In the blink of an eye, Zhou Chen had been working in the library for more than a month and received his first salary of this month, nineteen and a half yuan.
Among them, 17.5 yuan is salary and 2 yuan is subsidy. In addition to money, some food stamps and meat stamps were also issued, but the quantity was relatively small.
Although the size of the library is incomparable to those of factories with thousands or tens of thousands of people, the salary is still very good, and the work is stable and easy. Compared with being a front-line worker in a factory, where you are busy from morning to night.
, so much more comfortable.
Zhou Chen is now very satisfied with this kind of life. This job is almost tailor-made for him.
Today is Tuesday, not a rest day, so there are not many customers in the library, and even fewer in the history books area.
People who come to the library to borrow and read books all have their own tendencies. Books that are boring and serious like history will definitely not be borrowed as much as literature and poetry books.
There was no one around, so Zhou Chen picked up a book, leaned against the bookshelf and started reading.
As a library with hundreds of thousands of volumes, it is natural that all the books in the collection cannot be in Chinese. There are also English books, Russian books, French books, etc.
For example, the book Zhou Chen is reading now is a book introducing the famous Italian Renaissance painter Leonardo da Vinci.
Although he didn't know much about antiques and other items, he was certainly familiar with Leonardo da Vinci. He was a strange man, and his paintings would be treasures among treasures in later generations.
One of his most famous paintings, the Mona Lisa, became almost a household name in later generations.
The reason why Zhou Chen watched his deeds was also to conduct an experiment for his own mission.
Leonardo da Vinci's paintings can definitely meet the system's evaluation requirements.
Although the system says that the antiques to be collected are from the Five Dynasties period, it does not clearly state that they must be domestic antiques.
Leonardo da Vinci lived from the 14th to the early 15th century, corresponding to the Ming Dynasty period in China.
What he wants to experiment is to see if valuable foreign antiques can meet the requirements of the system. If so, that would be the best. If not, then treat it as a way to increase knowledge and read more books.
Fortunately, this book introducing Leonardo da Vinci is in English. If it were an Italian version, he really wouldn't be able to read it because he has not specifically studied Italian.
While Zhou Chen was reading seriously, Zhao Lijie came to the second floor. He thought of Zhou Chen, so he followed the bookshelf and started looking for Zhou Chen, wanting to see what Zhou Chen was doing.
Soon he found Zhou Chen. When he saw Zhou Chen leaning on the bookshelf and reading, he was not surprised, because Zhou Chen often did this when he was fine.
He didn't make a sound and quietly walked towards Zhou Chen.
Zhou Chen's alertness was quite good. Although he was reading seriously, he still felt Zhao Lijie approaching him and immediately raised his head.
"Uncle Zhao, why are you here?"
Zhao Lijie asked with a smile: "Zhou Chen, read a book."
"Well, I have nothing to do, so I read a book for a while." Zhou Chen raised the book in his hand.
Zhao Lijie didn't care at first, but when he saw the cover of the book Zhou Chen held up, he was stunned.
"Xiao Zhou, are you reading an English book?"
"yes."
"You can understand?"
"It's okay, I can understand it."
Zhao Lijie's expression changed immediately. As far as he understood, Zhou Chen had only graduated from junior high school and had never even attended high school. He could only speak a word or two in English.
But the problem is, Zhou Chen actually holds an English book to read. This is not just a matter of speaking a few words in English. At the very least, someone must be proficient in English to be able to understand English books, right?
So he had to doubt it, but he could see clearly just now that Zhou Chen was very serious when he was reading, and it didn't look like he was pretending at all.
"Can you really read it?"
Zhou Chen knew why Zhao Lijie was suspicious. A person who hadn't even passed high school could suddenly read English books. No one would believe him if he told him.
However, he said very calmly: "Uncle Zhao, I can really understand it. In this way, I will read you a page."
"Bah, bah, bah..."
Listening to Zhou Chen reading English very smoothly, Zhao Lijie didn't dare to blink, his eyes were full of disbelief.
Okay, he doesn't understand English, but he just doesn't understand.
At this moment, Zhou Chen's image in his eyes changed dramatically.
Zhou Chen was very fast, and it only took about a minute to finish reading a page. But for Zhao Lijie, this minute was extremely long.
"Uncle Zhao, Uncle Zhao."
Zhou Chen's cry woke Zhao Lijie out of his daze. His body trembled and he said quickly: "Okay, Xiao Zhou, what you read is really good, but can you understand the meaning?"
It's not that he is being unreasonable, but he thinks that some people can read English, but they may not necessarily be able to understand the meaning.
But Zhou Chen's answer was very straightforward: "Of course."
Zhao Lijie's face suddenly showed a look of surprise. In today's China, people who can speak English are only a minority among the minority. There are also people in their library who can speak English, but to be honest, their level is not very high.
At least to Zhao Lijie's ears, Zhou Chen's English was much smoother than that of the translator in their library.
"Xiao Zhou, can you translate the English article accurately?"
"Can."
After answering, Zhou Chen was also surprised. Did Zhao Lijie want him to help translate English books?
