Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 323 Everyone talks about it
Anquan looked at the items scattered throughout the room and asked, "What are all these things?"

Chen Fan first noticed the four camphor wood chests, moved them aside, and said, "There are old books, second-grade cloth, mechanical and electronic parts, and some other miscellaneous things. It's mostly old books; half of them are textbooks and study materials, from elementary school to university."

Anquan was immediately startled and turned around to look at him abruptly, "There are even universities?"

He himself graduated from high school, but happened to be caught up in the changing times and had no opportunity to go to university, so he naturally longed for university.

Chen Fan nodded, walked around among the pile of books, and then stopped in one place. "These are the university textbooks. I took a look and they cover dozens of common majors from several universities in Yunhu. However, the books are a bit scattered. We need to organize them to know exactly how many are complete."

As he said this, he couldn't help but curse those book sellers as "spendthrifts" in his heart.

But then I realized that if it weren't for these "spendthrifts," I wouldn't have been able to buy these books, and I felt a little conflicted. Should I scold them or not?

Anquan had already followed him over, squatted down and said, "That's fine too. You must have kept these books yourself, right? Nobody in Lujiawan can understand these books, there are hardly any in the whole Nanhu Commune."

She looked up at him and said, "Hey, I'll borrow some books from you later, you can't refuse."

Few people in Nanhu Commune could understand it, but he was one of them, after all, he was a genuine high school graduate back then.

Of course, you should also learn and study step by step. If there are things you don't understand, you may need to study them on your own or write to your classmates or teachers for help.

But no matter what, it's still a hundred times better than having no books to learn from.

He has already made up his mind to focus on accounting and finance, aiming to master the subject in two or three years. After that, he will try to get a place for further study and climb the ladder step by step until he can obtain a university degree.

Chen Fan glanced at him and laughed, "What's the big deal? I'll sort them out later, and if there are multiple sets, I'll give them to you."

Putting everything else aside, just the construction of this house has already helped him a lot with security. If it were something valuable, we would need to think more about it, but it's just a few extra old books. Why not give him a few sets?

Then Chen Fan looked up and his eyes lit up. "Huh? When was the glass installed?"

When I went outside, all the windows were just empty frames; not a single pane of glass had been installed.

When he came back today, all the windows had been fitted with glass and were spotless, as if they hadn't been there at all. No wonder he hadn't noticed them earlier.

Anquan looked up at him, then continued flipping through the book, and said with a smile, "If you're gone for more than ten days and the glass still isn't installed, wouldn't that make me look incompetent?!"

The implication was that he was the one who brought all the glass back. Even though Chen Fan had already paid for the glass, its rapid delivery was also largely due to safety measures.

Chen Fan immediately gave a thumbs up.

That was a really good show-off, I'd give it 99 points.

The difference of one point is because these are just ordinary transparent glass.

These days, or even back in the Republican era, there were already patterned glass pieces with similar relief effects on the inside. And the price wasn't too expensive. They could block the view without affecting the lighting. The downside was that the production volume was relatively small, and the glass itself was hard to buy, and patterned glass was even harder to find.

Otherwise, many families in the village would still be using paper to cover their windows.

(Patterned glass)
Chen Fan originally wanted to wait a bit, since he wouldn't be moving in until the end of the year anyway, and might as well just install patterned glass all at once. But now that it's all installed, he can only wait to replace it later.

However, this means he will have to buy some fabric to make curtains.

I wonder if they still have that kind of light, non-see-through fabric now. I seem to remember that the Nanhu Supply and Marketing Cooperative doesn't have it, right? Do I have to make another trip to the prefectural committee?
While they chatted, the others who were helping to move things could only watch enviously.

It's not that I envy having books, but that I envy being able to understand them.

Forget about university textbooks, even if you gave them a junior high... no, elementary school textbook, most of them would fall asleep.

Otherwise, why weren't they included in the veterinary training courses?!

So after they finished moving everything and unpacking all the boxes, they quickly left one by one.

Listening to them speak here is too humiliating.

Leaving aside the topic of glass, Anquan said with a smile, "You said it, if you have extras, you can give me a set."

He then looked down at the books and suddenly sighed, "Oh dear, I've been to recycling centers before, hoping to find some old books to buy, but all the waste paper there didn't even weigh three pounds, let alone any good books."

Chen Fan squatted down and quickly sorted out one and a half sets of teaching materials.

