Chapter 10010 Selling Books & Borrowing Money
Xu Siqi nodded quickly, "Yes, it's her. Does uncle still remember her?"
Xu Duan did not comment, but just glanced at his bicycle quickly.
Obviously, his uncle didn't say anything, but Xu Siqi felt that he was angry. When he heard that they were not going to find him a "partner" but a job for Shu Jinyue, his uncle's attitude was quite gentle.
When your uncle is angry, he won't get furious. He will just look at you quietly. The longer he looks at you, the more nervous he becomes.
He recalled that when he was four years old, he liked a comic book of a neighbor's child so much that he secretly took it home when no one was paying attention. Later, the child couldn't find it and got angry. The eight-year-old uncle just looked at him quietly, as if he knew that he was the one who took it.
Later, he couldn't stand his uncle's look anymore, so he handed over the things while crying. His parents gave him a severe scolding. From then on, he was particularly afraid of his uncle, and he dared not go west if his uncle said he was going east.
"You intend to repay the favor." This is an affirmation, not a question.
Xu sat upright on the Huanghuali armchair, tapping lightly on the table with his slender fingers.
Xu Siqi swallowed his saliva and said, "Yes, mainly because I think their family is in a difficult situation, and I would like to help them if I can."
"Oh."
Xu Siqi wanted to continue explaining that he was not ungrateful, he had even prepared money for her to buy a job, he really didn't intend to let her spend a penny.
Xu Duan raised his hand to stop him, "Tell me, what kind of jobs have you found for people recently?"
"It's not easy to get involved in a machinery factory. My father and I looked for jobs for her at the street office, the district library, the cultural center, and department store outlets, but the competition was fierce and we didn't succeed. Today, we're looking for a pesticide factory..."
In front, Xu Duan looked normal, but when he heard about the pesticide factory, his brows furrowed, "It doesn't matter if it doesn't work."
"But...but her vacation is about to end, we can't delay it any longer..."
Xu Duan looked at a picture of a pine tree on the wall thoughtfully, "Don't worry about it, just study hard."
Does this mean that my uncle agreed to help? ! Xu Siqi was so happy that he wanted to say thank you.
Unexpectedly, Xu Duan looked at him with a half-smile, "Don't think you're the only smart one."
Before Xu Siqi could figure out what this meant, his uncle had already stood up and went back to his room.
***
Shu Jinyue was not idle at this time. After getting off the Jianshe Bridge, she strolled around there. This time she changed her outfit again. She wore a flowered cotton coat over a blue work suit. Two light yellow braids hung in front of her chest. She wore a Lei Feng hat covering her eyebrows, revealing her snow-white face.
She looked like a little girl of about thirteen or fourteen years old, completely different from the "Northeastern teenager" from last time. As she walked along, no one recognized her at all.
This time she learned her lesson and did not go around looking for buyers. She just squatted quietly in a corner and observed everyone. When she saw someone who looked like an educated person, she would go up to him and ask him a few questions in a low voice, then listen carefully. If she saw that the other party had no interest, she would leave immediately.
After asking four or five people in a row, no one was interested. She began to hesitate. Her childish appearance was indeed not convincing. People who wanted to buy were also worried that she was stealing things from home to sell. If the parents found out, they would make a fuss, just like the last time when she sold wild ginseng. Even those who wanted to buy would hesitate.
"Little girl, do you want to sell old books?" an old man who had been squatting next to her whispered.
Jin Yue remembered that he specialized in dealing in grain coupons, exchanging local coupons for national coupons and coarse grains for fine grains, and it seemed that he had a lot of connections.
She nodded.
"You won't be able to sell it this way. I know a friend who knows an old professor who likes to collect old books and stamps."
Jin Yue knew that he would definitely not sell himself out for no reason, so he waited for what would happen next.
Seeing that she looked calm and not at all impetuous like other children of her age, the man paused and thought that this little girl was quite patient. "I won't keep you in suspense. He helped to make the connection. You can meet the old professor and have a chat. If they're a good match, maybe you can add a big piece of furniture to your home, right?"
He also knew the rules and did not ask her to take out the thing first. Jin Yue really did not want to be exposed. She wanted to sell this ancient book to someone who knew about it, not a second-hand dealer.
Only those who know its value will cherish it.
"If it works out, you can just give him 20%."
Shu Jinyue frowned immediately, "No."
"Twenty percent is the rule of the underworld. We can't let people work for nothing. Little girl, you are young and don't understand these principles..."
"Three dollars."
"What?"
Shu Jinyue was very calm. She had figured out that this man was also a matchmaker. They made money by being dealers here, and they could make more by being middlemen. If they could sell the products, they would get money, and if they couldn't, they wouldn't lose anything.
Knowing his mentality, Jin Yue lowered the price more and more, and finally agreed that as long as it was sold through the middleman introduced by him, she would give that person five dollars as a hard work fee, no matter how much. As for how they would divide it, that was none of her business.
It is better to do it today than to wait for a day. Jin Yue said that her elderly family member was sick and needed money to save his life. So the dealer drove her to an alley and asked her to wait while he went to find the "friend". Finally, the friend took her to the gate of the Medical University to find the old professor.
