Chapter 23: Face Painting
When I woke up in the morning, it was snowing lightly. The road was very slippery and I drove very slowly.
I sat down in the office. The room was warm and well heated. The pots of flowers that Master Shen grew on the windowsill were very lush, which reminded me of Mao Xiaoli. If she was standing in the snow in mourning clothes, you might not be able to see her suddenly.
I changed my clothes and went to the morgue. There were twenty-four dead bodies, which was quite a lot today. I estimated that we would be finished by two in the afternoon at the earliest.
I carried the body to the farewell hall and then to the refining room. There were bursts of crying.
In this sad atmosphere, sometimes you feel numb. Listening to their crying is just like our normal talking. There is no difference between crying and laughing.
However, the expressions of our staff are always serious. It is our rule not to smile during working hours, and it is also a kind of respect for the deceased.
I didn't eat lunch. I sent the last four dead people to the farewell hall and waited for the end. When I sent them to the refining room, everything was over.
It was almost two o'clock when I finished my work. I took a shower, changed my clothes, and felt a little tired, so I sat on a chair and smoked. I heard a voice calling me, which became clearer and clearer, and more and more real. I thought, this is not a good feeling.
I opened the door and went out. When I reached the car, Zhang Xiaoxue ran over.
"Brother Mingzhe, wait for me."
I got in the car and she got in too.
"Brother Mingzhe, take me out to dinner."
"You didn't eat?"
"No, I don't feel like eating today. Master Liu sent the body to the wrong furnace. When he found it, it was already gushing oil and on fire. The family members started making a fuss. We used to watch behind glass, but now we have separate rooms, one furnace per room, and we watch on the TV screen. It's so frustrating to deal with this."
"I don't think it's a big deal. Isn't it just the wrong attribute?"
"Brother Mingzhe, you may not know this, but this matter is extremely important to the family. Master Liu is old after all."
"Master Liu is alone every day, and he won't look for anyone else."
"No one wants to do that every day. Only newcomers can hold the position for a while."
None of us wants to make a mistake. Master Liu presses the button on the transmission platform every day, and it is inevitable that he will press the wrong button. He repeats this work every day. This is the first time that Master Liu has encountered such a situation.
I had just started the car when I heard someone calling out from the manager's office.
"He's probably scolding Master Liu!"
I was very angry and went to the director's office as soon as I got off the car.
"Mingzhe, don't worry about it."
I didn't listen. When I entered the office, the manager was really scolding Master Liu.
"Manager, Master Liu will retire next year, right? He's not much younger than your father, and he's worked his entire life at this job. Think about it, is this the right thing for you to do? He was wrong. Who doesn't make mistakes? This is his first time..."
I burst into breath and the director looked at me blankly.
"Okay, well said, Lao Liu. I won't scold you anymore. Remember, if you make a mistake at work, you will be responsible for all the losses ."
"Captain, you can't do this."
My manager started arguing, and Master Liu actually helped me with tears in his eyes.
"Mingzhe."
Zhang Xiaoxue came in, persuaded the manager, then pulled me out, and Master Liu also came out.
I got in the car, Zhang Xiaoxue.
"None of your business, that's their business. Do you know who Master Liu is?"
"who?"
"The director's uncle, dear uncle."
I was dumbfounded. If he was my real uncle, he would at least arrange a good place for him. Besides, my dear uncle, why would you still curse him like that?
"So, don't worry about what's going on here."
"What's going on?"
"I have no idea."
Zhang Xiaoxue shut up.
I took Zhang Xiaoxue out to dinner, just to get her to talk, but she refused to say anything and kept talking about other things.
"Mingzhe, you and Yinyan are not suitable."
I didn't say anything. After sending Zhang Xiaoxue home, I went to Yinyan's place. She was not at home. I called her, but she didn't answer.
I went to see my mother, and her complexion was much better. However, when she saw me, the smile on her face disappeared immediately. I was stunned for a moment. Could it be that I was so annoying to my mother in her heart?
I stayed for a while and then left.
After the snow, the weather turned cold, reaching minus 20 degrees Celsius, which is the most normal temperature in the Northeast in winter. The coldest time is 36 or 37 degrees Celsius.
I went to stand on the bridge. It was colder there than other places. The north wind was blowing. I thought about my mother. Am I so annoying to her in her heart?
I shivered. The biting north wind penetrated my cotton coat. When I was about to get off the bridge, Yinyan stopped the car and I got in.
"Aren't you cold? What's wrong with you?"
"Upset."
Yinyan looked at me and didn't say anything. I wanted to tell Yinyan that she called my name, but after thinking about it, I didn't say it.
That day, Yinyan and I both felt something was wrong. We had nothing to say, so we watched TV and then I went home.
I went to work, and I didn't seem to be tired of my current job. However, when my name was called, I was always confused, which was definitely not a pleasant thing.
I was busy until noon and finished my work. Mao Xiaoli came in and smiled at me. That smile felt eerie.
"Mingzhe, you are really not suitable to work here."
"Where I work is my business."
"You don't have to hate me. I just want you to see what you can't see in the crematorium. You will never see what happens in the office."
