Chapter 11 Preparing for burial

After wiping the deceased's face, I opened the deceased's mouth, wiped my teeth, and then used a corpse towel to clean up the dirt in his nostrils. All this went very smoothly. My anxiety gradually dropped, and the movements at hand gradually increased, and the deceased's face was quickly cleaned up.

Just as I was about to throw down the corpse towel, the host spoke, and he said, "There is still a feces in the corner of my eyes!"

I turned my head and looked at it. There was indeed an eye poop on my left eye. If I didn't look carefully, it would be difficult to find out. I wrapped my fingers in a corpse towel and tried to wipe off the eye poop.

Suddenly, a cool breeze blew in the room. I couldn't help but shivered. I turned my head and looked back. I found that there was no movement in the other things in the room, but there was wind in the position where I stood.

Something was wrong. This was the first thought in my mind. I didn't care about so much, so I quickly reached out to wipe off the eye poop.

Just as I touched the eyes of the deceased, the deceased's eyes suddenly opened and stared at me blankly, with a blank look inside.

To be honest, at the beginning, I was extremely scared and almost threw down the corpse towel and ran away. However, when I saw that the deceased did not move, the fear disappeared.

On the contrary, the three brothers of the master family, when they saw the dead open their eyes, were so scared that they knelt down and kowtowed desperately, saying, "Dad, we three brothers are doing our best to you. Don't scare us."

I calmed down and helped the three brothers of the master's family up, saying, "Don't be afraid, this is a normal reaction, not that you did not do well."

The three brothers of the master stood up tremblingly and asked me if it was true. When I said it was true, they breathed a sigh of relief and told me to hold the funeral well and to add another 5,000 yuan in terms of money.

Gold and silver ingots are actually burial objects. People pay attention to letting the deceased hold gold in the left hand and silver in the right hand. Most people will let the deceased hold one or two gold ingots in the left hand and one or two silver ingots in the right hand. To this day, most gold and silver ingots are replaced by fakes. The reason why this custom is adopted is the etiquette passed down by our ancestors.

After getting these things done, Lao Wang and I were in a cold sweat. Lao Wang was better, but my back was a little wet, and I was sweating profusely. After all, this was the first time. I was bragging if I said I was not afraid.

The copper coins I put in the mouth of the deceased are called stools, also known as stools, and rice is the custom of giving the deceased things to the mouth. In the second chapter of the "Book of Rites", there is a saying, "Cear a scarf and rice with rice". The etiquette in the "Book of the Later Han" also mentions, "Climb up the faraway place, rice contains pearls and jade like rituals", which means that the deceased can successfully pass the Styx.

This practice is also due to the reason. China has been a country of etiquette since ancient times, and this etiquette is the most intense.

I will definitely not refuse the money for free, not to mention that when I opened my eyes just now, I was also shocked. I told them that I would do my best to handle the funeral. The deceased told them not to tell the Eight Immortals about the blink of an eye. I was afraid that the Eight Immortals would refuse to carry the coffin when they knew about this. It would be difficult to deal with it.

After hearing this, Lao Wang was silent for a while and said, "I believe in you!"

They are all rural people, and they also understand that such things cannot be spread out, so they promise not to tell them out now. However, if a problem appears before us, how to close the eyes of the deceased.

After we rested for a while, Lao Wang asked me what to do next. I asked him to carry the deceased to the main hall for me. I need to go to the coffin to arrange it. I believe Lao Wang can handle such a short distance. After all, in addition to carrying coffins, the Eight Immortals will also take some jobs like carrying corpses.

After hearing this, he said, "It's so difficult to stick it together with glue." After that, he handed me a bottle of glue.

I pressed the eyes of the deceased several times, but they all opened. Just when we were in trouble, Lao Wang came. When he saw the deceased, he was stunned for a moment, and then asked me what was going on.

The ancients believed that if there were boats on the Styx River, there were boats responsible for ferrying. If the deceased crossed the river, they should pay Zhouzi like the world. Otherwise, they might be criticized by Zhouzi and even unable to cross the river. The deceased came back to find trouble for their descendants. The money in their mouths was the boat fee paid to Zhouzi.

After the three brothers of the master left, I asked Lao Wang to help him put the shroud on the deceased, then took a copper coin and put it in the mouth of the deceased, and then took another gold ingot on the left hand of the deceased and a silver ingot on the right hand of the deceased.

When I heard this, I finally encountered something normal, so I asked the three brothers of the master to call the deceased's relatives to stand at the door and wait for the burial.

I didn't say anything to him, for fear that I could not help but tell him the deceased's fate, which would hurt him. I walked towards the main hall with a sack and a stack of yellow paper.

Lao Wang nodded and asked, "Is this red envelope for you to carry a corpse? Or..."

When we arrived at the main hall, in addition to a large black coffin, there were an altar in the house, with some ancestral tablets and an incense cup placed on it. The coffin was lifted and the lid of the coffin was erected.

Lao Wang and I are both teachers and friends, and I didn’t hide it from him, so I told him something, but the deceased didn’t tell him the fate. One is because he was afraid of him, and the other is because I think he would let me turn off the funeral.

I said, "Old Wang, if you believe me, don't accept any red envelopes for this funeral, and give them all. If you don't believe me, I can only tell you that the deceased has some problems and you may be punished if you take the red envelope."

After getting this done, I asked Lao Wang: "Have you brought the coffin to the main hall?" He said he had it over, and I asked him if there was anything strange about moving the coffin. He said everything was normal.

Looking at his skillful appearance, I actually had an illusion that this guy probably wouldn't have prepared glue for a long time, right?

I took the glue and dripped two drops into the eyes of the deceased, then pressed his eyelids on the glue. After a while, the deceased's eyes were closed tightly. At first glance, he died peacefully.

Coffins like this are generally more particular. The wood around the coffin is made of pine and cypress. It is taboo to use willow trees. Pine and cypress symbolize longevity. The willow trees do not produce seeds, which will lead to death. Some places will be mixed with some fir trees. It is said that using pine and cypress trees will cause thunder in the early days. However, there are no customs here. The bottom of the coffin is generally made of seven-star board, which means to seek longevity.

I opened the sack, scattered the ash inside on the bottom of the coffin, then sprinkled a layer of yellow paper on the ash, and finally found a cotton mattress to spread it on it. (The ash, the outer shell of the rice, ignites and burns, and the remaining residue.)

As soon as the coffin was finished, Lao Wang came with the dead on his back. The relatives of the deceased followed him, and another shocking and wailing with ghosts and gods.

I signaled Lao Wang not to come in when I stood outside the main hall, and asked the owner to find a piece of tiles to put in front of the coffin.

Then, I bowed three times to the coffin, picked up the mourning stick that I had prepared, turned around the coffin seven times, and finally stopped in front of the tiles.
Chapter completed!