Rebirth 08: Equipment God

Chapter 226 [The Frog of Regret] and [The Suitcase Returning Home]

On December 15, the "Qian Xuesen Engineering Science Experimental Base" was established.

In the afternoon, Zhai Da followed his usual work routine and completed the final task, namely, the damping section debugging.

He personally fine-tuned the blades he had polished.

This device is used to eliminate the explosive airflow on the useless side of the "detonation drive section." It is one of the last few to take effect in a series of damping devices, which, along with other components, attenuate the violent energy and airflow to a level that can be directly discharged into the atmosphere.

Just as Wan Chunrong said, her responsibilities were only for a less important part of the larger project.

After installation, Zhai Da used the "one-arm crawling" method he learned during military training to crawl out of the relatively narrow "damped section".

He glanced back and said to Gong Changzhang, "How did you manage to climb out before?

Isn't that a human cannon in the card?

Gong Changzhang rolled his eyes: "I'm not as fat as you think! Besides, bones are hard, but flesh is soft; you can always squeeze some out."

Zhai Da clapped his hands and said, "That's about it. My work is done. I have something to do tomorrow anyway."

Gong Changzhang nodded and said, "Well, all that's left is various tests. You don't need to stay here. I can handle the small tasks myself. I'll call you if there are any big problems."

The throwing knives we hired this time are incredibly cost-effective.

They receive a daily wage subsidy of 200 yuan and a boxed meal, but they don't even stay in a guesthouse.

If they are not kind and their management is too strict, they themselves will lose face.
At 2 PM, Zhai Da changed his clothes completely and went outside.

As he passed the perfectly angled "viewing window," Zhai Da subconsciously stopped and glanced at JF-12 again.

It seemed unchanged from five days ago, but he knew the behemoth was ready.
The public test will be held on the 20th, and seven or eight academicians and more than a dozen leaders of various ranks have been invited. However, there will be a "closed test" on the 18th, but he probably won't be able to come. The next time we see him will be on the 20th.

After getting into his Range Rover, Zhai Da headed towards the city center. The day ended exceptionally early, and Lu Siwen hadn't finished class yet either; there was a place he wanted to visit.

Before the peak hours, we arrived at a famous commercial district in Chaoyang District in just over forty minutes.

Panjiayuan!
They claim that a single visit can collect items from all five thousand years of Chinese history, from fingers broken off from terracotta warriors to Dorgon's chamber pot. There's nothing a vendor wouldn't dare to say, only things you wouldn't dare to ask.

Of course, the above are Zhai Da's original impressions. Whether they are really that amazing or not, we'll have to see for ourselves. These were some of the places Zhai Da thought he had to visit before coming to northern Beijing.

When he arrived, he felt that it was just an ordinary place. Low-rise, antique-style buildings formed a circle, and the gray tones looked particularly cold in winter. It wasn't all antiques and collectibles; it also included some snacks.

After parking the car and walking inside, I found that it wasn't the kind of "wearing sunglasses and even selling the imperial seal" attitude that was circulating online.

There happened to be a security guard at the main gate, so Zhai Da casually asked, "Grandpa, why aren't there any stalls in Panjiayuan?"

The security guard in the black overcoat glanced at Zhai Da and rolled his eyes: "Setting up a stall in winter? Who can stand there?! Those who can stand there are all begging, they earn more than this."

Zhai Da: That makes sense!
Practice indeed reveals true knowledge.
According to his thinking, it's just a casual stroll. No layman would open a store like this, so everyone here is an expert. If everyone here is an expert, how could they not see it as clearly as you? If they had genuine goods, why would they put them out for you to snag a bargain?

So I always felt that this was a place where "experts make money off laymen, and laymen pay an 'intelligence tax'."

Unexpectedly, they actually found it at one of the stalls.

The small, cluttered stall had a sign that read "Liu Jun's Secondhand Goods".

The total area is only about ten square meters, but it is filled with countless items, from books to food coupons, from stamps to tin toys.

Zhai Da's discovery came from a small, slightly rusty frog.

"Congratulations, host. A special white item has been discovered: the Frog of Regret. In those underdeveloped times, someone carried toys and candy into a mountain village. The original owner was attracted by the tin frog and cried all night, eventually getting his father to buy it."

Ownership: Not owned, not activated.

"Equipment effect: With each jump, the person who winds it up will randomly have a regretful thought, the specific content of which is related to the user's past."

"Note: My father was anxious because the family's savings were dwindling. The next day, he went into the mountains to collect medicinal herbs and never returned."

