Grave Moving Brigade - Chapter 45 PT1

045

Chapter 45 PT1 – Green Hat on Mr. Jiang

The roast chicken bought by Chen Ling is not just any roast chicken, it is a signature dish from the restaurant.

The chef first stuffs spices into the cleaned chicken’s stomach, then spreads soy sauce on the outside to marinate it. When the time is up, the whole chicken is put into the oil pan and fried.

They pause for nearly a minute, then pick up the chicken and put it back into the pan.

After repeating this three times, the whole chicken turns golden brown and crispy on the outside, and the meat inside is soft and tender, and easy to separate from the bones.

Because there were a lot of dishes packed and brought back, Zhao Xunchang resisted his craving and said he would save them for tomorrow. However, after he had finished digesting the food, his craving was aroused again.

He cleared his throat and pretended to stroll into the kitchen, but when he opened the refrigerator, there was only an empty plate with some crumbs on it!

At this time, Chen Ling walked halfway up the mountain carrying the roast chicken.

The small house where they live is not directly facing the Yuheshan Cemetery, but is behind it. It takes twelve minutes to walk from the foot of the mountain to the cemetery.

Wu Weiwei had his hands in his pockets, his shoulder muscles tense. He glanced back quietly and saw Jiang Yu following slowly behind him.

“Brother Chen, why did Brother Jiang follow us?” He pointed at the bag in Chen Ling’s hand, “And this roast chicken… didn’t the old man say to save it for tomorrow?”

When they left the house, Wu Weiwei thought they were here to find a burial place for the remains. But now the more he thought about it, the more he felt something was not right. Seeing how his brother Chen looked, he looked like he was here to visit a grave.

Chen Ling said directly, “We’re going to burn some incense for your brother Jiang.”

Wu Weiwei scratched his ears and asked, “Huh?”

Chen Ling: “According to the rules, I have to come twice a day, but I’ve been too busy lately, so I might as well do a big offering today and give some good things.”

Wu Weiwei was stunned for a long time before he came to his senses, “I thought that Brother Jiang’s grave was fake, why do you still need to burn incense?”

“Why not?” Chen Ling said, “Since we want to fake that he has died, we have to do it in a complete manner. What if some ghost messenger wanders in here one day and finds something unusual?”

It sounded so real that Wu Weiwei believed it and nodded in agreement: “Then I’ll burn it with you.”

Chen Ling paused, thinking that there is strength in numbers, and if more people showed filial piety, the ancestor might be happier.

After getting Brother Chen’s approval, Wu Weiwei took the paper bag from him. He couldn’t help but look back again and found that Jiang Yu’s gaze, which was looking straight ahead, actually contained a mystery, and was clearly aimed at the back of Brother Chen’s head.

Wu Weiwei asked strangely, “Wouldn’t it be strange for Brother Jiang to come along?”

He was still alive, but he had to watch others visit his grave. Does it not make him feel uncomfortable?

Chen Ling couldn’t figure out what the old ancestor was thinking, so he shook his head and said, “Maybe he has a special hobby.”

Wu Weiwei: “…”

Jiang Yu: “…”

The sun had already set and construction on Yuhe Mountain was suspended for the day.

Contractor Yang was squatting on the ground smoking. When he saw Chen Ling coming up, he put out his cigarette, pulled his clothes, stood up, and greeted them with a smile.

“Mr. Chen, showing up for inspection?” the contractor joked.

Chen Ling: “I’m here to take a look at the tomb where the tombstone was just erected.”

The contractor said, “Oh!” and looked up at the top of the mountain. Then he remembered what the young boss had told him to do. He reported, “The two tombstone bases you asked me to build are already built. When the tombstone is ready, we can just put it in there.”

Chen Ling looked towards the two children’s graves. The graves were half the size of ordinary ones. They sat quietly on the edge of the planned area, like two little grasses looking out for each other.

The graves of Gao couple’s dead baby and Xiaobao were different from the ancestor’s grave. They were not buried underground, but protruded three inches outwards.

“I understand.” After Chen Ling finished speaking, the contractor suddenly became confused.

Contractor Yang rubbed his eyes, then rubbed them again, and pointed stupidly at the backpack hanging on Wu Weiwei’s shoulder: “Mr. Chen, I…why do I see something moving inside!”

