Chapter 138: The Capital Library

After Xiao Weiguo and his group came out, he took out a large ten-yuan banknote, handed it to Tian Guangyao, and said, "Guangyao, take this money and treat the brothers to some drinks and cigarettes. I really want to thank everyone today, and we'll hang out together again when we get the chance."

When the surrounding young men saw the ten-yuan bill, their eyes lit up. Just how many cigarettes and Beibingyang sodas could this buy?

"Weiguo, you're not treating us like brothers here. Besides, you didn't even need our help today—you handled the whole thing by yourself. Come to think of it, you and I should spar sometime," Tian Guangyao said, pushing the money back to decline.

Xiao Weiguo didn't care about that; he directly stuffed the money into Tian Guangyao's pocket.

"We definitely need to spar when we get the chance. There's still a lot I need to learn when it comes to Baji Quan. The brothers coming out today is the greatest help to me, so just take it. Alright then, my house is still being renovated, and I need to go back and keep an eye on it. Let's part ways here, and I'll come visit you guys later," Xiao Weiguo said, mounting his bicycle and riding toward home.

With smiles on their faces, Tian Guangyao and the others bid farewell to Xiao Weiguo. The group took turns looking at the ten-yuan bill in absolute fascination, their smiles lingering the entire time.

This was a ten-yuan bill, a sum that almost none of Tian Guangyao's group had ever possessed on their own, since their fathers usually controlled the money.

"Let's go! Today, Beibingyang and unrationed cigarettes are on me, all you can handle!" Tian Guangyao led the cheerful and laughing group toward the supply and marketing cooperative.

As for why Xiao Weiguo was so generous, handing over such a huge sum of ten yuan to Tian Guangyao's group:

On one hand, they had indeed contributed. Even in modern times, when you call upon people to back you up, you still have to treat them to a massive drinking session and a night of entertainment afterward, otherwise, who would ever bother responding to your call next time?

On the other hand, it was to establish a good relationship with this group in advance, so that when the era of smash-and-grab chaos arrived, he would hold the initiative.

Presumably, the Yang family wouldn't dare trouble his family again anytime soon. He wasn't afraid of them playing it tough, but rather of them resorting to underhanded tricks like they did yesterday.

If left unaddressed, once Xiao Weijun and the others arrived, the household would consist entirely of children, leaving them in a position of great vulnerability.

Now, things were settled at the root. Tian Guangyao and his crew would also help him keep an eye on the Yang brothers.

Next, he needed to transfer the household registration for Hongmei and the others. That was the most pressing task at hand.

The window of opportunity was very short. Once the city began downsizing its personnel, no matter how capable you were, you wouldn't be able to pull it off.

By then, the four children would be permanently bound to rural household registrations, scratching a meager existence out of the dirt.

Unless they could manage to test into a university or join the military and become commissioned officers later on, they would have no chance of defying their fate.

Speaking of which, Xiao Weijun's name contained the character for "military," so perhaps he could be sent into the army later on, though it remained to be seen whether the boy would be willing.

Subsequent political shifts did not affect the grassroots military at all, making it one of the few unique areas untouched by the turmoil.

Aside from the military, the only remaining sectors that largely escaped major disruption were the diplomatic and railway transportation systems.

Lost in these thoughts while riding his bicycle, Xiao Weiguo arrived home before long.

He saw four people hard at work inside the two inverted-facing rooms.

Wait, why were there five people?

"Aunt Guixiang, why are you helping out too? It must be so tiring," he said, noticing that Tian Guixiang was also helping tidy up and organize things. Her little grandson, Huwa, was playing by himself quietly at the doorway, not crying or making a fuss, looking very well-behaved.

"Weiguo, you're back! I was just idling around anyway, so I thought I'd lend a hand, otherwise I wouldn't live up to the wonderful meals you've been providing. You have no idea—when we started lunch here today, it made everyone else in the courtyard who stayed home green with envy," Tian Guixiang said with a smile.

"It's getting late, so I should head back to prepare dinner. You all keep busy, Huwa, let's go." Tian Guixiang washed her hands with the water from a bucket nearby, scooped up Huwa, and prepared to walk home.

"Thank you, Aunt Guixiang. A little bit of food is nothing."

Xiao Weiguo checked the progress on the house, feeling that more than half of the work was already done. The speed was truly impressive.

"Master Zhang, take a break and have a sip of water." He brought over several prepared bowls and poured water into each one.

Upon seeing this, Zhang Shunde, his two young apprentices, and Xiao Weiguo's own father all paused their work. They came over, took a bowl each, and gulped down the water.

"Employer, looking at this pace, we'll be done by tomorrow noon. You can skip tomorrow evening's meal; the food you've been serving makes an old man's heart race. I've never eaten this well while working on a job," Zhang Shunde said to Xiao Weiguo after finishing his water.

"Master Zhang, you're being too polite. It's just some food. As long as the house is built well, no amount of grain is too much to spare."

"Weiguo, Master Zhang's craftsmanship is truly top-notch. I doubt anyone in our commune can compare," Xiao Pingle chimed in from the side.

"Employer, you just live in this house with peace of mind. There won't be the slightest need for repairs for a full ten years. It's built as solid as a rock."

"That's right! I've even heard the leaders of the street committee praising Master Zhang's craftsmanship as first-rate."

Zhang Shunde smiled broadly. For an artisan, nothing brought greater joy than the recognition of his craft.

His two apprentices also beamed with pride at seeing their master so respected.

After finishing their water, the men plunged back into their work.

Xiao Weiguo wanted to go in and help as well, but seeing the four of them working in such an orderly fashion left him no room to pitch in.

Xiao Pingle told Xiao Weiguo to go back inside and rest, assuring him that he had everything handled out here.

Realizing he had nothing to do for the moment, Xiao Weiguo walked straight back to his room, lay down to rest for a while, and took the opportunity to sort through the harvest from his spatial dimension.

While sorting, Xiao Weiguo unexpectedly dug out an envelope containing a letter written entirely in Japanese.

Recalling, it was an item obtained from the treasure trove discovered in the mountains near the Xiao family brigade back then.

He had completely forgotten about it during this period.

He wondered what was written on it.

Glancing at his watch, it was almost four o'clock. Perhaps he could head to a nearby library, find a Japanese translation dictionary or something similar, and translate it.

There should be enough time, and since he had nothing else to do anyway, handling household registration transfers and the like was certainly something that couldn't be accomplished in a mere half-afternoon.

He could just deal with the household registration business next Monday instead.

Xiao Weiguo had once overheard others chatting about a large library nearby, located around the Guozijian area. It had been relocated there in 1956 and was named the Capital Library.

It wasn't too far from home; if he rode fast, he could get there in a little over ten minutes.

Come to think of it, in this era, libraries in the capital were scarce, with only two large ones, and the library he was about to visit was one of them.

It was only over the past two or three years that a few district-level ones had been successively built to fill the gap in this regard.

Entering the library, he saw a bustling crowd, yet practically no noise was produced, leaving the entire hall quiet and serene.

Xiao Weiguo noticed a corner packed with people and curiously went over to check it out, only to discover it was the book-borrowing registration desk.

The staff members were using pens to record each person's borrowing details in a ledger.