Madness of the Heart

For families with an average economic level, buying a cemetery for the deceased relatives is a big expense.In the past decade or so, the real estate industry in Dongye City has developed rapidly, and the funeral industry has not lagged behind.When people are alive, they struggle desperately for a temporary shelter. If death comes suddenly, they may not be able to go to the ground immediately.

"Xiyue" funeral home is not the best funeral home in Dongye City, but it is the one with the most traffic, because no funeral home in the city has better cremation preservation business than it.

Typically, the funeral home will offer to keep the ashes for a fee.Those who haven't had time to buy a burial plot for their loved ones, or who don't have the money to buy a burial plot temporarily, store the ashes in funeral homes.

With changes in policy and economic situation, all walks of life may fall into a cold winter, only funeral homes will not.So many people die every day in the city, as long as there are people, the business of the funeral parlor will last forever.

The other funeral parlors in the city cannot build a large "Fu Shou Tang" to store the ashes because of the poor geographical conditions, so they made a rule, requiring customers to take away the ashes within half a year at most. The ashes are disposed of.

"Xiyue" funeral parlor is different. Although its location is remote, it happens to be close to a mountain. It only needs to develop a small area of ​​the mountain, which is enough to store countless urns. Therefore, it stipulates a time limit for the preservation of ashes. Longer, there is no problem in saving it for a year or two.

Many people who really can't afford a cemetery send their loved ones' remains to the "Xiyue" funeral home to be burned. The ashes can be stored for as long as one day, or two years, and they can always save enough money for the last cemetery.

However, there are also many people who finally gave up taking the ashes of their relatives. It seems that after two years, the yearning has faded, and they are unwilling to spend the money they have saved through blood and sweat for a pile of meaningless ashes.

Where did these forgotten ashes go in the end? The relatives who have forgotten them are unwilling to ask.

Today is the second time for Meng Shan to come to the "Xiyue" funeral home. It is more crowded than before. The hall for formalities and collection of urns is full of people. This is a tertiary hospital.Meng Shan came to line up in the body transport car after 2 o'clock. After waiting for half an hour, she finally got the cheapest urn.

Five years ago, at this time, she and his father bought the cheapest urn for their mother who died of illness. Now, her father's body is being thrown in the processing room for preparation before cremation.

She lowered her head, looked at the plain urn, and laughed at herself: "I'm good enough to you, you two are dead, you can still sleep in the 'couple box'."

From the formalities hall to the cremation hall, there is a long distance. Those rich people throw white paper money along the way. People walking on this road will inevitably be stained with paper money.

They were all mourners, no one cared about them, but Meng Shan suddenly felt scared.

She tore a piece of paper money from her hair, squeezed it into a ball, and threw it to the ground.

It was still early in the morning, and there was still a long time before dawn. The winter wind was blowing, and here was next to the mountain. The wind blowing from the mountain was always gloomy, like a cloud with ghosts and corpses. gas.

Meng Shan thought of her mother, and then thought of the ashes that had been scattered somewhere.

When going through the procedures for depositing ashes, Meng Shan paid half a year's worth of money, thinking that she would be able to buy a cemetery for her mother in half a year.But during those six months, she worked hard, and the money she saved was secretly used by her father to drink and play cards, and lost all of it.

She cried and cursed her father, but his father said nothing, bowed his head and admitted his mistake.But what's the use of admitting mistakes?Lost money will not come back on its own.

There was no other way, she could only apply for continued storage of ashes.

But until the ashes had to be taken away, neither she nor her father was willing to spend that sum of money for her mother.

Living people live so hard, why should they worry about a pile of lifeless ashes?

When a person dies, he is dead. Isn't it the same where the ashes are thrown?

The money to buy the cemetery is enough for the family to live a good life for a long time.

Five years have passed, and Meng Shan occasionally thinks of her mother's ashes. Although she feels guilty, this kind of guilt is too shallow, and she can forget it completely after fighting with the landlord.

