All Good Books Help You Grow

Chen Guiliang set up his stall at a campus traffic hub, where a row of bulletin boards also stood.

He found a lush, leafy banyan tree, crouched down beneath it, and opened a battered suitcase.

The second-year senior students had two days off, freeing up their classrooms as exam venues for the third-years. The first-year seniors, however, were still holding normal classes, with the occasional physical education student passing by.

Chen Guiliang laid out his books and magazines, sat cross-legged, and waited for the right moment to drum up business.

Back in his youth, he'd had a thin skin and a strong sense of shame—no talent for peddling.

He remembered the summer after junior high graduation, when he'd carried a load of bamboo shoots into the city. Leaving home at half past four in the morning, he'd stood dumbly at the farmers' market on the urban-rural fringe from dawn till noon without selling a single shoot!

By afternoon, still hungry, he'd lugged the untouched bamboo shoots back home.

From then on, he never set up a stall again.

Thinking back now, it was pitifully foolish.

Reborn, Chen Guiliang silently observed the students coming and going.

You couldn't just shout out sales pitches blindly; you had to read people and pick the right targets.

Take the few boys who'd just run past, slapping a basketball and chasing each other in horseplay. Their eyes were fixed on the court, desperate to grab a hoop. Even if you shoved them in front of the book stall, they wouldn't buy.

A full twenty-plus minutes later, four girls strolled over together, eating popsicles.

They chattered and laughed nonstop, until one of them cast a glance at the book stall and noticeably slowed her pace.

Chen Guiliang's sharp eyes caught it, and he called out, "Hey, classmate, want to buy some books? I've got classics from home and abroad. I'm a senior about to cram for the college entrance exam, so I'm selling these to focus. The prices are so cheap they're practically free."

These girls were first-year seniors, only two months into school.

To put it more bluntly: easy to fool!

Tao Xue lived in the city proper. Because she loved literature and worshipped Guo Xiaosi, she'd come to the county town to study.

The school atmosphere here was indeed free—so free it bordered on lax, even turning a blind eye to students dating early.

A few girls in her dorm had gone out to buy popsicles despite the autumn chill. Passing the bulletin boards, Tao Xue noticed someone selling books from a stall and instinctively slowed down.

She hadn't planned to buy anything, but the seller's words piqued her curiosity, and she drew closer.

Sucking on her popsicle, she asked, "Do you have The Edge of Love and Pain?"

She'd actually read that book several times over; bringing it up now was just a way to flaunt her taste.

Chen Guiliang grinned and shot back without missing a beat, "You're a fan of Guo Xiaosi? What a coincidence—I actually know him. He was the president of our school's literary club in '01, and I was the president in '02. Get it? Predecessor and successor."

"Really?" Tao Xue was half-convinced.

Chen Guiliang said, "Would I lie to you? The current president of the literary club was nominated and elected by me."

Tao Xue couldn't help asking, "Senior, what's your name?"

Chen Guiliang replied, "I'm Zhang Wei, from Class 1, Senior 3. Are you in the literary club too?"

Tao Xue nodded. "Yeah, I joined when they recruited new members a while back. Senior Zhang Wei, do you have Guo Xiaosi's phone number? Or his QQ number would work."

"Guo Xiaosi's very busy; I can't just hand out his personal info," Chen Guiliang said, quickly picking out a book. "I think this Dream of the Red Chamber is perfect for a literary girl like you with real depth."

Another long-haired girl peered at it. "Isn't this a pirated copy?"

Chen Guiliang flipped through the pages rapidly. "Look at the print quality, look at the binding and the dust jacket. Even if it's pirated, it's premium pirated. Besides the missing ISBN, what's the difference from the real deal? I bought it for 20 yuan last year. It's still ninety percent new—I'll sell it to you for 5 yuan!"

Tao Xue took the Dream of the Red Chamber and stood there leafing through it carefully, finding it truly indistinguishable from the genuine version.

She'd actually read Dream of the Red Chamber in junior high, but Chen Guiliang was so enthusiastic that she couldn't bring herself to refuse on the spot.

Then a flash of inspiration struck, and Tao Xue asked, "Senior, which character do you like best? I like Xue Baochai."

This was a roundabout way of hinting to Chen Guiliang that she'd already read the book and didn't need to buy it.

Chen Guiliang acted as if he hadn't caught on, and his answer was startling: "My favorite is Grandma Liu."

"Huh?" Tao Xue was especially taken aback.

Her three roommates burst into laughter too.

Who actually liked Grandma Liu?

Chen Guiliang quickly found the passage where Grandma Liu first appears, using the table of contents. "Everyone uses 'Grandma Liu entering the Grand View Garden' to describe someone who's clueless and makes a fool of themselves. Do you think she's just a comic character?"

The girls nodded instinctively.

"Grandma Liu knows her place and is sharp in how she handles things. Look here," Chen Guiliang said, flipping pages. "When she visits someone's home and Ban'er throws a tantrum for meat, she slaps him. Would someone who doesn't understand propriety do that?"

"Now look here. Grandma Liu has her own sense of shame too; it's clearly for survival that she swallows her pride. Every word she exchanges with Xifeng is a covert battle—retreating to advance, making it hard for Wang Xifeng to refuse."

"By observing how Wang Xifeng interacts with Jia Rong, Grandma Liu completely figures out her personality. That line 'her mind finally settled' isn't something Cao Xueqin wrote casually—it shows Grandma Liu already has a plan. The next line, 'your nephew,' directly puts Wang Xifeng on the spot, forcing her to cough up some silver or lose face."

