A courtyard house, equipped with a fishing system, living in an era.

The next morning, before dawn, firecrackers went off in the courtyard.

Xu Pingan has been going to bed early and waking up early lately, so he wasn't grumpy when he was woken up by firecrackers.

The reason he was able to stay up all night in his past life was because various novels and videos could fully stimulate his nerves and make him feel excited.

These days, you just lie in bed and have nothing to do...

Xu Pingan had long ago developed the good habit of going to bed early and waking up early!

Today is already the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, which is considered the Little New Year in northern China.

In fact, Xu Ping'an also spent the Lunar New Year's Eve on the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month in Huizhou in his previous life!

I wonder which part of the South considers the 24th of the lunar calendar to be the Little New Year...

They took out the firecrackers they had prepared beforehand and lit them directly in the east courtyard.

A series of crackling sounds rang out, and soon the two younger sisters got up.

Today is Saturday, and we don't get a holiday even for the Lunar New Year.

The inspection teams from the two factories left yesterday, and Xu Ping'an thought he could slack off until the Chinese New Year.

Unexpectedly, these days of special treatment have spoiled the palates of several factory leaders.

Before noon, Wang Jianxing was seen strolling leisurely to the second canteen.

"Ping An, the logistics department is hosting a dinner party today to arrange everyone's New Year's benefits. We'll make six dishes for lunch, the same as before, but with generous portions."

Xu Pingan paused for a moment, then readily agreed.

After assigning the tasks, Wang Jianxing took Cui Qiang and Liang Guangming to collect the ingredients.

The second canteen is not fully staffed yet and is not open to employees. Even if there is a small storage room, it is not possible to store ingredients here now. If they are lost, it would be difficult for everyone to explain.

After all, there are only four people here, and when they get busy, they wish they could split one person in half to be used as two people.

Xu Pingan didn't care at all; he could feel his cooking skills improving recently.

In fact, cooking skills are nothing more than a few components.

Seasoning, knife skills, cooking time...

Everything in the world requires practice to master.

Xu Pingan has been frequently cooking for himself lately, using whatever ingredients he wants and having all sorts of seasonings available, so it's no surprise that his culinary skills have improved.

However, the panel showed that his cooking skills remained stuck at the beginner level, showing no sign of becoming intermediate.

This control panel isn't smart enough; it doesn't show how many upgrades are needed...

But thinking about it, it makes sense. If cooking skills were that easy to upgrade, wouldn't there be top chefs everywhere?

After having this special lunch, no new tasks were assigned in the evening.

Come to think of it, it's the Little New Year after all!

As soon as it was time to leave work, Xu Ping'an rushed home.

Since there's nothing to do at the factory, the family will definitely have to arrange a ritual to worship the Kitchen God.

In the past, Xu Ping'an might have vehemently denounced this kind of feudal superstition.

After all, he had a serious argument with his mother about this when he was little...

But since he transmigrated, he hasn't had that thought at all.

After all, he himself had traveled to a parallel world decades ago, yet he still clung to that materialism.

You can't lie to yourself!

According to the customs of that era, the family of three would close the door at home to worship the Kitchen God...

The 24th is a Sunday, and according to the customs of Beijing, this is the day to clean the house and do a thorough cleaning.

But since my two younger sisters started their vacation, they've cleaned the house inside and out until it's sparkling clean.

The bed sheets and duvet covers were washed a few days ago.

With nothing to do at home that day, Xu Pingan decided to take his two younger sisters to Wangfujing for a shopping trip and also visit the Xinhua Bookstore.

The Xu family had long planned to visit Xinhua Bookstore, but they hadn't had the time until now.

Xu Pingan wanted to give the money directly to the two sisters and let them go on their own, but the two sisters were hesitant to carry so much money with them.

Since Xu Pingan finally had some free time today, he accompanied them to the Xinhua Bookstore.

Xu Pingan had not known about this before, but the two sisters had already found out.

The nearest bookstore is Juzhen Bookstore in Di'anmen.

That place is quite close to home, and I heard it has a very complete selection of books.

Since it's a privately owned publication, many less "important" books are definitely not available...

But Xu Pingan only wanted to go shopping in Wangfujing today. After all, why stay at home during a holiday?

After leaving the alley near your home, turn left onto Di'anmen East Street, walk three or four hundred meters to the Kuanjie intersection, and take bus No. 104 directly to Wangfujing North Intersection Station.

