After driving another hundred meters, Si Ren finally let out a breath.
The old woman from just now had been truly terrifying, her complexion ashen and completely devoid of blood. Moreover, in the middle of a desolate wasteland, why was she out here all by herself burning ghost money? That image kept lingering in his mind, impossible to shake.
Driven by some inexplicable impulse, Si Ren glanced into the rear-view mirror—he had no idea why he even did it. The moment his eyes met the glass, he nearly scared himself to death. The old woman's face was pressed directly against the rear-view mirror, her hollow eyes and eerie smile sending a chill straight through Si Ren's bones.
He wanted to scream at the top of his lungs, only to find that no sound would come out. Stamping his foot down hard on the accelerator, he tried to shake the old woman off.
An Iveco van sped down the narrow dirt path, kicking up billows of dust. Because the road was uneven and the speed excessive, the coffin in the back kept slamming against the interior walls of the van, producing a series of sharp clatterings.
Hearing the noise, Si Ren finally calmed down a bit. Plucking up his courage, he used his peripheral vision to glance back at the right rear-view mirror. This time, the old woman's face did not appear again.
He let out a long sigh of relief and comforted himself. "I must just be under too much stress. I was focusing too hard on driving and hallucinated, that has to be it."
Finally, he arrived at his destination.
Ahead, lights blazed brightly, and a white tent stood not far off. Mourning banners were erected all around the tent, and paper money littered the ground. Hearing the engine, two people—a man and a woman—walked out from the tent. Both were dressed in white funeral garb, with black cloth bands wrapped around their arms. Because they wore deep hoods, their features were obscured.
Si Ren parked the car, cut the engine, opened the door, and casually pulled a cigarette from his pocket, putting it between his lips and lighting it. "Finally made it. This whole stretch is dirt road, a real pain to drive on."
Seeing the flicker of the flame, the man took a slight step back and replied in a stiff tone, "Yeah, this road isn't easy to travel on, otherwise we wouldn't have had to call you guys."
Not catching anything amiss in the man's words, Si Ren walked over to the back of the van, opened the rear doors, and called out, "Lend a hand here, let's get this coffin down."
The man approached the back of the van and said, "No need to trouble you. Just leave it to us."
Hearing this, Si Ren didn't think much of it. He leaned against the car door, smoking his cigarette while his mind kept drifting back to that old woman from earlier. Watching the man and woman lift the coffin and carry it into the tent, Si Ren got back into the van. "If there's nothing else, I'm heading back."
A pale hand reached out from the tent and waved at him, seemingly bidding him farewell.
Si Ren stubbed out his cigarette, fastened his seatbelt, and tapped the accelerator to leave. After driving a short distance, he suddenly slammed on the brakes and ground to a halt.
Something was wrong. That coffin weighed well over three hundred catties. Add in the dead body lying inside, plus all sorts of random burial objects, and it had to be close to five hundred catties. Could this man and woman have carried that coffin inside so effortlessly? The crucial point was that the two of them were exceptionally frail and thin, as if a gust of wind could blow them right over.
Si Ren thought back carefully and suddenly realized that neither of the two had made a single sound as they walked.
At this thought, he didn't dare linger any longer. But remembering the old woman from not far up ahead, Si Ren's heart hammered in his chest, and he prayed silently that she would be gone.
It seemed the heavens heard his prayer: at the crossroads, only a pile of unburned paper money and a pair of black cloth shoes remained. The old woman had vanished without a trace.
The drive back went extremely smoothly. Not only could he see passing vehicles, but the radio even picked up a signal. Humming a little tune along with the music on the radio, Si Ren returned to the car agency.
He got out of the car and handed the keys to Huang Quan. "Man, that trip scared the living daylights out of me. Brother Quan, you have no idea—there was an old lady burning ghost money out in the middle of nowhere in the dead of night, talk about terrifying. And another thing, that coffin I delivered must have weighed at least five hundred catties, but her relatives—just a man and a woman—managed to move it away without the slightest effort."
Just as he was babbling on, he failed to notice Huang Quan staring at him with a dark, expressionless face, saying not a word.
Si Ren finally sensed that something was wrong and asked with a forced smile, "Brother Quan, what's wrong with you? Why do you look so grim?"
Huang Quan let out a cold snort. "Kid, you've got good luck today, you dodged a bullet. But just now, I got a complaint from a client saying you don't know how to drive and nearly shook the coffin apart!"
Si Ren scratched his head and said sheepishly, "Brother Quan, a section of that road was a dirt track and was really hard to drive on, plus that's where I ran into the old lady. I panicked and sped up a little. But I checked the coffin after I reached the destination, and I didn't see any problems. How could they tell?"
Huang Quan smiled grimly. "The dead person inside the coffin is the one who complained about you!"
Hearing this, Si Ren gave a start, the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end. "Brother Quan, I scare easily, don't mess with me."
Ignoring him, Huang Quan handed him a small booklet and a key. "This is the employee handbook. Go back and read it carefully. Remember, read it word by word. These are the keys to the agency; they're in your custody now. You can drive any of the cars here as you like, but keep this in mind: when you bring them back, the fuel tanks must be full. Keep the gas receipts, and I'll reimburse you. This agency doesn't sell cars—if anyone comes looking to buy, chase them straight out. If someone comes to ship cargo, just give them my phone number. All right, work's done for today, go back and get some good rest, and don't forget to actually read that employee handbook."
With that, Huang Quan turned and left.
Si Ren stood holding the keys and the employee handbook, feeling somewhat dazed. But thinking about how he could drive any of the cars here for free with the gas paid for, wasn't that pretty sweet?
Wait a minute! He hadn't been paid his wages for today yet!
*Ding!* Si Ren's phone chimed with a notification.
He pulled it out to take a look. It was a text message: *Your XX Bank account ending in 9414 has received a deposit of 1000 yuan. Balance is 1812.05 yuan.*
"I don't remember giving my card number to Huang Quan? How did he know?" Si Ren shook his head. If he couldn't figure it out, he wouldn't dwell on it—as long as his pay wasn't short, it was fine.
Back in his rented room, Si Ren ordered takeout. While waiting for the food to arrive, he opened the employee handbook and started reading.
*To regulate the behavior of the company and its employees, protect the rights and interests of both parties, and in accordance with supplementary regulations, the employer's wishes, and the actual conditions of the company, these rules and regulations are hereby established.*
*1. Employee Precautions:*
*1. During working hours, handle any unexpected situations by yourself.*
*2. While driving at night, if you encounter someone wearing red, escape as quickly as possible.*
*3. Baijiu is your good friend; you may drink some while escorting a funeral bier, as it will bring unexpected benefits.*
*4. During hearse operations, no living creatures other than the driver are allowed inside the vehicle, or you will bear the consequences.*
*5. Do not stop the vehicle while driving. If you encounter a wedding procession, pull over and wait until they have passed before continuing.*
*6. Trust your intuition; what your eyes see is not necessarily the truth.*
*7. Do not rely excessively on your intuition, as it will cloud your judgment.*
*8. When delivering a funeral bier to the designated location, generous family members may give you small gifts. You may accept them, as they can save your life. (Beware of malicious family members who will use small gifts to take your life.)*
*9. Your duty is to drive; do your job well.*
*10. Pies do not fall from the sky, and neither do beauties.*