Zhai Da stared at it for a moment, thinking to himself that it was yet another special item with purely negative effects.
However, expanding equipment inventory should not be missed.

Zhai Da's stop caught the attention of the stall owner, a middle-aged man in his forties: "Young man, take a look? These grain coupons of mine are all genuine."

The most numerous items here are grain coupons, which should be the main business. The tin frog and other old toys are placed in a corner of the glass display case. Zhai Da even suspects that it is just for decoration to give it a nostalgic feel.

After a moment's thought, Zhai Da decided it was best to be straightforward. It was just a tin frog; no matter how shady the other party was, they couldn't possibly charge him several thousand.
As it turned out, he had underestimated these people's shrewdness.

The stall owner wouldn't sell!

“That’s the feng shui of my town. If you disturb its wealth path, it will be disrupted. It’s not for sale.”

Zhai Da:
Your town's feng shui is warded off with tin frogs?! That's ridiculous!
Unwilling to give up, he asked a couple more questions, but the other party seemed to have him cornered. He pulled out a book of grain coupons and said, "I can't sell things, but I can give them away. If you buy a book of grain coupons from me, I'll give it to you as a gift, and it won't be bad feng shui. I'll find another one to put here later. What do you think?"

Zhai Da, who knew nothing about grain coupons, asked with a dark face, "How much are these grain coupons?"

"National grain coupons, cloth coupons, oil coupons, coal coupons, and meat coupons. All sorted out, only 2888 per book. I'm only doing this because you look young and kind. These things are becoming increasingly valuable, and other places are unwilling to sell them. You can make at least 1000 by reselling them."

Zhai Da sneered and pointed at one of the sheets, saying, "The printing is all messed up! You're telling me it's real?"

The shopkeeper blurted out, "This is a misprint! It's worth more, okay!"

Zhai Daxin said, "Okay, okay, I originally wanted to interact with you all in a normal way."

Okay, I'm coming clean! I'm a cheater!

Silently opening the list, the equipment effect of the Golden Staff appeared, and calmly said:

"I don't think you believe in feng shui, right?"

The stall owner was taken aback: "Uh, what you said makes sense, I really don't believe it."

After years of making empty promises, he instinctively felt something was wrong when he spoke the truth, but Zhai Da didn't give him much time to think about it.

“Just sell it to me directly. I think 50 yuan is more than enough for you to make a profit. I’m sure you’ll buy it by weight, right?”

"Hmm, I think you have a point."

Zhai Da tossed out a fifty-yuan bill and pocketed his little frog.

The tour became somewhat inefficient; he couldn't tell whether something was antique or not, and there weren't many unique items.

This indirectly confirms that most of the money comes from scams targeting consumers' intelligence; the gorgeous and exquisite porcelain in the shop window might just have a sign underneath that says "Microwave Oven Only".

Before leaving, Zhai Da only bought one special item at another vintage shop: an old leather suitcase.

"Congratulations, host. A special white item has been discovered: the Homecoming Suitcase. In 48, a young man was forced to leave for an island. His father wrote the words 'Homecoming' inside the suitcase, hoping for his safe return."

Ownership: Not owned, not activated.

"Equipment Effect 1: If you carry this box to 'home', you will have a slight increase in luck during your journey."

"Equipment Effect 2: The damage to items stored in this box over time is greatly reduced."

"Note: It has no wheels and is heavy, but it's really stylish!"

This shop has a European style, which is quite different from most shops in Panjiayuan. It contains items such as phonographs and walking sticks.

Comparatively, this heavy vintage leather trunk was naturally more valuable than the tin frog. After some bargaining, Zhai Da bought it for 1700 yuan, which was quite expensive in 08.

He has a lot of money and allows others to make money off him, but he won't allow others to openly deceive him by treating him like an idiot.

The eight corners are covered with brass, and the vermilion leather exterior shows some signs of age, but there are no obvious scratches. To the average person, it would be considered "old-fashioned," but that's the kind of feel that's important when it comes to vintage pieces; newer ones just don't have that quality.

The only flaw was that the lock had an old-fashioned keyhole, and the inside was completely rusted. But that was no big deal for Zhai Da; he could just replace it himself when he got back.

Because the place was so big, Zhai Da had to leave work before he could finish exploring Panjiayuan. Many shops were closing, so Zhai Da could only leave temporarily with his two purchases.

Perhaps I'll come back again before leaving Beijing, or to other similar markets.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

On December 16, Zhai Da attended a book signing event held at a Xinhua Bookstore in northern Beijing.

