Restart life

Chapter 2 0002 [All good books to help you grow]

The place where Chen Guiliang set up his stall was located at the transportation hub on campus, where there was also a row of propaganda bulletin boards.

He found a big banyan tree with lush branches and leaves, squatted under the tree and opened the broken suitcase.

The second year of high school had a two-day holiday, and the classrooms were vacated for the third year to be used as exam rooms. However, the first year of high school was still in class as normal, and occasionally students could be seen coming and going for physical education class.

Chen Guiliang took out books and magazines, laid them out, sat cross-legged and waited for the opportunity to solicit business.

When he was young, he was very shy and had a strong sense of shame, so he was not cut out for business.

I remember the summer after I graduated from junior high school, Chen Guiliang carried a load of bamboo shoots into the city. He left at 4:30 in the morning and stood in the vegetable market at the junction of urban and rural areas from morning to noon, but he didn't sell a single bamboo shoot!

In the afternoon, he was hungry again and took the bamboo shoots home uneaten.

From then on, he never set up a stall again.

Thinking about it now, it was so stupid.

Chen Guiliang, who was reborn, quietly observed the students coming and going.

When you're doing business, you can't just shout blindly. You have to observe people's expressions and choose the right target.

For example, the boys who just ran over were chasing and playing with a basketball. Their eyes were only on the basketball court, and they just wanted to quickly grab a basketball post. Even if they were forced to the bookshelf, they would not buy anything.

After more than twenty minutes, four girls came over eating ice cream.

They chattered and laughed non-stop, and one of them looked at the bookstall and slowed down her pace noticeably.

Chen Guiliang had a sharp eye and immediately shouted, "Classmate, do you want to buy some books? We have famous works from ancient and modern times, both Chinese and foreign. I'm in my senior year and I'm about to finish my final year. I'll sell the books so I can focus on the college entrance exam. The prices are so low that they're practically free."

These girls are in their first year of high school and have only been enrolled for over two months.

To put it more bluntly: What a scam!

……

Tao Xue's home is in the city. Because she loves literature and admires Guo Xiaosi, she came to the county town to study.

The school atmosphere here is indeed free, even to the point of being a little lax, and even students' premature love is turned a blind eye.

Several girls in her dorm went out to buy ice cream as the temperature dropped in autumn. Passing by the newspaper stand, Tao Xue saw someone selling books, and she subconsciously slowed down her pace.

She hadn't originally planned to buy it, but after hearing the other party's words, Tao Xue walked closer out of curiosity.

She slurped her ice cream and asked, "Do you have 'The Edge of Love and Pain'?"

In fact, she has read this book several times, and talking about it now is just to show her taste.

Chen Guiliang grinned and started talking, "Are you a fan of Guo Xiaosi's books? What a coincidence, I happen to know him. He was the president of our school's literature club in 01, and I was the president in 02. Got it? It's a relationship of successor and successor."

"Really?" Tao Xue was skeptical.

Chen Guiliang said, "How can I still fool you? I was the one who nominated and elected the current president of the literature club."

Tao Xue couldn't help but ask: "Senior, what's your name?"

Chen Guiliang said, "My name is Zhang Wei, and I'm from Class 1, Grade 3. Are you in the literature club too?"

Tao Xue nodded and said, "Well, the literature club was recruiting some time ago, and I filled out the form to become a member. Senior Zhang Wei, do you have Guo Xiaosi's phone number? QQ number is fine too."

"Guo Xiaosi is very busy, so his personal information cannot be disclosed casually." Chen Guiliang quickly picked up a book and said, "I think this copy of 'Dream of the Red Chamber' is very suitable for a literary girl like you."

Another long-haired girl took a look and said, "Is this a pirated copy?"

Chen Guiliang flipped through the pages quickly. "Look at the printing quality, look at the binding. Even if it's a pirated copy, it's a high-quality pirated copy. Besides the lack of a publishing number, what's the difference between it and the original? I bought it for 20 yuan last year. It's still 90% new. I'll sell it to you for 5 yuan!"

