Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 182 Vigil
The three of them toasted each other and finished their New Year's Eve dinner amidst laughter and conversation.

It was already night, but due to the heavy snowfall, visibility was still quite good outdoors; it was just that the snowflakes obscured the view, so one couldn't see very far.

The snow fell heavier and heavier, drifting down and covering the ground with a thick layer. The little guys in the chicken coop and doghouse were all silent, clearly asleep.

Chen Fan returned to his room and stoked the fire in the charcoal stove, quickly warming the room.

He thought for a moment, then got up and went to the next room. The charcoal stove that he had used for experiments before hadn't been dismantled, so it would be ready to be used today.

Since Yang Ju and the others are moving in in the second year of junior high, let them stay in this room and use this charcoal stove. It's just a charcoal stove; it's something that can be made with a little effort, so he wouldn't be stingy with it.

First, take the inner liner out of the charcoal stove, go back into the room, put in a few pieces of burning charcoal, then take it back, add a few more pieces of charcoal, and open the stove door to boil water.

While waiting for the water to boil, he went to check on the little ones at the back.

The foal was huddled in a haystack. Seeing him approach, it immediately stood up excitedly, head held high, neighing. Chen Fan patted the foal's head, grabbed a handful of hay to feed it, and then looked at the lamb beside it.

Well, the two little lambs are snuggling together and fast asleep. One lamb has its front legs outstretched and its hind legs bent and tucked under its body, while its head rests on the other lamb. The other lamb has all four limbs tucked under its body, and its head is also resting on its companion's body.

According to Mr. Sun from the breeding station, the two lambs were collected from families in different teams, one male and one female, so they should not be siblings.

What, are you already dating at such a young age?
Chen Fan jealously plucked two handfuls of wool, thinking, "I haven't even been in a relationship yet, you stinky sheep."

I must say, it's quite soft; holding a lamb is roughly equivalent to holding a large heater.

After a while, Chen Fan fed the horse several handfuls of hay before patting its back and telling it to go back to sleep.

However, the little horse couldn't sleep; it just lay in the haystack, staring at him with its two big eyes.

Chen Fan chuckled and patted the horse's back a few times; the little horse was still very energetic.

He wasn't surprised. After reading those books on equine medicine, he knew that horses' rest schedules weren't fixed; they slept when they were tired, sometimes during the day and sometimes at night. Perhaps the foal had slept enough during the day, so of course it couldn't sleep now.

However, he didn't have time to play with Little Horse; he had to go back and take a shower himself.

I got up and went outside, closed the wooden gate, turned around and glanced at the two piglets sleeping soundly, and suddenly realized that I should probably castrate them sometime!
Castration is a process that every domesticated pig must go through in its life.

As the saying goes, "A pig that hasn't been castrated won't get fat, and a pig that hasn't been castrated won't be quiet." Pigs that haven't been castrated just eat without gaining weight, and they're always jumping around and causing trouble.

However, once you make a cut with a small knife, the situation changes.

That's the saying: "A calm heart in spring, a tranquil mind in summer, a carefree spirit in autumn, and a yearning for the sun in winter..." Castrating a pig calms the mind, regulates breathing, makes the body stronger, improves appetite, and naturally leads to weight gain!
With so many benefits, there are naturally specialized skills involved, and this skill is considered a "secret art".

A quick calculation shows that these two piglets will soon be two weeks old, which is the perfect time to castrate them. If it's done any later, it might be more difficult to handle.

Moreover, he doesn't need to ask anyone else for help; he can handle it himself.

Besides specialized "pig castrators," castrating pigs is also an essential skill for a "traditional veterinarian."

Zhou, the head of the veterinary station, was an expert at castrating pigs, and this topic was covered in veterinary training materials, which Chen Fan had naturally seen.

Although he hadn't personally tried it, coincidentally, he had now mastered the Xingyi Five Elements Saber to a high level, and could hold his own against Zhang Wenliang, who had practiced for over ten years, wielding only a carrying pole. Dealing with these two little pigs should be a piece of cake for him, right?

This is a good opportunity to gain practical experience!
Looking at the two handsome little pigs sleeping soundly, Chen Fan nodded gently. "If I do some calculations, the second day of the Lunar New Year is an auspicious day. After finishing work in the afternoon, I'll bring the veterinary students over to observe how a novice castrates a pig!"

