Chapter 54 UFO

"People rushed to the book stalls, just like Douglas MacArthur rushed to Christmas!"
—Musk

At the seven major book-selling points, books were displayed across seven categories, including social sciences, literature and art, children's books, natural sciences, and engineering technology. Even the engineering technology stall was packed with crowds on the outside.

Chen Qi and his companions were separated the moment they stepped inside.

He adjusted his shoes, looked around in a circle, adjusted his shoes again, and spotted Jiang Shan first. Jiang Shan was quite formidable; relying on her short stature and small legs, she had managed to squeeze right to the front of the stall, gripping the edge and refusing to let go.

He hurried over and shouted, "Where is Cai Ming?"

"She got squeezed away in a flash!"

"Just stay here for now, I'll buy you a few books!"

"I don't need you to buy them for me!"

"I'll go back and ask your dad for the money, you didn't think I'd give them to you for free, did you?"

Chen Qi patted her head and looked at the stall, which happened to be selling children's books. He casually picked up a set, the famously renowned *One Hundred Thousand Whys*.

This set of books was written by a Soviet writer in 1929, later introduced into the country, and spawned many versions. The content grew increasingly vast and also increasingly unreliable; later on, even things like the Bermuda Triangle were included and treated as proper astronomical and geographical popular science.

Chen Qi had no prejudices against it—he had believed in the Bermuda Triangle when he was a kid, after all!

He had even believed in Western-style liberal democracy!

"What do you want to read?"

"I want to read good novels!"

"Then go to the stall over there?"

"No, I can't take those home, my dad will beat me to death..."

Jiang Shan was one of countless rebellious elementary school students yearning to read something different, yet too cowardly to do so, lingering and hesitating as she picked through the selections. Chen Qi picked a set for her and said, "Buy this one, your dad definitely won't beat you!"

*Five Thousand Years of Chinese History* was first published in early 1979, compiled by Lin Handada and Cao Yuzhang, totaling five volumes. After its release, it sold over five million copies—a generational classic.

"So expensive! Are you really buying this for me?"

Jiang Shan was startled by the price. A single volume actually cost 73 cents, making five volumes 3.65 yuan. Her daily allowance was two cents, just enough to buy a few ice pops or sunflower seeds that didn't require ration coupons.

"Pocket change!"

Chen Qi carried a small fortune of a thousand yuan in his pocket, yet usually found nowhere to spend it. Where was the logic in that? Now that he could finally consume, he certainly wasn't going to be stingy.

He bought Jiang Shan a set of *Five Thousand Years of Chinese History* and a few children's literature magazines. He also grabbed a set of the five-thousand-year history and *One Hundred Thousand Whys* for himself. He wouldn't read them right away; he'd keep them for his collection, as the older editions were quite interesting.

He pulled Jiang Shan out, secured a chair in the cypress grove, and said, "You stay here and read for now. Don't wander off, I'm going to look for the others."

"Okay!"

"Hah, if only you were always this well-behaved."

"Who keeps bullying me!"

Jiang Shan wrinkled her nose at him, ignored him further, and buried her head in her book.

Chen Qi squeezed inward again, spotted Cai Ming, and patted her shoulder. "Jiang Shan is over there on the chair. Gather over there in a bit!"

"Got it, got it!"

Cai Cai didn't even turn her head.

This was the literature and art stall, naturally drawing the largest crowd. Not far from Cai Ming, Ge You was hugging a book and giggling foolishly, while Liang Xiaosheng looked like he had entered a treasure vault, wanting to buy everything yet painfully short on cash.

Chen Qi scanned the area casually, and the level of openness was somewhat surprising.

There were quite a few modern and contemporary Chinese masterpieces, and unexpectedly, a good number of classical masterpieces as well. Works of "feudal superstition" like *Journey to the West* and *Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio*, which he assumed wouldn't be present, were openly displayed on the stalls.

Old acquaintances like Victor Hugo, Honoré de Balzac, Anton Chekhov, and Leo Tolstoy were also among them, alongside books about America, Japan, and Hong Kong.

Of course, Chiung Yao, Sanmao, Louis Cha, and Gu Long were definitely absent.

Chen Qi picked a 1970 edition of the novel *Journey to the West* and a 1972 comic book adaptation of *Three Beats on the White Bone Demon*. The artwork in the comic book, drawn by Mr. Wang Yiqiu, was explosive in its skill.

Why was *Journey to the West* uniquely able to be published?

Because Sun Wukong was considered to possess a combative spirit, as a poem went: "The golden monkey wrathfully swung his thousand-jīn staff, achieving a jade firmament cleared of ten thousand leagues of dust."

