Damn it, I finally waited for a business trip, but you told me it was a crematorium promotion?
Can it be any more outrageous?
Wang Qi glanced at the business card in his hand. The title on it was the director of the cremation workshop of Baishi County Funeral Home in Qingling City, surnamed Sun.
The cremation workshop is commonly known as the crematorium.
Seeing Wang Qi's reaction, Director Sun quickly waved his hand: "We can easily discuss the price."
"It's not about money. What do you want my fans to think of me later?" Wang Qi shook his head.
Although he is a live broadcaster of supernatural adventures, his live broadcasts are mainly about popular science. What is the deal with promoting the crematorium?
Other anchors are just bad people at last, so when they come to him, they will just become the underworld people?
And if I remember correctly, the crematorium is affiliated with the funeral home and is a public institution.
There shouldn't be any competitive pressure in a place like this, so it still needs promotion?
"I'm not asking you to promote cremation services..." Director Sun said quickly.
"Is that to help carry urns? To recommend cemeteries? Or to promote one-stop funeral services?" Wang Qi asked.
"Ah?" Director Sun was stunned: "You know this business quite well... but this is not what I came to you for."
Wang Qi now understood the meaning of his words, and his tone became a little more solemn.
"Did you encounter any supernatural events at your crematorium?"
"That's right." Director Sun nodded vigorously, "I've been worried to death about this matter recently."
"Then you have found the right person!" Wang Qi's eyes lit up.
Isn’t a new live broadcast project coming soon?
Although bringing goods to the crematorium is a bit pricey, popularizing science about supernatural events is another matter.
Crematorium, plus mortuary and cemetery.
They are all places that deal with the dead, and are the most likely to be haunted by rumors.
Wang Qi has long wanted to educate his family about science in a place like this.
Where better to prove that the world is free of ghosts than live broadcasting here?
"What supernatural events did you encounter at the crematorium?" Wang Qi asked.
"No hurry, no hurry." Director Sun waved his hand, "Let's eat first, and then we'll talk in detail after dinner. I'll treat you to today's meal."
"That's so embarrassing." Wang Qi quickly refused.
"That's right. After all, I'm looking for you to cooperate." Director Sun said repeatedly.
Then, the waiters brought out the meals Wang Qi had ordered one after another, filling the table.
Director Sun was speechless and glanced at Wang Qi: How can you be so embarrassed...
The reason why there were so many meals was mainly because Xiaozhang ate too much. Holding a rice bowl in her hand, she transformed into a rice cook and started eating.
"Have you not eaten in a hundred years?" Director Sun wiped the sweat from his forehead with a tissue and asked her.
Xiaozhan's mouth was stuffed with food and he said vaguely: "Anshu, what is the anti-impurity stealing virtue?"
When Director Sun had a question mark on his face, Wang Qi said to him: "Ignore her, let's talk while eating, what happened to you there?"
"Alas." Director Sun sighed and began to tell, "Things started from a month ago..."
Places like funeral homes give people a feeling of bad luck, and the crematorium is even more so.
The wages are good and not many people want to work here.
Director Sun accidentally entered this industry and has been working for almost twenty years.
He himself does not believe in ghosts and gods, but after working for a long time, he will inevitably encounter some things that cannot be explained.
Just a month ago, something strange happened at the crematorium.
Before cremating a body, you need to obtain the appropriate certificates. Usually, you work during the day and close at night.
Since a month ago, the gatekeepers at the crematorium at night have heard sounds coming from the cremation workshop, condolence hall and other places from time to time.
Others said they saw pale figures wandering across the yard.
There were several janitors in a row, but they all resigned after working for only a few days.
Forget it, anyway, places like crematoriums are not easy to attract thieves.
But as soon as this rumor spread, several employees of the crematorium resigned.
These days, Director Sun, a leader, sometimes has to go to help.
He offered a salary of 1,800 yuan a day for short-term work on the recruitment website, but he couldn't find anyone.
"A salary of 1,800 yuan a day?" Wang Qi couldn't help but sigh when he heard this.
Why didn't he notice such an opportunity in the first place?
I'm sure I'll apply for the job as soon as I'm sure. This can make a lot more money than delivering food...
"Work in the crematorium pays relatively well, but many people are taboo about this place."
Director Sun sighed: "There is no competition in crematoriums. Cremation operations are arranged by the state. The bodies must be cremated as soon as possible when they are delivered. We are now seriously short of manpower."
"So you want to do a live broadcast at the crematorium to educate everyone about whether there is any problem here?" Wang Qi understood Director Sun's purpose.
Director Sun nodded.
Let Wang Qi do the promotion. In fact, he is promoting this job and wants to recruit people as soon as possible.