But now, Meng Shan felt scared.

The endless paper money in front of her eyes, the long road leading directly to the cremation hall, and the sweeping wind all made her feel that her mother was blaming her for being unfilial.

But the premise of filial piety is to have money.

she is poor.

Sitting in the lounge of the cremation hall, Meng Shan felt the pain of being poor again.

She has already received the number, and after waiting for two more numbers, it will be her father's turn to enter the incinerator.But just now, someone jumped in the queue for the so-called "auspicious time", and she had to wait for one more number.

People always say that "only death is equal", but when you arrive at the funeral home, you will find that even death is not equal.

Rich people can jump in the queue at will by paying more, which is different from the queue jumping in ordinary life. The latter will face everyone's contempt, but the former is decent.

Meng Shan heard the people in the lounge say: "That family gave an extra 3 yuan, really rich."

Meng Shan hugged the empty urn and closed her eyes tiredly.

The old man who had been useless all his life finally died at home, and the police station in the street issued a certificate before he could be cremated.

In the early days, funerals were held all day long in the old residential areas. The older generation cared about this. When someone died in a family, she could sing songs for three days and three nights. She herself had a good voice because of her beauty. She was pulled into a funeral group when she was a teenager, and she sang funeral songs for more than ten years. After the urban reform, these noisy and disturbing activities were not allowed, and the funeral team was disbanded. She knew nothing else and was cut off her income. The source, life is in a difficult situation for a while...

Her father passed away, and she didn't even set up a mourning hall. Anyway, this old man was never lovable, and no one would come to give gifts.The body was placed at home for two days, and it was transported to the funeral home just after 2 o'clock this morning.

Crying sounded from time to time in the lounge, Meng Shan's mind was very confused, she wanted to burn the person and leave, but she waited and waited, it was dawn, but she still didn't get her turn.

There are too many rich people jumping in line.

They will not only jump in line, but also spend tens of thousands of dollars on paper fireworks before sending the body into the incinerator, and let the body slide slowly into the incinerator amidst the deafening sound of fireworks.

At nine o'clock in the morning, Meng Shan heard her own number.

She wiped her face and stood expressionlessly in front of the gate of the furnace.

The father's body has been placed on the transmission belt, and the ceremony at this time is the "final farewell".

Meng Shan looked at the old face, but felt bored, and even bowed perfunctorily.

The cremator who was waiting by the side probably also felt strange.The "last farewell" ceremony is usually a large group of people, crying and calling, and some who are too emotional are pulled aside to prevent tears from falling on the body.

According to the custom of Dongye City, if the body is stained with tears, the soul will linger for a long time.

And Meng Shan was alone, and she didn't shed a single tear.

The cremator asked if he wanted to buy paper fireworks.

Meng Shan was impatient for a long time, and she said in a bad tone: "Do you think I can afford something worth tens of thousands of dollars? You have to be discerning in business, I..."

In the middle of speaking, Meng Shan stopped suddenly.

Because this cremator was very different from the cremator she had imagined, he turned out to be a young, tall and handsome man.

"I..." Meng Shan looked away and said awkwardly, "Hurry up and burn it."

"Paper fireworks are also cheap." The cremator said, "The most common twelve rounds cost 90 yuan. Many people will buy them. This is the last trip. Don't you want your father to leave more lively?"

90 yuan is not expensive, and Meng Shan can afford it, but she suddenly felt a burst of anger, and shouted at the cremator: "Many people will buy it, so I will buy it? You are really good at making money!"

The cremator frowned, and Meng Shan realized that she had lost her composure. She lowered her head and said, "Sorry, I don't need it."

The cremator nodded, "Then please go back to the rest room and wait. After the cremation is complete, the door will automatically open."

Meng Shan returned to the rest room in a daze, watching other people's grief and longing, feeling like a cold-blooded animal without emotion.

An hour later, Meng Shan got the packed urn—it was given to her by the cremator just now.

