Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 177 Reunion Dinner

Jiang Tiantian opened her eyes and vaguely saw a man holding her feet. She felt a slight pain in her feet and was startled. She suddenly sat up and tried to pull her feet back.

Chen Fan quickly gripped her hand and looked at her, saying, "It's not ready yet, just bear with it."

When Jiang Lili saw her sister wake up, she was overjoyed and sat on the edge of the bed to hug her, saying, "Sister, you scared me to death."

Jiang Tiantian breathed a sigh of relief when she saw her younger sister. Just as she was about to speak, she heard her sister say, "Sister, it was Xiao Fan who saved you. He's treating you right now, so please bear with it."

She was then forced down onto the bed.

Despite the discomfort in her feet, Jiang Tiantian looked up at Chen Fan, a blush rising on her face, and said calmly, "Thank you."

Chen Fan smiled at her, "It's nothing, it was just a coincidence. I saw that you look a lot like Xiao Jiang, so I guessed you must be her older sister and brought you back."

He paused for a moment, then said, "I'll massage a few more acupoints for you. If you feel hot, just let me know."

He kept talking, but his hands never stopped.

This was his first time pressing acupoints on someone, and he didn't know if it would be effective. Since he had a test subject, he decided to give it a try first.

Jiang Lili suddenly turned around and smiled at Chen Fan, "Xiao Fan, thank you."

Chen Fan chuckled and said, "Let's see if the sugar water has gotten cold."

Jiang Lili: "Oh."

He quickly got up and walked to the table, picked up the bowl and tested the temperature. "It should be ready now."

Then he brought it to the bedside and helped Jiang Tiantian sit up, saying, "Sister, drink it quickly."

Only then did Jiang Tiantian get a clear look at Chen Fan's face. Looking at her younger sister, she suppressed the throbbing in her feet, picked up the bowl, and finished the sweet soup.

After drinking a bowl of hot sugar water, my body was immediately enveloped in warmth, and my feet no longer felt icy cold. I didn't know if it was the effect of the sugar water or the warmth of my hands.

After drinking the sugar water, Jiang Lili helped her lie down. After a while, Jiang Tiantian clearly felt a bit hot and whispered, "I... I can feel it."

Chen Fan turned his head. "Huh?"

Jiang Tiantian blushed and said, "It's just hot."

"Oh."

Chen Fan stopped pressing, held her feet and rubbed them a dozen times to improve blood circulation, then tugged at her ten toes before putting her socks on.

Then he stood up and said, "Xiao Jiang, your sister's clothes are all dirty. Help her change her clothes first, and I'll go make lunch."

Without waiting for Jiang Lili to speak, he walked out.

He also closed the door behind him.

Once the door closed, Jiang Tiantian immediately sat up and pulled her younger sister aside, asking, "Is he also an educated youth? How long has he been here? What's your relationship with him?"

This was her third time here. The first two times, there was no one else at the educated youth settlement, let alone anyone close to her sister.

This person's relationship with his sister is clearly unusual, but it doesn't seem like they're dating. However, they're closer than ordinary acquaintances. What exactly is going on between them?
My younger sister has already suffered a lot while working in the countryside alone, and she absolutely will not allow anyone to hurt her.

Hearing her words, Jiang Lili blushed slightly and said reproachfully in a low voice, "What do you mean by 'what relationship'? What are you talking about?"

He then stood up and said, "Change your clothes first, and I'll explain everything to you slowly."

……

Chen Fan busied himself in the kitchen, the clatter of pots and pans filling the air, but the sounds from the other room remained unheard.

On Lunar New Year's Eve this year, Jiang Lili's sister happened to come over, so it was a family reunion, and he prepared a large table of dishes.

A braised carp, a pot of pickled cabbage and black carp, twice-cooked pork, steamed pork with rice flour, braised chicken pieces, steamed three delicacies (fish cake, fish balls and wood ear fungus), stir-fried preserved pork with bok choy, pearl meatballs, radish meatballs and tofu meatballs steamed, lotus root sandwiches, spring rolls and fried small fish crisps fried and heated on a plate, and finally a clay pot of pork rib and lotus root soup on the charcoal stove was served. A total of twelve dishes, this reunion dinner was complete.

Many of the things here weren't prepared by him, but were given to him by his veterinary students. For example, there was fresh meat for making twice-cooked pork and steamed pork with rice flour, a braised chicken, fried spring rolls, fried fish, and steamed meatballs. Each of the 12 students received a gift, and he couldn't refuse.

If this happened decades from now, Chen Fan feels he would be the kind of "heartless teacher" that netizens would condemn.

