Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 630 Anger

Friday, September 15th, Western Hemisphere time.

New York, USA.

Unlike the world-famous Fifth Avenue, which is densely packed with luxury stores, Fourth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan is almost one of the most vibrant places for literature in New York. The avenue is lined with bookstores, offering both new and used books.

"Argosy Book Store" is a secondhand bookstore that has been operating since 1925.

Unlike ordinary secondhand books, the secondhand bookstores on this street not only have very high requirements for the quality of the books, but some of them are even brand new books in perfect condition.

Or perhaps it would be more accurate to call these secondhand books "antiques".

Argosy Book Store houses tens of thousands of out-of-print books, including many old sheet music, author manuscripts, old magazines, ancient maps, historical illustrations, and so on.

The bookstore has an antique feel and is full of historical atmosphere. Even the staff are all book lovers. It is currently run by the second generation of the Cohen family, the founders.

In a bookstore like this, it's only natural that most of the books are priced quite attractively, often bringing tears to the eyes of customers who inquire about the prices.

The archive upstairs in the bookstore contains paintings from various countries categorized by theme, many of which depict scenes of Chinese social life as portrayed by foreigners in the 19th and 20th centuries.

(For example, this one)
Because of these materials, Zhou Zhengdong often went to this shop when he was a child to look for traces of his motherland. Over time, he became friends with the shop owner.

Although the shop mainly sells used books, when an old friend sent him hundreds of new books, Berendil Cohen could only helplessly extort a dinner at Smith & Wollensky restaurant from him, and then accept it with a smile.

Although this restaurant only opened last year, it quickly became a sensation in New York with its beautiful ambiance and the most traditional steaks, becoming one of the city's top restaurants.

Years later, this restaurant will be famous for "Lunch with Warren Buffett".

But of course, that wasn't the case at the time, and high-end and expensive weren't the reasons Berendil chose that location.

The restaurant was located at the intersection of 49th Street and Third Avenue in Manhattan, within walking distance, saving him the trouble of driving.

He was prepared that if these hundreds of sets of books didn't sell, he would buy them for his own collection, as if he were treating the guests to a meal.

Anyway, at $4 a book, $8 for both volumes, and $1600 for 200 sets in total, it's just a drop in the ocean compared to Zhou's spending here over the decades. Besides, there's a discount on the purchase price, so he can afford it.

After the delivery truck left, it slowly drove to the entrance of another bookstore not far away. Berendil waved to the bookstore owner and laughed a few times. Whether it was mockery or something else, only he knew.

The shop owner shrugged helplessly and directed his employees to carry bundles of books into the store.

Although he didn't extort a meal, according to industry practice, unless a sales agreement was signed, unsold new books can be returned to the publisher. So he didn't think too much about it and just considered it a favor to a friend.

Berendil moved a chair to the doorway and sat down. The morning sun shone on him. Unlike the hustle and bustle of Fifth Avenue, this street was relatively quiet.

Enjoying the gentle morning breeze, he sat down in a chair, picked up the new book he had just received, looked at the cover, and muttered to himself, "Legend of Dragon Rider? Is it a fantasy story like The Lord of the Rings? Let me see the author..."

He frowned slightly. "Versailles Augustus? A newcomer?"

Shaking his head, Berendil chuckled softly, "Hmm, the cover design is pretty good; it captures the feeling of youthful passion."

Then I opened the cover, glanced at the introduction and table of contents briefly, and turned to the first page of the main text.

Time passed slowly, and more and more people appeared on the street.

After an unknown amount of time, a voice roused Berendil.

He looked up in surprise, stunned for several seconds before coming to his senses. "Oh, it's Christine. Didn't you come to work today?"

The newcomer was a blonde woman in her thirties. She squatted down and tilted her head curiously to look at the cover of the book in Berendil's hand. "The mission is complete, so I just stopped by to look at some books. What are you reading? I called you several times before you heard me."

Berendil adjusted his posture by holding onto the armrests of his chair, and handed her the book with a smile. "A very interesting new book, somewhat similar to The Lord of the Rings, but also quite different."

Christine took the book, but looked at him with a puzzled expression. "Like The Lord of the Rings? Yet very different?"

She wrinkled her nose. "How is it different?"

