Send off the last journey of life

Death is the ending that everyone must face, and it is also the end of the journey of life. When everything turns to ashes, everything that happened during his lifetime will disappear, leaving only the endless thoughts of his loved ones. Stephen William Hawking wrote in "A Brief History of Time": "If everyone was a small planet, and the deceased relatives and friends were like the dark matter around me, I would like to see you again, but I know I can't. You." Then, how to let the deceased "leave" decently amid the grief and reluctance of relatives and friends is a test for everyone working in the funeral home.

The deceased was taken to the funeral home. First of all, the embalmer has to clean and put on makeup for the deceased, and sometimes needs to repair the deceased's face or limbs. After that, the deceased's body will be placed in the coffin surrounded by flowers to receive the last respects from relatives. During this period, the funeral master will guide relatives and friends to pay their respects and bid farewell to the deceased; after that, the body of the deceased will be sent to the cremation workshop...it is not until the cremator hands the ashes to the relatives of the deceased that the life of the deceased comes to an end.

Li Jingru.

The "post-90s" embalmer Li Jingru treated the deceased gently and solemnly

Li Jingru had a lively and cheerful personality, a cute and cute appearance, and spoke very quickly. Judging from her appearance, it is hard to believe that she is an embalmer with 5 years of work experience. In 2017, she returned to Yunnan from Changsha. With one year of experience as an undertaker in other places, she applied to work at the funeral parlor in Qilin District, Qujing City, where she has been for nearly four years. In the past four years, Li Jingru has processed an average of 4,500 corpses every year. "My colleagues say that I talk a lot, but they are not used to it when I am on vacation." Li Jingru smiled playfully, and his bright eyes curved into a pair of hook-like crescents behind his black-rimmed glasses.

In 1994, Li Jingru was born in an ordinary worker's family in Anning City. In 2007, Li Jingru's grandmother passed away. This was the first time she faced death. "In the funeral home in the western suburbs of Kunming, I didn't realize that my grandma had left. Looking at my grandma lying there, I had mixed feelings in my heart. I just didn't know how to release it. It took me a long time to cry." Later, an embalmer said When her grandmother's remains were being sorted out, she asked to watch. From then on, her dream of becoming an embalmer quietly sprouted in her heart.

In 2014, Li Jingru graduated from high school. When filling out her application for the college entrance examination, she accidentally learned that the funeral college of Changsha Civil Affairs Vocational and Technical College at that time was a college specializing in funerals, so she ignored her family’s objections. , resolutely applied for the college.

There is a line in the movie "The Embalmer": To awaken the cold dead and give them eternal beauty, they must be calm and precise, and most importantly, they must be full of tender feelings. Together with everyone, we saw off the deceased in the farewell ceremony. It was very peaceful and all the steps looked so beautiful. Of course, the scenes in the movie are all beautiful, but that is not always the case in real life. In the five years she has been engaged in funeral work, Li Jingru has been looked down upon by family members and treated indifferently, but she has also been thanked and respected, and all she can remember is this kind of tenderness.

Li Jingru remembers that in 2015, she received the body of a 70-year-old grandmother. When receiving the body, the grandmother’s wife couldn’t accept the fact that his wife had passed away, so she yelled at everyone in the funeral home. Li Jingru was furious and was scolded by her grandfather. Although she didn't know why, she still followed the steps to dispose of her grandmother's body. After the farewell ceremony for grandma's body, grandpa took the initiative to find Li Jingru and said sorry to her. Grandpa told her that they loved each other very much. Grandma had been paralyzed for more than ten years and grandpa had been taking care of her alone. He couldn't accept the fact that his wife had passed away for a while, so he became emotional. This incident moved Li Jingru a lot, and because of this, she became more determined to be an embalmer.

"If I don’t do it, someone has to do it. Besides, I like this job very much. I just want to do more front-line work now. Even if one day I can’t work on the front line, I think I will I will not leave the funeral industry. Because I can treat the deceased gently and solemnly in their last journey, and I will be satisfied if I can hear a word of thanks from their families," Li Jingru said firmly.

Wei Qiong.

"Post-95" housekeeper Wei Qiong comforts the soul with high-quality services

When working, they look solemn and unsmiling, accompanying each of the deceased through the last journey of life; , they are enthusiastic and cheerful, chatting and laughing, and experience different kinds of fun in ordinary years.

Wei Qiong, a girl from Wenshan Funing, is a housekeeper at the funeral home in Qilin District, Qujing City. She has just turned 25 this year and has worked here for nearly four years. She graduated from the nursing major of Qujing Medical College From a graduate to a practitioner in the funeral industry, Wei Qiong's first career in life was "questioned" by others. Fortunately, along the way, she has always been the girl with a smile on her face.

"At that time, I had no luck in returning to my hometown to find a job, so I went to try it out of curiosity. Unexpectedly, I was selected by accident." In mid-October 2017, from the head teacher of the university. After learning about the recruitment information, Wei Qiong came to the Qilin District Funeral Home to apply for a job. Although she knew nothing about the funeral industry, Wei Qiong eventually successfully took up the position of housekeeper. She learned and worked and asked questions while working. Being willing to learn and endure hardships, her professional ability improved day by day. Now, she is comfortable in her position. Her family has long dispelled their doubts and supports her in her efforts to realize her career ideals. All efforts.

