Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 17: They caught a big guy.
After sitting in the room for a while, Chen Fan listened to Captain Yang and the others talking about next year's work arrangements. He could understand the literal meaning of their words, but he just didn't understand why they had to arrange things this way.

These three are all seasoned veterans; they can communicate clearly with just a few words, so they don't need to explain themselves when they speak.

After hearing something that left him completely confused, he couldn't sit still any longer.

He stood up and said, "Captain, accountant, custodian, Aunt Yang, you all keep chatting, I'll be going now."

Captain Yang looked up at him and said, "Sit a little longer. You have nothing to do when you go back anyway, so just warm yourself by the fire here."

When the topic of fire came up, he seemed to suddenly remember, "Is it because it's too cold inside your room? Here, I'll find you a brazier."

Chen Fan quickly stopped him, "No, no, really no, I just can't sit still."

Accountant Liu chuckled, “Young people are all like that. When those educated youth were here before, they were the same. They were like spinning tops, unable to sit still for even two minutes.”

Chen Fan grinned, "Yeah, yeah, I just can't sit still."

After exchanging pleasantries, he opened the door and came out of the house, then turned around and closed the door tightly.

Stepping outside, the air felt fresh and invigorating.

The room was so stuffy, and sitting by the fire, he kept feeling sleepy. There was nothing else to distract him, so if he continued sitting there, he was sure he would fall asleep.

I took a couple of breaths of fresh air, and as I walked forward, I looked at the two pairs of cloth shoes in my hands. These were the legendary thousand-layer soles. Decades later, these things would be discontinued.

It's not that we lack the skill, but the soles are made of cloth, and not only that, the bottom is covered with needle holes, so they get wet when exposed to water, naturally making them obsolete compared to waterproof rubber soles.

However, it's still very comfortable to wear on sunny days. Later, many online stores started selling it, and the price wasn't cheap.

Chen Fan separated the two pairs of shoes, putting one pair in each of his cotton-padded coat pockets, intending to change into them after washing his feet when he got back. The cotton-padded shoes he was wearing were extremely dirty and had several holes in them; if it weren't for the cold weather, he would rather go barefoot than wear them.

Perhaps because the sun is now behind the clouds, the sky is overcast and only the wind is blowing. As I walked down the slope, there really wasn't a single person outside.

Chen Fan walked along, counting as he went. There were eighteen households on the back slope, four on the top of the slope, and twenty-three on the front slope, making a total of forty-five houses. If you include the educated youth settlement, that makes forty-six houses.

Generally speaking, when a production team was first established, a small team would have only twenty or thirty households, and smaller teams might have a dozen or seven or eight households. This team, however, had more than forty households, making it a strong and well-equipped force.

It's also possible that there were only twenty or thirty households before, and the increased number of households was due to the later separation of households. After all, the production team has been established for almost twenty years, so it's normal for the number of households to double.

Besides the residential houses, Chen Fan also saw two rows of long, narrow houses in the southwest. He didn't need to go over to see them; he could tell from the smell that they must be the team's pig farm.

The faint sounds of donkeys braying could still be heard from there, suggesting that the entire production team's livestock were kept there.

Chen Fan looked around and then walked to the other side.

To the east was the direction of the dike. He remembered that there were many ponds at the bottom of the slope, so he walked along the ridge in that direction.

In winter, the ridges of the fields are covered with withered yellow weeds. Although the soil is a bit damp, it doesn't stick to your shoes, making it quite comfortable to walk on.

A short while later, when they reached the edge of the pond, they discovered that the water in the pond had almost dried up. At the bottom of the pond, which was more than two meters deep, there was only a thin layer of shallow water left. Not a single fish could be seen, and the pond looked rather desolate.

Chen Fan hugged his cotton-padded coat tightly, stared blankly for a while, and then continued walking forward.

There are five ponds in total on this side. But actually, it can only be counted as one, because four paths extend down the slope, dividing this long, narrow pond into five parts.

However, the path was blocked by a ditch more than a meter wide. To get to the embankment, one had to cross a wooden bridge made of tree trunks, then traverse a vegetable field before reaching the foot of the embankment. Chen Fan looked left and right, unsure of what he was looking at.

Since I have nothing to do anyway, I'll just wander around aimlessly.

Just then, he suddenly stopped and stared intently at several large turtles by the pond.

How much does a turtle that's bigger than a washbasin weigh?
The question flashed through Chen Fan's mind, and he prepared to go down to catch fish.

But looking at the dark mud, I hesitated to put my feet down.

Looking at the turtle lying lazily on the muddy pond, Chen Fan pondered silently, thinking about the skill he had just acquired: Could the turtle talk?

After thinking for a while, I still didn't know how to communicate with the turtle. It seems that my skill level is too low to call the turtle over, so I can only go there myself.

He found a gentle slope and went down to the bottom. He tentatively stepped into the mud and found that the mud was already dry and hard, almost the same as the soil on the ridge. So he walked over and grabbed the largest turtle from behind.

Chen Fan weighed it in his hand and said, "Damn, this turtle must weigh at least 15 pounds."

The giant turtle was enjoying the breeze when suddenly it was thrown upright and spun around. When it stretched out its head, it could only see the sky. It immediately stretched out its limbs and claws and started scratching wildly, its head spinning wildly as well.

Huh? I think I see a monster?

Chen Fan glanced at the several large turtles that remained motionless beside him, then walked back up the path to the edge of the field, where he carefully examined the turtle in his hand.

The carapace is over 40 centimeters long, covered in black spots, some black and some yellow, like vitiligo, though the color differences are not obvious. The four claws are very sharp, with yellowish tips that darken towards the base, gradually turning blackish-gray. The sharp claws scratch wildly, but unfortunately, they can only scratch the air.

Chen Fan didn't turn over to look at the abdomen, but carried the large turtle up the path.

After passing through a grove of mixed trees and then through the rice paddy in front of a house, you reach the main road.

Then they rushed to Captain Yang's house.

In the era of production teams, caution was paramount!

The large turtle was caught in the pond, and he was unsure whether to hand it over, so he needed to ask Captain Yang first.

Soon after, they returned to Captain Yang's house, where the first thing to greet them was still that big yellow dog.

This time, the big yellow dog didn't bark at him wildly, obviously recognizing him. It just whimpered twice, "Coming."

That's right. It's the first time it's seen someone who can talk to it, and there's only one like that. It's hard not to remember them.

Chen Fan ignored it, pushed open the door with his elbow and said, "Captain, look, I caught a big guy."

Then everyone in the room stared at him blankly.

Chen Fan blinked, looked around at everyone, then at the large turtle in his hand, and asked, "What's wrong?"

Accountant Liu then said, half-laughing and half-crying, "Why did you go and grab this thing if there's nothing wrong?"

Chen Fan's arms were getting tired from holding it for so long, so he flipped the turtle over and placed it on the ground, stepping on its belly with one foot, and asked in confusion, "Can't I handle this?"

(End of this chapter)