Back in 1978, I was admitted to Northwestern Polytechnical University.

Chapter 54: A Book-Buying Frenzy at Cairo Bookstores – What to Do When You Don't Have Money to Empty Your Shopping Cart?

In the middle of the night, the two planes and a large number of spare parts were finally loaded into the transport plane. The procedures for various routes were still being coordinated, so Qin Liang and the others had to go back to the hotel and sleep until they naturally woke up. They then received the news: leave when it gets dark!
Since that's the case, then I'll just have nothing to do during the day!
So Qin Liang left the hotel and strolled through the streets of Cairo.

While the rest of the country is already enjoying the crisp autumn air, this place is still sweltering. There aren't many pedestrians on the streets, and the roadside is lined with old European-style buildings. From a distance, it looks like a big city, but up close, the mottled walls and faded paint give it a sense of decay.

On the road, tall camels walked gracefully while cars roared past, giving one a sense of temporal and spatial dislocation.

Swarms of flies hovering next to a garbage heap gave Qin Liang a sense of astonishment. Was this really the capital of ancient Egyptian civilization?
Next to this garbage dump was a pancake shop, where a group of people were gathered, holding money and receipts, waiting to buy freshly baked American pancakes. Those who had already received theirs squatted by the roadside to eat them, and some, after eating half of theirs, casually tossed them into the garbage dump.

These guys have only had a few days of good food, and they're already like this?

Qin Liang shook his head helplessly. He thought of that special era when this phenomenon also existed. The first year they ate in the collective canteen, the leftover sweet potatoes were thrown directly onto the roof. The second year, they climbed up to the roof to collect dried sweet potatoes...

Forget it, there's nothing much to see here, let's go back.

As for the pyramids and the like, Qin Liang wasn't interested anymore. Just like the Great Wall, once was enough; he'd already seen them in his previous life…

Just as he was about to go back, he saw a Divan sign on the street corner ahead.

Chain bookstores?

Qin Liang walked over. The interior was elegantly decorated, with Arabic books on one side and English books on the other. Next to the checkout counter was a small coffee shop where a woman was reading and drinking coffee.

This place must have been recently renovated; there's a faint smell of wooden bookshelves in the air.

Go and see if there are any books that are needed in China!

Qin Liang walked to the English bookshelf and then sorted the books by category: humanities, natural sciences, science...

When Qin Liang saw the number 8086, he was overjoyed. There were actually such professional books!
I can take this one back and give it to the computer science students; it will make their research much easier! I'll also take this one, *C Primer Plus*, back with me; the next one is related to operating systems…

Since he was going back by transport plane anyway, it didn't matter if he brought a few more books... Qin Liang emptied his computer books, and then went to look through aviation books, one after another...

The next bookshelf is all about electronics! Digital circuits books, I'll take them all! Wait, they even have "Introduction to Airborne Radar"? That's top-notch, I have to have it!

This is the downside of chain bookstores: regardless of the cultural level of the area, when the bookstore first opens, it has all kinds of books! However, the neighborhood next to this bookstore is an affluent area, where elites might need these kinds of books.

Soon, Qin Liang had emptied several bookshelves.

The shop assistant had noticed Qin Liang long ago and came over enthusiastically carrying a basket, and then... switched to a shopping cart.

"Okay, that's all!" Qin Liang suddenly understood the feeling of emptying a shopping cart in later generations.

"Sir, will you be paying in US dollars or Egyptian pounds?"

"Dollar."

"The total is six hundred and forty dollars and eighteen cents."

so expensive?
Qin Liang frowned, but... books are humankind's friends, and it's only right to spend some money for a friend.

Qin Liang reached into his pocket, and then... his expression suddenly changed.

The clothes had changed, and the envelope wasn't in this pocket! He hadn't planned to spend any money when he came out; he just intended to walk around and look around. He brought a few hundred Egyptian pounds, just enough for a tip… The shopkeeper's expression changed. He'd thought he was a big spender, but it turned out he was a penniless wretch. Was he here to make fun of him?
"I'll pay." Just then, a voice rang in his ears. Qin Liang turned his head and saw an Eastern face.

With an oval face, big eyes, and a faint smile, this is... the female classmate I met at the Capital Aviation Academy?
She took out her wallet and pulled out six Franklins and one Grant.

"keep the change."

"Yes." The clerk was extremely excited and quickly helped bundle the books into several bundles. Then he said, "Dear customers, I will help you take them to your car."

A car? I walked all the way here, where would I find a car!

While Qin Liang was feeling awkward, the female classmate had already taken out the car keys: "Okay, please put them in the Buick sedan by the door."

"Senior Brother Qin Liang, if you have some free time, shall we sit down and have a cup of coffee together?"

Qin Liang nodded: "Okay, I'll give you the money when we get back to the hotel..."

I didn't feel confident saying that, after all, the thousand dollars I had was given to me by this girl. It felt like I was living off her...

"No need, it's fate that we met here. When you came in, I thought I had mistaken you for someone else, but then I saw that you bought so many books, so I was sure that these books weren't for you to read, but for the school, right? Consider it a donation from me to your university! Here, have some coffee, would you like some sugar?"

"Need not."

"You also like unsweetened coffee? It seems you're looking for something pure..."

"Ahem, coffee without sugar is healthier..."

"Senior Brother Qin Liang, you're hilarious. My mother and I came here after leaving the East. What about you? How did you end up here?"

"I……"

"Miss, your car keys." Just then, the shop assistant returned.

The female classmate glanced at Qin Liang and continued, "My name is Yang Duo'er. My grandfather's generation went to the United States. I think it was during the Qing Dynasty, but I don't know the specifics. My father is a professor at MIT, and my mother works for ETS, which is the US testing center."

“This year, the first batch of students from Dongfang arrived in the United States. They still have to take the TOEFL test before they can choose a university. My mother, being Chinese, decided to come to Dongfang to promote EST. She talked with government officials and visited various universities. The day at Capital University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, it was actually my mother who took me there. These past few days, my mother has been in Egypt overseeing the work of EST.”

"You're here for work or...?"

"I've been a troublemaker since I was little. I went to a private school and my grades were at the bottom. When my SAT scores came out this year, I knew I wouldn't be able to go to college. My father wanted to donate money to send me to college, but I refused. So I went abroad with my mother..."

and many more!

Qin Liang recalled Yang Duo'er's performance during his speech that day. She listened attentively and understood everything. They met again at the bookstore today. How could someone like that be a poor student?
"Brother Liangzi, how's your study abroad plan? If you apply to MIT, you can be my father's student. My father..."

That day, Yang Duo'er asked Qin Liang if he had any experience traveling abroad, actually with that in mind! But...

Qin Liang shook his head: "Duoduo, my country's technology is still very backward. I want to use what I have learned to build my motherland!"

“Yes, motherland.” Yang Duo’er sighed, “In America, everyone is working hard for their own future. In a country of immigrants, no one has much of a sense of identity with their motherland. It wasn’t until my mother and I came to the East that we experienced that kind of patriotism. I heard that the people from the SCI magazine invited you to go abroad, but you refused on the spot and gave a passionate speech…”

(End of this chapter)