Guide the bereaved family to handle business, gain an in-depth understanding of the deceased's life, and carefully prepare ritual words... At every farewell ceremony, Wei Qiong always hopes to comfort the bereaved family's soul through his own words. , to help them get over the grief of the death of their loved ones, but it often backfires. Once, after the deceased entered the furnace, the bereaved family suddenly came to Wei Qiong and asked him "why the salute was not fired." Wei Qiong quickly stepped forward to explain that the bereaved family members were too excited when the salute was fired and had no time to pay attention to his reminder. , and could not even hear the salute. But even though Wei Qiong explained again and again, the bereaved family members still insisted that "you didn't salute" and even pushed him to the corner and demanded that he be beaten again. Faced with the unreasonable demands of the bereaved family, Wei Qiong had no choice but to take the trouble to comfort them and wait for them to calm down before communicating further until they would no longer pursue the case.

“I fully understand the grief felt by bereaved families when bidding farewell to their loved ones, but understanding is mutual. Whether it is for professionalism or moral cultivation, as long as we are in this position, we must pay tribute to each deceased person. The person responsible is responsible." Despite her grievances and unwillingness, Wei Qiong always believed that getting along with others is to "exchange true feelings with sincerity and calm grievances with patience." Along the way, her service has touched many bereaved families and made them happy. Let go of your "knots", forget your "taboos", and regard this "post-95s" housekeeper as your friend or even relative. "A thank you and a piece of candy from the bereaved family before leaving are a great comfort and affirmation to me, and they are the motivation for me to keep going."

In March this year, Wei Qiong married A married woman, and her husband is a colleague in the same office. "I'm not afraid of your jokes. If we don't digest it internally in our industry, it will be really difficult to find a partner." When saying this, Wei Qiong seemed particularly relieved. In the past few years since entering the funeral industry, she has been blocked on WeChat, It was not uncommon for her phone calls to be hung up. She had long been accustomed to a life without friends. She was with her colleagues every day at work and off work. Everyone talked to and encouraged each other. They were both work partners and close friends in life.

Because they often face separation and death, they cherish each other and every fate even more; because they understand that life is short, they choose to live in the present and enjoy every bit of accomplishment in their work; because they understand that life is short. Fragile, they bravely live out themselves, exuding the light of youth... For every young undertaker like Wei Qiong, this job is warm, and they will also use professional knowledge and advanced concepts Constantly enrich ourselves, provide high-quality services and tenderness, let the deceased rest in peace, provide comfort to the living, and let the new trend of funeral civilization blow into everyone's heart.

Chen Zizhuo.

23-year-old cremator Chen Zizhuo helps the deceased leave with dignity

Chen Zizhuo, born in Tianjin in 1998, is 23 years old and has been engaged in the funeral industry for 2 years. At first, he did not adapt to the working environment during his internship and felt that it was not his ideal career. After being introduced by a fellow villager, Chen Zizhuo came into contact with the funeral industry and worked hard to do it as his first job in his life.

As a cremator, Chen Zizhuo has never been shy about talking about his profession. In this profession, Chen Zizhuo has gained more understanding of life and death.

"Are you afraid of the funeral industry?" Chen Zizhuo still remembers what a fellow villager originally asked him. "I'm not afraid. It's a good thing to help the deceased leave with dignity." In this way, Chen Zizhuo left his hometown and came to Yunnan to start his first official job in his life.

At first, Chen Zizhuo's job was as a etiquette host. After a while, he transferred to the cremation room and became a cremator. From the beginning to the end, Chen Zizhuo never had any resistance or fear about his profession. "Today's young people have changed their minds and are no longer as traditional and feudal as the older generation. Funeral work is the same as other jobs. There is no essential difference. If there is anything different, I think there is a chance. There is nothing wrong with sending countless relatives and compatriots on their last journey.”

The dark room, the cold atmosphere, and the unkind staff are the inherent impression of the Yuhuajian, but the reality is far from this. Every morning at 8:30 a.m., Chen Zizhuo came to work. The first thing he did was to clean the house. After basically cleaning the house, around 9 a.m., the deceased was brought for cremation. Before cremation, after carefully confirming the name, age, ID number and other information of the deceased, the form will be given to the family for confirmation and signature, and then the deceased will be invited to the furnace for cremation. After the cremation, Chen Zizhuo and his colleagues will pick up the ashes, pack them, and notify the family to take them away. At the busiest time, five machines were operating at the same time, and more than 50 people were cremated a day, with an average of about 20 people being cremated every day. "The masters in our workshop know the position of every bone in the human body very well." Chen Zizhuo said.

In the year-round funeral home, you will experience life and death one after another every day. In Chen Zizhuo's view, no matter whether they end their lives or die unexpectedly, whether it is long or short, at least they have stayed in this wonderful world, and living hard is the best interpretation of life.

"We respect every deceased and pray for them in our hearts while working. The pain of losing a loved one is difficult to accept for a while. Practitioners in the funeral industry will try their best to appease the emotions of the family members and set up separate rooms for them. Rest room, give them their own space," Chen Zizhuo said.

"Contacting and communicating with the family members of the deceased every day has improved my ability to deal with people and made me understand the value of life. I have become more passionate about and cherish life. Any industry requires employment With perseverance and a down-to-earth attitude, as long as you put your mind to it, you can achieve great results in every industry," Chen Zizhuo concluded.