Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 312 Divine Book
Watching Chen Fan walk down the embankment and disappear into the passageway between the houses, Jiang Tiantian took a deep breath and prepared to go back to work at the store.

Just as she was about to walk down the road, she suddenly slapped herself on the forehead. "Isn't this the same way I'm going? Why didn't we walk together just now?"
The next second, she realized that Chen Fan had probably deliberately separated from her to avoid suspicion.

Otherwise, if acquaintances nearby saw her walking with a man, there would probably be a lot of gossip, which, although she didn't care, would still cause some trouble.

This man is really thoughtful.

Jiang Tiantian smiled, picked up her things, and ran down the embankment. She walked back briskly and soon passed through the complicated alleys and entered the store.

Out of her sight, Chen Fan turned out from an alleyway, glanced at her back as she stepped into the store, and only after confirming that she was safe and sound did he turn and walk towards the intersection.

A few minutes later, as I approached the Xinhua Bookstore, I saw Zhang Wenliang, Zhang Juemin, and the rider squatting by the roadside smoking, occasionally turning their heads to look in my direction.

Zhang Wenliang saw him first and immediately stood up, but his legs were numb, so he couldn't help but stomp his feet. When he got a little closer, he sighed and said, "Where have you been delivering messages for almost an hour?"

Zhang Juemin pounded his legs, "Could it be that they've crossed the river?!"

Chen Fan sighed softly, "I was in a hurry, so I asked someone for a shortcut, and then I got lost and wandered around for a long time before I finally got out."

The three of them stared at him speechlessly. How could someone so old get lost?!

Chen Fan stared wide-eyed. "You don't believe me, do you?"

He turned and pointed behind him, "You try walking through that area of ​​houses?"

The rider then realized, "You took a shortcut through the residential area? There are hundreds or even thousands of households there, and the alleys are like a maze. Outsiders usually don't dare to go in, for fear of getting lost."

Besides, everyone's at work at this time, only some elderly people are home, and it's hard to even find someone to ask for directions. You're lucky you managed to get out."

Upon hearing this, Chen Fan immediately said confidently, "Listen to this, I'm not making this up."

Seeing that all the riders said so, Zhang Wenliang could only give them two thumbs up and say, "I'm impressed."

He then pointed to the bookstore and said, "Didn't you want to buy books? Go and buy them now."

Chen Fan looked at them. "Aren't you going in?"

Zhang Juemin waved his hands repeatedly, "I won't look, I won't look. I don't even know many words, and I get a headache just looking at books."

Zhang Wenliang and the rider also looked shaken, clearly having experienced a headache as well.

Chen Fan laughed and gestured before walking inside, saying, "I'll try to get it done quickly."

This bookstore is small, only 200 square meters. The counter at the entrance is a propaganda poster display, with portraits hanging on the walls. Eighty percent of them are of Mr. Li, the other half are of Mr. Hua, and the last half are of Lenin and Marx.

Basically, it was just the four of them; there was no one else, at least Chen Fan didn't see them.

One entire wall facing the entrance is a stationery and sporting goods counter. Several air guns are hanging on the wall, but there are no hunting rifles or pistols. There are also basketballs, footballs, and volleyballs. The counter displays common stationery and sporting goods such as ping-pong paddles, badminton rackets, jump ropes, Go sets, and chess sets.

Then, at the very back, opposite the propaganda poster counter, was the cashier, where the sales clerks were all dressed in green military uniforms, blue trousers, and wearing liberation caps.

The large open space in the middle was occupied by A-shaped bookshelves that were about the height of a person, where a few customers were browsing books.

Chen Fan browsed around and felt that there weren't many books available. This was probably because it was just a branch store on a street and close to a cotton mill. So, apart from a few regular philosophy and literature books, most of the other books were textile-related professional books.

Before meeting Jiang Tiantian, he might have bought a few of these textile reference books to take home and read. Now, of course, there's no rush. He can wait until he's rummaged through the old books at the recycling station. If they're not there, he can buy them here, or he can go to the central bookstore.

Just as he was about to casually pick out a couple of books and leave, his eyes suddenly lit up. He took out more than a dozen books from the bottom of the textbook shelf, then stopped picking and went straight to the cashier to pay.

The saleswoman was taken aback when she saw him carrying so many books. After seeing the titles, she looked at him with curiosity and asked, "Young man, which school did you graduate from? Are you very studious?"

Chen Fan smiled shyly, "I'm just interested in learning and want to study at home."

While working on the abacus, the salesperson nodded and said, "These days, there aren't many people who love learning. After all, getting a job or going to school depends on recommendations, so many people don't like to study."

However, they didn't consider that you still need to study even after you start working. Otherwise, how can you do your job well? If your grades aren't good, you'll easily run into problems at work. Besides, if you study well, you can get promoted faster. Don't you think that makes sense?

