Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 128 Having My Own Plans
After browsing the market and buying things, it was already 1 p.m., so Chen Fan and his companions prepared to head home.

The foal was still sick, so he moved the things he had just bought onto the mule cart and let the foal continue to lie on the cart.

After leaving the veterinary station, we went to the repair shop to pick up the swing spring and the copper belt buckle. Master Liu knew them, so he chatted with the two masters. The topic was naturally the foal on the cart.

After checking and putting away the items, Chen Fan noticed several small iron pots on the wooden shelf next to him and asked, "Master, are these for sale?"

Hearing Chen Fan's words, the blacksmith turned to look at him and said, "I made these myself. If you want to buy them, they're 10 yuan a piece, no coupon required."

Chen Fan had wanted to buy a small iron pot at the supply and marketing cooperative, but he didn't have any industrial coupons. Here, no coupons were needed, and the price was even lower than at the supply and marketing cooperative, so he bought two without hesitation.

A round-bottomed frying pan and a flat-bottomed soup pot similar to the inner pot of a rice cooker.

Master Liu looked at him strangely, "You bought a coal stove?"

Chen Fan shrugged, "Without industrial coupons, I can't buy a coal stove."

He then explained, "I plan to modify the earthen stove; I'll add two small openings and it will be ready to use."

At this moment, the blacksmith suddenly said, "If you want to buy a coal stove, I can make one for you, but the core and vermiculite are hard to find, so it will cost 20 yuan in total."

The core of the coal stove is made of a mixture of perlite powder and refractory clay, and the filling material in the middle is vermiculite. Both of these materials can retain heat and prevent the heat from burning coal from being dissipated through the stove body, so it is also called an energy-saving coal stove.

On the contrary, the outermost sheet metal is the simplest; a blacksmith can make it by hammering and forging, and there are no special requirements.

Faced with the blacksmith's kindness, Chen Fan chuckled and said, "Thanks, but I'm from the production team and don't have coal coupons, so even if I buy a coal stove, I won't be able to use it."

The blacksmith looked at him meaningfully and said with a faint smile, "Of course I know who you are, otherwise I wouldn't dare to sell you the iron pot. I don't sell this pot to just anyone. If you hadn't come with Master Liu, I wouldn't have dared to sell it to you no matter how high the price was. I don't have any coal here, but I have some charcoal. I can share some of it, which can also be used for the coal stove."

Chen Fan's eyes darted around, and he immediately understood where the charcoal came from. The repair shop had a special supply of charcoal every month. They lived off the land, so it was normal for them to have charcoal.

However, he hadn't actually considered buying a coal stove, but he didn't refuse outright either. He simply smiled and said, "I'll definitely come to you when I need one."

Today he learned how to fire a clay kiln, and he wants to go back and try making charcoal himself. If he succeeds, he won't need to buy any; if he fails, he can always come back later.

The blacksmith smiled slightly and said nothing more.

Chen Fan paid the money, loaded the two iron pots into the car, and then drove back with Jiang Lili and Master Liu.

……

When we got back to the educated youth settlement, we first unloaded our things in the yard, and then led the foal to the pigsty in the back.

Jiang Lili found two baskets, lined them with straw, put the two dogs in one basket, and used the other to hold the chicks. She placed both baskets in the room, and the chicks and dogs became neighbors. Then she busied herself tidying up other things.

After calming Xiao Ma down, Chen Fan and Master Liu drove the donkey cart back to the livestock shed.

Mules and donkeys are put into their pens, and carts are returned to their places.

Chen Fan then took out two packs of Peony cigarettes from his pocket, stuffed them into Master Liu's hand, and chuckled, "Master Liu, thank you for your hard work today..."

Before he could finish speaking, Master Liu shoved him back, saying sternly, "What are you doing? I'm just helping you move some things, and you're doing this. Put it away, put it away."

Chen Fan held his hand to stop him from moving and said with a smile, "Please let me finish what I have to say."

Master Liu glared at him and said, "Fine, go ahead and tell me. Let's see what you can come up with."

