A journey of survival starting from Zhetian

Chapter 389 Old Books
The bright sunshine shines down from the sky, illuminating the slightly old buildings on the ground, as if telling people that a new day is about to begin.

Bits of noisy sounds slowly came out from the street. Breakfast shops opened their doors one after another. Soy milk, fried dough sticks and various kinds of meals were placed on the tables, exuding tempting aroma.

Zhou Mingrui, who returned to his hometown yesterday, got up early today. He looked at the streets that had not changed significantly in more than ten years, and the shops that were still open as he remembered, with a hint of nostalgia in his eyes.

Walking into a shop with a sign "Li Ji Baozi" on the door, Zhou Mingrui looked at the boss who was constantly wiping his sweat with a towel hanging around his neck, pointed at the buns on the bamboo basket and asked, "Boss, what's the filling in these buns?"

The boss's eyes lit up, knowing that the first customer had arrived, and he quickly said, "It's meat buns, three yuan each, made this morning and just out of the oven, very fresh, do you want some?"

"Boss, give me three." Zhou Mingrui nodded and took out his phone. "Can I pay with WeChat?"

The boss nodded, picked up a piece of plastic with a WeChat QR code printed on it from the table behind him, and placed it in front of Zhou Mingrui. After a while, a prompt sound of successful payment came from inside the store, and the boss immediately picked up the clip, put the buns in the kraft paper, and handed it to the customer in front of him.

Looking at the young man in front of him, the boss said with a smile, "Welcome to come again next time."

After politely saying goodbye to the boss, Zhou Mingrui tore open a part of the kraft paper with a nostalgic look, picked up the hot bun, and took a bite. The soft texture and tender pork entered his mouth, dotted with the aroma of chopped green onions, and a light sweetness spread. The incomparable satisfaction made his eyes slightly narrowed.

Experiencing the taste that hadn't changed for a long time, Zhou Mingrui thought to himself, "Sure enough, the meat buns from my hometown still taste the same, just as delicious as I remember."

As he continued walking along the old streets, he heard shouts coming from the surrounding shops. Looking at the environment which had not changed much from his childhood, a little warmth surged in his heart, making him temporarily forget the complicated thoughts brought by work.

After finishing the bun in his hand and throwing the greasy brown paper in his hand into the trash can on the street, Zhou Mingrui came to the corner of the street and looked at a newly renovated bookstore where there were not many people yet. A feeling of sadness suddenly came over him.

Originally this was a stationery store. He bought most of his school stationery from this store. It can be said that every corner of the store is filled with his childhood memories. But now, the original stationery store is gone and has become a bookstore. A sense of the passage of time instantly crossed his heart, bringing an inexplicable sadness.

"Xiong's Bookstore. Why does the name of this newly opened bookstore sound so old-fashioned?" Looking at the name of the bookstore, Zhou Mingrui complained lightly in his heart.

However, with inexplicable thoughts, he walked into the newly renovated store with an indescribable expectation, looking for something in the corners of the bookstore with an inquiring look, as if he wanted to find the dusty memories left deep in his mind in this newly opened bookstore.

Fortunately, this renovated and reopened bookstore did not change its layout, but only replaced some old facilities. All the "corners" in memory can be found in this store.

"Can I help you? I've seen you moving around here for more than half an hour."

A slightly heavy voice came from behind Zhou Mingrui, interrupting his inexplicable thoughts. Subconsciously, he raised his head and looked at a slightly old clock. Looking at the distance the minute hand had traveled, a slight embarrassment suddenly emerged from his heart.

There was indeed something wrong with a customer who came in and didn't read or buy books, but just buried his head in the corner of the bookstore, as if he was constantly looking for something.

At first glance, it looks like a thief who came to scout the area in advance.

Zhou Mingrui turned his head in the direction of the voice behind him. There stood a middle-aged man with slightly chubby cheeks. Zhou Mingrui recognized this man. He was the owner of this newly opened bookstore. When he entered the store, he saw the owner standing at the counter, mixing wolfberries with a thermos cup very skillfully.

As Zhou Mingrui felt increasingly embarrassed, his thoughts raced, ideas popped up and disappeared, and finally he found an "excuse".

