Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 185 Let's Chat

After leaving the brigade headquarters, Chen Fan rode his mule home.

Upon arriving at Team 6, they returned the livestock, tossed a pack of cigarettes to Master Liu, and hurried off.

The price of a pack of cigarettes was more expensive than borrowing livestock using work points.

However, since they lent him the livestock without even asking a question, that was giving him face. And you have to accept that face. If he doesn't know what's good for him and thinks it's his due, then there probably won't be a next time.

That's how relationships are built through give and take.

When they returned to the educated youth settlement a short while later, they found the courtyard unusually quiet, with no sound coming from behind. The snow in the courtyard had been cleared away, but they had no idea where Jiang Lili was.

He put his things away, then walked to Jiang Lili's room and gently knocked on the door. "Little Jiang, are you there?"

Jiang Lili's voice rang out immediately, "Coming."

The door was quickly opened, and Jiang Lili looked at Chen Fan, forcing a smile, "You're back. I... I'll go cook."

Chen Fan didn't move aside, but looked down at her.

Jiang Lili quickly lowered her head, not wanting him to see her slightly reddened eyes.

Two seconds later, Chen Fan said softly, "I saw your sister into the car. The car tires are chained, so don't worry about it slipping. If all goes well, we should be in the county town by now, maybe even close to Yunhu."

Nanhu Town is not far from Yunhu City, which is under 100 kilometers away. However, it is necessary to cross a river and the Yangtze River. In those days, there were no bridges, so you had to take a ferry to cross the river.

It usually takes about half an hour to drive from Nanhu to Gufeng County, but it takes longer after snow, so let's say an hour. Then from Gufeng County to Yunhu City, it usually takes an hour, but let's say two hours today. These days there's no traffic jam, so even if the car is driving slowly, it's still moving. So, the total time should be about three hours, which should be enough.

Jiang Tiantian's car departed at 7 o'clock, and it's almost 10 o'clock now, so it should be about time.

It's understandable that Jiang Lili is worried, given that Jiang Tiantian almost had an accident yesterday and is now traveling on icy roads again.

Hearing Chen Fan's words, Jiang Lili still didn't look up, only saying, "Thank you."

Chen Fan smiled and said, "You're welcome."

He paused for a moment, then said, "If you're still worried, why don't I give you a phone number that can contact your family? When I'm at work this afternoon, I'll call from the brigade headquarters and find out if she's arrived home safely."

Jiang Lili took a deep breath, finally raised her head, looked at Chen Fan with hazy eyes, and after several seconds, softly said, "Thank you."

Chen Fan smiled and was about to speak when he heard Jiang Lili exhale a long breath and say, "I'll go cook."

As he said this, he was about to go out.

Chen Fan waved his hand and said, "No rush, it's not even 10 o'clock yet, and I'm not hungry."

He then pointed to his room and said, "I'll go light the fire. You wash your face and come over for a chat."

Jiang Lili paused for a moment, then said hesitantly, "What should we talk about?"

Chen Fan laughed and said, "Whatever. Anyway, it's snowing heavily today, so we can't do anything. Let's take a break for a while, sit by the fire, and chat."

Jiang Lili at this moment, or rather, since Jiang Tiantian arrived yesterday afternoon, is quite different from her usual self.

She usually seems like a strong woman, always having endless tasks, and she always does them very well.

But in the past two days, she has shown a charming naiveté that Chen Fan had never seen before in front of her sister, and now she is showing unprecedented helplessness, which makes Chen Fan feel pity for her.

Since we're both free right now, it wouldn't hurt to try and comfort her. Comforting someone doesn't necessarily require great eloquence; often, listening is a better choice.

Chen Fan lit the stove, turned on the radio, brewed two cups of tea, placed one cup in front of Jiang Lili, and then sat down comfortably.

Jiang Lili sat upright in the chair, glanced at him with her head down, and after a while, seeing that he still didn't speak, she said, "What do you want to talk about?"

Chen Fan, holding his teacup, turned to look at her and smiled, "Whatever, we can talk about anything. Just let go of all your unhappiness and have a happy New Year."

Then he shook his head, "No, it should be about living each day happily."

Jiang Lili pouted, a rare occurrence for her. Her eyes were vacant as she stared at the door, which was only slightly ajar. She sighed softly, "Can we really live happily every day?"

Looking at her, Chen Fan felt that at this moment, Jiang Lili was like a 17-year-old girl, sentimental and easygoing.

After all, she was only 17 years old.

Looking at Jiang Lili's profile, Chen Fan was stunned for several seconds before he came to his senses and said with a smile, "Whether you can live happily every day does not depend on who you meet or what you suffer, but on yourself."

He leaned slightly to the side, half-resting on the table, and smiled at her, "Have you ever met Master Lu?"

Jiang Lili turned to look at him and gently shook her head, "No."

Chen Fan said, "Oh, that's such a pity. Let me tell you, Master Lu is quite a character. Don't let his patched clothes fool you; the patches are all neatly made, square and stylish. He always keeps himself clean and tidy, even when he's just come out of the fields, he still walks with his back straight..."

He recounted his observations of Master Lu over the past few days in great detail, and finally looked at Jiang Lili and said softly, "Think about it, Master Lu has suffered so much. He lost his family business, his family members, and he even lost a leg. Yet he still maintains a good attitude, working, studying, and living diligently. If even he can do it, what reason do we have to sigh and complain?"

Jiang Lili nodded slowly, seemingly lost in thought. "So Master Lu has such a good attitude. I always thought he was like some people, who didn't even dare to look people in the eye, and who kept his head down all day long, never daring to speak loudly."

No sooner had he finished speaking than he heard a strange noise from the side.

Turning around, I saw Chen Fan with a flushed face, desperately trying to suppress his laughter.

Jiang Lili rolled her eyes slightly and couldn't help but say coquettishly, "You're so annoying."

As soon as she finished speaking, she couldn't help but burst out laughing, and then she couldn't stop giggling.

Then she realized that what she had just said was about herself!

After laughing for a while, Jiang Lili let out a long breath, turned to look at Chen Fan, and said softly with a smile, "Thank you, Xiao Fan."

Chen Fan waved his hand and smiled at her, "Are you feeling any better now?"

Jiang Lili nodded gently, "Yes, much better."

She then let out a long breath and said with a smile, "Actually, I was also thinking about my sister, which is why I was unhappy."

As she spoke, she turned to look at Chen Fan, "You have no idea how good my sister is. Our family came from another place. My grandparents and maternal grandparents are not around. When I was little, my parents were busy with work, so my sister always took care of me. She learned to cook from my mother when she was 6 years old, and later she cooked even better than my mother. I learned my cooking skills from her."

At school, she had excellent grades, always ranking first in her class. Later, she was admitted to Yunhu Vocational School, and after graduation, she was assigned to a supply and marketing cooperative…

Chen Fan finally breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Jiang Lili start talking.

As long as we can chat, that's fine. Once we start talking and express what's on our minds, we won't develop any heart problems from holding it in.

(End of this chapter)