The young man walked through the door of the Book Depository without much expectation, leaving everything in fate's hand.
But as soon as he stepped through the door--
"Huh?"
The young man was immediately taken aback. He could already sense that the place was different from before.
Before this, as soon as you enter the Book Depository, you would see ancient books and tomes being carelessly placed everywhere. Although they were all "properly kept", they simply gave off a messy and disorganized feel.
But now--
After stepping through the door, the first thing he saw was a large open space.
At the end of the open space, there was a long table with two people sitting behind it.
How should he describe it... The way the table was set up reminded the young man of the layout in the taverns and shops in the mundane world. The shopkeeper or cashier would usually stand behind a long table to collect payment and calculate the proceeds.
For the Book Depository to have a similar layout was really surprising to him.
The young man was still feeling puzzled when one of the people sitting behind the table, a fat guy, saw him enter. He immediately stood up and greeted somewhat hastily, "Welcome~~"
Ah?
The young man looked at the fat guy with some confusion.
From the clothing, he recognized that the fatty should be a servant disciple.
He was just a little perplexed by the oddly pitched "Welcome~~", wondering if it was a dialect from a certain part of the mundane world. It sounded so strange.
But the young man had no reason to be wary of a servant disciple. He went straight to the table and asked, "When did the Book Depository become the way it is now?"
The fatty was Wu Fulai, and his "Welcome~~" was the result of Chen Shaojie's training.
Wu Fulai had familiarized himself with the greeting through repeated practice, but shouting it out loud for the first time just now, he still felt a little embarrassed. The tone was simply too strange.
As soon as Wu Fulai saw the young man who came through the door, he knew that the young man must be a formal sect disciple. He did not dare to slack off and said in a serious manner, "It's like this, Brother. A month ago, Master Qing Zhu saw that the Book Depository was in utter disarray, so he instructed us to reorganize the place. We spent more than a month to turn the Book Depository into what it is today."
This was also something that Chen Shaojie had asked Wu Fulai to say.
Not only had the environment of the Book Depository changed greatly, the method of management had also changed. It was now operating completely according to the method used in the libraries on Earth.
In case some of the people who came to borrow books were unwilling to comply with the new rules of the Book Depository, Chen Shaojie had specially instructed Wu Fulai to mention Grandmaster Qing Zhu whenever someone asked how the Book Depository became the way it was now. They would fly his name as a banner.
This should be able to suppress the "troublemakers". No one would dare disobey the new rules of the Book Depository.
Sure enough--
Hearing Wu Fulai reply, the young man instantly nodded. "So it's the work of Grandmaster Qing Zhu. No wonder there's such a big change."
While saying that, the young man surveyed the bookshelves inside the Book Depository. The books on the shelves were neatly arranged, a far cry from the situation in the past.
Wu Fulai asked, "Are you here to borrow books or to read, Senior Brother?"
"Huh?"
The young man was a little puzzled by Wu Fulai's question. He asked curiously, "Is there...a difference?"
Wu Fulai nodded and answered according to the prepared explanation. "The Book Depository is no longer the same as before, Brother. If you only want to read books, feel free to do so. But if you want to borrow books, you must go through the relevant procedures. We do not freely lend out books anymore."
Wu Fulai's attitude was polite, and he had even used Grandmaster Qing Zhu's name, so the young man did not display any impatience. "Is that so? What procedures do I need to go through to borrow books?" he patiently asked.
Wu Fulai answered, "To borrow books, you must first pay ten merit points as a deposit to apply for a library card. You can then use the card to borrow any book in the Book Depository for a month. If you fail to return the book after the deadline, we will confiscate one merit point from your deposit each day until the deposit is depleted."
"Ten merit points?"
As soon as he heard that he had to pay merit points, the young man's eyebrows immediately went up.
However, after he heard Wu Fulai's full explanation, he quickly asked to confirm, "If the ten merit points are a deposit, does that mean they're refundable?"
"That's right!" Wu Fulai nodded. "When the library card is canceled, the deposit will be refunded."
After a pause, Wu Fulai explained like Chen Shaojie taught him, "The reason for the deposit of ten merit points is to prevent people from damaging, losing, or not returning the books after taking them out."
"I see!"
The young man understood now.
Although the ten merit points were refundable, he was not willing to spend his hard-earned merit points simply after listening to the words of a servant disciple.
After contemplating a little, he asked, "So that means I'm free to find and read any book in the Book Depository, right?"
"That's right."
Wu Fulai nodded and added thoughtfully, "What kind of books are you looking for, Brother? If you want, I can help you find them. We've just finished organizing the books in the depository to make them easier to find."
The young man pondered for a moment and decided that there was no need to keep it a secret. He told Wu Fulai, "That's great. Please help me find books containing the map or local chronicles of Xiling Mountain."
"Map or local chronicles of Xiling Mountain?"
Wu Fulai thought for a bit, then said to the young man, "Come with me, Brother. I'll help you look for them."
Wu Fulai's thoughtfulness was also the result of Chen Shaojie's training.
Leading a first-time guest to tour the Book Depository and teaching them the way to search for books along the way was very helpful in retaining the guests.
Wu Fulai led the young man to a bookshelf in the geography section. He started searching according to the initial letters of Xiling Mountain. Not long afterwards, he actually did find two books about Xiling Mountain.
The young man flipped through them and found that there were indeed maps inside. He was surprised and overjoyed.
While he was flipping through the books, he could not help but examine the other books on the shelf too. He saw that most of the books on this shelf were books about geography, maps, and local chronicles. They were all arranged in an orderly manner.
'This will make the books easier to find... Who would have thought there's such a precious place here...'
The young man thought to himself. He felt that he was so lucky to be able to easily find what he wanted today.
When he recalled the fee of twenty merit points in the Scripture Depository, he could not help but be glad that he had not paid it, or he would definitely be lamenting it right now.
Seeing that the young man did not say anything, Wu Fulai asked politely, "Are you happy with the two books, Senior Brother?"
The young man was in a good mood. Even the chubby face of Wu Fulai seemed more friendly to him at the moment. He smiled and said, "Thank you for your help, Brother. These two books are exactly what I was looking for."
"That's great! There's no need for thanks, Brother."
Wu Fulai nodded and pointed to a small empty space that Chen Shaojie had previously asked the servant disciples to clear out. "There are tables and chairs there, Brother. You can sit there and take your time reading. After you're done, you can just leave the books on the table. We'll have someone sort them out and put them back. You don't need to bother yourself with that."
The young man turned to where Wu Fulai was pointing and saw that there were indeed tables and chairs there, obviously so that people could sit down and read. He sighed. An arrangement like this was really thoughtful.
"I see. Thank you, Brother."
"Don't mention it. I'll leave you to your books now. If you have any further need of me, you can find me at the front desk."
Wu Fulai then turned to leave.
The young man silently nodded his head. The Book Depository had become such a good place nowadays. It seemed like he would be coming here often in the future.
Oh, and spending ten merit points for that library card or something did not sound like a bad idea.