"I want to find some books about folk myths that are relatively old and have a sense of age." Zhou Mingrui explained to the boss, "But I searched many sections and couldn't find any books on this subject."

The middle-aged man suddenly showed a look of sudden enlightenment, as if he believed Zhou Mingrui's words, and said, "The books you want to find are not in the store. Those old and time-honored items have all been put in the warehouse."

"After all, except for some people with special professions, young people nowadays don't like to read paper books. They are more likely to watch short videos and play games on their mobile phones. Even if they want to read, they download e-books through the APP on their mobile phones."

"The books you want that are full of age are basically not going to be read or bought."

"Wait, I'm going to the warehouse now and take out all the books on folklore and mythology."

Seeing the bookstore owner put down the thermos cup and walked to the room in the store that was not open to customers and was marked "warehouse", Zhou Mingrui's face twitched. What he just said was just an "excuse", and he didn't expect that the bookstore owner actually believed it.
And knowing that no one would come to a physical bookstore to buy books now, why open a bookstore? Aren’t you afraid of losing money? Not to mention, the name of this bookstore is full of age.
Zhou Mingrui was so full of complaints that he didn't know what to say about the bookstore owner who was full of complaints.

Soon, the bookstore owner took out two very old books from the warehouse and placed them in front of the counter. "Here, the books you want are about folklore and mythology. They are all from the 1950s. They were printed not long after the founding of the country."

The bookstore owner turned the pages to the end and pointed to the printing date of December 1953 and the words "People's Literature Publishing House". "Isn't this a good enough sense of age? Besides, the content here is all about folklore and mythology, which should meet your requirements."

When Zhou Mingrui heard what his boss said, he looked at the two books that looked very old and immediately became interested. He was indeed curious about the books printed in that era.

"Records of Secret Alchemy Techniques of the Qin and Han Dynasties"

"Explanation of the Huangting Original Self Dao Chapter"

After turning to the covers of both books, Zhou Mingrui saw their names, and a subtle thought suddenly came to his mind. He instinctively felt that in the early days of the founding of the country, such books that revealed feudal superstition would never be printed.

But as I flipped through the books in my hands, the yellowed pages revealed a sense of age, as well as the stamp of "People's Literature Publishing House" at the end of the book, which silently proved their true "age".

Although it was irrational, it gave Zhou Mingrui an indescribable feeling. His sixth sense also kept telling him that this book was really printed in the 1950s.

Looking at the bookstore owner, Zhou Mingrui asked seriously, "What's your name? Can you tell me where you got these two books?"

The bookstore owner squinted his eyes and took a sip of wolfberry tea. He pointed to the name of the bookstore at the door, "Xiong's Bookstore," and said with a smile, "My last name is Xiong. There's no need to be so serious."

"The Records of Secret Alchemy Techniques of the Qin and Han Dynasties was left by the previous owner of this shop. I found this old item among the things he left behind when I took over this shop."

"As for the Huangting Benwo Dao Chapter Interpretation, it was preserved in my family. It is said that my uncle bought it from a bookstore in Beijing after he retired from the army."

Zhou Mingrui's heart was touched for some reason. He seemed to see the years that the two books had gone through. He seemed to have merged with the two books, and he felt the years that they had gone through like an illusion. After a long time, he came back to his senses, looked at the middle-aged man drinking wolfberry tea, and said, "Boss Xiong, why do you want to sell these two books? To some extent, they can be regarded as heirlooms."

"Especially this book, Huang Ting Benwo Dao Chapter Interpretation, which your uncle brought back from the capital after retiring from the army. It has great commemorative significance, right?"

Boss Xiong waved his hand and explained with a smile, "This is a bookstore, and we sell books. And the books my uncle brought back from the capital are not just the folk myths such as "Huangting Benwo Dao Chapter Interpretation"."

"My uncle also brought back a lot of old stuff like the Xinhua Dictionary, The Craft of the Historian, and The Origin and Goal of History."

Looking at the smiling face of the bookstore owner, Zhou Mingrui suddenly understood what Boss Xiong was thinking. The Xiong family had no shortage of old items, many of which were even very old, so it didn't matter if he sold these two old items.

He nodded silently in his heart, put down the two old things from his hands, and said, "Boss Xiong, I want both of these books. How much do you want?"