She lowered her head and whispered, "Thank you."

The cremator only gave a "hmm" before turning around and beckoning his assistant to put another body on the conveyor belt.

A new round of crying began.

Meng Shan left quickly, and it took another hour to deposit the ashes. It was already noon when she was able to leave the "Xiyue" funeral home.

She looked at the receipt in her hand, which said that she would pick up the urn within six months.She kneaded the receipts into a ball, just like kneading paper money before dawn.

Take the urn?

Take it for burial?

Impossible.

She shook her head with a wry smile, walked to a trash can, and threw the receipt into it.

"Goodbye, old man." She said softly, "It's not that I'm unfilial, it's that I really can't afford so much money to buy you a cemetery. You know best what kind of life I live. Don't blame me like my mother, You two should be good companions, cast a good pregnancy in the next life, and think about having a child after you live a good life. Otherwise, even if you give birth, you will not be able to raise it well—just like me. If I don’t live well, I can’t afford a cemetery. You can't even put yourself in the ground. Isn't this a vicious circle? I'm leaving, don't come looking for me."

There was a long row of cars parked outside the funeral parlor. There were millions of luxury cars, and there were also tens of thousands of scooters. Meng Shan came in a car that transported the remains. Take the bus back.

Fortunately, her residence is not far from here, and the bus is only four stops away.

Guangdan Road is an old street with many wreaths on the road.Because it is close to the funeral parlor, many people who live on Guangdan Road are engaged in funeral business. Some have made a fortune and bought several million houses in a good location in the city center. paper money.

Meng Shan used to think that this street was like a yin street, and it was better in spring and autumn. In autumn and winter, when the white lanterns were lit at the street corner, it looked like the underworld.

Her home is in the innermost unit.

"Xiao Meng is back?" A woman in her fifties stretched out half of her body, "Is the matter settled?"

Meng Shan smiled perfunctorily, "Okay, thank you."

"They're all neighbors, thank you." The woman wiped her hands on her apron, "What..."

Before the woman could finish speaking, Meng Shan took out her mobile phone, "It's 1130 yuan in total, and I'll transfer it to you."

The woman's face was wrinkled with a smile, "Okay, turn around."

Although the Meng family did not set up a mourning hall for the funeral this time, some expenses were still unavoidable. Meng Shan was annoyed, so she handed it over to the neighbor's "Funeral One-stop Service". 1130 yuan was already the lowest price.

After paying the money, Meng Shan really felt that she had become a loner and had nothing to do with her parents anymore.

She stood on the road for a while, feeling hungry, and then realized that she hadn't eaten for more than ten hours.

There is a small restaurant on the side of the road, the kind that is remodeled from my own house, the meat and vegetables are the worst, and the oil is all waste oil. A lunch box and fried noodles cost about ten yuan. The target customers are people who work nearby.These people don't pay attention to food, and they only have two standards when it comes to food, one must be rich in oil, and the other must be cheap.

Meng Shan's father often bought this kind of boxed lunch. Meng Shan felt disgusted, and every time she saw him eating, she couldn't help arguing with him.Now that the person is gone, as soon as Meng Shan smells the familiar smell from the small restaurant, she feels sick to her stomach.

Or go to the vegetable market to buy vegetables and cook for yourself.

Thinking so, Meng Shan turned and walked in the opposite direction.

In fact, there is a small-scale vegetable and fruit shop in this street, but Meng Shan always goes to the vegetable market one kilometer away to buy vegetables, because she feels that even the vegetables on this street are contaminated with yin, and people eat too much. Vegetables with yin qi may suffer from strange diseases.

It was afternoon, but the temperature had dropped for several days in a row, and the sky was gray, resembling the face of a dead person.

Meng Shan walked quickly towards the vegetable market, which was the most popular place in this area.