Chen Ling took the contractor and walked around behind Wu Weiwei, opened the backpack a little, and let the weasel stretch out a little paw.

The light orange claws had nails and several pads underneath. Feeling a finger touching it, the weasel’s claws hooked.

The contractor’s eyes widened in surprise: “Cat? But a cat’s claws should be able to retract.”

“It’s a weasel.” Chen Ling gave the answer calmly.

“Yellow, yellow, yellow…” The contractor’s tongue was tied. He raised his hand and slapped his mouth. Now he could speak fluently. “Weasel? Mr. Chen, where did you get this? I heard that they like to steal chickens, but they don’t eat them. They just bite their prey to death and then suck their blood.”

Chen Ling comforted him, “Don’t worry, it’s usually well-fed and won’t steal chickens.”

On Yuhe Mountain, ever since the chef arrived, in order to allow the workers to keep up with the physical strength, he bought a group of cheap half-grown chickens and raised them near the shed.

The contractor was worried and repeated in disbelief, “It really won’t steal the chicken?”

“Brother Yang, when have I ever lied to you?” Without some substantial assurance, it would be hard for the other party to believe, so Chen Ling said, “If it steals one, I will give you ten old hens that lay eggs, how about that?”

Yang, the contractor, believed it now and said, “Okay.”

“I’m telling you, if it mischievously runs off to the mountain someday, you and your fellow workers shouldn’t be afraid or hit it. It’s just taking a stroll and will go home when it’s tired.”

Was this talking about the weasel or educating the child? The contractor was full of doubts, but he was tactful enough not to ask any more questions. He just told Chen Ling not to worry and that he would pass the matter on.

“That’s it for now. I’ll go check on those two kids.”

After saying goodbye to the contractor, Chen Ling and Wu Weiwei continued forward and stopped in an inconspicuous corner.

He walked forward and brushed the dust off the tomb cover, then separated two chicken legs from the roast chicken that he was going to give to his ancestor and placed one on each of the two small graves.

Then he said to Wu Weiwei: “Let’s go up.”

The higher you go, the greener the road beneath your feet becomes. The dead grass can no longer cover up the new life growing underneath. The tender green grass sprouts are growing wildly as if they have absorbed high levels of nutrients.

“Our Yuhe Mountain changes every day.” Wu Weiwei sighed.

Chen Ling felt a little proud. He walked forward a few steps and saw the conspicuous white marble stele and the shallow grass near the stele that was more lush than other places.

Wu Weiwei couldn’t hold it back for a few seconds and burst out laughing, “Brother Jiang, you have a green hat on your head.”

Chen Ling: “…”

Jiang Yu’s expression remained unchanged, except for his eyes which were cold and dark.

A gust of wind suddenly blew around.

Wu Weiwei held down his hair that was messed up by the wind, and felt a chill on his neck. He mustered up the courage to look at Jiang Yu, then shut his mouth and dared not say anything more.

Chen Ling’s mouth curled up uncontrollably, and it took a lot of effort to hold back his laughter. He pretended to be serious and patted the man’s shoulder to comfort him: “There are many graves like this abroad. The green grass on top symbolizes flourishing life and the upcoming new life. Don’t get the wrong idea.”

“I didn’t.” Jiang Yu’s voice was cold, but his eyes were like substance, sweeping across the young man’s face, “I think you are thinking the wrong thing.”

“I am not, absolutely not.” Chen Ling raised his hand and swore.

Wu Weiwei kept his mouth shut and also raised his hand to make an oath.

Jiang Yu snorted coldly, but the stern expression on his face did not diminish.

Chen Ling had a headache because of this incident. He originally wanted to come up and thank the ancestor, but ended up offending him instead.

He glared at Wu Weiwei fiercely and bared his teeth at him.

Wu Weiwei knew he was wrong, he was just joking, but he didn’t know Brother Jiang would take it seriously. He walked up to Jiang Yu and apologized under the invisible pressure, “Jiang Ge, I’m not a good person, please don’t take it seriously.”

“No.” Jiang Yu’s emotions and tone were very calm, and nothing unusual could be heard.

Wu Weiwei became more and more anxious and tried to save the situation, “How about I go down the mountain now to get some more paper money and help you burn it with Brother Chen?”

“I only want him.” Jiang Yu rubbed his brows, “I don’t like such jokes. This is just one time, and it won’t happen again.”

