Превратись в лебедя и прилети к тебе

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So someone suggested asking Old Master Xiao to come out of retirement and help resolve the matter. Although Old Master Xiao was old, he was still sharp-witted and, having heard the news, had already "run away from home" before anyone even came to his door. He said he was going to Beijing to see his son, but in reality, he had disappeared somewhere to find some peace and quiet. Xiao Yunyi, Old Master Xiao's granddaughter Yunyun, finished telling this amusing anecdote, which made Professor Song and Feng Junzi laugh heartily.

After explaining why Old Master Xiao was not home, Xiao Yunyi asked, "What brings you two to see my grandfather? Perhaps I can pass on your message?"

Feng Junzi: "It might be troublesome to relay this matter. I came to your door seeking your guidance because I encountered a strange incident. Since you are not home, I will have to come back another day to ask for your advice."

Xiao Yunyi didn't press further, saying, "Then you can come next week. My grandfather will definitely be back by then."

Professor Song: "How can you be so sure the old man isn't hiding?"

Xiao Yunyi: "Grandpa told me before he left that he would be back in a week at most. Because the steel plant in Chile can't stop production for more than a week. No matter how the negotiations go, Binhai Steel Group will definitely have to accept it."

Since Old Master Xiao was not home, Professor Song and Feng Junzi sat for a short while before taking their leave. After leaving, Professor Song sighed, "These father and son are just like that, they like to hide. There's a kind of wine in martial arts novels called 'escape wine,' I think the Xiao family should keep this kind of 'escape wine' on hand."

Feng Junzi was confused: "What father and son? Who are you talking about?"

Professor Song: "I'm talking about Mr. Xiao and his son. Their Xiao family's story is very interesting."

Professor Song told a story about Mr. Xiao, the son of Old Master Xiao, Xiao Xin Hong. In his youth, Mr. Xiao was dashing and talented, attracting the ardent pursuit of a certain woman (who later became Xiao Yunyi's mother). However, for some reason, Xiao Xin Hong was unwilling to marry Xiao's mother. Unable to find an excuse, he said he hadn't finished his studies and wasn't in a hurry to start a family. But Xiao's mother was devoted and insisted on waiting until Xiao Xin Hong completed his studies before marrying him. Left with no other choice, Mr. Xiao pursued a master's degree after graduating from university, and then went abroad to pursue a doctorate, earning two doctorates in total. Fortunately, there was no such thing as a postdoctoral fellowship at that time. But even after all this dodging, he couldn't escape the clutches of marriage and eventually, at an advanced age, obediently married and had children.

Feng Junzi was also very interested and asked, "How is Old Master Xiao's son doing now?"

Professor Song sighed, "Things are really something now. Back when I was in my early fifties, I was elected as an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering."

Feng Junzi: "The Xiao family is truly a family of both literary and martial talents. The old master is a martial arts master, and the young master is an academician. This 'escape from love' wine is getting better and better. Then why doesn't Xiao Yunyi live with her father in Beijing?"

Professor Song: "Xiao Yunyi and her brother Xiao Zhengrong grew up with their grandfather. Xiao Zhengrong learned martial arts from the old man from a young age, while Xiao Yunyi was clever and mischievous. The old man probably taught her all sorts of other skills..."

As the two were talking, they suddenly heard someone call out from behind: "Please wait a moment, I have something to ask you." Turning around, they saw that Xiao Yunyi had come out again at some point.

Professor Song: "Yunyun, is there something you need from me?"

Xiao Yunyi: "No, I have something to say to this Mr. Feng."

Feng Junzi pointed to his own nose: "You're looking for me?"

Xiao Yunyi: "Yes, I was looking for you. I've been observing you closely just now. Have you encountered anything unusual lately?"

Before Feng Junzi could speak, Professor Song interrupted with a laugh, asking, "Do you think Feng Junzi encountered something unclean? Was he possessed by an evil spirit? Or did you sense some demonic aura about him?"

Professor Song's tone was clearly joking, but Xiao Yunyi replied seriously, "That's not it, but the situation isn't too far off. I feel that Mr. Feng has a very special aura, but it's clearly not his own. It might be related to something strange. You came to see my grandfather because of this, right?"

Feng Junzi nodded: "You're absolutely right. Is that why you came to me?"

Xiao Yunyi: "Yes, you'd better bring that thing with you next time you come."

Feng Junzi: "That might be difficult, but I'll try my best."

Xiao Yunyi turned and left. Feng Junzi said to Professor Song, "I now suspect that Mr. Xiao did not go out at all, but hid at home. Otherwise, how could a girl like Xiao Yunyi have such insight?"

Professor Song: "That's hard to say. Anyway, Professor Xiao will be back next week. We can ask him then."

