UFO 1

"People threw themselves upon the bookstalls like MacArthur threw himself toward Christmas!" —Elon Musk Seven massive bookstalls offered seven categories of reading: social sciences, literature and art, juvenile and children's literature, natural sciences, engineering and technology, and more. Even the engineering and technology stall was mobbed with people. Chen Qi's group was scattered the moment they stepped in. He adjusted his slipping shoes, turned around to search, adjusted his shoes once more, and spotted Jiang Shan first. Jiang Shan was resilient. Making the most of her small frame and short legs, she had wriggled straight to the front of a stall, clamping onto it with both hands and refusing to let go. He hurried over and called out, "Where's Cai Ming?" "Whoosh! She got swept right away by the crowd!" "Stay here for now. I'll buy you a few books!" "I don't need you buying things for me!" "I'll be asking your dad for the money back when we get home. Did you think you were getting them for free?" Chen Qi patted her head and glanced down at the stall. It happened to be children's literature. Reaching out, he scooped up a set of the famous *One Hundred Thousand Whys*. This book had originally been written by a Soviet author in 1929 before being introduced to China, where it spawned numerous editions. Over time, the content grew thicker and increasingly unreliable; eventually, even nonsense like the Bermuda Triangle was included, presented dead seriously as astronomical and geographical popular science. Chen Qi held no particular prejudice. When he was a kid, he had believed in the Bermuda Triangle too! He had even believed in "freedom and democracy"! "What do you want to read?" "I want to read good novels!" "Then why don't you head over to that stall?" "I can't. I'm not allowed to bring them home. My dad would beat me to death..." Jiang Shan was just one of countless rebellious primary schoolers, longing to read something different yet lacking the nerve, dithering back and forth as she browsed. Chen Qi picked out a set for her, saying, "Buy this. Your dad definitely won't beat you for it!" *Five Thousand Years of Chinese History*, first published in early 1979, compiled by Lin Handa and Cao Yuzhang in five volumes. It sold over five million copies after hitting the market—a classic of its generation. "It's so expensive! Are you really buying this for me?" Jiang Shan was startled by the price. A single volume was seventy-three fen, meaning the five-volume set cost three yuan sixty-five. Her daily allowance was two fen, meant for popsicles or sunflower seeds that didn't require ration coupons. "Chump change!" With over a thousand yuan in his pockets, Chen Qi normally couldn't find anywhere to spend his money. Where was the sense in that? Now that he finally had a chance to consume, he wasn't about to be stingy. He bought Jiang Shan a set of *Five Thousand Years of Chinese History* and a few children's literature magazines. He also grabbed a set of *Five Thousand Years* and *One Hundred Thousand Whys* for himself. Not to read, but to keep as collector's items; the old editions were quite interesting. He led Jiang Shan out and secured a bench in the cypress grove. "Sit here and read for now. Don't wander off. I'll go find the others." "Mm!" "Hah, wouldn't it be great if you were always this well-behaved?" "Who told you to keep picking on me all the time?" Jiang Shan wrinkled her nose at him, then ignored him and buried her head in her book. Chen Qi squeezed back into the crowd and soon spotted Cai Ming. He tapped her on the shoulder: "Jiang Shan is over on the bench over there. Let's all meet up there in a bit!" "Got it, got it!" Cai-chan didn't even turn her head. This was the literature and art stall, naturally the most crowded. Not far from Cai Ming, Ge You was chuckling to himself while clutching a book. Liang Xiaosheng looked as though he had stepped into a treasure vault, wanting to buy everything in sight, yet held back by his meager wallet. Chen Qi gave the selection a cursory sweep, finding the degree of openness rather unexpected. There were many modern and contemporary Chinese classics, but remarkably quite a few traditional classics as well. Works like *Journey to the West* and *Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio*, which he had assumed would still be shunned as "feudal superstition," were laid out openly on the stall. Old acquaintances like Hugo, Balzac, Chekhov, and Tolstoy were there too, along with books covering America, Japan, and Hong Kong. Of course, Qiong Yao, Sanmao, Jin Yong, and Gu Long were nowhere to be found. Chen Qi picked out a 1970 novel edition of *Journey to the West* and a 1972 comic strip edition of *Three Battles with the White Bone Demon*. The comic strip in particular, illustrated by Mr. Wang Yiqiu, had insanely good artwork. Why was *Journey to the West* uniquely allowed to be published? Because Sun Wukong was deemed revolutionary and combative. As the poem went: "The Golden Monkey wrathfully swung his massive cudgel, And the jade firmament was cleared of dust." Followed by: "Today we