When it comes to "equality of all beings," the hearse of the Inmores family takes it to the extreme: whether the passengers are alive or dead, they all suffer when riding in this car.

Ron was already used to it, with his head stuck in the corner of the carriage and his feet sitting like a bird; a fat man in this position looked very awkward, but it ensured his maximum stability, and he even started snoring and fell asleep.

On the other hand, Karun was sitting in agony, constantly using his hands to support his bottom to maintain his balance. The roads in the city were okay, but once they left the city and headed towards the suburbs, the road conditions worsened, and the bumps were unbearable.

Jeff and Mr. Mosang shamelessly embraced each other continuously in the midst of the constant bumps, the posture resembling lovers lying in bed confiding in each other.

Karun couldn't bear to watch and tried to separate the "couple" more than once, but the space inside the car was limited, and the two people he had separated would quickly find each other again due to the bumps and embrace each other again.

If there were relatives following the car, this situation would not happen. At least, they only needed to endure limited vibrations inside the coffin.

But Jeff was a lone wolf who took advantage of the opportunity, and Mr. Mosang was not a lone wolf but was even more like one.

Karun had no right to criticize his family's "work attitude," even if he had made lunch today, he was still a "parasite" in this family.

Finally, with Uncle Mason turning the steering wheel to the left, the hearse drove into a small factory-like courtyard with a sign hanging at the entrance that read "Xius Crematorium."

"Hey, Ron, wake up!" Uncle Mason shouted while knocking on the car window.

"Oh, oh, we're here." Ron wiped his mouth and stretched lazily.

Karun helped to lower the stretcher, and then together with Ron, they moved Jeff and Mr. Mosang down. Uncle Mason was responsible for stabilizing the stretcher and preventing it from sliding.

At this time, a middle-aged woman in a gray work uniform walked over with paper and a pen in her hand.

"Wow, what a handsome young man."

The woman stared at Karun first.

"Hello, Mrs. Xius," Ron greeted warmly.

This was the Mrs. Xius that Paul had mentioned, who seemed to prefer Ron?

However, in the face of Ron's enthusiasm, Mrs. Xius only twitched the corner of her mouth in response and turned her attention to Karun.

Actually, Mrs. Xius was quite pretty. Although she was wearing a work uniform, her full figure was still visible, and her skin was very fair.

However, when Mrs. Xius pinched her own cheeks, Karun felt a bit uncomfortable and reached out to take her hand away. After all, he could adapt to the good looks of this body, but he couldn't adapt to being teased like a little boy.

But Mrs. Xius directly grabbed Karun's hand and swept her fingertips back and forth in his palm, with a very teasing meaning.From her gaze, Karun could tell the greed of middle-aged men looking at a young girl's figure.

"He's Karun, my nephew," Uncle Mason passed a cigarette over.

"Oh?" Mrs. Xius raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Your nephew?"

Mrs. Xius took the cigarette and had Uncle Mason light it for her before continuing, "I haven't met him before."

"Something happened at his friend's house, and I got a little hurt," Uncle Mason explained.

"Hurt?"

"I stumbled and fell."

"Whose wife's windowsill did you fall from?"

"Don't make jokes like that. Oh, by the way, are we not busy today?"

"There's another place up ahead that's burning. Just wait a bit."

"You only have one furnace open?"

"I want to open more furnaces, but you need to have enough people to bring me bodies to burn. Furnaces don't come cheap, you know?"

"Okay, okay. Let's push the 'guests' inside."

"Alright, I'll go in and arrange things first. See you later, handsome." Mrs. Xius threw a flirtatious look at Karun and turned to walk inside.

Ron pushed Mr. Mosang alone, while Uncle Mason helped push Jeff's stretcher with Karun.

"Mrs. Xius is a very enthusiastic person," Uncle Mason whispered to Karun.

"Yeah, she is," Karun nodded.

"Her husband passed away early, and she manages this crematorium now. Although she hasn't remarried, she has many lovers."

"Uncle, you don't have to tell me this."

"Hey, I have to remind you. I've been through your age too." Uncle Mason reached out and knocked on the iron plate of the stretcher, making a "clang" sound. "At your age, boys can get excited over anything."

