You, a living person, are telling me I've served in the underworld for ten years?

Chapter 26 Ancestral Worship and Substitute Burning?

Chen Yang returned to the funeral home at 4 p.m.

As soon as I opened the shop door, a middle-aged man walked in.

He was the owner of the shop next door that sold goji berries, dried fruit, and eight-treasure tea. His shop was separated from Chen Yang's funeral shop by a hardware store, a kitchenware store, and a tobacco and liquor store.

The boss's surname is Ma, and he is a Hui Muslim.

"Xiao Chen, you're only opening today?"

"I went out for a while and just got back..."

"Today is my dad's birthday. Your aunt made fried dough sticks and rice noodle soup. Come and have a taste."

Old Ma carried a bowl of noodle soup on a small plate; it smelled deliciously oily.

Rice noodle soup and fried dough sticks are both traditional Hui ethnic foods. Fried dough sticks and rice noodle soup are made during Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha, commemorations of the deceased, or weddings and funerals.

The Hui people's term "year" is similar to the anniversary of a person's death each year.

Every year at this time, they would visit graves, slaughter animals such as cattle, sheep, and chickens, invite imams to their homes to chant sutras, invite relatives and friends to their homes to pay respects to the deceased, and also distribute rice noodle soup, fried dough sticks, and meat to their neighbors.

They believe that visiting graves on this day can invite the deceased back to their home.

The slaughtering and scattering of animals were for the purpose of saving the deceased.

The Hui people call this custom "Guo Nie Tie".

Old Ma's father passed away three years ago, and he still celebrates the New Year with his father every year.

"Thank you so much, Uncle Ma!"

Chen Yang laughed and said, "I've been looking forward to this for a year, and I'm finally able to eat it! Auntie's rice noodle soup is so much better than the ones in the snack shops!"

Old Ma laughed and said, "Alright, you can eat first... If you want some next time, just let me know and I'll have your aunt make it for you."

Chen Yang got up to see him off.

He was slightly taken aback as he watched Old Ma's departing figure.

On his back...

A faint aura of yin energy permeated the air, within which stood an elderly man wearing a white hat.

Chen Yang had seen this old man when he was a child; he was Boss Ma's father.

"Can Hui people really bring the deceased back when they visit their graves?"

After we bring them back, how do we send them back?
However, Chen Yang didn't pay much attention to it.

Customs vary across different regions and among different ethnic groups in the Great Xia Dynasty, and the Hui people should also have their own customs and practices.

After wandering around for a while, I was getting a little hungry.

The rice noodle soup was still hot.

Chen Yang took two slices of mutton and a piece of chicken from the fried dough sticks and soaked them in the rice noodle soup, eating them with relish. For some reason, the meat cooked in the Hui people's Guo Nie Tie (a type of rice noodle soup) was especially fragrant.

Eat and drink enough.

Since there wasn't much business in the shop, Chen Yang sat behind the counter, took out the Soul-Capturing Bell, and began communicating with the "Big-Headed Ghost Baby" inside it.

Chen Yang went on and on about all sorts of grand principles, but the big-headed ghost infant acted like a dead pig that wasn't afraid of boiling water. Not only did the resentment and hatred on its body not dissipate, but it also grew more and more hateful, shouting for Chen Yang to let it out if he had the ability.

"That's fine."

"If reasoning doesn't work, then we'll resort to force."

Chen Yang shook the Soul-Capturing Bell, activating his magical power. The bell jingled as it refined the resentment and hatred of the big-headed ghost infant.

At that moment, two women walked into the store.

These two women are very beautiful. They are wearing horse-face skirts and dressed in a very ancient style, which has become very popular in the last two years.

As soon as the two entered the store, they looked at Chen Yang behind the counter, a look of surprise flashing in their eyes.

wipe!
What look?
Never seen an adult play with a bell?

Muttering to himself, Chen Yang stood up, hung the bell on his waist, and said, "I just bought this antique bell. I'm just playing with it in my spare time... What would you two ladies like?"

