Chen Guiliang's stall was located at the school's transportation hub, where a row of bulletin boards stood as well.
He found a lush banyan tree, squatted beneath it, and opened his battered suitcase.
The second-year students were on break for the past two days, their classrooms vacated for the third-years to use as examination halls. The first-years, however, were still attending regular classes, and students heading to PE occasionally passed by.
Chen Guiliang took out his books and magazines, arranged them neatly, then sat cross-legged and waited for the right chance to draw customers.
When he had been young, he had been thin-skinned and overly self-conscious. He simply had not been cut out for business.
He remembered the summer after graduating middle school, when he carried a load of bamboo shoots into town. He had left home at four-thirty in the morning and stood stupidly at a market on the outskirts from morning until noon, yet failed to sell a single bamboo shoot!
That afternoon, hungry and exhausted, he carried the untouched bamboo shoots all the way back home.
He had never set up a stall again after that.
Looking back now, he had been pitifully foolish.
The reborn Chen Guiliang silently observed the students passing by.
You could not just shout randomly while doing business. You had to read people and pick the right targets.
Take the boys who had just run past, chasing and roughhousing around a basketball. Their eyes held nothing but the court. All they wanted was to grab a hoop before anyone else did. Even if you pinned them in front of the bookstall, they would not buy anything.
More than twenty minutes passed before four girls approached together, eating ice cream.
They chatted and laughed without pause. One of them glanced toward the bookstall, and her pace noticeably slowed.
Chen Guiliang had a sharp eye. He immediately called out, "Classmate, want to buy some books? I've got classics from ancient and modern times, from China and abroad. I'm a third-year about to sprint toward the College Entrance Exam, so I'm selling my books to focus on studying. The prices are practically a giveaway."
These girls were first-years and had only been enrolled for a little over two months.
To put it more bluntly: easy to fool!
Tao Xue's home was in the city. Because she loved literature and admired Guo Xiaosi, she had come all the way to this county town for school.
The school atmosphere here really was free—so free that it was somewhat lax. Even student romances were mostly ignored.
Several girls from her dormitory had gone out to buy ice cream despite the autumn chill. As they passed the bulletin boards, Tao Xue saw someone selling books and unconsciously slowed down.
She had not planned to buy anything, but after hearing what he said, she curiously walked closer.
Slurping her ice cream, she asked, "Do you have The Edge of Love and Pain?"
She had actually reread that book several times. Mentioning it now was merely a way of showing off her taste.
Chen Guiliang grinned and replied without hesitation, "You're a Guo Xiaosi fan? What a coincidence—I happen to know him. In our school's literature club, he was the president in 2001, and I was the president in 2002. Get it? We were successive presidents."
"Really?" Tao Xue was half-convinced.
Chen Guiliang said, "Why would I lie to you? I was the one who nominated the current Literature Club President."
Tao Xue could not help asking, "Senior, what's your name?"
Chen Guiliang said, "My name's Zhang Wei. Class 1, Senior 3. You joined the literature club too?"
Tao Xue nodded. "Yes. The literature club recruited new members a while ago, so I filled out the form and joined. Senior Zhang Wei, do you have Guo Xiaosi's phone number? His QQ number would work too."
"Guo Xiaosi is very busy. I can't casually give out his personal information," Chen Guiliang said, swiftly picking out a book. "I think this copy of Dream of the Red Chamber is perfect for a Literary Girl with depth like you."
Another girl with long hair looked it over. "Isn't this a pirated copy?"
Chen Guiliang quickly flipped through the pages. "Look at the print quality. Look at the binding and the wraparound cover. Even if it's pirated, it's premium piracy. Other than not having an ISBN, what's the difference from an official edition? I bought it for twenty yuan last year. It's still ninety percent new, and I'll sell it to you for five!"
Tao Xue took the copy of Dream of the Red Chamber and carefully leafed through it. She found that it truly looked no different from an official edition.