Tao Xue took "Dream of the Red Chamber" and stood there reading it carefully, and found that it was indeed no different from the original version.

She had actually read "Dream of the Red Chamber" in junior high school, but Chen Guiliang was too enthusiastic and it was difficult to refuse for a while.

Suddenly, Tao Xue had an idea and asked, "Who is your favorite character, senior? I like Xue Baochai."

This was a roundabout way of reminding Chen Guiliang that she had read the book and didn't need to buy it again.

Chen Guiliang seemed not to understand and replied surprisingly: "I like Granny Liu the most."

"Ah?" Tao Xue was very surprised.

Her three roommates were also amused and laughed out loud.

Is there anyone who likes Granny Liu?

Chen Guiliang quickly found the text where Granny Liu appears in the table of contents of "Dream of the Red Chamber": "People use Granny Liu's visit to the Grand View Garden to describe people who are ignorant and make a fool of themselves. Do you think Granny Liu is a funny character?"

The girls nodded subconsciously.

"Grandma Liu knows how to act and act with moderation, and she's very shrewd. Look here," Chen Guiliang said, turning the pages of a book. "When she went to visit someone else's house, Ban'er made a fuss and asked for meat, and Grandma Liu slapped him. Could she be someone who doesn't know the rules?"

"Look here. Granny Liu also has a sense of shame. It's obvious that she's putting down her dignity just to make a living. Every word she says to Fengjie is a back-and-forth exchange, and she's using retreat as a pretext to make it difficult for Wang Xifeng to refuse."

"By observing Wang Xifeng's interactions with Jia Rong, Granny Liu thoroughly understood her character. The phrase 'mind and spirit settled' wasn't just something Cao Xueqin wrote casually; it suggests Granny Liu was already confident. The next line, 'your nephew,' puts Wang Xifeng squarely in the spot, making her feel she couldn't move on without a little money."

"She finally managed to collect twenty taels of silver, but she offered to leave one tael for Zhou Rui's wife. She was intelligent, articulate, polite, not greedy, and knew how to repay. Not only did Granny Liu outshine Zhou Rui's wife in her conduct, she made even Wang Xifeng seem immature in front of her." "What Granny Liu lacked was only experience."

After listening to Chen Guiliang's analysis, Tao Xue felt that Liu Laolao was indeed at a very high level.

Why didn’t I notice this when I read Dream of the Red Chamber?

Chen Guiliang continued flipping through the book, saying, "You think Granny Liu is ridiculous and shameful, but Wang Xifeng doesn't think so. Look at Chapter 113. Wang Xifeng knows her life is coming to an end. She trusts no one in the vast Jia Mansion, yet she actually thinks of entrusting her orphan to Granny Liu. If you have a daughter and you are seriously ill and won't live long, would you entrust your daughter to a foolish old country woman?"

Tao Xue began to think seriously.

Chen Guiliang said, "Because Wang Xifeng knew that Granny Liu was grateful, loyal, brave, and resourceful, and was much more reliable than those people in the Jia family. The best choice she made in her life was to force her daughter to recognize Granny Liu as her godmother before she died. When everyone in the Jia family couldn't protect her daughter, Granny Liu was the only one who stood up and helped her."

Tao Xue suddenly realized and said admiringly, "Senior, you are really amazing. No wonder you can become the president of the literature club!"

Chen Guiliang smiled and handed the "Dream of the Red Chamber" to him: "So, you should read this book over and over again. Every time you read it, you will gain something new. Five yuan, take the book."

Tao Xue took out her money in a daze and bought the book only to remember that she already had a copy at home.

She was too embarrassed to return the goods.

To prevent Tao Xue from changing her mind, Chen Guiliang went to talk to the other three girls: "Do you want me to recommend some books? This one, 'The Silver Age,' by Wang Xiaobo, is pretty good. It's funny, humorous, and has a lot of substance."