"Red Dust and Rivers and Lakes" is really popular, and even the vegetable market plays the theme song from the play.Meng Shan hasn't watched it yet, but before she asked for funeral leave, she heard her female colleagues chatting about the characters in it, and she knew that there is a male star named "Lake Shadow" who is very popular right now.

After buying enough vegetables and meat for one person, Meng Shan thought, anyway, there are still a few days left for the funeral, and there is no other place to go, so it is better to watch dramas at home.

On the first night of her father's cremation, Meng Shan chased the drama until midnight, and when she got up to go to the bathroom, she suddenly felt flustered.

It was an eerie feeling, like a pair of eyes looking at her eeriely from somewhere she couldn't see.

She turned quickly and looked around in fear.

The house is very old, it was the wedding room of her parents when they got married in the past, the walls have not been painted for many years, they are yellowed and blackened, the marks only look dirty during the day, but at night, it seems that there is something hidden behind the wall, they are getting closer and closer to the wall. It's getting closer and closer, as if it's about to rush out of the wall!

Meng Shan shivered, and walked to the door again to check if the lock was locked—she had repeated this action no less than three times after returning home.

As she passed the living room, her heart skipped a beat without warning.

Where she was standing, her father's body was still placed a day ago.

The room was very quiet, but this silence seemed to have a shape, like a ghost that was constantly approaching.She looked at the curtains that were constantly being blown open by the wind, and when the curtains were lifted to the maximum, she saw a torn smiling face.

"Ah!" She screamed, her legs went limp, and she fell to the ground.

The wind died down and the curtains fell.

She was shaking violently in cold sweat, and it took an unknown amount of time before she stood up tremblingly and walked slowly towards the window.

This is the sixth floor, there can be no one outside.

Holding the curtain with trembling fingers, it was pulled open with a "swish", and there was only the silent night and the unlit building opposite.

Meng Shan's beating heart finally slowed down. She sat by the bed and wanted to continue watching the drama, but fear followed her everywhere, and no matter how attractive the plot was, it could no longer attract her.

·

People in the funeral business do not have national holidays, and work regardless of day and night. Wherever someone dies, there are them.

Winter is the best time of year for funeral business.

It is easy to get sick when the season changes. Although the saying of "freezing to death" has long since disappeared in big cities, in fact, many elderly people die in winter because of a series of diseases caused by the cold.

So much so that there is a folk saying that if the elderly survive the winter, they will live one year longer.

Wang Hongying yawned while driving. In this one night, she had already sent her to the "Xiyue" funeral home eight times.This job should have been done by her son. A while ago, the neighbor Meng’s family died, and it was her son’s body. The maid of the Meng’s family finally gave her more than 1000 yuan. If she hadn’t lived in the same place for so many years, she would I'm too lazy to accept this business that only costs more than 1000 yuan.

Money is hard to earn, and shit is bad to eat. Wang Hongying cursed in her heart, but she still had to go to the next family to collect the remains.

Her son went to the hospital for a cecum operation the day before yesterday, and for the next month or so, she, a mother, had to transport the body in the middle of the night.

Having dealt with the dead for half her life, Wang Hongying is not afraid of dead bodies at all.Her car was refitted for transporting dead bodies, and the back was empty for carrying dead bodies.

Now there is a dead body behind it, and it is an old man -- all the people transported today are old people.

Originally, the old man's son should be sitting in the co-pilot, so that he could shout his soul.

But the children and grandchildren of this family are all heartless things. They think it is unlucky to take the car to transport the body, so they let her take the body to the funeral home alone, and they drive away in their own car.

Wang Hongying looked down on these people, glanced in the rearview mirror, and slammed on the brakes in fright.

When the car stopped, she looked back in a panic, and there was nothing behind except a dead body.

But just now in the rearview mirror, she saw a sitting stranger.

"Dizzy again..." Wang Hongying rubbed her face vigorously and took a sip of hot tea.

For those who do their business, it is common to see someone behind them in the rearview mirror. It is not a supernatural event, but an illusion caused by long-term fatigue and vigilance.