He had done this kind of thing before in the previous world, but at that time he was a college student, helping his classmates with translations and earning some living expenses on the way.
If Zhao Lijie had this plan, he would have extra money again.
Just as he thought, after Zhao Lijie got the affirmative answer, he was immediately moved.
"Xiao Zhou, if I ask you to translate the English book in your hand, to what extent can you translate it? And when can you complete it?"
"This one?"
Zhou Chen looked at the book in his hand and thought for a while before answering.
"Uncle Zhao, there is no problem with the translation, but you also know that the Chinese in our country is different from English in some ways of expression. If you want to translate it according to the original meaning, it is almost impossible, but
If you ask me to translate, I can achieve about 90% of the standard."
"As for time, this whole book also depends on the situation. If I keep translating and work seven or eight hours a day, it will probably take me about two weeks to complete it."
He didn't talk too much. If he tried his best, he would definitely be able to translate this book in less than a week.
You must know that his current spirit has reached an astonishing 28 points, and the limit of ordinary people is only 10 points. He is far beyond ordinary people.
This makes his thinking logic, computing power, etc. far beyond that of ordinary people, and even more amazing than some so-called geniuses.
"Two weeks, are you sure?"
Zhao Lijie asked in disbelief.
The book in Zhou Chen's hand has almost more than a hundred pages. If it is handed over to the translator in their library and they hurry up, it would be good if it can be translated within a month. However, this still does not guarantee the quality of the translation.
in the case of.
What's even more incredible is that Zhou Chen said that he was able to translate about 90% of the English standard, which is really scary.
The translators in their library sometimes have to look up information when encountering unfamiliar English words, which makes the translation even more difficult. Not to mention 90%, 70% is pretty good.
That's why their translators cannot be external translators and can only work in their libraries, but even so, they have gained a good status.
Zhou Chen nodded again, he saw a better future waving to him.
Zhao Lijie was overjoyed. He did not suspect Zhou Chen of lying, because this kind of thing could be known with just one test. What's more, Zhou Chen was the nephew of an old friend, and their relationship was unusual. He did not think that Zhou Chen would lie to him.
"Great, Xiao Zhou, come with me and I will take you to see the curator."
Zhou Chen naturally would not refuse, so he followed Zhao Lijie straight to the third floor and headed towards the curator's office.
The director of their library is an official within the system, and his rank is not low. Because of his age, he took a back seat and became the director of the library.
The other party's name is Xue Yuguo, he is a very kind elder, even to the lower-level employees, he is very gentle, and is deeply loved by all employees in the library.
Zhao Lijie and Xue Yuguo obviously had a good relationship. After bringing Zhou Chen in, he directly stated his purpose without saying a word.
Xue Yuguo was also very surprised when he heard this. He was old, had been working since the founding of the People's Republic of China, and had extensive knowledge.
Because there is little contact between the country and the outside world, there are really very few people in the country who can understand English. It is really surprising that a young junior like Zhou Chen can have such a good English proficiency.
"Xiao Zhou, wait a minute, Lao Zhao, go and call Wang Hao and ask him to communicate with Xiao Zhou."
Whether it is true or not, there is no basis for what he said. Wang Hao is the English translator in the library. Xue Yuguo is going to let Wang Hao come and test Zhou Chen's level.
Zhao Lijie nodded and went to call Wang Hao.
Soon, Zhou Chen met a man in his thirties wearing glasses, and then the two started a conversation in English under Xue Yuguo's command.
The result was no surprise. In terms of spoken English, Zhou Chen completely crushed Wang Hao.
From this day on, Zhou Chen's job changed. From the administrator who managed books in the historical area at the beginning, he became a more senior translator.
Every day he just reads newspapers, translates English documents, etc. In addition to his salary, like Wang Hao, he also gets extra translation bonuses.
Although there are not many things that need to be translated, his salary has increased by more than one level compared to the previous salary of 17.5 yuan. Now he can earn more than 30 yuan a month.
The formal establishment is also on the way.
A few days later, Han Chunming arrived at the door of Zhou Chen's house on time.
"You even brought some things. How long do you plan to stay?"
Zhou Chen watched Han Chun Ming mention this package. He didn't bring anything with him last time, so he had to be much more prepared.
Han Chunming chuckled and said: "My aunt and the others are expected to stay for two or three days, so I will stay with you for a few days. I will deliver the things first and then go back for dinner later. Zhou Chen, how about you follow me?"
Go back together?"
Zhou Chen quickly waved his hand and said: "I won't go. You and your family are having dinner. I'll go and figure out what's going on. I won't go."
He didn't want to participate in such a troublesome thing. Was it not good to have a drink at home alone, or was the bed at home not comfortable enough?
"Then help me take the things in. Be careful. There are two old items I brought for you. You can appreciate them later. Lend me the bicycle first."
With that said, he took the bicycle from Zhou Chen's hand and ran away.
Zhou Chen was holding the package with a puzzled look on his face. This was not Han Chunming's style. Given how much he valued his antiques, would he give it to him so easily?
With suspicion, Zhou Chen walked into the house and opened the package. In addition to clothes, there were indeed two items.
