Chapter 124 Principal
The man saw a ghost standing at the hospital entrance from afar, and his steps became more hesitant.
The living often say that the world after death is hell, but this is not entirely true.
After his death, he did not go down a mountain of knives, pass through a sea of fire, nor did he see the shadow of the oil pot or the hell of tongue-pulling. He was even still with his wife and son, no different from when he was alive.
But that's also the problem.
They wandered around the place where they died, that crossroads, doing nothing all day and with no way to leave.
This is another kind of hell, and the pain may not be much less than the sea of fire and swords with an end in sight after being sentenced by the judge.
Life is always painful, but the pain always has an end. No matter how long a person lives, he will die after a hundred years. But the dead will not die again and have to continue living.
If he were alone, no matter what kind of life he lived, it would be okay.
But he was with his wife and son again.
So we can't be vague about it. At least, we need a place to live. How can a family live at a crossroads every day? We have to find a place to live and build a small family.
However, such a thing that is taken for granted in the world of the living becomes an almost unsolvable problem in the world after death.
First of all, the world after death is a world without people. There are no real estate agents in such a world, and no one sells or rents houses.
So what if you just find an empty room and move in? That's not feasible either. Although there are no people in the afterlife, there are ghosts. And all middle-aged people with families are cowards. If they can avoid offending a dangerous factor that may threaten the family, they will do their best to avoid disputes.
So when he saw from afar a maintenance team that seemed to be from the afterlife, passing through the intersection in a line, he felt that the problem that had troubled him for so long could finally be solved.
He said: "Since he is a house maintenance worker, he must have dealt with many people, ghosts, and ghosts in this world. He is very familiar with the people here."
The wife said, "It could be a trap, designed to lure in careless newbies. Have you forgotten how badly we were cheated by the locals when we first came to work here?"
He couldn't accuse his wife of being timid, because that was what really happened. When a visitor first arrived in a strange place, he was regarded as a sucker and a fat sheep by the locals. If they lost some money, that was considered a minor offense. In serious cases, they were directly cheated to death, which was not uncommon.
When they were young, they could still venture out to explore new territories.
Now that I have a child, I can no longer bear the same loss as I did back then.
Moreover, people who often hang out in society know that the more extensive the network of contacts and the more often they deal with people, such as second-hand dealers, repairmen and the like, the more ruthless they are when it comes to cheating others.
"You can't take the risk," said his wife. "You've also discovered that in this world, ghosts can devour each other. Ghosts can eat other ghosts to become stronger."
"Look at the two little ghosts following in that team. Their bodies are so solid. They must have eaten a lot of ghosts."
"What if they come to eat us?"
The man said, "You're right, but we can't keep going like this. We can still bear it, but how can Xiaotian? He's still a child, only ten years old this year, with no friends or classmates. If he stays with us every day, he can't even watch cartoons. He'll become a fool if he keeps going like this."
"The big idiot in our village was kept by his mother since he was a child. He was not allowed to go out and play with other children. He just studied hard in the house and became an idiot."
The wife looked sad.
No parent wants their child to become a fool.
"We can live like this, but children cannot live like this..."
So they chose to take a risk.
After the man and his wife agreed, the wife, who looked more gentle and harmless, would be exposed with the child, while the man would hide. If the other party was not a good person and had evil intentions when he saw the orphans and widows outside, he would not have thought that there was a man behind him, which could catch him off guard.
If the other party is a good person who has no ill intentions towards orphans and widows, you can deal with him with confidence in the future.
Now that we have made up our mind, let’s do it.
Later, when the two parties met at a crossroads, they passed each other in fear and nothing happened.
So he followed them and watched them enter the hospital from a distance.
He couldn't enter the hospital, as it was a place where people could only enter but not leave. But precisely because of this, he knew he had to find a way to make friends with that group of people.
Whenever a newcomer arrives in an unfamiliar area, he or she needs to get to know a local tyrant who is familiar with the people and can help him or her gain a foothold.
But… he looked at the man at the hospital entrance from afar, and saw the other man turned around and waved from afar: "Don't be afraid, I won't hurt you."
The man laughed.
Generally speaking, the more people pat their chests and swear, "We are all fellow villagers/classmates/brothers/sisters/friends, I will never cheat you," when they just meet someone, the more they are likely to be the most ruthless when it comes to cheating others.
The man saw him stop immediately and was about to walk back, then scratched his head in annoyance and said, "My last name is Su, and I'm the principal of Xincheng High School. I saw you bringing a child - how old is the child, does he need to go to school?"