"..." Karun.

"You're getting older too. Find a proper girlfriend in the future," Uncle Mason advised again.

"Okay, Uncle, I know."

Karun understood that Uncle Mason didn't mean to speak ill of Mrs. Xius, but he didn't want his young nephew to be bewitched by her.

As they walked inside, Karun could smell a greasy odor.

It was not fragrant or sweet, but rather like a bedroom that had gone moldy during the rainy season.

However, the furnishings inside were clearly aged, indicating that this was an old crematorium.

"Years ago, this crematorium was almost unable to continue operating and was almost bought out by another large crematorium," Uncle Mason said.

"And then?" Karun asked.

"Then that large crematorium was found to be cost-cutting by opening the furnace only at night, so they would send the ashes of the deceased from two days ago to today's families."

Upon hearing this, Karun widened his eyes. Could there be such an operation?

"Isn't that..."

"Yeah, they burn the bodies of relatives and then go home with the ashes of strangers. The funniest thing is that they continued this for several years."

"That's so tragic.""After the incident, the owner of the crematorium was found dead at night, apparently killed by someone with a stone. The police couldn't find the culprit because there were too many suspects with motives."

Karun nodded and said, "That's just despicable."

If he were in the same situation, having lost a loved one and sent them here for cremation, only to bring back the ashes of a stranger and even worship them for years, Karun felt he would have the urge to kill someone.

"After that crematorium went bankrupt, Mrs. Xius's crematorium was able to continue operating, but it's still difficult now. Large-scale chain funeral companies have already appeared in other cities. They can handle everything from hospitals, to our funeral home, to the crematorium, and transportation in between."

"In Roja City, they've also opened a branch. Winnie received a call from them recently, saying they wanted to buy us out."

"Grandfather wouldn't agree," Karun said.

"Of course, Father wouldn't agree, and neither would I! Do you know what they do? They transport and manage the bodies in a centralized manner, then have a centralized mourning and cremation or burial. It's like wholesale vegetables in the market. These capitalists should be hanged on street lamps! They only care about money and don't understand caring for the deceased or respecting the body!"

Hearing this, Karun couldn't help but think of Jeff and Mr. Mosan, who were almost kissing in the hearse earlier. Uncle, how dare you say the word "respect"?

"We're okay at our home. Although they plan to block our suppliers, our business has still been able to get by because of your grandfather's connections. But things have started to become difficult again for Mrs. Xius," Uncle Mason said, his tone much lower.

At this moment, Ron, who was pushing Mr. Mosan ahead, turned around and shouted, "Ah ha, that's why I support the Yage Party. Only they are willing to punch those damn capitalists back!"

As he spoke, Ron even waved his fist.

Karun had read about the Yage Party in the newspaper a few days ago. It was a left-wing party that had been developing well in Roja City in recent years.

However, when Uncle Mason heard the words "Yage Party", he immediately shouted, "Are you crazy? Supporting those lunatics will only make our current lives a mess!"

Ron shrugged, seeming too lazy to argue with his boss, and continued pushing the stretcher.

Karun looked at Uncle Mason, whose neck had turned red with anger. He could understand him quite well, because Uncle Mason represented the weakness of the petty bourgeoisie.

It wasn't mockery, although it may have sounded like it. Ultimately, it was the difference in social class that caused their opinions to differ.

After walking through a not-so-long corridor, Karun and the others finally pushed the stretcher to the "crematorium".There are three cremators in the crematorium, but only one is in operation.

Outside the glass window, Karun saw a messy-haired and bearded man sitting on the ground.

At this moment, the cremator that was in operation also stopped.

A white-haired but energetic worker opened the door and shouted to the man, "Sir, please come and collect your wife."

Then, the old worker saw Mason and smiled, waving his hand to greet him. "Hi, Mason."

"Old Darcy!" Uncle Mason approached and handed him a cigarette.

"How many today?" Old Darcy asked while lighting the cigarette.

Mason made a gesture of "two."

"Oh, God pity you." Old Darcy laughed maliciously.