"She barely scrapes together twenty taels of silver, yet voluntarily leaves one for Zhou Rui's wife. She's got brains, knows how to talk, understands etiquette, isn't greedy, and repays kindness. In how she handles people and matters, Grandma Liu not only outclasses Zhou Rui's wife but even makes Wang Xifeng look immature next to her."

"The only thing Grandma Liu lacks is experience."

Hearing Chen Guiliang's analysis, Tao Xue felt that Grandma Liu was indeed on a high level.

How had she missed that when she read Dream of the Red Chamber herself?

Chen Guiliang continued flipping through the book as he spoke. "You all think Grandma Liu is ridiculous and embarrassing, but Wang Xifeng doesn't see it that way. Look at Chapter 113—Wang Xifeng knows she doesn't have long to live, and in the vast Jia household, she doesn't trust a single soul. Yet she actually thinks of entrusting her child to Grandma Liu. If you had a daughter and were dying of a serious illness, would you hand her over to a foolish old country woman?"

Tao Xue began to think seriously.

Chen Guiliang said, "Because Wang Xifeng understands in her heart that Grandma Liu repays kindness, values loyalty and righteousness, and has both courage and wit—far more reliable than those people in the Jia family. The best decision she ever made was forcing her daughter to take Grandma Liu as a godmother before she died. When everyone in the Jia family can't protect her daughter, only Grandma Liu will step up and act."

Tao Xue suddenly realized the truth and looked at him with admiration. "Senior, you're really amazing! No wonder you're the Literature Club President!"

Chen Guiliang grinned and shoved Dream of the Red Chamber toward her. "So, you should read this book over and over. Every time you read it, you'll gain something new. Five yuan, and the book is yours."

Tao Xue fumbled for her money and bought the book, only remembering afterward that she already had a copy at home.

But she was too embarrassed to return it.

To prevent Tao Xue from changing her mind, Chen Guiliang had already moved on to chat with the other three girls. "Do you want me to recommend a few? This The Golden Age is pretty good—Wang Xiaobo's work, witty, humorous, and meaningful."

A chubby girl flipped through a magazine and asked, "Are these really selling for twenty cents each?"

"Five for fifty cents, eight for one yuan," Chen Guiliang pitched enthusiastically. "Reader and Yi Lin are both great magazines, especially the articles about foreign countries—they can broaden our horizons."

"You're only first-year seniors now. Reading more Reader and Yi Lin won't just increase your knowledge, it'll improve your essay writing too. That Big Footprint Ice Cream of yours costs fifty cents a stick, right? You finish the ice cream in a few bites, but with that same money, you can buy the best magazines in the world. What a deal!"

The girls found this reasoning sound, and even Tao Xue, who had just bought Dream of the Red Chamber, gave up on returning it and started picking out magazines instead.

It was cheap anyway, and she could use them to kill time.

After some browsing, they ended up buying all the magazines together.

While the four girls were picking books, two curious male students wandered over, but after a quick glance, they turned to leave.

Chen Guiliang quickly called out, "Handsome guys, don't go! My books are very steamy and very violent!"

At that, not only did the two guys stop, but Tao Xue and the others also looked at him in surprise.

One guy asked curiously, "Which one is steamy?"

Chen Guiliang pointed at the works of the Contemporary Sages. "All of these are steamy—full of dirty jokes from start to finish. Look at this one, Big Breasts and Wide Hips—tell me that title isn't steamy!" Then he pointed at Yu Hua's To Live. "That book is violent. Everyone dies except the male protagonist."

Tao Xue snorted with laughter, realizing Chen Guiliang was just talking nonsense.

Chen Guiliang kept up his smooth talk, luring the two guys into squatting down to browse.

For Chen Guiliang, whether they bought anything didn't matter—just having an audience was enough.

When you set up a stall, once you have a crowd, more people will gather out of curiosity. The worst thing was being ignored by passersby.

Even the four girls who had bought magazines, Chen Guiliang didn't let them leave. He claimed he was close friends with Guo Xiaosi and made up wild stories about Guo Xiaosi's famous anecdotes, leaving Tao Xue utterly bewildered.

A few more people trickled in, gathering around the stall to listen to Chen Guiliang's tall tales.

Before long, the bell rang.

The foot traffic here surged dramatically. Seeing a circle of people under the big tree, passing students ran over to see what was happening.

"See you later, Senior. We're heading back to class." Tao Xue waved happily. She planned to visit Class 1, Senior 3 in her free time to discuss literature with this Senior Zhang Wei.

Chen Guiliang was also happy, counting his money as he called out, "Take care, junior!"

More random chatter followed until the bell rang again, ending the ten-minute break. Chen Guiliang had sold over twenty old books and cleared out all the old magazines.

Because they really were that cheap.

And this rundown school had produced a Guo Xiaosi, so the literary atmosphere was especially strong right now, with plenty of students who liked reading for fun.

Chen Guiliang stretched contentedly. Students were so easy to fool!

"Damn, that's my suitcase!"

A guy with a middle-part hairstyle and glasses stood in front of Chen Guiliang's book stall, cursing.

The beat-up suitcase he'd borrowed to carry the books was clearly his.

Chen Guiliang's eyes lit up. "Yo, County Chief Xie, long time no see."

The glasses guy blinked. "What County Chief Xie?"

Chen Guiliang raised a hand and curled his fingers, speaking mysteriously. "This Old One can tell with a snap calculation that you'll become a county chief by age forty."

The glasses guy puffed out his chest arrogantly, nostrils flared. "County chief is nothing. I'm not becoming an official. I'm going into business, making games like Chen Tianqiao and Ding Lei. Once my company goes public, I'll be China's Richest Man!"

Chen Guiliang muttered to himself: You'll make games my ass. I'm the one who's going to be a game developer from now on.