Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 197 Fierce Competition

As the group was chatting, Zhang Changjiang and Ye Shubao walked in. Yang Xingxiu had arrived earlier, but had gone to her own office on the other side.

This office was used by the brigade's "cadres," with only Secretary Yang and three team leaders present; the others worked in other offices.

Although they wouldn't officially start work until the day after tomorrow, since the commune had issued a notice, they simply came two days early to do some preparatory work before starting work.

When Chen Fan saw that they had all arrived, and checked the time (it was already 6:50), he stopped chatting, greeted them, and turned to leave the office.

Xiao Liewen glanced at Chen Fan's back, silently put the rifle back in the cabinet and locked it, pulled out a chair and sat down, squinting as he thought.

This kid learns things too fast. It seems that basic skills are no longer a challenge for him. Next, we'll have to teach him some real skills.

However, he hadn't decided what to teach him yet, so he didn't say much to Chen Fan now. He would wait until he figured out what to teach him before discussing it further.

Chen Fan walked out of the office and rushed to the broadcasting station to turn on the radio. With a few minutes left, he read out the market announcement.

He tested the microphone, "Hello, hello."

He then said, "Good morning, fellow members. This is Chen Fan, the production team's broadcaster. I'm here to announce a notice. We have received a notice from the higher commune that the rural market will be held again on March 6th, the seventeenth day of the first lunar month. The location will still be in Team 5 of Ganjiacun Village. Those who need to buy or sell can go there."

Now, to repeat, following the notification from the higher-level commune…

Chen Fan's voice echoed through the loudspeakers over Lujiawan, waking countless people from their sweet dreams.

When they weren't working, the villagers were used to sleeping in late, but when they heard the notice, they all got up, without brushing their teeth or washing their faces, and went out wrapped in cotton-padded coats to chat with people everywhere.

"Old Yang, it's market time again! Want to go buy something?"

"Nonsense, the New Year is over, why would you buy anything? But going over to join in the fun is fine."

“If you don’t want to buy, you can sell them. You’re just sitting around anyway. You can make some baskets and chairs and sell them for a few bucks.”

"Everything else is fine, but we can't sell things like pickles, kimchi, soy sauce, and vinegar. Goodness, last time I carried them out and brought them back the same way, wasting two bowls of rice for nothing."

"When it comes to selling things, Teacher Chen is the most resourceful. I heard he made several tens of yuan selling turtle meat last time."

"That's his skill. His turtle meat is really delicious. My wife tried to make it the same way, but it's not as good as his."

Just then, a voice suddenly popped out from the side, "Chen Defa, are you asking for trouble? If my cooking doesn't taste good, then don't eat it again."

Chen Defa's face immediately hardened. "Can't I say it's not tasty? Come on, come back with me and see how I deal with this."

After saying that, he pulled his wife and walked home. Then he closed the door and there was no more sound.

Those watching burst into laughter, "Old Chen is kneeling on the washboard again."

Others joined in the mockery.

Another team huddled together and discussed, "Teacher Chen made a lot of money selling turtles last time. Do you think we could try doing that business too?"

"Sure, why not?"

A man, smoking a cigarette, said confidently, "On the second day of the Lunar New Year, I went to pay my respects to Teacher Chen. I searched his room thoroughly and found that there was only one turtle in his house, which was the one that Company Commander Zhang used to exchange for charcoal. I even asked him why he hadn't caught any turtles. He said that eating too many turtles would cause internal heat, and that turtles burrow into the mud in winter, making them difficult to catch, so he hadn't bothered to catch them."

If Chen Fan were here, he would recognize him as the one who delivered the horsewhip.

Upon hearing his words, someone nearby immediately said, "So, Teacher Chen isn't going to set up a stall to sell turtles this time?"

The man immediately shook his head, "He only has two days, he has a lot of things to do, he definitely won't have enough time." The others immediately burst into laughter, "Then don't blame us for making money!"

Almost simultaneously, dozens of households throughout the entire Nanhu Commune were making the same sound.

I wonder what they'll think when they see such fierce competition on market day?
……

After reading the notice, Chen Fan tidied up briefly and went to the front yard.

Entering the veterinary class classroom, he didn't start lecturing as usual, but instead said, "I just read out the notice that the market will be held on the seventeenth day of the first lunar month. You all know that, right?"

The students answered in unison, "We know."

Chen Fan nodded. "There will be no classes on market day. You can arrange it yourselves. But that's not what I wanted to talk about. Secretary Yang just told me that the start date for the commune's veterinary class has been set, but the number of places available for the veterinary class has not yet been determined."

Upon hearing this, the entire room fell silent, and everyone stared at him intently.

Chen Fan placed his hands on the table that served as a podium, glanced at everyone, and said seriously, "I also know that some of you were not actually the top scorers in the exam when you were selected for the veterinary class last time."

Upon hearing this, many people couldn't help but blush and lower their heads.

Chen Fan continued, "But it doesn't matter. The past is the past; we need to look to the future. What does looking to the future mean? I plan to suggest to Secretary Yang and the others that this time, the selection of candidates for the commune's veterinary class should still be conducted through an examination."

Including myself, we all took the exam together, and the top three went to the commune for further study.

You don't need to worry about me setting the questions. The questions were taken by Secretary Yang, who went to the veterinary station to borrow the exam papers. Just like you, I don't know the questions either.

However, this time is different from last time. Last time, because there were girls participating, the boys were given the opportunity to fill the spots. But this time, we are all boys, so everyone is treated equally. Whoever has the best grades will get a spot.

He paused for a moment, then asked loudly, "Did you understand?"

Everyone answered in unison, "We understand."

Chen Fan smiled and said, "Alright, now that you understand, let's continue studying. I'll give you two more days. The exam will be the day after tomorrow, and the results will be released on the spot. You can go directly to the commune to report next Monday."

All the students nodded slightly with serious expressions.

Although Chen Fan said he would compete for three spots, they excluded him from the beginning and only had eyes for the remaining two spots.

Before entering this veterinary class, they only thought that Chen Fan would have an advantage because he learned and taught at the same time.

But after spending more than half a month together, I realized how big the gap was between myself and Teacher Chen.

Chen Fan quickly adapted from simply reciting from the script to his role, able to answer various questions for everyone. In particular, he practiced on the livestock raised by the commune members themselves, almost always getting it right at a glance and curing it on the first try, making him seem even more capable than Chief Zhou of the commune's veterinary station.

Is there even a need for a competition? Let's just compete for the remaining two spots!
With that in mind, everyone started reviewing, hoping to get good grades in the exam the day after tomorrow.

……

As Chen Fan came out of the classroom, he ran into Zhang Wenliang. He immediately grabbed Zhang's hand and said, "You were training earlier, so I couldn't tell you. I've mastered the shooting technique you taught me, and Captain Xiao has passed the test. When are you going to teach me the next step: practical shooting techniques?"

Zhang Wenliang's lips twitched slightly. "I heard Captain Xiao mention it. I know you've mastered it. I'll teach you how to shoot at moving targets during the next militia training session."

Chen Fan rubbed his little hands together, grinning from ear to ear, "So when is the training camp?"

Zhang Wenliang: "The last training camp was less than a month ago, what's the rush? Let's talk about it in two months."

(End of this chapter)