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墨書 Inktalez
Huo Changqing's mother was a rural woman who believed that not being able to bear children was the daughter-in-law's fault. She constantly caused trouble, berating her daughter-in-law as a "useless hen that doesn't lay eggs," insisting that her son divorce her and find another wife to ensure the Huo family's lineage continued.
It was unclear whether Huo Changqing felt compelled to obey his mother's wishes for a child or if he had simply grown tired of his devoted first wife. At the age of forty, he ended up sleeping with a young beauty named Chang Jiuxia, who was just in her early twenties. Upon learning that she was pregnant, he officially divorced his first wife, Gu Qinglian, giving her a sum of money to send her on her way, after which they had no further contact.
A few months later, his new wife gave birth to a healthy baby boy, much to the delight of the Huo family. Unbeknownst to them, Chang Jiuxia quickly became the dominant figure in the household, wielding significant financial power.
Our former boss, Chen Senran, had been colluding with Huo Changqing, both trying to siphon profits from the Grieving Master. Their arrangement had been peaceful until Sister Hong took over the company and transformed Wanhau into a refreshing force in Jiangcheng's funeral industry.
This inadvertently made her an enemy of more than a dozen other company owners led by Evergreen Funeral Company, Wanshiji Funeral Company, and Ruitu Funeral Company. Huo Changqing spearheaded an alliance with Cui Mingjiu from Wanshiji and Zhao Huairen from Ruitu Funeral Company, gathering dozens of other companies to form the Jiangcheng Funeral Industry Alliance. They issued a challenge to over ten other companies: "Join the alliance and earn big money together, or face exclusion and suppression!"
Honestly, this tactic was quite effective. Most other companies operated modestly; their owners were typically cautious. They deliberated: joining the alliance meant earning ill-gotten gains; ignoring their summons could lead to targeted attacks… Despite their internal struggles, none of them reached out to Sister Hong. In their minds, what could a woman possibly contribute? They feared she would be too frightened by the "alliance" notice.
Sister Hong also received a written notification delivered by a tall employee from Evergreen Funeral Company. The gist was that several companies had united to form the Jiangcheng Funeral Industry Alliance, and its initiator, Huo Changqing, demanded that Wanhau's owner attend an alliance seminar at a specified time and place.
—Note that it was "demanded," not invited.
Having experienced various challenges with Heavenly Abode and Scarface, Sister Hong had become cautious and merely wanted to conduct business honestly. She never anticipated becoming a target herself.
In turmoil, Sister Hong summoned me and Uncle Ming to her office for advice. I knew nothing about industry matters, but Uncle Ming spoke up: "Boss, you must attend this meeting; otherwise, they will target us even more. As for their demands and conditions, we can discuss and decide based on the specifics later."
So they decided to go. Sister Hong insisted we accompany her: "With you two here, I feel more secure!"
Evergreen Funeral Company was not far from ours; they were on the right side of the crematorium while we were on the left. Their signage and scale were larger than ours, and they had more staff.
When Sister Hong and I arrived, a large room on the third floor was nearly filled with people. Huo Changqing was a bald man in his forties with a face full of flesh; he looked like someone difficult to deal with. To his left sat Cui Mingjiu, an emaciated old man in his fifties with beady eyes darting around. On his right was Zhao Huairen from Ruitu Funeral Company—a hefty man in his late forties with an intimidating appearance but seemingly lacking common sense at times.
Sister Hong greeted them: "Hello, Boss Huo and everyone else. Sorry for being a bit late."
Cui Mingjiu squinted at her with a smirk: "We thought Boss Hong had become too successful to associate with us small-time operators."
I mentally noted that this old man had ulterior motives and plenty of tricks up his sleeve.
Huo Changqing cleared his throat: "Now that Boss Hong is here, we can begin our meeting. Since Boss Chen has retired from our industry, differing opinions have emerged more frequently, leading to increasing chaos in the market."
The words were directed at everyone, but the gaze ultimately landed on Sister Hong.
Huo Changqing continued in a neutral tone, "Boss Hong, you are a dark horse in this industry, and we all admire your business approach. However, there are some matters that need to be discussed collectively, such as pricing. You can't always set prices based solely on your own ideas; that would disrupt the order of the entire industry!"
He turned to the others, "Ladies and gentlemen, our industry is currently too chaotic. Some people are lowering prices just to capture market share, which is detrimental to all of us. Therefore, I suggest we establish a common pricing standard—how about starting at 5,000 yuan? This way, every Grieving Master can receive fair and reasonable service."
Several nearby bosses nodded in agreement. This old fox truly had a black heart; just for handling a funeral, he charged at least 50,000 yuan. When you added in the costs for the Grieving Master, banquet, burial site, and urn, it easily exceeded 100,000 yuan.
One hundred thousand yuan might not be much for the wealthy, but for ordinary folks, it was no small sum. It truly echoed the saying that people couldn't even afford to die anymore.
I watched Sister Hong closely to see if she would go along with these people or stand her ground.
Sister Hong slowly raised her teacup and spoke, "Gentlemen, I am a woman without such great ambition or courage. I think we are doing just fine as we are. Although we don't earn much, we have enough to eat and drink, and it feels secure."
"I believe pricing shouldn't be a fixed standard; it should depend on each Grieving Master's situation. For example, some families are struggling; in our line of work, we should leave a way out for the living."
Just then, a woman in her thirties pushed the door open and entered with an unfriendly expression directed at Sister Hong. "You must be Boss Hong? I cannot agree with your statement; what you're suggesting makes it difficult for others!"
Uncle Ming quietly informed me that she was Chang Jiuxia, Huo Changqing's second wife.
Huo Changqing's expression darkened as he said discontentedly, "Boss Hong, aren't you undermining the pricing standard we've just established? You can't always act according to your own ideas; that will only lead to dissatisfaction among others!"
Sister Hong refused to back down and retorted, "Boss Huo, I'm merely expressing my thoughts. Yes, making money is our ultimate goal, but if everyone in Jiangcheng believes we are nothing but vampires profiting from death, our industry will be tarnished."
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