Artículo 11 Reglamento Escolar

Capítulo 24

Feng Junzi was completely confused and asked, "Piaopiao, what do you mean? Something?"

Piao Piao said softly, "Yes, my wish has been fulfilled. I can't stay here any longer. I will soon be going to where I belong. Before I leave, there is one more thing I can do for you."

Feng Junzi: "So that's how it is. What else can you do to help me?"

Piao Piao: "I didn't tell you the whole truth before. Actually, ghosts have magic powers. You need my help with two things. One is to find Han Shuang. I'm sure I can find her if I go now. But if I go to find Han Shuang, I won't have time to do the other thing."

Feng Junzi: "What is it?"

Piaopiao: "Awakening Micro-enterprises."

Feng Junzi: "Can you wake Xiaowei up? Is there any hope for her?"

Piao Piao: "She's not dead yet, just in a deep coma. Before my soul leaves, I can use all my magic to wake her. Now think carefully about which one you choose."

After pondering for a long time, Feng Junzi finally said to Piaopiao, "Since that's the case, then please go and awaken Xiaowei."

Piao Piao smiled faintly and said, "If I were you, I would make the same choice. Han Shuang is at least living a good life. The first thing we should do is save another person's life."

Feng Junzi: "Are you going now?"

Piao Piao: "Don't rush. Before I do this for you, you have to promise me one thing. And after you promise, I will tell you two more things."

Feng Junzi: "A ghost is a ghost. It always has to be so mysterious. What is it you're talking about? I'll grant your request."

Piao Piao seemed to blush, and after a pause, she said, "I was just a little girl when I died, and I've never had a boyfriend. You—you—you, can you kiss me?"

Feng Junzi: "Is this the matter?"

Piao Piao lowered her head and whispered, "Can I?"

Feng Junzi, a man of many romantic experiences, still appeared shy in front of a pure and innocent girl like Piaopiao, and whispered, "Of course, no problem. Now?"

"Mmm!" Piaopiao's voice was so soft it was like a mosquito's hum.

...

Although Piao Piao had no body temperature, her breath carried a unique, youthful fragrance. This was perhaps her first kiss, and also her last kiss in this world—a farewell ceremony between her and Feng Junzi. When Feng Junzi kissed her, he had no lustful thoughts; instead, he was able to fully immerse himself in the moment.

Just as he was fully savoring the mysterious kiss, a sudden sharp pain shot through his mouth. He instinctively pushed Piaopiao away and looked up at her. There was still blood on the corner of her mouth. It turned out that just moments before, during their passionate kiss, Piaopiao had suddenly bitten Feng Junzi's tongue and lip hard.

With a surprised and puzzled expression, Feng Junzi asked, "Piao Piao, what are you doing?"

There seemed to be a hint of cunning in Piao Piao's expression as she looked at Feng Junzi and replied, "As I have already said, ghosts have magical powers, but in order to use these powers in the human world, they must rely on human energy, which means they need a bit of human essence and blood."

Feng Junzi: "Why didn't you say so earlier? I could have just pricked my finger."

Piao Piao: "I don't want you to do that. I like the feeling of you kissing me."

Feng Junzi was both amused and exasperated, and could only ask, "You said you had two more things to tell me. What were those two things?"

Piao Piao sighed, avoiding Feng Junzi's gaze, and said softly, "The first thing is that I actually have another option. If Hu Shiwei cannot wake up, I can borrow her body so that I can continue to stay in this world."

Feng Junzi: "Would you do that?"

Piao Piao: "I could have done that, but I didn't want to, and I don't think you would have let me."

Feng Junzi sighed, "So it turns out I wasn't the only one making choices; you were too. Thank you."

Piao Piao: "There's one more thing I should tell you, and that is that Sister Han Shuang is pregnant."

Feng Junzi was taken aback again. He stepped forward, grabbed Piao Piao's shoulders, and asked urgently, "Is it mine? Does she even know it herself?"

Piao Piao: "Of course it's yours! I don't know if she even knows it herself."

Feng Junzi: "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

Piao Piao: "If I had told you earlier, would you have changed your choice?"

Feng Junzi remained silent. Piao Piao didn't wait for his reply and continued, "You've been investigating Wei Boxi's matter for so long, but you still don't know how Xiao Wei got into trouble. I think you must have a lot of questions to ask her. She will wake up at noon tomorrow, and I believe that when she wakes up, she will definitely want to see you first."

The complete text of "Strange Tales of Stocks - Ghost Alley"

Part Two: Ghost Alley Epilogue - Questioning Rise and Fall

The azure sea and blue sky are filled with the chill of the night; what do I care about the waxing and waning of the moon, or the rise and fall of the stars?

A clear mirror reflects a clear image, a bright vessel cleanses a pure heart.

Tears fall among the flowers as I drink wine; the warbling of orioles under the moon silences my zither.