This has exposed his weak spot.
The man turned around, his eyes flickered slightly, and he remained silent for a long time.
Principal Su sighed, took the initiative to ease the atmosphere, and said, "Are you here to see Xiao Qin and the others as well? What do you want to see them for?"
The man remained silent.
"Who are the Xiao Qin and the others you are talking about?"
"Hey, the group that just went in, she brought students from my school with her. Are you from Xincheng?"
"Since you know each other, why don't you go in and find them?"
"She brought students from my school with her. It's not like we know each other. She's just a small-time principal. No one listens to me. The teacher even gives me some face. Those students almost want to kill me. You can imagine that these adolescent boys and girls regard the teacher and the principal as their enemy. They simply can't tell right from wrong!"
The man felt sad when he heard this.
"High school students...are all like this."
Once the topic was brought up, the two began chatting at the hospital entrance, talking about trivial matters, and finally reached a consensus.
They found out that before entering the new city, both of them were from Hongxin Village and were fellow villagers.
With this reason, I can let down my guard a little when talking.
"What's your name?" asked Principal Su.
"My last name is Qin." The man said, "Qin Mingzhi."
There are many people with the surname Qin in Xincheng, and most of them come from Hongxin Village. There is a place called Qinshan in Hongxin Village. People in the mountain claim to be descendants of Qin Shihuang. After the fall of the Qin Dynasty, they fled into the mountains and reproduced.
This is of course a far-fetched attempt to gild one's own image, after all, Qin Shihuang's surname is not Qin.
But using this as an excuse, the Qin family did once form a powerful group in the local area, until the reform and opening up, when everyone left their homes and went to the city to work.
Although the new city is small, it is still much larger than the villages. The people of Hongxin Village are named Qin, the people of Huangxin Village are named Ma, and the people of Zixin Town are named Ou. Only Zixin Town has some influence because it has factories and can retain young people to make money. The others have all been broken up and integrated into the vast crowd of the new city.
After hearing this, Principal Su just nodded.
"As soon as I heard it, I knew your ancestors were from Qinshan."
"yes."
"So maybe you can even become a relative of Xiao Qin's family." Principal Su said, "By the way, what is the reason you are looking for Xiao Qin and her family? Tell me, maybe I can help."
"I just want to find a place to live. You said that when people die, they die. Why do we have to worry about housing after death?"
"Maybe he's not dead yet." Principal Su said, "If we had known that people who don't die fully would turn into ghosts, I think there would be far fewer people committing suicide in this world."
"Well, if you're not dead yet, you'll have to worry about housing, but at least you won't have to worry about food."
"That's true."
There was another silence.
Then Qin Mingzhi asked: "Principal, why are you standing here?"
Principal Su put his hands on his hips, circled around for a few times, shook his head and sighed, and finally said with a sad face: "Well, I really don't want to tell you this, but I guess you will definitely know it later. This broken place is so small that it can't be hidden."
"I'll just say it straight."
Principal Su said frankly: "I don't think I can continue to be the principal."
Qin Mingzhi: “Ah???”
This may sound a little ridiculous, but it is true.
"The most fundamental thing for a school is its students. If students recognize you as a teacher, you are a teacher. If they recognize you as the principal, you are the principal." This is the truth that Principal Su has figured out as a principal.
"That's the way it is between people. If he takes you seriously, you are a person. If he doesn't take you seriously, you are nothing."
At present, no one in Xincheng High School takes Principal Su seriously.
Vocational high school students are the most difficult to manage. To put it nicely, these people are wild and unruly. To put it bluntly, they are uncivilized.
In this world after death, Principal Su didn't even dare to walk out of the office building and walk at night in New Town High School alone.
"But a school cannot do without a principal." Principal Su said, "The competent person gets the job. I think Xiao Qin is very suitable to be the new principal."
Qin Mingzhi: “Ah???”
He only half understood what was said, but he quickly grasped the key points.
He didn't find the wrong person. Among the group of people who just entered the hospital, Xiao Qin could definitely solve his urgent problem.
With such anticipation, the wait becomes sweet.
He stood on the silent street for a long time until Qin Mengmeng and her group walked out of the hospital.
*
Outpatient building, lobby.
Familiar iron chairs and smooth floors.
A group of people each occupied a chair. Qin Mengmeng held two medical records in her pockets, put her hands on her knees, leaned forward, and listened to the other party's requests.