Part 4: A Pair of Chopsticks 08 First Impressions Lead to Arrogance

When Feng Junzi returned home, Taomuling opened the door, bowed, and then bent down to pick up her slippers. Feng Junzi went into the kitchen and found that dinner was already prepared. Feng Junzi thought that this was not bad; he had picked up Taomuling on the street, and although he didn't charge her rent, he now had a housekeeper. He just wondered if she would do the laundry.

During dinner, Feng Junzi suddenly remembered something, looked up at Tao Muling and said, "You can probably only hide here for less than a month. You're going to register at the school here next month. People who want to find you can wait for you to come to them."

Peach Bell: "After all, there's still time. Maybe we can think of a solution during this time."

Feng Junzi: "What method are you thinking of? You don't know anything about these people's background or their purpose. You're just guessing that they're related to those chopsticks. What can you do?"

Peach Bell: "I have no way, but maybe you do."

Feng Junzi: "This has nothing to do with me. I just bumped into you on the street."

Peach Bell: "There are no coincidences in this world. Why is it that only you can hear the strange sound coming from the chopsticks? It seems that you are the only one who can find the answer. I asked the police for help, but to no avail. Do you have any other suggestions?"

Feng Junzi: "We can ask someone for help."

Peach Bell: "It's better to rely on yourself than others. We can ask these chopsticks for help."

Feng Junzi: "Want some chopsticks to help?"

Peach Bell: "I've heard of the ancient Eastern game of summoning the spirit with chopsticks in the United States. I've read some materials about Eastern mysticism and heard that games like summoning the spirit with a Ouija board, pen, or mirror are very popular in Hong Kong and Taiwan. Summoning the spirit with chopsticks seems to be one of them."

Feng Junzi: "Do you play this kind of game in America too?"

Tao Muling: "Some Western psychic games are also part of our studies. For example, our mentor led us to experience haunted houses and have spiritual dialogues, mainly to study the psychological phenomena involved."

Feng Junzi: "What kind of school is this? They actually teach students to play with these feudal superstitions. I thought you, a psychology PhD, usually studied lofty ideals and revolutionary sentiments."

Tao Muling: "I studied psychology, not joined a religious organization! Why should I accept the kind of education you're talking about?"

Feng Junzi: "Enough said. Since you've heard of it, let's give it a try."

Peach Bell: "How do I try it? Do you know?"

...

Feng Junzi brought over a porcelain bowl, and Tao Muling brought over chopsticks. After thinking for a while, Feng Junzi said to Tao Muling, "I'm not quite sure about the process of inviting the Chopstick Spirit. It's said that it can be guided by a deity or used for divination, but the simplest way is to stand the chopsticks upright in the bowl. It's said that if you invite a deity, the chopsticks will stand up; if you don't invite a passing deity, the chopsticks won't stand. Let's try to stand the chopsticks up first. I'll go find a newspaper to see if I can try it like a Ouija board."

Feng Junzi went into the hall to get the newspaper, while Tao Muling was in the kitchen trying to stand chopsticks upright. Just as Feng Junzi entered the hall, he heard Tao Muling exclaim behind him, "The chopsticks are standing upright! Is this what you meant by 'inviting the spirit'? What kind of phenomenon is this? How can psychology explain it?"

To be honest, Feng Junzi had never played the game of summoning immortals before, nor was he interested in it. His only thought was to borrow the chopsticks and take them to Old Master Xiao. Unexpectedly, the peach wood bell actually made the chopsticks stand upright. Feng Junzi replied curtly, "Actually, these aren't some passing deities. Didn't your teacher teach you this in elementary school? It's just that when you pour water on the chopsticks, the surface tension of the water makes them stick together, so the chopsticks can stand upright."

Tao Muling's voice came from the kitchen: "Is that what your elementary school teachers said? How can your school be so irresponsible? This is collective misinformation."

Feng Junzi: "What's wrong with using scientific principles to explain natural phenomena?"

Peach Bell: "How did your elementary school teacher know he could represent science? Did he conduct any experiments? Did he personally invite the Chopsticks Fairy in class when he said these things?"

Feng Junzi: "How can you be so unreasonable?"

Peach Bell: "I'm not being unreasonable. Come and see for yourself, I didn't water it at all!"

Upon hearing this, Feng Junzi was greatly startled and hurried into the kitchen. It seemed that Tao Muling wasn't quite clear on the process of summoning the Chopsticks Spirit; there was no water in the bowl, nor was there any water poured on the chopsticks. A pair of ivory chopsticks stood straight and upright in the porcelain bowl, as if supported by an invisible hand in the air. Feng Junzi felt a chill run through him, involuntarily shivering, and opened his mouth but couldn't utter a word.

Peach Bell seemed unfazed by all the mysterious phenomena and continued, "Feng Junzi, what your elementary school teacher said is incorrect. Chopsticks have a small point at the bottom, so their upright position is an unstable equilibrium in physics. Even if you glue two chopsticks together, they still can't stand upright in a porcelain bowl, let alone utilize the surface tension of water. You should write a letter to your elementary school to report this..."

