It’s just a pity that in this old bookstore, from the first row of bookshelf, to the second row of bookshelf, and to the third row of bookshelf, Lin Yi didn’t find many old books that suit him.

Just as Lin Yi shook his head and sighed, someone behind him said, "Friends, have you not found a book that suits your heart? There is no way. The old book business is difficult to do now, and many good books are not easy to collect. In addition, there are many people in our scenic spots, and many people like to buy old books. When they come, they pick all the good books. Even I almost don't have good books to read."

Upon hearing this, Lin Yi looked back and saw that the bookstore owner who was reading books seriously just now was at most thirty years old, wearing thick myopia glasses, and looked very gentle, but there were a few nose hairs exposed in his nostrils. Lin Yi had read photos such as "Ma Yi Shen Xiang" randomly, saying that when a person's nose hair was exposed, he would not be able to hide his wealth. It seemed that he was also a down-and-out book seller.

There is also a sense of emotion between scholars. When the person saw Lin Yi, he couldn't help but want to have a good time and chat. Moreover, Lin Yi himself has a very peaceful and easy to get close to, and he likes to laugh at others so much, so the two of them met without much effort.

It turned out that the owner was named Li Dabing. According to his words, "I used to love reading books, but it was a coincidence that I did the old book business." He had just graduated from college ten years ago and came here from another place for love. Because his girlfriend was a nearby person and worked as a tour guide here, he stayed and rented a house near Bailang Street.

One day, Li Dabing passed an alley and saw a scrap station bagging many old books. He had loved reading since he was a child and curiously came over to read it. He found that there were many old books in it. Li Dabing thought these books were useful, so he bought all the 1,700 kilograms of old books at a price of 80 cents per pound.

"I didn't think much about it at that time, and it became a big problem when I came back." Li Dabing said that as soon as he bought the books, the house was suddenly filled with piles. When he was worried about what to do with these old books, a small episode happened.

One day at noon, Li Dabing opened his door and sorted out the books piled on the ground. An old man who was traveling nearby walked in and asked if the books were sold. Li Dabing nodded. The old man squatted and picked up more than half an hour, picked 13 books, and asked Li Dabing how much it cost.

"I didn't know how to sell it at that time. I thought, if I really like it, I can take it away for a few dollars." Li Dabing replied to the old man: Give as much as I want. Unexpectedly, the old man didn't speak and sat in Li Dabing's hut for 4 hours.

Li Dabing was secretly surprised. The old man waited for so long, was this batch of books very valuable? So he half-jokingly said, "Do you want 3,000 yuan?" The old man said, "It's a little expensive." A middle-aged man walked over and said, "What book costs 3,000 yuan?"

After listening to Li Dabing's explanation, the middle-aged man read the book and said, "I will take it away for 1,200 yuan." Li Dabing agreed, and the old man was very upset. "I felt very sorry for the old man at that time, so he asked him to choose 10 books from the old books and take it away for free."

"At that moment, I realized the value of old books and began to become very interested in old books." Then, Li Dabing set up an iron bed in the aisle outside the house and placed all the old books I bought on it to sell, and the business was very popular.

The various waste purchase stations around Bailang Street became Li Dabing’s original “source of goods”. Sometimes when he saw the waste purchase station collecting a batch of books, he would bring a bottle of water in early in the morning and come out at four or five o’clock in the afternoon. “The body was covered with dust and dirty. But if he found it, he would be happy.”

Unfortunately, not long after this hot business, some people were attracted by the target of this kind of hot business. There were first time old bookstores opened nearby, and Li Dabing's supply was also seized by some people. People had opened bookstores, but Li Dabing was still setting up book stalls. In the end, he could not compete with those stores. So he gritted his teeth and was determined to open this "Bailang Old Bookstore".

Speaking of this, Li Dabing sighed and said to Lin Yi: "Maybe I am not born to eat this food. I can buy books and read books, but I just can't do this old book deal."

Lin Yi understood what he meant. This person, if he read too much, he would be stubborn about the principles in books. If he couldn't make a fool of himself, he would not be ruthless in selling books, nor would he make some bad money against his conscience.

For example, other used bookstores started to operate physical bookstores and online bookstores together, and then Li Dabing slowly opened a bookstore online.

Those bookstores online like to make some postage difference, but Li Dabing actually charged the postage, and the extra cost is charged by others, and they have to refund them.

An honest and trustworthy book seller like him should have had a booming business, but unfortunately, the world now does not recognize good people like him. On the contrary, those who take advantage of tricks have become popular.

Li Dabing didn't care if the online business was not good. He told Lin Yi that the biggest benefit of opening a bookstore online was not to make money, but to make stories, which were touching good stories.

