Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 171 Still Saying It's Not Just a Scare Tactic
Unable to outwit the legendary educated youth, Chen Fan's initial enthusiasm vanished instantly, and then, fueled by the alcohol, he began to doze off.

Looking at the time, it wasn't even 11:30 yet, so I simply closed the door and took a nap in bed.

I woke up at one o'clock.

He then got dressed and went out, riding his horse trotting to Team 10.

The syrup is inexpensive, only 7 cents a pound, which is much cheaper than white sugar which costs 8 cents a pound.

Seeing that this was a golden opportunity, Chen Fan bought ten catties of syrup, packed it in jars, and rode his horse back home.

With syrup, you can make rice candy and other New Year's treats. Any leftovers can be made into sugar water or eaten directly.

The syrup wasn't as sweet as sugar. You could take a spoonful and eat it directly; it was sweet but not cloying, and refreshing. Chen Fan used to sneak a bite of it when he was a child.

When Chen Fan returned, Jiang Lili immediately went to the kitchen to get busy, and he also went over to help.

Rice candy and sesame candy are easy to make; just mix them with sugar syrup and let them solidify.

Fried foods like dried bean curd strips, pig ears, small twisted dough sticks, and snow dates are more troublesome. Jiang Lili poured in a whole two pounds of oil and fried them in a large pot.

All the oil was provided by Chen Fan. Anyway, he had plenty of oil. 11 catties of oil was enough for an average family in the city to eat for two years. Jiang Lili usually cooked very sparingly with oil. Considering that the Spring Festival only comes once a year, she went along with Chen Fan's suggestion and splurged a little.

Besides, these things were prepared for him to entertain guests who came to pay New Year's visits, so he couldn't use Jiang Lili's oil.

While frying, Chen Fan suddenly got a craving and asked Jiang Lili, "Does anyone have lotus root?"

Jiang Lili puffed out her cheeks and said shyly, "Every household should have some. The educated youth settlement also distributed lotus roots, but I didn't want them, so the other educated youths took them."

Chen Fan's lips twitched slightly. He regretted that those educated youths didn't come today, otherwise he would definitely have taught them that people should be kind and not bully others!
Jiang Lili looked at him and asked, "What do you want lotus root for?"

Chen Fan: "I want to fry some lotus root sandwiches."

Two slices of lotus root sandwiched with minced meat, coated with flour, and deep-fried until cooked, make a delicious lotus root sandwich, an essential New Year's treat for Yunhu residents.

Jiang Lili pursed her lips and smiled awkwardly, "Then we can only try to find someone else to exchange some."

"fine."

Chen Fan grinned and said, "I'll just go to Captain Yang's house and ask for some. I don't need much anyway. I'll also borrow a fishing net from him to catch some small fish and fry them into crispy fish."

Crispy fried small fish are made by cleaning small fish no more than 10 centimeters long, removing the head, internal organs, and scales, marinating them with salt, draining them in a basket, and then frying them in oil until the fish meat and bones are crispy. After frying, they are taken out and cooled. When you want to eat them, you can fry them again in low-temperature oil.

The best ones are the fry that are two or three centimeters long. One bite and your mouth is filled with crispy and fragrant flavor. You can eat the fish without spitting out the bones. The taste is absolutely amazing.

Besides lotus root sandwiches and fried fish cakes, Chen Fan also wanted to make a fried vegetarian meatball dish.

That is, you mix vegetables such as radishes, carrots, cabbage, and greens with flour, add seasonings, stir well, and then deep-fry them. It tastes delicious.

If you want it to taste even better, you can add a little bit of meat for a more moist texture.

Hmm, we'll talk about that later. Let's go catch some fish first.

I went back to my room to check the time; it was not yet 3 o'clock. So I went out and headed to Captain Yang's house.

Soon they arrived at the captain's house. Before even entering, they smelled a delicious aroma. Chen Fan sniffed and laughed loudly, "Captain, are you preparing for the New Year?"

When Captain Yang saw him coming, he immediately greeted him with a big smile, "You're here."

Chen Fan smiled and nodded, "Ah."

Then Captain Yang waved to Yang Ju, "Bring over a bowl of meatballs."

Chen Fan quickly waved his hand, "No need, no need, I just came to borrow something."

However, Yang Ju had already run to the kitchen quickly and soon brought back a bowl of meatballs, most of which were pearl meatballs, with only a few tofu meatballs and radish meatballs.

Captain Yang's face froze when he saw this, and he cursed inwardly, "That brat is already siding with outsiders now."