"elder sister……"

The woman in the red horse-face skirt looked at the woman next to her.

She wore a black horse-face skirt and a white short-sleeved top. The clothes looked like cheap items bought from a roadside stall, but they looked very elegant on her tall and voluptuous figure.

The woman asked for some ghost money, and also bought a stick of incense and a paper house.

Taking the opportunity, Chen Yang promoted his car, saying, "Is the beautiful lady going to pay respects to her ancestors?" "Why don't you buy another car for your elders? Look at this Land Rover... and this Ferrari, I paid a high price to have them custom-made by the manufacturer, the craftsmanship is so exquisite!"

The woman was quite humorous, jokingly saying, "Forget about the car, it's hard to drive without a license. Do you have a horse-drawn carriage?"

Many modern people burn cars and houses when they visit graves.

But the carriage was burned...

Chen Yang has been running this store for seven years, and this is the first time he has ever seen anything like it.

However, he had made paper offerings with his grandfather when he was young and knew how to make carriages, so he immediately said, "If the beautiful lady needs one, I can make one for you right now... but you have to pay a deposit first and come pick it up tomorrow."

The woman took out her phone, scanned the QR code to pay the deposit, and said, "Add a green bubble, and let me know when it's done."

Chen Yang was somewhat surprised.

He generally doesn't proactively ask for female customers' contact information, especially young female customers...

Times are different.

Some young women will think you're interested in them if you just glance at them. If you dare ask for their contact information, they'll think you're pursuing or harassing them. At best, they'll give you a good scolding; at worst, they might even call the police and accuse you of "sexually assaulting someone."

Chen Yang took out his phone: "Scan yours, you scan mine?"

"Just sweep me."

The woman had already displayed the green bubble business card.

Scan the QR code to add successfully.

Chen Yang glanced at it and found that the woman was using a selfie as her profile picture; the green bubble's name was "Ali".

Wait until the two female customers leave.

Chen Yang couldn't help but browse through "Ali's" WeChat Moments. Most of her posts were photos of travel and food, suggesting she lived a very refined life.

"She doesn't look very old..."

"Is there a 25?"

With these thoughts swirling in his mind, Chen Yang shook the "Soul-Capturing Bell" for a while before finding the tools to make paper offerings.

He first made the main structure of the paper carriage, then began to make the horse's shape. He also cut out the mane and tail with scissors, and made the hooves, bells, and reins. He painted the eyes with colored paint, and the details were very well done.

It wasn't finished until 10 p.m.

Although Chen Yang now has over a million yuan in savings and can easily make money... he can't give up his old profession no matter what.

This is called loving what you do.

After placing the assembled carriage on the counter, Chen Yang took a picture of "Ali" and sent it to her, typing: "Beautiful lady, the carriage is finished. Come pick it up after nine o'clock tomorrow."

About five minutes later...

The beautiful woman replied with a message: "How much?"

Chen Yang: "I'll give you a discount, let's just call it 380."

"........."

The beautiful woman sent a string of dots, perhaps thinking the price was a bit high, and then typed, "Want to go together?"

Chen Yang did the math and replied, "Let's say 1200. You also paid a 200 deposit today, so you'll pay another 1000 later."

The woman transferred 1500 yuan directly and typed: "Take the money, but could you please do me a favor and burn those things for me?"

"???"

Chen Yang was completely bewildered...

Ancestor worship... burning offerings on behalf of others?
Okay, it's not impossible for 500 yuan. Chen Yang thought for a moment and typed, "I can burn offerings on your behalf, but I need the name or birth date of the person to be worshipped!"

Soon, the phone rang.

Chen Yang glanced at the message, his face filled with surprise...

Born in 1048?
…………

at the same time.

Inside a private room of a barbecue restaurant in Wucheng, where Caiman Street is located.

"Miss, why did you send him your birth date and time?"

(End of this chapter)