Chapter 29: Space is Too Unnatural!
But this is good too. Chen Li’s troubles have followed, so she won’t have as much time to bother her, right?
After school in the afternoon, Nie Qiu took her hundred yuan and went to the market. Before, she had heard classmates complain that the New Year’s money given by relatives would be taken away by their parents. But when she dutifully handed the money to Nie Aifang, Nie Aifang refused, saying only that it was money from her uncle, so it was hers.
Nie Qiu also had things she wanted to buy, so she accepted it without refusing. This was not the supermarket she used to frequent, but a large commoner’s market. Vegetables didn’t need plastic wrap; they were brought by farmers and displayed on stalls. Meat didn’t need to be frozen; it was chopped by the butcher. Small trinkets weren’t designed by famous people, and you could buy very pretty ones for one or two yuan. There were also vendors with two clothes hangers beside them, covered with clothes. The quality wasn’t great, but the styles followed the current trends. There were also shoes and other things sold on the ground.
Of course, these were all roadside stalls. There were also shopfronts along the road, but the things sold inside were much more expensive than those outside. Nie Qiu also saw many shopfronts advertising hair washing and massage. The women sitting inside were mostly dressed provocatively, so she knew these were not good establishments.
The market was very crowded because it was the peak time for school and work to end. Nie Qiu found a book rental stall and smiled as she squatted down. She knew these books were pirated, and Nie Qiu was quite against piracy. However, given her current financial situation, to be honest, being able to read pirated books was already quite good.
There were many books laid out on the ground, including comics, novels, philosophy, history, and some reference books. Of course, there were also some adult books, like 《Jin Ping Mei》. However, judging by the condition of the comics and novels, Nie Qiu knew that comics and novels were the most popular on this book stall. Most of the people squatting to read books were children, engrossed in reading comic books. There were also a few young people standing there, holding a few books and bargaining with the middle-aged stall owner who was reading.
Nie Qiu squatted beside the stall, her eyes constantly searching. Then, upon seeing 《Sophie’s World》, she stopped. After finishing a philosophy book, 《Sophie’s World》, Nie Qiu took a deep breath and slowly closed the book.
The middle-aged stall owner, who was talking to a few young people, looked at Nie Qiu. “Young lady, you’ve finished reading?”
Nie Qiu nodded in confusion. “I’ve finished! What’s wrong?”
“You understood it all?” Seeing Nie Qiu nod, the middle-aged man was even more surprised. He asked in English, “This is an original book. You understand it?”
Nie Qiu smiled and nodded, naturally replying in English, “Of course I understand it. If I didn’t, why would I read it? This book is missing thirteen pages in total. On the tenth page, the eighth line has a tense error, and on the forty-eighth page, the twenty-sixth line has a word choice error.”
The middle-aged stall owner was stunned. Missing pages are a problem that can occur with any pirated book. Word choice errors are absolutely impossible because pirated books are printed using legitimate books as templates. However, being able to understand an original book is quite good for a young girl. He smiled and asked, “Do you want to buy this book?”
In fact, very few people read original books. Most people choose to read translated books. For example, 《The Bible》, as the best-selling book in the world, has too many language versions. After he read this book, he put it aside. Few people would flip through it. In fact, it’s still eighty percent new.
Nie Qiu shook her head. It’s enough to read a book once or twice; there’s no need to buy it and enshrine it at home. Her purpose was to buy some reference books, not philosophy books. Even pirated, this book would be very expensive.
The middle-aged stall owner sighed with some disappointment. “Young lady, I see you can understand this book. How about this! I’ll sell it to you cheaply, okay?”
Nie Qiu shook her head. “It’s useless to me if I buy it, so why should I buy it?”
The stall owner was speechless and suddenly had nothing to say. The young people who had been bargaining with the stall owner earlier all squatted down to pick out used books from the stall, either renting or buying. In fact, most of them wanted to ask Nie Qiu for some tips on learning English. In their opinion, this ordinary girl in front of them, not to mention whether she grew up abroad, should at least be an English expert. Otherwise, how could a child of this age speak such fluent English? Her speech sounded just like a foreigner.
Indeed, at such a young age, probably only fourteen or fifteen years old, so young, she should only be in junior high school. For junior high school English, I believe most Chinese people know that even the most talented students can only read textbook passages and write compositions. To be able to converse fluently in English with others, with standard pronunciation, and to be able to finish an original book, no matter how you look at it, it seems… amazing.
Nie Qiu continued to look at the books on the stall. Amidst the stall owner’s regretful sighs, she read one book after another. People by the book stall came and went, a new batch replacing the old.
“Little sister, can you help me improve my English? This is very important to me. Please.” A university student looked at Nie Qiu and said sincerely.
Nie Qiu looked at the sky; it was already very late. If she didn’t go home soon, Nie Aifang would worry again. She had injured her head the day before yesterday, and Nie Aifang knew Nie Qiu wouldn’t come home late. She didn’t want Nie Aifang to be uneasy. She casually picked up the books she had already chosen and stood up.
Seeing Nie Qiu’s lack of reaction, the university student said again, “This year’s CET-4 exam is really important to me. I must pass. I’ll pay you, please.”
Pay? A spark flashed in Nie Qiu’s eyes. She looked up at the university student with a ponytail, who looked very refreshing. “I only have time on weekends.” Every morning she wakes up is for school, and when she gets home from school, she has to make dumplings and go to the night market to buy things. Honestly, her time is very tight.
“Weekends are fine! Weekends are fine!” No matter how she looked at it, she felt this person must be very capable. Perhaps… perhaps this seemingly unremarkable little girl really grew up abroad? Someone once said that learning requires an environment. If she spent time with this girl, would her English also improve?
“Is CET-4 really that important to you?” Nie Qiu paid the deposit and rental fee, putting a physics reference book into her schoolbag.
