pjbooks Chapter 297 I Can't Afford to Die
Chapter 297 I Can't Afford to Die
"This...this is so expensive?" Ma Junjie was taken aback.
He had considered that cremation might cost some money.
But to my surprise, it cost more than two thousand.
I don't have enough cash on me right now.
Carina Lau had given him some money before, and Ma Junjie counted it; it was just over a thousand.
Ma Junjie complained,
"Your prices are way too high! Can you lower them?"
Upon hearing Ma Junjie's tone, the woman inside immediately looked displeased.
She glanced at Ma Junjie and said disdainfully,
"What, you're not even willing to spend money on the dead?"
"You're already stingy while you're alive, but you're still this stingy after you're dead?!"
"Damn it, I...!" Ma Junjie suddenly got angry.
With a "bang," he slammed his hand hard against the security window.
The middle-aged woman probably knew there were security bars on the outside, so she tilted her head back slightly.
He then quickly stood up.
With eyes wide with anger, he pointed at Ma Junjie and said arrogantly,
"Come on, come in and hit me!"
"I can tell from your accent you're some country bumpkin from out of town. Come on in and hit me!"
"If you dare touch a single hair on my head, I'll send you straight in for cremation."
Ma Junjie was already feeling down, and hearing the woman's arrogant attitude only made things worse.
They're completely blind and utterly ignorant.
He pushed the security bars on the window, but they didn't budge.
So he looked around and saw that the main door was open and there was a window without security bars.
Ma Junjie sneered.
"Fine, you wait!"
"Wait for me to come in, then we'll see who goes to be cremated first."
Upon hearing this and seeing that the door was open, the woman panicked.
Quickly compromise and beg for mercy.
"Handsome guy... let's... forget it!"
"I just woke up and I'm not feeling well, please don't mind it, don't be angry..."
Ma Junjie was determined to go in and meet the woman no matter what.
People who come to funeral homes are already in a very distressing state of mind.
But there are still such vicious and disgusting women.
Ma Junjie turned around, preparing to walk towards the door.
Just as I turned around, someone suddenly blocked my way.
"Ah Jie, don't go, let me do it."
Ma Junjie looked up and exclaimed in surprise.
"Sister Liu... Sister Liu!"
"You...you're back again?"
Carina Lau chuckled.
"Ah Jie, I knew you didn't have any cash on you."
"What I gave you might not be enough, so after thinking about it, I'm returning it."
"Oh, this!" Ma Junjie looked up at Liu Jialing, who was smiling, and felt a surge of emotion.
"Sister Liu, you're too much..."
Carina Lau said nothing more, walked to the window, and spoke to the woman inside.
"How much? I'll pay."
The middle-aged woman was taken aback and didn't react immediately.
Upon seeing the wallet in Carina Lau's hand, he immediately burst into laughter.
"Hehe, okay, okay!"
"You're so straightforward, the total is 2560 yuan."
Without saying a word, Carina Lau opened her wallet and handed over the money.
"There's a total of three thousand yuan here. Please use the extra money to store my ashes here."
"Store it?" The middle-aged woman was a little surprised.
But looking at the money in his hand, he beamed with joy.
"Okay, no problem."
"Come and get it anytime you want it later."
Ma Junjie, who had been watching from the side, stepped forward and said...
"Sister Liu, her price seems a bit off. I see she listed a lot of items, which are unclear and suspicious, and there's a suspicion of overcharging."
Upon hearing this, the middle-aged woman raised her head again and glared at Ma Junjie.
He said in a strange and sarcastic tone,
"Young man, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want. My prices are clearly marked. Even if I'm heartless, I wouldn't make money off a dead person!"
Ma Junjie sneered.
"Aren't you blatantly profiting from the dead right now?"
"Show me the list, what items are included, and what the prices are..."
The woman gave a cold reply.
"Sorry, you can't watch this."
"Holy crap, you're obviously just ripping me off, you..."
"Forget it, Ah Jie!" Carina Lau interrupted Ma Junjie, pressing his hand down and advising him.
"Let's just let this matter rest, there's no need to dwell on it anymore."