hail Sun the Great Sage, Only because the demon mist has risen again!" ... Gong Xue had gotten separated from Zhang Jinling. She stood alone before a stall, holding a book and reading intently. As she read, a voice came from behind her: "How many have you bought?" "None yet. I want to buy this." She held it up; the cover read *Jane Eyre*. "I'd suggest waiting," he said. "The *Jane Eyre* film was just screened domestically this year, and it's quite popular. The publishing houses are bound to release new translations soon. The one you're holding is from the Republican era; the phrasing might feel a bit stiff." "Oh, then I'll wait." Gong Xue obediently set the book down and picked up *The Hunchback of Notre-Dame*. "Are all these foreign classics older translations?" "Pretty much. If you like it, you can still buy it. Treat it as a collectible." "A collectible? I don't have anywhere to keep things." She shook her head and asked, "What about you? What did you buy?" "Quite a bit. It's all over on the bench. When you're done picking, head over to meet up... By the way, today's on me. However much you all buy, put it on my tab." "I earn a salary; you don't need to worry about me. Go check on the others." Hearing this, Gong Xue couldn't help a small laugh. She fished a small wallet from her pocket and gave it a slight wave. It was sewn from blue cloth with fine, neat stitching and lovely embroidery, divided into several compartments. She had clearly made it herself. "A young lady from a wealthy family through and through. Everyone else uses a handkerchief, but you use a wallet." "You!" Gong Xue bit her lip. Her family's class background was a thorn in her heart, and this jerk kept bringing it up. Unfazed, Chen Qi whistled and slipped away: "Where's the justice when I want to spend money and can't even give it away?" Seven people had come today. Chen Qi was the third youngest, yet he was acting like the boss of the group, arranging this and directing that. Around midday. Everyone finally gathered under a towering ancient cypress. A pile of books sat on the bench as they enthusiastically took stock of their haul. Liang Xiaosheng had chosen a stack of literary classics; Ge You and Zhang Jinling had picked out a few novels; Cai Ming was surprising, having actually bought a good number of popular science books; and Gong Xue had bought about ten volumes spanning various genres. Chen Qi was on an entirely different level—his dozens of books formed a tall tower. He had originally wanted to see if there were any ancient books or secondhand treasures, but found none. He would have to check out the China Bookstore when he had time. This era was a golden age for picking up bargains, with virtually no competition; even that errand boy Ma Weidu was still toiling away in a factory as a milling machine operator... "Why did you buy so many film books?" "Soviet, Eastern European, Western European... whoa, even Hong Kong!" Ge You flipped through Chen Qi's haul in surprise. "To see the world outside, of course. I'm a screenwriter right now, but I don't want to be a screenwriter forever. Just like you playing bit parts in the drama troupe—do you want to play bit parts for the rest of your life?" "No way!" "Then there you go. People always want to climb higher... Let me go find something, or I won't be able to carry all this." Chen Qi stepped away for a short while, then returned with Yu Xiuli. She carried a sack and a bundle of rope in her hands, smiling warmly. "You're all Xiao Qi's friends? What a coincidence! I was just helping out over there." "Hello, Auntie!" "Hello, Auntie!" Meeting his parents for the first time, everyone hurried to greet her. Meanwhile, purely on maternal instinct, Yu Xiuli swept her eyes over the group in a swift, discreet appraisal: Zhang Jinling: Too old. Jiang Shan: Too young. Cai Ming: Hmm. Then her gaze fell upon Gong Xue, and her eyes lit up. What a pretty girl—so fair and clean. She wondered how old the girl was; she certainly looked young... Yu Xiuli made a mental note as she neatly tied up the stack of books and packed them into the sack. Then she warmly invited everyone over to their home for lunch, which the group repeatedly declined, performing the full, intricate dance of social etiquette. Having finished their book buying, Chen Qi and the others rested beneath the tree. Ye Shengtao and other luminaries were due to arrive shortly, and everyone wanted to catch a glimpse. Not far away, several people had gathered, engaged in an impassioned discussion with raised voices. Chen Qi listened in on a few sentences, an amused expression crossing his face. "Nonsense! How could there be aliens in this world?" "The *People's [Daily]* reported on UFOs just last year, so how could it be fake? Would the *People's [Daily]* talk nonsense?" "Come to think of it, I really did see one once. Three years ago, back in the countryside, I got up in the middle of the night to pee and saw a dot of light up in the sky. It was blurry, no idea what it was. It hovered for a few seconds, and then whoosh—it was gone. "I bet you anything that was the UFO you're talking about!"