Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 121 Gathering Materials

After a while, Jiang Lili returned first, with a few withered lotus leaves in her basket.

Chen Fan took two sheets of paper to cover the mouth of the jar, then took out a cotton rope from his bag and tied it tightly, so that the milk would not get dirty or spill.

Not long after, Zhang Wenliang arrived in his donkey cart.

Chen Fan picked up the foal and gently weighed it in his hand. Hey, this little guy is quite heavy, at least 6 or 70 pounds.

The little pony nestled obediently in Chen Fan's arms, remaining motionless.

After Zhang Wenliang pulled the straw mat onto the carriage, Chen Fan put the foal on it.

Accountant Liu chuckled from the side, "It's a rare sight to see someone who pulls a rickshaw riding in a car."

The people around chuckled softly, and seeing that everything was alright, they all continued strolling around.

The little pony lay on the cart, stretched out its head and licked Chen Fan's hand before obediently shrinking back and not moving.

Chen Fan put the milk jug back on the cart, said goodbye to Secretary Yang and the others, and then drove the donkey cart back.

Jiang Lili still carried the basket and followed beside the carriage.

Chen Fan looked at her and said, "You should put your basket up too."

Jiang Lili hesitated for a moment, then gently shook her head, "I'd rather not, I'm afraid the chicks will be frightened."

Chen Fan patted the pony's head and laughed, "Look how well-behaved it is, it won't scare the chicks."

Jiang Lili looked at the little horse that was resting its head on Chen Fan and couldn't help but ask, "Can it be saved?"

Chen Fan held the horse's head and said softly, "It probably has acute gastroenteritis. I'll see if Master Liu has a suitable prescription when he comes back later. If he does, then there's hope; if not..."

He looked down at the foal and said, "It's all up to luck now."

The little pony enjoyed Chen Fan's stroking, resting its head against him, and soon fell asleep.

Chen Fan's lips twitched slightly when he saw it, and then he looked at Jiang Lili and said, "Look, it's all asleep. You don't have to worry about scaring the chicks."

Jiang Lili smiled and carefully placed the bamboo basket on the cart.

Chen Fan didn't rush on his way, but told the donkey to slow down and to look at the stalls on both sides from time to time.

At that moment, he suddenly noticed that quite a few residents of the town had also come to set up stalls.

However, what they sell are secondhand goods: old clothes, old shoes, enamel basins, enamel mugs, and other old items that people don't want anymore are placed on the ground for others to choose from.

Chen Fan clearly saw the market administrator walk around them for a moment, then leave as if nothing had happened.

Clearly, in their eyes, these secondhand goods cannot be considered "industrial products".

Seeing that the administrators were ignoring it, the members all rushed over.

Chen Fan greeted Jiang Lili, drove the donkey cart to the side, and joined them.

He noticed that the villagers traded with the town's residents not with money, but by exchanging goods.

Soybeans, rice, sweet potatoes, potatoes, oil, eggs... these common farm items became the commodities for barter.

Eggs and rice are the most popular items, almost like hard currency. With these two items, you can pick whatever you want from any stall.

Without these two things, it would be a bit difficult to get something else.

An elderly man carrying a large bag of soybeans pleaded with the stall owner, saying, "I've picked out all these soybeans, I guarantee there are no moldy or worm-eaten ones. I just want to exchange them for this little outfit for my grandson to wear for the New Year."

The stall owner was also helpless. "Brother, I brought these secondhand goods out to set up a stall not because I have too much stuff that I don't need, but because my daughter-in-law just gave birth and is in her postpartum period. I wanted to exchange them for more eggs to help her recover. Giving me soybeans won't do any good. Even if you offer me money, I can buy eggs elsewhere. What would I do with soybeans?"

Hearing this from the side, Chen Fan knew his chance had come. He immediately leaned over and whispered, "Excuse me, sir, do you accept cash?" The stall owner nodded, "Yes."

Chen Fan then looked at the old man and asked, "Grandpa, do you only have soybeans?"

The old man nodded, "Only soybeans."

Chen Fan clapped his hands and said, "Why don't you sell me the soybeans and then use the money to buy his clothes?"

The two exchanged a glance and nodded in unison, "Okay."

Then, Chen Fan spent two yuan to buy most of the bag of soybeans, and the old man used the money to buy the little shirt. Everyone was happy.

After the old man left, Chen Fan approached the stall owner and asked, "Do you have any food coupons?"

The stall owner looked at him warily. "Tickets cannot be bought or sold casually."

Chen Fan grinned. "I just want to buy some flour, not much, just a few pounds. If you have any, I'll give you a 5-cent coupon per pound."

He had heard Jiang Lili say that occasionally residents from the town would come to the village to exchange grain coupons for eggs. One pound of grain coupons could be exchanged for one egg, and the egg was only worth three or four cents. He was paying five cents, which was considered a high price.

The stall owner hesitated for a moment, clearly tempted, but this was not like setting up a stall; if he got caught, he might have to use connections to get away with it.

Just as he was hesitating, his eyes suddenly lit up. "Oh, you're Master Chen, the one who sold turtles earlier, right?"

Chen Fan nodded and chuckled, "You've discovered it."

The stall owner immediately laughed and said, "If you had said you were Master Chen earlier, things would have been much easier."

Since he knew the truth about the matter, he wasn't afraid of being sued and immediately agreed.

He then looked around warily, pulled a stack of bills from his pocket, and asked, "How many kilograms do you want?"

Chen Fan, with his sharp eyes, immediately noticed the numerous tickets and certificates in his hand. "If you want to exchange them all, I'll take them all."

The stall owner stared at him in astonishment. Was this a rich man?
But thinking about how well the turtle stall had done, it seemed perfectly reasonable. They must have made at least tens of dollars selling turtles today, so why would they care about a little money?

数了数手里的票证，16斤细粮票、30斤粗粮票、1斤糖票、2斤油票，另外还有10尺布票，10盒烟票、2斤肉票、1块肥皂票、2斤煤油票、2两盐票、10盒火柴票、1斤豆腐票、20斤煤票。

Chen Fan didn't know which items were useful and which weren't, and since he couldn't easily ask Jiang Lili to come over, he bought them all for 5 yuan, making the stall owner grin from ear to ear.

Running back to the donkey cart, Chen Fan first took out the grain coupons and sugar coupons and put them aside separately, stuffed the other coupons into his pockets, then put the soybeans on the cart and continued driving away.

Seeing that he had bought more things, Jiang Lili couldn't help but ask curiously, "Why did you buy so many things?"

Chen Fan turned to look at her, grinned, and laughed, "I'm making something, and I'm gathering the materials. I'll go buy a few more things later, and then I'll have everything."

Jiang Lili couldn't help but ask curiously, "What are you making?"

Chen Fan shook his head and said smugly, "It's a secret for now. You'll find out when we get back."

Seeing that he didn't answer, Jiang Lili smiled and didn't press him further.

Chen Fan glanced back at Huang Dou and asked, "Do you know where I can buy a stone mill? I mean, the kind of small stone mill you use at home, not a big one."

Jiang Lili looked at him in surprise, but didn't ask any questions. She simply said, "There's a stone workshop at the beginning of Jianshe Road. They have the small stone mill you want there."

Chen Fan smiled and said, "Okay, I'll go buy a stone mill later."

The two talked as they walked, and soon returned to the place where they had set up their stall in Lujiawan.

After waiting a few more minutes, they saw Master Liu trotting over on a mule. He jumped down and handed Chen Fan a bundle, saying, "Here are all the books from the veterinary station. See if you can use them."

(End of this chapter)