Folk customs begin with the entire funeral procession

Chapter 43 Death is the Greatest Blessing
Xie Songde sat in the reception hall of Tianmen Funeral Home, his face somewhat gloomy.

A week ago, Xie Songde's father suddenly said he missed home and wanted to go back to his hometown for a visit.

The filial children naturally wouldn't refuse their parents' request, and after discussing it, they decided to have a family activity together.

And so, the whole family set off from Shannan City in two cars, heading straight into the mountains.

Although roads in the mountains have been repaired over the years, Qingshi Village is not well located and cannot be reached by main roads.

So the whole family drove to the nearest village to Qingshi Village, parked the car, and then walked together toward Qingshi Village.

Fortunately, the scenery in the mountains was beautiful. We walked and stopped along the way, enjoying the scenery like a spring outing for more than five hours before finally arriving at Qingshi Village.

When Grandpa Xie first went out to make his fortune, he moved away from Qingshi Village and settled down in Shannan City.

In the early years, Mr. Xie would return home every year to clean the house, visit relatives and friends, and reminisce about the past.

But as the old man got older and his children all started their own careers, he rarely went back to Qingshi Village.

The old house is still there, but it has been uninhabited for almost ten years.

Fortunately, after communicating with his neighbors, Mr. Xie managed to borrow a few rooms from them for them to rest in.

Otherwise, they would have to rush back down the mountain without stopping.

Xie Songde was somewhat unaccustomed to the simplicity of the rooms in the mountain homes, but what more could one ask for in the mountains?
In the old man's words, this is called "remembering the bitter past to appreciate the sweet present"!

Xie Songde originally planned to pay respects to his ancestors the next day, take some photos as a memento, and then leave.

But after seeing the scenery of his hometown, the old man was filled with emotion and wanted to travel around everywhere.

After completing the tour, it was already late, and they couldn't leave anymore, so they had to stay another night.

Taking advantage of the afternoon, the old man saw that his children and grandchildren were idle anyway, so he asked them to clear the weeds from the old house.

After Xie Songde, along with his brother-in-law and children, used tools borrowed from neighbors to clean up the weeds, cobwebs, and dust inside and outside the yard, they were all exhausted.

He can hold on, but the children are starting to get a little unhappy.

Therefore, Xie Songde thought that he had to leave tomorrow!

Who would have thought that something would happen on this very last night!
The old man couldn't sleep at night, so he left his room alone and returned to the old house. He tripped on the threshold and fell unconscious.

Xie Songde and the others were so exhausted from cleaning the village that they had fallen asleep long ago, so no one noticed the old man's condition.

It wasn't until early the next morning, when the villagers went out, that they discovered that Grandpa Xie had already passed away.

When Xie Songde was woken up and learned about this, he was dumbfounded.

No matter how painful or heartbreaking it is, the old man is gone, and his funeral arrangements still need to be made, right?
Xie Songde's mother settled in Shannan City with the old man back then. After she passed away, she was buried directly in the Shannan City cemetery. When they bought the burial plots, the old man bought two adjacent plots in the cemetery and arranged them for himself.

Now that the old man has passed away, his children naturally have to fulfill his wishes!
But how to get the old man out of there became a problem.

It takes four or five hours to walk from Qingshan Village to the village where they parked their car. If they wanted to move the old man out, it would probably take six or seven hours just to get there.

It was naturally impossible for Xie Songde and his brother-in-law, two men, to accomplish this alone.

Xie Songde naturally wanted to pay the people of Qingshi Village to help transport the old man's body out, but most of the people left in Qingshi Village were elderly women!

Those with strength and ability would have taken their wives and children out of the mountains long ago. If it weren't for the fact that the elderly in Qingshi Village were not used to life outside, who knows how many people might still be left in Qingshi Village.

How can we expect these elderly people to carry loads weighing over 100 pounds for a whole day on mountain paths?

Xie Songde was really afraid that someone would die again!
Moreover, even if it is transported out, it will take nearly three hours to drive back to Shannan. During this time, the old man will just be left in the car and bounce around with them.

That's obviously not acceptable.

After discussing it with his brother-in-law and sister, Xie Songde decided to first go to the village where they parked their car to hire people to carry the old man out, and then call the funeral home to pack up the old man and take him away.

But to his surprise, as soon as he told the story, the villagers started demanding exorbitant prices, saying that each person would have to pay 10,000 yuan!