They are all public places, so Jin Yue is not afraid that they will do anything bad.
"This is Professor Zhang from the Medical University. You've come to see him today. Little girl, you've finally found the right person. Our Professor Zhang is in the field of collecting ancient books." The middleman gave a thumbs up.
Shu Jinyue observed the old man. He had gray hair, black-rimmed glasses, and a faded Zhongshan suit. He really looked like a cultured man. But she didn't dare to be careless. What if this group of people teamed up to rob other gangs? Having been a ghost for so many years, she has read many TV novels.
Professor Zhang didn't say much, just nodded and went straight to the point and asked to see what the book was.
Jin Yue was not in a hurry to take it out, but asked: "Professor Zhang, have you heard of "The Prescription for Women Worth a Thousand Gold Dollars"? "
Professor Zhang nodded and said, "Anyone who is knowledgeable in medicine has heard of it." He also accurately stated who the author was, his major life events and academic viewpoints, and the year the book was written.
Jin Yue nodded. In fact, this book is different from the well-known "Treatise on Febrile Diseases" and "Compendium of Materia Medica". Although the author is also a famous doctor, he has few disciples and the inheritance of his school has long been broken. His works are only circulated in a small circle of traditional Chinese medicine, and ordinary students of traditional Chinese medicine may not know about them.
Professor Zhang could accurately describe the author's life and academic thoughts, and his words were full of praise, which surprised Shu Jinyue.
However, the old man changed the subject and said, "Unfortunately, I only heard a few words about this book from my father when I was a child. The original copy of this book is currently kept in the Beijing Museum, and even the ordinary handwritten copy is no longer available on the market."
"Yes, in recent years, many ancient Chinese medical books have been destroyed under the guise of 'destroying the four olds,' and even the number of practitioners of Chinese medicine has greatly decreased." Jin Yue remembered that she had read a report that before 1966, there were 350,000 practitioners of Chinese medicine nationwide, but by 1977 and 1978, there were only 140,000 left, a sharp drop of two-thirds! The number of practitioners of Western medicine has tripled.
This is a heartbreaking change. Jin Yue has always had an idea. The first step is to stay in the city and survive, the second step is to collect and organize these lost "pearls", and the third step is to promote traditional Chinese medicine and take revenge.
She has very little life experience and her ideas are simple.
Professor Zhang listened to her clear and logical talk and relaxed. "It's rare to meet a friend like you."
The middleman immediately responded, "Professor Zhang, you have to give her a fair price. Their elderly is in the hospital and needs money to save his life."
Jin Yue's face turned a little hot, and he quickly took out the "Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Gold for Women" that he had kept with him all the way.
Professor Zhang's eyes lit up, and he took it and looked through it carefully. "Although it is not the original copy, judging from the paper and the missing taboo characters, it should have been copied by people in the Qing Dynasty, so it can be considered precious."
Jin Yue really didn't understand these things, such as jade button paper, taboo characters, and missing characters. After all, she was not a professional and had no professional knowledge of ancient medical texts. But she knew that the book must have found a buyer who was truly suitable for it.
"I won't cheat you, young comrade. This book can be sold for more than 250 yuan on the market, but it takes time to find a suitable buyer. If you need the money urgently, I'll give you 220 yuan. How about that?"
He speculated that there must be someone in Shu Jinyue's family who is a professional in the field of traditional Chinese medicine, otherwise it would be impossible for him to know so much about traditional Chinese medicine, let alone have this manuscript.
The middleman exclaimed, "Ah!" and scratched his ears, "Professor Zhang, this, this, this..." It's so expensive!
Teacher Zhang was too lazy to explain to him that laymen only saw the money, but to experts, this was a precious documentary material that could not be replicated and an indispensable part of the history of the development of Chinese medicine. Once it was gone, it was really gone.
"I have classes later. How about this? I don't have that much money. If you need it urgently, I can give you another thirty yuan, but you need to exchange it for milk powder tickets. Is that okay?"
These days, milk powder coupons are a privilege only for high-ranking officials. Ordinary people cannot buy them even if they have money. Shu Jinyue nodded immediately - her body really needs nutrition.
Half an hour later, with 215 yuan in cash and 30 yuan in milk powder coupons, Shu Jinyue returned home happily amid the middleman's frustrated sighs and beating his chest.
Of course, with the huge sum of money in her pocket, she still made a few detours and even went to the hospital for a stroll before returning to Liuye Hutong.
Not counting the milk powder coupons, she already has 370. If she buys two more ancient books like this, she will have enough money to buy a job!
However, she also knew that it was already good luck to have missed such a chance once, and it was impossible to be greedy again. After the job was settled, she would still have to borrow some money from Teacher Shu and Zhao Wanqiu, at most another three or four hundred. Although it was shameful to rely on her parents, this was a big matter related to the future. Within their ability, they should also help. As for the future, as long as she had a job, she would work hard to save money to pay them back...
However, as soon as she entered the east wing, she heard someone speak out her thoughts -
"I will definitely pay this money back, Dad, just lend it to me."
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