Wang Hongying had a similar situation before.

Before starting the car again, she looked at the notepad. After this trip, there are three more families to pick up.But this time she was frightened, knowing that if she continued to drive, something might happen to her, so she had to call someone who was in the same business to pick up the job.I plan to finish this order and go home to sleep.

At dawn, Wang Hongying left the funeral home in an empty car.From the funeral parlor to Guangdan Road four stops away, there is actually a small road that only those who live nearby know.

Wang Hongying turned around and drove into the small road, her mind getting more and more heavy, when suddenly she saw a wild dog running out from the side with something in its mouth.

Because of exhaustion, Wang Hongying's reaction was already very sluggish, and this time she was even more unprepared, so she turned the steering wheel and slammed into the trash can diagonally ahead.

"boom--"

Trash cans that were lying around were all knocked down, and slops were spilled everywhere.

The trash cans in the back street were terribly dirty, and Wang Hongying was dumbfounded looking at the trash on the windshield.What surprised her even more was that there seemed to be a person in the farthest trash can!

How could there be someone in the trash can?

The trash can fell sideways, and the man's legs were exposed, and he seemed to be struggling to get out.

Wang Hongying suddenly thought that it might be a homeless man looking for food in the trash can. Didn't the dog that ran past just now have food in its mouth?

"Could it be that I hit someone to death?" Wang Hongying was anxious and frightened. Seeing that there was no one around, she wanted to drive the car away, but then she thought, the police must have found a way to find the person who hit someone with the scene in such a mess. It's her car, then she will become a hit and run, and the crime will be doubled!

"It's unlucky!" Wang Hongying sat in the car thinking for a long time. Seeing that her legs didn't move, she became even more frightened. Finally, her heart swayed and she walked over cautiously.

"You, are you alright?" Wang Hongying squatted by the trash can and tugged at the other person's calf.

The people in the trash can were completely unresponsive.

"It's over, I'm really dead!" Wang Hongying was bewildered, crying for a long time, and picked up her mobile phone to call the police.

"Hey, police? I... I killed a man... But I didn't mean to. Come and see?"

Criminal Investigation Bureau, Crime Squad.

"The Beicheng branch just took over a case. Someone found a female corpse in the trash can in Fengshui Lane." Yi Fei put a tablet in front of Mingshu, "Look."

Corpses appear in trash cans. This kind of common case is almost always solved by the branch itself, but it is now the end of the year.At the end of each year, the police are under great pressure. The current requirement is that all homicide cases in the branch must be reported to the Criminal Investigation Bureau, and the serious crime team has the right and obligation to participate in the investigation.

"Female corpse?" Mingshu clicked on the picture.

"The scene has been investigated. The caller is a middle-aged man in the funeral business. She claimed that a dog rushed out, causing her to crash into the trash can. When she found someone in the trash can, she thought she had killed someone. "Yi Fei said: "At present, the identity of the deceased has not been determined. The preliminary examination by the forensic doctor found that the back of her head had a fracture injury caused by a blunt instrument. This is probably the cause of death. The dog that the caller saw had What they were holding was not food, but the meat from the corpse. The stray dogs ate the corpse and caused many injuries on the corpse that affected judgment."

Mingshu for a quick look at the pictures.

The pictures sent by the sub-bureau are very detailed. The body is wearing dark blue jeans, the shoes have been dropped, and the goose yellow thin sweater is covered with blood.

Because there was no covering of clothing, the feet, hands, neck, and face of the corpse were severely bitten, and it was completely impossible to identify the identity through the face.

Mingshu maximized the details of the face, "Are you sure these were all eaten by wild dogs?"

Yi Fei shook his head, "The branch office hasn't finished the autopsy yet, do you think it might be caused by human beings?"

Mingshu stood up, "I haven't seen the body yet, so I can't make a judgment. Let's go to the scene and have a look."