Unknown Intrusion

Chapter 70 Library

Service studies, sociology, and power studies!

Generally speaking, only in the private libraries of some aristocratic families can you find books on sociology and physical science that are hard to find on the market.

These kinds of books are not accumulated by one or two generations; it usually takes going back at least several generations to accumulate such a huge fortune.

Why are many noble families able to continue their lineage as long as their descendants are not too incompetent?
Unless one is extremely unlucky, the noble title should not be lost.
It's not just because they not only have marriage alliances with other nobles, creating powerful alliances, but also because they are beneficiaries of knowledge monopolies!
Even though many noble descendants are not gifted, they possess a large number of books. These books alone are enough to allow even those with moderate talent to achieve a certain level of proficiency.

Song Shuying's willingness to share such resources with Su Yu was indeed beyond Song Qiongyao's expectations.

Could it be that his father has taken a liking to him?
Song Qiongyao's ears suddenly turned a little red.

"Dad, I'll have someone send a message to Su Yu's mother," Song Qiongyao thoughtfully suggested.

Su Yu thanked him and then followed him out.

Indeed, it wasn't far; just across the street, you could see a mansion.

A pair of iron gates and walls surround the beautiful garden, and from a distance, numerous buildings stand in rows.

The carriage drove directly in, following the path deeper into the mansion, which was truly ancient and covered at least several thousand square meters.

At the end of the path stands a three-story building covered in moss and ivy.

The carriage arrived in front of the building. Su Yu followed Song Qiongyao step by step out of the carriage and stepped over the fountain. He saw the building door open and two people standing in the hall. One was dressed as a maid, and the other was dressed in a skirt, indicating that they were of different statuses.

A sign hangs not far away: [Song Family Library]

Song Qiongyao stepped forward, and Su Yu saw a maid come to greet her, bowing slightly: "Miss."

Song Qiongyao nodded, but the person opposite her seemed a little puzzled: "Qiongyao, you seem a little... different today."

“What’s different about me?” Song Qiongyao glared at him, frowned, and then turned to Su Yu and said, “This is my cousin, Song Ying, the librarian.”

"Hmm, I can't really say," Song Ying said, then looked at Su Yu and asked, "Is this your boyfriend?"

“This is Su Yu. My father specially allowed him to read our family's books!” Song Qiongyao blushed slightly and rolled her eyes.

"Huh?" Seeing that she didn't deny it, Song Ying laughed in a very unladylike way, looking at Su Yu with great interest: "Welcome, but the Song Family Library still has some rules!"

Even if you have the patriarch's permission!

Su Yu nodded; every library has its rules.

Song Ying took out a document from her skirt pocket; it was a contract.

"First of all, you cannot copy any books with a pen."

“Furthermore, you must not use magic to copy it.”

"Secondly, no books can be damaged. If any are damaged, the offender must compensate with an identical book and be fined three times the amount!"

"Finally, there are a few authorization letters inside. You can't open them by brute force if you don't have the key."

Su Yu calmly nodded again. In the carriage, Song Qiongyao had already explained some things to him, and he learned that knowledge involving sociology and power science was generally very valuable and not something they were willing to share.

Let alone a library, even in a study, don't mistakenly believe that you can read freely just because there are many books in the study. That would be very impolite—although studies used for receiving guests usually don't contain confidential books.

Sharing is only permitted if the relationship is exceptionally close or if the individual has made a significant contribution.

This was also a very important factor in ensuring that the descendants of nobles would not fall into poverty. For example, there was once a family of gentlemen named Ma. They didn't have many skills, but they learned to make "crystal braised chicken," which allowed them to accumulate a lot of wealth and become a gentleman's family that was allowed to use coats of arms. However, the technique was later leaked, which led to the family's decline.

Therefore, nobles are very careful to keep their knowledge and technology secret.

Su Yu carefully reviewed the contract, confirmed that there were no hidden traps, and asked, "No problem, shall I sign here?"

“Yes.” Song Ying smiled. “Don’t think it’s complicated. Even for members of our Song family, the rules are the same.”

Su Yu nodded, picked up the pen, and signed her name in the corresponding position.

After signing, Song Ying said to the maid, "Take him in. He has 24 hours. All food and drink will be provided."

After giving her instructions, she extended her hand to Su Yu and said, "Welcome to the Song Family Library."

Su Yu shook hands with him and said politely, "It's my honor."

After signing the contract, Su Yu was led to the hall by a maid. Noticing that Song Qiongyao hadn't followed, he murmured, "Are the rules this strict?"

Next, I saw a carpeted room with a small desk in one corner. A woman in a black robe was reading there. She looked to be around twenty-six or twenty-seven years old and had an elegant demeanor.

"Miss Yu, would you like some milk tea and snacks?" the maid asked.

The woman raised her head, a slight smile curving her lips: "No, that's enough. I need to read through the entire 'General History of Flowers' today."

“However, I might need to rest!” She nodded to Su Yu without saying anything, put the book in the storage area, and went to the lounge.

"Miss Yu is a very hardworking and conscientious woman; she's a gardener," the maid said simply. "You can read freely on all floors, from the first to the fourth, 24 hours a day. There are also rest rooms and restrooms."

"Please ring the bell if you need anything," the maid said before taking her leave.

Su Yu looked around and saw that both sides of the first floor were bookshelves made of wood that emitted a faint fragrance. They were densely packed, and at a glance, there were probably around ten thousand books.

I picked up one book at random, and it was "A Simple Classification of Minerals"; I picked up another, and it was "The Art of Restaurant Decoration".

"The first floor is mostly filled with service skills!" After checking a few books, Su Yu immediately understood that service skills were indeed useful, but what he needed more was an understanding of this world.

They themselves were unaware, and the indigenous people's knowledge was too limited, which is why they needed to learn.

It's okay to use the wrong technique; the real problem is going in the wrong direction.

When Su Yu arrived at the second floor, it was obvious that there were ten times fewer books.

*Island World*, *Traveler's Notes*, *Archipelago Geography*, *Discovering Society*, *Rural Society*, *Rebuilding Ruins*, *Royalty and Gentry*

After flipping through it briefly, Su Yu smiled. Indeed, it was a discussion on social issues.

Without stopping, we reached the third floor, where there were only about a hundred books left.

*Introduction to Spells*, *Herbal Recognition and Medicine*, *Schools of Witches*, *Monster Handbook*, *The Book of Potions*, *Exorcism Notes*, *The Alchemy Record*, *Griffin Breeding Method*, *Ode to Dreams*, *Forest School Secret Medicine*

Most of them are books related to spellcasting, but there are no direct spellbooks.

This can be considered preparatory training.

"Start by browsing the third floor, then move on to the second and first floors."

That night, Su Yu stayed overnight at the library.

(End of this chapter)