Chapter 129

Sure enough, someone couldn’t take it anymore. A girl came to knock on the office door with a runny nose, “Auntie, can we tear inside?”

Qiao Wei replied kindly, “Sure, go ahead. But no open flames inside. We’re a key fire prevention unit here.”

“Alright, got it.”

The girl turned back, and soon the students brought the chairs back into the library and carried the half-torn books back inside — the same books they had brought out before.

It was another round of physical labor, but it was better to move around a bit and feel a bit warmer.

Sister Shen asked Zheng Ai, “Is the library stove lit?”

“No,” Zheng Ai pushed up his glasses. “No one’s been here today, so we haven’t lit it.”

Qiao Wei said, “We still need to keep an eye on it. The kids might not be able to resist lighting a fire inside.”

Zheng Ai put on a thick cotton coat, roasted it on the stove until it was steaming hot, and went to watch over the library.

The students were listless.

Burning books was so exciting. But there was no fun in tearing books in the cold room.

Seeing a tall glasses-wearing guy tidying up the bookshelf, Wang Daliang said, “Hey, comrade, can you light a fire for us?”

Zheng Ai pretended not to hear.

Have they grown up already? Daring to call me a comrade.

The girl was smarter, more polite, “Uncle, we’re very cold. Can you light a fire for us?”

Zheng Ai sat on the ladder and finally turned his head, pushing his thick glasses, “Sorry, I can’t do it. We don’t have enough coal.”

“There are a lot of revolutionary meetings nowadays, and to support them, the fuel supply for each unit has been reduced. We don’t even have enough coal for ourselves. Look, we’re all huddled in the office, afraid to come out. Our hands freeze when we work, it’s pathetic.”

There was no way around it.

The young boys and girls hung their heads in despair.

As noon approached, a young auntie came in and brought lunch to the glasses-wearing uncle, “I’ve prepared your meal for you.”

The glasses-wearing uncle sat in the library and happily ate his meal. The warmth from the food filled the room with a delightful aroma.

Several people couldn’t help but drool, their stomachs growling.

At this moment, the young library director also came in with a lunchbox and said, “Oh, you’re all still here? It’s lunchtime, hurry up and go home to eat. We’ll continue this afternoon.”

Everyone exchanged glances and quickly stood up, pretending, “We’ll come back in the afternoon…”

“Zheng Ai, can you take down everyone’s information? Which school they’re from, their names, home addresses, parents’ names and workplaces…” Qiao Wei said, “We’ll write down everyone’s details for future reporting.”

Everyone froze, desperately signaling to Wang Daliang.

Wang Daliang reluctantly said, “I-I don’t think that’s necessary.”

“Why not? It’s a must!” Qiao Wei insisted. “Our revolution requires organization and discipline. We can’t have chaos. Trust me, I’m from a military family, even the children have to undergo military training. Discipline and organization must be instilled from a young age!”

But the reason they joined the revolution was because they enjoyed the freedom and happiness of not being bound by rules.

Wang Daliang said, “We all live nearby, we’ll eat quickly and come back.”

Qiao Wei said, “Then we’ll just register you. You’re the leader. Responsibility falls on individuals, so if there’s any issue, they’ll come to you.”

Zheng Ai had already put down his lunchbox, wiped his mouth, and walked over to the counter to open the registration book, “Alright, tell me, where do you live? Home address? Parents’ names? Workplace?”

Wang Daliang’s scalp tingled, but as the leader, he had to be a bit cunning. His eyes darted around, “Building 4, Construction Road. My dad’s name is Wang, Wang, Wang Jianguo, and my mom’s name is uh, Li Fengmei. They both work at, uh…”

He couldn’t come up with a workplace for a moment, but a clever female classmate helped him out, “Bearing Factory!”

“Yes, yes, Bearing Factory.”

“Alright, let’s go back and eat first.” Qiao Wei arranged the follow-up work while holding the lunchbox, “We’ll continue tearing in the afternoon. We’ve torn enough for now. Go contact the street committee, pull out the list of residents, and prepare the distribution list. Try to deliver it to the residents by tomorrow. Oh, and bring some tools tomorrow. Baskets, boxes, whatever. Can you find a cart? Otherwise, carrying all this back and forth will exhaust you.”

“Although you’re all working for the revolution and the people, you’re also the backbone of our country. Auntie would feel sorry if you get too tired.”

“Oh, and remember to bring some rope tomorrow, so you can tie the baskets and boxes to your back.”

The librarians today all came back to eat their lunches.

Carrying their lunch boxes, they ate the steaming hot food and watched the students leave stiffly.

“Guess how many will come back in the afternoon?”

“My home is on Construction Road. I’ve never seen these kids before.”

“Hey.”

However, what surprised everyone was that someone actually did come back in the afternoon.

Just him.

He was also puzzled: “Nobody else came? Will they come later, or…”

The kind-hearted library director auntie, holding a warm tea pot to warm her hands, gave this innocent-eyed child a chance: “I don’t know, how about you help auntie by going to Construction Road to urge them?”