I don’t know what Mao Xiaoli means. I have no idea what kind of fighting style and what ideas this woman has.
Mao Xiaoli left with a smile, a rare smile, but this smile scared me a little.
I came out of the office and heard someone calling my name again in the corridor. I definitely didn't answer. I pretended not to hear it, came out, and walked towards the car, feeling uneasy.
I got in the car, sat down, and lit a cigarette. Someone tapped me and called my name. I was so scared that I actually agreed. I looked in the rearview mirror and didn't see anyone. I looked back and there was no one. I thought it was over, so I agreed.
I jumped out of the car, my hands shaking, and found the ghost still in the car. What was the meaning of her haunting me? It was a woman's voice. Why was it so?
I wanted to call Yinyan, but I didn’t. Maybe this kind of thing needs me to handle.
I was hesitating when Mao Xiaoli came over with her bag, ready to go home.
"Mingzhe, have you been tricked? I have a solution, but you may not be able to beg me."
I stared at Mao Xiaoli blankly. It seemed that she was not afraid of this matter at all. In fact, it was just a trivial matter in her eyes.
"What if I beg you?"
"Then I'll help you, but I have conditions. Maybe we can talk."
Mao Xiaoli got into my car. I hesitated for a moment, got in, and drove out of the crematorium.
"Please treat me to a meal first. I don't remember any man treating me to a meal in my life."
I don't believe this. As for Mao Xiaoli, she is actually quite pretty. It's just that her age has covered up her original beauty. I have never heard anyone talk about their feelings for Mao Xiaoli. Is it that they don't know, or do they not want to talk about anything related to Mao Xiaoli?
Mao Xiaoli and I went to a small restaurant. It was clean and the food was exquisite. After we sat down, she said she liked it. She didn't expect that I would bring her to such a place.
Mao Xiaoli can drink a lot and she drank more than half a catty of white wine by herself, but I didn't notice that.
Mao Xiaoli didn't say much and seemed to be thinking about something.
"Sister Mao, what are the conditions?"
"Wait, wait until dark. I'm waiting for dark."
I was a little nervous. What conditions required waiting until dark?
"Actually, that blood was indeed my own. There's a disease in my family that requires bloodletting. I've been doing it since I was a child, and I feel uncomfortable if I don't. Later, I heard about using blood to grow flowers, so I came up with this idea. I didn't expect that the flowers would bloom so brightly."
Mao Xiaoli suddenly mentioned this to me, which made me feel a little uncomfortable.
"Don't think too much about it. Your sister Mao is just like that. She's weird, but not bad."
I think that human beings are not inherently bad, bad is a relative term.
It was dark, Mao Xiaoli got up and got into the car.
"Go to the water."
I know that community. It is close to the Xixi River and has a nice scenery. The price is not cheap either, nearly 8,000 yuan per square meter.
After entering the community, I saw a Yue house on the first floor, which was decorated with a cultural atmosphere.
"I'm alone. I'll make you some tea."
Mao Xiaoli brewed tea, and I knew that it was also a high-quality tea.
I looked at a painting hanging on the side. It was not big, about the size of a palm. It showed a person, a face that took up the entire painting. Both the person and the painting were beautiful and exquisite. However, it gave people a strange feeling.
While drinking tea, Mao Xiaoli changed into home clothes and sat opposite me.
"You graduated from college?"
"right."
Mao Xiaoli didn't ask any more questions. I thought she would continue asking. After drinking tea for a while, she said.
"Come upstairs with me? There's no way we can finish the food or drink enough tea."
Mao Xiaoli gives me the feeling that I can’t understand this woman.
I went upstairs. There were gauze curtains drawn upstairs, and a floor-to-ceiling window on one side, which was also very beautiful. There was a sofa in the middle, arranged in a circle. The walls were covered with paintings of different sizes, arranged in a reasonable manner. However, they were all paintings of women's faces. The whole painting was a face. I was wondering, is there something wrong with Mao Xiaoli?
"These are the face paintings I've created over the past twenty years."
I was amazed by Mao Xiaoli's talent, and face painting was the first time I heard of it.
"Sister Mao, you are so beautiful."
It looks good and I said after taking a look at it.
"Of course, this is my life's pursuit."
"But if you don't exhibit it and let the world recognize you, there's absolutely no problem with that."
"Not yet, I think. No hurry."
Mao Xiaoli sat on the sofa, admiring the scene, seemingly enjoying herself. I wondered what the terms were for her negotiation. Was it just for me to come and see her face painted? I doubted it was that simple. Because, this ghost calling my name wasn't a simple matter.
I remained silent, looking at the paintings, which always made me feel uneasy. Mao Xiaoli seemed to be hesitating as well, wondering whether to do this or not.
I didn't ask any further questions and just looked at the face paintings.
"I'll give you a painting.?
Mao Xiaoli took off the face painting she was looking at and wrapped it up for me.
? Sister Mao, I don't know anything about painting. It's a waste of your hard work. ?
Stop it, I really haven't given anyone a face painting. You're the first one.
I find it strange that Mao Xiaoli didn't state the conditions.