"Well... I understand." She said, "You are right. It is really hard for a family to live on the main street without a roof over their heads."
No matter who you are talking to, the first step should not be to deny the other person. No one likes to be denied.
"But..." Qin Mengmeng said sincerely: "I don't understand."
Then make a turn.
"There are empty houses everywhere. It should be OK to just find a place to live in."
Qin Mingzhi looked like an ordinary middle-aged man, and Qin Mengmeng looked like a collection of the migrant workers she often saw in life.
Very friendly.
She deals with this type of people all the time.
"Isn't this just robbery?!" The other party said flatly: "Don't do this kind of thing, what if you are punished by God?"
Qin Mengmeng smiled and said, "I understand."
Hanging out on a construction site is the quickest way for an innocent college student to understand the myriad of different kinds of people on this vast earth.
Qin Mengmeng understood after hearing just one sentence.
The other party who said this is not really a moral role model.
In this society, there are very few people over the age of 25 who still take seriously the moral norms taught by their teachers and parents when they were young.
He was just afraid of the divine punishment - although it was still unclear whether this thing existed, but now that they had all turned into ghosts, what if...
As long as he believes that divine punishment exists, then divine punishment really exists.
As for whether the house Qin Mengmeng got in the end was robbed...well, that has nothing to do with him.
It’s just like those people who bought cheap mobile phones at the train station. They naturally know where the phones came from, but after that, no one can hold them responsible anyway.
It is not a good habit to deceive yourself, but Qin Mengmeng doesn't care about his thoughts and ideas.
Anyone who has been in this society for a long time and does not have any thoughts and ideas, whether male or female, will die quickly.
"In that case, what are you prepared to pay?" Qin Mengmeng asked sincerely: "I can help your family find a place to live, but it is unlikely to be free."
"I don't have any money now." Qin Mingzhi said, "When we died, our cell phones were crushed together. I don't have any cash. My wife has a gold ring, but I guess that doesn't count as gold."
Qin Mengmeng said: "It doesn't matter. The essence of money is just a general equivalent."
Qin Mingzhi showed a confused expression on his face.
He doesn't know what a general equivalent is.
"What I mean is, if you don't have money, it's okay to owe it first. If you need help in the future, you can come and help."
Qin Mingzhi nodded and said, "Thank you."
It's a fair deal.
Even somewhat familiar.
It’s just like when we were still in the village and hadn’t moved to the city, there were favors between neighbors, you help me, I help you, and that kind of thing.
From an afterlife as empty as a wilderness, I suddenly returned to the familiar logic of behavior in the past.
It makes people feel extra reassured.
Qin Mengmeng temporarily solved Qin Mingzhi's problem, and then looked at the other ghost who had not said a word since they met.
Another face that looks very familiar...
Although she had never dealt with him in the New City Underworld, Qin Mengmeng had met him several times in the world of the living and had long heard of his name.
"Principal Su." Qin Mengmeng said calmly, "Good evening."
Principal Su is a quiet and gentle man. He wears a loose, baggy suit and black-framed glasses. You can't tell at all that he is a retired military man like the physical education teacher.
His gray hair and tacky suit even made him look a little depressed.
But when he opened his mouth, these illusions disappeared immediately.
"Hello." Principal Su said, "I came to see you this time because I have an important responsibility to entrust to you."
"New Town High School needs a principal, and I think you're the only viable candidate right now."
Qin Mengmeng: “…”
Everyone: “…”
Ghosts: “…”
No, how did things develop to this point?
Qin Mengmeng was a little confused and had no idea what was going on.
"Well, I think..." Qin Mengmeng was still organizing her words when she heard Principal Su say, "Of course, this responsibility is a bit heavy. I know that for many people, they only want power and don't want obligations. They regard responsibility as fire and water, and obligations as enemies."
"But I thought you were not that kind of person."
Qin Mengmeng: “…”
Principal Su is provoking the student.
Of course she knew this.
But it must be said that what he said really hit her back.
Qin Mengmeng never shirks responsibility - she understands that many people would shirk it because it is indeed not a good thing, but she would not.
"Okay." She said calmly, "I'm definitely not that kind of person."
But she still didn't understand.
"But why is there a need for a principal?" Qin Mengmeng said calmly, "Xincheng High School now has two teachers and 20 to 30 students. I don't think even a class monitor is necessary."
"Why must there be a principal?"
Principal Su: “…”
It seems to make sense.
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