confidence . It seems that she is always busy with her own things.
After listening to this, Master Zhao Juan thought for a long time and said.
"For this matter, please wait for me in your room at the Xilai Hotel tonight at five o'clock."
After Master Zhao Juan finished speaking, she went in. The old lady looked kind and peaceful. I like such old ladies.
That night, I went to the Xilai Hotel, which sits on the hillside behind our crematorium. They host funerals and weddings there, and they also reserve some private rooms for outside guests to dine in. However, since people learned about funerals, the number of people visiting has dwindled, and even the number of weddings is gradually decreasing. If this continues, it will become a specialized funeral parlor.
I don't like this kind of hotel, I always feel it's a bit spooky.
I went in and told the waitress, "Room ??" She gave me a look that wasn't her normal look.
I was taken to room number ? ? and the waiter left without saying a word.
I pushed the door open and saw that Master Zhao Juan had not arrived yet, but tea had been poured. It seemed that Master Zhao Juan was quite familiar with this place.
I went in and closed the door. There was a painting on the wall. It looked messy. It was what is called an image painting. I don't understand painting, but it makes me feel uneasy just looking at it. I can never make any sense out of such a painting.
I sat down and was served two cups of tea. Apparently, Master Zhao Juan had arranged it in advance.
The tea was Longjing, my favorite and my father's favorite. After a cup of tea, Chef Zhao Juan came in and sat me down for my order. I didn't order anything, so Chef Zhao Juan closed the menu and ordered four dishes. It seemed she was very familiar with this place.
"Mingzhe, I'm very familiar with your father and have a good relationship with him. I never thought that you would become my apprentice, and the last one . This makes me very happy."
I have never heard my father talk about it, and he never talked about anything about the crematorium because my mother simply didn't want to listen and I was scared, so my father never mentioned a word about it at home. But my father would never have thought that I would go to work in the crematorium. It was a longing that could not be shaken off.
I can't speak because I don't know what to say. Master Zhao Juan drank baijiu. She's so old, and she drank a glass of baijiu until after nine o'clock in the evening. Old trees have many roots, and old people have many words. This is true. Zhao Juan told me many things about my father that I didn't know. I am very grateful to her.
"Okay, maybe you're tired of hearing that. Let's go to work."
Master Zhao Juan stood up and I followed her downstairs, into the crematorium, and went to the first floor of the columbarium.
I didn’t expect that Master Zhao Juan also had the key.
She said before opening the door.
"There's a full-flag coffin inside, don't be scared."
"I've seen it."
Zhao Juan seemed quite surprised, glanced at me, and didn't ask. We went in, Zhao Juan closed the door and whispered.
"Don't talk."
It made me very nervous, but Zhao Juan's white hair actually made me feel at ease.
She went upstairs and into the bathroom, but the water was not dripping. Master Zhao Juan searched everywhere in the room and found a small box in the living room. She sat down, raising a cloud of dust and dancing under the light.
There was a sudden sound of dripping water from the small box, which scared me and made me jump up.
"It's okay, it's just this thing. I think you've offended someone. What else happened?"
"When I was in the urn, I kept seeing a shadow, but no one was there. Then there was the sound of dripping water. Then there was the urn on the urn number ??, and the photo on it was mine. And then there was the man who followed me who was dead."
Zhao Juan said.
"It all has to do with one thing. I'm afraid you haven't offended anyone. You're young and haven't been at the crematorium for long. Maybe it's your father."
"I don't think my father will offend anyone."
"Here, sometimes I offend people accidentally. So, no one doesn't offend people, and I'm no exception."
Zhao Juan said so, and I believed it. This box that makes a regular dripping sound, and the photo on the urn on the urn numbered "??", are telling me who I've offended. I think the shadow is also related to this. How it did that, we'll know when the time comes.
"But the man who died was definitely an accident. Of course, you are an extremely yin person. If an ordinary person wants to mess with you, it will probably lead to disaster. In other words, no matter how he wants to treat you, the disaster he will bring is the same."
"So you mean to say that he wants to kill me?"
"It will slowly cause you to mentally collapse, and then you will commit suicide."
I was stunned. This method of torturing someone to death is the most cruel. Why?
"We need to investigate the deceased man. The traffic police or the Public Security Bureau may have the information. I'll find someone and let you know when I find him. That's all for today."
We went downstairs and when we came out, I asked about the Manqi coffin.
"Don't be curious and don't even think about opening it."
Master Zhao Juan actually said so. Every master at the crematorium told me not to be too curious here, as it would do me no good.
It all seemed clear. Someone was trying to kill me, not some weird thing. So what about the other things? I don't know. Now I'm a little scared. Is everything that happened real?
