Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 317 All Packaged
Just as Jiang Tiantian said, there were so many old books here that they were piled up like mountains. Upon seeing so many books, Chen Fan immediately became excited and quickly walked towards the mountain of books.

Even if it's one in a hundred, there should be plenty of useful and good books to choose from here, right?

Old Yang explained from the side, "These books are sent up from various waste recycling stations in the Yunhu area, level by level. We collect one or two truckloads of old books almost every day."

As he spoke, he pointed to the vehicles that were being transferred at the warehouse entrance.

It wasn't the Jiefang truck, but a light truck that's no longer seen in later generations: the BJ130.

Everyone knows the Wuling, the "miracle car," and this small truck was also the first generation of "miracle cars" back then, with a reputation not much less than that of another "cadre's miracle car," the BJ Jeep.

The car was first designed and two prototypes were produced by the No. 2 Branch of BJ Auto Repair Factory in 1966. This factory was also one of the predecessors of the later "Second Automobile Works Dongfeng".

With a maximum horsepower of only 77 and a top speed of only 85 kilometers per hour, this lackluster powertrain can still propel a 2-ton vehicle and carry a maximum load of 2 tons.

After six or seven years of optimization, it finally went into mass production in 1973. The Second Automobile Works shared the technology of this "first technologically mature light truck in China" with its counterparts across the country, making it the most widely used light truck in the country at that time, with a total production of more than 500,000 units.

From the 70s to the early 90s, a period of about 20 years, more than 50 vehicles is not bad.

(BJ130)

Other light trucks from the same period as this model include the SH130, SH141, and SH142 from Shanghai Automotive Works, but their sales and ownership were much lower.

Even though it was a small truck, Chen Fan couldn't help but be a little surprised. Back in the days at the Nanhu waste recycling station, he might not be able to collect more than a few old books a week, but here they could bring in one or two truckloads every day. And these were selected by the districts and counties below. It was a completely different scale.

But on second thought, it seems quite normal.

Yunhu area has more than a dozen districts and counties and more than 200 townships. Each township has one or more waste recycling stations. Even if the number of old books collected is small, the total amount accumulated is considerable.

Moreover, after so many years of selection, the books to be selected at each level have been almost all chosen. At most, damaged books are supplemented. Therefore, the vast majority of old books are eventually gathered here, waiting to be shredded and sent to paper mills for papermaking.

In this way, having so many books isn't too outrageous.

Old Yang led Chen Fan through several mountains of books. "These books were all 'roughly sorted' before they were delivered, but those brought here are basically the ones that were picked out and not used by the lower levels. So we don't classify them carefully here. We just categorize and arrange them roughly according to the books sent by the lower-level units."

As she spoke, she introduced the pile to him, saying, "This is the largest pile; it's mostly school textbooks, mostly elementary school textbooks, with fewer middle school textbooks."

Chen Fan's heart stirred slightly, "Are there any vocational schools or universities?"

Old Yang laughed heartily, "Of course there are, though not many, but there are definitely some."

He pointed ahead and led Chen Fan forward, "That's the pile, probably only a few hundred books. Elementary school textbooks are usually left for ten days or half a month before being taken away, but we usually leave these for at least two months, just in case schools run out of textbooks or students lose their books and come here to 'replenish' them."

Chen Fan's lips twitched slightly. Going to a scrap metal company to restock? Is that even acceptable?
He looked at the small mountain of books and said, "This isn't a small amount."

Old Yang laughed and said, "If they are good students, they will definitely keep all the textbooks, even if they don't study them, they will keep them as souvenirs. But whether it is primary school, vocational school, or university, there are many poor students who have poor foundation and poor attitude. Those people get a headache when they see books, so as soon as they finish studying, they immediately sell the books."

Chen Fan was speechless. Sure enough, things that are too easily obtained are not cherished.

I wonder how many people dream of getting into vocational schools and universities, hoping to become cadres, earn high salaries, and live like city dwellers. Yet, those people look down on it all and don't bother to study when given the chance. It just goes to show that different people have different fates.

But the next second, he became excited again and immediately waved his hand at the mountain of books, "Pack all of these up!"

Old Yang was stunned and looked at him in surprise, "Pack them all up?"

Chen Fan gave an awkward laugh, "Forget about the ones that are too repetitive, I'll take two at most."