She had actually read Dream of the Red Chamber in middle school, but Chen Guiliang was being so enthusiastic that she found it awkward to refuse him.
Then inspiration struck, and Tao Xue asked, "Senior, which character do you like best? I like Xue Baochai."
She was indirectly reminding Chen Guiliang that she had already read the book and did not need to buy it.
Chen Guiliang acted as though he had not understood, then gave a startling answer. "My favorite is Grandma Liu."
"Huh?" Tao Xue was particularly surprised.
Her three roommates burst into laughter as well.
Someone actually liked Grandma Liu?
Using the table of contents in Dream of the Red Chamber, Chen Guiliang quickly found Grandma Liu's first appearance. "People use Grandma Liu entering the Grand View Garden to describe someone ignorant making a fool of herself. Do you all think Grandma Liu is a comic character?"
The girls nodded instinctively.
"Grandma Liu knew when to advance and when to retreat. She was shrewd in how she handled people and matters. Look here," Chen Guiliang said as he turned the pages. "When she visited someone else's home, Ban'er fussed about wanting meat, and Grandma Liu slapped him. Would someone who did not understand manners act like that?"
"Look here too. Grandma Liu had pride as well. She clearly swallowed her pride only for the sake of survival. Every sentence in her conversation with Sister Feng was a hidden exchange of blows. She advanced by retreating, making it difficult for Wang Xifeng to refuse her."
"By observing Wang Xifeng's interactions with Jia Rong, Grandma Liu had figured out Wang Xifeng's personality completely. The four words 'only then calming down' were not written casually by Cao Xueqin. They showed that Grandma Liu had already formed a plan. Then she called him 'your nephew,' directly putting Wang Xifeng on the spot. If Wang Xifeng did not give her some money, she could not save face."
"After finally obtaining twenty taels of silver, she voluntarily left one tael for Zhou Rui's wife. She had brains, knew how to speak, understood etiquette, was not greedy, and knew how to repay kindness. In both conduct and capability, Grandma Liu crushed Zhou Rui's wife. Even Wang Xifeng seemed immature before her."
"What Grandma Liu lacked was only worldly experience."
After hearing Chen Guiliang's analysis, Tao Xue felt that Grandma Liu truly was on another level.
Why hadn't I seen that when I read Dream of the Red Chamber?
Chen Guiliang continued flipping through the book. "You think Grandma Liu is ridiculous and embarrassing, but Wang Xifeng did not see her that way. Look at Chapter 113. Wang Xifeng knew her life was nearing its end. In that enormous Jia household, she trusted no one, yet she actually considered entrusting her orphaned daughter to Grandma Liu. If you had a daughter and were gravely ill with little time left, would you entrust her to a stupid old country woman?"
Tao Xue began thinking seriously.
Chen Guiliang said, "Because Wang Xifeng understood that Grandma Liu repaid kindness, valued affection and loyalty, and had both courage and brains. She was far more reliable than those people in the Jia household. The wisest choice Wang Xifeng made in her life was forcing her daughter to recognize Grandma Liu as her godmother before she died. When no one in the Jia household could protect her daughter, only Grandma Liu would step forward and help her."
Tao Xue suddenly understood. Filled with admiration, she said, "Senior, you're amazing. No wonder you could become Literature Club President!"
Chen Guiliang happily stuffed Dream of the Red Chamber into her hands. "Exactly. This is the kind of book you should read again and again. Every rereading brings new gains. Five yuan—take it."
Tao Xue absentmindedly paid for the book. Only after buying it did she remember that she already had a copy at home.
She was too embarrassed to return it.
To keep Tao Xue from changing her mind, Chen Guiliang had already turned to chat with the other three girls. "Want me to recommend a few books? This copy of The Golden Age is pretty good. Wang Xiaobo wrote it—it's witty, funny, and meaningful."
The chubby girl flipped through a magazine and asked, "Are these really two mao each?"
