Siheyuan Great Craftsmen

After thinking for a moment, the workshop director said to Zhou Tian solemnly: "Master Zhou, I should be pleased that you can make such a request. After all, the desire to learn more skills is an enterprising spirit that is worthy of praise. However..."

After a pause, he frowned and continued, "You must understand that the depth and breadth of the locksmith's skills are enough for a person to explore throughout his life. Now you have just been promoted to a master by the factory director, which is an important starting point. However, there are also differences between master masters. In my opinion, you should seize the opportunity to further cultivate the locksmith's skills instead of distracting yourself from learning other skills. What do you think about this?"

In his opinion, Zhou Tian's talent in benchwork is extremely outstanding, and he should continue to focus on improving his skills rather than distracting his attention to learning other skills. And what he values ​​most is Zhou Tian's talent and potential in benchwork.

After all, he was able to advance from an apprentice to a master in just one and a half years. If he is given another two or three years, his skills will surely reach a higher level. Having a skilled master is enough for the entire workshop to achieve significant breakthroughs in the field of processing. And if he can reach the grandmaster level, his contribution to the workshop and even the entire factory will be even greater.

This will be of great benefit to both him and Zhou Tian.

However, if Zhou Tian was distracted to learn other skills, it would not only affect his further improvement in benchwork skills, but he might even be poached by other workshops, which he did not want to see.

Hearing this, Zhou Tian looked at the workshop director with deep eyes, then lowered his head and said sincerely: "Director, you are right, I didn't think it through."

After saying that, he turned and left the office.

After leaving the office, he sighed softly, as if he had understood the intention of the workshop director. Originally, he thought that he would get more support and attention from the director after being promoted to master. However, the reality made him realize that for the workshop director, his concentration and improvement in benchwork skills were the most important.

Perhaps the workshop director had high hopes for him in benchwork skills. But he was reserved about his idea of ​​learning other skills. Perhaps in his opinion, learning other skills was a waste of his time, and he hoped that he could invest his limited energy in areas that could better bring out his talents and potential.

Although he could understand the director's ideas, it did not mean that Zhou Tian agreed.

After all, the workshop director didn't know that he was cheating.

"Maybe I should learn some other skills through books!"

Since the director disagrees, he can only take another path.

After work, Zhou Tian did not go home directly. He first went to find Master Wang in the front yard and asked him to tell his family. After leaving the factory, he took a bus and came to the second-hand bookstore in Anton Market.

In addition to the "two temples and one factory", namely Longfu Temple, Baoguo Temple, and Liulichang, the second-hand bookstores in the old city also include the "two east and west markets", Dong'an Market and Xidan Department Store.

Among them, Dong'an bookstores began to flourish in the 20s. Most bookstores are concentrated in Dangui Department Store, Guiming Department Store, Zhonghua Department Store and Changguan Tower, and most book stalls are concentrated in Xijiadao Erdao Street and Nanhuayuan. Stores are connected to each other, and they sell ancient books, new books, foreign books, textbooks, newspapers, magazines, calligraphy and songbooks.

The earlier and more famous bookstores include Ruiwenzhai, Duowenzhai, Zhongyuan Bookstore, Xinzhi Bookstore and other used bookstores. From 1935 to the July Incident, dozens of bookstores and bookstores opened one after another. Even during the Japanese puppet regime, there were still to bookstores struggling to survive.

When he arrived at the Anton Used Bookstore, he was surprised by the crowds of people coming and going.

The bookstore was bustling with people, and the stalls were filled with all kinds of books, from ancient rare books to foreign literature, from professional books to popular novels.

Zhou Tian shuttled between the stalls, scanning the bookshelves, looking for books he was interested in. He was not in a hurry to buy, but patiently flipped through each book, carefully savoring the content.

"Master Zhou, you are here to buy books too!"

Suddenly, a familiar voice sounded in his ears. Zhou Tian looked up and saw a man in a blue work suit standing not far away, smiling and greeting him.

The man was Zhou Tian's colleague in the workshop, named Li Qiang. The two had a good relationship and often discussed locksmithing skills together.

"Yes, Brother Li, are you here to buy books too?" Zhou Tian responded with a smile.

Li Qiang nodded, walked to Zhou Tian, ​​pointed to a stall not far away and said, "I saw a few books on benchwork over there, and I plan to take a look. Master Zhou, do you want to come with me?"

Zhou Tian was moved when he heard this. He originally just wanted to find some books in other fields to broaden his horizons, but since Li Qiang mentioned books on benchwork, he also wanted to take a look.

So, the two of them walked to the stall together. There were several books on benchwork skills on the stall. Zhou Tian picked up one and flipped through it. He found that the content was quite detailed and had a certain reference value for him.

He thought about it and decided to buy the book. After all, for a master fitter, it is very important to keep learning and improving his skills. Then he found several reference books on electrical engineering and mechanical design on the bookstall, and his face lit up with joy.

"Master, how much do these books cost?"

The stall owner looked at the reference books Zhou Tian asked about and said, "30,000 yuan for each book. How many do you want to buy?"

"Thirty thousand?"

Zhou Tian couldn't help but take a breath of cold air.

This price was far beyond his expectations. He couldn't help but frowned, feeling a little hesitant. These books were indeed helpful to his work, but the price was so high that it was a little hard for him to bear.

Just as Zhou Tian was lost in thought, Li Qiang came over, patted him on the shoulder and asked, "What's wrong, Master Zhou? Is there anything wrong with these books?"

Zhou Tian sighed and told Li Qiang the price of the book. Li Qiang frowned after hearing it, and it was obvious that he also felt that the price was a bit outrageous.

"This price is indeed a bit high." Li Qiang said, "Why don't we go to other stalls and have a look? Maybe we can find a more suitable one."

Zhou Tian nodded. Although he felt a little unwilling, he knew that now was not the time to make an impulse purchase. Even though he had money, he did not want to be taken advantage of. He and Li Qiang left the stall together and continued to look for suitable books in other stalls.

After a round of browsing, Zhou Tian and Li Qiang did not find more suitable books. They could not help but feel a little disappointed, but they did not give up. After all, searching for books is a kind of fun and a learning process.

Just then, they passed by an inconspicuous corner stall, where the stall owner was sorting books. Zhou Tian glanced at it inadvertently and suddenly found a book on benchwork among them. The cover looked a bit old, but the title of the book caught his eye.

He hurried over, picked up the book and looked at it carefully. Although the book was a little worn, the content was very detailed and there were many practical skills and experiences to share.

"How much is this book?" Zhou Tian asked the stall owner.

The stall owner looked up at him and said casually, "This book costs twenty-five thousand."

Although the price was still not cheap, it was much cheaper than the previous books. Zhou Tian had an idea and decided to buy the book.

When he took out his wallet and prepared to pay, Li Qiang suddenly said, "Master Zhou, wait a minute."

He walked up to the stall owner, pointed at the book and said, "Can this book be cheaper? We really want to buy it. And if you can make it cheaper, maybe we will buy a few more copies!"

The stall owner looked at the two of them and seemed a little hesitant. But in the end, he nodded and said, "Okay, I'll give you 20,000."

Zhou Tian and Li Qiang were overjoyed when they heard this, and hurriedly expressed their gratitude. Then they carefully selected a few books each and paid readily.

Holding these long-cherished books, Zhou Tian's heart was filled with satisfaction and joy. He knew that these books would become an important reference for his future study and work, and would also become a valuable asset for him to continuously improve his skills.

After paying the money, Zhou Tian and Li Qiang left the stall, said goodbye to each other, and took the bus home again.