……

After braving the wind and snow, Chen Fan returned to the front yard, where the water on the stove was about to boil.

There was a pot of water in this room, another pot of water in his own room, and water from the earthenware jar in the kitchen. He poured the three large pots of water into a basin, added half of it with cold water, closed the door, took off his clothes, and began to "wash the old".

It's basically just taking a bath. New Year's Eve symbolizes "getting rid of the old and welcoming the new," so folk customs are mostly centered around this theme.

In the Yunhu area, people wash their entire bodies, change out of their old clothes and put on new clothes on this day to symbolize "getting rid of the old and welcoming the new" and to greet the New Year with a brand new look.

Chen Fan soaked in the large bathtub for about half an hour until the water cooled down before getting up and drying himself off.

Wearing clothes he had sewn himself, which he couldn't tell were either thermal underwear or pajamas, and wrapped in a brand-new wool military coat, Chen Fan immediately felt refreshed.

First, clean the room thoroughly, pour out the dirty water, and melt a large patch of snow.

Then go to Jiang Lili's room to inform the Jiang sisters, "There's a charcoal fire burning in the next room, you can go there to wash."

Before the two sisters, whose faces were flushed with embarrassment, could speak, Chen Fan turned around and went back into the house.

A 20-watt tungsten bulb emitted a bright orange light, and a roaring fireplace warmed the entire room.

Chen Fan took out a radio, plugged it in, tuned it to a channel, and a clear, melodious song came from the radio:
"The north wind blows, the snowflakes fall, the snowflakes flutter, the New Year is coming, but Dad went out to hide from the debtors for seven whole days. On New Year's Eve, he still hadn't returned. The wind swirls the snowflakes outside the door, the wind shakes the door, but the door opens by itself. I long for Dad to come home soon, so we can have a happy New Year, a happy New Year..."

Ah, they're showing "The White-Haired Girl" tonight.

Ten years ago, a drama festival was held in the capital, and several plays participated, including "Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy", "The Harbor", "The Red Lantern", "Shajiabang", "Raid on the White Tiger Regiment", "The Red Detachment of Women" and "The White-Haired Girl".

These seven plays were collectively known as the "Eight Great Plays".

Why is it called "eight" when there are only seven parts?

This is because "Shajiabang" includes both Peking Opera and a symphony performance, so one play is counted as two, which is the origin of the "Eight Great Plays".

The "Eight Great Operas" are also the most frequently performed operas in the past decade, so it seems only natural to broadcast "The White-Haired Girl" on New Year's Eve.

Chen Fan took out the two large bags of melon seeds and peanuts that Xiao Liewen had given him, and then took out the New Year's snacks that Jiang Lili had helped him make earlier from the cabinet, and laid them out on the table.

Then he walked to Jiang Lili's room and looked inside. Jiang Lili was alone. Jiang Tiantian must have gone next door. So he knocked on the door and said, "Little Jiang, come sit with me."

Jiang Lili walked over, smiled, and said, "No need, we'll go to sleep soon."

Chen Fan laughed and said, "Don't you all stay up all night tonight? I'm planning to stay up until midnight tonight. According to the old custom, young people staying up all night can pray for the elderly."

Jiang Lili lowered her head, then raised it again and smiled, "Then we'll go over there later."

Chen Fan pointed to his room, "Let's not stay any longer. The radio is playing 'The White-Haired Girl' right now. Let's go listen to it together. When your sister comes out, tell her to come over directly. I've prepared everything. Let's have a good time tonight."

Jiang Lili didn't insist any further, nodded, and followed.

A little while later, Jiang Tiantian came out, and Jiang Lili took her place to take a bath.

After everyone finished their work, the three of them sat around the table, listening to the radio, eating snacks, and chatting quietly.

Chen Fan was the main speaker. Even if he couldn't talk about the future, he could still captivate the two of them by sharing news from the newspaper or tidbits of knowledge he had learned in the archives, eliciting gasps of surprise from time to time.

Before I knew it, it was midnight, and the radio started ringing the hour.

Chen Fan immediately took out the fireworks and firecrackers he had bought earlier and smiled at the two sisters, "Let's set off firecrackers..."

After saying that, he walked out.

Jiang Tiantian and Jiang Lili exchanged a glance, then walked out of the room hand in hand, watching Chen Fan light fireworks and firecrackers in the snow, scattering strings of silvery laughter.

(End of this chapter)