"Ms. Gu, do you like reading?"

Mr. Xu noticed Gu Qingcheng's little action. He did not directly ask Gu Qingcheng whether she could read, but asked in a more implicit way.

"Yes! My father was a juren in the Qing Dynasty, and he also read some books when he was young."

Gu Qingcheng was not overly modest and replied with a smile.

The daughter of a juren comes from a scholarly family.

If you read books when you are young, you will not only escape illiteracy, but also become a talented person.

Mr. Xu's eyes lit up, "That's amazing!"

At a time when the national illiteracy rate is very high, even men may not be able to read, let alone women who are bound and oppressed.

And this Ms. Gu in front of me is actually educated. She is definitely an intellectual woman living in an open-minded family.

"Come and take a look at the books I have here to see if there's anything you'd like to read. If you do, just come and borrow it!"

Mr. Xu accepted the snacks from Gu Qingcheng and was worried about not having a suitable return gift.

Knowing that Gu Qingcheng liked reading, he simply pointed to his collection and spoke to Gu Qingcheng enthusiastically.

Gu Qingcheng didn't hesitate and came to the pile of books.

After glancing at the titles of the books, she discovered that Mr. Xu's collection of books was not only large but also diverse.

There are foreign books, history books, and classics by sages.

There are poetry collections, novels, and medical books.

Gu Qingcheng took two books of each genre and said, "Mr. Xu, I'll read these first. When I'm done, I can come back to borrow them. Is that okay?"

This is a small treasure trove of knowledge, how could Gu Qingcheng let it go easily?

"Yes! Of course!"

As a teacher, Mr. Xu is a teacher by nature.

Especially when he sees an "awakened woman" like Gu Qingcheng, he is more willing to help and give advice.

Mr. Xu is not a pedantic scholar. He has studied abroad and received a modern education.

Therefore, he knew very well that the education level of women was the embodiment of a country’s true civilization and freedom!

Carrying a large pile of books, Gu Qingcheng couldn't continue visiting her neighbors.

She went back home first, put the book away, and then returned to the courtyard on the east side.

Ahem, there’s still Editor Zhao that I haven’t visited yet.

"These are the newspapers I subscribe to and collect, as well as those sent to me by friends in Beijing and Shanghai. Ms. Gu, just come and borrow them!"

Editor Zhao is in his forties. Although not as open-minded as Mr. Xu, he still has some of the aloofness and stubbornness of a traditional scholar.

However, he is more cultured and can be considered a progressive scholar.

There is not much prejudice and discrimination towards women.

The key point is that Gu Qingcheng was wearing traditional clothes, and she didn't look ridiculous or out of place.

There is also the temperament that emanates from her bones, which perfectly interprets the saying "A man of culture is naturally elegant", making Editor Zhao feel as if he has seen a true traditional oriental talent.

Gu Qingcheng borrowed another stack of newspapers from Editor Zhao.

She also picked out some newspapers from the capital.

Huoshui was secretly proud of himself:...Humph, you said that you don’t care about the heroine Han Qiuyu at all, but didn’t you borrow the newspaper from the capital?

He is definitely saying one thing and doing another.

Gu Qingcheng: ...What cold autumn rain?

This is a newspaper from the capital!

The key point is the word "capital".

No matter what era, the capital is the center of the country.

If you want to understand this country more deeply and know the top trends, you must understand the capital.

When Gu Qingcheng borrowed the newspaper, she didn't think about Han Qiuyu at all. She just wanted to understand this country and this world more deeply.

After putting the newspaper back, Gu Qingcheng went to visit the neighbor on the west side again.

The west side is also a courtyard house, but its area is much smaller than that of the east side.

The owner of the house was a woman in her forties, thin, with bound feet, high cheekbones, and thin lips. Her face gave her a mean look.

Gu Qingcheng only took one look and knew what was going on.

She was not overly enthusiastic, but instead showed a reserved and aloof side.

Her temperament is naturally noble, and when she is too cold, she looks difficult to deal with.

The mean woman originally had a look of disgust in her eyes, but after feeling Gu Qingcheng's aura, her expression instantly softened.

Huoshui was shocked:...He is indeed a top-notch person, a typical bully who only cares about the strong and the weak.

The landlord is a very bad person, and her tenants are quite mixed.

Although there are only two households, there is a huge difference between them——

One was a student at the University, and he brought his first wife and two children whom he married in the countryside.

One is a coolie pulling a rickshaw.

There are also six people in the family, but this rickshaw puller is slightly more "rich" than the other coolies -

His family bought their own rickshaw instead of renting one from a rickshaw company, and thus suffered even greater exploitation.

Wang Dali, a middle-aged man, is very proud of this. "I came to the provincial capital alone and worked very hard for three years to save up for this car."

As he spoke, he pointed to the rickshaw that he had polished to a shine, his eyes full of a sense of accomplishment.

"Once I buy a car, I'll bring my wife and kids over. I'll pull the cart while my wife does the laundry. Then, after a few more years of hard work and savings, we'll try to buy a house in the provincial capital!"

ps: Hehe, I ask for one thing every day: monthly ticket, monthly ticket, monthly ticket!