He knew very well what a loss cremation meant to the Inmores family.

Actually, there would be no loss, but the profit that could have been earned from traditional burial was lost, which then became a "loss."

"Sir, please come and collect your wife." Old Darcy blew out a smoke ring and urged again.

The man raised his head a little confusedly, then silently stood up. But when he saw the cremator inside the glass window, he leaned back against the wall again, resisting everything in front of him.

Yes, who could accept that their loved one had turned into a pile of ashes in an instant?

Karun heard Uncle Mason ask Old Darcy in a low voice, "What's wrong?"

Old Darcy shook his head slightly with disdain, sucking on his cigarette and whispering back, "No tip and no purchase of our company's 'peripherals.'"

If the guest gave a tip or bought some of the company's "peripherals," they would naturally enjoy some special treatment.

For example, if you were afraid or uncomfortable, the cremation worker Old Darcy would help you put the ashes into the urn and hand it over to you.

Of course, some people wanted to pick up their loved one's ashes themselves, so Old Darcy would carefully break the bones for them to put into the urn.

The man either had no money or really didn't understand these things. In his eyes, there was only confusion.

Looking at his foolish appearance, Old Darcy sneered, "He's still a psychology professor, yet he doesn't even know this."

Hmm?

This position caught Karun's attention.

Coincidentally, he had encountered a colleague.

Karun took the initiative to approach the man and whispered, "You should go and collect your wife now."

"I...I..." The man's hands were trembling.

It was evident that he was struggling with his emotions.

In fact, if you had a good relationship and lived together for a long time, when your loved one passed away, you would not feel the kind of horror that you would feel from watching a horror movie when dealing with their body or ashes. Instead, you would feel...normal.But some people's emotions and psychology are special, just like the patient Karun received in his past life. He and his wife were deeply in love, but he chose to accompany his wife into the delivery room, which was a very loving act. But...since then, he has left a serious psychological shadow and had to choose to divorce his wife. Afterwards, it became so severe that he would tremble with fear at the sight of women and children.

"Are you still afraid of your wife?" Old Darcy urged, "Hurry up, people are still queuing up."

"I...I'm not..." The man's face showed a struggle and self-blame. Obviously, Old Darcy's words "Are you still afraid of your wife?" had caused this husband to feel deep guilt and self-blame.

In fact, mentally, it can also be divided into "physiological" and "psychological". "Psychological" is actually easy to overcome, but "physiological" is really difficult.

"I'm not...not afraid of her...but...but I..."

Karun sighed and reached out to pat the man's shoulder.

"Alright, I'll do it for the sake of being colleagues."

Karun turned around and walked to Mason:

"Uncle, we are in a hurry to go home. I'll help him collect the ashes."

Old Darcy heard this and was slightly unhappy. He said in a flat tone, "Your nephew is really kind."

There was no praise in his tone.

Mason shrugged and said, "Old Darcy, I'm in a hurry to go home. If I'm late, Mary will blame me."

"Okay, okay."

Old Darcy gave up, "You guys push the body up first, I'll go pick it up."

Ron pushed Mr. Mosang in, and Karun hesitated for a moment before helping Ron lift Mr. Mosang onto the push platform of the cremator.

Although Mr. Mosang "appeared" last night and expressed his obsession with not wanting to be cremated, Karun couldn't help him. Even if the previous "Karun" had left him six thousand Lu coins to buy a coffin at cost, what about the cost of a burial plot?

The most important thing is...what reason and qualifications does he have to let his family give extra treatment to an ordinary client?

Grandpa is still alive, and even if Grandpa is gone, Uncle is still here. It's not his turn to...well, it's not his turn to ruin the family.

After doing all this, Karun moved to Old Darcy's side and watched him scrabble the ashes with an iron hook.

Old Darcy turned his head and looked at Karun standing behind him, and asked, "Is this your first time?"

"Yeah."

"Never seen it before?"

"No."

"You really are a young master." Old Darcy teased.

Male members of the Inmoleis family, seeing ashes for the first time.

Karun pointed to the pile of bones on the ground and asked, "Shouldn't it be ashes?"