The innocent-eyed child felt as if he had been granted clemency and agreed with a nod, then dashed away.

But he never came back.

However, this was just a ripple that wetted their toes; the big wave was yet to come.

While the librarians were still immersed in the joy of the director driving away a bunch of troublemakers, Qiao Wei kept reading newspapers every day, frowning more and more as she read about various incidents in big cities.

“It’s just easy to fool kids,” she said, “but it won’t be easy to fool experienced adults in the fight.”

Their joy was dampened.

Thinking about the valuable collections stored in the warehouse, the ancient books they had spent so much time and effort organizing and preserving might be burned to ashes, Xiao Wu burst into tears, “Director, you have to think of a solution…”

Unconsciously, Qiao Wei had become the pillar of the library in everyone’s mind.

Qiao Wei really pondered for a long time, trying to find a safe solution.

Chinese New Year had arrived, but there was no holiday. People all over the country were sticking to their posts.

But meetings still had to be held, and Qiao Wei, as the library director, often had to cross two streets to go to the county government auditorium to attend those meetings.

She did come up with a solution.

She told Yan Lei about this solution: “The most dangerous place is often the safest place.”

Yan Lei asked, “Will he agree?”

“We have to try. We can’t not even try.”

If things didn’t work out, they would just hand over those books.

After all, people mattered more.

Qiao Wei admired and sympathized with Director Xiao, but she wouldn’t let herself become like Director Xiao.

She went to find Huang Zengyue.

“There is a batch of ancient books in the warehouse, reportedly treasures of the library, there are over a dozen boxes,” she casually informed him.

If it were someone else running to Director Huang and saying this, it would probably be a high probability of surrendering, offering treasures, and expressing loyalty.

But Huang Zengyue knew Qiao Wei too well.

He put down his pen, leaned back in his chair, and lifted his eyelids to look at her, “What are you up to?”

“I remember you saying you used to be very bad at certain subjects, you weren’t good at math or science, but you were good with a pen,” Qiao Wei said, “I remember you saying you’ve read even the documents with a bit of a shady history in the library.”

“I remember you saying you practically grew up in the library.”

The boys who grew up in the library, with their strong writing skills, would be valued and appreciated by their leaders, surely they were people who loved books.

Qiao Wei stood in front of the desk, staring at Director Huang.

Huang Zengyue found Qiao Wei to be a person who made him feel complex.

You could say you had her under control, and it could be considered as such. Holding onto her organizational ties, she had no choice.

But if you really thought you had her under control, you didn’t at all. Because you couldn’t directly control her actions and she was particularly slippery, always catching you off guard.

Huang Zengyue sometimes felt helpless too.

He didn’t beat around the bush with her: “Just tell me straight, what do you want me to do?”

Qiao Wei said, “I saw they’re making a big backdrop in the auditorium?”

“Yes, for meetings. Hanging flags, banners, writing slogans.”

Qiao Wei walked over, hands on the large desk, leaning forward slightly, “That kind of frame needs to be weighted down.”

Huang Zengyue: “…”

The new backdrop for the auditorium’s platform was gradually completed.

Director Huang personally came to inspect it several times.

People brought over a dozen boxes to use as weights, pressing them against the back supports. No one knew what was inside, but they were really heavy.

The wooden boxes looked dirty, with “Weights, Do Not Move” written in red paint.

So heavy, it would take at least two people to lift them together, who could move them?

Those dozen or so boxes served as weights, pressing against the supports behind the backdrop, keeping it steady and unyielding.

On the front side, banners were changed every day for different meetings, slogans were written, and posters were put up.

No one bothered to look behind to see what was pressed there.

Every day, the auditorium bustled with activity, slogans filled the air, and applause resounded.

Those boxes quietly hid behind the backdrop, silently enduring the passage of time amid all the noise and commotion.

No one knew.

Perhaps Director Xiao knew.

Perhaps, in heaven, he saw the people entrusted with his promise fulfilling it, protecting his cherished treasures, and might even show a smile of contentment.

Later, the library inevitably faced several waves of assaults, with revolutionary masses coming in demanding to burn books.

Some books definitely had to be burned, not burning any at all was impossible.

These were all adults, not as easily fooled as the previous kids.

From the librarians to the director, everyone cooperated well, with a very positive attitude.

The revolutionary masses also knew that this director had some background, after a thorough search, seeing there wasn’t much left, they were satisfied, and didn’t dare to cause too much trouble to the library.

But everyone looked at the now empty bookshelves and couldn’t help but sigh.

“Alright, alright, don’t be so disheartened,” Director Qiao clapped her hands, “Keep your spirits up!”

“Out with the old, in with the new!”

“We’ve lost so many books, we need to fill them up. Xiao Wu, make this year’s budget twice as high as before and submit it to the Cultural Bureau.”

“Rejected? What rejection! Whoever wants to reject, let them give me a call and come see these empty shelves themselves!”

Director Qiao stood with her hands on her hips, saying, “Don’t take our library as an easy target.”