frightfiction Chapter 233: Buy the complete book, collect comic books.
Chapter 233: Buy the complete book, collect comic books.
Song Desheng was startled. It wasn't that he was being impulsive; he was just used to arguing with his wife at home. When his child suddenly saw this, he was so frightened that he didn't dare to utter a sound.
He looked at Li Ju'an with pleading eyes, and Li Ju'an laughed loudly, "Explain it yourself, why are you watching me?"
His wife gave him a playful glare before quickly turning and going back into the house. Song Desheng, stared at by a group of elementary school children with innocent, inquisitive eyes, could only force himself to say, "Isn't this just expressing affection? What, don't you do this with your family?"
Several children actually nodded seriously and continued their lively discussion.
Li Ju'an and Song Desheng arranged a date for their next mountain run, and Li Xiao left the tenement building.
As Li Xiao was leaving, she was still holding a half-eaten sesame seed cake in her arms. She turned back reluctantly and said, "Brother, Brother Song's house is really beautiful."
Li Ju'an pushed the bike, helped his sister sit diagonally on the front bar, then lifted his hind leg onto the bicycle and rode off, saying, "Our house is guaranteed to be more beautiful than Song Desheng's."
Li Xiao braved the cold wind, his nose bubbling with snot, but his red cheeks were flushed with excitement as he laughed, "Really, bro?"
"Absolutely! Just watch, if it doesn't look good, it's my fault."
The brother and sister rode their bikes to the entrance of the Workers' Cinema, where there was a comic book rental and sales stall. The older brother, who was arranging the comic books, used to be a temporary worker at the cinema. After quitting, he started selling comic books at the stall and earned more than when he was a temporary worker.
These comic books, about the size of an outstretched hand, covered a wide range of topics. Cultural life in that era was not as rich and diverse as it will be in later years. These exquisite illustrations paired with concise text were enough to make both children and adults love them.
Li Xiao had already wanted to take a book and sat down to read it when the stall owner said, "Little friend, you can borrow one for 2 cents. You can return it after you're done reading before you can borrow another one."
Li Ju'an stepped forward, took the copy of "Journey to the West" from his sister's hand, and asked, "How much is this copy?"
The stall owner lit a cigarette and said, "3 mao a book."
Li Ju'an took out his money and bought all the comic books: *Romance of the Three Kingdoms*, *Water Margin*, *Journey to the West*, *Les Misérables*, *How the Steel Was Tempered*, and more. These comic books, in later generations, would have a collection value far exceeding their intrinsic worth. They could easily make a fortune just by reselling them, not to mention that if a complete set was well-preserved, its collection value would increase many times over.
Li Ju'an pulled out a ten-yuan note from his pocket, offered him a cigarette, and said, "Brother, take out the complete set and let me see."
The stall owner paused, then, seeing that he was serious, realized that a big customer had arrived. He quickly put away his cigarettes, said "Oh dear," and turned to rummage through the woven bag behind the stall.
"The Newsboy of the Foggy City", "The Case of Chen Shimei", "Jin Xiuniang", "The Small Factory Walks on the Great Road", "With Red Heart and Lofty Spirit, Drawing a New Picture", "Long Live the Spirit of the Poor", "Self-Reliance Triumphs"...
Li Ju'an bought six complete comic books in a row. He casually flipped through the comic book "The Small Factory Walks on the Big Road," and Li Xiao excitedly leaned over to take a look too.
This comic book, told from the perspective of a small factory, recounts its rise and growth page by page. Despite its small size, the factory plays a crucial role in rural economic development. The workers, with a strong sense of ownership, selflessly dedicate themselves to the factory and the country.
Li Xiao became engrossed in reading it, and Li Ju'an laughed, "Go home and read it, it's all our sister's stuff anyway."
Li Xiao's eyes widened in excitement, her bright black eyes filled with disbelief, and she said, "Brother, are they all mine?"
"Of course! I bought them all. Thanks, bro."
Seeing him about to leave, the stall owner sighed, wondering why he hadn't brought a few more complete sets. There were many other comic book rental and sales stalls around, so he could only watch as Li Ju'an went to another one. He suddenly slapped his forehead, hurriedly chased after him, and called out, "Boss, how many do you want? I'll get them for you. The exact number is guaranteed. Next time you come, just find me directly; don't go to those other stalls."
Li Ju'an asked him, "What about the price?"
Mr. Chen, the stall owner, shouted, "I won't charge you a penny more, just pay the original price, 3 mao per book, or 2 mao 5 for fewer books."
The price is fair. The stall owner runs a low-profit business, and the books he has may not all be complete sets; he buys the incomplete sets.
Li Ju'an nodded and agreed, saying he would come back to visit again next time he was in town. Old Chen, the stall owner, readily agreed, overjoyed. He was thinking to himself, "What brother dotes on his sister like that, spoiling her like the apple of his eye? She loves comic books, so he buys her the whole set—he's so devoted to her."
