I became a civil servant in the underworld and became an internet sensation in both the mortal and s

Chapter 33 Earning Money to Repair Graves?

Like a small animal cautiously peeking out from the edge of a hole, it quickly peeked out half its head, but upon seeing Xu Qingling and Sasha, it immediately shrank back in fright.

"It's a child!" Sasha exclaimed.

She jogged down to take a look.

Inside Chai Jianguo's large basket was a little girl, about two or three years old. Like Chai Jianguo, she was thin and small, especially her arms, which looked so thin that they seemed to break easily.

Her hair was yellow and sparse due to malnutrition, with only a small tuft of hair in her two little ponytails.

The cheeks lacked the baby fat that a child should have, and were even somewhat sunken.

It made her eyes appear especially large.

However, those big eyes were very clear, bright, and watery, as if they were holding a pool of clear spring water.

She was curled up in the basket, a tiny little ball.

When Sasha looked at her, she quickly sat back down and lowered her head. After a while, she timidly raised her eyelids slightly and curiously looked at Sasha through the gap in the basket.

Sasha gave her a smile.

The little girl paused for a moment, blinked, clenched her little fists, mustered her courage, and softly called out, "Sister..."

The voice was soft and sweet, like a little sweet cake, which melted Sasha's heart.

"Hey, hello there (^o^)／." Sasha replied, her smile widening.

At this moment, Xu Qingling and Sasha also realized that the snores that followed came from inside the little girl's belly.

Chai Jianguo took the basket on his back, hugged it to his chest, and patted the little girl's head, his eyes full of tenderness. "This is my daughter, Tiantian, 4 years old."

"Sister, they actually starved to death?" When Sasha returned to Xu Qingling's side, she saw on the computer the cause of death of Chai Jianguo and his daughter, both of whom died of starvation due to the famine.

"No wonder he's so thin." He's so thin he's almost unrecognizable.

Sasha's face fell, and when she looked at Chai Jianguo and his daughter again, her eyes turned to sympathy. "They're so pitiful."

Especially the adorable and sweet little girl, who is only four years old.

Xu Qingling tilted her head slightly and suggested, "How about we give them some bread?"

Sasha's eyes lit up, and she immediately smiled, "Okay, sister, you're such a kind person!"

Hsu Ching-ling: Does giving bread make someone a great person?
Indeed, that is the case.

A few minutes later, Chai Jianguo and his daughter were wolfing down their instant noodles while tears streamed down their faces.

Chai Tiantian seemed extremely hungry as well. Her mouth was stuffed full of bread, and she kept stuffing more into it, as if the bread would disappear the next second if she didn't stuff it in.

Only when it's in your mouth can you feel at ease.

"Eat slowly, eat slowly, no one's going to take it from you, don't choke." Sasha watched anxiously from the side.

"Comrade Sasha, don't worry, we're ghosts now, we won't choke," Chai Jianguo said between bites.

Sasha: Okay, I overlooked that.

"Dad, it's delicious..." Chai Tiantian finished the bread, still wanting more.

This was the best steamed bun she had ever eaten in her life, even though her life was very short, lasting only three years.

The steamed buns I've eaten before were almost all dark brown; I've never even eaten white steamed buns.

"Comrade Director, Comrade Sasha, you are such good people." After finishing their meal, Chai Jianguo pulled Tian Tian down to kneel and kowtow to Xu Qingling and Sasha.

They haven't felt the sensation of having food in their stomachs for far too long.

Only hunger lingered.

"Hey, don't do this," Sasha hurriedly said. The delicious bread filled with cream and pork floss was something that the two ghosts who died in the 60s had never tasted before.

Especially since they were starving to death, let alone such delicious bread, they could eat grass. For them, anything that could fill their stomachs was good.

"Chai Jianguo, what are your and your daughter's wishes?" Xu Qingling got down to business.

"Comrade Director, I... I want to make money to build a grave for me and Tiantian."

Earning money to repair graves?

This was the first time Xu Qingling had heard of such a wish since taking office.

"You don't have graves?"

Chai Jianguo held his tiny daughter, his eyes slightly dimmed. "Yes, Tian Tian and I are like wandering ghosts without even a grave..."

As Chai Jianguo recounted his story, Xu Qingling and Sasha learned more about him.

Chai Jianguo was born in 41. He lived through war, the founding of the People's Republic of China, a period of stability, and finally, his family died of famine.

Chai Jianguo wasn't originally called Jianguo; he adopted that name later.

He got married at the age of 16 and has three children with his wife. Tian Tian is his only daughter.

The eldest son was in poor health; he was born with asthma. Before the famine came, he died of a serious illness when he was three years old.

During the famine, his wife Zhou Chunhua unfortunately became pregnant. Because the mother was not well-nourished, the baby was born as thin as a cat. His wife had no breast milk to feed him. Chunhua used a pair of gold bracelets passed down from her mother-in-law to barely exchange for some rice. After that, she fed her youngest son rice porridge every day.

A month later, the rice ran out, and famine broke out. Everyone had to go up the mountain to dig up grass roots to eat. At that time, the youngest son, Shuanzi, still died.

"...When Shuanzi died, he didn't even have a proper name." Chai Jianguo said, wiping away tears. "His nickname, Shuanzi, couldn't save him."

The reason we gave him the nickname "Shuanzi" was because he was so thin and frail, and the environment was not good. We were afraid he wouldn't survive, so we wanted to keep him alive. But in the end, we couldn't keep him alive.

The name "Tian Tian" (Sweetie) was chosen in the hope that her future life would be sweet and joyful. However, Tian Tian has only been in this world for less than four years.

The deaths of her two sons dealt a heavy blow to Zhou Chunhua, leading her to contemplate suicide. After leaving her last bite of food for her husband and daughter, Zhou Chunhua closed her eyes and died.

Despite his grief, Chai Jianguo tried his best to survive with his daughter Tiantian, but they couldn't make it past three months, and both father and daughter starved to death.

People at that time were fleeing famine.

When people die, they are buried on the spot without even a grave, so naturally no one pays their respects.

Before the Fengdu Leave Office was established, Chai Jianguo and Chai Tiantian were wandering ghosts. Even though decades had passed in the human world, they could only linger in the place where they died and could not leave.

They were starved to death, and even after decades of being ghosts, no one remembered them or offered them sacrifices, so it was as if they had been starving for decades.

It wasn't until recently, when the Fengdu Leave Office was established, that Chai Jianguo was able to take Tiantian to the underworld.

The reason they are able to come to Fengdu to ask for leave is because they are determined to do so, and they have filled out the leave application form.

Xu Qingling saw that there were two people requesting leave this time: Chai Jianguo and Chai Tiantian.

When Chai Jianguo and his daughter died, their remains were left in the wilderness. Decades later, the area remains undeveloped due to its remote location.

There were quite a few trees growing there, and the remains of the two men were found under a large cypress tree.

Chai Jianguo's wish is to build a grave for himself and his daughter. He believes that people need a house to have a home when they are alive, and they need a grave when they die to have a place to rest and not be lonely ghosts.

The lonely ghosts without graves can be bullied by any ghost.

Moreover, it's easier to be reincarnated if there's a grave.

"What about Chai Tiantian's wish?" Xu Qingling asked.

Chai Jianguo shook his head, indicating that he did not know.

(End of this chapter)