Chapter 24: Books

Wu Lao Er deeply suspected this thing had been left over from the Anti-Japanese War several decades ago, and yet it had been maintained quite well all this time.

It was not actually rare for civilians to own machine guns; during the hot-blooded era, in preparation for total war, the people's arsenal ranged from rifles to anti-aircraft guns, from hand grenades to heavy machine guns, all of which were the youth of Wu Lao Er's generation.

However, over the past ten-plus years, these items had been sealed in large batches by the Armed Forces Department; while keeping some was not strange, bringing them out to use was simply too terrifying.

Carrying two rustic guns was for self-defense; carrying a Type 56 carbine was to eliminate harm for the people; carrying a "wild chicken neck"... the pest was actually me.

"..."

Tang Wen did not expect his act of self-defense to have even scared Wu Lao Er, so he hurriedly promised not to use it again.

But this was because the Type 92 was already the weakest armament on the ship; above it, the least powerful was a 12.7mm caliber M2 heavy machine gun, or a 25mm autocannon, which would be far too cruel for highway bandits.

After Tang Wen repeatedly assured him it was purely for insurance, Wu Lao Er finally calmed down somewhat and spoke of the follow-up order.

All 22 diesel engines on this trip had been sold out, but the purchasing power of several nearby towns had basically been exhausted; next, they would have to advance toward the city.

But unlike the towns, where there was basically only one agricultural machinery store in each place, competition in the city was much fiercer and relationships far more complicated, so Wu Lao Er would not place a second order in the short term.

However, Tang Wen, who had already earned over 200,000 from the diesel engines, was very satisfied; the market for small diesel engines under 25 horsepower was even more fiercely competitive, so there was no need to fight for it, and this business was about to enter a plateau period.

Wu Lao Er was eager to return to the town, and Tang Wen also remembered the matter he had entrusted to Guo Panpan, so he got into the truck with him and rattled their way to Dawan Town.

The ten-wheeled truck stopped in front of the Guo family's small shop, and the noise of the car immediately alerted the people inside.

Tang Wen got out of the car but did not see Guo Panpan; instead, he saw her mother.

"Tang Wen? What do you want to buy?"

An Yu was somewhat surprised to see Tang Wen, but she still returned to the role of the shopkeeper and greeted him.

Tang Wen glanced around but saw no sign of Guo Panpan; the novels behind the counter were also neatly arranged, so he asked:

"Auntie An, is Sister Panpan here?"

"Panpan? She went to play with a classmate of hers. You came looking for her... oh, that girl seemed to tell me yesterday that she found the book you asked her to look for, and said to call this number."

After speaking, An Yu fetched a slip of paper with a landline number written on it.

Tang Wen did not think much of it and borrowed the phone in the shop to call.

After a few "beep" sounds, a youthful voice rang out on the other end.

"Hello, who are you looking for?"

Tang Wen: "I am the one who asked Guo Panpan to help buy books; may I ask..."

Before Tang Wen could finish, the person on the other end spoke somewhat hurriedly:

"Is it a book related to the navy? And mainly naval history of World War I and World War II, plus ship equipment? I have many; which ones specifically do you want?"

Which ones specifically? He couldn't possibly say he was looking for a nearby sunken ship, could he?

Tang Wen thought for a moment and said:

"Are these books your own? Sorry, I hope for a more complete set; it would be best if you could help me purchase them from the library."

"The library doesn't have as complete a collection as my home!"

The voice on the phone was obviously somewhat excited, yet it also seemed to be lowering its volume:

"My father and my grandfather were both sailors; my home has a huge number of the books you want, many of which are out-of-print war histories and naval battle books, plus lots of photos; the library doesn't have this many."

After speaking, the person on the phone even recited several book titles and authors, including well-known world naval figures such as "Nimitz," "Ernest," and "Nelson," obviously indicating extremely high credibility.

However, since Tang Yi was not by his side, Tang Wen did not know how to choose, so he simply asked a question:

"How many such books does your family have?"

"About one bookshelf's worth."

"I want them all; tell me where, and I'll send someone to transport them."

After Tang Wen finished speaking this sentence, an "ah" came from the phone, followed immediately by a hurried refusal:

"No, no, selling so many... I can sell you at most ten; I can give you the list of titles, and you can choose which ones you want.

By the way, how much money are you prepared to offer?"

"..."

Hearing this, Tang Wen almost confirmed the other party was a young girl secretly selling her father's hidden books, but he truly needed them, so he decided to buy them, even if it meant raising the price a bit.

Books from the 1990s were still quite expensive; a single copy of the Jin Yong novels Guo Panpan read cost twenty yuan, so a book costing several dozen yuan was very normal.

Like the set of "A Space Odyssey" he had borrowed, since there was no domestic translation yet, the Xiangjiang translated version he purchased cost well over one hundred yuan, which fully showed how much Guo Panpan loved reading.

Books on naval war history were also not easy to search for in the internet era; they were niche and highly specialized, and their prices were all very high.

Moreover, they might be good books treasured by a sailor, some of which were hard to price, so Tang Yi would have to go see them personally.

Tang Wen: "Where is your address? I will send someone to come and look, but I guarantee a minimum of one hundred and fifty yuan per book; is that acceptable?"

Even through the phone line, Tang Wen heard the other person's sharp intake of breath; after a long while, a stammering voice spoke haltingly:

"Are you telling the truth? If so, I can sell you twenty books."

"Absolutely binding; money for goods, hand to hand."

"Sold! XX District, XX Community; when can you come?"

Tang Wen looked at the shopkeeper An Yu, who was pricking up her ears to eavesdrop, and quietly asked how long it would take to drive to Echeng.

After receiving a reply of a few hours, he agreed with the person on the phone to pick up the books tomorrow.

After hanging up the phone, he saw An Yu's shocked expression:

"Tang Wen, what kind of books are you buying for one hundred and fifty yuan each!"

"Some interesting historical reference books."

"Then do you want Panpan's history textbooks? Fifteen, one yuan fifty each is fine; there are also lots of notes."

Seeing An Yu's eyes shining, Tang Wen wiped the sweat from his forehead:

"That won't be necessary, Auntie; just help me thank Panpan."

Tang Wen thought for a moment that giving money directly might not be appropriate, so he said:

"Help me tell Guo Panpan that next time there's an opportunity, I'll treat her to a visit, and then... help me pack some snacks as well."

Tang Wen reached into his clothes, exchanged silver coins for a large handful of green banknotes, and placed them on the counter—more than two thousand yuan in total.

This time it wasn't for his own consumption; the shipyard canteen's silver-coin supply only provided basic, simple meals, so he felt he should open a small shop to meet the workers' needs.

After confirming repeatedly that Tang Wen wanted so many snacks, An Yu beamed with joy and immediately led him into the warehouse to load up.

With so much money, nearly half the store's goods were taken away, but the biggest expense was cigarettes; the boatmen were all heavy smokers, constantly complaining about having no tobacco to smoke.

After loading half a cart with various side dishes and drinks, Tang Wen declined the invitation to stay for a meal and then took his leave of the reluctant proprietress.