Life in siheyuan era

Lou Xiao'e had the capital to be proud. A librarian must possess a certain level of education to be competent. It was a respected profession.

The way she spoke, with her head held high, not only represented this attitude but also concealed another layer of meaning.

Zhou Zhiyuan's first reaction was to bow slightly and say solemnly, "Please, Librarian Lou, offer your help in the future."

His attitude surprised Lou Xiao'e. Zhou Zhiyuan had actually understood.

As the librarian, this place was her territory. Zhou Zhiyuan could ask for her help if he needed something. That was the meaning she wanted to convey.

But she couldn't directly say "Ask me if you need anything." She hinted through this action to see Zhou Zhiyuan's reaction.

This question required careful consideration. Lou Xiao'e could say "Ask me if you need anything," but he had to understand that this didn't include spending money to buy a painting. He couldn't use this opportunity to find Lou Xiao'e to start a brokerage activity.

This kind of activity needed an opportunity. If the opportunity hadn't appeared, he couldn't talk nonsense. Saying, "I have a 'Phoenix Facing the Sun' painting, which is very suitable for birthday celebrations. It will surely make your father happy as a birthday gift," would definitely result in a disaster.

Zhou Zhiyuan carefully considered it and established the idea of creating opportunities. He happily dropped the brokerage matter and walked into the reading room, glancing at the long table to find his target.

Not many people were sitting at the table reading at this time. The young woman wearing a blue woolen coat and with a short braid was immediately noticeable.

Seeing that the seat opposite her was empty, and looking at the dozen or so male and female readers at the table, Zhou Zhiyuan was sure that Shen Lanyin wasn't very popular.

After observing, he walked over and placed his satchel on the chair, then turned and walked towards the book gallery.

Afterward, he came back with a copy of 'The History of Ming Dynasty'. Seeing that Shen Lanyin was leaning back in her chair, looking at him coldly.

"This is her bad popularity." Zhou Zhiyuan slandered in his heart, but he showed a smile on his face, nodded lightly to her, and stood the satchel on the table to separate their lines of sight.

He was a good person, willing to do good deeds, taking the initiative to separate the two people's lines of sight, so that Shen Lanyin would not be bothered by him, and he could read quietly.

This book contained "The Biography of Li Zicheng." Although it was compiled by the Qing Dynasty and severely demonized, the basic events would not change. This was the last bit of integrity of the historian.

And the reason Zhou Zhiyuan wanted to read this book was only one: walking into the book gallery, he suddenly remembered what the old man said, "We will never become Li Zicheng."

So he wanted to read this book, ignoring Shen Lanyin on the other side of the satchel, not knowing that Shen Lanyin defined his behavior as provocation.

He concentrated on reading. An hour later, he raised his head to move his neck. Turning his face, he could see Hao Zhiwen. Seeing him sitting next to Shen Lanyin, reading seriously, he withdrew his gaze and raised his wrist to look at his watch.

Eleven o'clock at noon was a good time. Even a high-quality librarian had to eat. He could only find an opportunity to approach Lou Xiao'e during movement.

With a plan in place, Zhou Zhiyuan picked up "The History of Ming Dynasty", picked up his satchel, and walked out, ignoring Shen Lanyin and Hao Zhiwen's surprised eyes.

Arriving on the first floor, he saw that the service desk was empty. The scene he expected of Lou Xiao'e being on duty didn't appear, so he needed to continue to be flexible.

Turning his head to look in that direction, he walked into the children's reading room, seeing that there were more than twenty children sitting at the table reading.

These children, some five or six years old, some ten years old, had several comic books beside them, each burying their heads in the comic books, with innocent smiles on their faces.

Looking at these children, Zhou Zhiyuan walked to the bookshelf, picked up a copy of the comic book "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", flipped through a few pages, and felt his clothes being tugged twice. Looking down, he saw a six- or seven-year-old boy looking up at him. Seeing him look over, the little boy pointed to the comic book in his hand.

The little boy wanted to read the comic book in his hand, and Zhou Zhiyuan handed it to him.

