Folk customs begin with the entire funeral procession

Chapter 12 Twins

The days flew by.

Chen Miao has gradually gotten into the swing of things these past few days, and with his uncle's help, he's becoming more and more familiar with the place.

However, precisely because of this, most people in the museum realized that something seemed amiss, and gradually, rumors began to circulate that Chen Miao was going to become the museum director.

Chen Miao did not admit to the matter, but his uncle did not offer any explanation either.

The uncle's attitude seemed to tacitly approve of Chen Miao becoming the curator.

At first, Chen Miao didn't know what this would bring, until people started mentioning their resignations again, and then he realized what his role as the curator would bring.

Previously, when the eldest uncle was in charge, the elderly people at Tianmen Funeral Home probably wouldn't have thought too much about it. Fushou Funeral Center would have had to pay a high price to poach them. But now that Chen Miao has become the director, they have to consider it.

Whether Tianmen Funeral Home is closed or not, leaving it means receiving two completely different treatment.

However, in my uncle's words, those who are meant to leave will still leave, and we can slowly recruit more people. As long as the cremator Lao Yu, the mortician Shi Manman, and the funeral director Chen Miao are all certified, the facility can operate.

Other positions are not a big problem.

With her uncle's attitude, Chen Miao stopped worrying and just focused on doing her own thing.

The day arrived for Old Wang's memorial service.

Old Wang's memorial service was held in the main farewell hall. This was not because Old Wang's family was willing to pay for his funeral, but because after Old Wang's family came to make trouble, his uncle not only paid him 200,000 yuan in compensation, but also arranged a complete funeral service for Old Wang.

The funeral home covered all the expenses for Lao Wang's funeral, which is why the memorial service was held in the main farewell hall.

Old Wang's funeral was grand, but not many people came to pay their respects.

There were only about ten people in the huge farewell hall.

Of these people, only half truly wore expressions of sorrow.

This does not include Lao Wang's wife.

Soon, the memorial service began.

"Like a gentle spring breeze and nourishing rain, his kind face and smiling countenance remain in our hearts. Today we gather here to bid farewell to Wang Tao, who was kind and benevolent throughout his life."

"He is like the warm winter sun, nourishing his family with tolerance and gentleness; like a deep, still river, interpreting the power of love with his steadfastness in the ordinary."

"At this moment, let us bid him a final farewell with grateful hearts..."

Old Wang's memorial service went smoothly.

However, to Chen Miao's surprise, Lao Wang's wife would leave Lao Wang's urn in the columbarium of Tianmen Funeral Home instead of taking it away for burial.

Chen Miao tried his best to believe that Old Wang's wife placed him here because he would be more comfortable resting in this familiar place than in the cold underground, rather than because of the funeral home's lifetime free storage service for Old Wang.

After offering incense to Old Wang, Chen Miao left the columbarium.

……

"Have you heard? A pair of twins drowned in the Shuangling River."

During the meal, Chen Miao overheard a conversation between two salesmen nearby.

"How come I haven't heard about it? I even saw the surveillance video. The younger sister accidentally fell into the river, and the older sister went to save her, but they both drowned. Sigh!"

"A pair of twins! I really don't know if their parents can handle this kind of blow. By the way, why don't you try to see if you can bring them to our funeral home..."

Listening to their conversation, Chen Miao sighed inwardly, but his emotions didn't fluctuate much.

In the past week, in addition to presiding over Lao Wang's memorial service, he also participated in the funeral procedures of three other deceased individuals.

One of the deceased wasn't even placed in a cold storage facility, nor was a memorial service held. He was simply cremated after being kept in the mourning hall for half a day, and then his ashes were taken away. During this process, Chen Miao didn't hear any crying or see any tears, but the sight of the old man leaving with his son's ashes was far more poignant than the grief and loneliness that Old Wang's memorial service had instilled in Chen Miao.

Having witnessed so much life and death, Chen Miao had become somewhat immune to these kinds of separations.

After finishing his meal, Chen Miao returned to his office and continued his research on folklore.

During this time, he not only picked up his old school books again, but also started discussing folk customs with people on folk forums.

Previously, he was just a lurker on the forum, but now he's practically become a top influencer.

Besides these, Chen Miao also started showing up more frequently in the classmates' group chat.

Back in school, a group of friends who got along well with me created a group called "Funeral Services".

The name wasn't entirely chosen for humor; this group genuinely has the talent needed for all aspects of a funeral service.

However, two years after graduation, the "Funeral Services" business became defunct in name only.

From the chat in the group, Chen Miao learned that some people had changed careers, some were still working as slaves in the funeral home, and some were unemployed at home, occasionally taking on temporary emcee jobs.

Of course, there are those who give up and those who climb the ladder relentlessly in this industry.

People who climb the ladder like this are rare in the funeral industry.

Most people who choose this industry lack drive; they just need to get the certificate and work a regular job to support themselves.

The fact that only two out of twenty people in this group exhibited such behavior speaks volumes.

One of these two is rather unconventional. His name is Yang Jiuhua, and he started doing outdoor live streams of the underworld, specifically exploring some underworld locations!

Combined with the knowledge of funeral customs he learned at school, his live streams were quite successful, with hundreds of regular fans following him almost every time he went live, thus blazing a trail.

The other one is normal; his name is Wang Feiyang, and his major is the same as Chen Miao's—funeral rites.

However, compared to Chen Miao's ordinariness, Wang Feiyang stood out among that group of students. His grades were among the best, and after graduation, he went directly to a funeral center in a first-tier city.

His monthly salary has now exceeded 10,000 yuan, but this is not the main source of his income.

In first-tier cities, the white envelopes given by customers are much larger.

Both Chen Miao and Wang Feiyang hosted three memorial services, but Chen Miao received a white envelope containing 600 yuan, while Wang Feiyang received 3,000 yuan!

If you really think about it, in the first-tier city where Wang Feiyang lives, his income has already surpassed that of most white-collar workers. However, given the 'reputation' of his industry, even with a monthly income of 30,000 yuan, Wang Feiyang still can't find a partner in the first-tier city.

So Wang Feiyang has been working hard to climb the ladder. He wants to become a manager, leave frontline work, buy a house and a car, and settle down in a first-tier city!
Chen Miao found this very inspiring.

At least before he inherited Tianmen Funeral Home, he was no match for these two.

Through chatting in the group for a while, Chen Miao has come to understand the situation of his classmates.

The purpose of doing this is, of course, to poach staff from Tianmen Funeral Home if they become short-staffed in the future.

Compared to those whose backgrounds were unknown, Chen Miao knew a thing or two about these classmates.

Just as Chen Miao was browsing his classmates' chats online as usual, his salesman Kong Fang sent him a message.

"Brother Sanshui, I've received an order. The customer will be putting it in the warehouse this afternoon, and there's a memorial service to be held afterwards, for the main farewell hall. Please keep an eye on it."

After replying, Chen Miao opened the documents sent by Kong Fang.

The first thing he saw when he opened it was two identical photos.

twin!
……

(End of this chapter)