Chapter 10: Women's Stationery Store

Under the brilliant sunshine.

The Deaf Old Lady squinted her eyes, scrutinized Li Aiguo for a moment, and pursed her lips: "Young man of the Li family, this matter is Shazhu's fault, but you've already gotten your money, can't you let Shazhu off the hook? Young man, one must know when to advance and when to retreat; one must leave a margin for error in all things."

"Hey, hey, hey, Old Lady, that doesn't seem right."

"It was Shazhu who realized the mistake he made, felt the weight of his sins, and voluntarily went to the police station to turn himself in."

"He is turning over a new leaf and starting life anew."

"Yet you are holding him back from behind."

"Are you trying to harm him?"

Li Aiguo chuckled.

"What a sharp tongue!" The Deaf Old Lady was so stifled by the retort that she could barely catch her breath. After a few moments, she pursed her lips and said.

"I appreciate your kind words, but I have things to attend to, so I won't chat with you any longer."

With the grand plan of driving a train on his mind, time was precious. Li Aiguo had no time to waste idle chatter with an old woman with one foot in the grave, so he turned and walked into his house.

Watching Li Aiguo's back, the Deaf Old Lady felt a sharp, throbbing pain in her chest.

What was even more infuriating was that she couldn't truly blame Li Aiguo for this; if she had to blame anyone, it was Shazhu for being too foolish and Yi Zhonghai for being too cunning.

The Deaf Old Lady clutched her chest, her frame appearing even more hunched than before.

When Li Aiguo was making breakfast, he discovered the coal stove was pitch black; the coal briquette had gone out.

He slapped his forehead, remembering he had forgotten to add a new briquette last night.

This type of old-fashioned coal stove could hold three briquettes. After every meal, the bottom briquette needed to be replaced; otherwise, once it burned out and extinguished, it would be quite troublesome to relight.

It was a common occurrence for the fire to go out when adding coal.

Li Aiguo found some waste paper and gathered dry firewood from behind the house, then carried the stove outside to start the fire.

Starting a fire is a technical job.

First, he lit the waste paper with a match and stuffed it into the lower vent of the stove, then continued to feed the paper in one by one, adding small pieces of wood until small flames flickered from the kindling.

Then, he added larger pieces of wood while holding a cattail-leaf fan, fanning the flames from the lower vent—this is called "fanning the flames."

Under the influence of the fanning, the wood crackled and burned, and thick smoke billowed from the stove.

Only then could he add the coal briquette.

There is also a technique to adding coal: one must maintain enough gaps between the briquettes so that air can flow freely and the fire can burn vigorously.

This is called "People should be solid, but the fire should be airy!"

Seeing a pale blue flame emerge from the holes in the coal, Li Aiguo finally straightened his back, put down the fan, and prepared to put the kettle on.

Looking up, he happened to see a long, shoe-shaped face emerging from the neighboring house—it was Xu Damao, the temporary projectionist at the rolling mill.

"Yo, Brother Damao, heading to work so early? You're quite diligent." Li Aiguo greeted him with a smile.

Xu Damao was a bit stunned.

He had been neighbors with Li Aiguo for over a decade, and Li Aiguo had never once taken the initiative to greet him before.

But Xu Damao was a man who knew how to handle social situations; once he recovered, he nodded quickly.

"Starting the coal fire, Aiguo?"

"Yeah, I was too tired yesterday and forgot to add a briquette."

Mentioning yesterday's events, Xu Damao became interested. He glanced at the Deaf Old Lady's room and walked over to Li Aiguo's side with small steps.

"You're something else, kid. You actually sent Shazhu in. I heard the police station is going to deal with Shazhu severely."

As he spoke, he tilted his chin toward the Deaf Old Lady's room: "That old lady is trying every way she can to fish Shazhu out!"

Li Aiguo frowned slightly, fanning the fire as he asked, "What exactly is the Deaf Old Lady's background? Someone is already in the police station, and she can still pull them out?"

"Heh, even my old man can't figure it out. All we know is that she's very familiar with the leaders of the rolling mill and the neighborhood committee, and she has quite a bit of influence."