Feng Junzi finally came to his senses, raised his hand to interrupt Tao Muling's speech, and said word by word, "It wasn't my elementary school teacher who told me this. I saw it in a popular science book. It seems that I've been wrong all these years. These chopsticks are indeed very strange. Tao Muling, could I borrow them next week? I need to take them to find someone."

Peach Bell: "You spent all night just trying to borrow these chopsticks from me? Just ask! I won't refuse!"

Feng Junzi looked into Tao Muling's eyes and sighed, "It seems there's no need to beat around the bush with someone like you. You seem to know everything I'm thinking."

Peach Bell: "What kind of expert are you looking for? Do you think a little girl could possibly discover the secret hidden in these chopsticks?"

Feng Junzi laughed. He had just thought of Xiao Yunyi, the granddaughter of Old Xiao. He smiled and said to Tao Muling, "You can be wrong sometimes. I'm not looking for a young girl, but an old gentleman."

Part 4: A Pair of Chopsticks 09 Clever Words: Fortune or Misfortune Remains Unknown

"I think this jade is Xiuyan jade, not anything good." Lin Zhenzhen was playing with a jade pendant she had bought at the market, quite fond of it, but unexpectedly, Feng Junzi poured cold water on her enthusiasm.

"Whether it's Xiuyan jade or not, we can tell by testing its hardness with a steel file." Chang Wu, who was standing to the side, was quite kind and offered to help Lin Zhenzhen identify the texture of the jade pendant.

"Then you guys try it. If you break it, you'll have to compensate me." Lin Zhenzhen handed the jade pendant to Feng Junzi with some trepidation. Feng Junzi took the jade pendant and the Swiss Army knife from Chang Wu's hand, and gently scratched the jade surface a few times with a small steel file, saying as he did so, "Xiuyan jade, Dushan jade, and Lantian jade don't have high hardness, around 5.5, while real Hetian white jade and jadeite have a hardness of over 6. You can tell by testing it with a steel file... Hmm? What kind of texture is this? Is it emerald or jadeite? It doesn't budge at all!"

Lin Zhenzhen quickly snatched the jade pendant away and said smugly, "I told you I know my stuff, didn't I? How about it, Feng Junzi, you misjudged it this time, didn't you?"

Feng Junzi's eyes darted around, seemingly lost in thought, before he said with a smile, "It seems this is indeed a good thing. This jade pendant has obvious jade staining, the most precious kind of blood staining. Lin Zhenzhen, you've really gotten a great deal this time."

"What? Blood stain? What is that? Tell me about it."

Feng Junzi shook his head and replied, "Ancient jade that has been buried for a long time will have jade stains, which are patterns that were not originally on the jade. Jade stains are divided into five colors: black, white, yellow, green and red. Black is mercury stains, white is water stains, yellow is soil stains, green is copper stains, and red is the most precious and the best blood stains."

Lin Zhenzhen listened intently as Feng Junzi explained the Bloodstained Jade, and couldn't help but say, "So that's how it is! I even told the jade vendor that this piece of jade had impurities and asked him for a discount. The jade vendor also said it had impurities and gave me a discount. So, according to you, this jade is actually valuable. Tell me, what exactly is this Bloodstained Jade?"

Feng Junzi sighed, "The buyer doesn't know the value of the goods, and the seller is also an amateur. No one can really explain what blood staining is. It is said that the jade artifacts buried in the ancient tomb were with the corpse for a long time and were stained by the blood and flesh of the corpse as it decomposed, thus leaving these red stains."

"What? You're saying this blood stain formed from being placed with a corpse?"

Feng Junzi nodded and said seriously, "That's exactly right, that's supposedly how it is."

Startled, Lin Zhenzhen's hand loosened, and the jade pendant slipped from her grasp. Just as it was about to hit the floor, Feng Junzi bent down and caught it with lightning speed, as if he had been expecting it. He grinned at Lin Zhenzhen and said, "Miss Lin, why are you throwing away such a precious find? Don't you want it anymore?"

Lin Zhenzhen: "I don't want it anymore. You can take it if you like it."

At this moment, Chang Wu spoke up: "Lin Zhenzhen, you've been tricked. It was Feng Junzi who wanted this jade pendant and subtly asked you to give it to him yourself. He's a master of deception, and you don't have his cunning." As he spoke, he reached out and took the jade pendant back, handing it back to Lin Zhenzhen. "Lin Zhenzhen, keep it safe. Don't let him trick you again."

Lin Zhenzhen waved her hand: "It's better to believe it than not to believe it. What Feng Junzi said makes a lot of sense. What if it's true? Anyway, I don't want it. I didn't spend much money on this. If Feng Junzi likes it, he can keep it."

