Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 24 A Long Day

In any case, improving physical fitness is a good thing.

If only I could increase my strength someday. With only 5 points of strength, I'm practically "too weak to even kill a chicken." In this production team where women can outdo men and men can outdo donkeys, it's a huge embarrassment for me.

Chen Fan sat in a cheerful mood, watching Jiang Lili bustling around, when suddenly a question occurred to him, "Hey, Xiao Jiang, isn't this place called Lujiawan? How come I've never heard of any family with the surname Lu?"

Generally speaking, places named after surnames usually have a large family with the same surname. But today, after listening for a long time, he heard people with the surnames Yang, Liu, and Huang, and there was also a barefoot doctor named Zhang at the brigade headquarters, but he never heard of anyone with the surname Lu, which was strange.

Jiang Lili turned to look at him and said softly, "Because in the past, the entire Lujiawan area, as well as the section of the river next to it, belonged to the Lu family. Other families could only be considered Lu family tenants, so this area was called Lujiawan."

Chen Fan's eyes widened immediately. This huge area of ​​land all belonged to the Lu family?
What a tycoon!

Then, somewhat curious, he asked, "What about the Lu family?"

"Well,"

Jiang Lili stopped eating, her expression rather strange. "I heard it from the commune members while they were working. They said that when the Japanese invaded, the Lu family sent all the clansmen away, leaving only one branch to guard the house. Now, that branch only has an old man left, but I've never met him, and I don't know anything else about him."

He paused for a moment, then continued,
"The current Lujiawan Production Team headquarters is the former Lujiawan Compound. It was occupied by the Japanese during the War of Resistance Against Japan. Later, after the liberation of Nanhu in 1945, it was taken over by the public. I went there once. It was a huge area of ​​blue brick and tile houses. It is said that more than 100 people from the Lujiawan family lived there back then. Including the farmhands, it was not much different from the commune town."

Hearing these words, Chen Fan couldn't help but be somewhat lost in thought.

A large family becomes a single household, and a single household becomes a single person.

Those years saw so many changes in the world; fate truly played tricks on us.

After Jiang Lili finished cleaning up, Chen Fan also got up and went back to his room.

By this time, it was already dark, with only the moonlight casting a few rays of light.

Back inside, Chen Fan fumbled for matches in the dark and lit the kerosene lamp. He then closed all four windows, otherwise, the night air would be too cold, and catching a cold would be troublesome.

She then took a wooden basin to the kitchen to fetch water, brought it back, and washed up.

The windows of the mud-walled house have two layers: the outer layer is a burglarproof wooden fence, and the inner layer consists of two small wooden doors, each about a foot high and half a foot wide, with even a small wooden bolt to prevent anyone from pushing them open from the outside.

During the day, you can open the windows and doors to let in fresh air, and then close them at night, which is very convenient. However, if you want to close them during the day, then there will be no light in the room, because these doors don't even have window paper; they are all solid wood.

Just now at Captain Yang's house, Chen Fan noticed that the windows were window frames covered with paper. Light could still pass through even when the door was closed, but the paper was easy to tear and needed to be repaired frequently.

After a flurry of activity, things finally calmed down.

What a long day!

Actually, it was still early at this time, probably around 7 pm at the latest. Before the time travel, the news hadn't started yet, and I was still on the bus. By the time I got home, cooked dinner, took a shower, and curled up in bed playing on my phone, it was already midnight.

It's only 7 o'clock, and you're already going to sleep?

Chen Fan leaned back in his chair, sitting and soaking his feet listlessly.

I slept for who knows how many hours yesterday, but I haven't felt sleepy all day today. Just now, I suddenly felt a bit more energetic, which made me incredibly alert. How am I supposed to sleep?
His head turned around and around, but his gaze finally landed on the little red book.

Since there's no fun to do, let's study!
By the dim light of a kerosene lamp, Chen Fan began to read.

Since graduating from university, Chen Fan has never seriously read a book. Even when reading novels online, he skims through them without thinking. But reading these kinds of books requires reading word by word and thinking as you read; otherwise, it's better not to read at all. However, this makes his reading speed extremely slow.

After an unknown amount of time, even the water in the foot bath had gone cold, Chen Fan finally finished reading one article.

Normally, he should be drowsy by now. But for some reason, he not only doesn't feel sleepy, but is even more energetic?
Just then, Chen Fan heard a "ding".

“你学习了有用的知识，智慧得到提升、精神得到升华，奖励智力+1、精神+1，当前智力9/10、精神9/10。”

The next second, Chen Fan felt a cool breeze flow through his brain, as if it had cleansed his entire brain, leaving him with a clear mind.

If he could go back, he guaranteed he could double his work efficiency and even pass the civil service exam.

As for now?

Chen Fan hesitated for two seconds, then decided it would be better to increase his strength first.

Without an identity or household registration, it's impossible for him to register for the college entrance examination, so what's the point of learning knowledge? His background is unclear, and no organization would dare to hire him.

At least for the short term, staying in Lujiawan is his only way out.

Therefore, the greater the power, the better.

Of course, increasing basic attributes is ultimately a good thing, and Chen Fan felt that he was getting more than he could handle.

Having found another way to increase his skill points, Chen Fan prepared to continue his efforts.

But when he saw the kerosene lamp, he suddenly realized that this thing was a waste of oil. What would he do if he ran out of oil? Should he shamelessly go to Captain Yang, or should he brazenly ask Jiang Lili for a loan?
Without saying a word, he dried his feet, ran out and collapsed against the courtyard wall. When he came back, he closed the gate, tidied up his other things, spread out the quilt, and prepared to go to sleep.

But when he was about to turn off the lights, he ran into a problem.

How did you put this thing out?
Blow away, there's a lampshade.

Chen Fan wanted to remove the lampshade, but it was too hot, and there was nothing convenient to use. He couldn't very well use a towel to remove it, as the cold towel would be too hot against the hot lampshade!

Blow it out from the top?
Seeing the wisps of black smoke, he didn't dare to put his mouth close.

I stared blankly at the kerosene lamp for a while, trying hard to recall my rural life in my previous life... Oh, it was around the new millennium then, not some remote mountain area, so who didn't have electricity?

After studying the kerosene lamp for a long time, he accidentally twisted the wick, causing it to shrink inwards and the flame to become smaller.

Chen Fan's eyes lit up, and he continued to descend. He watched as the wick shrank into the lamp, the tiny flame flickered twice, and finally went out.

Once the lights go out, the whole room is completely dark, and you can't see anything.

Even if you close your eyes for half a minute and then open them again, you still can't see a single outline.

There was no other way but to fumble and take off my cotton-padded coat and put it on the opposite bed. Without even taking off my pajamas, I shakily made my way to my own bed and lay down. I quickly wrapped the blanket tightly around myself, and it took a while before my body warmed up again.

To be honest, this straw mattress is quite warm. It's a bit prickly, but it's not too soft or too hard and heats up quickly. If I had a sheet with it, it would be quite comfortable to use.

But now we're penniless and owe 30 kilograms of rice in debt. Where are we going to get bed sheets?
Lying in bed, Chen Fan's mind wandered, and he didn't know how much time had passed before he finally drifted off to sleep.

(End of this chapter)