Just be a positive character."

Tao Yushu shook his head firmly, "Xiao Sheng, this is not about money."

The words "It's not about money" made Xiao Baicheng wake up from his fanaticism, and he remembered that although the Lin Chaoyang couple's net worth was not as good as his own, Haolie was also a wealthy class who controlled two leading companies in the industry.

Calculated purely based on paper wealth, he is already a billionaire, but he is not someone he can hit with just a little money.

If he really throws away money without hesitation, he might offend someone.

In a flash of thought, Xiao Baicheng's expression became clear and he showed an apologetic smile to Tao Yushu.

"Sorry, it's also because I like Lin Sheng's works very much."

Tao Yushu smiled and said, "Thank you Xiao Sheng for your appreciation."

The two exchanged a few polite words, and Xiao Baicheng left. He was in a happy mood when he was about to leave, but now he felt even more depressed, feeling like he had missed a lottery draw.

North Point, as its name suggests, is located at the northernmost tip of Hong Kong Island and is one of the earliest developed areas in Hong Kong.

In Hong Kong, where every inch of land is at a premium, the numerous high-rise buildings here bear witness to the prosperity of the world, while the Heung Kong Funeral Parlor, located at the junction of King's Road and Java Road in North Point, has witnessed the joys and sorrows of the world.

This funeral parlor, which started in the 1930s, was originally built with bamboo sheds, but now it has become a symbolic building in North Point.

People in Hong Kong call it "Hong Kong Hotel", which has a dark sense of humor.

The so-called funeral parlor is probably just a transit "hotel" between Yin and Yang.

From a long distance away, Lin Chaoyang could feel a strange smell. He guessed that it was just a psychological effect. Walking into the funeral parlor, the foyer of the funeral parlor was very small. There were two funeral halls on the first floor that looked the same size. Each hall

There were many people inside, either kneeling or standing, wearing sackcloth and wearing mourning. It looked like they were in the mourning hall.

Most of the floors in the museum are paved with green and white paper stones. Even during the day, the light here is not bright, giving it an atmosphere that feels like something out of a horror movie.

The dim light in the funeral parlor has nothing to do with ghosts and gods. It is mainly due to the obstruction of the surrounding buildings, especially the Harbor Plaza North Point Hotel directly opposite it.

Different from the common name of "Hong Kong Hotel", the Harbor Plaza Hotel is a real hotel, and the owner behind the scenes is not an ordinary person. It is the property of Li Ka-shing, the richest man in Hong Kong who has been in the limelight in recent years.

Li Ka-shing has a total of 16 hotels in Hong Kong, and the Harbor Plaza North Point is one of them. Because of the funeral parlor in Hong Kong, the Harbor Plaza North Point is particularly special.

In the eyes of Chinese people, places like funeral homes are relatively taboo.

At that time, Li Ka-shing also thought about the land of Heung Kong Funeral Home for his own hotel, but the result is obvious, the building is still standing here.

No one knows how true the rumors are, but Lin Chaoyang did feel something different after entering the funeral home.

"10,000 is 10,000! I have worked hard all my life. I couldn't live in a big house during my lifetime, but I will always live in a good coffin after my death!"

"It's good to be filial while you're alive. What's the point of doing these things when people are dead?"

"You were filial during your lifetime? Are you very filial?"

It sounded like the two brothers were discussing the coffin for their father's death. One wanted to buy a better coffin for his father, but the other wanted to buy a cheaper one.

10,000 Hong Kong dollars is not a small amount for ordinary working-class people in Hong Kong. It is at least two months' salary income.

The two brothers quarreled and were pulled away by their relatives.

This kind of occasion of birth, old age, illness and death is indeed full of stories. When his father passed away, he thought of writing stories. Lin Chaoyang felt that he was a bit inhumane.

"Lin Sheng!"

Lin Chaoyang turned around and saw a middle-aged man with a thin face and figure, who looked a little like Xiao Baicheng.