Karun emphasized the word "ashes".

In his impression, after cremation, the ashes should be white, like flour.In front of them were a pile of bone fragments. There was some ash, but bone fragments were the majority, and they were quite large.

Old Darcy was puzzled. "It's like this."

"Oh, I see." Karun suddenly realized that the movies and TV shows from his past life had deceived him.

At that moment, Karun saw Old Darcy throw his cigarette butt on the ground. Karun felt his pocket and took out the pack of cigarettes that Paul had given him. He pulled out one and handed it to Old Darcy.

Old Darcy took the cigarette, and his expression improved, but he still reminded Karun, "You can't become a good person like this."

"Hehe." Karun understood what he meant and could only explain, "He came to our school before and gave us a public lecture. He can be considered my teacher."

Hearing this reason, Old Darcy smashed the filter tip. "I see."

Then, Old Darcy put on gloves on his left hand, picked up a small hammer with his right hand, and squatted down to knock on the large bone fragments, breaking them into smaller pieces.

"Do people usually take away bone ashes like this?" Karun curiously asked.

Old Darcy "heh" and said, "Most people only take away a part of it."

"Oh." Karun asked again, "Then..."

"Can't you see that I'm doing it now? Look at your uncle's face." Old Darcy shrugged his shoulders and continued to knock on the bones. "Also, I'm doing it for your grandfather's sake."

The large bone fragments were smashed one by one. Old Darcy stopped and pointed to a table in front of them, where there was a row of bone ash boxes of various styles.

"Bring one over."

"Oh, okay." Karun walked over and glanced at them. He found that even the cheapest bone ash box was worth 1,000 lu coins.

It was half a month's salary for an ordinary worker.

Of course, there were even more expensive ones. Karun saw a very exquisite and elegant bone ash box priced at 50,000 lu coins. However, it had accumulated a lot of ash on top, indicating that it belonged to an old actor.

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After all, many people chose cremation not only for religious reasons but also because it was cheaper than burial. Therefore, this 50,000 lu coin bone ash box would be difficult to sell.

Karun picked up the 1,000 lu coin bone ash box and brought it to Old Darcy.

"Um, I will have my uncle give you the money."

Old Darcy "heh" and waved his hand generously. "No need."

"How can that be? It's 1,000 lu coins."

"The cost is only 50, and the wholesale price is even cheaper."

"..." Karun.

Damn, it's really damn black.

Old Darcy was a bit puzzled. "Didn't you help your family with their business before?"

"I... didn't."

This part of the memory was really not in the previous "Karun's" mind.

"No wonder. Your family's business of selling coffins and clothes is similar to this one."

"Really?" Karun smiled awkwardly.

Heh heh, so my family is also this black.Old Darcy began to pack the ashes, selecting the smallest bones to put at the bottom, the ones on the side, and then the ones in the middle...

The layers were distinct and orderly;

It made Karun feel like he was...plating food.

In the end,

There was almost nothing left behind,

Old Darcy put almost all of the ashes into the urn;

The hard-to-burn skull was placed in the middle on top by Old Darcy;

Then,

With a "snap,"

Old Darcy closed the urn.

"Take it with you."

"Okay, thank you."

"Heh."

Karun bent down and picked up the urn.

It's hard to imagine that not long ago, she was still a living person. Well, even before entering the crematorium, she was still a complete person.

Now,

She was in his hands.

Karun walked out and when he approached the man, the man instinctively reached out his hands, but then hesitated.

"She...she..."

"I brought your wife out. Don't worry, now I'm giving you her hand."

Hearing this,

The man's expression suddenly became much more relaxed,

And his tone of voice became slightly calmer:

"No...you are a gentleman."

He finally reached out and took his wife's urn, holding it in his arms.

"My Linda...has she really gone?"

Karun answered, "From the physical aspect, yes, she has."

"But in the spiritual world, she is still alive, living in your mind.

You think, and she's there."

"Yes, yes." The man nodded continuously. "As long as I think, she's there. She's even closer to me now, my Linda."

A smile appeared on the man's face, not the kind of grim smile, but a warm, gentle, and sunny one.

