Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 130 Duoduo Ball
Although cream cakes are delicious, they can get a bit cloying if you eat too many.

Chen Fan rubbed his stomach as he walked out of the kitchen, thinking that next time he could use less flour and not make the cake so big, as it would be too filling.

He went back to his room to check the alarm clock. There was still an hour before he had to go to work, so he took the clock out, disassembled it, and replaced the pendulum spring with a new one.

He then disassembled the hourly chime mechanism, wound it up, set the time to the small alarm clock, and the horse-head clock began to tick away.

Jiang Lili finished tidying up the kitchen and came over. Seeing the clock ticking, she couldn't help but exclaim with delight, "It's fixed?"

Chen Fan chuckled, "It's just a minor problem, we can just replace a part."

He then moved the clock into the cabinet and said to Jiang Lili, "This clock will stay here. Come here to check the time if you want. Don't let anyone know it's been fixed yet."

Jiang Lili looked at him with confusion, but didn't ask why. She just nodded and said, "Oh, I see."

Chen Fan closed the cabinet door and explained with a smile, "A clock is a mechanical structure, unlike electrical appliances such as a radio or a broadcasting machine. If too many people knew that I also knew about mechanics, I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to stop for a whole year."

There aren't many electronic products in rural areas, but there are plenty of "mechanical" items. For example, the cotton gin and oil press of Team 10 can be classified as such, as can the windmills of various teams, and the spinning machines and looms of some households.

However, tools like earthen plows, wooden rakes, and wooden seed drills fall under the category of carpenters and blacksmiths, and have almost nothing to do with machinery.

He knew he couldn't hide the clock for long, but that didn't matter. He'd deal with things one step at a time, starting with getting the vet issue sorted out.

When people arrive in an unfamiliar environment, they generally seek to establish themselves first before planning for future development.

He had previously passed on his turtle-making skills without hesitation and even offered to show off his electrical appliance repair skills, all in an effort to establish himself in the industry.

Looking at the situation now, he should be considered to have made a name for himself here. He can cook well, repair radios, and is good at speaking and writing. His first news article was published in Yunhu Daily. Everyone calls him "Master Chen" when they go out!
Now that we have established ourselves, the next step is naturally to "plan for development".

As for how much can be "developed," we'll see after we've done it.

If you don't do it, you'll be just like a data clerk or a communications officer, making a completely pointless contribution.

Jiang Lili just said today that a coordinator is worth 3650 work points a year. He took on these two positions, saving the production team so many work points!

Work points are secondary; what he wants is to be treated like a workhorse, toiling away all year round and getting nothing in return.

Upon hearing Chen Fan's words, Jiang Lili nodded without hesitation, "I won't tell anyone."

At the same time, he secretly made up his mind that as long as Chen Fan was not there, he would not touch that cabinet... no, he would not enter his room.

But how can I help him with housework if I don't go in?
Chen Fan patted the dust off his hands, looked up at the wires and light switches on the roof, and sighed regretfully, "It's a pity I couldn't buy any wires and sockets today, so I can't listen to the radio."

Electrical appliance repair is an open secret skill, so he's not afraid to bring out a radio.

But he didn't expect that even the supply and marketing cooperative in the commune was out of stock of electrical wires.

Although it was because a few days ago, when we were laying cables for several production teams, all the cables and related materials were moved away, but nothing was left behind, which is indeed a bit of a rip-off.

In order to save materials, the electrical wires in the educated youth settlement were all installed on the roof. Unless the wires inside the house were pulled down and the light bulbs and switches were moved to the far corner of the room, so that there would be extra wire, he could not even "connect" the wires.

But moving the power lines was a government-installed thing, and the educated youth settlement wasn't his home. He worried that doing so might violate some taboo, so he didn't dare to move them.

Well, the brigade headquarters isn't far from the supply and marketing cooperative anyway; it only takes about ten minutes to get there. I'll go check it out in a few days; there's no rush.

After putting his things away, he went next door to look at the chicks and puppies.

Seeing the listless little creatures in the two baskets, Jiang Lili exclaimed "Oh!" and her pretty face turned red. "I forgot to feed them!" she said, and hurriedly ran out to prepare food for the chicks and puppies.

Chen Fan turned his head to look at her back, chuckled twice, and then picked up the two puppies lying in the straw nest.

The two puppies were probably only a few days old. Their bodies were limp and their legs were weak. They seemed a little scared when he held them in his palm, and they kept whimpering.

Chen Fan held them in his arms. With a warm embrace, the two puppies immediately stopped barking and stared at him with their dark eyes, curiously observing him.

Both puppies are white with spots. One puppy's ears and eyes are covered by black spots, with only a white line connecting its face and back. The other puppy's entire head is pale yellow.

Chen Fan decided to use this characteristic to name the two of them.

The one with white stripes is called Xiaoqiang, and the one with yellow faces is called Wangcai!
Unfortunately, the puppies were too small to speak. Chen Fan whimpered for a long time, but they just stared at him with wide eyes, without responding at all, almost no different from the chicks in the basket.

Since the puppy couldn't talk, the chick couldn't either. Chen Fan tried to coax it for a long time but didn't gain any experience points, so he had to give up regretfully.

After a while, Jiang Lili came in carrying two small bowls. "I cooked some rice porridge for the puppy with hot water, and I made some broken rice for the chicken."

He then put the two bowls into the basket.

Chen Fan put the puppies back in the bowl. The two puppies put their heads into the bowl, stuck out their little tongues and licked the food twice, but then stopped moving and just whimpered.

Jiang Lili glanced at the chicks chirping and eating the broken rice, then looked at the puppy. "Why aren't they eating?"

Chen Fan's lips twitched slightly. "These two little ones haven't been weaned yet; they probably want to nurse."

Jiang Lili was stunned. "What should we do?"

Chen Fan thought for a moment, "Get some milk over here, mix a little into them, and after eating it for a couple of days, they'll get used to the taste of rice and it'll be fine."

Even though the temperature is low now, fresh milk can only be stored for about 5 days. We probably can't finish all that milk, so we'll share some with the puppy to help it get through these few days of transition.

Although Jiang Lili felt a little sorry for the milk, she felt even more sorry for the puppy, so she poured in a small half bowl of milk.

This time, the two puppies happily began to eat.

Chen Fan happily introduced them to Jiang Lili, "This one with the white stripe on its head is called Xiaoqiang, and this one with the yellow face is called Wangcai. What do you think of the names I came up with? Aren't they nice?"

Jiang Lili stared blankly at the confident Chen Fan, and could only remain silent.

Chen Fan looked at her. "Huh? Doesn't it sound good?"

Jiang Lili was extremely embarrassed and couldn't bring herself to say anything against her conscience.

Chen Fan said with a long face, "Then let me ask you to name it. What name would you choose?"

Jiang Lili immediately pointed to the white strip and said, "This puppy has white, black, and yellow fur, and even more colors, so we can call it Duoduo. This little puppy looks round and chubby, so we can call it Qiuqiu."

Duoduo? Qiuqiu?
Chen Fan's features scrunched up as he looked at the two little chubby little balls of flesh in the basket, thinking to himself that they weren't even as popular as Xiao Qiang and Wang Cai. Who didn't know how famous those two names were?!
However, seeing Jiang Lili's excited expression, he could only smirk.

Forget it, it's her birthday today, I won't argue with her, I'll just give her lots of love and support.

(End of this chapter)