Era: Rise from the Wilderness

"Uncle Zeng, take one of these ballpoint pens, one in red, one in blue, and one in black, and let me see them."

"Is the ink cartridge of this iridium fountain pen working properly? Let's test the ink flow."

"The pencils must be HB or 2B, and the eraser tip must not fall off."

"A fountain pen? That's novel. I'll take a couple more samples."

"Watercolor pens, open a box and check if the colors are accurate and if there are any leaks."

"Lesson preparation notebooks and grid paper should be of uniform thickness and the printing should not be blurry."

"A set square or ruler, even a plastic one is fine, but the markings must be accurate and there can't be any rough edges."

"Compass, heavy with metal, good! Are the joints tight?"

"Ink, Hero brand, one bottle each of blue-black and red ink. Smell it to see if there's any strange smell."

"Eraser, white drawing eraser, try erasing it a couple of times."

……

Li Yunjing was like a picky little supervisor, carefully examining and trying out each sample he picked up.

He unscrewed the pen cap and ran a few lines along the edge of a scrap of paper to see if the lines were continuous and even; he bent a plastic ruler to test its toughness and resilience; he unscrewed the ink bottle cap and smelled it; he even opened a box of watercolor pens and colored each one on a piece of paper to see if the color saturation and ink flow were consistent.

His meticulous and expert-like demeanor left Zeng Honglin, the warehouse manager Lao Liu, and Lao Yu, who were also busy working, speechless with admiration.

This kid, was he born to do this?

Even Li Hongfeng and Lü Ruoxi felt a little embarrassed, because Li Yunjing was taking it too seriously, just like a quality inspector!

Li Hongfeng even doubted whether the quality inspectors in their company were as diligent as his son!

Of course, if Li Yunjing knew what his father was thinking, he would definitely say, "That belongs to the public, this is my own business, how can they be the same?"

Li Yunjing has to be responsible for his family's business, so he won't let his guard down for a second!

"These are the product categories I selected."

After checking, Li Yunjing handed the list back to Zeng Honglin. Zeng Honglin had already marked most of it with a pencil and added simple symbols next to it. "Take one hundred copies of each item first. Items like compasses and set squares aren't used every day, so we only need thirty copies. Fountain pen ink cartridges are easy to break, so take extra spares."

He has a clear mind, can distinguish between fast-moving consumer goods and durable goods, and even considers wear and tear on spare parts.

Zeng Honglin's smile was almost overflowing; the deal was practically done!

"Okay! Boss Li, young boss, don't worry! I'll arrange it right away!"

He called out loudly to Lao Liu and Lao Yu, handed them the list, and gave them detailed instructions again.

The order fulfillment has begun.

Four people wandered around in the crowded aisle, checking the list, taking goods from different shelves, counting them, and carrying them to the open space at the warehouse entrance to stack them.

Dust kicked up as the cardboard boxes were moved danced in the beam of light, and sweat quickly soaked through their clothes.

Li Hongfeng was strong and carried heavy boxes; Li Yunjing was sharp-eyed and meticulous, responsible for checking the types and quantities, and would remind people from time to time, "Uncle Zeng, it seems that this kind of double-lined manuscript paper has not been taken yet," "Uncle Liu, the watercolor pens are a box of twelve colors, don't take the twenty-four colors instead"; Zeng Honglin, Lao Liu, and Lao Yu were busy responding, correcting, and restocking.

The atmosphere was lively and busy, like a small but well-coordinated collaboration.

You pass things to me, I receive them; you call out to me, I respond. Amidst the mountains of goods, there is a strange sense of fulfillment.

Looking at the work she couldn't get involved in, Lu Ruoxi had an anxious expression on her face, not knowing what she should do.

"Ruoxi, you can just stay by my side. You don't need to do anything. Don't tire little Ruoxi out."

Li Yunjing naturally noticed Lü Ruoxi's dilemma, and he gave instructions with a smile.

The goods were almost all packed and piled up at the entrance, forming a small mountain.

Zeng Honglin took a breath and walked to the "temporary desk" made of wooden planks in the corner of the warehouse. He took out an old wooden abacus from the drawer.

The abacus has a dark red wood frame, polished smooth by hand, and the black beads are plump and full.

He lifted his shirt to wipe away non-existent dust from the surface of the abacus, then spread out the list and internal price list on an upside-down empty cardboard box and laid the abacus flat.

"Crackling, crackling, crackling..."

The crisp, rhythmic sound of abacuses echoed through the empty, towering warehouse, like an ancient solo about numbers.

The crisp, clean sound of the abacus beads clashing, with a mechanical, precise rhythm, created a striking contrast with the hazy city noise outside the window.

Li Yunjing stood aside, watching with great interest.

Zeng Honglin's fingers were long and slender, exceptionally nimble, dancing and leaping across the abacus, sometimes moving up the gears, sometimes down, while he silently murmured numbers.

Sunlight streamed in through the high window, illuminating his graying temples and focused profile, and casting a glossy sheen on the black abacus beads as they rolled and bounced.

The scene left Li Yunjing somewhat dazed.

In his previous life, he was forced to learn abacus for a while when he was in elementary school. He memorized formulas such as "three down, five down, two down" and "seven up, two down, five down, one up", but he has long forgotten them.

Later came calculators, then mobile phones and computers, and the abacus has long since become a museum exhibit or a nostalgic toy for the elderly.

Looking at the finger techniques before him, which were so skillful they were almost artistic, he felt a complex mix of emotions.

As the tide of time rolls ever onward, some things, like the crisp sound of the abacus, will be submerged and become mere background noise in our memories.

After calculating for about half an hour, Zeng Honglin let out a long sigh of relief, his fingers landing on the last abacus bead with a soft "click".

"Mr. Li, please take a look."

He straightened his slightly aching back and handed Li Hongfeng a list filled with dense Arabic numerals and Chinese annotations, his face showing the relief of having completed a major task. "All the items add up to a total of nine hundred and seventy-five yuan and eighty-five cents."

"I'll round it down to nine hundred and seventy-five yuan!"

Li Hongfeng took the list, which was slightly damp with sweat and the handwriting was a bit blurred, brought it close to his eyes, squinted, and carefully checked each item.

Li Yunjing also stood on tiptoe, her little hands gripping her father's arm, craning her neck, her clear black and white eyes quickly scanning the numbers on the paper.

Seeing his son struggling, Li Hongfeng laughed and simply squatted down, spreading the list flat on his lap: "Come on, son, let's look at it together! You can learn how to read accounts too."

The words on the list were written by Zeng Honglin with a ballpoint pen; they were somewhat illegible, but still legible.

The items, specifications, unit price, quantity, and subtotals are listed fairly clearly.

Li Yunjing's eyes moved quickly like a scanner, while his brain worked at lightning speed, comparing the wholesale price of each item with the retail price he had recently "scouted" at several stationery stores and convenience stores in Fuxian County and the town.