Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 11 Poor and useless

"Completed water-carrying task, Constitution +0.1"

"Completed water-carrying task, Constitution +0.1"

"Completed water-carrying task, Constitution +0.1"

Aside from the first time he was given 0.5, the next three times he was given 0.1, which was really stingy. The good thing was that every time he added a little, he could give his body a sauna and relieve the pain in his shoulders. That's why he insisted on carrying 4 loads of water... which is about the same as Jiang Lili carrying 3 loads.

Chen Fan's current physical fitness level has reached 6.8, which is enough to barely withstand the pain of carrying water.

Unfortunately, after their collaboration, the water tank is now full, and the opportunity to complete the task is gone.

It would be great if we could add more strength points. Five strength points is really too low. It's not even as good as Jiang Lili's, who can pick up eight-tenths of the strength.

So as soon as Chen Fan put down the carrying pole, he said to Jiang Lili, "Is there any other work to do?"

At this moment, even the most ruthless face held no appeal for him. The other person was merely an NPC issuing quests, while he was simply a cold-blooded quest-farming machine!

Jiang Lili looked at him in surprise, "Aren't you tired?"

Chen Fan stretched his shoulders, revealing a set of white teeth. "Not bad."

Jiang Lili was now truly impressed with him.

She had seen several people who were too weak to carry water, but after carrying it once, they would collapse on the ground, unable to move, as if they were dying. Chen Fan, on the other hand, could only carry half a bucket of water each time, but he insisted on carrying it four times and could still ask to work afterward.

This spirit is truly something I should learn from!

Jiang Lili turned her head and looked around. "The yard has been swept, the tables and chairs in the house have been wiped, the water vat has been filled, you've washed the dishes, and I just cleaned the vegetable garden yesterday..."

She lowered her head, looking distressed. "I can't remember."

Chen Fan looked miserable. Why was there no work?

Oh well, you can't get fat in one bite. There's plenty of time. I'll reach the maximum level eventually.

Moreover, judging from today's progress, that day shouldn't be too far away.

After scooping up a ladle of water to wash his hands and face, Chen Fan realized that he didn't have a towel.

There were no towels, toothbrushes, washbasins, clothes, or anything else.

We were truly penniless!
Seeing Chen Fan's dejected expression as he held up his water-soaked hands, Jiang Lili glanced around and turned to go into her room.

A moment later, he came out and saw Chen Fan walking towards his room, so he quickly followed him and said, "Here, take this."

Chen Fan turned around and saw that she was holding two new towels, a toothbrush, and a packet of tooth powder.

Seeing that he wouldn't take it, Jiang Lili pushed it forward a little further, looking at him with apprehension in her eyes, "They're all new, never been used."

Chen Fan originally wanted to refuse. He had eaten her food earlier because he was really hungry, and he could return the rice to her when Captain Yang and the others brought it over. What was the point of accepting her things now?
Putting aside the cost of these things, based on his understanding of this era, all industrial products were precious. How could he accept her things when they were not related to him?
But when he saw the hopeful yet somewhat apprehensive look in Jiang Lili's eyes, and thought of Captain Yang's words, he hesitated for two seconds, then sighed inwardly, grinned, and said, "I really need these things, so I won't be polite. I'll pay you back when I earn some work points."

Jiang Lili finally smiled, nodded with her head down, and handed him the things.

Chen Fan reached out to take it, and just then, a voice came from the doorway, "What are you doing?"

Upon hearing the sound, Jiang Lili trembled violently, nearly dropping what she was holding, and lowered her head even further.

Chen Fan caught the items quickly, turned around, and said calmly, "Oh, Captain Yang is here." Then he held up the towel in his hand, "I don't have anything here, but Comrade Jiang Lili happens to have some unused towels and toothbrushes, so she lent them to me. I'll return the new ones to her later."

Captain Yang walked over carrying a bag. He glanced at Jiang Lili first, then at the things in Chen Fan's hands. His expression finally softened a lot. He even nodded to Jiang Lili and praised her in a nonchalant way, "Little Jiang took the initiative to help her comrade. Not bad."

Jiang Lili blushed, paused for several seconds, and then said in a mosquito-like voice, "It's what I should do."

Captain Yang ignored her and tilted his head at Chen Fan, saying, "Let's talk in your room."

After saying that, he went inside.

Chen Fan turned around and smiled at Jiang Lili before following her into the house.

Seeing Chen Fan enter the house, and with the courtyard empty, Jiang Lili turned around, covered her mouth and laughed happily, then walked briskly back to her room.

……

Captain Yang sat at the table, placed the bag in his hand on the table, took out his pipe and filled it with tobacco. When he saw Chen Fan enter with his things, he said with a half-smile, "You and Xiao Jiang get along quite well."

Chen Fan's face fell. He put the things on the table, poured water from a teacup, and said, "Oh dear, Captain, you don't know how long it's been since I last ate anything. This morning, right after you left, my stomach started growling loudly, and I was really feeling unwell. Then Jiang Lili came over to call me to eat, and I couldn't resist, so I went and ate."

He paused for a moment, then quickly added, "But I didn't eat for nothing. I washed the dishes and even carried several buckets of water later."

Captain Yang frowned. "Didn't the storekeeper, Huang, bring you rice?"

Chen Fan nodded quickly, "Yes, yes, but I had already finished eating when he brought it over. If you hadn't come, I was just about to return the rice to Jiang Lili."

He placed the teacup next to Captain Yang, then turned around to look for it. "Huh? Where's the rice?"

It wasn't on the bed, and when I bent down to look down, it wasn't under the bed either.

Captain Yang glanced at him and asked, "Didn't you put that rice there yourself?"

Chen Fan quickly straightened up. "I was just about to fetch water at the time, so I asked Jiang Lili to put it out for me. Oh, the storekeeper Huang was there too, so he knew."

Captain Yang tilted his head and pointed to the wooden cabinet against the wall, "Open the cabinet below and see if it's there."

Chen Fan quickly went over and found the cabinet next to the foot of the bed.

This is a four-door wooden cabinet, somewhat like a four-door refrigerator. The top two doors are longer, while the bottom door is a square, less than half the size of the top door.

He first pulled open the top shelf, which was a three-tiered cabinet, completely empty.

Captain Yang pursed his lips, "Next."

"Oh."

Chen Fan quickly squatted down, opened the cabinet door, and found a large, unpartitioned space inside, where the half-sack of white rice was placed.

Do they put the rice in the wardrobe?
With a strange expression, Chen Fan carried out the rice, placed it on the empty bed opposite, and spread it out for Captain Yang to see, "Look, white rice."

Captain Yang neither confirmed nor denied it, but nodded to indicate that he understood. He then opened the bag he had brought with him, which contained a small ceramic jar.

He then took a puff of his cigarette and said, "You just arrived and haven't ordered any side dishes. Here, take this. It's homemade and won't be on your tab."

Chen Fan immediately straightened his expression and bowed respectfully, "Thank you, Captain."

(End of this chapter)