One is an incense burner and the other is a pen holder.
Zhou Chen picked up these two things and looked at them carefully. They seemed to be old, but he couldn't tell when they were made or what was special about them.
"Han Chunming, this guy, shouldn't be able to play tricks on me. These two things should be old items."
After studying for a while, he couldn't figure out the reason, so Zhou Chen stopped taking care of it. He didn't even enter the door, so it would be useless to look at it for a long time.
Han Chunming came back in a hurry after nine o'clock in the evening. When he saw Zhou Chen, he smiled and asked, "Zhou Chen, how do you like my two things?"
"You know what you're asking. I haven't even entered your industry yet. Let me take a look. What can I see?"
"Tell me everything you can tell, such as what period they are from, whether they are genuine or fake. Let me tell you the truth, one of these two things is real, and the other is a handicraft."
"oh?"
Now Zhou Chen became interested. Just now, he thought that these two things were old and must be genuine.
But since Han Chunming said it, it was definitely not to amuse him, so he started to look at the two items carefully again.
After a long while, he shook his head and said: "To be honest, I don't have any clue. If I had to choose, I think this incense burner must be a few years old, and the marks on it don't look like they were put on deliberately.
Yes, on the contrary, this pen holder looks shabby, but it just feels a bit out of place."
In fact, Zhou Chen was not sure of his own opinion. He just said what he saw and could not guarantee whether it was right or wrong.
At this time, Han Chunming stared at Zhou Chen in astonishment, his eyes full of suspicion.
"Zhou Chen, do you really not understand, or are you just pretending to me?"
Zhou Chen's eyes lit up when he heard this and asked: "You mean, I guessed it right?"
"Yes, you are right."
Han Chunming nodded, and then said: "The incense burner is indeed real, but the pen holder is fake, so I wonder if you are making fun of me."
When he heard that he guessed correctly, Zhou Chen showed a smile.
"You have already told me the result. It is just a probability of choosing one of the two. It is normal for me to guess correctly. Although I am an amateur, I also know that in this business, relying on guessing will not work at all."
Han Chunming asked in surprise: "Zhou Chen, are you really ready to join our industry? I don't know what the situation will be like in the future."
"No, it's starting to become clear."
Zhou Chen's expression became serious: "Our country has slowly recovered. It will not be long before it becomes strong and prosperous, and then we will usher in a prosperous age."
"Gold in troubled times, antiques in prosperous times, this sentence should be very clear to those of you who are in this industry. Believe what I say today, it will not be long before the value of these things will skyrocket, so take advantage of this period
, it will never go wrong to have more treasures with you."
Han Chunming was stunned when Zhou Chen said that his original intention of collecting antiques was not to make money and get rich, but because he really liked it.
To put it more noblely, it is a kind of inheritance of the Chinese people. It was Mr. Guan before him, and he inherited Mr. Guan.
What surprised him was why Zhou Chen was so determined, even as a layman, he started to persuade him, an expert.
"Zhou Chen, why are you so sure that it will be a prosperous age soon and antiques will be valuable?"
Zhou Chen patted him on the shoulder and gave him advice: "Read more, read more newspapers, listen to more history, and learn more."
"What's this mess?"
"Forget it, no matter how much you talk to someone like you who is unwilling to learn, it's useless. You just need to remember what I say."
"Hey, I don't even have to listen to you, I was just collecting these."
"Let's not talk about this anymore. You'd better tell me about this incense burner and pen holder. What are their origins and how to distinguish the true from the false."
Speaking of this, Han Chunming no longer felt sleepy. He sat next to Zhou Chen, picked up the incense burner, and began to explain.
"The incense burner has a long history in our country. It is an indispensable instrument in our country's traditional folk customs, religions, and sacrificial activities..."
Although Han Chunming is not good at studying, he is still very proficient in history as long as it has anything to do with antiques, especially famous quotes from ancient literature, and he can speak them one after another.
Zhou Chen listened patiently to what he said, okay, this lasted for more than ten minutes, all of which were introducing the origin of the incense burner, and then he talked about the shape, model, etc.
Anyway, in the end, if you want to distinguish between true and false, you must understand the structure of the incense burner. Incense burners in different periods also have different appearances, and you must compare them with history to distinguish them.
Then he told Zhou Chen some things that were easier to identify. Although Zhou Chen had only a partial understanding of what he heard, he also learned something useful.
After talking about the incense burner, Han Chunming talked about the pen holder again...
One of them talked and the other listened until about twelve o'clock, then they went back to their rooms to sleep.
Han Chunming did not stay with Zhou Chen for long. He left after three days. However, although he left, he did not take the incense burner with him.
He said that he would stay here with Zhou Chen, let Zhou Chen play with him for a while and then return it to him, which would be treated as accommodation fee.
In response, Zhou Chen just smiled and did not refuse. He was indeed quite interested in this humble incense burner.
After that, Han Chunming didn't come back for a long time, until one day, Han Chunming hurried over and told him that he had found a job and was working in a bakery called Yili.
Upon hearing the news, Zhou Chen knew that the plot under the Zhengyang Sect had officially begun.