Siheyuan: 55 years, starting from a buyer

Therefore, Mr. Chen is lively and studious. He not only loves reading, but is also passionate about rare ancient books, including many unique copies. These books are of extraordinary value and are truly treasures for collectors.

However, with the changing times, many precious documents are in danger of being lost.

The bookstore staff preserved a large number of ancient books through their unremitting efforts by visiting villages and searching for flea markets.

But as an ordinary person, Mr. Chen does not have the conditions to collect books like them, and can only pursue these treasures in a special way in bookstores - by observing and learning.

He regards visiting bookstores as one of his rare hobbies, and it is more of a visual feast than a simple collection journey.

"Ah!" At this moment, Mr. Chen walked into the bookstore with his head down in deep thought and accidentally met the girl next to him.

"Sorry, comrade, are you okay?" He immediately noticed the collision, apologized hurriedly, and bent down to help sort out the books that fell to the ground due to the accident.

In the instant their eyes met, Chen Sheng was struck by lightning, and fell into shock.

He stood there, his mind blank. Although the girl in front of him looked a little messy and a little nervous, she was about 1.65 meters tall, with a fair and flawless oval face, black eyes brimming with vitality, and her rosy cheeks formed a contrast with her fluffy twin ponytails.

Although her work clothes are a little loose, they can't hide the girl's purity and liveliness.

This was Mr. Chen’s first impression of her—how could he meet such a beautiful girl.

The girl was hugging a pile of books, her eyes almost covered by them. "I'm sorry, are you okay?" she asked softly, with a slight blush on her face.

"It's okay, I'm so sorry I wasn't paying attention..." His words jumped up quickly, his heart beating uncontrollably, and then he realized that he had behaved inappropriately and returned to normal: "I'm really sorry, I wasn't paying attention just now and dropped your book, let me help you..."

After saying this, Mr. Chen took the heavy book from the girl.

Looking at her expression, he said, "Comrade, do you want to move these books? I am willing to help you, after all, I just offended you."

However, the girl shyly declined his help: "Thank you for your kindness, but I can do it myself. It was my fault."

"It's okay. I'm just here to look around the store. I have plenty of time. It's hard work for you to move the books like this." Mr. Chen explained as he took the books. "If you're busy, let me do it."

Seeing Chen Shenghuo's sincerity, the girl smiled and nodded in thanks: "Thank you so much."

"You're welcome." Chen was afraid that his emotions would overflow and he would feel like he had strayed into a beautiful woman by mistake - maybe it was just a momentary impulse, and he didn't know her situation clearly. Maybe she already had a partner or a fiancé. This situation made him quite uneasy.

Thinking back to the emotions he had felt for Wang Gang's sister Wang Shiyu, he thought to himself that as he got older, this kind of hormonal excitement was inevitable.

The two walked together to the storage room behind the books.

Hearing her request, Mr. Chen stretched his body and realized that the high bookshelf that was easily reachable for him might be difficult for the girl, and she might need to stand on a stool.

At this moment, his attention was slightly distracted, and a book on top of the book accidentally fell down and hit him squarely on the nose. "Oops!"

In severe pain, blood flowed from his nose, and the accompanying smell of rust instantly filled his senses.

He looked at it in panic, and his nosebleed had already wet the ground.

"What's wrong with you?" the girl asked nervously, hurriedly handing over a handkerchief: "Quick, use this to stop it."

Mr. Chen took the handkerchief. If no one was around, he would take the item out of his private space and deal with it.

“I’m really sorry that you’ve had to go through this trouble,” he said.

With an apologetic look on her face, the girl took Mr. Chen's arm and walked towards the rest area in the book corner.

Here, the girl quickly picked up a washbasin, added some hot water and some cold water, and brought it to Chen Sheng. "Please wash quickly."

Mr. Chen did not refuse. He bent over the washbasin, wiped the remaining blood from his nose, and found that the bleeding had stopped.

He gently washed the handkerchief the girl handed him, and then carefully squeezed out the excess water. "I'm really sorry, I wanted to help, but ended up doing something bad." Mr. Chen scratched his head in embarrassment. No one could have foreseen such a situation.

The girl looked at Chen Sheng and smiled easily: "It's okay, I don't blame you. No one expected that the book would fall accidentally." Seeing her smile, Chen Sheng was fascinated, but he tried to regain his composure, "No, it doesn't have to be like this."

Mustering up his courage, he extended his hand: "Hello, my name is Mr. Chen."

Li Sisi also immediately returned the greeting and answered with a smile: "Hello, Mr. Chen, my name is Li Sisi." Although her smile was as friendly as before, her hand hesitated a little before touching Mr. Chen's palm. Finally, the white hand gently rested on it.

"I'm really sorry for what happened just now." Mr. Chen held Li Sisi's jade-like hand, feeling mixed emotions.

Although her hands were delicate and tender, they were stained with a slight reddish hue from holding the book.