Berendil took a deep breath, pondered for two seconds, and then said very seriously, "The Lord of the Rings doesn't teach you how to cultivate, but this book does!"

Christine's eyes widened. What did that mean?
Berendil thought for a moment, then raised his hands to chest level, and said with a serious expression, "For example, like this, with your palms facing each other, about 12 inches apart, then close your eyes and silently feel your palms slowly pressing inward..."

Christine was bored, so she followed Berendil's instructions. Before he could finish, Christine exclaimed, "I can feel an energy between my palms, a repulsion, oh, now it's turned into attraction..."

She opened her eyes abruptly, grabbed Berendil's wrist, and gasped, "What is that?"

Berendil, as if he had uncovered some major discovery, said triumphantly, "That's 'qi'!"

Christine stared blankly, "Angry?"

"Yes!"

Berendil picked up the book from her lap and said seriously, "This book explains very clearly that everyone has 'qi' within them, which is the basic ability that God gave to everyone. Without qi, humanity cannot survive."

However, this ability is very weak; it can only sustain our lives and has no other function.

Warriors and mages can cultivate this 'qi' through special training methods, gradually strengthening it. After learning specialized combat techniques or magic, they can unleash this qi with devastating power!

Christine stared wide-eyed, not blinking. "Is this some kind of skill I can actually see?!"

Berendil shook his head. "Dear Christine, I think you'd be interested in this book. This 'Legend of the Dragon Rider' set has two books, each costing $4, for a total of $8..."

Christine immediately waved her hand, "No need to say anything more, I want to buy one!"

Berendil tilted his head, grabbed the handle to stand up, pushed open the door and went inside. "Come on, child, I have plenty here..."

Then he shouted to the shop assistant, "George, get Christine a set of 'Dragon Knight Legend,' the one that just arrived today."

As soon as he finished speaking, Berendil suddenly noticed that many people had turned to look at him.

He hesitated for a moment, then looked around. “Has something happened that I don’t know about?” His clerk, George, came over with a book, held it up, and said, “Boss, if you’re talking about this set of ‘Dragon Knight’s Legend,’ then I’m very sorry, there’s only one set left out of the 200 sets. The first volume is in your hands, and I only have the second volume here, so it hasn’t been sold.”

The next second, all the dozen or so people who had been staring at Berendil rushed up to him, "Boss, I'll take this set."

Christine's heart clenched, and she shouted, "Hey, you can't do this! This is mine!"

Berendil clutched the book to his chest and struggled to peek out from the crowd. "George, call Zhou quickly and order another 500 sets."

Ladies and gentlemen, listen to me, please don't worry, this set of books is only on its first day of release, and there are still many more available, they'll be delivered soon... Hey, don't do that!

……

Chen Fan and Zhang Wenliang drank a lot of wine. Chen Fan listened to Zhang Wenliang ramble on about how his wife was not gentle and always liked to fight with him. Then Chen Fan silently took notes, folded them up and put them in Zhang Wenliang's pocket. Then Yang Mei led the mare to take him back.

As for what tomorrow will bring, who cares?

Anyway, early the next morning, after getting up and having breakfast, he bid farewell to his three tearful apprentices, the three whimpering pandas, the two dogs clinging to his feet, the two horses biting his clothes and refusing to let go, the myna bird croaking in the sky, and the falcon that grabbed the myna bird and threw it into the water...

Finally, he boarded the small wooden boat alone, started the boat engine, and headed towards the prefectural committee.

I'm coming back tonight, okay? Why are you acting like it's a matter of life and death?!

The speedboat kicked up water mist as it sped across the Liuhua River, arriving at the prefectural committee in less than an hour.

After getting ashore, he drove his little jeep, which he had left at the dock, and sputtered his way to the machinery factory.

Upon arriving at the Advanced Machinery Factory, I inquired and found that neither Secretary Yang nor Deputy Director Li were present; Deputy Director Xue was in charge of the work.

He invited Chen Fan to sit down on the sofa, handed him a cigarette, and said with a smile, "Thanks to Consultant Chen, the machinery factory has now been divided into three parts, and it's no longer the machinery factory it used to be."

Chen Fan took the cigarette. Something about those words sounded strange, so he couldn't help but ask, "What do you mean?"

