Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 160 is just a compliment to me.

Captain Yang returned home, took out his pipe and smoked a pipe. After thinking about it for a while, he finally gritted his teeth and asked Yang Ju to invite Accountant Liu and Warehouse Keeper Huang over.

The hearth was brought out again, and the old tree root that hadn't finished burning continued to burn. The three of them held teacups and smoked around the hearth.

Accountant Liu found hand-rolled cigarettes the most convenient, so he took one out, lit it at the tree root, and began puffing away. Then he asked, "What did Xiao Chen say?"

Captain Yang had just pressed the tobacco down, picked up a small stick to start a fire, lit it on the pipe, and was about to throw it away when the storekeeper, Huang, took it away.

He took a drag of his cigarette before saying, "His attitude was impeccable, he agreed immediately. As long as everything is alright at the brigade headquarters, he'll be back after the broadcast."

The custodian, Huang, tossed the lit cigarette stick into the fire pit and grinned, saying, "Little Chen is actually a pretty good guy."

Accountant Liu looked at Captain Yang and said, "Then let's wait for him to come back and then take the exam directly."

The implication is, why are you calling us over for a meeting at this time?

Why not just have Yang Ju give a heads-up? Wouldn't it be better to stay home and bake glutinous rice cakes on a cold day?

Thinking of glutinous rice cakes, Accountant Liu turned to Yang Ju and called out, "Go and cut two pieces of your family's glutinous rice cakes over here."

Yang Ju wasn't stingy either; she went straight to the kitchen to get a cleaver and quickly brought over a bowl of glutinous rice cakes cut into small pieces, while also carrying a small barbecue grill in her other hand.

Of course, it wasn't the kind of wire mesh barbecue grill of later generations. It was just a frame made of two thick iron wires, placed in the fire pit, near the flames of burning tree roots, and then the glutinous rice cakes were placed on it and quickly cooked.

Only then did Captain Yang say mysteriously, "I went to the educated youth settlement just now, guess what I saw?"

The warehouse keeper glanced sideways and said, "He and that Xiao Jiang were arguing?"

Accountant Liu slapped his thigh and said, "I knew we couldn't put a man and a woman together alone."

The custodian, Huang, turned his head. "Then let him stay at your house?"

Accountant Liu glared at her, "Why didn't you say you wanted to stay at my place?"

Just as the custodian Huang was about to retaliate, Captain Yang quickly reached out to stop him, saying, "What nonsense are you talking about? Little Jiang hasn't even shown his face yet, so don't spread rumors outside."

The two then shut up.

Captain Yang didn't dare to keep them in suspense any longer and whispered, "I saw Xiao Chen drying clay blanks."

Upon hearing this, everyone except Accountant Liu and Warehouse Keeper Huang looked at him expectantly.

Captain Yang, with the mouthpiece of his pipe between his teeth, gestured and said, "It's the clay blank used for firing ceramics in a kiln."

Seeing that they still didn't understand, Captain Yang glared at them, "Don't you know how to cook dishes?"

At that moment, both of them understood.

Accountant Liu's eyes widened. "He can make ceramics?"

Huang, the storekeeper, silently calculated that a bowl cost two cents, and the materials were just a little soil and firewood, which were not worth much at all. Even if the bowl was poorly fired, it would still be a huge profit at one cent per bowl!
Just when the two were full of hope, Captain Yang shook his head, "He doesn't know how to make pottery."

He paused for a moment, then chuckled and said, "However, he can understand books that teach how to fire pottery."

Accountant Liu threw away his cigarette butt and clapped his hands sharply. "Then let him practice first. Once he's mastered it, we'll start a side business team!"

Yang Ju suddenly rushed over and used a wooden stick to bury the cigarette butt in the ashes.

The storekeeper, Huang, pointed to a piece of glutinous rice cake and said, "This one smells of smoke; it's yours."

Accountant Liu waved his hand dismissively, "Mine, mine."

As long as he can make his side business a success, he'd be happy to eat smoked glutinous rice cakes every day, let alone just one.