She then greeted Chen Fan with a smile and invited him to sit down, saying, "Have something to eat first. This was made by Xiaoju. Try it and see how it tastes."

Yang Ju had already handed the bowl to Chen Fan, and he couldn't refuse, so he had to take it. However, he felt that Yang Ju was acting a little strange today. Not only were her hands trembling, but her face was also flushed, even her ears were red. Could she have a fever?

He quickly said, "Captain, I think Xiaoju doesn't look well. Why don't we go to the brigade headquarters and find Doctor Zhang to take a look?"

Upon hearing this, Yang Ju turned around and ran out in a flash.

Captain Yang's face stiffened slightly, then he chuckled and said, "It's nothing, it's nothing. I was probably just busy in the kitchen and got a little hot."

He pointed to the bowl in Chen Fan's hand and said, "Eat it while it's hot, eat it while it's hot."

Chen Fan could only take a meatball and put it in his mouth.

Hmm, it's a bit salty, but otherwise it's fine, considering it's meat.

Captain Yang pulled out his pipe, filled it with tobacco, and asked with a smile, "You said you wanted to borrow something. What did you want to borrow?"

Chen Fan said, "Hmm, could you lend me a lotus root and a fishing net? I want to catch some small fish to make fried fish crisps."

Captain Yang said "Oh" and nodded without hesitation, "No problem, I'll get it for you later."

He paused, took a drag of his cigarette, and said, "Xiao Chen, I need to discuss something with you."

Chen Fan looked at him and said, "Please go ahead."

Captain Yang said, "I see. The place you're living in now is a former educated youth settlement."

Chen Fan's eyes darted around slightly. "Ah, I know."

Captain Yang smiled and said, "I know you know, but there's something you don't know. Originally, there were six educated youths at the settlement. Besides Xiao Jiang, there were five local educated youths. However, they came over today and said that they have all found receiving units in the town, so they won't be coming back next year."

Chen Fan blinked. "Hmm, so what?"

Captain Yang clicked his tongue. "If they don't come, it'll just be you and Xiao Jiang at the educated youth settlement. A man and a woman living alone in the same courtyard isn't a good thing, you know that?"

Chen Fan ate the meatballs without saying a word.

Seeing that he didn't speak, Captain Yang continued, "I'm not exaggerating, you can ask around. Just two years ago, something happened in the Hongxing Brigade in the south. A female educated youth who had been sent to the countryside for three years got together with a male educated youth who had just arrived in the countryside. And then, after a while, she got pregnant."

Upon hearing this, Chen Fan was startled and quickly put down his bowl, waving his hands and saying, "Captain, Captain, I didn't!"

Captain Yang waved to him, signaling him to calm down, and said with a smile, "I know you don't have it, don't worry, I'm just telling you about a negative example."

Chen Fan swallowed what was in his mouth and found it tasted a little bitter.

Good grief, I just came to borrow a fishing net, and you're trying to intimidate me?
Or is it to make an example of someone?
Captain Yang smoked a cigarette. "In short, this matter caused quite a stir at the time. The woman's family went to the man's house to make a scene. The man's family said that the woman was immoral. Of course, the woman was not convinced. It caused a huge uproar. In the end, it was a complete mess and even alarmed the county's educated youth office and the county party committee."

If they report this to higher authorities, they'll definitely suffer the consequences. In the end, they were ordered to stay away from the city for five years and were publicly criticized throughout the county. They're still in Hongxing Brigade raising their children to this day.

That's not all; the main problem is that it caused the Hongxing Brigade to lose face completely, and the commune members were too ashamed to even look people in the eye. Just think about it, if everyone in the Hongxing Brigade was ashamed, how could those two people possibly fare any better?

And you still say this isn't just a warning shot?!
Chen Fan immediately replied, "Captain, don't worry, I will definitely behave properly and make sure I don't make any mistakes."

Captain Yang chuckled. "I trust you, but after all, it's just the two of us, a man and a woman alone, and people's opinions can be quite a threat."

Chen Fan blinked, looking at him hesitantly, "Then, what do you mean?"

Captain Yang smiled and said, "Don't worry, our team has already held a meeting and come up with a solution."

Chen Fan stared wide-eyed. "What?"

Captain Yang, with a pipe dangling from his mouth, exhaled a puff of smoke. "Arrange for three people to stay at the educated youth settlement, so you won't be alone together anymore."

Chen Fan's lips twitched slightly, and he chuckled dryly twice, "That's really a good idea."

At the same time, a sense of gloom washed over me. It was over; our world as a couple had come to an end.

(End of this chapter)