Li Ju'an harbored the intention of collecting these comic books, believing their value would increase in future generations. After agreeing, he turned and left with Li Xiao. When he left, he took an extra set of the same "Water Margin" book, bought some daily necessities that didn't require ration coupons at the supply and marketing cooperative, and two tubes of Snow Cream and Le Kou Jing toothpaste. This aluminum-tube toothpaste was great; his mouth smelled fresh all day after brushing.
The two took the small train from the forest farm back to their family village.
When the two returned, their mother, Song Lanhua, quickly came out to greet them, saying, "It's not even dark yet, and you're already back. Why did you buy so many things?"
Li Ju'an handed over the bundle of comic books in his hand and said with a smile, "That's right, after the Lantern Festival, the days are getting longer every day."
Looking at all these comic books, Song Lanhua, the mother, muttered that he was wasting money and that it would be fine to just borrow them.
Li Xiao ran into the house excitedly, took the comic book, patted his mother's bottom twice, and laughed, "Mom, look at it, isn't it good? My brother said that the more comic books you read, the smarter you become."
The mother, Song Lanhua, smiled and tapped her daughter's forehead, saying, "No wonder you're only coming back now. You've even learned to flatter people."
Li Xiao patted his mother's buttocks twice more, looking smug, and hugged his mother's waist, saying, "Mom, can you pinch my butt?"
"Oh dear, what's wrong with you, girl? You're so annoying." Her mother had never seen Li Xiao like this before. She stared at her blankly for a moment, but couldn't help but laugh and pinched her daughter's bottom.
Li Xiao was finally satisfied. She skipped and hopped back into the house with the little picture book, and lit an oil lamp to read it.
Li Ju'an was sweating profusely as he watched. This little girl was hilarious. She went to the county town and didn't learn anything else, but she did perfectly imitate Song Desheng's smug mannerisms. The little girl really thought that this cheeky patting was an expression of affection to her family.
Just then, Aunt Zhang's younger brother came to visit, bringing his niece. Aunt Zhang and her younger brother were more than 20 years apart in age. The younger brother was born later, and Aunt Zhang practically raised him like a mother when he was little. So, Zhang Jinshan and Li Ju'an were close friends since childhood.
As soon as Zhang Jinshan entered, he shouted, "Li Ju'an! It's been so long! The last few times I came to play cards with you, I heard you'd gone to the mountains. What's wrong? Do you have a wife or relatives in the mountains? You're always running off to that place."
Li Ju'an turned around and kicked Zhang Jinshan in the butt, saying with disgust, "Stop it, I just got back and you came running over, did you hear me?"
Zhang Jinshan, as if it were a toy, grinned and stuck close to him, saying, "Of course! I heard you say you brought back comic books. So I quickly brought the girl over to take a look."
He was quite polite, carrying a pot of wine that looked like medicinal wine made from some unknown ingredient.
Li Ju'an was annoyed with him and said, "If you're here to borrow books, then borrow books, but don't bring me medicine."
"Why aren't you drinking it? This medicinal wine is a good thing. It contains deer antler, which can enhance male virility." Zhang Jinshan winked mysteriously.
"Pah! Take it back, I'm afraid you'll poison me to death."
The two laughed heartily, and Zhang's niece happily ran into the house, where she and Li Xiao sat down on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) and started reading.
Li Xiao was also shrewd. He widened his bright black eyes and looked up at her, asking, "Didn't you ask me for 4 cents to borrow a book last time?"
Zhang's niece was a little embarrassed and said, "Oh, Mom, I'll treat you to some candy later. My uncle brought back some White Rabbit milk candy from the city, it's so delicious. I'll trade you a candy for a comic book."
Li Xiao said, "No."
"Why don't you want it? You've never had it before, so why don't you want it? This White Rabbit milk candy was brought back from Shanghai by my uncle by train. I don't usually show it to just anyone. Take a look."
Li Xiao looked at the milk candy in front of her, and without saying a word, with a stern face, got off the kang (a heated brick bed), opened a drawer, took out a large bag of White Rabbit milk candy, sat down, broke off a piece, and chewed it. The milky aroma immediately filled the air, making Zhang's niece's mouth water, and she kept swallowing her saliva.
She pleaded, "Li Xiao, please, give me one."
Li Xiao said, "What's wrong? Didn't you just say you had candy? Go back and eat it yourself."
Zhang's niece was practically drooling with envy, saying, "My uncle didn't bring White Rabbit candy, he brought Little White Rabbit milk candy, and it doesn't taste like this at all. I wonder where he bought it."
Li Xiao chuckled and said, "There's no such thing as a little white rabbit. Your uncle has probably been tricked. Here, have a taste. After you read the book my brother bought for me, I'll come to your house to read some books later. You can't charge me again then, can you?"
Zhang's niece nodded repeatedly in agreement, and the two little girls happily huddled together to look at the comic book, their laughter filling the air.