Not long ago, Li Dabing received a comic book "Border Defense Sentinel" published by Xinjiang People's Publishing House in 1978. The book was not very large in existence. He hung it online and sold it quickly. A few days later, an old book friend from Shanghai called and said he wanted to buy the book. Li Dabing told the old man that the book had been bought. The old man regretted that he was Yu Guanqiu, the painter of the book. Almost a month later, Li Dabing received another call saying that he wanted to buy the book. The man said that his father was one of the authors. Li Dabing asked carefully and found out that it was another author of the book, the painter Xu Shunlin. Li Dabing told Xu Shunlin's son the previous story. Half an hour later, the two old men contacted him. "When they met again, they called me and solemnly invited me to Shanghai."

When Li Dabing said this, he couldn't help but look a little proud, happy, and a little sigh.

When the two talked about this, Li Dabing seemed to really regard Lin Yi as a friend and said mysteriously: "Tell you, Brother Lin, I have actually hidden a lot of good books for so many years. Do you want to read it?" His eyes were full of hope.

Lin Yi knew the thoughts of these book collectors. They hid their treasured books. It was meaningless to read them by themselves and play by themselves. From time to time, they could show them to their friends and acquaintances, which could satisfy the vanity and sense of accomplishment of the collectors.

Besides, Lin Yi was also very curious about what kind of good books this Li Dabing hid, so he smiled and said, "Of course it's good, so that I can appreciate it. When you come to you from all the way, you will always have some gains, at least learn and learn!"

Seeing that Lin Yi was humble and interesting, Li Dabing began to rummage through boxes and cabinets with great enthusiasm. In a moment, he took out his collection.

"This is a hand-made medical book from the Daoguang period of the Qing Dynasty, and this is a lithographed version from the early Republic of China..." In the past few years, Li Dabing has handled no less than 100,000 old books. He accidentally entered the industry, but now he has hidden some treasures.

Among them, many old books are covered with plastic film and are well preserved. Li Dabing was also very careful when he took the books. "There is an unforgettable story behind these books," Li Dabing picked up a series of "Basic Knowledge Series of Chinese Classical Literature" published in the 1970s and 1980s. He said that although these books are small and thin, they look inconspicuous, and the price is only 20 or 30 cents. Now they can be bought at street stalls for at most two yuan, but some of the lack of books here are very valuable. As long as they are of good quality, they don't have to worry about selling them, for example---

"Yan Yu and Canglang Poetry Talk", printed 4,000 volumes; "Ruan Ji and Ji Kang", printed 6,000 volumes: "Li He" printed 4,000 volumes; "Wang Anshi" printed 3,500 volumes; "Liu Xizai He Yiji" printed 4,000 volumes; "Four Heroes of the Early Tang Dynasty and Chen Zi'ang", printed 7,000 volumes; "Liu Yong" printed 5,000 volumes; "Wu Weiye" printed 5,000 volumes; "Gu Yanwu" printed 8,500 volumes; "Bao Zhao and Yu Xin", printed 6,000 volumes.

The above lack of books can cost at least 100 yuan per book, and these ten thin books alone can be sold for 1,500 yuan; while the larger lack of books such as "Du Mu" and "Huang Zunxian", as long as the quality is good, each book is likely to cost thousands!

Now I have received 67 of them in total, thanks to a "book fan".

In 2010, Li Dabing received a call saying that there were books to be collected in a nearby new village. After he came to the door, he saw that the floor of the residents who were calling was filled with books, with more than 100 books, with good quality and high quality books. Among them was this inconspicuous "Basic Knowledge Series of Chinese Classical Literature".

Li Dabing asked and learned that these books were left by the resident's uncle. The resident's uncle never got married in his life and used all the money to buy the books.

"This is the only time I have ever collected books. There are more than 100 books, all of which are top-notch books. Now, some people have offered 20,000 yuan for these 67 small books, but I can't bear to sell them. If not, I just can't bear to. Maybe I'm really not a qualified book seller!" Li Dabing shook his head and sighed.

Lin Yi could fully understand his feelings. As an unqualified book seller, Li Dabing may not be successful, but many of the things he got were unavailable for money.

A kind of peace of mind, a kind of fun.

It seems to be down and out, but it is actually free and easy.

...

In the old bookstore, Lin Yi and Li Dabing, whom he had just met, had a conversation for a while. The time was almost the same, and Lin Yi insisted on leaving. Li Dabing insisted on giving him a few books. In his words, these books were not valuable, and I just hope that Lin Yi could remember that he, Li Dabing, had a friend on Bailang Street.

Lin Yi had no choice but to accept the book.

Next, Li Dabing introduced several other old bookstores to Lin Yi in detail, saying that he had no good books here, and those were different, and he should have something he liked.

As the saying goes, peers are enemies. There are absolutely few people who are as enthusiastic as Li Dabing to introduce business to peers. It can be seen that he doesn't care that others make more money than him, but only cares whether Lin Yi, a friend who has just made, can find good books.
Chapter completed!