The latter two lines were: "Today we cheer the Great Sage Sun, solely because the demonic mist has risen once more!"

...

Gong Xue and Zhang Jinling had become separated. Gong Xue stood alone in front of a stall, holding a book and reading it very intently. As she read, a voice came from behind her: "How many books have you bought?"

"Not yet, I want to buy this one."

She gave it a gentle shake; the cover bore the title *Jane Eyre*.

"I suggest you wait. The film *Jane Eyre* was just released in the country this year and has a lot of buzz. The publishing house will definitely release a new translation. This one of yours is a Republic-era translation, and reading it might not feel very smooth."

"Oh, then I'll wait."

Gong Xue obediently put the book down, picked up a copy of *The Hunchback of Notre Dame*, and asked, "Are all these foreign masterpieces old translations?"

"Pretty much. If you like them, you can buy them anyway—just for the collection."

"Collection? I don't have anywhere to put things."

She shook her head and asked, "What about you, what did you buy?"

"I bought quite a bit. They're all on that chair over there. Once you're done picking, go over and gather... Hey, I'm treating today, so however much you buy is on me."

"I have a salary, you don't need to worry about me. Go check on the others."

Hearing this, Gong Xue couldn't help smiling, fished a small purse out of her pocket, and shook it. It was sewn from blue cloth, with fine stitches and pretty embroidery, and even had several compartments. She must have made it herself.

Insolent, truly. "As expected of a wealthy young lady. Everyone else uses handkerchiefs, but you use a purse."

"You!"

Gong Xue bit her lip. Her family background was a thorn in her heart, and this jerk kept bringing it up. Chen Qi remained completely unbothered, whistling as he darted off: "I want to spend money and can't even get rid of it. Where is the justice in that?"

There were seven people who came today, and Chen Qi was the third youngest, yet he acted like the boss, arranging this and organizing that.

Around noon, everyone finally gathered together beneath a towering ancient cypress tree. A pile of books sat on the chair as they excitedly took stock of their harvest.

Liang Xiaosheng had chosen a stack of masterpieces, Ge You and Zhang Jinling had picked out a few novels, and Caicai—rather magically—had bought a whole bunch of popular science books. Gong Xue had bought a dozen or so, spanning various genres.

Chen Qi's haul was the most exaggerated, with dozens of books stacked tall.

He had originally wanted to see if there were any ancient or used books, but ended up finding none. He would have to visit the China Bookstore sometime. This era was a golden age for picking up bargains, with virtually zero competition. Even that pretentious know-it-all Ma Weidu was still working as a milling machine operator in a factory...

"Why did you buy so many film books?"

"Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, Western Europe—whoa, even Hong Kong is here!"

Ge You flipped through Chen Qi's haul, quite astonished.

"To witness the outside world, obviously. I'm a screenwriter right now, but I don't want to be a screenwriter for the rest of my life. Just like how you play background extras in the theater troupe—do you want to play extras for the rest of your life?"

"No!"

"That settles it. People always want to climb higher... I'm going to go find something, otherwise we won't be able to carry all this."

Chen Qi left for a short while and subsequently brought Yu Xiuli back. Yu Xiuli was holding a large bag and a bundle of rope, smiling as she said, "You must all be Xiao Qi's friends, right? What a coincidence, I was just helping out over there."

"Hello, Auntie!"

"Hello, Auntie!"

It was the first time several of them were meeting his parents, so they hurriedly greeted her. Yu Xiuli, driven by a mother's instinct, scanned the group covertly and swiftly:

Zhang Jinling: A bit too mature.
Jiang Shan: Far too young.
Cai Ming: Mmm.

Then she sized up Gong Xue, her eyes lighting up. This girl was gorgeous, fair and clean-skinned, though she wasn't sure how old she was this year—she certainly looked quite young...

Yu Xiuli made a mental note of it, tied up the pile of books securely, put them into the bag, and warmly invited them to her home for a meal. The group declined one after another, playing out a complete etiquette routine of human relations.

After buying their books, Chen Qi and the others rested beneath the tree, waiting for Ye Shengtao and the others to arrive later, as everyone wanted to catch a glimpse of them.

Not far away, another group of people had gathered, discussing things with great agitation and in loud voices. Chen Qi caught a few words, and his expression turned subtle.

"Nonsense, where are there aliens in this world?"

"The *People's Daily* reported on UFOs last year, could that be fake? Can the *People's Daily* talk nonsense too?"

"Speaking of which, I actually saw one once. Three years ago, I was out in the countryside. One night when I got up to use the bathroom, I saw a point of light in the sky—blurry and I didn't know what it was. It hovered for a few seconds, and then *whoosh*, it vanished. I'm guessing it was definitely the UFO you were talking about!"