The general subjects can be shared, so it's considered half a set. The books for the specialized subjects are different; one is for accounting, and the other is for public finance. Together, they make up one and a half sets.

There are several sets of books for both of these majors; if I give him one set, I'll still have some left over.

He then tossed the books to him, saying, "These are textbooks for general subjects, this pile is for accounting, and this pile is for finance. I estimate these kinds of books will be the most helpful to you. Take them home and read them first. If you want to change your major later, come back to me and exchange them for other types."

Anquan immediately rushed over, gathered the book in front of him, and grinned from ear to ear, "No need for formalities, come to my house another day, I'll cook you some good dishes."

Chen Fan was a little puzzled, "Why didn't your sister-in-law do it? Didn't you say last time that you wanted your sister-in-law to do it?"

An Quan's expression stiffened slightly, then he stretched his neck and said, "A wife is meant to be cherished, not made to cook in the smoke and fire."

Chen Fan suddenly realized, "Oh, I see, my sister-in-law can't cook."

With a dark expression, An Quan held the book and flipped through it. "If the Nanhu Waste Disposal Station had these books, I would have been promoted to director long ago."

If he can thoroughly study these books, he will become the top expert in the Nanhu tax system. With such a talent under his command, how could the director not be promoted?
The director has been promoted, so isn't the director's position his?!

Chen Fan, unaware of An Quan's ulterior motives, chuckled and said, "How big is Nanhu? I heard from the warehouse manager of the scrap yard that 90% of the old books there come from Yunhu City. Only a small portion comes from other areas, and the quality isn't high. Apart from some leisure books, almost all the other reference books are useless."

When An Quan heard his words, he suddenly paused, his gaze falling on the book, and said quietly, "If this were in Shanghai, there would definitely be more good books at the recycling center."

Shanghai is several times larger than Yunhu, with a larger population, more schools, and more books, so naturally there will be more good books.

Chen Fan, however, pursed his lips and shook his head, "Not necessarily."

Anquan suddenly turned around and looked at him, "Huh?"

Chen Fan squatted down and continued sorting through various textbooks, saying, "Shanghai has more resources. No matter what kind of new book it is, Shanghai will definitely be on the first batch of listings. Moreover, there are specialized bookstores for children, foreign language books, ancient books, music, art, and science and technology. Of course, there are also specialized used bookstores."

With more resources, the needs of various organizations and individuals can be met as much as possible. Therefore, the need to utilize old books may not be as urgent as in smaller places. Will the recycling companies there still set aside special space to store and organize old books like the ones in Yunhu area?

In fact, there are two bookstores in Shanghai that sell used books. One is the Shanghai Used Bookstore, which opened in 56. This store only sells used books, but it tends to sell "valuable" professional books, including various reference books, tool books and popular literary books. These are the types of books that are in the greatest demand in the used book market.

The more historically valuable "ancient books" are found in antiquarian bookstores; these can no longer be considered old books, but can be roughly classified as antiques.

Another one is the Shanghai Bookstore, which opened in the 70s. It mainly sells used books, but also sells some new books.

It must be said that a major port city is indeed a major port city; in terms of market segmentation and operations, it is several steps ahead of inland cities.

Even the old book recycling process in the Yunhu area was modeled after that in Shanghai.

However, precisely because of this, during the circulation of used books, a large number of specific books flow into the market, while other "discarded" used books are no longer properly stored by recycling stations.

Almost immediately, all the old books that were left over were taken away and turned into raw materials for papermaking.

It's almost impossible there to find a company like Yunhu Waste Recycling Company that deliberately preserves old books and delays their destruction.

Security realized this too, and could only shake his head and sigh, "It's all about timing and fate."

If he were still in Shanghai, would he worry about not having books to buy? He could just go to a bookstore.

The two chatted as they tidied up. After a while, Huang Ying knocked on the door. "Teacher Chen, Uncle An, it's time to eat."

Chen Fan put down the book in his hand, stood up, clapped his hands, and said, "Okay, here I come."

Anquan picked up the book Chen Fan had just chosen for him, his face darkening, and said, "Call me Brother An, why are you calling me Uncle?"

Huang Ying stared wide-eyed, "But, Uncle An, I've been calling you Uncle An for 10 years!"

Anquan was so angry that his nose was crooked. He walked out with his books in his arms. "You were only a few years old then, so of course you had to call me uncle. Now you're 15, can you still call me uncle? From now on, you'll call me brother, Brother An."