Zhao Juan worked quickly, quickly revealing the man's information. Was it the Qian Family Compound? He was the son of the great landlord Qian. Qianjia Bridge, built by the great landlord, was the city's first privately owned bridge, spanning Henan and Hebei for decades. This clearly shows how wealthy the Qian family was. However, after liberation, the Qian family seemed to have little else besides the compound. Of course, this was only what we saw; what we didn't see was another story.
The dead man was the grandson of the landlord Qian, Qian Sun. His name was Qian Sun, which was a bit strange.
I know nothing about Qian Sun's affairs. My father never mentioned it. Master Zhao Juan was a good friend of my father's when he was alive, so she should know a lot. In the evening, I invited Master Zhao Juan to dinner, and she brought her female apprentice Zheng Jun, who was in her twenties. Zheng Jun was pretty and never talked much.
Zhao Juan told me that day that my father Ke Zuo and Qian Sun's father were very close, and my father would go to the Qian family compound to drink almost every week. I didn't know this.
So how did we become enemies? I don’t know. Master Zhao Juan told me that I need to understand it myself.
There is another male owner in the Qian family compound, Qian Zi, the grandson of the landlord Zhao. He works in the Cultural Bureau and has some culture.
I think I should understand. No matter what, I have no idea about such a great hatred. I need to know. So, no matter what, I have to know that it is too unfair for me to be killed and not know how I died.
The next day, after get off work, I went to the Qian Family Compound. The Qian Family Compound was well-known in the city, and everyone knew about it.
I stood in front of the dark gate. There were two stone lions in front of the gate. They looked like they were quite old.
I knocked on the door for a long time, and someone came out to open it. It was a woman in her forties.
"I need some money."
The woman hesitated for a moment and asked me to wait. I waited for more than ten minutes, and Qianzi came out. It was the first time I saw Qianzi.
"Is it Qianzi, Teacher Qian?"
"Oh, I am, you are?"
"I am Ke Zuo's son, Ke Mingzhe."
When Qian Zi heard this, his face changed and he looked depressed. He hesitated for a long time and said.
"Come in!"
I think it seems that my father and Qianzi's grandfather really have some grudge, and it's very deep. I'm worried that it's hard to say whether this grudge can be untied.
I went in. The old-fashioned mahogany tables and chairs in the living room were glowing with a dark red light. The living room was also dark, which made me feel a little nervous. After I sat down, the tea was served. It seemed that the Qian family did not pour it out. The tea was fragrant. I knew that the tea must weigh at least a thousand pounds.
"I think Teacher Qian already knows what I'm here for."
"Yes, I know, but I haven't seen you. My brother Qian Sun has seen you."
When he mentioned Qian Sun, I became even more nervous. If this account was put on me, then this grudge would never be resolved.
"I want to know what happened between my father and your Qian family?"
"This is actually very simple. It's about the full coffin. My family is Manchu, so we have a full-flag coffin. It was originally stored in our basement at the back. It was prepared for my grandfather, but your father took it away. My grandfather was very angry, but when he died, he told us not to ask the Ke family for it, so he gave it to them. My grandfather didn't even close his eyes when he died."
I was stunned. Why did my father need a coffin? He didn't need one. Cremation was already practiced in that era and was very strictly regulated. My father was also cremated after his death. He didn't need a coffin at all. It seemed a bit unreasonable.
"My father has a very good relationship with your grandfather. He would never do such a thing ."
"We don't understand that. Your father always comes here and is very nice to us brothers. We never thought he would do something like this."
"Why would he do that?"
Qian Zi shook his head, obviously he didn't know either.
"We don't know, and Grandpa wouldn't let us go to your house to ask for it. But there's one thing: Grandpa didn't close his eyes when he died. When he was confused, he kept muttering about a full coffin. That full coffin was made of huanghuali wood. Apart from that, there seemed to be a secret compartment, and there seemed to be something inside. This is what Grandpa said when he was confused. We don't know whether it's true or not. My brother has always been obsessed with this full coffin. Every time he mentioned that Grandpa didn't close his eyes when he passed away, it was because of this full coffin, so..."
Just a full coffin made Qian Sun and I risk our lives like this. It can be seen that the matter of the full coffin is not a simple matter. Qian Zi did not tell me the truth completely.
"I don't know where the full coffin is. Father never mentioned it to me. If I find it, I'll give it back to you."
"That would be great. Maybe your father has a diary or something. I hope you can find it."
When I came out of the Qian family's house, I immediately thought of the full coffin on the first floor of the urn building. Could it be that? I was shocked. It was very likely. My father was a refiner. With this condition, the Qian family would never have thought that the full coffin was in the crematorium, and in a hidden place.