Moreover, they would only go if at least six people took turns carrying it!

Although Xie Songde was dissatisfied, what could he do?
Sixty thousand it is.

But right after Xie Songde agreed, the other party seemed to see his anxiety and revealed their greedy nature.

They said that 10,000 per person was just for the trip there, and since they needed to make a round trip, it would have to be doubled to 120,000!
Xie Songde was furious. 120,000 yuan! Their money didn't come from thin air!

After discussing it over the phone, Xie Songde abandoned the people in that village and drove to Tianmen County, the nearest county, hoping to find a funeral home there to take over the matter.

After all, the body has been sitting for a whole day because of the delay, so it's more reassuring to hire a professional.

Xie Songde's first choice was Fushou Funeral Center, since it was larger and had more advanced equipment. However, after hearing about the complicated situation in Qingshi Village, they immediately decided not to do business with them.

It wasn't until Xie Songde offered 100,000 yuan that the owner of Fushou Funeral Center relented, but still made other demands.

That means we have to use the all-inclusive funeral service from Fushou Funeral Center. When Xie Songde heard the price, he was even more unscrupulous than the villagers!

The 100,000 was just for the cost of transporting the body; the subsequent expenses amounted to a total of 280,000!

The funeral clothes cost 20,000 yuan, and the urns cost 80,000 yuan!

After listening, Xie Songde left immediately.

Whether the price is expensive or not is another matter, but can a memorial service be held in Tianmen County?

Are you kidding me? Do you expect me to tell all my relatives and friends to come to Tianmen County to pay their respects?

After leaving, Xie Songde contacted Shannan City directly, asking the city's funeral home to take over the old man's affairs.

After all, he still has some connections in Shannan City, so this matter can still be resolved.

Xie Songde's connections were indeed useful. After making the call, the other party was willing to come and recruit people, and the total price was even lower than that of Fushou Funeral Center.

But then another problem arose.

The appointment time is scheduled for three days from now!

Shannan City has only one funeral home, and it's huge!
The key point is that Shannan City is not small, and there are also many well-off families from the surrounding counties who come to Shannan City for business.

Even if Xie Songde had connections, it wouldn't be possible to make those families who had already made preparations delay their funerals by even one day, would it?
Three days later, including the time spent going into the mountains and the day wasted before.

Five days later, the old man's body couldn't hold on any longer!
Left with no other option, Xie Songde placed his hopes on Tianmen Funeral Home as his last resort.

If Tianmen Funeral Home is not an option, then he can only negotiate with Fushou Funeral Center to see if he can spend an additional 100,000 yuan on top of the 100,000 yuan to buy the exorbitantly priced urn and funeral clothes, and not hold a memorial service.

After all, the other party just wants to make money, so this condition should be acceptable.

While waiting anxiously, Xie Songde saw the door to the reception room open.

Kong Fang, who had greeted him earlier, walked in, followed by an even younger man.

"Hello, Mr. Xie, I am Chen Miao, the director of Tianmen Funeral Home."

Seeing the young man in front of him extend his hand, Xie Songde subconsciously grasped it.

But then, his heart sank.

What can such a young man do?
But before he could speak, Chen Miao's words stunned him.

“Mr. Xie, I understand the situation. Tianmen Funeral Home accepts your offer of price and the condition of not doing any other business.”

"If you're ready, we can set off now."

Xie Songde looked at the solemn-faced young man in front of him, but he was not pleased by the man's words.

Frowning, Xie Songde asked many more questions, including how to relocate the elderly, how to protect their health, and whether they could be sent to Shannan City.

Chen Miao was very cooperative and answered all the questions.

It was precisely because of Chen Miao's cooperation that Xie Songde had reservations.

After hesitating for a moment, he finally asked the question that had been bothering him.

"If I may ask, why did you agree so...so readily?"

"I'm sorry, but this concerns my father's funeral arrangements, so I have to be careful."

Chen Miao paused for a moment, then said:
“I understand your concerns. My attitude toward doing things comes from my uncle’s teachings, which he told me when he handed the funeral home over to me.”

"Those of us in this line of work can make money, but we can't just focus on making money."

"People trust us, which is why they let us help them send their loved ones off on their final journey."

"So no matter what, always remember one thing."

"Death is the greatest tragedy."

……

(End of this chapter)