However, even Secretary Yang and Captain Zhang insisted that he accept it, so he had no choice but to do so and add another dish to the table.

The food was served, and at that moment, Jiang Lili's door opened, and the two sisters came out.

Chen Fan stood at the door and smiled, "Perfect timing, come and have dinner."

The two walked into the kitchen and were surprised to see a large table full of dishes. Jiang Lili exclaimed, "So many dishes? That's quite a feast!"

Jiang Tiantian's lips moved, but she didn't say anything.

She had just heard her sister talk about Chen Fan and had learned the whole story.

But the more I learn, the more worried I become.

It wasn't that I was worried about Chen Fan's background, but rather that Jiang Lili would fall for him.

Although Chen Fan's background has not yet been investigated, someone with such great abilities must have a significant background.
What if they really come from a high-ranking official's family? Would they even be interested in someone from a family like theirs?

Before the family tragedy, my sister would have been a perfect match for anyone, but now, even ordinary worker or farmer families would probably look down on her, let alone a cadre family.

She was afraid that if they got involved, her sister would end up getting hurt.

However, under her persistent questioning, Jiang Lili continued to deny it.

Chen Fan seemed completely open and honest, so she could only keep her thoughts to herself.

Chen Fan wiped his hands and chuckled at Jiang Lili, "It's only once in a year, and since it's the New Year, we should make sure to have something special."

Then she looked at Jiang Tiantian and asked, "Haven't you asked how to address me, sister?"

Jiang Tiantian came to her senses and was about to speak when Jiang Lili spoke first.

She took her sister's arm and chuckled, "My sister's name is Jiang Tiantian, Tian as in sweet."

Chen Fan opened his mouth wide, looked at her, then at Jiang Tiantian, turned to her and asked, "Then you should be called Jiang Mimi, why are you called Lili?"

Jiang Lili puffed out her cheeks, speechless.

Jiang Tiantian smiled and explained seriously, "This is the name my parents gave me, and it reflects their hopes and dreams."

Chen Fan's lips twitched slightly. Well, this lady doesn't like jokes.

He then chuckled and said, "Oh, they're all good, they're all good names."

Turning around, he pulled out a jar from under the cupboard. It was the wine that Zhang Wenliang had borrowed from Captain Yang the day he came. There was still more than a pound left in the 5-pound jar, which was perfect for drinking today.

She then gave Jiang Lili and Jiang Tiantian two empty bowls, poured some syrup into them, mixed it with boiling water, and presented them to the two girls, saying with a smile, "Girls shouldn't drink alcohol, you should drink some sugar water."

He paused for a moment, then clapped his hands and pointed outside, saying, "Everyone else is setting off firecrackers before they eat. I just bought some too, let's set them off before we eat."

He ran out, went to the room, took out a string of two hundred firecrackers, hung it on the woodpile by the wall, lit a match, and ran away.

Even before he left, Jiang Lili and Jiang Tiantian got up and walked to the kitchen door.

Watching Chen Fan bustling around, Jiang Tiantian gave her sister a meaningful look and said, "Now that you're dining with him, who's paying for this huge table of food?"

Jiang Lili was looking outside with great interest when she heard her sister's words and couldn't help but lower her head, "That's why we made so many dishes today. Usually we only have one or two dishes."

Jiang Tiantian bit her lip and looked at her helplessly, "Then who cooks the usual dishes?"

Jiang Lili lowered her head and glanced at her sister. "He paid for it."

Jiang Tiantian wanted to say a few more words, but seeing her sister's expression, she softened.

It had been three years, and this was the first time she had seen her sister smile so happily. What could she do?

When the firecrackers went off, she was jolted awake. She leaned close to her younger sister's ear and whispered, "You're an adult now. You need to think things through more carefully before you act, okay?"

Jiang Lili pouted, "Sister, he's not a bad person."

Jiang Tiantian looked helpless. "Of course I know he's not a bad person, otherwise he wouldn't drink alcohol himself and let us drink sweet water. Besides, he's my savior, and I'll remember his kindness for the rest of my life. I'm not saying anything bad about him, I just hope you won't get hurt again."

Jiang Lili took her arm and said with a smile, "Don't worry, sis, I know."

A short while later, after the firecrackers were finished, Chen Fan came running back excitedly, grinning, "Time for family reunion dinner!"

The two sisters smiled together, and only after he walked up to them did they turn around and go into the kitchen.

At the dinner table, Chen Fan picked up his wine glass, raised it, and said, "Come on, let's have a toast, Happy New Year!"

The two sisters smiled at each other, picked up their bowls of sweet soup, and said, "Happy New Year!"

(End of this chapter)