Folk customs begin with the entire funeral procession

Chapter 85 Human Skin Paper and Mulberry Bark Thread

These four items are the four most basic materials used in the secret art of corpse sewing.

Each of these four materials requires one coin of good karma.

However, Chen Miao only needs to exchange for two of them. He has another day to find the other two. If he can't find them, he can exchange for them later.

The two items that need to be exchanged are [human parchment] and [mulberry bark thread].

【Human skin paper】refers to the skin on the back of an unclaimed corpse. Even if Chen Miao wanted to find it, there was nowhere to find it.

【Mulberry bark thread】is made from the tender branches of 3-5 year old mulberry trees.

Its production process involves peeling, degumming, separating fibers, drying, and twisting.

Chen Miao also did some research and found that there is indeed such a thing as mulberry bark thread in reality, but this kind of mulberry bark thread was only used in ancient times when there were no other substitutes.

In modern times, very few people know how to make such a thing, let alone make it in a single day.

Therefore, although the "Southern School of Corpse-Sewing Secrets" contains the method for making mulberry bark thread, Chen Miao is currently unable to make it and can only purchase it.

Later, I might see if I can find someone to make them to order.

【Fishbone needle】As the name suggests, it is made by grinding fish bones. The fish bones that can be used are shark ribs, whale baleen bones, sturgeon bones, and carp vertebrae. Whale ribs are the best, and carp vertebrae are the worst.

After finding the fish bones, boil them, then soak them in wood ash to remove the fishy smell. After drying them in the shade for seven days, you can start polishing and drilling.

This was something Chen Miao could obtain and make on the same day. As for the seven-day air-drying process mentioned inside, Chen Miao naturally didn't have the time.

Therefore, he could only make an extra batch, and after drying, he would take the ones that did not crack and make them into fishbone needles. Chen Miao would use this batch as disposable items, and make more standardized ones later when he had time.

【Abelia】is made from bone ash mixed with beeswax and used to fill facial defects and reshape facial features.

This is the item that Chen Miao can most easily obtain out of the several items.

There's a bee farm outside Tianmen County where you can buy beeswax.

For ashes, contact Lao Yu directly!

After the crematorium is finished burning, there are always some ashes and residue left behind because someone doesn't clean it up properly.

In general, careless crematorium workers won't clean these things up. They figure the next one will just turn to ashes anyway, so how can you tell the difference when they're all mixed together?
Therefore, people usually like to be the first to be cremated, and in the past, some even paid extra to cut in line.

This situation is much less common now, but it still happens sometimes.

Of course, this is a careless crematorium worker; Lao Yu doesn't belong to this category, he's a meticulous person.

After each cremation, he would clean the inside thoroughly.

He would collect the remaining ashes, and once he had collected enough for one box, he would go out through the south gate and scatter the ashes along the Shuangling River.

So if you go to Lao Yu's place, you're sure to find his ashes.

After thinking it over, Chen Miao did not exchange the items immediately, but instead prepared to find the crafting partners for the other two items.

If the latter two items can be made, then exchange them.

If he couldn't make it, Chen Miao didn't plan to waste the four coins of Yin Virtue he had spent on it.

We'll talk about it another time.

He glanced at the time; it was eleven o'clock. Xiang Shang had slept for two hours.

Chen Miao went in and helped Xiang Shang up.

"Come on, let's go shopping."

"Don't go!"

"Not going? Then I'll send a private message to the only user you follow on your short video platform with a picture of you in your open-crotch pants!"

brush!
Xiang Shang sat up in bed and glared fiercely at Chen Miao.

"going or not?"

"Go! Fine! Go!"

"After this, I definitely have to set my account to private!"

As he went downstairs, Xiang Shang casually picked up the helmet.

Chen Miao glanced at it and immediately told him to put it down.

"What are you doing? It's just the two of us. Riding a bike is much more convenient than driving."

Chen Miao shook his head.

"Don't drink and drive. You've just been drinking."

"That's only a small amount?" "Then why are you so drunk?"

"..."

In the end, Xiang Shang took off his helmet.

Chen Miao drove Xiang Shang to the market and bought two carp and two sturgeon.

The carp was killed immediately, with special instructions to avoid breaking its spine, while the sturgeon was kept to be processed at home.

As for the fish, we can just add it to the cafeteria's meal when we get back.

After getting the fish, Chen Miao went to a hardware store and bought a handheld grinder, a polisher, some sandpaper of different grits, and a piece of thin wire.

After finishing, they headed straight out of the county town, and by the time they bought the beeswax they needed, it was already noon.

Chen Miao didn't eat out, but went straight home. After all, there was still so much fish and meat, and it would spoil if he didn't go back soon.

Sitting in the cafeteria, while the two were eating, Xiang Shang couldn't help but ask, "What are all those things you bought for?"

He could understand why Chen Miao went to the hardware store; the funeral home was so big, there must be places where those things would be needed.

What's the deal with the fish and beeswax?

Chen Miao didn't reply to him, but instead asked, "Where's the peach charm I gave you before?"

"Give it away."

Xiang Shang's expression was somewhat unnatural.

Chen Miao thought to himself, "As expected, if that peach charm were there, it's hard to say whether Xiang Shang could be possessed."

"Did you give it to your goddess?"

Seeing that Xiang Shang hadn't spoken, Chen Miao knew what was going on.

He immediately took one of the three amulets from his waist.

"You must have one of these yourself, don't give them away anymore, I don't have many of these right now."

After thinking for a moment, Chen Miao took off the remaining two pieces from his waist.

"When we get back, give one to each of Mr. Xiang and Mrs. Yu."

Xiang Shang took it and examined it.

"Couldn't you have made it a little more exquisite?"

Chen Miao's face darkened.

"The effect is the same, why ask for more! This is all century-old peach wood."

"A hundred years? You're not kidding me, are you? Where did you find it?"

"Pictured on the roadside."

Xiang Shang remained silent and did not ask any further questions. As he put away the three talismans, he sighed inwardly.

"With such poor workmanship, has she already thrown away the peachwood charms?"

Chen Miao glanced up at Xiang Shang but didn't say anything.

After dinner, Xiang Shang was still there, curious about what Chen Miao was going to do with the things he had bought.

So he followed closely all the way.

Seeing that the confusion in his eyes had disappeared after drinking, Chen Miao let him follow.

Afterwards, Chen Miao boiled a pot of water and threw in the carp's spine with the flesh still attached.

Soon, Chen Miao took out the spine and cleaned the fish meat off it.

Sturgeon is prepared in the same way.

He then instructed Xiang Shang to go outside the south gate, find some dry firewood, burn it, and bring back the ashes.

While Xiang Shang was away on his business, Chen Miao went to see Lao Yu.

When Chen Miao asked for his ashes, Old Yu looked at him strangely, but still gave them to him.

However, Lao Yu still gave Chen Miao a reminder before he left.

"Don't mess around."

On his way back, Chen Miao kept thinking about what the phrase "Don't do anything reckless" meant.
Old Yu, what on earth are you thinking about?
……

(End of this chapter)