That's why our leader insisted on displaying this set of books here. We only get a handful of customers buying these kinds of books each year, but unexpectedly, one came today, and he bought the whole set.

She tore off the receipt and handed it to the cashier next to her, then looked up and smiled, "You love learning so much, you're sure to have a bright future."

Chen Fan grinned and said, "Thank you for your kind words."

The cashier next to him tore off the receipt and handed it to him, saying, "Young man, this is the receipt, please take it."

With such a great attitude, it's absolutely impossible to say that her good looks weren't a factor.

Chen Fan took the receipt, glanced at it, and immediately paid the bill.

Seeing that he had taken out his money, the sales clerk next to him pulled out a rope from under the counter, quickly divided the books into two bundles, packed them up, cut them with scissors, and pushed them in front of Chen Fan.

The set on the table is the famous "Self-Study Series of Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry" from that era, a complete set of 17 volumes, and it is the old edition from 1964.

That's right. The new version will only be printed by Shanghai People's Publishing House after the announcement of the resumption of the college entrance examination. For now, of course, only the old version is available.

The cheapest of these books was only 26 cents each, and the most expensive was only 74 cents. Of course, there were no discounts these days. The whole set of 17 books cost less than 10 yuan.

(This is the 77 edition; the 64 edition has a yellow cover.)

Some people say that collecting is an easy way to make money these days, but unfortunately, it's "later money." If you don't understand the ins and outs of the collecting world, you'll have to wait until at least the 90s to cash in on your collections.

But there is one thing that can be quickly converted into cash.

Hmph, as long as you're bold enough, you don't need to hoard stamps or antiques. Just hoard 10 sets of the "Self-Study Series of Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry". The purchase price is less than 100 yuan. After the college entrance examination notice is released, you can resell them for 3 or 400 yuan a set. The average price per book is more than 20 yuan, and there is even a record of 100 yuan per book.

Even so, there's no market for it. As long as you dare to set a price, someone will be willing to go bankrupt, sell their pots and pans, and go into debt to buy it!

Earning three or four thousand yuan at a time can buy ten courtyard houses in the capital.

If it's a large courtyard with one entrance, then it's a whole courtyard.

If you're even bolder, hoard 100 sets and make 30,000 or 40,000 yuan, you can have a large mansion with four courtyards, side courtyards, and a back garden.

The remaining money could buy a complete set of mahogany furniture, a full set of appliances, a black Crow car, and more...

Some people have asked, why can this set of books sell for such a high price? Why can't we just learn from the textbook?
The reason is very simple: the college entrance examination tests real "theoretical knowledge," but the high school textbooks at that time are disconnected from "theoretical knowledge"!
Previously, Chen Fan bought a complete set of textbooks from elementary to high school at the Xinhua Bookstore in Nanhu Commune, thinking that he could get into university with these textbooks.

After he finished reading those middle school textbooks, he realized he had been overthinking things.

At that time, the middle school math, physics and chemistry textbooks were only two very thin books: one was "Basic Industrial Knowledge", abbreviated as "Industrial Basics", and the other was "Basic Agricultural Knowledge", abbreviated as "Agricultural Basics".

Throughout the four years of middle school, aside from Chinese, mathematics, and politics, we studied these two sets of textbooks. "Basic Industrial Knowledge" only covered some physics, mainly about the structure and operation of machines, while "Basic Agricultural Knowledge" covered topics such as fertilizers and pesticides.

But whether it's "Industrial Basics" or "Agricultural Basics," the purpose is to prepare students for becoming workers or farmers in the future. This is because at that time, the emphasis was on combining education with productive labor and "learning for practical application." Therefore, students studied "Industrial Basics" and "Agricultural Basics."

But can you take the math, physics, and chemistry theory exams in the college entrance examination with just this knowledge?
Obviously not.

Rather than calling these two sets of textbooks for science and engineering, they are more like "professional course" textbooks for vocational schools in later generations, and they are very basic ones at that.

Ten years ago, talent was also selected through the college entrance examination. People from that time are still alive and well, so how could they not know what the college entrance examination was all about?

The content on the test paper is not taught in the textbook at all!
If even textbooks are like this, one can only imagine what's in other supplementary teaching materials.

Besides, there aren't many supplementary teaching materials available nowadays.

Thus, this set of "Self-Study Series on Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry," which was created 10 years ago, became a "lifeline" for many young people, especially educated youth.

With just a basic understanding of elementary and middle school, one can learn by oneself using this set of books without the need for a teacher's guidance, and will be able to understand most of the content.

Isn't that enough?!

What does money matter when it comes to this "lifeline"?!

As Chen Fan walked out of the bookstore carrying two bundles of books, he felt as if his heart was still bleeding.