Even though books are cheap, we should still be frugal!
Because he wanted to buy even more books!

To be honest, he didn't have high hopes before coming here. After all, it was just a "scrap metal recycling company," not a closed-down library. How many good books could he expect to find here?

I never expected to find a mountain of gold as soon as I entered!
There are also several universities in the Yunhu area. In addition to the "Health School" that I just visited, there are also "Teachers' College", "Mechanical and Electrical Engineering School", "Agricultural School", "Accounting School", "Textile School" and "Naval Architecture School".

These universities are the main sources of talent for various organizations in the region, with enrollment ranging from several hundred to over a thousand students. Every year, they send several hundred graduates to various organizations in the region, and almost all the required majors for these positions can be found in these universities.

For example, the most common majors such as mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, electronic engineering, and management engineering are the strengths of "mechanical and electrical engineering schools".

The "Ship School" is specifically set up for water transport companies throughout the region. It covers everything from shipbuilding and ship operation to mechanical maintenance, all revolving around water transport companies. If any water transport company has training slots available, they can send their employees here for further study. In just a few months, they can obtain a college diploma recognized within the water transport system. It's simple, convenient, and easy to use.

Chen Fan had previously wanted to buy professional books, but aside from the fact that professional books are hard to buy, even if he could buy them, without guidance, he could only engage in fragmented self-study without a systematic approach.

Things are different now. Learning by following the textbook is the ideal way to "get started"!
Seeing that Chen Fan really intended to take the old textbooks, Old Yang didn't waste any more words. "Don't say you don't want the duplicates and only want two books. Here, there are about 800 books in total. Let's say each book weighs 2 liang (100 grams), and we won't weigh them. We'll give you a discount and charge you 160 jin (80 kilograms) in total. The price of waste paper is 1 fen (0.01 yuan) per jin, so it's 1.6 yuan in total. How about that?!"

Chen Fan glanced at him, then at the small mountain of books and the thick textbooks, and fell into deep thought.

Is he taking advantage of my poor math skills?
After a two-second pause, Chen Fan gripped Old Yang's hand tightly. "It's settled then!"

Old Yang silently stuffed the cigarette in his hand into his pocket, gestured slightly to check the length, and then grinned from ear to ear.

It has a filter tip!
How many 1.6 yuan coins would this be worth?
He then became even more enthusiastic, pointing around and saying, "Take a look at the others, see which books you want, and I'll have someone move them for you."

Chen Fan smiled and said, "I want to choose carefully. After all, I can't carry too many things away. Why don't you let me choose first?"

Old Yang nodded readily and said with a smile, "No problem, no problem. I'll go outside for a smoke. Just call me when you've made your choice."

He paused for a moment, then kindly reminded him, somewhat apologetically, "Comrade Chen, there's something I need to tell you. Smoking is not allowed in this warehouse. If you want to smoke..."

Chen Fan immediately chimed in, "Don't worry, I'll go outside!" Old Yang nodded and laughed heartily, "Thank you for understanding, thank you for understanding!"

He then waved and walked out, leaving the area to Chen Fan.

As soon as Lao Yang left, Chen Fan took off his coat, rolled up his sleeves, and got to work.

Since it was so cheap—only 1 cent for N kilograms—he gave up on carefully selecting what he wanted and just picked whatever looked pretty much the same.

I carried several huge stacks of textbooks from elementary to high school, not caring how many sets there were. Anyway, I could just throw them away at Lujiawan Village Primary School, so they wouldn't go to waste!

The textbooks from vocational school to university were all in that pile of books. Since Old Yang was so hospitable, Chen Fan didn't hesitate to spend two yuan and took them all.

After moving the textbooks, we moved the reference books. Unfortunately, there weren't many reference books. We packed up all kinds of dictionaries, including English dictionaries, but the total was less than half a box.

He has many apprentices, and he's worried that there won't be enough copies for each of them.

Then there are professional books, whether they are mechanical, electronic, textile, water conservancy, shipbuilding, agriculture... they are all bundled together.

After being busy for a while, Chen Fan felt that he had moved most of the "useful" books, and then turned his attention to the "miscellaneous books".

Just then, a voice sounded behind him, "Are you going to move all the books here?"

Chen Fan was stunned for a moment, then turned around and saw Jiang Tiantian staring in astonishment at the "mountain of books" he had moved out of the ground, her mouth agape.

