Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 137 No Chicken Tastes Better

When they reached the front yard, Zhang Wenliang and the others had already cleared the snow. When he saw Chen Fan coming over, he smiled and said, "With such heavy snow today, I was worried you might be late. But you're actually more than half an hour earlier than usual."

Chen Fan smiled and said, "I brought an alarm clock, so I'll definitely get up when it rings."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Wenliang couldn't help but burst into laughter, "This is the first time I've ever seen someone carrying an alarm clock around everywhere."

He paused for a moment, then looked at Chen Fan and said, "Hey, you've made money, you can buy yourself an alarm clock."

Chen Fan's face fell. "Yesterday at the supply and marketing cooperative's store, I even checked the alarm clock. It was 14.5 yuan, but I needed 3 industrial coupons."

He clapped his hands and said, "No, so I can't buy it!"

He couldn't even afford an alarm clock, let alone a watch. The cheapest BJ brand watch cost 120 yuan, which was far short of what he was making. Besides, there were no watches for sale in this small town; he would have to go to the county town at the very least.

Zhang Wenliang raised his head, opened his mouth wide, thought for a moment, and then looked at him regretfully, "There's nothing we can do about it. The industrial vouchers that the commune issued to the brigades this year have already been allocated, and there aren't any left."

Chen Fan smiled and said, "It's okay. If not, I'll wait. I'll save up for a year, and I'm sure I can save it up."

Production teams also issue industrial coupons; otherwise, would farmers stop buying industrial products?
However, the industrial vouchers were matched according to income value, with an average of one industrial voucher for every 20 yuan of wages. After a year of hard work, when the members received their year-end bonuses, they might only have a few industrial vouchers left.

This is even with the increase in industrial coupons now. 70 years ago, let alone industrial coupons, it was difficult to even get a cloth coupon. As a result, the whole brigade wore homespun cloth and was considered self-sufficient.

Moreover, industrial coupons could not be used to buy all industrial goods. They were in high demand, such as bicycles, radios, and televisions. In addition to banknotes and industrial coupons, special bicycle tickets, radio tickets, and television tickets were also required.

my country became known as the "Kingdom of Bicycles" in the mid-to-late 80s, when bicycles could be purchased directly with bicycle tickets or industrial coupons. Moreover, the issuance standard for industrial coupons was reduced to 10 yuan each, which was easy to obtain, indicating that the output of industrial products had increased significantly.

Even now, bicycles are still a big purchase, and the biggest obstacle to buying one is the difficulty in obtaining a ticket.

Skipping over that topic, Chen Fan asked directly, "Brother Sanhu, I'd like to inquire where Doctor Zhang lives?"

Dr. Zhang was the only barefoot doctor in Lujiawan Brigade. He was originally an ordinary member of the village, but what made him extraordinary was that he had completed primary school, making him an "intellectual".

Later, in 1968, the barefoot doctor program was promoted nationwide. The standard for barefoot doctors, which had been tested in Shanghai for three years after graduation and required three years of training, was downgraded to "commune members with a certain level of education who have undergone a certain period of training and possess certain medical and health knowledge and skills."

In this way, he met the criteria and was recommended by the brigade headquarters to go to the commune's barefoot doctor training class, where he successfully obtained the "barefoot doctor certificate" and worked as a barefoot doctor for 10 years.

(Barefoot Doctor Certificate)
The day Captain Yang rescued Chen Fan, he invited Doctor Zhang over, who prescribed some medicine. After drinking two bowls of it and sweating profusely, Chen Fan finally recovered completely.

However, he had been at the brigade headquarters for about ten days, but had never seen Doctor Zhang.

Upon hearing his words, Zhang Wenliang was taken aback. "Why do you want to see Doctor Zhang? Are you sick?"

When I hear someone is looking for a doctor, my first thought is someone like him.

Chen Fan quickly explained, "No, it's just that on the way here, I found an injured bird with a broken wing. I wanted to ask Dr. Zhang for some iodine and alcohol to treat it."

Zhang Wenliang stared at him speechlessly.

Chen Fan felt a chill run down his spine when he saw his gaze. "W-what's wrong?"

"What else?" Zhang Wenliang said irritably. "Are you stupid? Why did you treat that injured bird? Just boil water, pluck its feathers, and feed it meat! Even if it's just a sparrow, it's still meat!"

Chen Fan's lips twitched slightly. Sure enough, it was the right thing to keep the bird from them earlier. If they had seen such a big bird, they would have rushed to boil water immediately.

He quickly explained, "Didn't you say yesterday that you wanted me to be a veterinarian? This is such a great opportunity for experimentation, and you just let me eat it?"

Zhang Wenliang immediately came to his senses, grinned, and laughed heartily, "Oh, so that's what you meant."

He patted him on the shoulder repeatedly, "Not bad, not bad, you got into the zone pretty quickly. Yes, that's the kind of dedication you need to have as a veterinarian. Um, iodine and alcohol, right? Anything else? I'll go get it for you."

Chen Fan: "No need, I can go by myself."

Zhang Wenliang said, "What do you mean, 'go by yourself'? My older brother hasn't even gotten up yet. If you go there now, it's fine if it's to save someone, but if it's for a bird, he'll definitely go ballistic."

Chen Fan blinked. Oh, so it's Zhang's eldest brother, Tiger.

He chuckled and said, "Then I'll trouble you, Brother Sanhu. I'll also need some medical cotton balls."

Zhang Wenliang: "Okay, you wait here, I'll go get it for you."

As he spoke, he ran to the side.

Chen Fan didn't go up directly, but waited here.

Soon Zhang Wenliang returned carrying a medicine box. "I brought it all over for you. I also wanted to see how you treat the bird's wounds."

Chen Fan laughed and said, "Alright, let's go up together."

When we arrived at the broadcasting station, the Eurasian Hobby was still nestled obediently in the haystack, looking so comfortable that it didn't want to get up.

Chen Fan picked it up and placed it on a chair, then pulled up a small stool and sat down. Zhang Wenliang watched from the side, drooling. "Wow, what a big bird! We could probably cook a whole bowl of this!"

Then, looking at Chen Fan, she said, "Once you've healed it, how about we have a drink together?"

Eurasian Falcon, v, This person is terrifying!
Chen Fan looked at him with a wry smile, "Why are you so eager to eat it? It's not like we're short of a bite of meat. Besides, it was the first bird I rescued, so it's fate. I'd like to keep it."

Zhang Wenliang could only regretfully give up, "Oh well, fine, fine, you have no choice but to raise birds. Aren't you afraid of them flying away?"

Chen Fan used a cotton ball to clean the wound of the Eurasian Hobby, occasionally stroking its head and back, and laughed, "It flew away, so it flew away. It just means we weren't meant to be. This bird is called an Eurasian Hobby, a kind of bird of prey that can catch sparrows and swallows, and some can even catch rabbits. Its claws are like knives; if it catches something, it leaves several holes. It's very powerful."

Zhang Wenliang looked at the Eurasian Hobby and said, "Wow, I didn't expect this guy to be so fierce. We've caught one of these before when we were hunting, but the meat was a bit tough and not as good as chicken."

Chen Fan looked up at him, then at the trembling falcon. It seemed he couldn't leave the little thing here; it was in danger at any moment!

……

(End of this chapter)