Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 136 Ten-Year Bird

Chen Fan added a bundle of straw to cover the pony, and covered the baskets with straw mats to keep the chicks and puppies warm before returning to his room to wash up and rest.

The room was pitch black with the lights off, but lying in the warm blankets, listening to the howling north wind outside, I felt a sense of warmth and contentment.

He wondered if there would be a thick snowfall tomorrow, if there would be long icicles under the eaves, if the pond had frozen over, and if the branches of the trees in the yard would be bent over by the heavy snow...

Then I fell asleep.

When I opened my eyes again, the room was still pitch black, and there wasn't even a glimmer of light through the window.

However, through the crack in the door, one could see that some light was coming from outside.

The alarm clock hadn't gone off yet, so it wasn't even 6 o'clock, but he couldn't wait to get up.

Enduring the biting cold, she turned over and sat up, picked up the cotton-padded jacket that had been covering her with the quilt last night and put it on, then rustled as she put on her other clothes.

After getting out of bed and putting on my cloth shoes, I felt my feet were a bit cold. After thinking for a moment, I took out the cotton shoes that Jiang Lili had given me from the closet and put them on. They were indeed much warmer.

He wrapped himself up completely before opening the door.

The moment the door opened, all I saw was pure white.

A few snowflakes were still falling from the sky; it was unclear whether they would stop or start falling heavily again.

Snowflakes fell to the ground, accumulating into a thick layer of white snow, even flooding the corridor under the eaves, piling up directly at the corners of the walls. If it weren't for the threshold, the snow would have already reached inside the house.

In the distance, the yellow and green fir trees were covered with a layer of white snow, as were the tops of the courtyard walls, rooftops, and wood stacks... Everywhere you looked, it was a vast expanse of white.

Looking up, strings of icicles hung from the eaves, glistening and translucent, looking absolutely delicious.

Chen Fan glanced at the snow outside the door, then at his new shoes, and turned to look for his wooden clogs.

I tied the wooden clogs to my feet and tried walking a couple of steps. It felt a little strange, but it was alright, so I prepared to go out.

Then I heard the crunching sound of footsteps on snow outside.

Chen Fan walked to the door and ran into Jiang Lili who was coming to the door.

With a broad smile, she handed over a pair of oddly shaped shoes, saying, "Here, take these."

Chen Fan took the shoes, looked at them, then at her, and asked in surprise, "What is this?"

Jiang Lili covered her mouth and chuckled twice before saying, "I bet you've never seen it before. I didn't see it when I was in Yunhu either."

She paused for a moment before continuing, "These are reed shoes, made of straw and reed flowers. They are only available in the commune and are rarely seen in the county. People in the village wear these to get through the winter; they are very warm."

(Reed shoes)

She glanced at Chen Fan's new cotton shoes and couldn't help but smile sweetly. She then said, "If you wear these and then wear wooden clogs while traveling, you won't have to worry about getting your shoes wet. When you get to the brigade, you can change into cotton shoes. That way, your feet will be warm and won't get cold."

Chen Fan took the reed-patterned shoes from her hand, his eyes filled with amazement, "There are actually shoes like these?"

Looking at her feet, she was also wearing a pair of reed-patterned shoes, and like herself, she was wearing wooden clogs.

He couldn't help but exclaim, "The wisdom of ordinary people is boundless!"

After changing into reed-patterned shoes and putting his cotton shoes in his cloth bag, Chen Fan checked the foal, puppy, and chicks to make sure they were all safe and sound. After having breakfast, he put on his straw hat and raincoat and headed towards the brigade headquarters.

The road conditions are definitely not suitable for running today, so I can only wait until I get to the brigade headquarters to train for another ten minutes.

It was just past 6 o'clock, and it was still dark. The world was covered in ice and snow, and there was no one in sight. Everything was a vast expanse of white.

All the field ridges and ditches have disappeared, leaving only an undulating white cotton blanket on the ground.

If he had arrived half a month later, and instead time-traveled today, he would have instantly left without a doubt.

The absurd thought crossed Chen Fan's mind. He shook his head with a smile, reached out to fix the straw hat on his head, and, relying on his past impressions and the protruding parts of the road, determined the way and walked forward.