"I can give you the promotion fee..." Director Sun paused.
He didn't know much about this business either. He looked at Wang Qi and waited for Wang Qi to say the number first.
Wang Qi himself didn’t understand. It was also his first time encountering a business event.
So I glared at Director Sun.
In the end, it was Director Sun who was defeated first: "How about I give you 20,000 yuan for a live broadcast from ten o'clock in the evening to two o'clock in the morning?"
"Okay!" After all, this was his first business event, and Wang Qi agreed simply.
Director Sun's face relaxed. At this time, almost all the dishes on the table were eaten.
The main reason is that Xiaozhang has been speechless.
Director Sun called the waiter and took the initiative to pay the bill.
At a roadside fly restaurant, the meal cost more than 300 yuan, and the owner was so happy that he couldn't close his mouth from ear to ear.
"Let's go to the crematorium first."
Director Sun didn't feel bad about paying and settled the bill happily.
The crematorium, or funeral parlor, is not far from here.
The front of the funeral parlor has a rather impressive facade.
But the cremation workshop department is managed separately from other places. At the back, you have to turn in from the alley.
There were many stalls along the road selling funeral supplies.
As soon as the hearse arrived at the entrance of the crematorium, I saw fireworks billowing in front of it.
In the open space in front of the crematorium, banknotes, ingots and other things were piled up and burning. There were faint sounds of crying coming from the people gathered in a circle.
"The country doesn't advocate this kind of thing now, but it's an old tradition. It's a folk custom. How can it be banned?"
Director Sun, who was sitting in the passenger seat, told Wang Qi.
After all, he came from the crematorium, so he didn't feel any awkward riding in this hearse.
He also lamented that Wang Qi’s car looked shabby, but it actually drove quite steadily.
"Yes, I understand." Wang Qi parked the car on the side of the road and got out of the car, "But don't you go to the cemetery to burn paper? Why is it burning at the door of the crematorium?"
"Isn't it because of what happened during this period?" Director Sun sighed.
Many family members who had their bodies cremated here heard that the place was not quiet at night and felt uneasy, wondering if their loved ones had passed away peacefully.
People come here from time to time to pay their respects.
The business of these roadside stalls has been quite booming recently.
Hearing what Director Sun said, Wang Qi suddenly became thoughtful...
At this time, his eyes fell on a stall on the roadside.
It was a paper seller's shop.
A small wooden house was built on the roadside, and a table was placed in front of the door, with various paper figures of different sizes on it.
It was dark inside the wooden house, and an old man was sitting in the shadow.
I could vaguely see that the shop was densely packed with paper figures, all of which were human-sized and lifelike.
Xiao Zhan, who got out of the hearse, was immediately attracted by the paper man bunk and looked over curiously.
At this time, the old man in the paper shop noticed Wang Qi's gaze and turned his head.
Looking straight at Wang Qi.
"Buy a paper figurine, it's all good stuff, and burn it for your family to spend time with them." The old man thought that business was coming, and greeted him dryly.
"Sorry." Wang Qi waved his hand to the old man.
Director Sun introduced: "This is Paper Man Chu. The art of making paper figures has been on TV before, and foreigners come here to admire it."
"Do people in foreign countries also burn paper?" Wang Qi was surprised.
"No, they thought it was some kind of handicraft and bought it as a decoration." Director Sun said with a smile.
Wang Qi looked at the paper figures and found that they were indeed lifelike, just like hand-made figures.
It's a pity that they are all in classic costumes, unlike other stalls where the paper figures are all beautiful women in cheongsam showing their thighs.
There are also paper horses, paper carriages, and paper villas.
Even paper mistresses are sold...
Of course, the quality is not as good as that of Paper Manchu.
Wang Qi couldn't help but think, if he dressed up as a beautiful girl in a short skirt and put it online and packaged it, if nothing else, the otakus would definitely buy it!
Nowadays, craftsmen are very popular on short video platforms!
Director Sun took Wang Qi and Xiao Zheng into the crematorium.
We are going to broadcast live here tonight, so we need to show them the place first.
Their figures left, and the paper figure Chu, who was sitting in the shop, turned his head and looked at the three figures.
His eyes stared straight for a long time without blinking.
For a moment, the paper man Chu seemed to have become one of the countless paper men behind him.
A moment later, when Wang Qi and Director Sun had discussed the live broadcast and were about to leave, they found that Paper Man Chu's shop had been closed.
Wang Qi didn't pay attention, maybe he went to have lunch.
The hearse left the path and dust flew into the air.
No one seems to have noticed that a paper man half as tall as a man is lying quietly on the roof of the hearse...