A gentleman sighs in the shade of the parasol tree, his reflection lingering in the breeze!

—Late 2004 to early 2005

Introduction to Part Three: Ghost Miners

"Mommy, it's so cold, why don't we light the stove to warm ourselves?" It was a cold winter night, and the little girl asked her mother, rubbing her red little hands together.

"Child, we don't have the money to buy coal," the mother replied helplessly, her voice filled with apology.

"Mom, why don't we have money to buy coal?"

"Because the coal mine where your father worked laid off workers, he lost his job."

"Then why did Dad lose his job?"

"Because the mine is producing too much coal."

This seems to be a story from abroad. Some say it's an illustration of the paradox of Western economics. Could such a story happen around us?

Part 3: The Ghost Miner 1, The Tomb of Zhang Wenzheng

"Feng Junzi, what are you staring at a tombstone for? It's not some ancient site!"

“This tombstone is very special. Lin Zhenzhen, come and take a look. Look, there’s a couplet engraved on the tombstone.”

Hearing Feng Junzi's words, the girl named Lin Zhenzhen also came over out of curiosity. Looking at the tombstone, she read: "In life, he was as upright as the pine breeze; in death, the bright moon shines over the river. Tomb of Zhang Wenzheng."

Feng Junzi: "How about it? Interesting, isn't it?"

Lin Zhenzhen said somewhat dismissively, "The person is already dead, so of course everyone wants to say a few nice things. It's only human nature. However, the lines 'The pine breeze is open and the bright moon blocks the river' seem a bit much. Only a true gentleman deserves such praise. I think this Zhang Wenzheng should just learn from you and change his name to Zhang Junzi (Gentleman Zhang)."

Feng Junzi waved his hand at Lin Zhenzhen and said, "Don't talk like that in a cemetery. You should respect the dead."

Lin Zhenzhen stuck out her tongue and said with a smile, "I didn't disrespect anyone. The meaning of this couplet is that people are called gentlemen after they die, so Zhang Wenzheng might as well be called Zhang Junzi."

Feng Junzi: "You're wrong again. The two characters 'Wenzheng' are not simple for Chinese people, especially for the dead. They are the most beautiful and respectful title. Zhang Wenzheng sounds much better than Zhang Junzi."

Lin Zhenzhen: "I think I know that. Zeng Guofan was posthumously honored with the title Wenzheng. It is said that Chiang Kai-shek admired this Zeng Wenzheng the most."

Feng Junzi rolled his eyes at Lin Zhenzhen: "That's all you know. You probably learned it from movies. The posthumous title of Wenzheng is not given casually. In the more than two hundred years of the Qing Dynasty, only eight ministers were given the posthumous title of Wenzheng, including Zeng Guofan and Zhu Gui."

Lin Zhenzhen: "I know Zhu Gui too."

Feng Junzi: "I saw it on a TV series again. There have been a lot of dramas about Heshen lately, and Zhu Gui has become famous because of it. Do you know what 'Wenzheng' means?"

Lin Zhenzhen: "Wen should be a model for civil officials, and should be an upright person, right?"

Feng Junzi: "You graduated from the Chinese Department of Peking University, and I don't know if it's because the students are not doing their job properly or the teachers are misleading the students. After studying for so many years, all you've learned is to interpret the words literally."

Lin Zhenzhen was a little annoyed by Feng Junzi's words and retorted, "Then what do you mean?"

Feng Junzi: "Wen refers to being knowledgeable and virtuous, and Zheng refers to being respected both internally and externally. Since ancient times, only high-ranking officials with virtue and prestige have received this posthumous title."

Lin Zhenzhen: "Who are they?"

Feng Junzi: "I told you, there were Fan Zhongyan and Sima Guang in the Song Dynasty."

Lin Zhenzhen: "Then Zhang Wenzheng's parents must be very interesting. They actually named their son Wenzheng. Maybe he changed it himself. Feng Junzi, you should learn from them and change your name to Feng Wenzheng."

Feng Junzi glared at Lin Zhenzhen again: "This time you're trying to persuade me to change my name again. Is a name something you can just change casually? Besides, I can't bear the name Wenzheng."

Lin Zhenzhen: "You can be humble too. So start being a good person from now on. After you die, I'll get everyone to give you the posthumous title of Wenzheng."

Feng Junzi: "Thank you so much. Not just anyone can have a posthumous title. In the Tang Dynasty, only officials of the third rank or above could have one. In today's terms, that would be at least a ministerial-level cadre. It seems I need to become an official first."

Lin Zhenzhen didn't want to go further down the same path with him, so she pointed to the tombstone and said, "This person called himself Wenzheng during his lifetime. If he wasn't just trying to gain fame, then he was truly as open and honest as the inscription on the tombstone says, like the pine breeze and the bright moon."

Feng Junzi: "What's impossible about that? There are Wen Zhenggongs among the common people."