The little boy ran away with the comic book. He took another one from the bookshelf and continued flipping through it, feeling his clothes being tugged again. Looking down, it was another six- or seven-year-old boy.

The comic book was taken away by this little boy again. There was only one copy of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" comic book left on the bookshelf.

Picking up this comic book, he felt his clothes being tugged again. Looking down, he found that the little boy had run back again. He wanted this comic book.

Zhou Zhiyuan decided to discuss it with him. He squatted down and said softly, "I gave you one just now. You go read that one. I'll read this one. After you finish reading, you bring that one over to exchange, okay?"

The little boy shook his head. He didn't want to.

The little boy's attitude made Zhou Zhiyuan feel a little frustrated. His language-understanding artifact couldn't even communicate with a child, so he continued to work: "You can't read two books at the same time. You read that one first. I'll definitely keep this one for you, okay?"

The little boy still shook his head. He resolutely refused.

His artifact still failed. He sighed and continued to work hard: "Little friend, let's be reasonable, okay?"

At this point, a clear and cold voice came from beside him: "You're so old, and you're still fighting with a kid over a comic book. Aren't you ashamed?"

Zhou Zhiyuan looked up and saw Shen Lanyin standing coldly on the side, staring at him. A strange color flashed in her bright phoenix eyes.

She was happy to have caught Zhou Zhiyuan red-handed, but she had to try to maintain a cold expression on her face.

And Hao Zhiwen looked at him in surprise. Zhou Zhiyuan actually ran to the children's reading room to read comic books?

Zhou Zhiyuan understood his surprise. He looked up and saw a series of small figures running over. Shen Lanyin's voice had alarmed the reading children.

Seeing the children surrounding him, Zhou Zhiyuan had to clear his name. He stood up and asked solemnly, "This female comrade, which eye did you see me fighting with a child over a comic book?"

He spoke calmly, fully expressing his attitude of being upright and not fearing shadows.

But Shen Lan Yin coldly replied, "The left eye saw it, and the right eye also saw it, you are fighting with this little friend for a comic book."

This answer was within his expectations. After she finished speaking, he turned to look at Hao Zhiwen and asked in a deep voice, "This male comrade, you came with the female comrade, can you prove that this female comrade is mistaken?"

Hearing him ask him to testify, Hao Zhiwen turned to look at Shen Lan Yin, then turned back to look at Zhou Zhiyuan, and after a moment of contemplation, said, "This female comrade is not mistaken."

"Heh..." Zhou Zhiyuan chuckled, ignoring the two of them, and looked down at the little boy, softly asking, "Little friend, did the big brother snatch your comic book?"

He believed that the eyes of the masses were discerning and the hearts of children were honest. The little boy would definitely clear his name and loudly answer: "The big brother didn't snatch it from me."

With this confidence, a smile appeared on Zhou Zhiyuan's face, and his eyes looked softly at the little boy.

But the little boy looked up at him, his eyes showing hesitation, and then turned to look at Shen Lan Yin.

Seeing him look over, Shen Lan Yin softly said, "Don't be afraid, big sister will support you."

These words stirred up the emotions of the children, who shouted one after another: "Yes, we will support you."

So the little boy turned his head and said firmly, "He snatched my comic book."

Hearing the little boy's affirmative statement, Zhou Zhiyuan looked at the comic book in his hand, a bitter smile appearing on his face. The physical evidence was the comic book, the witness was the little boy, the corroborating witness was Shen Lan Yin, and the multiple witnesses were Hao Zhiwen and the children. The case was irrefutable and could be judged.

Faced with this situation, there was no need to argue. Zhou Zhiyuan put down the comic book, picked up the "History of the Ming Dynasty" and walked out.

But Shen Lan Yin would definitely not let him run away, coldly saying, "You want to run away after making a mistake?"

Hao Zhiwen immediately chimed in, "We can't let him run away."

With their call to action, the children in front firmly stood their ground, blocking him, and the children behind rushed over and surrounded him.