"Three for five mao, eight for one yuan," Chen Guiliang enthusiastically pitched. "Reader and Yi Lin are both good magazines. Especially those articles about foreign countries—they can broaden our horizons."
"You're only first-years right now. Read more Reader and Yi Lin. Not only can they expand your knowledge, they can also improve your writing. That Big Footprint Ice Cream you're eating costs five mao each, right? You finish ice cream in a few bites, but that money could buy you the finest magazines in the world. What a bargain!"
The girls thought he had a point. Even Tao Xue, who had just bought Dream of the Red Chamber, gave up on returning it and began picking out magazines instead.
They were cheap anyway. They could buy them to pass the time.
After browsing for a while, the four girls actually pooled their money and bought every last magazine.
While the four girls were choosing books, two boys curiously came over. But after standing there and looking for a moment, they turned to leave.
Chen Guiliang hurriedly called out, "Hey, handsome, don't go! My books are really dirty and violent!"
The moment he said that, not only did the two boys stop, but Tao Xue and the others stared at him in surprise.
One of the boys asked curiously, "Which one is dirty?"
Chen Guiliang pointed at the works of Contemporary Sages. "All of these are dirty. They're full of dirty jokes. Look at Big Breasts and Wide Hips—wouldn't you say that title is dirty?" Then he pointed at Yu Hua's To Live. "That one is really violent. Everyone except the male protagonist dies."
Tao Xue snorted with laughter, already understanding that Chen Guiliang was talking nonsense.
Chen Guiliang continued spinning tales as hard as he could, drawing the two boys into squatting down to browse the books.
To Chen Guiliang, it did not matter whether they bought anything. As long as they helped make the stall look lively, that was enough.
When you set up a stall, once there was a crowd, more and more people would come over to see what was happening. What you feared was an empty, quiet stall that passersby could not even be bothered to glance at.
Chen Guiliang did not even let the four girls who had bought magazines leave right away. He said he and Guo Xiaosi were sworn brothers, then made up celebrity anecdotes about Guo Xiaosi, leaving Tao Xue completely dazzled.
A few more people gradually came over and gathered around the stall to listen to Chen Guiliang brag.
In the blink of an eye, the dismissal bell rang.
The flow of people here suddenly surged. Seeing a circle of people beneath the tree, passing students ran over one after another to watch the excitement.
"Goodbye, Senior. We're heading back to class," Tao Xue said with a cheerful wave. She planned to visit Class 1, Senior 3 whenever she had time and discuss literature with this Senior Zhang Wei.
Chen Guiliang was happy too. Counting his money, he called out, "Take care, Junior!"
After another round of nonsense, the class bell rang, and the ten-minute break ended. Chen Guiliang had sold more than twenty old books, while every old magazine had sold out.
Because they really were cheap.
And because this lousy school had produced Guo Xiaosi, the literary atmosphere was especially strong at the moment. There were many students who enjoyed reading extracurricular books.
Chen Guiliang stretched with satisfaction. Students really are easy to fool!
"Fuck, that's my suitcase!"
A bespectacled boy with a middle-part hairstyle stood in front of Chen Guiliang's bookstall and cursed.
The battered case Chen Guiliang had temporarily used to carry books was clearly his.
Chen Guiliang's eyes lit up. "Oh, County Chief Xie. Long time no see."
The bespectacled boy froze. "What County Chief Xie?"
Chen Guiliang raised a hand and pinched his fingers theatrically, saying mysteriously, "This old man has calculated it with his fingers. I know you'll become a county chief at forty."
The bespectacled boy proudly raised his head and puffed out his chest, nostrils pointed at the sky. "A county chief is nothing. I'm not becoming an official. I'm going into business. I'll make games like Chen Tianqiao and Ding Lei. Once my company goes public, I'll be China's Richest Man!"
Chen Guiliang muttered inwardly, What games are you going to make? I'm the one who'll end up making those damn games.
Before you continue