But he is far less handsome than Xiao Baicheng.

"Hello, Xiao Sheng." Lin Chaoyang held the other person's hand.

Another "Xiao Sheng", the Xiao Sheng in front of me is Xiao Baicheng's brother Xiao Zhicheng, the eldest son of the funeral king of Xiangjiang.

After studying in the United States, he helped his father manage the family business after returning to Hong Kong. He was passionate about social undertakings and held many titles such as being a member of Po Leung Kuk, vice president of the Eastern District Recreation and Sports Promotion Association, and vice president of the Causeway Bay Neighborhood Welfare Promotion Association.

Compared with his romantic brother Xiao Baicheng, Xiao Zhicheng is a somewhat old-school businessman.

He also had a great favorable impression of Lin Chaoyang's arrival. Everyone in the funeral industry couldn't do without it, but everyone felt it was unlucky.

Nowadays, there is a well-known writer like Lam Chaoyang in Hong Kong who is willing to write about the funeral industry. Xiao Zhicheng feels that even if it does not make his own name famous, it will be a good thing for the industry.

He chatted with Lin Chaoyang for a while and invited Lin Chaoyang to the office upstairs.

The Xiao family's business is no longer limited to the funeral industry. He does not often appear at Xiangjiang Funeral Home, but he knows the business inside the home very well. After chatting with Lin Chaoyang for a while, he specially took Lin Chaoyang for a tour.

Freezers, columbarium, mourning hall, funeral hall—·

After walking all morning, Lin Chaoyang learned a lot about the inside story of the funeral industry, but after staying in the funeral parlor for a long time, he always felt that he was infected with the smell of decay.

At noon, Xiao Zhicheng invited Lin Chaoyang to dinner.

When I walked out of the funeral parlor, the sun was at the top of the sky, and the sunshine shone on me, which suddenly dispelled the gloom in Lin Chaoyang's heart.

After ordering the food, Xiao Zhicheng saw Lin Chaoyang sniffing the smell on his shoulder intentionally or unintentionally, and said with a smile: "This is Lin Sheng's first time coming to a funeral parlor. He must not be used to the atmosphere and smell here, right?"

Lin Chaoyang nodded truthfully, "A bit. I used to think that the funeral industry should be viewed with a normal perspective and mentality, but after getting closer, it is inevitable that I will still feel a little uncomfortable psychologically. And -"

Lin Chaoyang sniffed his nose and said, "It does seem to smell like smoke or oil, I can't really put my finger on it."

"Have you ever had barbecue Linsheng? The funeral parlor has to cremate the body, and the smell is similar to the smoke from barbecue. But our equipment is better, it's very light!"

While Xiao Zhicheng was talking, a piece of barbecued pork rice was served. Lin Chaoyang suddenly lost his appetite while looking at the rice.

Xiao Zhicheng ate very deliciously, and while eating, he told Lin Chaoyang some interesting things he encountered in the funeral parlor when he was a child.

In people's stereotypes, funeral parlors have always been the birthplace of horror stories, but in Xiao Zhicheng's story, they were all ordinary things.

"Didn't Xiao Sheng have any unusual experiences in all these years?" Lin Chaoyang asked curiously.

Xiao Zhicheng said with a smile: "In our line of work, it's impossible to say you don't believe in ghosts and gods, but the most important thing is to respect them and stay away from them. The staff in my library often say they have seen them, but I see them all jumping around.

, it’s nothing.”

Listening to his words, Lin Chaoyang laughed. Xiao Zhicheng's words indeed made sense.

The reason why stories about ghosts and gods scare people is mostly because of the occurrence of scary things. If a person can tell you vividly and vividly that he has seen ghosts, then what is there to be afraid of?

Xiao Zhicheng is a busy man, so being able to spare a whole morning to accompany Lin Chaoyang to visit the funeral parlor is already a great respect.

After eating, Xiao Zhicheng asked the staff of the funeral home to apply for a work permit for Lin Chaoyang, allowing him to come in and out at will and communicate with the staff at the home at any time.

