As I opened the night shift management manual, the first sentence written on it was: "Families have their own rules, and operations have their own regulations."
Immediately following that was the scope of my job. After 8 PM, all affairs of the funeral home are to be handled by the night shift management personnel, and others are not allowed to interfere.
This sentence made me slightly furrow my brow.
I had thought that coming here would make me a minor employee, but I never expected to have such great authority?
After 8 PM, everything here is decided by the night shift management personnel?
I was a bit skeptical, so I quickly dialed a call to Zhang San Fen.
He answered the phone quite quickly, but his tone was a bit impatient: "What's the matter?"
I said, "Boss, someone is asking if we accept bodies, from the black brick kiln..."
Before I could finish my sentence, he interrupted me: "You're asking me about this? Make your own decision!"
I hadn't even had a chance to speak, and the line on the other end went busy.
I was a bit angry. What kind of attitude was this?
I had just started working at the funeral home and was not familiar with everything here. How to accept bodies, how much to charge, who to contact for transportation – I had no idea.
Even if I'm working for him, he should at least familiarize me with the business. At the very least, he could have someone guide me, right?
In my anger, I said to the person in front of me, "Sorry, my friend, I can't take this job."
Didn't you tell me to make the decision myself? Well, I've decided not to accept!
The person became anxious and had a hopeful look on his face: "Brother, come on, just think about it. I'll raise the price for you. Eight hundred yuan per body!"
"Brother, look, those laborers are all pitiable. They were kidnapped and forced to work like slaves while alive, and now even in death, they don't have a peaceful resting place, right?"
"Even if you don't care about the commission, think about your own righteous and kind heart!"
Hearing the word "commission," I blinked my eyes and asked, "So, uh, if I accept a body, how much money can I make?"
The man froze for a moment, then blinked back at me, "Brother, haven't you read the night shift management manual? According to the rules stated there, you earn half of the income brought in by accepting bodies, and the funeral home earns the other half."
"Of course, if you think some tasks are challenging, you can negotiate for a higher price..."
At that moment, my mind was full of expletives!
Eight hundred yuan for one body, and I can earn four hundred?
I kept a calm face and asked again, "So, how many bodies are we talking about?"
The man answered quickly, "Eight bodies!"
My brain began to calculate rapidly. Eight bodies at a fee of 6,400 yuan, half of which is mine – that's 3,200 yuan!
Damn! Before, I thought the 5,000 yuan monthly salary was too low. Zhang San Fen was being too stingy.
Now, looking at it, was he really being stingy?
He was actually quite generous!
No, I must take this job tonight! It's just eight bodies, right? I'm taking it!
I said firmly, "Big brother, you're right. Those laborers from the brick kiln are truly pitiable. Kidnapped and mistreated during their lives, and now they don't even have a peaceful resting place."
"I'll take this job!"
"But eight hundred yuan per body, no less!"
The man was overjoyed and handed me a stack of bills from his bag, saying, "Brother, I knew I was right about you. With such a strong sense of justice at a young age, you'll surely become a rising star in the industry!"
I thought, "Yeah, right."
After taking the money, I had to get the job done.
I put the money in my pocket and returned to my single dormitory with the night shift management manual.
I had to read this manual carefully to avoid messing things up due to my lack of understanding.
I was engrossed in reading until evening.
And the more I read, the colder my feet and hands became, and I couldn't help but curse under my breath.
According to the night shift management manual, body collection comes in two types.
One is when others bring the bodies, and the night shift management personnel are responsible for moving the bodies to the morgue.
The other is field work, where you go out and collect the bodies yourself.
Generally, bodies brought in during the evening, no matter how minor, have some issues.
For instance, a body might be disturbed by cats or dogs during a funeral, showing signs of decomposition, which will then be brought to the funeral home for treatment.
There are also cases where the deceased met an unjust end, their eyes won't close, and the body is as heavy as a mountain, which will be brought here too.
And even more dangerous are the suicides, which can take on various bizarre forms depending on the method.
In summary, bodies from normal households are not usually brought in the dead of night.
The bodies that Zhao Fei wanted me to collect were definitely not as simple as I had imagined!
Thinking about this, I immediately picked up my phone and called Zhao Fei.
As soon as the call connected, I suppressed my anger and asked, "Brother, is there something off about these eight bodies?"
Zhao Fei heard my tone and responded with a smile, "Young brother, you're quite perceptive. If it were normal, we wouldn't need you to collect them, right?"
I impatiently said, "Cut the small talk! Get to the point!"
Zhao Fei continued to smile, "Young brother, you're right. We can't move those eight coffins."
According to Zhao Fei, when the black brick kiln case was solved, the criminals who needed to be executed were executed, and those who needed to go to jail went to jail.
For living victims, they were sent home, and for the deceased, if their identities couldn't be verified, their bodies were temporarily stored in coffins. Later, a public notice would be issued, and the families could come to claim them.
Originally, these bodies would be sent to the funeral home during the day. However, during transportation, something strange happened.
These coffins were incredibly heavy, as if they were made of solid iron blocks!
Even when four or five strong young men tried to lift them, they could only move the coffins by a few centimeters!
This strange incident left everyone bewildered.
A shriveled body typically weighed only about a hundred catties (Chinese unit of weight, roughly equivalent to 50 kg). Even if you added the weight of the coffin, it still wouldn't exceed 150 catties (75 kg).
How could it be that four or five people couldn't lift it?
Someone who didn't believe in these strange happenings was about to call a crane, convinced that even a crane would struggle to move these coffins!
But before he could make the call, he was stopped by a forensic doctor from the police, responsible for
the autopsies of the laborers.
This elderly man, over sixty years old, explained that there must be a reason the coffins couldn't be moved. Trying to use a crane to take them away would surely lead to consequences.
This matter should be left to a professional body collector to handle.
Who was a professional body collector? Naturally, it was me, the freshly appointed night shift manager.