Chen Fan chuckled and said, "When I went out today, I said I would treat you to turtle meat, but now there isn't even any turtle soup. I can't let you go to all that trouble for nothing, can I?"

Master Liu chuckled, “That makes sense, but we need to follow proper procedures when doing business. If you give me two packs of economy cigarettes, I’ll accept them. These Peony cigarettes are too expensive, I can’t afford them.”

Chen Fan: "There's a second one." Master Liu looked at him. "Because of the foal?"

Chen Fan laughed and said, "It's those veterinary books. If it weren't for your influence, these good books wouldn't have ended up in my hands."

Master Liu laughed and said, "Even a good book needs someone who can understand it."

He paused for a moment, then said with a hint of exasperation, "I'm not trying to be mean, but you clearly have the talent, so why don't you want to be a veterinarian?"

Chen Fan tightened his grip on his hand and said in a low voice, "Master Liu, I have my own plans for this matter. You can just watch and see."

Upon hearing this, Master Liu was first startled, then his eyes filled with strangeness. What was this kid up to, acting so mysteriously?

Chen Fan concluded, "I have another favor to ask of you. You've been raising livestock for decades, so you're practically an expert in animal husbandry. You're also very familiar with how to deal with the minor problems these animals have. I'd like to ask you for your knowledge in this area sometime. Is that alright?"

This is also why he told Master Liu that he had other plans.

He still wanted to squeeze some money out of Master Liu.

Although he had a skill board, the progress of having someone guide him and learning on his own was vastly different. He had clearly rejected Master Liu's suggestion that he become a veterinarian, and if Master Liu came back asking him all sorts of questions, Master Liu would definitely ignore him. So he said this on purpose to put Master Liu's mind at ease.

Sure enough, when Master Liu heard his words, he immediately grinned and said, "Sure, why not? Even if you didn't tell me, I would still teach you how to raise horses properly. Otherwise, it would be a pity if you ruined such a good foal."

Only after this was said did Master Liu accept the two packs of cigarettes.

However, when Chen Fan left, he took out a bundle of hay from the hay shed next to him. "Take this back and feed the foal. It will be cold at night, so make sure to put more straw on it."

Chen Fan didn't refuse and carried the hay back.

Back at the educated youth settlement, Jiang Lili had already packed everything up. "The chicks and puppies are in the room next to yours, the stone mill is in that room, and the soybeans, high-gluten flour, and sugar are all in your room, on the bamboo bed where miscellaneous items are piled up."

The cured meat and fish have been put back in their original places. The meat was taken to the kitchen, but I didn't know where to put the buffalo milk, so I left it on the table in your room.

After a pause, she added, "You have to go to work later, so I'll get you something to eat."

He then headed towards the kitchen.

Chen Fan glanced at the time; it was just 1:30, with two hours to go. He waved his hand and smiled, "Wait a minute, I'll take care of this meal."

Jiang Lili looked at him in surprise, "Huh? You're going to do it?"

She blinked blankly, "You don't mean to cook those two pounds of meat right now, do you?"

She had only seen Chen Fan cook two or three times, but each time it was a big meal. Now that he was going to cook again, she wondered if he would make something fancy.

Chen Fan shook his head, "We won't make meat now, we'll talk about it tonight."

Then, in a mysterious tone, he said, "Go and pick some wild oranges for me; I need them."

Late-ripening orange varieties are still available after the first month of the lunar calendar. There are a few orange trees in the mixed grove behind the educated youth settlement. However, these orange varieties are not good. They are not only small, but also very sour. Even when they are fully ripe and fall to the ground, they are not sweet at all. They are the kind that even birds would not want.

When Chen Fan asked her to pick wild oranges, Jiang Lili was naturally very surprised. "What do you need those for?"

Chen Fan laughed and said, "Of course, it's about making delicious food."

Jiang Lili was even more confused. If she wanted a sour taste, she could use vinegar. That stuff is both sour and astringent, so what could it do?
But she couldn't resist Chen Fan's insistence and was urged to go to the back.

(End of this chapter)