Gu Qingling had a slight smile on her lips, obviously very satisfied with Mo Shu.
This kid not only has a good brain, but also has a sweet mouth. No wonder he can handle three masters at the same time.
"Since everything goes well, let's open as planned."
"Yes, old lady."
…
The weather is getting colder.
Some readers in Jinling accidentally discovered that a particularly large bookstore suddenly opened in a quiet alley.
Speaking of it, it's not because of how big it occupies, but because the space inside feels very large. In addition to the rows of bookcases, there are actually tables and chairs for reading.
If anyone wants to copy the book, they will provide pen and ink, but it will not be free.
The most important thing is that in such a cold weather, the bookstore actually uses charcoal fire?!
"real or fake?!"
When Zhou Yusheng heard this, he was surprised.
It’s not that there are no bookstores in Jinling, but there is a charcoal fire in the bookstore, which warms the whole room. Isn’t this a bit exaggerated?
At most, the shopkeeper who is responsible for looking after the store has a pot of fire. If he likes you, can he roast it for you?
"Really, why did I lie to you? I went there yesterday. Otherwise, why do you think I came to call you today?"
Zhou Yusheng didn't speak for a while.
He is said to be a scholar, but the Zhou family is quite poor. If his two brothers and sister-in-law had not worked hard to support him as a scholar, he would have no money to study.
In order to save money for him, when the weather gets cold, except for him, only one person will use the charcoal fire, and others will use it as long as they can.
Even his two and a half-year-old nieces would sensibly get under the covers to keep warm if they were really cold, or they would rush to light the fire to warm themselves up while waiting for cooking.
Perhaps, for a wealthy family, a pot of charcoal fire a day is nothing, but Zhou Yusheng knew that in their family, if he wanted to use a winter's worth of charcoal work, his two brothers would have to work less than one or two months.
It also doesn’t include the pens, inks, paper, inkstones and other items he used.
If the clothes on his body were included, the usual repair fee would only be higher.
"Let's go, you can read books for free over there. Even if you don't buy anything, it only costs one day..." the man said, "Anyway, it saves a lot more than if you read at home, and you can also stay warm and less likely to get sick. The books they have there
There are quite a few, and you might even be able to find the book you want."
Zhou Yusheng, who originally wanted to copy books at home and find a way to subsidize some money for his family, hesitated and decided to accompany the window to the bookstore to have a look.
After walking away, Zhou Yusheng discovered that this bookstore was not very far from his home?!
The door of the bookstore is not very big, and there is a "Opening" sign on the closed book. There is no street in front and no store in the back. If someone hadn't led the way, no one would have noticed that there is an additional bookstore here.
When you push the door open, you will be greeted by a blast of warm air.
Without being reminded at all, Zhou Yusheng quickly closed the door to prevent the air-conditioning from outside from drifting in.
There was a young man standing behind the counter facing the door. He saw people coming in and greeted them with a smile.
Only then did Zhou Yusheng realize that the structure of this bookstore was a little different from what he usually saw. Normally, the counters of other bookstores were erected on one side of the door. You could see rows of bookcases, and there were also bookshelves on the front.
Many notable re-recommended books.
But this bookstore is different. The counter is placed "horizontally" facing the door. It is wider and larger than the ordinary counter. The area behind the counter against the wall is not filled with books, but empty boxes.
There are strange symbols like "1, 2, 3" painted on it, which makes people a little confused.
When the waiter in the store asked Zhou Yusheng if he had any items to store, Zhou Yusheng realized that the "empty grid" at the back was not there to look good, but to help store things.
After all, not everyone comes to the bookstore empty-handed. If you want to bring something, but it is inconvenient to bring it in, you can leave it here. When the time comes, the bookstore will give that person a number plate, and the so-called strange symbols are not symbols.
, but "Arabic numerals" passed from other places.
"Numbers?!" Zhou Yusheng was shocked. He knew one, two, three, and four, but he didn't know that there were corresponding "1,2,3,4"?!
As soon as the waiter explained it, Zhou Yusheng understood it.
Isn't it? There are only a few characters to write in Arabic numerals, which is much simpler than one, two, three, and four. Especially when there are more digits, it only takes up three spaces, but if it is replaced by one,
Two, three, four, and after reaching a hundred, the position you have to occupy will be wider.
In order to save space, bookstores should think of some labor-saving methods.
Zhou Yusheng asked the waiter in the store, is it true that my grandma only has a few copper coins a day to study here? If I don’t buy books, does it really matter? There are so many charcoal fires burning in the bookstore every day. If no one buys books, wouldn’t it be...
Unexpectedly, he started to worry about the bookstore before he entered. The waiter smiled and said: "Young master, you are joking, the owner did not open this bookstore to make money. It doesn't matter whether you make money or not, as long as people are willing to come to our bookstore to read."
That's all. Is this your first time here, sir? Please look down at the rules of the bookstore first, to avoid misunderstandings and unpleasantness in the future..."
The waiter pointed to the counter in front of him.
Zhou Yusheng took a look and saw that there were a lot of words "written" in ink on the counter. The first one was "No noise is allowed in the store, please keep quiet", then "Please take good care of the books and compensate for the price if they are damaged without reason", "
One time entry and exit is 2 copper coins, please pay for repeated entry"...
So, it’s not 2 coppers a day as my friend said, but 2 coppers at a time?
Zhou Yusheng glanced at his classmate, who was a little embarrassed. After he followed his classmate inside, the classmate whispered to him: "I came here to have a full meal today, and I also brought two steamed buns for lunch. I'm going to wait for the bookstore to close.
Let’s go again…”
Zhou Yusheng immediately understood what his classmate meant and was a little shocked, but...
But, he also wants to do this, what should he do?
“Can I eat in the bookstore?!”
"Shh... keep your voice down." The classmate looked around to make sure no one noticed them, and whispered, "Be careful when eating, don't drop any crumbs, and others will notice." When I came here yesterday, I discovered
Some people have done this. If you are willing to spend money, you can also buy a pot of tea, but the tea is a bit expensive..."
"What if I want to go to the hut?"
The classmate pointed in a direction and said: "There is a small door over there, and there is a latrine over there, but you have to flush it with water after use, and make sure it is flushed clean."
Zhou Yusheng couldn't see the peculiarity of that latrine yet. He only heard the words "flush with water" and was a little confused.
It was only after he went there that he found out that the "washing with water" his classmates said was true - it was not a large "single" shaped trough, it seemed to be paved with ceramics, and that was where the large size was installed.
This kind of large-sized place is divided into rooms. There are at least five at a glance, and they all have small doors.
There is also a row of "urinals" on the back wall of the large pool. They look like half-cut pot-bellied medium pottery pots. They are mounted on the wall and are made of ceramics like the "large pool".
Sliding past, there were five of them.
Whether it was directly opposite the small door of the large room or directly opposite the urinal at the back, there was a particularly large water tank lined up. The lid on the water tank was half open and a ladle was placed inside.
On the wall, there is a diagram showing you how to get into the latrine and reminding you to "flush clean".