Time waits for no one!

If you could stock up on dozens of sets, wouldn't making money from this be much more satisfying than painstakingly shaping and firing pottery?

……

A hundred miles away, in the Lujiawan Youth Quarter, Jiang Lili and three others were working hard to mold pottery blanks when they suddenly sneezed.

Huang Ying rubbed her nose. "I don't feel cold, so why am I sneezing?"

Jiang Lili looked up at her and couldn't help but chuckle, "Yingying, you have mud on your hands and on your nose."

Huang Ying glanced down, her eyes narrowed into cross-eyed expressions, but she couldn't see the mud on her nose. Jiang Lili wiped it clean for her with her sleeve.

Yang Ju said from the side, "The four of them sneezing at the same time must mean the weather is getting cooler, otherwise what a coincidence."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Lili was taken aback and murmured, "Is it getting cold? I wonder if Teacher Chen brought any warm clothes?"

The three girls standing nearby couldn't help but worry when they heard this.

……

When Chen Fan walked out of the store, Zhang Wenliang and the other two who were waiting outside were all stunned to see him come out.

Zhang Wenliang strode forward, "Why so fast?"

Chen Fan held up the book in his hand, "You won't get lost inside, so of course you can come out after you buy it."

Zhang Wenliang curiously leaned over to take a look, then immediately frowned. "Self-study series on math, physics, and chemistry? You want to study this too?"

Chen Fan smiled and said, "This isn't for me; it's for Xiao'e and the others."

Zhang Wenliang and Zhang Juemin were both stunned when they heard this.

Chen Fan continued, "Although Xiao'e and the others are learning the textbook content of junior and senior high school, it is mainly focused on applied knowledge. It is not that learning it is useless, but rather that it is very useful in their work. However, they 'know what it is but not why it is'."

Mathematics, physics, and chemistry are the foundation of all natural sciences. If you don't build a solid foundation, it will be extremely difficult to learn more advanced knowledge later. If you master these subjects, it will be easy to understand the principles, making it much easier to learn other subjects later.

Zhang Wenliang and Zhang Juemin looked at Chen Fan, their hearts filled with mixed emotions.

He's always thinking about Lujiawan, what a good person!
At this moment, the motorcyclist next to him asked with a slight hesitation, "Teacher Chen, I have a question I would like to ask you."

Chen Fan turned to look at him and smiled, "We've been spending several days together, so feel free to speak your mind."

The rider smiled and said, "Is that so? Motorcycle drivers like me also have to repair their own motorcycles, but I can only repair my own. Once I tried to repair a company car, but I couldn't fix it no matter what I did. I didn't understand the function of many of the parts. Is this what you meant by not having a solid foundation in the basics?"

"Of course."

Chen Fan smiled at him and said, "You are a typical example of someone who doesn't understand the principles and can only learn one thing at a time by following your master."

The rider nodded repeatedly, "Yes, yes, you learn one thing and you'll be able to do it; if you haven't learned it before, you won't know it."

Chen Fan said, "But if you can learn the principles of mechanics, it will be very easy to learn about the structure of engines and vehicles. When you look at other vehicles, even if you have never seen them before, you can understand them pretty well."

The rider immediately asked, "Then how do I learn the principles of mechanics?"

Chen Fan waved the book in his hand again, "If you want to learn mechanical principles, you have to thoroughly understand this set of books first."

The delivery driver looked at the two bundles of books, hesitated for two seconds, and then asked, "I'm already in my mid-twenties, can I still learn?"

Chen Fan laughed and said, "Don't even mention those in their twenties, even those in their fifties, sixties, or even a hundred years old, as long as they are willing to learn, they can go and learn."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Wenliang and Zhang Juemin couldn't help but take two steps back.

Chen Fan glanced at them and continued, "Moreover, the requirements for this set of materials are very low; anyone who has graduated from elementary school can learn it."

The rider nodded excitedly, "I only graduated from junior high school. The knowledge in the textbooks is very simple, and I still remember a lot of it."

He gritted his teeth and said, "Teacher Chen, wait for me a moment, I'm going to buy a set too."

After saying that, he walked into the bookstore.

He came out a short while later, but his hands were empty.

Chen Fan wasn't surprised and smiled at him, "Nothing else?"

If this set of books were so easy to buy, it wouldn't have been driven up to exorbitant prices later on.

The deliveryman nodded and said with a wry smile, "They only have this one set in their bookstore. Once it's sold out, it's gone."

Chen Fan laughed and said, "Yunhu is so big, it's not like there's only one bookstore. Let's go somewhere else and check out other bookstores. If that doesn't work, we can go to the Central Bookstore. It can't be that there's only one bookstore in all of Yunhu, can there?"

(End of this chapter)