nucmednet Chapter 464 Tree Burial
Chapter 464 Tree Burial
Inside the funeral home, the deep and compassionate Requiem echoed slowly. The melody was like a pair of invisible yet powerful hands, weaving the solemn and sad emotions into the softest corner of the hearts of everyone present.
A heavy atmosphere permeated the air, and people unconsciously lowered their voices, as if a slightly louder volume would disturb the heavy tranquility.
The elderly people in the Red Star Welfare Home walked in slowly under the guidance of Shao Gang.
The old people have hunched backs and staggering steps. Every step they take seems to be on the blade sharpened by time, full of difficulty and heaviness.
They walked in pairs, their eyes dim but with a hint of determination. When they approached the door, the elderly people's slightly trembling hands slowly reached out to the neatly arranged white chrysanthemums.
The chrysanthemums, with petals as white as snow and stamens as light yellow as stars, are like the embodiment of the pure soul of the deceased in this depressing environment.
The old people picked up the chrysanthemums slowly but firmly, as if they were bidding a solemn and silent farewell to the past.
When they came to the altar, the old people faced the portrait, leaned forward slightly, and bowed deeply.
Their backs, bearing the vicissitudes of time and the hardships of life, are now trying to stand straight, as if they want to use this final respect and send the most sincere wishes to the deceased.
Jiang Hao stood quietly beside the burning paper basin. The dancing flames reflected his red face and stretched his shadow from time to time.
He mechanically added paper money into the basin. The paper money curled and burned in the flames, turning into ashes, accompanied by his devout kowtows again and again, as if expressing his endless longing.
Yang Meixiu and Peng Yuyan, the two elderly people, supported each other and came to the coffin first. Their eyes slowly fell on Lan Ju inside the coffin.
Lan Ju's face seemed to be tinged with a faint blush, as if she had just fallen into a sweet sleep. Her peaceful face brought a little comfort to the grief that was surging like waves in the hearts of the old people.
"Sister, have a safe journey!" Yang Meixiu's lips trembled slightly, and her voice was as soft as a whisper in the breeze, but her words were filled with endless reluctance and concern.
Eddie Peng nodded slightly and gently placed the chrysanthemum in his hand next to the coffin. The chrysanthemum swayed gently in the breeze, as if responding to the old man's affection.
At the same time, outside the funeral home, a car came at lightning speed and suddenly braked in the parking lot.
The car door opened quickly, and squad leader Fu Xinglei jumped out of the car in a panic, holding the medicine box tightly in his hand.
His forehead was covered with sweat, his hair was soaked with sweat and stuck to his cheeks, and his eyes revealed anxiety and uneasiness.
Fu Xinglei jogged towards the entrance of the funeral home, his steps hurried and messy.
Seeing this, the police officer at the door immediately stepped forward to stop them, with a vigilant look and a serious tone: "Stop, what are you doing?"
Fu Xinglei panted and said quickly: "Someone is injured inside. I'm a doctor. Let me in!"
The police officer looked him up and down, his eyes like a sharp scalpel, examining every expression on Fu Xinglei's face. "Wait a minute," the police officer said in a cold tone.
After a moment, the police officer turned around and walked quickly into the funeral home to report. Fu Xinglei paced back and forth at the door, looking up at the funeral home from time to time, his eyes full of anxiety and helplessness.
Soon, the police officer came out and said expressionlessly: "Follow me."
Fu Xinglei hurriedly followed, and the two of them came to the reception room. The police officer pushed open the door and said coldly: "Go in."
As soon as Fu Xinglei entered the room, Cui Jiani grabbed a life-saving straw and shouted at him anxiously: "Squad leader, why are you here just now?"
Fu Xinglei's eyes instantly locked onto Mu Xiaoji, who was as pale as paper, with half of his face covered in blood. The dried blood had coagulated into dark red scabs, making him look particularly horrible.
His eyes revealed fatigue and pain, and his body was trembling slightly. Fu Xinglei quickly opened the medicine box and took out the cotton wool and alcohol. The cotton wool was white and fluffy, and the alcohol was gently swaying in the glass bottle, emitting a pungent smell.
"Mr. Mu, how did this happen?" Fu Xinglei asked anxiously while preparing to treat the wound.
Cui Jiani was so anxious that she stamped her feet and kept urging him: "Hurry up, he's bleeding so much!"
Mu Xiaoji raised his hand slightly and said weakly: "Don't rush me, the person is already here."
Cui Jiani's eyes were red and her voice was tearful: "Look at you, you were weak to begin with, and now you're injured like this."
Mu Xiaoji sighed helplessly: "I'm not that fragile yet, go to the bathroom and wash up first, don't make trouble here."
Cui Jiani snorted angrily: "Okay, you're going to destroy the bridge after crossing it, huh?" After saying that, she turned around and walked towards the bathroom angrily.
Fu Xinglei approached Mu Xiaoji, picked up the cotton wool dipped in alcohol with tweezers, and slowly approached the wound.
The moment the alcohol came into contact with the wound, Mu Xiaoji's body shook violently, his brows furrowed tightly, and a look of pain appeared on his face.
Fu Xinglei comforted her softly: "Bear with it, the disinfection will hurt a little." He wiped the wound carefully, cleaning up the dried blood bit by bit, his movements gentle and professional.
After cleaning the blood, the wound was clearly revealed. It was an irregular shape with some tears at the edges, which looked shocking.
Fu Xinglei then picked up the iodine tincture, dipped a cotton swab in an appropriate amount, and applied it evenly on the wound. The light yellow color of the iodine tincture slowly spread across the wound, emitting a unique smell of disinfectant.
After disinfection, he picked up the suture needle and thread, his eyes focused and determined, and the needle in his hand shuttled accurately between Mu Xiaoji's skin and flesh. Each stitch was fine and neat.