This book signing event was not much different from the two in Jinling, with a spray-painted curtain wall, posters, roll-up banners, and a mountain of the latest edition of "The Long Road of Lü".

Even the small gifts at the event were bookmarks featuring the male and female leads from the previous event; I wonder how many Phoenix Media made.

"Hello, Teacher Zhai! I absolutely love your work!"

"Thank you for your support. Would you like me to write a message of blessing?"

"May I earn a million a year, lose 30 pounds, successfully find a partner, and marry a wealthy and eligible bachelor!"

Zhai Da nodded, gave up resisting, and wrote down the blessing verbatim.

He finally understood how the Buddha felt.

Earning three yuan a month in royalties per book, he was given the wish to save the world.

As expected, the book signing event went beyond the original time, not ending until 7 p.m. My wrists were so rubbed raw they felt like the skin had thinned.

Book signing events are definitely physically demanding, much more tiring than screwing in screws in a factory!

December 17th marked the official start of the online gala's proceedings.

Zhai Da had confirmed his trip to northern Beijing specifically for this trip, but when the day actually arrived, he felt completely exhausted.

Lu Siwen didn't have any classes today, and she arrived at her home early in the morning with great excitement. Zhai Da had promised to tutor her one-on-one in writing and help her improve her first essay.

This full-length suspense novel, based on a strange case from the Dongyang County Annals and tentatively titled "The Past of Dongyang," is nearing its final stages. After this training course, I will formally contact Phoenix Media through Zhai Da to discuss publication matters.

Because most of the content was written after she went to university, and Lu Siwen disdained to discuss writing with her father, even Lu Zetao was unaware that his daughter already had a very complete work.

From dawn until dusk, it wasn't until after five o'clock that Zhai Da finally managed to get away.

"That's about all the suggestions for revision. Any more and you'll just get confused. Take some time to process and absorb them."

At the dining table in the spacious apartment, Lu Siwen wore cotton slippers, and black pantyhose outlined her slender and straight legs beautifully. Her pleated skirt was scattered on the chair in the shape of ginkgo leaves.

However, compared to the wonderful "below the neck", the condition of the part above the neck was a bit worse. After a whole day of brainstorming and receiving advice, Lu Siwen was already a bit dazed.

She valued writing and the work itself, and did not become distracted by Zhai Da's presence, even though the two were so close they could feel each other's breath on many occasions.

She had been racking her brains all day and was now feeling like she was asking herself, "Who are you? What are we doing?"

Zhai Da stretched, put on the coat he had prepared, pushed his suitcase with one hand and carried the retro "Homecoming Suitcase" with the other.

"I'm not going to talk to you anymore, I'll be late if I keep going. There's a dinner party at Xinglang's place, Li Tiantian has been asking me out, I'm moving in tonight."

Lu Siwen nodded slowly: "Then I'll come to the hotel to find you tomorrow morning."

"Whatever, you're just here for fun. It's fine if it's later. It's not like you actually have any work to do."

Time was of the essence, and it was rush hour, so Zhai Da left without saying anything more. After all, he wasn't leaving Beijing for good; he would be back for a day or two after the awards ceremony.

He agreed to Academician Yu's request to stay an extra day to witness the official testing of the JF-12.

After Zhai Da left, Lu Siwen remained dazed at the dining table for more than ten minutes before gradually regaining some energy.

She patted her cheeks with her delicate hand and whispered, "Keep it up! There's still a lot to learn! You're a future writer!"

I really learned a lot today. A hundred phone calls with Zhai are not as effective as sitting face-to-face once.

Moreover, she didn't have a deep understanding of some things before. After writing more than 100,000 words herself, she felt completely different when listening to Zhai's advice. She finally felt that she could understand it.

Lu Siwen got up wearily from the dining table, looked around. She still had to go back to the dormitory tonight, but it would be better to tidy up the house first, since Zhai would be back in a couple of days.

Wash and sweep, the bathroom needs to be cleaned, and the bed sheets and duvet covers need to be replaced.

But when I stood by the bed in the bedroom and saw the slightly messy sheets and the blankets that showed signs of wear, I was surprised.

Lu Siwen's little brain got stuck for a few seconds.

I reached out and touched it. It was no longer warm, but it was very soft.

After a while, Lu Siwen turned around, her back to the bed, her eyes still glazed.

3, 2, 1!

With a hop on its slender legs, the little rocket launched backward from the spot!
She lay flat on the bed where Zhai Da had slept.

Never mind. I'll just get some sleep first.
Zhai's smells so good
(End of this chapter)