Chapter 59: Study Tour

This was not the first time Hu Baosong had said this to Xu Qing.

Xu Qing looked at the spirited old man in front of him and laughed: "His Majesty can still live to be eighty. How old are you? Perhaps by then I won't be in this death business, but will have become a physician to heal the sick. These are all things without a shadow!"

Hu Baosong was noncommittal. When Xu Qing was about to leave, he said out of the blue: "Little Xu, don't touch the two coffins in your shop, especially the one with red lacquer. That is a Four Seasons Coffin; who knows what strange things are hidden inside."

Xu Qing was surprised and suspicious, turning his head to look at the other party carefully, probing: "Old Hu, do you know something?"

"I've lived to this age, what don't I know?" Hu Baosong grinned, revealing teeth covered in yellow moss.

"That red-lacquered Four Seasons Coffin was dug up by Liu Youdao on the ancient road at the river mouth. He wasn't sure what to do and didn't dare to open it, so he ran to ask me if I recognized it..."

"I originally thought he wouldn't be able to resist opening that coffin one day, but he died elsewhere. It's a pity; I still wanted to see what was hidden in that Four Seasons Coffin..."

Xu Qing breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this, then asked again: "Since you want to know so much, why remind me not to open the coffin?"

"You blockhead, are you really not understanding or just pretending? Before, you and I weren't familiar and didn't ask about each other. Now that we are neighbors and get along well, we should naturally support each other..."

"So you reminded me of this just to leave a good impression, so I would send you off in the future?"

Hu Baosong beamed with joy upon hearing this.

"Old Hu, you really have a thick skin!" Xu Qing said irritably: "If it were someone else, they might have opened that coffin long ago. Would they still be alive to hear your reminder today?"

"If you had told me this earlier, it would be one thing. I never intended to open that coffin anyway. And you still have the nerve to ask me to take care of your funeral?"

Hu Baosong's old face flushed. Seeing he was in the wrong, he started to pull and tug, playing the emotional card.

Saying that as long as you can agree, I will treat you like my own son in the future, and this coffin shop, along with the coffin money he has saved, will all be yours!

Well, I treat you as a neighbor, but you want to be my father?

And it sounds like I'm the one taking advantage?

Xu Qing's face immediately darkened; how could he agree to this!

This Old Hu's background clearly has problems; who knows what kind of trap is hidden inside, waiting for him to step on.

"Old Hu, don't talk to me about these useless things. I'm going to the prefectural city to take the exams today, and I'll be on a study tour for a month or two, maybe half a year. You'd better ask someone else to take care of your funeral!"

After speaking, Xu Qing pushed the cart with the coffin and returned to the mortuary.

In place, only Hu Baosong was left, sighing with his hands behind his back.

Young people today really don't know how to respect the old and love the young!

In the mortuary, Xu Qing properly encoffined Wang Qiao's body. Before leaving, he turned back and glanced at the two coffins parked against the west wall.

Young people shouldn't be too arrogant!

Even though Hu Baosong mentioned that the black-lacquered coffin was not as ominous as the red-lacquered one, Xu Qing had no intention of opening the coffin to verify it now.

He still had a long life ahead, and the coffin parked here didn't get in the way, so why take the risk to peek at what was inside?

Withdrawing his gaze, Xu Qing set a small goal for himself.

When he evolves from the third category of wandering corpses to the third transformation of crouching corpses, it won't be too late to consider opening this black-lacquered coffin.

After visiting for a while, the neighbors all knew about Xu Qing's study tour.

As soon as Xu Qing stepped out, Cheng Caiyun from the incense shop diagonally opposite eagerly greeted him.

Calling him "Brother Qing" with every word, it sounded very pleasant.

"If Brother Qing passes the Licentiate exam and becomes successful in the future, don't forget your sister-in-law's kindness..."

"How could I! Sister-in-law, do you have any eggs at home? I'm going to take the exam and need to boil a basket to take with me, so I don't have to just chew on dry cakes on the road..."

"Oh my, Brother Qing, you don't know, it hasn't warmed up yet, it's very cold. It's not that I'm reluctant to give them to you, it's just that the hens at home aren't living up to expectations; they aren't laying eggs!"

Fine, Xu Qing rolled his eyes; he knew this little woman only played with words.

If you want to take any practical advantage of her, that is absolutely impossible.

"Brother Qing, walk slowly. When the weather warms up, I will definitely save a basket of eggs for you."

Xu Qing drove the carriage rented from the agency and waved his hand behind him.

He also raised hens in his shop; how could he not know whether hens were laying at this time of year?

As for her words, he just took them as pretty talk.

Passing by the paper craft shop, Wu Yaoxing shouted at the top of his lungs: "Little Brother Xu, just go with peace of mind. I will definitely take good care of the hens you left in my yard! I'll keep count of the eggs they lay and send them all back when you return..."

This guy is definitely doing it on purpose.

Cheng Caiyun hadn't even returned to the incense shop yet; hearing Wu Yaoxing's words, she stumbled, truly embarrassing.

Xu Qing drove the carriage all the way to the government office. Old Man Qin at the gate took the jug of wine he brought, and he couldn't have been more enthusiastic.

"You, you, just come if you want, why bring anything..."

"Just park the cart there, don't worry about it, I'll watch it for you, it definitely won't be a problem!"

Old Man Qin was just happy, not knowing that the wine he had been drinking these past few times was fake wine Xu Qing had brewed using wine bugs...

Wine bugs, ranked as low-grade human-level, are not any kind of insect in the world, but fake bugs and drunk bugs from alcoholics.

Their function is to be placed in water, and the water will have a mellow wine flavor.

This was a reward Xu Qing got when he brushed the corpse mill again.

Familiar with the road, he arrived at the clerk's courtyard. As soon as Xu Qing entered, he saw Secretary Tang Zhou pouring out dregs of medicine on the ground.

"Is the Secretary not feeling well?"

Tang Zhou's eyes rolled, and he smilingly put away the clay pot used for boiling medicine, replying: "I've been having insomnia lately, so I went to the clinic to get a sedative prescription. It's nothing serious."

Xu Qing glanced at the dregs in the corner of the wall, and the "Collection of Hundred Herbs" he learned from the old physician Yang Chunfu was activated subconsciously.

"Schisandra, Morinda officinalis, Cornus officinalis, Cistanche..."

Xu Qing wondered: "Is the Secretary really just suffering from insomnia? Why are these dregs all medicine for replenishing qi and fluids, nourishing the kidneys and calming the heart? Oh! There's even medicine for nourishing kidney yang and strengthening tendons and bones. Could it be that the Secretary has kidney deficiency?"

"Shh, keep your voice down!"

Secretary Tang's face became nervous instantly, afraid that acquaintances or colleagues would hear this gossip.

"It's all groundless. I am perfectly fine! If you want to go to the mortuary, go quickly, don't talk nonsense here."

How could Xu Qing know that ever since Private Secretary Tang had a grand dream at the Pear Garden Theater, he had been single-mindedly polishing his rusted "precious blade," hoping to add a daughter to his family in his remaining years. With both a son and a daughter, and the balance of yin and yang, perhaps he could change his fate just like in the dream, allowing him to shed his status as a staffer and advance his future further.

In the mortuary, Xu Qing explained his study tour after the prefectural exam to Wang Lingyuan.

"How long will Junior Brother be on a study tour?"

"At most three to five months, at least ten to twenty days."

Xu Qing wasn't sure about the time; the specific return date depended on whether his "study tour" went smoothly.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 60 =====