"Give it back, stop pretending to be a good person." Feng Junzi snatched the jade pendant back and stuffed it into his pocket with a smile. Just then, they heard Lin's mother calling from the outer room, "Dinner is ready, come out and eat!"

...

"Mom, do you think leukemia is hereditary? No, I should say, is leukemia contagious?" Lin Zhenzhen suddenly asked this question during dinner, seemingly out of nowhere.

This was at Lin Zhenzhen's dinner table. Lin's mother was hosting, inviting Chang Wu and Feng Junzi, supposedly to thank Chang Wu for finding Lin Zhenzhen's wallet. Chang Wu found it strange; Lin Zhenzhen had already thanked him once for finding the wallet, so logically, Lin's mother didn't need to specially invite him to their home again. However, Feng Junzi knew what was going on.

Feng Junzi knew that Lin's mother had a penchant for hosting guests, especially young men of similar age to Lin Zhenzhen. Lin Zhenzhen was already in her mid-twenties, always out partying, and her personal life remained unresolved. As the saying goes, "The emperor isn't worried, but the eunuchs are," Lin Zhenzhen's parents were frantic. Whenever they heard that Lin Zhenzhen had made a new boyfriend, they would find an excuse to invite him home to see him, hoping to cultivate potential partners among them.

Lin Zhenzhen's father is a senior engineer at a machine tool research institute, and her mother is a surgeon. Lin Zhenzhen suddenly asked this question at the dinner table, much to her mother's surprise: "The evidence for the dominant inheritance of leukemia is currently insufficient, and there aren't many reports on family history. However, the medical community now believes there may be a genetic factor. But leukemia is not contagious, so it's definitely not infectious. Zhenzhen, why are you asking this? Is this some kind of plot from a Korean drama?"

"No, I heard a news report at the press station that said a family of five in a fishing village all got leukemia. Normally, it would be hereditary, but one of the children in the family was adopted and not related by blood, and he also got leukemia. Does that mean it's contagious?"

Lin's mother: "Is that really true? I don't know either, it's probably just a coincidence."

Chang Wu interjected, "Since Auntie said that leukemia is not contagious and there is no obvious family history, then this family may not have leukemia but another similar disease."

Feng Junzi was also very interested: "Lin Zhenzhen, is what you said true? It's not fake news, is it? I heard it's quite popular recently."

Lin Zhenzhen: "Of course I'm telling the truth. It's about our Binhai area, specifically Jinsha Village in Longwangtang. This family has a name and surname. You can ask around if you don't believe me."

"Longwangtang? Jinsha Village?" Feng Junzi seemed to remember something upon hearing the name Longwangtang and fell silent. Chang Wu then asked, "Which hospital diagnosed it? How is that family now?"

Lin Zhenzhen: "It's pitiful to say. This family's illness was discovered very suddenly, and now they are all dead. They were admitted to Longwangtang Town Hospital. I heard that the time from hospitalization to death was very short. They have probably already been cremated."

Lin Zhenzhen's father also spoke up: "We invited Officer Chang here today mainly to express our gratitude for what happened last time. Since we're all together, let's not talk about illness or death. Let's drink more and eat more!"

Chang Wu: "Yes, let's not talk about this anymore. Thank you for your hospitality, Uncle and Aunt. Uncle Lin, let me toast you."

...

After leaving Lin Zhenzhen's house, Feng Junzi smiled and said to Chang Wu, "It seems that Lin's parents have a good impression of you. They kept telling you to come and visit often. You have become one of the candidates they are considering."

Chang Wu: "What nonsense are you talking about? This is my first time visiting. You seem to have come many times. If we're talking about potential sons-in-law, you should be the one."

Feng Junzi laughed and said, "It's a pity I don't have the same opportunities as you. Madam Lin is wary of me."

"Aunt Lin is a very nice person, why would she have a prejudice against you? What exactly happened?"

"It's a long story. When I first visited the Lin family, I advised the old couple to get a divorce. Aunt Lin was so angry that she almost kicked me out."

"Is that so? Tell me about it." Chang Wu was very curious.

"Back then, their workplace had a local policy that if one spouse had already received housing reform benefits, the other spouse would no longer be eligible. I don't know the specifics, but I overheard them arguing at dinner. Apparently, Lin's father's research institute was selling a building to senior intellectuals at an internal price, which was the last chance for housing reform. Based on seniority, Lin Zhenzhen's father should have been eligible. However, Lin Zhenzhen's mother's hospital had already allocated an apartment a long time ago, but it was clearly smaller than the apartment in the research institute's building. While they were discussing this issue at dinner, I unnecessarily asked, 'What if they're older and single?' It turned out that their workplace policy allowed single older men to receive benefits. Without thinking, I suggested that the two of them get a divorce so they could get another apartment, and then remarry later."

Chang Wu: "And the result?"