Boss Xiong packed up the two old books on the counter, put them in a paper bag with "Xiong's Bookstore" written on it, and handed it to Zhou Mingrui. He smiled brightly and said, "A total of two thousand. Do you want to pay by WeChat?"

Zhou Mingrui's expression froze, and he even stopped moving the paper bag he was holding.

Two books cost two thousand, so one book costs one thousand. It’s just two books, so why are they so expensive?
Is it an auditory hallucination?
Looking at Zhou Mingrui's expression, Boss Xiong seemed to see the confusion in his heart and explained, "This is because both books are old items, of course they are so expensive. In the used book market, books from the 1950s have great fluctuations, ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand yuan, which is all within a reasonable range."

"The 'Summary of Secret Alchemy of the Qin and Han Dynasties' and 'Explanation of Huangting Benwo Dao Chapter' in your hands are both well preserved. They were published just a few years after the founding of the country. Their editions and print runs are relatively rare, and they are definitely rare in the used book market."

"A set of hardcover editions of Journey to the West published by the People's Literature Publishing House in the 6s started at 5930 yuan on a used book website, but was eventually sold for yuan."

"I'll sell the two old books you have for one thousand each, which is a reasonable price."

Zhou Mingrui's expression froze as he listened to the boss' explanation. Not long ago, the Ice Cream Assassin was born, and now the Old Book Assassin is back. They are both "killers" who can strike hard at people when they are not prepared.

Zhou Mingrui wanted to put the two books down and turn around and leave. But looking at the books in the paper bag, feeling the vague touch, he gritted his teeth.

He bought it!
“WeChat payment of 2,000 yuan”

Hearing the reminder of successful payment from the bookstore and looking at the balance on his phone that seemed to be about to be cleared again this month, an urge to run for his life suddenly rushed into Zhou Mingrui's heart.

When did he start to be unable to save money?

"jingle."

The doorbell of the bookstore rang, and Zhou Mingrui was on his way home. In the sage time after becoming poor after shopping, he began his own contemplation.

After returning home, he took out two old books from the paper bag, placed them on the desk, and gently flipped through them.

"Why is this vertical book so hard to read? I can hardly read it anymore."

“Is this a luck-changing ritual?”

"Uh, put the food on the four corners of the room, and then walk counterclockwise in the center of the room?"

"After this food is put away, can I still eat it?"

Zhou Mingrui was reading "Records of the Secret Alchemy Techniques of the Qin and Han Dynasties". He felt like he couldn't continue reading the rituals recorded in the first chapter. This feeling made him close the book impatiently.

Sensing the resistance in his heart, he sighed softly and closed the old item worth one thousand yuan. Then he opened the "Huangting Benwo Dao Chapter Interpretation" and read the mysterious words on it involuntarily.

"If you can do it, you can live forever. People in Huangting wear red clothes. The gate is closed and the two doors are covered. The chivalrous man in Youque is tall and majestic. The essence in Dantian is subtle, and the clear water in Yuchi grows fat. The spiritual root is firm and the will is not weakened. In the middle of the pool, there is a man wearing red clothes, and the three rain gods live there."

"Inside and outside, the gods' house is closed and closed. The inner house is in good repair. The Xuan Ying wind pipe receives the essence, so you should strengthen your essence to support yourself. There is a scholar in the house who always wears red clothes. If you can see him, you will not get sick. There is a ruler-long horizontal cloth on it. If you can keep it, you will not get hurt. Breathe in the house to replenish yourself."

"."

Halfway through reciting, Zhou Mingrui suddenly felt something was wrong and his face turned dark.

"Isn't this the Huangting Sutra?"

However, as he flipped through the book, Zhou Mingrui saw some content that was not originally in the Huangting Jing.

"Is this... an unknown scripture?"

"A book that is derived from the Huangting Sutra and explains the mysterious and yellow energy of the human body, as well as the self-consciousness and self-spirituality?"

"Can I cultivate my self-awareness and resist external demons?"

After Zhou Mingrui read the entire "Explanation of the Huangting Benwo Dao Chapter", he had a general understanding of the content of this old book.

“Rather than calling it the ‘Explanation of the Huangting Benwo Dao Chapter’, it’s better to call it the ‘Xuanhuang Dao Jing’.”

(End of this chapter)