Wearing brand-new reed-patterned shoes and wooden clogs, he left π-shaped footprints in the snow. When he had walked halfway, reaching the "main road" of Lujiawan, he suddenly heard two birds calling.

An ordinary person would just think it's a bird foraging for food somewhere.

But to Chen Fan, it sounded like "Ouch, ouch!"

Chen Fan was stunned for a moment, then walked in the direction from which the sound came, but the sound suddenly disappeared.

He stopped under a poplar tree, looked up, but didn't find anything amiss. He searched the surrounding ground again, but still couldn't find anything.

After a couple of seconds of hesitation, Chen Fan chirped a few times, "If you don't come out soon, I'm leaving. If someone finds you, they'll catch you and take you back to eat, or you'll just freeze to death in this heavy snow."

After tilting my head and waiting for a while, I suddenly heard a "chirp, chirp" sound coming from above.

Looking up, I saw a small head peeking out from a clump of leaves.

Chen Fan looked at its curved beak and big, dark eyes, and inexplicably felt that it looked somewhat familiar.

Staring at each other, Chen Fan suddenly realized, "Isn't this the 'Ten-Year Bird'?!"
The Eurasian Hobby is a small bird of prey that feeds on small birds such as sparrows and tits, as well as insects. It is a migratory bird in the north and a resident bird south of the Yangtze River. Several years later, it was listed as a Class II protected animal in China.

Chen Fan recognized this bird because two people raided a hawk's nest, caught 16 birds, and sold them. One was sentenced to 10 years and the other to 10 and a half years, which caused a sensation at the time. The hawk was thus nicknamed the "Ten-Year Bird".

But that's for the future. Right now, even pandas have to perform to support themselves, and if they kill a tiger, they can get a "Tiger-Slaying Hero" certificate. So, you can play with these little birds without worry.

Chen Fan beckoned to it with his finger, "Is it injured? I'll come down and take a look."

The falcon tilted its head and stared at him, its eyes a mixture of wariness and curiosity. It shook its head back and forth, unsure whether it should go down.

Seeing that it wouldn't get down, Chen Fan said impatiently, "What? Weren't you the one yelling that it hurt? Doesn't it hurt anymore?"

Upon hearing this, the falcon immediately chirped twice, "Ouch, ouch!"

Chen Fan stretched out his left arm and patted his arm with his right hand. "If it hurts, get down and stand on my arm. Don't scratch me."

The falcon then spread its wings and wobbled as it landed on Chen Fan's arm.

Chen Fan carefully examined it. This little hobby was less than 30 centimeters long and probably hadn't fully grown up yet. It was looking at him with a slightly panicked expression. He couldn't help but touch its back. "Spread your wings and let me see where you're injured."

The falcon gently spread its wings, and Chen Fan immediately noticed its wound.

The left wing was intact, but there was a bloodstain on the right wing. The blood had already congealed, indicating that it had been hit by a small stone.

The children in the village don't have many entertainment options. They usually play games like throwing mud, pushing bamboo carts, rolling iron hoops, bamboo dragonflies, jacks, jumping rope, slingshots, and spinning tops.

Someone must have been playing with a slingshot yesterday and hit this falcon, causing it to fall into this tree and survive.

However, with such heavy snow last night and the fact that this little guy can't fly, he probably wouldn't have survived if he hadn't met me.

Chen Fan gently stroked the back of the wing where the wound was, and the falcon suddenly twitched, clearly in pain.

The little guy knew he was being examined, but he still endured the pain and spread his wings.

After carefully and gently touching it for a while, Chen Fan smiled and said, "Alright, put it away."

The falcon swiftly folded its wings.

Chen Fan patted its head and smiled, "It's alright, no fractures. I'll take you back to get some medicine, and you'll be fine in a few days."

The falcon didn't understand what a fracture was; it only knew that he was going to heal its wounds, so it obediently tucked its claws in and let him carry it away in his arms.

Soon they arrived at the brigade headquarters, where Zhang Wenliang and the others were already there. However, they weren't practicing their skills; instead, some were using wooden shovels and others were using brooms to clear the snow from the yard.

Chen Fan hid the falcon in his raincoat, greeted them, and then went into the back broadcasting station.

He found a cardboard box, then went to the kitchen to get two bundles of straw. After unpacking them, he made a nest for the falcon, and then went out to find medicine.

(End of this chapter)