Library Management

This guy...

When did he climb up there?

Chen Shaojie looked at the tall bookshelf and could not help asking, "Who are you?"

The old man continued to sit on the bookshelf and looked at Chen Shaojie indifferently. "There's no need for you to know who I am, kid. But tell me, how are you going to give this Book Depository a brand new look in a month's time?"

An old man had suddenly appeared in the Book Depository and spoke with the haughty air of the superior. He must be a big shot in the sect and have a relatively high status.

'Ooh, a big shot. Maybe you can give me some help?' thought Chen Shaojie.

This was a good opportunity for Chen Shaojie to showcase his ability. He would certainly grab it.

"In my opinion, the solution is actually very easy...mmhh mmhh..."

But when he was just about to voice his opinion, a palm had suddenly and unexpectedly reached across his face to cover his mouth.

Another hand simultaneously grabbed his body so that he could not move.

And then...

He heard Wu Fulai say in an apologetic voice, "My Junior Brother loves to talk big, Elder. Please don't take it seriously."

"Loves to talk big? I see.."

The old man immediately lost interest. With a casual push of his leg, he launched himself up high without a sound and abruptly vanished without a trace like a freaking ninja.

F*cking hell...

Our dear protagonist who had his mouth covered was almost brought to tears.

No, Mr. Big Shot, don't go! Please listen to my detailed explanation....

But the big shot had already left to who-knows-where.

"Phew~~~"

Wu Fulai heaved a long sigh of relief before letting go of his hands and stepping away. He looked at Chen Shaojie with traces of panic still lingering on his face. "That was way too reckless, Brother Chen. Some things we can casually say among ourselves as a joke, but you can't say them in front of the sect elders! If you misspoke and angers him, you might be kicked out of the mountain, or maybe even lose your life!"

"X﹏X"

Seeing that Wu Fulai was sincerely worried for him, Chen Shaojie did not know what to say.

He wanted to beat the guy up, but when he recalled the force of Wu Fulai's grip when Wu Fulai held him back, he reconsidered.

In the end--

He could only let out a long sigh. He patted Wu Fulai's shoulder, said nothing, and continued to bury himself in work.

Seeing Chen Shaojie's response, Wu Fulai offered him words of comfort while also telling him how a servant disciple should be careful and vigilant at all times. He looked like he was ready to pass on the full extent of his successful experience to Chen Shaojie.

The two finished cleaning their own section and went to help other servant disciples. When the servant disciples finished cleaning the entire Book Depository, it was already evening.

Chen Shaojie only had two buns for lunch at noon. After an entire day's work, he was both hungry and tired.

he planned to go back and cook himself a large bowl of noodles with two extra eggs and also an extra cucumber in order to heal his stomach and his soul.

The servant disciples lined up and were about to board the steward's Flying Shuttle to go back when the green-robed old man Chen Shaojie saw in the depository before suddenly reappeared in front of all of them.

"Kid, come here for a moment."

The green-robed old man beckoned at Chen Shaojie.

Chen Shaojie was pleasantly surprised. He had not expected to encounter the big shot again so soon. He quickly went over. "Elder."

The green-robed old man's expression was still as calm as before as he said, "After thinking about it, I'd still like to hear your opinion. How are you going to give the Book Depository a new look within a month? Don't worry, it doesn't matter if your opinion is right or wrong. I'm not going to hold it against you."

Now that's the right attitude to seek advice...

Chen Shaojie thought smugly to himself, but he still kept up a respectful face. "It's like this, Elder. If I were to be the steward of the Book Depository..."

In his previous life on Earth, Chen Shaojie was a popular figure on the university campus.

He was young and rich (rich being the most important part). He could give a girl both romance and designer handbags. There was basically no girl he could not pick up.

And among all the colorful memories he had of that time, the most memorable one was his memory of a certain librarian.

He still remembered that the girl was called Gulnazar or something. Not only was she pretty, her well-proportioned body seemed to emanate a scholarly aura. Her vibe was simply out of this world.

In order to court her, Chen Shaojie put in a whole semester of effort. He would visit the library every day, trying all kinds of tactics and was undaunted by repeated setbacks.

When she was performing her duty at the library, he would also be there as free labor. When she got off work, he would insist to walk her back. Finally, thanks to his unyielding determination, he was successfully promoted from free labor to boyfriend and got to enjoy the sweet taste of love.

From his time spent holed up in the library, he managed to learn a lot of knowledge on library management from the girl, which had benefited him for life.

Be it in library management or in female librarians, Chen Shaojie could be considered something of an expert.

At the very least, he should have no problem dealing with the messy book collection in the Book Depository.

Chen Shaojie spoke eloquently in front of the green-robed old man, explaining several basic concepts of library management in layman terms.

For example, how they could categorize and catalog the books.

For example, how they could manage borrowing.

For example, how they could roughly organize and summarize book information, and retrieve it effectively...

These knowledge were the most basic concepts of library management on Earth, but to the old man in green robes, they were a whole new world.

However, the green-robed old man was obviously not an ordinary person. His mind ran deep. He listened very quietly to Chen Shaojie's words without the slightest change in expression.

If Chen Shaojie had not noticed that the old man was constantly rubbing his thumb and index finger together, he would have thought that he had not impressed the old man.

Chen Shaojie spoke for quite a while.

"There are still many things that I can't explain with words, Elder. You'll only see the effect after they're implemented."

Chen Shaojie felt that he should hold some things back, so he decided to stop there.

The green-robed old man pondered for a moment and nodded. "Good. You said some very interesting things, kid. But who knows if they're really useful."

After a slight pause, during which he looked Chen Shaojie up and down, he said, "Tell me, kid, how do you know these things?"

Chen Shaojie already had an excuse prepared. He made use of some of the original Chen Shaojie's life experiences. "My grandfather was originally employed in the government as a clerk, but when he was framed for a wrongdoing he did not commit, he returned to the countryside to farm. I was brought up by my grandfather, and he would occasionally teach me these things. That's how I learned them."

"I see."

The green-robed old man stroked his beard. "People really do specialize in many different things in this world. To think that a common scribe would have this kind of skill. Impressive!"

Isn't it about time you reward me, old man?...

When Chen Shaojie saw that the green-robed old man only stood there sighing after listening to his speech, he decided to advance by taking a step back.

He lowered his eyes and bowed. "If there's nothing else, Elder, I'll take my leave. Everyone's waiting for me."

The green-robed old man turned his head and saw that the group of servant disciples, along with the steward, was waiting respectfully. After thinking it over, he told the lower court steward, "Bring them here again tomorrow. I have some things for them to do."

"Yes, Grandmaster!"

The lower court steward hastily promised.

The green-robed old man nodded at Chen Shaojie and gently waved his moon sleeve. He immediately turned into a green ray that shot towards Qing Ming Peak, the head of the five mountains, disappearing in a flash.

Holy sh*t...

Although Chen Shaojie would see rays of light flying about in the sky from time to time from the foot of the mountain, to see a big shot like that fly away in close proximity was a first for him. He was a little shook.

"Not bad. You're lucky, kid. Grandmaster Qing Zhu has taken a liking to you."

The lower court steward shot a glance at Chen Shaojie before proclaiming to the group with a wave of his hand, "Time to leave. House A Class 2 will be returning here tomorrow."