Captain Yang chuckled and said, "That's what I was thinking too, which is why I called you all here for a meeting to see how to handle this."

The three of them chatted away, becoming increasingly happy, as if a wonderful life was just around the corner.

Chen Fan arrived at the broadcasting station, practiced holding his gun for a while, and turned on the broadcasting at 7 o'clock sharp. Then he wrote the news report about yesterday's militia company training.

Having learned from his previous experience writing about breaking the dike, he was now quite adept at it, and in no time, he had written more than three thousand words.

Then, referring to the sketch outline in the notebook, I found a few more sheets of white paper and quickly drew several sketches.

Some were standing at attention, some were crawling forward, some were lying down and firing at the air, and some were attacking in teams.

Once the broadcast ends, all the work will be completed.

He had just turned off the loudspeaker when Zhang Wenliang appeared at the door. "Wow, practicing your horse stance while writing, so diligent."

To improve efficiency, Chen Fan was writing the news report while standing in a horse stance. However, he didn't stand for the whole time, otherwise others would not be able to stand it. He would stand for a while and then rest for a while. It was a good exercise, and most importantly, it helped him gain experience points.

As Chen Fan packed his things, he chuckled, "I was just getting ready to do this when you saw me."

Zhang Wenliang believed him and practiced for two hours straight. Not to mention Chen Fan, even he couldn't stand it. Even alternating between the horse stance and the horse stance would be too much for him.

He smiled, putting the matter out of his mind, and said, "Are you done with your work? I'll take you out for something delicious when you're done."

Chen Fan was slightly taken aback. "Oh, what a coincidence, our Captain Yang wants to see me."

Zhang Wenliang was also taken aback. "What is it?"

Chen Fan smiled wryly, "It's all because of the selection of veterinary trainees. Team 6 has a few suitable candidates, but we don't know which one to choose. So Captain Yang decided to select them through an exam. Whoever gets the highest score will get the spot. And today is the exam. He asked me to go back and proctor and grade the papers."

"Is that so?"

Zhang Wenliang nodded thoughtfully, "You know what, that's a good idea."

Perhaps, Team 5 could do the same?
He paused for a moment, then quickly recovered and pulled Chen Fan outside. "It's okay, it won't delay your invigilation. My family is making New Year's goods today, so I'll bring you some back."

New Year’s goods?

Chen Fan sniffed and couldn't help but laugh, "I was wondering why it smelled so good today. Turns out they're making New Year's goods. Hey, there must be some candy in there, right?"

Zhang Wenliang pointed at him and said, "Your nose is even more sensitive than a dog's."

Chen Fan: "I'll take that as a compliment."

Zhang Wenliang: "Isn't that a compliment?"

The two chatted and laughed, and soon walked to the front yard. When they passed the office, Chen Fan went in and handed the newly written news report and sketch to Xiao Liewen. "Captain Xiao, the news report for the militia was finished yesterday. Please review it."

Xiao Liewen took it and grinned from ear to ear, "Okay, okay, let me take a look first."

After Chen Fan greeted the other three leaders and went out with Zhang Wenliang, Secretary Yang laughed and said, "Old Xiao, you might just become famous."

Xiao Liewen waved his hand, "Hey, what kind of fame do I need?"

He picked up the press release, shook it, and said seriously, "I just want some people to see that the militia is still around, and it's still useful!"

Upon hearing this, the expressions of Secretary Yang and the other two changed slightly.

Previously, when Lao Xiao was so eager to bring Chen Fan into the training camp, they thought it was for his own face, but it turns out he had this real intention.

There was a time when the militia was at its most powerful, a veritable net from which not even a fly could escape.

However, the environment later changed and the situation deteriorated rapidly. Militia organizations in many places were destroyed, and some even became defunct in name only. This inevitably attracted some rumors and slander.

Old Xiao was indignant and wanted to let those people know that the militia were soldiers too, and at least in Lujiawan, the militia were still there!
It seems I shouldn't set a flag (i.e., make a promise).
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(End of this chapter)