What the hell is a private enterprise?

Chapter 24 Books
Wu Laoer deeply suspected that this thing was left over from the Anti-Japanese War decades ago, and it had been surprisingly well maintained.

It is actually not uncommon for civilians to have machine guns. In the passionate era, in order to prepare for the national war, the people had everything from rifles to anti-aircraft guns, grenades to heavy machine guns. Those were the youth of Wu Laoer's generation.

However, in the past decade or so, these things have been sealed up by the armed forces in large quantities. Although it is not surprising to keep some of them, it would be too scary to use them.

I took two homemade guns to protect myself, I took five or six and a half to eliminate pests for the people, and I took the pheasant neck... the pest was actually me.

"..."

Tang Wen didn't expect that his self-protection measure would even scare Wu Laoer, and he quickly said that he would not use it again.

However, this is also because the Type 92 is already the weakest weapon on the ship. The weakest weapon above it is the 12.7mm caliber M2 anti-aircraft machine gun or the 25mm cannon, which is too cruel for bandits and highway robbers.

After Tang Wen repeatedly assured him that it was purely for insurance purposes, Wu Laoer finally calmed down a bit and talked about subsequent orders.

All 22 diesel engines were sold out on this trip, but the purchasing power of several nearby towns was basically exhausted. The next step was to move towards the city.

But unlike in towns and villages where there is basically only one agricultural machinery store, the competition in the city is much greater and the relationships are much more complicated. Wu Laoer will not place a second order in the short term.

However, Tang Wen, who has already earned more than 25 yuan from diesel engines, is already very content. The market competition for small diesel engines below horsepower is more intense and there is no need to compete for it anymore. This business is about to enter a stable period.

Wu Laoer was in a hurry to return to the town, and Tang Wen also remembered what he had asked Guo Panpan to do before, so he got on the truck with him and drove to Dayuan Town.

……

A ten-wheeled truck stopped in front of the Guo family's shop, and the noise of the car immediately alarmed the people in the shop.

When Tang Wen got off the car, he didn't see Guo Panpan, but he saw her mother.

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

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

Tang Wen looked around and saw no sign of Guo Panpan. The novels behind the counter were neatly arranged, so he asked:

"Aunt An, is Sister Panpan here?"

"Panpan? She went to play with her classmates, and you came to look for her... Oh, that girl told me yesterday that she found the book you asked her to look for, and asked you to call this number."

After saying that, An Yu found a piece of paper with a landline number written on it.

Tang Wen didn't think much about it and borrowed the phone in the store to call.

After several "beep" sounds, a young voice came from the other side.

"Hey, who are you looking for?"

Tang Wen: "I asked Guo Panpan to help me buy books. May I ask..."

Before Tang Wen could finish, the other party said hurriedly:
"Is it a book about the navy? Mainly about the naval history of World War I and World War II, as well as ship equipment? I have a lot here. Which ones do you want specifically?"

Which ones do I want? I can't just say I want to find a nearby shipwreck, right?
Tang Wen thought for a moment and said:

"Are these books your own? I'm sorry, but I might want a more complete collection. It would be best if you could go to the library and buy them for me."

"My family is not as complete as the library!"

The voice on the phone was obviously a little excited, but seemed to be lowering his voice:

"My father and my grandfather were both sailors. We have a lot of the books you want at home. Many of them are out-of-print war histories and naval battle books. We also have a lot of photos. Even the library doesn't have so many."

After that, the person on the phone read out a few book titles and authors, including well-known world naval figures such as "Nimitz", "Ernest", and "Nelson", which clearly showed their credibility. However, Tang Yi was not around, and Tang Wen didn't know how to choose, so he simply asked:
“How many books like this do you have at home?”

"About a bookcase."

"I want them all. I'll send someone to take them away wherever you are."

After Tang Wen said this, he heard an "ah" on the phone, followed by a quick rejection:
"No, no, if I sell so many, I can... sell you ten at most. I can tell you the names of the books and you can choose which ones you want.

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

"..."

After hearing this, Tang Wen was almost certain that the other party was a little girl who was secretly selling her father's collection of books. However, he really needed them, so he decided to buy them, at most he would raise the price a little.

Books in the 90s were still very expensive. A copy of Cha Liangyong's novels that Guo Panpan read cost yuan, and it was normal to spend dozens of yuan on a book.

For example, the set of "A Space Odyssey" that I lent him cost more than 100 yuan to buy the Hong Kong translated version because there was no translated version in China. This shows how much Guo Panpan loves reading.

Books like naval history are not easy to find in the Internet age. They are unpopular and highly professional, and are also very expensive.

They might also be good books collected by sailors. Some of them are difficult to price, so Tang Yi has to go and see them in person.

Tang Wen: "What's your address? I'll send someone to come and take a look, but I guarantee the minimum price is 150 yuan per copy. Is that okay with you?"

Even through the phone line, Tang Wen could hear the other party's gasp. After a long while, a stuttering voice said intermittently:

"Are you serious? If so, I could sell twenty copies."

"It's absolutely true. Pay the money and get the goods."

"For sale! XX District, XX Community, when can you come over?"

Tang Wen looked at the proprietress An Yu, who was listening attentively, and asked in a low voice how long it would take to drive to Echeng.

After receiving a reply a few hours later, he made an appointment on the phone to pick up the book the next day.

After hanging up the phone, I saw An Yu's shocked expression:
"Tang Wen, what kind of book are you buying for 150 yuan a copy?"

"Some interesting historical reference books."

"Then do you want Panpan's history textbook? Fifteen or one dollar and fifty cents a copy will do. There are also a lot of notes."

Looking at An Yu's shining eyes, Tang Wen wiped the sweat from his head:
"That's not necessary, Auntie. Just thank Panpan for me."

Tang Wen thought it might not be a good idea to just give money, so he said:
"Please tell Panpan that I'll invite her out to play next time I have the chance, and...please pack some snacks for me."

Tang Wen reached into his clothes, exchanged the silver coins for a handful of green bills and placed them on the counter, totaling more than two thousand yuan.

This time he was not eating for himself, but the shipyard cafeteria only provided basic simple meals with its silver coins, so he felt that he had to open a small shop to meet the needs of the workers.

After confirming again and again that Tang Wen wanted so many snacks, An Yu was overjoyed and took him directly into the warehouse to move them.

With so much money, they almost took away most of the things in the store, but the biggest expense was cigarettes. All the boatmen were heavy smokers and complained all day long about not having cigarettes to smoke.

After loading half of the car with various side dishes and drinks, Tang Wen declined the invitation to stay for dinner and said goodbye to the reluctant proprietress.

(End of this chapter)