I was forced to cultivate immortality when I just wanted to lie down

Chapter 131 Posters, Ritual

A bolt from the blue must be caused by evil.

As Xu Qing and the other two had just walked out of the city gate, they heard an explosion coming from the city.

Thunder struck in the city, and Zhao Zhonghe, as the chief of police, could not sit idly by.

"The place where the thunder struck sounds not far away. Manager Xu, would you like to go and take a look together?" Zhao Zhonghe jumped off the carriage and extended an invitation to Xu Qing.

"I won't go. Someone has to guard the carriage."

Are you kidding? Which zombie would have nothing better to do than to join in the fun at a lightning strike?

If you get hit by a bullet, who can you turn to for justice?
Zhao Zhonghe said unconcernedly, "The carriage is under guard by the gatekeepers, so it'll be fine. If Shopkeeper Xu wants to go, he can come with us."

"Don't go!"

Xu Qing flatly refused.

"We have a rule in the funeral industry that during a funeral, there must be someone beside the coffin. We haven't even had anyone to cry at the funeral along the way. What would it be like if there was no one to accompany us during the funeral?"

Zhao Zhonghe laughed dryly. He was a big and strong man. If you asked him to cry, he really wouldn't be able to do it!

"Then I'll have to trouble Shopkeeper Xu to wait for a moment."

Xu Qing glanced at Zhao Zhonghe who bowed to express his apology.

I thought this guy could actually speak human language sometimes.

There were two bulletin boards erected on pile boards next to the newly built city wall along the river, on which were posted many posters and notices, as well as arrest warrants for fugitives wanted by the prefecture.

Xu Qing had nothing to do, so he went over to take a look.

The contents of the posters are varied, including store openings, vacant house rentals, quack doctors soliciting business, etc.

When Xu Qing saw this, he had an idea: why not put up a notice about discounts and promotions in his own medical office?
There are many deaths these days, but not many people are willing to hire someone to perform funeral rites. As long as he offers big enough discounts, he will be able to attract a lot of business.
The more Xu Qing thought about it, the more he felt that this matter had great potential. After he made up his mind, he turned around and found the gatekeeper guarding the city gate.

When the gatekeeper heard that Xu Qing wanted to post a notice on the city wall, he said, "It is strictly forbidden to post notices at the city gate without permission. Did you see the words on it?"

Xu Qing looked in the direction the gatekeeper pointed and saw a sign hanging next to the city gate with four large characters written on it - 'Tear down the posters immediately'.

"But I see there are a lot of notices on that notice board."

The gatekeeper laughed and said, "That's different. Those notices were approved by the gate captain and posted under our personal supervision. They don't count as private solicitation."

Xu Qing suddenly realized that it was an official advertisement for leasing.

He then asked, "I wonder what the conditions are for it to be posted by the government?"

"There are no conditions. A notice costs two taels of silver and can be posted for several months. As long as you pay the money, you can post it."

This is straightforward.

Xu Qing was more straightforward.

He took out a silver ingot and a piece of silver from his sleeve and said in a rather heroic manner, "Then give me a year's supply first, and this silver will be used as tea money for you brothers."

When the gatekeeper saw the silver, his attitude immediately became attentive.

There is a small square table at the city gate for people to rest their legs, with tea on it.

The doorman invited Xu Qing to the table and said with a smile, "I haven't asked you what kind of business you are doing yet. We brothers can come and support you someday."

"That's not necessary." Xu Qing looked at the gatekeeper and several soldiers at the city gate and said with a smile, "I run a funeral shop. It's the fifth shop from Jingxia Street. It's the one with the sign that says "Coroner."

What shop?
The doorman hesitated and said, "Brother, the poster you want to put up shouldn't be related to your business, right?"

Xu Qing raised an eyebrow when he heard this and said, "How can you say that? I run a funeral shop, so naturally I have to put up notices about the funeral procession as well."

"."

The gatekeepers and the soldiers looked at each other in bewilderment. They had seen so many notices, but they had never seen a business posting funeral notices!
Here, Xu Qing returned to the carriage, fumbled among the funeral items for a while, and took out the pen, ink, paper and inkstone.

He picked up his pen and started scribbling on a two-foot square piece of yellow paper. Soon he had a poster ready.

Listed above are various promotional activities of the medical examiner's shop.

For example, family packages are 50% off. As long as you are a family of all ages, or are introduced by relatives or friends, you can get it at half price.

In addition, a humanitarian care activity was launched. In order to prevent tragedies such as selling oneself to bury one's father or mother, Xu Qing specially added a loan project where the payment would be made later after the burial.

He wasn't afraid of defaulters; as long as they weren't deadbeats, he could postpone the repayment date indefinitely. But if they were, don't blame him for secretly digging up graves in the middle of the night and using the bodies to pay off the debt.

