"Seventh Uncle, you are so brave." Chu Sen said in a crying voice.

"You'll get used to it after seeing it so many times." Uncle Qi said helplessly.

"So, do you still want to do this job?" Uncle San asked Chu Sen.

"I think I have too little experience. I just need to hone my skills for a while." Chu Sen is not a coward.

Uncle San laughed noncommittally, then bent down and took out a turtle shaped like a helmet from behind Niu Lin. The turtle was about the same size as the helmet, pure black with diamond-shaped markings on it. Niu Lin's sitting body fell to the ground again and did not move.

"This is the tomb guardian turtle, an immature giant tortoise. Giant tortoises have simple personalities and heavy bodies. Placing them in a tomb can help stabilize the underground feng shui."

"But there is nothing to eat or drink in the tomb. How can the tortoise survive?" I said.

"Turtles move slowly. Once fed, they can survive for about a year. During this year , water will seep into the coffin , and small insects will crawl in through the cracks in the coffin. These are all food for the tortoise. Some tortoises can live in the coffin for two or three years." After saying this, Third Uncle held the tortoise in his arms and said to Chu Sen, "It was this tortoise that held up Niu Lin's body ."

"Oh, I was almost scared to death just now." Chu Sen said.

"The risk of this job is that unexpected situations often occur. While the situation itself may be harmless, it can cause great shock to witnesses. Some timid people can even be frightened to death. I've observed you for a while and think you're quite brave, but today I put it to the test..."

Chu Sen said, "Uncle San, I know today is quite embarrassing, but I promise that as long as you give me some time to practice, I will definitely not let you down."

Uncle San smiled and said, "You didn't disappoint me today. Most people would be scared silly if they encountered such a sudden situation, but you were still conscious and recovered quickly. This shows that you are indeed much braver than the average person."

Chu Sen immediately got excited and said, "So I think I'm not overestimating myself by thinking I'm brave?"

"Of course I didn't overestimate you. You are considered courageous among your peers." After hearing what Uncle San said, Chu Sen looked at me proudly. I pretended not to see anything.

"Have those jade pieces been inserted into the deceased's body?"

"Everything is arranged as you said."

"Okay, once the coffin arrives, this matter will basically be over. We can bury it after seven days."

I said, "But you said before that Niu Lin's body would only rot and turn into water if left on the ground for a day or two at most. If we wait seven days, I'm afraid even the water will have dried up."

"Of course we have to use some means to preserve his body, otherwise we'll just be asking for trouble. Blocking the five orifices of the deceased is one way to prevent the body from rotting, but it's hard to say how effective it will be."

"Uncle San, when I touched the deceased's body, I felt his skin was elastic. Is this normal?"

"That's normal. The corpses buried in the corpse-raising grounds won't become rigid. Otherwise, how can they be raised?"

"As long as you feel okay."

Uncle San said, "Let's get out of the grave first. This is not a place to wait for people." So we climbed up the soil layer one by one along the soft ladder. Uncle San said, "We have the money. We can divide it in the morning."

"To be honest, no matter how much pocket money my dad gives me, I don't feel anything. But I'm happy to take the money I earn from you." Chu Sen said.

Uncle San nodded and said, "You think it's fun now, but once the novelty wears off you won't think so anymore."

"I swear to God, I really love this career and I want to learn skills. This is what I really mean." Chu Sen said sincerely.

"But will your father agree?"

"Without you guys working together, I've been living in a daze every day. To put it bluntly, I've been eating, drinking, whoring and gambling. I don't think this is good, but I just can't control myself. These days, I've been going to bed early and getting up early, and it's been good to be busy. My dad will definitely agree."

"Don't be too optimistic. We're building graves for people. It's not auspicious to say the least, but it's rare that you have this kind of heart. If you want to come when you're free, just come. We welcome you."

My third uncle really thinks highly of Chu Sen, which is beyond my expectation. This makes me a little dissatisfied, because my third uncle is obviously not as good to me, his cousin, as he is to Chu Sen.