"Linda believed in the Berry Church. According to the doctrine, her body needs to be cremated. Do you know, bringing her to the crematorium, for me, was like a form of torture.

Thank you. After Linda left, my friends around me advised me to accept her departure. You are the first person to tell me that she is still here. Thank you, I really appreciate it."

"Don't mention it."

The man left with the urn.

Karun silently leaned against the wall in the aisle, slowly pulling out a cigarette;

At this time, Mason walked over and asked angrily:

"When did you learn to smoke? Who taught you?"

Karun answered, "Aunt Mary."

Karun didn't lie. The first cigarette he had in this world was given to him by Aunt Mary.

"Uh...okay."

Uncle Mason immediately changed his tone and changed the subject:"Karun, I know you're kind, but you can't help everyone. If you get used to being kind, you'll find that there are too many people in this world who need help."

"Uncle, I just..." Karun wanted to explain, but didn't know how to explain the reason for his "colleague," so he nodded and said, "Yes, Uncle, I know I can't help too many people."

"No, it's not about whether you can help or not, it's about the pain you feel when you realize that more and more people need your help and you are powerless."

Karun was stunned for a moment and nodded, "You're right."

Mason was very satisfied with Karun's attitude. He shrugged and said, "Also, many times, being a good person doesn't have good rewards."

As soon as he finished speaking, the man who had left with the urn ran back and stood in front of Karun, bowing to him again.

This bow caught Karun off guard, and he instinctively bowed back.

"I'm sorry, I forgot that I haven't paid for the urn yet."

The man took out an old-fashioned wallet that was obviously old and worn out.

Of course, the adjectives used to describe the wallet were meaningless and pale, because the key point in describing the wallet was its...thickness.

It was very thick, to be exact, it was bulging!

It was so bulging that it couldn't even be closed!

The hundred-lu bill had the head of the Great Emperor Lotlan in the history of the Rulan country printed on it.

And at this moment, the Great Emperor Lotlan was almost stretched to the point of being ejected!

It turned out that he didn't come to cremation because he didn't have money, nor did he not have money to give a tip or buy an urn. It was because...he had never thought of that, the experience of living conveniently without spending money.

"I already paid for the cremation. How much is the urn?" The man asked, "Sorry, I almost left holding Linda's hand."

"Five...cough...one thousand lu."

Karun had wanted to say 50 at cost price. But he thought that Old Darcy had helped and packed the urn well, so the one thousand lu should be used to pay for the urn.

He hadn't thought about making a profit from the price difference. After all, he didn't lack small money in his previous life; and in this life, he didn't have to worry about food and drink for the time being. The previous "Karun" had saved him 6,000 lu in private money.

"Okay."

The man took out all the money from his wallet, put the empty wallet away, and handed Karun a thick stack of money.

The thickness and weight of the stack made Uncle Mason's eyes widen.

Well, Karun, who wasn't moved by small money before, also had some straight eyes at this moment.

This thick stack of money was worth at least 20,000 lu, no more, no less!

Subconsciously swallowing his saliva, Karun said, "You gave me...too much.""Not much, this is your counseling fee. Your psychological service to me is worth this price. No, you returned Linda to me. This little money is not enough to thank you for your huge help!

But this time, I only had time to withdraw this cash from the bank temporarily. I should have withdrawn more if I had known..."

"No, no, it's enough, it's already enough," Karun hurriedly comforted him.

"I... I didn't bring my business card. My name is Piajie, Piajie Adams. Where is my business card... Do you have it? I hope to contact you for further discussion in the future."

"I don't..."

"I have it, I have it."

Uncle Mason immediately took out his own business card and handed it over, which read "In Memoriam Care Company of the Inmoleis Family."

Holding the business card, Piajie smiled and said, "I will visit you according to the address on it in the future. Thank you again."

As he spoke, Piajie bowed to Karun again.

Karun, holding a stack of banknotes, also immediately returned the gesture.

Then, Piajie "led" his wife's hand and left again.

Karun counted out one thousand Lu coins, preparing to give them to Old Darcy later.

The remaining money, Karun handed to Mason.