It took quite a while to wait for the bus. This bus was a tram, and the overhead wires on the roof were hanging on the power lines, which could create tiny sparks.

This kind of scene is no longer surprising...

The three people spent 300 yuan on the bus fare, and after getting off the bus, they walked about 200 meters and stood at the entrance of the Xinhua Bookstore in Wangfujing.

This bookstore opened in February 1949 and was the first Xinhua Bookstore in Beijing...

It is said that the teacher personally wrote the inscription for this sign.

Xu Pingan couldn't tell the difference between real and fake, but he figured that no one would dare to fake it these days.

"Brother, this is the Wangfujing Xinhua Bookstore! It's huge!"

Of course it's huge; the entire four-story building is Xinhua Bookstore's territory...

However, due to the limitations of the era, it was not as grand as the Xinhua Bookstore in the small southern county where he lived!

With this psychological advantage, Xu Ping'an wasn't as boisterous as his two younger sisters.

When Xu Pingan and his sister arrived, the shop was already open.

Xinhua Bookstore does not prohibit people from going in to look at books, so many people here do not buy anything, but just stand in front of the bookshelves and look at them quietly.

After walking around inside for a while, the three of them quickly selected what they wanted to buy.

Xu Pingan will definitely have to make a proper show of force.

One set of "Rapid Literacy and Reading Textbook for Farmers", one set of "Literacy Textbook for Farmers", two grid exercise books, five pencils...

I had originally planned to buy a set of "Elementary School Chinese Textbooks", but my two younger sisters scolded me for it.

After all, they both have this book...

Xu Ping'an wasn't truly illiterate; he hadn't thought about it that much before!

The total comes to 36500 yuan!

However, these are all necessary expenses. He not only wants to learn, but he also wants to learn openly and honestly, and he wants to learn in a grand and impressive manner...

In those days, diplomas from night school and literacy classes were still relatively well-regarded.

Xu Pingan was still very regretful and disappointed that he missed the opportunity to become the boss of everyone in the courtyard.

Xu Fang didn't buy too many unnecessary things, just a calligraphy practice book, pencils, and erasers.

Xu Lian, on the other hand, bought much more.

She was determined to skip a grade, so she had to put self-study on her agenda.

So she chose to buy "Advanced Elementary School Chinese Textbook," "Advanced Elementary School Arithmetic Textbook," and textbooks for subjects like science and history...

In addition to notebooks, she also bought calligraphy brushes, ink sticks, and imitation paper, intending to practice calligraphy!

Xu Pingan wasn't short of money, so he naturally paid for these little hobbies directly.

Although Xu Lian's set cost him 15 yuan, Xu Ping'an didn't even blink when he paid.

As he was getting ready to leave, Xu Pingan saw "Selected Works of Mao Zedong, Volume 1" on the bookshelf.

I took the book off the shelf, turned to the last page, and saw that it was published last year and priced at 75,000 yuan.

This book has a blue cover, thick paper, and feels heavy in your hand.

Xu Pingan even weighed it in his hand.

I bought it!

This is the real Dragon-Slaying Technique; Xu Ping'an actually bought the complete set in his previous life.

In addition, he also bought books such as Zizhi Tongjian and Wang Yangming's philosophy of mind...

Unfortunately, short videos, games, and novels occupy all of his spare time.

Xu Pingan doesn't have the leisure to watch it properly; he has plenty of time in his life to learn it.

I searched around but couldn't find the Little Red Book.

After thinking about it, I realized that this type of book probably hasn't been published yet.

Since he couldn't find it on the bookshelf, Xu Pingan didn't want to go around asking.

It would be terrible if the book didn't even come out...

After thinking about it, it seems that the Little Red Book is just a selection of the best parts of this anthology!

So it's better to focus on doing a thorough job of studying the book you have.

After searching again, I found that there was only Volume 1 and I didn't see Volume 2.

After paying, he left with his two younger sisters.

"Brother, shall we go home now?"

"Going back home? We've finally come out for a trip, shouldn't we explore the area and eat our way through it all?"

"Where shall we go for fun? And grab a bite to eat?"

Where to go for fun?

"Let's go straight to Dong'an Market, it's very close by!"

Feeling the weight of the bag, which weighed over ten kilograms, Xu Pingan felt a little regretful.

I should have taken care of the food, drinks, and entertainment first, and then bought the books before leaving...

Fortunately, his physique and strength far exceeded those of ordinary people. Once he reassured himself, the weight in his hands didn't seem so heavy!