After we got out of the tomb, our third uncle took us and each of us held a shovel to start digging mud. All the dug mud was piled around the mourning shed . Water was poured on the mud to soften it into a mud ball. Then he took us to pull out a bunch of grass and mixed it into the mud ball. Then he compacted the mud ball layer by layer. In one night, four mud walls were built around the mourning shed.

Although the mourning tent is not big, I am still exhausted and my waist and legs ache. But the two elders seem so calm and composed. They lack exercise. I am so young but my physical fitness is not as good as that of two middle-aged people.

However, Uncle San's method of preserving the corpse can be seen very intuitively. Since the corpse can only be preserved under the soil layer, he can create another mound on the soil. As long as the corpse is sealed in the earthen house, it is equivalent to burying it in the soil. This idea is really simple and practical.

The north side of the four earthen walls was not sealed, leaving an entrance. Uncle San said, "It's time to carry the body. Who will do it?"

Before I could say anything, Chu Sen took the lead and said, "Of course I'll do it. I have to finish everything I do."

Although Uncle San didn't say anything, he nodded approvingly.

So Chu Sen went down into the tomb again and carried the corpse away.

Carrying corpses is a big deal in the earthwork industry, and it is definitely not as simple as just carrying the corpse on your back.

The "standard corpse carrying" is divided into several steps. First, the body is dressed in a mouse suit, which is a night suit with many small pockets. Secondly, before being placed in the coffin, a special rope is used to tie a spider web-like rope net around the chest with five horizontal and four vertical lines. This is called the "wall of life and death" in the geotechnical industry, which means a wall between the living and the dead .

After "building the wall of life and death", it is time to lower the coffin, also known as "lowering the mound". Carrying the corpse is not a life-or-death task. Various unexpected situations may occur after the person is lowered from the coffin. For example, the situation Chu Sen encountered today was an unexpected situation. Therefore, the corpse carrier is destined to have good psychological quality and physical strength. Without either of these two, one cannot be a corpse carrier.

If everything is stable, the next step of carrying the corpse is also very particular. First of all, the limbs of the person carrying the corpse must be flexible, because when tying the corpse, the person must have his back to the corpse , so the arms have to bend backwards. Secondly, the speed must be fast, because the rope is not passed through the corpse once, but at least three times back and forth, so that the corpse can "stand up", and the time to pass the three ropes under the corpse cannot exceed five seconds.

This job is not as easy as it sounds. You have to wrap a rope around the body above the waist and below the neck three times within five seconds while the body is carried on the back. You can imagine how difficult it is.

After wrapping it, tie both ends of the rope around your waist, hold the sides of the coffin with your hands and use your legs to stand up with the corpse. This is the whole process of carrying the corpse.

Of course, you must never fall on the corpse during this process, because the corpse is likely to have rotted. Once someone falls on it, it is likely to cause a corpse explosion, which is not only disgusting, but also harmful.

Another danger is that you might encounter "corpse hug". As for the reason for corpse hug, it is unclear. Uncle San said that one of his uncles lost his life because of corpse hug. When he was found, his whole body had turned blue and purple due to lack of oxygen.

As for why corpses cling to people tightly, no one has been able to explain this clearly, because corpse hugging does not constitute zombie transformation.

In short, remember one thing: don't fall on the corpse, otherwise you will probably get into big trouble.

Of course, Uncle San agreed to let Chu Sen carry the body because he knew that Niu Lin's body would not undergo any changes, and Chu Sen would just have to spend some effort at most.

Chu Sen really wanted to get into this business, so he actually carried the corpse out of the grave, put it in the mud house, and then left.

Uncle San sealed the exit with mud, which was equivalent to a sealed tomb. He breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile, "Just wait for the coffin to arrive."

The one who stayed behind to guard the mourning shed was Luo Tianbao, while we went back exhausted to rest.

We didn't go to the Niulin Cemetery for the next five days . On the sixth day, I asked my uncle, "Did your second brother go back to Longhua Village first?"

"Without him, he would have to guard the mourning shed."

I was surprised and laughed, "He has been staying there for the past six days?"

"Yeah , do you think repairing a tomb is just a ritual to show off your skills? A lot of the work involved is exhausting."