The two huddled under the eaves, counting the books one by one.
There are a total of 132 sheets without a stamp, regardless of size, including quite a few miniature sheets.
There are fifty-one stamped copies.
Finally, for a total of 137.1 yuan, the two exchanged money and goods.
Wang Chong'an even gave him the cloth bag he used to carry magazines.
Li Chu looked at the things in his hands with amusement. He never expected that he would buy a bunch of these things when he just went out for a stroll. He hadn't even been a few hundred meters from home.
Sure enough, men shouldn't carry money in their pockets. What happened? Over a hundred yuan is gone again. I absolutely must never buy things recklessly again.
"Thank you so much, Dr. Li. You've been a great help to me."
This price wasn't exactly satisfactory for Wang Chong'an, but it was still much better than others. If it were before, no one would have offered him this price.
This money was enough for him to manage the household affairs fairly.
"You're welcome. Well... I'll be going now. I have some other things to take care of over there."
"Dr. Li, please take care!"
"You're welcome, Master Wang. You should head home soon too."
Li Chu tucked the cloth bag under his armpit, then turned and walked back into the alley. No need to turn around, let's put the things back first.
The snow outside is getting heavier and heavier; if these things get wet, they'll be ruined.
Since you've already bought it, you should still take good care of it.
They strolled back home. Some of the group sat on the sofa, while Wang Yueyue and Wen Hui simply sat on the blanket. Little Choubao was even more comfortable, his head resting on Xiao Hei's belly, his feet propped on his mother's legs, and he was fast asleep under a small blanket.
The TV was showing a Hong Kong and Taiwan movie, something like Lucky Stars or something. A group of people were sitting there watching it and laughing non-stop. Little Turtle seemed to be used to it; he could even fall asleep with such loud noise.
The people inside didn't react much when he came in, and he wasn't surprised either, so he went straight into the study.
Sitting behind his desk, he carefully took out the stamps, wearing cotton gloves, and examined them one by one.
"Hey, why are you buying so many stamps?"
Ding Qiunan walked in carrying a teacup. Li Chu was so focused on watching that he didn't notice her until he heard her voice.
"I made you a cup of tea. Where did you buy those stamps? And some of them are even used?"
"Sigh, I went out for a walk just now and was stopped by an acquaintance at the intersection. He's preparing for his child's wedding, but he doesn't have enough money, so he's planning to sell the stamps he's painstakingly collected over the years. I looked at them and thought they were quite interesting, so I bought them."
"How much does it cost? What else can this thing be used for besides sending messages?" Ding Qiunan put the teacup on the table and reached out to pick up a note.
"Wow, this is from the Republic of China era."
"Of course, there are even some from the Qing Dynasty."
"My God, there are such large denominations." After putting down the Republic of China-era note, he picked up a note from the early days of the People's Republic of China, featuring Tiananmen Square.
"Never seen it before, have you?"
"You know what, I've never seen these before, but I have seen these."
"Those were all released in the last few years, you must have seen them."
"Hey, I asked you and you still haven't told me, what did you buy these for? Some of them are even used."
“I just collect them for fun, what else can I do with them? I'm not going to use them to write letters, am I?”
"Then you can have fun. I'm going out to watch the video."
"Go ahead, go ahead."
"By the way, what are we having for lunch? My sister and the others are eating here."
"Then I'll light some charcoal later so we can have hot pot. It'll be warm and comforting," Li Chu said, putting down the stamps in his hand and thinking for a moment.
"Okay, I happen to have meat and vegetables at home, so I won't worry about it. You can prepare them later."
"Okay, go watch TV. We'll eat in the backyard pavilion later. The cotton curtains are all set up, so we won't be afraid of the wind. Otherwise, the food inside will smell all over the place."
"Then remember to bring the stove over first, it's very cold in there."
"Okay, I'll get started as soon as I've tidied these up."
"Mmm, thank you, darling." Ding Qiunan bent down, hugged her man's head, and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.
By the way, the best app for reading aloud right now is Yeguo Reading (yeguoyuedu). Install the latest version.
"Alright, go watch TV."
When they eat hot pot at home, they usually only eat the Sichuan-style kind, which is spicy and not suitable for everyone in the family. This way, it's more convenient because they don't need to prepare the broth in advance.
After his wife left, Li Chu put the stamps back into the magazine and then placed them on the bookshelf behind him.
Alright, although we don't know how much these things will sell for in the future, they've still become assets he's built for his family.
He stood in front of the bookshelf and nodded with considerable satisfaction.
There were more than a dozen people, and the large table was almost full. The table was laden with mutton slices, potato slices, cabbage, frozen tofu, thinly sliced fish, radish slices, vermicelli, and other dishes.
"Xiao Chu, could you find someone to get us a bigger table? Otherwise, how are we going to sit for Chinese New Year?" Looking at the crowded table, Li Qin felt a headache coming on just thinking about the New Year.
"That's easy. I'll talk to Zhu Wenyi tomorrow and ask him to get one. Also, I'll think of a way to get one of those rotating tables for us. We can put a small rotating table on the big table so that it's convenient for everyone to pick up food, saving them the trouble of standing up."
"Hmm, that's a good idea."
The pavilion was surrounded by cotton curtains, and inside there was a honeycomb briquette stove and charcoal in a copper pot, so it wasn't cold at all. Through the gaps, you could see the snow falling all around, which was quite charming.
After finishing their meal and cleaning up, the woman took the child back inside to continue watching videos, while Li Chu, Wang Ziwen, Wang Jun, and Wang Jiadong, the four men, sat in the pavilion and played a game of double-deck poker.
Li Chu taught them all these games, like bragging, running fast, and playing Dou Dizhu.
When he first started teaching, everyone looked at him strangely. Li Qin even said that he was not doing his job properly and was just thinking about how to have fun.
It was snowing heavily outside, but they were drinking hot tea and playing cards in the pavilion. Every now and then, the laughter of a woman and the cries of a child could be heard coming from the house in front. This family was living a very comfortable life.
The heavy snow continued for a day. By nine o'clock in the evening, when everyone was preparing to go home, they found that the ground in the yard was covered with a thick layer of snow, and walking on it made a crunching sound.
"Alright, let's get up early tomorrow morning and shovel snow."
This is a traditional activity in the hutongs every winter, and every household does it. They sweep not only their own yards and roofs, but also the streets outside. Regardless of age or gender, everyone is very conscientious in doing so.
Especially the children, they are even more enthusiastic than the adults, and they can play in the snow openly without being punished. Who wouldn't want that?
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