"Don't worry about it, you've already apologized." Li Sisi said softly.

Mr. Chen stroked his hair and smiled awkwardly. "Are you here to study today?" Li Sisi asked with interest.

“Well, strictly speaking, I’m looking for some ancient books that interest me. I like to study them on a daily basis.” Mr. Chen explained, and added: “And judging from our ages, I guess we are not much different in age.

It doesn’t sound right to keep calling you sir.”

"Oh, I misunderstood.

Here, I am used to calling my colleagues by their first names. "Li Sisi smiled apologetically. "But what do you mean by 'book hunting'?"

“Indeed, bookstores sometimes collect unique or precious books. I like to come here to choose the books I like, whether for reading or collection,” Mr. Chen explained enthusiastically.

Hearing this, Li Sisi frowned slightly, pursed her lips slightly, and looked a little unhappy: "I understand, so the books I worked so hard to restore are often lost inexplicably... taken away by people like you." Chen Sheng heard this and said in surprise: "So you are also an ancient book restorer. This job is extremely rare, and there are only a few thousand people in the country."

“Wow, I didn’t expect that, I thought you were a store clerk.

This is a truly admirable profession, and I can only admire it." Mr. Chen praised.

Li Sisi's cheeks blushed slightly, and she said modestly: "In fact, it's not as perfect as you think. The restoration of ancient books requires great endurance." Facing such a petite girl, elegant and quiet, even compared to the tall and straight Chen Sheng, she is indeed petite.

After all, Chen Sheng made full use of the space resources, and his height skyrocketed from 175 cm to 182 cm now.

Mr. Chen casually made another request: "I am very interested in your work. Can you take me to see the place where ancient books are restored? No need to bother, I'm just curious." He asked very naturally, without any intention.

In Chapter 86, Li Sisi did not think deeply about it. After all, few people were interested in the field of ancient book restoration. Suddenly, a Mr. Chen who truly appreciated their work appeared, and she felt quite relieved about it.

Therefore, she nodded slightly in agreement: "Of course, just try to keep quiet after entering. Our ancient book restoration requires extremely high concentration, and most teachers don't like to be disturbed." Chen was afraid of affecting Li Sisi, so he whispered to assure that there was no problem, and playfully made a silencing gesture, which made Li Sisi laugh again.

After the two left the storage rack, Chen followed Li Sisi's steps closely and came to a spacious workshop, which was specially used for repairing precious ancient books. It was not a noisy heavy machinery workshop in a steel plant.

Inside the workshop, rows of bookshelves similar to the ones just mentioned are neatly arranged, and there are many huge wooden workbenches next to them.

Some staff members were busy at these tables, organizing books or maintaining equipment.

As soon as they entered the workshop, they met a senior craftsman with a smile on his face. "Is this your friend?" he asked curiously.

Faced with this situation, Li Sisi was a little embarrassed. She had only known Mr. Chen for a short time, so she just nodded vaguely to show her acknowledgement.

Chen stepped forward generously, took the initiative to shake the other person's hand to express his greetings and introduced himself: "Hello, mentor.

I am Li Sisi’s friend.

I originally just came to the bookstore and happened to meet her.

I was very interested in the restoration of ancient books, so I begged her to take me to have a look. "Seeing his calmness and enthusiasm, the old man nodded kindly and welcomed them: "Young people, it's good if you like it.

You are welcome to visit and study at any time.

If you think it’s good, you can let Sisi take it more times.”

The old man lamented that young people generally lack enthusiasm for the industry: “Young people nowadays don’t quite understand us craftsmen who pursue ancient book culture.

It's rare to meet young people like you who are interested in this." His praise for Mr. Chen made Li Sisi feel genuinely happy.

Following the footsteps, the two then visited the technicians who were still working and the ancient books that had been restored or were being dried.

Li Sisi patiently explained the whole process: the masters repaired the damaged works strictly according to the procedures, then put them aside to dry, and then carefully checked to ensure that they were correct before putting them into storage or displaying them in the store.

At this time, Mr. Chen understood the complexity and cautiousness of restoring ancient books.

Finally, Mr. Chen asked, "Do you love this job?" Li Sisi was a little surprised, but the light in her eyes flashed the answer, "Of course I do. I have loved books since I was a child.

It calms my mind and helps me find a sense of belonging while enjoying my hobbies. Even if it’s hard, it’s worth it. ” There was a hint of melancholy in her words: “It’s just… I don’t know if I can stay here forever. ”

Mr. Chen quickly guessed that Li Sisi might be an informal employee, perhaps just a volunteer.

This speculation came from the uncertainty he read in her eyes and the inner struggle.

When they first met, he didn't ask about this topic.

"Dear Comrade Sisi, can you do me a favor?" Chen Sheng said emotionally.

"Okay, no problem, go ahead." Li Sisi shook her head gently, shaking off the slight disappointment she had felt before, and answered with a smile.