Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 109 Face-to-face Report
Upon hearing Chen Fan's words, Captain Yang burst into laughter, "Hahaha, so there are things you don't know!"

He can cook, speak Mandarin, repair radios, and even write articles. This morning, when the dike was being breached, the villagers were all discussing what else Chen Fan couldn't do.

Well, now Captain Yang knows he can't drive a mule cart!

Chen Fan didn't take it to heart and chuckled, "There are many things I don't know. I just happen to know a few things. When it comes to farming skills, I'm not as good as our commune members."

Captain Yang patted his thigh and smiled at him, "Putting everything else aside, your attitude is very good, unlike some young people who think they're the most important person in the world and act all high and mighty with their little skills."

Chen Fan chuckled and didn't respond to that.

If you accidentally offend someone, who knows if they'll shut themselves in and curse you?

Captain Yang didn't say much, then changed the subject, "Is today's Yunhu Daily at the brigade headquarters?"

That postman is such a jerk! He didn't even bring a newspaper when he delivered the good news. Do you think I'd shortchange him by 5 cents?!
These days, there are no newspapers that cost more than a dime. At most, they cost eight cents a copy. As a local newspaper, Yunhu Daily was priced the same as most newspapers, at five cents a copy. Who couldn't afford five cents?

Chen Fan immediately understood what he meant and laughed, "The Yunhu Daily was delivered to the brigade headquarters this morning. The newspaper with our report was put in a large frame by Captain Xiao and hung in the brigade office."

Upon hearing this, Captain Yang's eyes flickered slightly, and then he said seriously, "Well, Xiao Chen, if you have something to do, go ahead and do it. Today, our 6th team has finished all the dike work, and I need to go to the brigade headquarters to report it."

The youngest son, Yang Jun, who was standing nearby, was too ignorant to understand. Upon hearing this, he shouted, "Dad, didn't you just call to report it?"

Captain Yang's face darkened, and he felt an itch in the soles of his feet; he wouldn't feel better unless he kicked someone.

Chen Fan quickly said, "A phone call can't compare to a face-to-face report. I just heard Captain Xiao say that he's going to invite the water conservancy institute's technicians to come for inspection this afternoon. Captain, you should go over there quickly and give a clear report so that the inspection can be done easily."

Captain Yang immediately stood up. "Oh, the inspection is this afternoon? I have to go right away. I'm off then. Go find Old Liu who's in charge of the livestock, no problem."

Chen Fan stood at his door, waving at the disappearing figure, and murmured, "Actually, Captain, you could have gone faster on horseback."

After saying goodbye to Aunt Yang and Yang Ju, Chen Fan continued walking amidst greetings along the way, and soon arrived at the livestock shed at the village entrance.

He had been here twice before, but each time he only circled around the entrance and never went inside.

Now that you're inside, you realize that although the place looks quite large, there aren't many livestock.

There are two rows of houses facing each other, running north-south, one facing east and the other facing west, with a passageway in the middle for ventilation. Both rows of houses are made of earthen walls, and the inner walls facing each other are only one meter high, so you can see inside at a glance.

The pigsty to the west is only a dozen meters long, but there are only three pigs lying inside, and they don't even squeal when they see people.

The buildings to the east are "apartments".

One mule, one donkey, and two cows, all in single sheds, these animals were the main assets of Team 6.

Unfortunately, I have to rush to Team 10 to pick up the goods now, and I have to go back to work in the afternoon, otherwise I would have chatted with these four guys for at least two yuan.

As Chen Fan continued walking, he saw large farm implements such as plows, harrows, carts, stone rollers, windmills, mixing buckets, and threshing machines.

Looking around again, Chen Fan shouted, "Master Liu, Master Liu?"

Captain Yang said that Old Liu was in charge of this place, but he didn't say whether it was Grandpa Liu, Uncle Liu, or Brother Liu. In this situation, calling him Master is definitely the right thing to do.

After calling out twice, a loud voice came from the innermost corner, "Who is it?"

It was only then that Chen Fan realized there was a small "duty room" inside.

That's right, this is where the production team's important property is located, it wouldn't be right not to arrange for someone to guard it.

Chen Fan quickly called out, "It's me, Chen Fan." As soon as he finished speaking, he saw an old man with gray hair come out, squinted at Chen Fan, and laughed, "Oh, it's Master Chen."

Chen Fan quickly replied, "You're too kind, just call me Xiao Chen."

Master Liu readily agreed, "Okay, I'll call you Xiao Chen. You didn't go to work today, what brings you here?"

Chen Fan smiled and said, "I asked Captain Yang for a handcart, and he told me to come find you."

Master Liu said, "You want to borrow a cart? Here, let me get it for you."

They then headed towards the place where large farm implements were stored.

Despite the old man's almost completely white hair, he was surprisingly strong. He pushed open the wooden gate, pulled out a cart, and then asked, "Do I still need to register? How long will I use it, and when will I return it?"

Chen Fan: "I'm going to Team 10 to pick up some things, and I'll return them around 2 PM."

Master Liu nodded, then looked up and asked, "Want to haul things? Do you need a mule?"

Chen Fan was on the verge of tears, "I won't rush you."

Master Liu clicked his tongue and said, "Oh, then there's nothing I can do. I have to work my shift and can't help you catch the bus."

Chen Fan slung the rope of the cart over his shoulder, turned around and smiled, "I can do it myself, you can rest."

Master Liu waved his hand, his face beaming with joy, "Alright, alright, take it easy."

He paused for a moment, then called out, "Wait a couple of days until we go to the market. I'll teach you how to drive a carriage on the way."

Chen Fan turned back again, "Thank you very much!"

He waved again before pulling the cart away.

Back at the educated youth settlement, Jiang Lili had already prepared lunch.

The dishes consisted of a bowl of pickled vegetables, a bowl of kimchi, and half a bowl of leftover fish from yesterday.

Adding half a bowl more water to the braised fish, the extra fish soup freezes in the low winter temperature and solidifies into a jelly-like fish jelly.

In the Yunhu area, fish jelly is one of the children's favorite dishes in winter.

Although Chen Fan is not a child, he also loves to eat.

First, take a bite of the fish jelly and put it in your mouth to experience its icy and bouncy texture. Then, place a piece on top of the piping hot rice. The fish jelly will immediately melt into fish soup, soaking the rice.

Chen Fan took a bite of rice soaked in soup and said to Jiang Lili, "I can go by myself later. Anyway, there's a cart. Just load everything onto the cart and one person can pull it."

Jiang Lili paused for a moment, glanced at him, and said cautiously, "How about I go with you? There's so much stuff, it'll be easier for two people to handle it."

Chen Fan initially wanted to refuse, mainly because he was afraid of troubling her, since a round trip would take three or four hours, and it would be quite tiring for her, a girl, to walk like that.

But when he saw the hopeful look in Jiang Lili's eyes, he swallowed the words he was about to say and then smiled and said, "I'd love for someone to help me. If you're not afraid of getting tired, then come along."

Jiang Lili immediately beamed with joy, "Not tired at all."

Chen Fan assumed she just wanted to go out for a walk and get some fresh air, so he smiled and said, "It's good that you're not afraid of getting tired. Hurry up and eat, then we'll set off."

(End of this chapter)