Mason just smiled and pushed the money back, saying, "You keep it for yourself."

"Don't I need to report this income?" Karun asked.

The money was a lot, but compared to life, life was more important.

If he reported this income:

Hey,

Dis,

Did you see that?

Not only can I cook, but I can also make money!

So please don't kill me!

"He said it was your counseling fee... oh, counseling fee, then it's yours. You can keep it. Remember to keep it safe. Or tomorrow, I'll take you to the bank to open an account and deposit it for you," Uncle Mason said.

"Thank you, Uncle."

"No need to thank me, no need to thank me." Mason reached out, hanging Karun's shoulder, and asked, "You just... that Piajie, right? I heard everything you said to him. Although I couldn't understand some of it, I could feel that you comforted him well.

How come I didn't know that you could talk to people before?"

The previous "Karun" was an autistic patient. How could he talk to people?

"I read it in books and learned some," Karun replied.

"Oh, I see. After we go back, I'll discuss it with your aunt. Then we can expand another project like this at home, counseling or therapy. You know, those relatives who lost their loved ones are very sad and need someone to comfort them."

Oh,

Karun understood Mason's meaning now;

In fact, in his previous life, in high-end funeral homes, there were psychological counselors to comfort the relatives of the deceased and provide psychological counseling.

"Can you do this?" Mason continued to ask, "I mean, you don't have to force yourself."

"I can, no problem."

Karun answered very confidently, based on his professional confidence."That's great. You know, every time I see those grieving family members, my heart aches..." Mason held his chest.

"Uncle is really kind..."

"Because I know that people will be irrational in that kind of emotional state, and they will be more willing to spend money than usual. But I don't have enough reasons to earn their money. When I think of this, my heart aches."

"..." Karun.

"Do you really want to give Mr. Darcy a thousand Lubi?" Mason asked.

"Yes." Karun nodded.

"Okay, I'll give it to him." Mason took a thousand Lubi and went to find Mr. Darcy.

Behind the glass wall, Mr. Darcy used an iron hook to cut a slit in Mr. Mosang's belly, and then pushed him into the incinerator.

Karun saw Mason go to Mr. Darcy. Mr. Darcy was first surprised, then smiled and even turned around to bow to Karun outside the glass wall.

At this time, Ron also came out and lit a cigarette to relax.

"Ron."

"Well, what's up, Master Karun?"

Karun took out 500 Lubi and handed it to Ron.

"This money..." Ron was a little confused.

"The gentleman just gave it to you, and you deserve it."

"Really, thank you, thank you, Master." Ron happily put the money into his bag. He has no wife and is a moonlighter. Even after receiving his salary each month, he still has to pay off the debt from the previous month. This extra 500 Lubi is enough for him to have a good time in the small tavern for two nights.

Karun asked, "By the way, Ron, did the government department call you to pick up Jeff's body?"

Ron was completely unprepared and answered directly, "No, that morning we were supposed to go to the Hua Shui Bay Sanatorium to pick up Mr. Mosang, but we found Jeff frozen to death next to a trash can on Mingke Street... it was either 125 or 130, anyway, we found him dead there. We had to send Jeff back first before picking up Mr. Mosang. The welfare application was also made by Mr. Mason afterwards."

Sure enough!

Karun immediately remembered what Uncle Mason said when he drove past the row of houses at 128:

"However, her family ran into some trouble the day before yesterday and asked me for help. I helped her deal with it... She and her husband are looking for a new house and preparing to move..."

So, Uncle helped his first love's family and dealt with a corpse!

Wait a minute, Karun suddenly realized a problem. He had "seen" some scenes on the bodies of Mr. Mosang and Jeff. Mr. Mosang had a reluctance to be cremated because of his religious beliefs, which Aunt Mary had confirmed to be true. If what he saw at Mr. Mosang's was true, then the woman with only legs and a face that he saw on Jeff's body was also... real?Karun immediately recalled the scene he saw on the second floor when he passed by that house, the legs and the red high heels!

Therefore,

Uncle's first love house,

is now inhabited by a... monster!

------------

PS: This chapter is really well-written, worth a reward.