In addition to these basic projects, Xu Qing also organized an anniversary event. As long as the body was buried by him, people could go to his shop to get a gourd of oil or a bag of rice every year for the first three years.

In short, looking across the entire Linhe, or even the entire Tianjin, there is no other funeral shop that is more cost-effective than his.

The gatekeeper almost pinched his nose when he posted the notice.

If he hadn't received benefits from Xu Qing, he would never have been willing to post this unlucky thing on the bulletin board.

But to be honest, the poster of this funeral shop looks really affordable!
It’s much cheaper than when his father was buried, and the key is that there are gifts.

Here, Xu Qing was chatting with the gatekeeper when suddenly a fat man drove a donkey cart out of the city gate.

There was also a coffin lying flat on the donkey cart.

The gatekeeper obviously recognized the fat man. He took two steps forward and asked in surprise, "Fatty Sun, what are you doing?"

Fatty Sun was as his name suggested, with a broad and fat body. When he sat in front of the donkey cart, his buttocks were as big as the wheels. When he heard the gatekeeper asking questions, he pulled the rope to rein in the donkey.

The donkey stopped panting, obviously very tired.

Looking at Sun Erzhuang who got off the carriage, he was breathing even harder than the donkey pulling the carriage!
I don't know how the guy driving the donkey in the cart could be more tired than the donkey. If someone who doesn't know the truth were to do it, they might think he is the donkey pulling the cart!
It's a long story to tell about a child without a mother. Sun Erzhuang wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve and said with a dejected face, "A few days ago, when my mother went up the mountain to pay tribute to my father, she encountered a big mountain beast and lost her life."

As he spoke, Fatty Sun couldn't help but wipe away his tears. His eyes were red as he said, "Thank goodness the mountain folks called out in time. The vicious tiger got frightened and dropped my mother's body. Otherwise, I'm afraid we wouldn't even be able to retrieve a complete body."

"Now that it's hot, I went to the city to buy a coffin so that my mother can rest in peace."

The gatekeeper was even more astonished upon hearing this. "I heard Guan Huapo is a famous fortune-teller, and her specialty is summoning tiger spirits to read fortunes. How could she have been injured by a vicious tiger?"

Sun Erzhuang didn't know the specifics of the situation. Now that everyone was gone, what was the point in thinking about it? The tiger was inhumane, so could he go find the tiger and ask why it killed people?
That's something only a fool would do!

The gatekeeper shook his head and sighed, then made way for Sun Erzhuang.

On the side, Xu Qing, who heard the conversation between the two, started to suffer from occupational disease again.

A witch? He had never seen a corpse like this before.

He had also never seen the body of a person killed by a tiger.

At this time, Xu Qing was like a picture book collector who wanted to open the picture book. His mind had been completely attracted by Sun Erzhuang's mother.

Over there, Sun Erzhuang was driving a donkey cart. When he came to Xu Qing, he couldn't help but look at the carriage parked next to Xu Qing. There was also a coffin on that carriage.

Sun Erzhuang felt confused. How come they could get together even to move a coffin?

Seeing that the other party was about to drive the donkey cart away, Xu Qing stepped forward and said, "Brother, please stay."

"Is there something?" Sun Erzhuang turned sideways and looked at Xu Qing.

"I think you're going to bring the coffin back home?"

Sun Erzhuang nodded, as if he felt it would be impolite not to respond, so he glanced sideways at the coffin behind Xu Qing.

"You want a coffin too?"

Xu Qing shook his head. "I'm not the one who buys coffins. I'm the one who performs rituals and helps people move their bodies for funerals."

Sun Erzhuang looked Xu Qing up and down and asked again, "What's the matter?"

"I just heard that your mother unfortunately died in a tiger's mouth. The tiger's mouth is evil. Most people who die in a tiger's mouth will have their souls trapped by the evil tiger and unable to leave."

"I know some methods for summoning souls and saving their souls. If you need me, I can organize a ritual for your mother."

Sun Erzhuang seemed to be tempted, but in the end he shook his head and said, "I only have a few copper coins on me. Even if I have such filial piety, I can't afford the silver for the ritual."

"The dead are the greatest. Money is only a thing outside of our body. If you are sincere, I can offer you nothing."

"Is this such a good thing?"

The fat man looked at Xu Qing suspiciously.

The doorman on the side coughed lightly and came forward to say, "This gentleman is indeed in the funeral business. As for what he said about not taking a penny..."

The doorman briefly explained to Sun Erzhuang what was written on the poster.

"Can I pay on credit for performing rituals for others?"

Sun Erzhuang was stunned when he heard this. Xu Qing beside him nodded and said, "Business is also done with people, so there must be some human touch. I have been in this business for some time and have seen separations and deaths. I understand that this is a major event in a person's life. Even if I make more or less money, it won't make much of a difference."