The third installment, Ghost Miner 2, Wildflowers by the Roadside

Feng Junzi and Lin Zhenzhen were talking at the foot of a small hill not far from the living quarters of a large coal mine. Lin Zhenzhen was a financial reporter from a Beijing newspaper, while Feng Junzi was a securities analyst from a consulting firm. They were both there to attend a seminar and press conference for the investment project of Qingjiang Shares, a listed company. Lin Zhenzhen's task was naturally to conduct interviews and report, while Feng Junzi's firm had a partnership with the company. Since he had nothing else to do after the New Year, Feng Junzi also came to join in the fun, and also to support the listed company's publicity efforts.

Lin Zhenzhen came to the meeting purely to complete the task assigned by her superiors. Since everything to be discussed at the meeting was already in the distributed materials, and she didn't want to listen to the routine of reading from the script, she slipped out after less than two hours to wander around. Feng Junzi, who also couldn't sit still, slipped out as well, and the two of them decided to go for a walk nearby together.

After walking through the cemetery, the two aimlessly circled a small hill and came to a mound. Feng Junzi asked Lin Zhenzhen, "Today is February 14th. You should be in Beijing celebrating Valentine's Day. Why are you wandering around in this desolate place? No one has taken care of the roses piled up in the office."

Lin Zhenzhen pouted and sighed, "My boss is taking advantage of the fact that I don't have a boyfriend, so he sent me out on Valentine's Day. How pitiful!"

Feng Junzi laughed and said, "No boyfriend? I think you're too picky. In Beijing, any beautiful woman is so picky that she's practically spoiled for choice. She's not satisfied until she's old and faded."

Lin Zhenzhen didn't seem to mind Feng Junzi's sarcasm. Instead, she smiled and asked him, "Do you praise every girl you see as a beauty?"

Feng Junzi: "Nowadays, as long as a girl's features are decent and she doesn't have any physical defects, she can be a beauty if she takes care of herself. At least that's how I feel. By that standard, Miss Lin Zhenzhen is definitely a beauty."

Lin Zhenzhen raised her leg to kick Feng Junzi, and said with dissatisfaction, "Ugh, sometimes it's hard to hear the truth."

Feng Junzi seemed to enjoy making her happy, and said, "It would be embarrassing to spend Valentine's Day here without anyone giving you flowers. I'll have to keep an eye out for wildflowers by the roadside and pick a few for you."

Lin Zhenzhen: "Oh? Do you want to pursue me?"

Feng Junzi: "No, no, these days, the pretty girls in big cities are too tempting to my wallet. I can't afford to chase after them. I just wanted to show my gentlemanly manners."

Lin Zhenzhen: "But there's not even any green grass here, so where would we find flowers..."

As soon as they finished speaking, the two of them suddenly froze. In the middle of the mound in front of them was a hole more than a person tall. In front of the hole was a clump of unknown flowers. The weather in mid-February was very cold. The trees had not sprouted and the grass had not turned green. Yet, this clump of flowers had inexplicably grown. The flowers were bright red, and the petals swayed gently in the breeze, looking delicate and beautiful.

The wildflowers that suddenly appeared by the roadside seemed very strange to Feng Junzi, but Lin Zhenzhen was very excited and clapped her hands and exclaimed, "Great! What a blessing! There are flowers! Gentleman, hurry up and pick some for me."

Although Feng Junzi was somewhat puzzled, he didn't think too much about it and went to pick flowers. But after a few steps, he stopped, staring at something on the ground. Lin Zhenzhen asked curiously, "What's wrong?"

Feng Junzi: "Let's not go there. That place is an abandoned tunnel entrance. Take a look at this wooden sign."

Lin Zhenzhen also walked over and saw a wooden sign lying on the ground in front of Feng Junzi. The sign had faded but conspicuous red characters written on it: "Danger! Do not approach!" It seemed that the sign had been there for some time, but she didn't know why it had fallen to the ground.

Lin Zhenzhen: "What's going on?"

Feng Junzi: "This was probably originally the entrance to a coal mine. You can see the foundations of buildings next to it. It may have been abandoned due to an accident or some other reason, and even the buildings at the entrance of the mine were demolished."

Lin Zhenzhen: "That's such a pity."

Feng Junzi: "What's there to regret? Don't you know we're standing right in a sea of black gold? We could dig anywhere and find coal. This little tunnel is nothing compared to this huge coal mine. Lin Zhenzhen, what are you doing? Come back here right now..."

As Feng Junzi was speaking, Lin Zhenzhen skipped forward, ready to reach for the bouquet of flowers. Feng Junzi called out, "Danger! Let me do it."

Lin Zhenzhen laughed and replied, "I've decided to give it to myself, so you won't have a chance to play the gentleman." With that, she ran to the cave entrance and grabbed a branch of the flower bush. Just then, something unexpected happened.