He blinked and looked at Jiang Tiantian, "What brings you here?"

Jiang Tiantian then came to her senses and looked at him with a smile, "After you finished your class, I came out and saw you get on a tricycle and walk this way. I guessed you were here to buy used books, and I didn't expect you to be here."

As she said this, Jiang Tiantian felt her face getting hot. She didn't know why, but she had inexplicably followed along. It was only because she was waiting for the bus, and the bus was moving slowly, that she was delayed for so long.

When she arrived at the destination, she realized that she had originally intended to turn around and go home, but then she suddenly remembered that there was something she needed to verify with Chen Fan. Then she saw the motorcycle that brought him and the three people waiting at the administrative office building, so she secretly went to find them.

She simply gave Chen Fan's name at the door, and the old man chatting with someone there readily let her through, so smoothly that she herself began to question her own existence.

Hearing her words, Chen Fan smiled and said, "You're really smart! You even guessed that!"

He paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "You've come at the perfect time. Why don't you help me find some books?"

Jiang Tiantian nodded, "Okay."

He placed his canvas bag on a pile of books beside him and asked, "What kind of books are you looking for?"

Chen Fan smiled and said, "I've already found all the useful books. As for the rest, anything that I find interesting is fine."

Jiang Tiantian was taken aback at first, then saw the pile of books he had placed to the side and immediately understood what he meant by "useful books". Looking at the other side, she walked over to Chen Fan and squatted down a short distance away, and said softly, "Do you want so many books? Are you planning to start a rural library?"

Chen Fan shook his head. "No, it's just something I collected and read myself."

He turned to look at Jiang Tiantian and smiled, "Your idea is also good. If there are extras, I'll give them to the production team to set up a village library for them. If people want to read books, they can go to the library instead of always coming to my place."

Jiang Tiantian turned to look at him and smiled, saying, "Then you have a wide range of interests."

As she spoke, she picked up two different books, "This is philosophy, this is art,..."

She then turned to look at the books in Chen Fan's hand, "There are also sports and fairy tales, you really read all kinds of books."

Chen Fan shook the book in his hand, then tossed it aside. "Whether it's useful or not, whether you like reading it or not, just take it home."

After saying that, he looked back and, finding no one else, moved closer to Jiang Tiantian and whispered, "One cent a pound, a thousand pounds is only ten yuan, that's too cheap, let's buy it first!"

Jiang Tiantian couldn't help but grin, then stopped talking and focused on helping him find and move books.

After practicing the unique techniques taught to him by Lin Yuanxiang, Chen Fan's physical fitness has now broken through the limits of normal human beings. His five basic attributes—physical fitness, strength, agility, spirit, and intelligence—have all exceeded 10 points. Not only is he quick-witted and can accurately distinguish the types of books at a glance, but he is also sharp-eyed and quick-handed, comparable to a merchandise sorting machine, accurately pulling out the books he wants and placing them aside neatly.

Seeing how hard he was working, Jiang Tiantian stopped talking and focused on helping him move the books.

She didn't know how much time had passed, but Jiang Tiantian felt aches and pains in her back and hands, and was covered in sweat before she finally stopped, panting heavily.

Meanwhile, Chen Fan had finished packing all the books he needed to take with him. When he came to his senses and saw how exhausted Jiang Tiantian looked, he couldn't help but pat his forehead lightly. "My pig brain, I forgot you can't do such heavy work."

Jiang Tiantian laughed from the side, "It's okay, this little bit of work is nothing. I often do moving things in the store, I'm not that delicate."

He paused for a moment, then said softly, "And it's far worse than the work you do in the production team."

Chen Fan was too embarrassed to admit that he never did physical labor in the production team, so he simply took his bag, rummaged through it, and pulled out two ceramic bottles, handing them to her. "This red one is medicinal wine. If your muscles ache at night, just apply it to the painful area and rub it vigorously to warm it up. I guarantee you'll be fine after a good night's sleep."

The other green bottle contains pills. Take one every night before bed; it's for strengthening the body and improving sleep, and also helps restore energy.

Jiang Tiantian quickly waved her hand, "No, no, really no need."

Chen Fan didn't say much, and stuffed the bag into her hand, saying, "I made all of these myself. Lili has used them and they worked pretty well. Here, take them."

(End of this chapter)