“Yes, yes, I promise there won’t be a next time.” Wu Weiwei said hurriedly, feeling weird in his heart.

‘What do you mean you only want him?’

If the horoscope cannot be used, can’t they burn paper and incense for Brother Jiang? But isn’t this just a show for the ghost messenger?

Wu Weiwei felt that his brain was not enough and scratched the back of his head.

He squatted there quietly for a while, but the doubts in his heart did not disappear, but grew bigger and bigger.

Swallowing his saliva, he approached Jiang Yu cautiously, “Brother Jiang, do you… have a partner?” Otherwise, why would he care so much about a joke?

“Why do you ask that?” Jiang Yu glanced at him, “Do I look like that?”

Wu Weiwei shook his head honestly, “Not like that.” Seeing that the other party didn’t let down his temper, he continued, “People who have a partner often hold their phones to chat with their partner. If their partner is around, they will definitely go over to show off their love. None of these things have anything to do with you.”

It was rare for Jiang Yu to say a few more words to him, “Because it’s not the right time yet.”

After a brief pause, he narrowed his eyes slightly, his sight passed through the sunlight and breeze, and stopped at Chen Ling’s face, “But, sooner or later it will happen.”

Wu Weiwei noticed that Jiang Yu’s eyes had changed, and combined with what he had just said, his heart skipped a beat. Could it be that Brother Jiang really had someone in his heart?

He blurted out: “Who is it? Do we know each other?”

Jiang Yu has a cold and slow personality, and he doesn’t seem like the type of person who would fall in love at first sight, unless he had met that person long before he became a manager at Yuhe Mountain.

Jiang Yu did not deny or refute. He lowered his eyes and his gaze slid from the young man’s profile to the tombstone.

This meant that he didn’t want to answer anymore. Wu Weiwei was so anxious that he scratched his head in his heart.

He shouldn’t have asked if he had known that his questions would be left unanswered. Now his curiosity is piqued and it’s so uncomfortable!

Realizing that he was being watched by the two people not far away, Chen Ling felt a little nervous for some reason and straightened his back subconsciously.

He calmed himself down, wiped the dust off the tombstone for his ancestor, then took the roast chicken and the plate he brought from the bag, put them on the ground, and placed them in the center line right in front of the tombstone.

Chen Ling took a breath, took out three incense sticks and lit them.

He put his thumbs together and overlapped the other four fingers. He held the incense between his thumb and index finger and placed it vertically between his eyebrows.

Just as he was about to bow his head, he heard the man’s harsh reminder, “Keep your head down and calm down.”

Chen Ling lowered his eyes and glanced at him secretly. No wonder he followed him. It turned out that he came here specifically to correct his incense-burning posture.

While he was complaining in his heart, his body unconsciously changed his posture according to Jiang Yu’s reminder.

He pursed his lips, closed his eyes, and bowed three times to the tombstone. Not hearing the man’s picky voice, Chen Ling then stuck the incense into the soil.

The sandalwood smoke lingered and spread out like wisps of silk. Except for Chen Ling, Wu Weiwei did not notice that the smoke did not disappear into the air, but instead lingered around Jiang Yu.

When the incense was about to burn out, Chen Ling pulled the incense handle out of the soil and held it in his hand.

While Wu Weiwei turned around to clean up the roast chicken, he quickly asked Jiang Yu in a low voice: “Let me buy you a small incense burner. It’s not good to stick it directly into the soil.” Not only will it affect the environment, it is also not up to the standard of the ancestors.

Jiang Yu didn’t react much, just hummed lightly, but Chen Ling noticed that the corners of his lips changed.

He also laughed and asked, “What should we do with the roast chicken? Can we still eat it? Master is still thinking about it.”

“Yes.” Jiang Yu usually doesn’t have a big appetite. The food from the world of the living is dispensable to him and does not make him feel full. There is no harm in eating it, but there is no benefit either.

Those things that bring life energy to humans, after entering his stomach, are nothing more than a bit of thin spiritual energy.

Chen Ling breathed a sigh of relief. That was good, otherwise the master would get angry because he couldn’t find the roast chicken.

He didn’t know yet that Zhao Xunchang had already gotten angry and was sitting on a stone bench in the yard, guarding the gate with his arms folded, waiting to catch a thief.