Then he apologized and went to do other things.

According to the staff, funeral parlors always have frequent situations at night. If Lin Chaoyang wants to accumulate materials, he should come at night, and he can also follow the footman to collect the body.

Lin Chaoyang thought for a while, it was only his first day here, so he should take it step by step, and don't play so hard right away and go home in the evening.

After arriving home, he ran to the bathroom and took a shower. He applied shower gel several times all over his body, almost balding his skin.

Tao Yushu teased him, "Don't you always say that you are an atheist? Do you want to treat life and death with a normal mind?"

"Easier said than done!" Lin Chaoyang sighed.

In the next few days, Lin Chaoyang continued to collect remains at Xiangjiang Funeral Home. After two days of adapting, he began to follow the workers to collect the remains.

There are basically three types of places to go: residential homes, hospitals and police station rooms (morgues).

Going to residents' homes is relatively the most comfortable job. Most of the deceased passed away peacefully. The family members looked sad, but mostly acted rationally and generously.

When you go to the hospital, the next thing you will notice is that most of the deceased died of illness, their remains are not very pretty, the cries of their family members are even more pitiful, and there are quarrels from time to time.

The work in the house is the last thing any worker wants to do. The ones we receive are often people who have encountered misfortunes. Some of the corpses are in pieces and have been patched up by Uncle Fu (forensic assistant). It is too horrible to look at.

However, there is an advantage to this kind of corpse. The makeup artist can reshape the corpse and earn more money for incense.

Make-up artist Ah Lian came to Hong Kong in the 1970s and was brought into the industry by her aunt. At first she was complacent about making more money, but later she realized what a path of no return she had taken.

She was almost forty years old and still unmarried. She was always full of low self-esteem. From time to time she lamented that her aunt had tricked her and she would never be able to escape the fate of dealing with the dead.

Alian likes to deal with Lin Chaoyang. She said that Lin Chaoyang is the richest man she has ever met in her life.

Of course, except for the dead, most of the funerals of wealthy people in Xiangjiang are held in Xiangjiang funeral parlors.

After helping to carry the body for several days, Lin Chaoyang felt that the muscles in his arms had been developed.

Lifting a body is a strenuous task. It weighed more than 100 pounds before and after life, but actually lifting it made a huge difference.

Ah Cheng said it was because the deceased had not fulfilled his wish and was unwilling to leave. Ah Hao scolded him for talking nonsense.

"It's obviously lighter. It's 21 grams lighter because the soul ascends to heaven. This is what Christianity says." Ahao said to Lin Chaoyang.

Lin Chaoyang felt that both of them were talking nonsense. They didn't even understand junior high school physics. It was obviously due to the shift in the center of gravity.

Ah Hao and Ah Cheng are the workers responsible for collecting the remains.

Remaining bodies are usually collected by two workers, one of whom works part-time as a driver. The worker is like a makeup artist and has a very high salary, 12,000 Hong Kong dollars a month, and his or her family will also take care of them, making them a high-income group.

But Ah Hao said that if he was given another chance to choose, he would never do a piece of work.

Lin Chaoyang asked him why. He said that his daughter was not close to him, and his wife said that he smelled like death. The more she talked about it, the more pitiful she became.

Because they often work at night, Ah Hao and Ah Cheng are both a little nagging, but Lin Chaoyang's joining has made them cheerful a lot.

They often asked Lin Chaoyang to talk about the strange situations he encountered in the process of work, and said that they would provide Lin Chaoyang with writing materials, but what they talked about were all ghosts and ghosts, most of which Lin Chaoyang could not use.

However, there are some that can be used. For example, Ah Hao said that he had seen family members quarreling at the birth and death registration office over who should pay the two yuan death certificate fee.

There was also a funeral shed built at home that collapsed. Later generations thought it was the angry spirit of an elder in heaven, and they were so frightened that they peed their pants.
To be continued...