"Besides, a truly filial person will not be of bad character. Even if they owe money on credit, they will most likely repay it in the future."

"Mr. Xu is such a good man!" The doorman couldn't help but praise him.

Sun Erzhuang heaved a sigh of relief after hearing this. He thought for a moment and then said, "Thank you, sir."

Xu Qing was delighted. He had never thought that attending a funeral would bring him new work!

After asking where Sun Erzhuang's home was, Xu Qing nodded and said, "Let me go to Shixi Village to perform a ritual first. After the ritual is finished, I will go to your home."

Sun Erzhuang forced a smile on his dejected face and bowed to Xu Qing again to express his gratitude.

Not long after the fat man drove away in his donkey cart, Zhao Zhonghe and his nephew, who had gone to patrol the streets, came back.

"Captain Zhao, did you see where the thunder fell?" When the gatekeepers and soldiers saw Zhao Zhonghe, they immediately surrounded him.

"Two miles north of Tanggu Bridge, there's an old elm tree. The lightning struck that tree. Fortunately, no one was hurt. I wonder what evil the tree has done."

Zhao Zhonghe waved his hand at everyone after he finished speaking: "Alright! I have other things to take care of, so I won't chat with you anymore."

When the three of them set off again, the gatekeepers and soldiers at the city gate began to talk in a flurry.

Things like elm trees becoming spirits, ghosts possessing trees, etc., are nothing but bizarre things like gods, ghosts, tree demons and tree ghosts.

On the official road, Zhao Zhonghe wasted a lot of time returning to the city. Now that it was getting late, he urged the carriage to speed up.

Not long after the carriage had gone, Xu Qing saw Sun Erzhuang's donkey cart again.

The fat man sat in the front of the donkey cart, and the donkey following him was also suffering. Not only did it have to pull the coffin weighing three or four hundred pounds, but it also had to carry its master weighing about two hundred pounds.

With a total weight of five or six hundred kilograms, it would be strange if this donkey cart could go fast!
Xu Qing greeted the fat man, and then the three of them passed the donkey cart and went straight to Shixi Village.

Zhao Zhonghe learned the location of Shiquan's ancestral tomb by asking the villagers.

The people in these villages are different from those in towns.

When someone dies in the village, villagers will come to help even if it means paying for it, but in busy places like the prefectural city or the county town, there is little such human touch.

When they learned that Shiquan had returned for burial, some villagers took the lead and came over with ropes and levers to help.

Xu Qing did not refuse this. It was a very auspicious thing if someone could come forward to help after someone passed away.

This proves that the deceased is still remembered by the living.

According to later generations, there are three levels of death after a person dies - biological death, social death and memory death.

The people who carry the coffin often have a deep impression of the deceased, and their memories are likely to be the last things the deceased leaves in the world.

"Open the coffin——"

As soon as the Taiping Gang started, Xu Qing started asking Zhao Zhonghe to shout out the slogans.

This rough man's loud voice came in handy.

"People walk on both sides! Covered with gold above, spread with silver below, the road to the underworld is smooth——"

Xu Qing scattered paper money along the way, and Zhao Zhonghe didn't mind the embarrassment and shouted at the top of his voice, even harder than the gangsters.

There were chants for the wake, the parade, the bridge crossing, and the burial. After everything was done, Xu Qing also prepared some funeral rites for his grandfather Shiquan who was standing next to him.

The old man is old, so he doesn't need paper wives and concubines. He just burns a paper house, paper horses, and some paper money.

After finishing all the work, Zhao Zhonghe rubbed his numb cheeks and sighed sincerely: "This job is really not something that ordinary people can do. I didn't feel this tired when I was catching bandits before!"

Zhao Yuan nodded in agreement: "Brother Xu is clearly a scholar, a scholar by birth, yet he still doesn't regard this as a lowly job. It's truly admirable!"

Zhao Zhonghe grinned and said, "I used to think that Shopkeeper Xu was neither righteous nor evil, and didn't seem like a good person. Now it seems that I am to blame. If I have offended Shopkeeper Xu in the past, I hope that Shopkeeper Xu will not take it to heart."

Hearing the praise from his uncle and nephew, Xu Qing smiled and said, "Don't worry, Captain Zhao. I will definitely not bring the festive occasions of the past into my business. Even if you come to my shop in the future, I will most likely not take revenge on you and deduct your paper money for burning."

"."

Is this human language? Zhao Zhonghe's face darkened, and he subconsciously wanted to retort, but when the words came to his lips, he swallowed them back.

As expected, people who do funeral business are unlucky. Zhao Zhonghe has made up his mind that it is better for him to have less contact with such people in the future.

Back on the official road, Xu Qing jumped off the carriage.

Zhao Zhonghe asked, and Xu Qing replied:

"I still have a ritual to perform here, Captain, just go back on your own."

(End of this chapter)