"But..." Ma Junjie was unwilling.
Carina Lau patted Ma Junjie on the back.
Then he addressed the woman in the window,
"The money has been paid; the rest is up to you."
The woman smiled instantly.
"Okay, no problem, no problem."
"Don't worry, I've made sure everything is taken care of!"
Carina Lau nodded, then tugged at Ma Junjie.
"Ah Jie, okay, let's go back."
Ma Junjie looked up at the window.
The middle-aged woman looked up and saw that it was Ma Junjie. Her expression immediately changed, revealing a look of utter disgust.
Ma Junjie slammed his fist against the security window with a loud "bang."
He spat on the ground and turned to leave.
Faintly, you could hear women grumbling and cursing "country bumpkin" from inside the window.
Carina Lau held Ma Junjie's hand tightly and pulled him outside.
Once they reached the car, Carina Lau gave it a gentle push.
"Ah Jie, let's go inside, let's go back."
Ma Junjie paused for a moment, then opened the car door and got in.
Even after getting into the car, Ma Junjie remained indignant.
Carina Lau knew that Ma Junjie was usually frugal, and now he had suddenly spent several thousand dollars.
I felt particularly resentful because I felt cheated out of a lot of money by that woman.
Carina Lau turned her head to look at him and smiled.
"Ah Jie, money is just an external thing, don't worry about it too much."
"Throughout your life, you are constantly making money. Money is just a tool; you shouldn't let it bind you. Remember, you use money, not the other way around."
"At the same time, you must believe that making money is always easier than saving money."
Upon hearing this, Ma Junjie suddenly felt as if he had been struck by lightning, and his body trembled.
He seemed to understand, but not quite.
However, I had some thoughts and feelings about it.
"Sister Liu, I may not have reached your level yet."
"To be honest, back in the countryside, I didn't have more than a hundred yuan on me."
"The villagers in my hometown might not be able to save three thousand yuan even after a year of hard work."
"Heh, people like us, if we died in the city, our bodies probably wouldn't even qualify for a funeral home."
Carina Lau was also somewhat taken aback upon hearing this.
Ma Junjie's words also have a point.
Carina Lau is looking at things from her own perspective, while ordinary farmers like those described by Ma Junjie might not even be able to afford to die!
Carina Lau paused, feeling that the topic was a bit heavy.
She changed the subject and asked Ma Junjie,
"Ah Jie, how's your job at Blue Moon going?"
Ma Junjie's casual reply
"It's great, Brother Hao is also very good to me."
"Have you calculated how much your salary is per month?" Carina Lau pressed.
Ma Junjie thought for a moment and replied,
"On average, it should be around ten thousand, and there might be an end-of-year bonus, so it could be twenty or thirty thousand."
Carina Lau smiled.
"Ah Jie, are you satisfied with this salary?"
Ma Junjie wanted to blurt out a satisfied answer,
But after thinking about it, I realized that in this city, a few thousand or tens of thousands of yuan a month is nothing at all.
Ma Junjie sighed.
"Sister Liu, to be honest, when I first came to the city and worked in your factory, I was very satisfied with earning 900 yuan a month."
"But gradually I realized that a decent piece of clothing in the city costs one or two hundred yuan, and a day's spending at an entertainment center can easily cost one or two thousand yuan. I suddenly realized that ten thousand yuan a month doesn't seem like much."
Carina Lau laughed heartily upon hearing this.
"Ah Jie, that's normal. People change."
"Desire drives progress. If a person has no higher desires, there is no possibility of progress."
Ma Junjie smiled and shook his head.
"Sister Liu, I know my own abilities, and I'm quite satisfied with what I have for now."
"Really?" Carina Lau glanced at Ma Junjie, not quite believing it.
Ma Junjie's Adam's apple bobbed a few times, and he hesitated before replying.
"Yes, really..."
Carina Lau smiled and shook her head.
"Ah Jie, I know what you're thinking!"
"Ah Jie, I still mean it... you can't work for someone else your whole life..."
"I know you came to the city to make a lot of money, and you must have bigger ideas."
"I'll be honest with you, actually, I have an opportunity here that can make you a lot of money..."