The young master with prestigious background seems to have seen nothing else besides luxury horses and carriages.
Hearing about distributing food to the poor, he eagerly took out money to join the excitement. Hearing about performing rituals that might encounter ghosts, he excitedly attempted to join the battle.
Just because Xu Qing's words were passionate, he thought he was capable too!
But how could he know that Shopkeeper Xu, who spoke about passionate things, was colder than anyone else—physically cold-blooded?
Xu Qing looked at this person in front of him, dressed in a filthy white coat, much like a white cat running into a stove for warmth in the winter, looking half-white and ashen, yet it didn't seem to mind, popping out from the stove to approach people.
You say, how come you don't have any sense of situation?
Xu Qing, walking in front, pondered on how to shuffle off this reckless young heir.
But he couldn't directly tell him to leave, given that he just spent two hundred taels of silver on the Funeral Shop business and donated five hundred taels in charity. To flip the face like that on a moral level seemed somewhat inappropriate.
Maybe take out the dog-beating stick and knock the boy out, throw him into the widow's house across the street!
Possibly even attend Boss Cheng's wedding in a few days.
Helping the solitary widow to escape poverty, doesn't that sound moral?
"Brother Xu's shop is indeed cooler than outside..."
Just upon entering the shop, the sight of coffin paper wreaths greets the eyes, accompanied by a chilly breeze from unknown whereabouts, along with eerie papermen and paper horses watching around, any heat dissipated.
Upon hearing this, Xu Qing patted the coffin in the middle, saying, "It's even cooler lying inside, Young Master Shang, would you like to try it?"
"..."
Xu Qing had made it clear enough. Any astute person would perceive that the shopkeeper had issued a dismissal order and wasn't planning to entertain any more guests.
Yet, the young master pretended not to hear, sticking around in the Funeral Shop, glancing here and there.
Seeing him check out the 'funeral menu,' Xu Qing decided not to shoo him away.
"Brother Shang, take your time looking. The services in our shop are suitable for all ages, with guaranteed after-sales support. Look at this sand table..."
Xu Qing laughed while pointing at a newly constructed sand table next to the funeral banner, "Doesn't Brother Shang find it familiar?"
Shang Shaoyang blinked, looking at the clay sculptures made in the likeness of a city on the sand table, adorned with white sand depicting the Baisha River, a miniature layout of Linjiang County city.
However, the clay-modeled Linjiang County was noticeably coarse and simplified, with the most exquisite part being the cemetery not far from the city.
"Is this Wujue Slope?"
"This isn't just any hill; it's a blessed Yin Residence, an ideal abode for the deceased!"
Xu Qing picked up a thin wooden stick, explaining the feng shui layout and residential purchase guarantees in great detail.
"Brother Shang, behold this Yin Residence; the front courtyard's evergreens stand tall, the rear slope's new pool reflects the moon. According to the four divine correspondences of funeral rites, such a Yin Residence with verdant pines and cypresses is akin to a Cyan Dragon guarding the bright hall.
A half-acre clear pond in the backyard captures the essence, aligning like a Black Tortoise trailing its tail storing vitality.
I see Brother Shang as a chivalrous person, with a heart for cherishing flowers and others, truly a refined scholar. If selecting a Yin Residence, this elegant abode should be the foremost choice."
Xu Qing got increasingly enthusiastic as he spoke; suddenly, he grabbed Shang Shaoyang's arm, pulling him to the other side of the sand table, pointing to the rear of a tomb, "This residence with pines and cypress as its bones, living water as its veins, subtly embodies the constellation of the Big Dipper. Backing onto Wujue Slope, fitting the 'left screen, right guard', 'front case, back support' formation, it's indeed the elegant abode sought by geomancers all their lives."
"Beside the residence, there's a shaded avenue of willows. Decades down the line, Brother Shang, should you wish to take a stroll abroad, you could tread this path without fearing the scorching sun, with nearly a hundred paces further, a clear pool awaits, with lotus flowers planted within, rising unstained from the mud, washed yet not bewitching—truly a place to shift scenery and enjoy four seasons in delight."
"..."
Shang Shaoyang's eyelid twitched as he listened; he wanted to interrupt but had to admit that the residence was just as Xu Qing described, matching his desires perfectly, as though tailored exclusively for him.
"This is a hereditary residence, priceless, but Brother Shang is my friend and a returning customer. I can offer a fifty-percent discount, at only one hundred taels, plus a complimentary tomb of thirty feet, ensuring peace and family happiness for centuries to come."
"..."
Shang Shaoyang furrowed his eyebrows, relaxing them, and then furrowing them again.
A salesperson boasting about their product to entice customers is typically nothing unusual, but it was the first time Shang Shaoyang had seen someone in the funeral business so boldly pulling in customers.
Out of curiosity, he wondered, wouldn't someone like Xu Qing fear being reproached or attacked for such sales tactics?
It should be known that funerals, anything related to death, aren't exactly joyous topics, and people generally avoid such matters to some degree. Who would dare to brazenly sell burial plots or coffins? It's akin to cursing someone, not to mention those family bucket bundles, implying curses on entire families.
Faced with Shang Shaoyang's inquiry, Xu Qing laughed nonchalantly, "Brother Shang is a hero in the martial world, free-spirited and unrestrained; how could you be like the common folks?"
"In one's lifetime, who isn't going to die? Some people fear death as they would a tiger, yet in the end, it's still their friends and relatives who will have to manage their funeral affairs."
"There's a saying: in crisis, mistakes are more likely, while being prepared averts misfortune. Brother Shang, imagine if no one prepared for their after-life affairs, and upon death, hastily arranging coffins and resting places—can they find their ideal spot then?"
"In the scorching heat of midsummer, some people are eager to bury, neglecting to find a suitable place, inadvertently selecting lowlands or spots rooted by a large tree—the former risks flooding, the latter tree roots could penetrate the tomb and coffin, and by then, one would inevitably need to spend money and effort relocating the remains."