After the suturing was completed, Fu Xinglei carefully bandaged the wound with gauze, wrapping layer after layer of gauze around Mu Xiaoji's forehead with skillful and steady techniques.
Mu Xiaoji raised his right hand and said weakly, "I still have a hand." Only then did Fu Xinglei notice that his right hand was also injured.
Mu Xiaoji's right wrist was severely red and swollen, and some parts of the skin had turned blue. His fingers were trembling slightly, and every time he moved, a trace of pain flashed across Mu Xiaoji's face.
Fu Xinglei said anxiously: "You are so seriously injured, you really should go to the hospital. There is only so much I can do with this medicine box."
Mu Xiaoji shook his head and insisted, "My hand is fine, just take a rest. The funeral home has other matters that need my attention, so I can't leave."
Fu Xinglei had no choice but to make a simple sling for Mu Xiaoji's wrist with gauze and hang it around his neck.
Then, he saw two magazines on the table, and suddenly he had an idea. He took them and put them under Mu Xiaoji's arms to further stabilize his arms and make them more comfortable.
After treating the wound, Fu Xinglei breathed a sigh of relief and told Mu Xiaoji: "Be sure to rest. If you feel uncomfortable, go to the hospital immediately."
Mu Xiaoji nodded slightly, with a look of gratitude on his face. At this time, the sky outside the funeral home had been covered by layers of dark clouds, and a heavy rain seemed to be about to pour down, adding a bit of solemnity to the sad atmosphere.
In the bathroom, the pale light was as bright as day, and water was flowing from the faucet.
Cui Jiani stood in front of the sink with a focused expression, rubbing her hands repeatedly under the running water. The bright red bloodstains meandered down along the water and spread in the white sink, like strangely blooming flowers.
As she scrubbed, she muttered, "Are you haunted by bad luck all day long? You are kind enough to help others, but you end up hurting yourself."
He stared ahead with empty eyes, full of confusion about Mu Xiaoji's forehead injury.
After a long time, she finally washed the blood off her hands, shook off the water droplets, and wiped them a few times with a tissue. Then, she took a deep breath and slowly walked out of the bathroom.
In the sky, dark clouds rolled and surged like ink, piling up layer upon layer, as if they were going to crush the entire world.
Cui Jiani looked up at the sky and whispered softly, "It looks like it's going to rain soon!"
She raised her hand and glanced at her watch. The hands pointed to three o'clock in the afternoon, and the second hand was still ticking. In this depressing atmosphere, time seemed to become particularly precious.
Cui Jiani turned around and walked towards the reception room with steady steps. Seeing that the squad leader had finished bandaging Mu Xiaoji, she gently reminded him:
"Xiao Ji, it's about to rain outside. Call the crematorium and ask them to come and pick up the body!" Her voice was calm and low, without a trace of emotion.
Mu Xiaoji subconsciously looked out the window and said, "Okay, go in and ask Boss Chai to find me a hat. I can't face people in this state." His voice was a little hoarse and a little tired.
Cui Jiani did not respond, but turned and left the reception room to find Boss Chai.
Mu Xiaoji picked up the mobile phone beside him, swiped through the address book, found the number of the crematorium, hesitated for a moment, and dialed the number.
A voice soon came from the other end of the phone. The voice was rough and gave people the impression that the person was very strong. It was also a bit anxious: "Hello, Mr. Mu, is the ceremony over? I'm already in the funeral home parking lot."
Mu Xiaoji was so shocked by the other party's efficient work speed that his eyes widened. He was stunned for several seconds before he came to his senses and said quickly: "Okay, I'll notify them right away, and you can come in and carry the coffin later."
Cui Jiani quickly took Boss Chai back to the reception room. Boss Chai saw Mu Xiaoji like this and asked in panic, "Boss Mu, what's going on?"
Mu Xiaoji raised his hand to signal to stop: "I'm fine, Boss Chai, take your workers and prepare to send the body to the crematorium for cremation!"
Boss Chai nodded and said, "Okay." Boss Chai responded and left the reception room.
Mu Xiaoji took the baseball cap and put it on his head. Cui Jiani helped to adjust it to make the injury less obvious, and then the two turned and walked towards the mourning hall.
Director Ren saw Mu Xiaoji coming over and hurried forward to ask with concern: "Mr. Mu, how do you feel?"
Mu Xiaoji smiled and said, "It's okay. The ceremony is over and we're going to send it to the crematorium for cremation."
Director Ren nodded and said, "Then we are going to take him into custody. I'll have to trouble you to clean up the mess later!"
Mu Xiaoji said succinctly: "Well, I'll go see if Jiang Hao has anything else to say."
After saying that, the three of them walked straight into the mourning hall, and Jiang Hao was still burning paper money mechanically.
Mu Xiaoji slowly squatted down, put his hand on Jiang Hao's shoulder, and asked softly:
"Jiang Hao, the worship is over. Boss Chai has asked the crematorium master to come and transport the body. If you have any unfulfilled wishes, tell me and I will help you do it."
After hearing this, Jiang Hao put down the paper money in his hand and prepared to kowtow to Mu Xiaoji. Mu Xiaoji hurriedly stopped him and said, "Jiang Hao, don't do this."
Jiang Hao wiped his tears with his sleeve and said, “Mom has suffered all her life, she has no family to rely on, and she has nothing to worry about in her life.
Xiaojie was buried in a tree back then, so let’s bury mom in a tree too! I hope that in her next life, she will not give her love to the wrong person again.”
Director Ren waved his hand gently, and two police officers came over, approached Jiang Hao, handcuffed him, and one of them held him on each side, then stood up and walked out of the funeral home.