After the secretary poured two cups of tea and brought them over, and closed the door behind him, Deputy Factory Director Xue said with a smile, "In the past, the machinery factory was just a machinery factory. Although it occasionally took on some tasks from the local committee's commercial bureau to produce other things, it was still mainly focused on machinery manufacturing."

However, starting this year, after you gave our factory a lot of suggestions, and after more than half a year of development, the machinery factory has now been divided into three parts.

The first part still follows the old machinery factory business, focusing on machine manufacturing and repair, with other tasks as secondary.

The second part is about the suggestions you gave our factory at the beginning of the year. Later, we looked for a lot of small household appliances on the market.

We produce more than a dozen products, including the rice cookers and kettles you provided, as well as the electric ovens, electric heaters, electric fans, electric pressure cookers, electric blankets, juicers, meat grinders, and so on that we purchased ourselves.

Moreover, after being launched into the market, sales were very good, and in terms of profitability, it was even higher than the original machinery factory's business.

Therefore, after discussions and reporting to the prefectural party committee and provincial department, it was finally decided to separate this part of the business and establish Yunhu Home Appliances Company.

This is the second part.

The final part includes the Yunhu Auto Factory, which officially launched its products in July, as well as the auto parts business that supplies components to the factory.

Deputy Factory Director Xue took a sip of tea and a puff of cigarette before continuing, "Currently, these three major business categories are all under the unified management of our machinery factory's original leadership team."

However, since all departments are now operating smoothly, we plan to discuss formally splitting the three parts at the year-end summary meeting. The leadership team will also be reorganized and restructured accordingly.

He looked at Chen Fan and smiled, "Although it hasn't been officially confirmed yet, the general direction has been established. Director Yang will continue to manage Yunhu Automobile Factory, serving as both secretary and director. The prefectural committee and the province will send several other key personnel to assist him."

Deputy Factory Director Li may take over the home appliance company. The factory site has already been selected, located not far north of the machinery factory, adjacent to the automobile factory's land. He will also be promoted to Party Secretary and Factory Director.

As for this machine factory, barring any unforeseen circumstances, I should be the one to take it over in the end.

Chen Fan looked at him and smiled, "So from now on, I'll call you Secretary Xue!"

Deputy Factory Director Xue waved his hands repeatedly, "Don't laugh at me, I just got a good deal as the Party Secretary."

He pointed at Chen Fan and laughed, "Besides, Consultant Chen, your rank isn't low either. It's just that you like to work at the grassroots level; otherwise, I would probably have to call you 'leader'."

Chen Fan shook his head repeatedly, "I'm not cut out to be a leader. Besides, we're even using different systems, what kind of leader would I be?"

Deputy Factory Director Xue laughed heartily, "Haven't you heard the saying 'a higher rank can crush a lower one'? A higher rank means a leader. Besides, the factory's development depends on your help and suggestions, so how could I not flatter you?"

He paused for a moment, then said, "Are you here to see Director Yang today? I'll take you there."

He then got up to leave.

Chen Fan also stood up and said with a smile, "Since you say the machinery factory is under your management, then I won't look for him, I'll look for you."

Deputy Factory Director Xue was taken aback for a moment, then turned around to look at him. "Looking for me?"

He pulled up his trouser leg, sat down again, gestured for Chen Fan to sit down as well, and then handed him a cigarette. "So tell me, what can I do? I'll do it without hesitation!"

He slapped his leg and chuckled twice, "Even if I can't do it, I'll have your Uncle Yang do it for you!"

"No need to bother."

Chen Fan took out a few sheets of paper from his bag, unfolded them, and placed them in front of him. He smiled and said, "These are some tools I designed myself. Could you please find a few experienced craftsmen to make these things?"

When work was mentioned, Deputy Factory Director Xue's expression immediately turned serious. He put the cigarette he had just lit on the ashtray, picked up the blueprints in front of him, put on his glasses, and studied them intently.

A moment later, he turned to Chen Fan and asked, "Are these tools for the military?"

Chen Fan didn't explain further, but simply nodded, "It's for the production team's militia."

Deputy Factory Director Xue put down the blueprints, took off his glasses, and exclaimed, "Then your production team's militia is better equipped than the regular army."

(End of this chapter)