Xu Damao looked regretful: "It would be great if it weren't for the Deaf Old Lady; Shazhu definitely wouldn't be getting out this time."

It stood to reason that they had lived in the same courtyard for over ten years and knew each other inside and out, yet they didn't understand the Deaf Old Lady's situation.

It seemed the Deaf Old Lady's identity was truly a mystery, but Li Aiguo didn't press for more details.

He shifted the topic: "I heard your mother introduced you to a girl."

"...Just an ordinary girl, nothing is set in stone yet!"

Xu Damao was a bit guarded, terrified that someone might snatch his Lou Xiao'e away. He gave a vague, evasive answer and hurried off.

Today was his first date with Lou Xiao'e, and he couldn't afford to be late.

Once the fire was going and he had finished breakfast, the sun was hanging high above the treetops.

Li Aiguo gathered all his dirty clothes, placed them on the kang, and fished a bar of soap from the drawer, setting it next to the laundry.

Only then did he put on his canvas bag and head out, ready to go to the stationery store to farm skill points.

There was a Xinhua Bookstore next to Nanluoguxiang, though it wasn't called the Xinhua Bookstore, but rather the Women's Stationery Store.

The reason it had such a name wasn't because only women were allowed to enter; it was purely because the plaque featured calligraphy by a certain female writer.

The one who wrote "The Little Orange Lamp."

He arrived at the front courtyard.

He knocked on Yan Bugui's door and told the Third Aunt that he was heading out, and that his dirty laundry was piled on the kang, asking if she could wash it for him.

"Is this for your exam preparations? Go ahead, I'll come over once I've finished scrubbing the pots."

The Third Aunt replied and headed into the kitchen with her bowls and plates.

Asking the Third Aunt to do his laundry meant owing the Yan family a favor, but Li Aiguo had no concerns about that.

The best way for people to interact is to owe each other favors.

Owe a favor, then return a favor.

Through this cycle of owing and returning, a strong relationship is built.

In any era, one cannot afford to be a lone wolf.

It was precisely because of this philosophy that Li Aiguo was able to become a luxury yacht captain in his later life.

The Li family originally had a bicycle, but in order to pay for his father's medical treatment, his predecessor had sold it to the Liu family's repair shop.

He had to walk.

By now, the golden sun had climbed to the third-floor windows of the apartment building, scattering golden light across the capital, and the temperature was gradually rising.

Fortunately, the Women's Stationery Store wasn't far, located at the northeast corner of Nanluoguxiang.

Next to the stationery store was an oil shop. In this era, many families in the capital still used kerosene lamps.

Early in the morning, a long line had already formed at the entrance of the oil shop, with residents carrying bottles to buy kerosene.

In stark contrast to the bustling activity at the oil shop, the entrance to the Women's Stationery Store was deserted.

Pushing the door open and walking in, Li Aiguo discovered that there were actually quite a few people inside.

While not exactly crowded, it was comparable to a supermarket from his past life.

Squeezing into the crowd, Li Aiguo scanned the bookshelves and knew he had come to the right place.

The dozen or so rows of bookshelves were filled with all kinds of books.

Philosophy, art, sports, literature... there were thousands of them.

He couldn't help but swallow his saliva.

These books were all skill points.

Huh... what is this?

On a bookshelf near the door, Li Aiguo discovered a strange contraption that looked like an air rifle.

It had the barrel of an air rifle, the stock of an air rifle; it could be loaded with pellets, and when the trigger was pulled, one could feel compressed air erupting in the barrel.

Well, it was an air rifle, and its kinetic energy definitely exceeded 1.8 joules.

It was just sitting there openly on the bookstore shelf, with bullets displayed right next to it.

This era was truly full of passion.

"Hey, hey, hey, I'm talking to you! If you're not buying, don't touch!"

At this moment, the female clerk, who had called out twice without receiving a response, became angry.

She widened her eyes and raised her voice.

Li Aiguo turned his head to look at the banner on the wall that read "Do not beat customers without cause."

Then he looked at the dozen air rifles hanging on the wall, smiled, and put the air rifle back.

Well, one must have a broad mind and a wide world.

(End of chapter)