Early the next morning, Li Jianguo brought good news. Niu Cuifang agreed to the price Jiang He had mentioned, but she needed some time to gather the money and asked him to wait a few days.

The 500 yuan had already been mostly sorted out, so Jiang He started thinking about how to handle the remaining 150 yuan. In his past life, he was one of the top students in his class, and in his spare time, he had learned several foreign languages: the language of the Gentleman Country, the Clockwork Country, the Bear Country, and the Little Cherry Blossom Country.

While he was considering whether he could find a translation job, Jiang He quickly realized a problem. As someone who had only just graduated from high school, how could he explain that he suddenly knew so many foreign languages?

What if someone reported him as a spy? That would cause a huge commotion. After thinking it over, he decided to abandon the idea for now and, feeling frustrated, went to the library to see if he could get lucky.

A few minutes later, Jiang He stood in front of a Western-style building decorated in a strong late Ming and Qing dynasty style. He was amazed by the beauty of the architecture. History had only added a sense of literary charm to it. However, thinking about the movements that would come later, he couldn’t help but feel that it was a shame.

“What’s your name? How long will you be staying?” As soon as Jiang He entered the library, a staff member responsible for recording names stopped him, pulling out a registration form and placing it in front of him.

“Jiang He, two hours.” Jiang He picked up a pen from the side and quickly wrote down his name. Then he glanced at the man in front of him, who was wearing a black suit and old-fashioned black glasses. The man appeared to be around 30 years old, dressed in a blue-black work uniform, with a serious, unsmiling expression on his face.

“Alright, seat 3 on the second floor is available. Go there. Just remember to keep the noise down and don’t disturb others studying,” the man said, tearing off a note from the record book with the time written on it. “Two cents per hour.”

“Alright!” Jiang He took the note and found his seat. He noticed that the man sitting across from him was dressed in a white shirt and trousers, his head lowered as he read. All Jiang All he could see was the man’s thick black hair.

Jiang He didn’t pay him much attention. His purpose was clear—he put down his belongings and headed straight for the foreign classics bookshelf. He quickly found the series of books he needed, but unfortunately, the books from this era were quite simplified. Some of the shelves with technical books only had a few titles.

As Jiang He was thinking about picking out a couple of random books to read, he suddenly heard a soft snicker from behind him, followed by a low, mocking voice: “A country bumpkin reading foreign books. Do you even understand them?”

Jiang He turned around and saw a woman, dressed in a trendy outfit from this era, holding a copy of Stalin’s collected works in the Soviet language. The book was titled Stalin’s Collected Works.

However, it was clear that she hadn’t truly absorbed any of the content within the book. The look on her face was full of contempt, as if he shouldn’t even be in her presence.

Not bothering to engage with someone like her, Jiang He ignored the woman and turned back around, walking toward the next row of bookshelves to continue his search for what he needed.

But he quickly realized that he had been too optimistic. The materials he was looking for were indeed hard to find at this time due to foreign technology blockades, which made it impossible to collect some specialized books.

“Tch! Some people are just like pigs with a decorative nose, pretending to be something they’re not. Look at you…” Just as Jiang He was still thinking about browsing some more when that annoying woman’s voice echoed again.

“Good dogs don’t block the way.” Jiang He put the book back on the shelf, not wanting to engage with someone whose head seemed to have been hit by a door. He picked out a literary work from the Clockwork Country, then returned to his seat.

“You… Hmph!” The woman was taken aback by Jiang He’s sharp reply, but she wasn’t discouraged. She continued walking over to his seat. “Comrade, you probably don’t understand the book in your hand, right? People like you are a dime a dozen. You’d better return it quickly. This seat isn’t suitable for someone like you.”

Lin Ran, who was 20 years old, came from a relatively wealthy family. She wasn’t short of suitors, but she had always liked her high school classmate, Lu Mingfeng.

Moreover, both families had already suggested that they should marry soon, but unfortunately, Lu Mingfeng had directly rejected his parents’ arrangement, which left Lin Ran feeling very frustrated.

So today, after hearing that Lu Mingfeng had gone to the library, Lin Ran had hurriedly followed him without thinking much, only to find that all the seats were already taken when she arrived.

What made her even angrier was that when she finally found Lu Mingfeng, a man wearing a patched-up outfit was sitting at the table opposite him. And the man’s appearance made her uncomfortable—why did a man need to be so good-looking for no reason?

“I have to say, Comrade, do you realize that your behavior just now was really rude? I’ve noticed you mocking that person several times.”

“If you’re here to study, we welcome you. But if you’re just here to show off your so-called high standards, I’m sorry, our library doesn’t welcome you,” Jiang He was just thinking about how to respond when a man sitting at a table on the left side suddenly spoke up.

“What’s it to you? What’s wrong with me sitting here with my fiancé”? Lin Ran turned around, furious when she realized someone was actually helping this country bumpkin. Her face, which had originally looked sweet, now twisted with irritation.

“Young lady, I completely agree with what this comrade just said. You were standing by that bookshelf just now, mocking people! Oh, you look well-dressed, but your manners are awful.” At that moment, a middle-aged woman chimed in, “This is a place for studying, not for you to throw a temper tantrum like a spoiled young lady!”

“You…”

“Lin Ran, leave. I don’t think you’d want Uncle Lin to know about your behavior today.” The man sitting opposite Jiang He finally looked up. His expression was cold, as if Lin Ran were someone entirely unimportant.

“You…” Lin Ran stared at him angrily, but she didn’t dare say anything further in rebuttal.

“Alright, Lin Ran, I’m busy right now. You should go back quickly!” The man didn’t even glance at Lin Ran, instead he lowered his head to continue reading the book in his hands.

“Lu Mingfeng, you…” Lin Ran shot him a hateful glare before turning to leave, but not before giving Jiang He one last furious look.

“Bro, you’ve got a lot of patience. If that woman had spoken to me like that, I would’ve slapped her right across the face.” After Lin Ran left, the man who had defended Jiang He quietly spoke.

“If a mad dog barks in front of you, are you going to bark back?” Jiang He flipped through the pages of the book in his hands and quietly said to the middle-aged woman, “Thank you, Auntie, for earlier.”

“It’s no problem at all! You’re just too naïve and honest. Next time you encounter someone like that, don’t hold back!” The middle-aged woman smiled but soon shifted her focus back to the book in front of her.

“Thanks again!”

The young man waved his hand dismissively when he heard Jiang He’s thanks, then extended his hand toward him. “The ancients said, ‘Draw your sword when you see injustice’—just think of it as making a friend. My name’s Gao Yonghui. What’s yours, comrade?”

“Jiang He,” Jiang He replied, reaching out to shake his hand.

“Jiang He? That name… why does it make me feel thirsty?” Gao Yonghui joked with a grin.

“It’s Jiang as in Meng Jiangnü, and He as in ‘why not be happy about it’,” Jiang He explained.