The chubby girl flipped through the magazine and asked, "Are these really 20 cents a copy?"

"Three for 5 cents, eight for 1 yuan," Chen Guiliang enthusiastically promoted. "Reader's Edition and Yilin's are both good books, especially those covering foreign countries. They can broaden our horizons."

"You're only in the first year of high school. Reading Readers and Yilin will not only broaden your horizons, but also improve your writing skills. Your Big Foot ice cream is 5 cents a pop, right? You only need a few bites to finish it, but you can buy the best magazines in the world. What a bargain!"

The girls thought this made sense. Even Tao Xue, who had just bought "Dream of the Red Chamber", gave up the idea of ​​returning it and chose magazines instead.

Anyway, it’s very cheap and you can buy it to kill time.

After picking and choosing for a while, they ended up buying all the magazines together.

When the four girls were choosing books, two boys came over out of curiosity, but they just stood there, took a look, and then turned and left.

Chen Guiliang quickly shouted, "Handsome guy, don't go! My books are very pornographic and violent!"

As soon as he said this, not only did the two boys stop, but Tao Xue and others also looked at him in surprise.

The boy asked curiously, "Which one is the most pornographic?"

Chen Guiliang pointed to the masterpieces of contemporary writers and said, "These are all very pornographic, full of obscene jokes. Look at this book, 'Big Breasts and Wide Hips,' don't you think the title is pornographic?" He then pointed to Yu Hua's 'To Live,' "That book is very violent. Everyone except the male protagonist dies."

Tao Xue chuckled, realizing that Chen Guiliang was talking nonsense.

Chen Guiliang continued to fool around, attracting the two boys to squat down and pick out books.

For Chen Guiliang, it doesn’t matter whether they buy or not, as long as they can show their support.

When setting up a stall to sell things, as long as there is popularity, more and more people will come to join in the fun. The only thing to worry about is that it will be deserted and people passing by will not even bother to look at it.

Even the four girls who bought magazines were reluctant to let them go. He said that he and Guo Xiaosi were close friends and made up some celebrity anecdotes about Guo Xiaosi, which stunned Tao Xue.

A few more people came one after another and gathered around the stall to listen to Chen Guiliang bragging.

In the blink of an eye, the bell for the end of get out of class rang.

The flow of people here suddenly increased. People formed a circle under the big tree, and passing students came to watch the fun.

"Goodbye, senior. Let's go back to the classroom," Tao Xue said happily. She planned to go to Class 1 of Senior 3 when she had time to discuss literature with Zhang Wei.

Chen Guiliang was also very happy. He counted the money and shouted, "Take care, schoolmate."

After another round of nonsense, the bell rang, signaling the end of the ten-minute break. Chen Guiliang had already sold over twenty of his old books and all his old magazines.

Because it is really cheap.

Moreover, this poor school has produced a Guo Xiaosi. The current literary atmosphere is particularly strong, and there are many students who like to read leisure books.

Chen Guiliang stretched lazily with satisfaction: Students are so easy to fool!

"Fuck, my suitcase!"

A man with glasses and a middle-parted hairstyle was standing in front of Chen Guiliang's bookstall and swearing.

The broken box that was temporarily requisitioned to store books was obviously his.

Chen Guiliang's eyes lit up: "Hey, County Magistrate Xie, long time no see."

The man with glasses was stunned for a moment: "What do you mean, County Magistrate Xie?"

Chen Guiliang raised his hand and counted on his fingers, muttering, "I calculated with my fingers and knew that you could become the county magistrate at the age of 40."

The man with glasses held his head high and chest puffed out with his nose pointed upwards, saying, "County magistrate is nothing. I don't want to be an official. I want to go into business. I want to make games like Chen Tianqiao and Ding Lei. Once my company goes public, I'll be the richest man in China!"

Chen Guiliang muttered to himself: You make a useless game, I will be the lousy game maker from now on.

(End of this chapter)