The Great Era of Siheyuan

Chapter 76: Harvesting a Pile of Ancient Books

When we got home, the scorching sun made the ground hot, and the breeze felt like a stove. Everyone stayed at home to cool off.

The door of Sha Zhu's house was closed, and no one knew whether he was sleeping or doing something else.

Qin Huairu thought there was no one in the yard, so she sat at the door to feed Huaihua. Unexpectedly, Li Wenqiang came back. She glared at him and covered her face with her clothes.

Li Wenqiang smiled, changed to his own tricycle and left.

He wouldn't even want a widow with three children, let alone He Yushui and Xu Damao's sister, at least they are virgins.

On the way, I put seven big pumpkins into the car, which was more than enough for 200 kilograms, and I returned to Fuxue Hutong leisurely.

As soon as I walked into Old Man Wu's house, Liu Ergou and Old Man Wu were staring at each other, neither of them willing to give in. One was upset because he had suffered a loss, and the other was too lazy to pay attention to him because he thought the other was foul-mouthed.

"Stop looking at Ergou, move all the books to the car. Be careful. Old Wu, give me a hand too. Don't just stand there! Go out and move the things away quickly! I won't be responsible if someone steals the pumpkin later."

Li Wenqiang walked into the room and started giving orders to the two men without any politeness.

"Okay brother-in-law!"

Liu Ergou was very happy to call him brother-in-law. He bought the house worth several thousand yuan without hesitation. Although he had not paid for it yet, he only exchanged it for food. However, it was not something that ordinary people could afford. This brother-in-law was not simple. If he took over his position, would he be able to be like him one day? Liu Ergou began to fantasize.

When Old Man Wu heard this, he didn't say anything and ran out immediately, fearing that the pumpkin would be stolen. This pumpkin contains sugar, which can resist hunger and cleanse the stomach, making it a rare good thing.

Nowadays, there are so many people who can’t defecate because of eating so much coarse grains. They have to use their hands to dig it out. If that doesn’t work, they have to find a way to get sesame oil to drink, otherwise they will suffocate to death.

"Boy, if you ask me, there's no need to go through so much trouble. Just give me the food as soon as possible and I'll take you to transfer the ownership of the house to you. Why bother moving all over the place?"

After moving the pumpkins, Old Man Wu ran over to help, muttering all the time.

"It's because your house is too shabby. I have to spend time renovating it after I buy it. Otherwise, why would I have to go through all this trouble? I spend so much money all at once. Who knows when it will be ready? What if something gets lost? I'll move the books home first. My wife likes to read, so these books can help her pass the time when she's bored."

Li Wenqiang carefully took the books down from the bookshelf and wiped off the dust to ensure that the books would not be damaged.

"You really love your wife. I only took off the roof and doors and windows of my house. How can it be broken? If I hadn't been smart and said it was looted by the rebels, and took off the roof and doors and windows of the house and burned them in advance, do you think I would have kept this yard until now? I don't know who it belongs to!"

Old man Wu curled his lips and said disdainfully, but his hands did not stop moving, and he cooperated with the two people to move the books out swiftly.

In a short while, all the books on the six bookshelves were moved into the cargo bed of the tricycle, filling up a huge pile.

"You're a smart guy!"

Li Wenqiang exclaimed, such a big house, his class status is enough to classify him as a landlord and capitalist. The house was smashed and burned, leaving only the two rooms where he lived. The landlord became a poor man, and even the house title deed was preserved, making a big profit.

The house had no doors or windows, and was drafty on all sides, with wind, sun and rain overhead. No one would spend the money to repair it, so in the end he had to let it go.

Li Wenqiang looked at the empty bookshelves and wanted to take it away as well. He pushed it hard, but it felt wrong. It was more than twice as heavy as an ordinary wooden bookshelf.

My mind raced, and I realized that either there was something wrong with the material of the bookshelf or there was something inside.

"Old Wu, I spent money to buy it. There's no use for you to keep this bookshelf. This bookshelf should belong to me, right?"

Li Wenqiang said casually.

"Take it, take it. If you don't take it, I'll just chop it up and use it as firewood. It would be a waste of this fine yellow rosewood."

Old Man Wu said indifferently.

"Oh, so you know him!"

Li Wenqiang was a little surprised. He didn't expect that this guy actually knew this thing.

"You look down on me, don't you? I was an official in my past, after all. I have seen all kinds of good things. For example, back then, the old Buddha gave me a white jade pearl as a reward. It's a pity that I sold it a few years ago, otherwise I could have taught you a lesson!"

Old Man Wu said this with some pride.

"Go ahead and brag! It's a reward from the old lady, and no one knows whether it's true or not. You can just say whatever you want."

When Li Ergou saw Old Man Wu bragging like that, he couldn't help but want to hit him back.

"You are such a loser. You can see through me. I am 73 years old this year, but I don't bother to argue with a young boy like you! If this kid wasn't here, I would beat you to a pulp. Do you believe it?"

Old man Wu glanced at Liu Ergou with disdain.

"You dare to look down on me? Come on, let's have another fight!"

When Liu Ergou heard this, he was furious. How could a man endure this? An old man dared to look down on him. Did he really think that he, Brother Long, had lived in vain for so many years?

"Okay, Ergou, stop barking! Wait here, I'll send the book back and come right back!"

"Hmph! For my brother-in-law's sake, I'll let you go today!"

Now that Liu Ergou has a way out, he naturally won't continue pretending. If he pretends too much, he will be the one who gets beaten.

Looking at the stubborn Liu Ergou, neither of them said anything.

Li Wenqiang rode away on his tricycle. This cart of ancient books was worthless in the hands of Old Man Wu, but it might not be the case in his hands. If he went back to sort them out, he would definitely find a lot of useful things.

Halfway through the journey, I found a place to store all the medical books and prescription books, leaving only some humanities miscellanies and literary epics. In the end, only one third was left, which seemed like a lot, enough to fill at least two or three bookshelves.

It took him a lot of time, and under the strange looks of his neighbors in the courtyard, he moved all the books into his home one by one.

By the time he moved the bookshelf to the back, Liu Ergou was too tired to move and looked at him breathlessly.

"Brother-in-law, what do you want with these broken bookcases? It's hard to even chop them up and burn them as firewood."

"Ergou, I'm going to teach you a lesson today. Don't say that I, as your brother-in-law, am making a fortune without you. Let me ask you a question. Do you think I made a profit or a loss today?"

Seeing Liu Ergou looking listless, Li Wenqiang was in a good mood and talked to him a few more words.

“I think I made a profit!”

Liu Ergou said uncertainly.

"Where did you make the money? How did you make it?"

Li Wenqiang looked at him leisurely, as if testing him.

Liu Ergou smiled slightly, then said with a wry smile.

"How would I know? But judging from my brother-in-law's appearance, he should have made a profit!"

"Make a fortune!"

Li Wenqiang suddenly swore.

"Why?"

Liu Ergou was startled and asked stupidly

"Two thousand dollars for a broken yard, is that a good deal?"