Huang Ying followed behind him, saying indignantly, "But my dad calls you brother, and I call you Brother An, wouldn't that mess up the generational hierarchy?"

Safety? "That's different; each case has its own definition."

Huang Ying, "..."

Chen Fan walked ahead, grinning and laughing heartily.

Then Anquan said, "You need to think about it. Your teacher Chen and I are of the same generation. We're like brothers. If you're going to call me uncle, then you should call him uncle too. Are you still going to call me uncle?"

Huang Ying immediately replied crisply, "Brother An."

Chen Fan's face froze, and he could no longer smile.

……

The lunch banquet was funded by the brigade headquarters. Several leaders, along with Chen Fan and An Quan, treated the driver to a lavish meal. Afterward, they gave him several sets of ceramic tableware before seeing him off.

Secretary Yang and his colleagues had prepared two chickens and several fish for him, but the driver resolutely refused to accept them, saying that there was a rule in the unit that while on the road, smoking, eating, and drinking were allowed, but taking things was absolutely forbidden.

This is somewhat similar to that projectionist Xu; both of them accept food and drink from anyone who offers them, but never take anything with them.

Even those few sets of pottery were made by Chen Fan himself, and he was asked to take them to the director, section chief, Hao Liyang, Yan Liyuan, and Sister Zhou from the political work department. He also gave Chen Fan a set as a gift. Chen Fan happily accepted them as gifts from friends, and then got into the car and drove back smoothly.

Watching the small truck drive away, Chen Fan turned to look at Secretary Yang and asked in a low voice, "Why do I have the feeling that you guys were prepared for this?"

With so many people helping with unloading and organizing, and ten tables for the banquet, could they have been put together on short notice? It would be strange if they hadn't prepared.

Secretary Yang puffed on his pipe and chuckled twice. "They called back yesterday, of course they were prepared."

Chen Fan nodded in realization, and was about to offer a compliment when Zhang Juemin chuckled and said, "Ever since we went to the prefectural committee, we've been calling the brigade headquarters every day to report on the situation."

Luckily, there was a telephone in the guesthouse room; otherwise, I would have had to go to the post office, and the phone bill would have been exorbitant!

Chen Fan looked at him and Zhang Wenliang speechlessly. So this is what you guys are like, Lao Liu.

Just because someone offers free phone calls doesn't mean you can take advantage of it. Can't you just call once a week?

The group turned and walked downstairs. The strong laborers who had just finished eating dispersed, and the people from Team 6 carried the table back. Some people even carried bowls and chopsticks in baskets.

These tables, chairs, bowls, and chopsticks were all borrowed from various households in the team, and now that the banquet is over, they have to be returned.

Before long, only a few "original residents" remained in the courtyard, along with Secretary Yang, Captain Zhang, Xiao Liewen, Ye Shubao, Captain Yang, Accountant Liu, Warehouse Keeper Huang, Zhang Juemin, Zhang Wenliang, and Security.

There are exactly 10 people.

Jiang Lili and the other three had already finished cleaning and were now gathered in Chen Fan's room, feeding Gun Gun vegetables.

Four girls, each with a bunch of spinach in their left hand and a lettuce in their right, stuffed it directly into Gun Gun's mouth. Gun Gun ate with great relish, especially the lettuce, eating it in several bites, skin and leaves included, with a beaming smile on his face.

Secretary Yang glanced at it a few times and clicked his tongue in amazement. This fat guy can really eat!
He then gestured to Chen Fan and walked out, saying, "Let's go see what good treasures you've found."

The others quickly followed suit.

Chen Fan, who was standing next to him, quickly said, "I don't know what Brother Hu told you, but he said beforehand that I have to choose the items first."

Captain Zhang walked on his other side with a cigarette in his mouth, and said with a smile, "Don't worry, we're not bandits. We'll only take what you give us. It's yours, and no one can take it away."

Ye Shubao nodded, "Yes, we're just going to see what you plan to distribute to the brigade, so we can be mentally prepared."

Secretary Yang climbed up the slope with his hands behind his back. "You're thinking of the brigade, even giving up your position as a cadre in the health department, and you're willing to come back to this poor place, Lujiawan. Do you think we'd bully you?"

Xiao Liewen snorted twice, "Don't worry, things are different now than a few years ago, when you couldn't even raise a few more chickens. No matter how strong the wind blows, what's yours is yours, and no one can take it away."

(End of this chapter)