But this was not enough. Shen Lan Yin incited again, "What is the crime of snatching a comic book from a child?"

The children were immediately stirred up by her, and they spoke out to determine his crime. After a noisy discussion, they clarified that he had committed the crime of snatching a book, defining him as a book-snatching criminal, and that he should be sent to the police station.

With the plan decided, the enthusiastic children, without Shen Lan Yin's continued incitement, surrounded Zhou Zhiyuan and escorted him out of the children's reading room.

A group of adults, having heard the news, stood outside to greet them, and looked at Zhou Zhiyuan, who had a bitter smile on his face, being escorted out by the children, each with a playful expression on their faces.

An adult being caught by a group of children was a very amusing scene. Everyone was watching the excitement, only Lou Xiao'e squeezed out of the crowd and said, "Leave him to me, I will definitely give him a good criticism and education."

Lou Xiao'e represented the library and could solve the problem of the book-snatching criminal.

But Shen Lan Yin would not give her this opportunity. Seeing her come forward and make the children hesitate, she continued to incite, "Stop the crime, escort the book-snatching criminal to the police station."

"Yes, escort him to the police station." The children made up their minds, jumping and shouting happily, with a look of excitement.

They had caught a book-snatching criminal and would definitely be awarded a small red flower.

Shen Lan Yin wanted to carry the prank game through to the end. The children's emotions were completely stirred up again, the adults showed a look of watching the show, and Lou Xiao'e's face showed an anxious look, indicating that she had no way to stop it.

At this time, Zhou Zhiyuan could only take self-rescue measures. He said loudly, "Is there a crime? Let's recreate the scene."

He also wanted to play a game, this game belonged to a detective drama, and two little boys had the opportunity to perform.

As soon as this proposal came out, it was immediately responded to by the first little boy who wanted the book, he had a strong desire to perform.

And the little boy involved also responded, being able to perform on stage made him excited.

Being able to watch a performance aroused the interest of the children, and the adults also expressed their support.

Seeing this scene, Shen Lan Yin blinked lightly, feeling that Zhou Zhiyuan was about to turn the tables, but she had no reason to object. She turned to look at Hao Zhiwen, wanting him to make a decision.

But Hao Zhiwen was also looking at her, he had no idea.

So this game was successfully held with everyone's support. The lending hall was used as the performance hall, the props were three comic books, and the actors were one big and two small people.

With the roles assigned, and Lou Xiao'e and Zhao Yongmei clarified as the two referees, the game officially began.

Zhou Zhiyuan picked up a comic book from the service desk, and the first little boy ran over and tugged at his clothes, excitedly taking the comic book and running away.

The little boy acted very seriously, completely acting naturally, but unfortunately the time was too short and there were no lines. After leaving the stage, he stood aside, a disappointed expression on his little face.

And Zhou Zhiyuan then picked up the second comic book from the service desk, and the second little boy ran over. He was also acting naturally, taking the comic book and running out to hand it to Zhao Yongmei, and then ran back seriously for the second time.

But he only had one line. Facing Zhou Zhiyuan, who was squatting in front of him and speaking softly, he shook his head twice and then turned to look at Shen Lan Yin, hoping that Shen Lan Yin would come on stage as soon as possible so that he could say this line.

"He snatched my comic book." This line was very simple, but the little boy had to repeatedly recite it in his heart, fearing that he would forget the line when he opened his mouth, anxiously hoping that Shen Lan Yin would come on stage, forgetting that Shen Lan Yin was not assigned a role.

But the facts were already clear. Zhou Zhiyuan stood up to defend himself: "The facts prove that I didn't snatch the comic book from the little friend, and this female comrade..."

He pointed at Shen Lan Yin and said loudly, "Is highly myopic, and this male comrade..."

He pointed to Hao Zhiwen again and continued, "Has no principles."

He had to seize the opportunity to fight back. He was a person who adhered to principles, no matter who Shen Lan Yin was. He would fight back when he should, and resolutely put a pair of highly myopic glasses on her.