Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 246 Begins the Renovation

The rain lasted for three days during the Qingming Festival. The militia hunting organized by the brigade headquarters was originally scheduled for two days, but Lujiawan is only so big. On the first day, they had hunted almost all the game they could. On the second day, they went out for half a day, but they only managed to get less than 3% of what they had caught on the first day. Moreover, they only got small things like wild rabbits. So, they hastily ended the day at noon.

Aside from some newborns and young ones, almost all the adult wild animals that could be seen with the naked eye were wiped out.

Although the policy was "targeting the big and letting the small," with so many militiamen firing their guns, it was impossible to control the situation. Some of the smaller militiamen still suffered collateral damage and became victims of the militiamen's gunfire.

Everyone in the team knew that Teacher Chen wanted to make a coat out of fox fur, and that the fox fur had already been sent to Team 9, where Lao Peng, who had been a hunter in the provincial hunting team, would tan the fur. He also sent over all the foxes he had hunted.

Unfortunately, Chen Fan had already traded other prey for foxes, and only 5 were sent over. In total, there were only 19 foxes, just enough to make a fur cloak.

Chen Fan and the Egret caught a maximum of 120 rabbits, most of which were baby rabbits, with only 36 adult rabbits, including 20 female rabbits. They hope to catch a few hundred more baby rabbits in the next six months.

But Chen Fan couldn't care less about the rabbits or his fox fur coat now.

The rain finally stopped a bit that day. Taking advantage of the clear sky after the rain, before the ground was completely dry, Chen Fan directed the workers who came to help to renovate the toilets, stoves, and transplant large trees.

In the front yard of the educated youth settlement, Jiang Lili, Huang Ying, and the other three women were all there, along with several older women, who were Huang Ying, Yang Ju, and Liu Dan's mother and aunts, who had also come to help out today.

Several large wooden basins were placed on the ground, containing different kinds of vegetables. After being washed in water, they were placed in a large bamboo basket next to them for later use.

There was also a large wooden basin next to it, filled with more than a dozen cleaned fish.

On the other side, a basin was soaking rabbit meat, fox meat, and badger meat. There was only a little blood in the water, so it was clear that this was not the first time it had been soaked. It was just waiting to be blanched in a pot before it could be cooked.

Today, Liu Jujiang was in charge of cooking. He was wearing a blue overcoat and was busy in front of two makeshift earthen stoves.

Yang Ju's mother, Aunt Yang, smiled and said, "Master Liu, how much will you charge for helping out today?"

Master Liu fiddled with the large ladle, stirring the pot from time to time. Hearing Aunt Yang's words, he turned around and laughed, "Why would I charge money? If Teacher Chen hadn't refused to accept it, I would have had to pay tuition instead."

Liu Dan's mother laughed and said, "If you ask me, you've actually made a profit. You've learned to cook several more dishes all at once. I bet people from the neighboring Qingshan Commune and Yangshan Commune will be asking you to cook for them in the future."

Master Liu looked up and laughed heartily, “I dare not think about such a far place, nor do I want to go there. But Teacher Chen’s cooking skills are truly amazing. He can not only cook home-style dishes and specialty dishes, but also wild game dishes.”

In the past, when we cooked wild game, we used to cook it like a home-style dish. In the end, it still had a fishy smell. Some people liked to eat it, but others couldn't get used to it.

But following Teacher Chen's method, the wild game cooked this way had virtually no fishy or foul smell; instead, it had a very unique aroma and tasted delicious. I doubt any chef in the entire Gufeng County could replicate that skill.”

No sooner had he finished speaking than several people came out of the kitchen next door, carrying baskets of black and yellow clods of dirt. They asked loudly, their faces covered in dust, "Yang Ju, where do you throw all this stuff?"

They've dismantled the old earthen stove; Chen Fan is going to make a new one later.

Yang Ju quickly responded, but turned to look at Jiang Lili. Chen Fan hadn't told them about this, so she didn't know if he had told Jiang Lili.

Jiang Lili immediately stood up, pointed to the backyard and said, "Teacher Chen said this soil is still useful, please carry it to the back."

Those people didn't say much, and walked away with shaky steps.

Later, they found that the two toilets had been demolished. Several lean men used shovels to dig the soil and soon dug out the two "manure tanks". They then wrapped ropes around the tanks twice and carried them to the livestock shed with the help of two men.

A huge opening had been made in the courtyard wall between the two livestock sheds, about 1.5 meters wide and... high up to the sky.

Chen Fan looked at the missing piece of the courtyard wall with some worry. He had been thinking of just making a hole the size of a door frame, then using wooden strips to make a frame and build a door. However, the commune member who had helped earlier used too much force, and a small section of adobe brick on top collapsed, resulting in the current state of the wall.

Captain Yang lit a cigarette and chuckled awkwardly, "It's alright, it's alright. We can just lay bricks on top after the door frame is installed."

Accountant Liu patted the dust off his hands and chuckled, "Or we could just make two door panels, each over two meters tall, that would be even easier."

The storekeeper, Huang, was immediately choked by a puff of smoke and coughed incessantly. He then looked at him and laughed, scolding, "Installing a door that's over two meters tall? How did you even come up with that idea? It's convenient when you're installing the door, but opening and closing it isn't a hassle for you, is it?"

Accountant Liu gasped, "That seems to be true."

Chen Fan, standing to the side, was both amused and exasperated. He waved his hand and said, "I can handle this myself later. It won't make much of a difference."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a foul stench filled the air.

Without turning around, he knew it must be the manure vat coming, so he immediately braced himself against the low wall and jumped into the stable next to him.

As for the mare, foal, and two lambs, he had already put them on the back slope to frolic, so they wouldn't get in his way here.

Chen Fan ignored the two piglets in the pigpen across the way.

These two piglets are such a pig-brain! They don't even know how to greet people here; all they do is eat, drink, poop, sleep, or run around in the pen. If we let them out, who knows where they'll go? Of course, we can't let them out.

Four men carried two manure vats over, and Captain Yang and his men quickly made way for them.

The man at the front shouted, "Haven't you ever smelled manure before? If you're so capable, then don't fertilize the fields with manure."

Accountant Liu covered his mouth and nose, still unconvinced, "Feitian, there's nothing I can do about it. Do you like going to the outhouse to smell the stench all the time?"

Without saying much, the man walked up to Liu and deliberately moved closer to him, startling Liu so much that he quickly jumped into the stable to keep Chen Fan company, who was grinning from ear to ear.

After the two manure vats were removed, a gust of wind blew in through the gap, and the air immediately became much fresher.

Just then, the man carrying the clods of earth for the stove came over and asked loudly, "Teacher Chen, where should we throw this clod of earth for the stove?"

Chen Fan quickly jumped out of the stable, saying as he walked out, "Pick them up at the back, crush them up, and use them for the septic tank."

If you go out of the gate and walk west, then turn a corner, you'll see a few people digging a pit not far away.

Instead of digging a pit right next to the courtyard wall, they first dug a trench connecting to the newly built toilet. This trench extended ten meters away, near the fields, where they dug another large pit—this was the septic tank. Besides the toilet, livestock manure could also be shoveled here. It was cleaned out once a month and used to compost, turning into farmyard manure in just one month.

As for who will clean it up?

Chen Fan doesn't need to worry about this. He just needs to hand over the "cleanup authority" to Captain Yang. Captain Yang will not only arrange for someone to do it, but also record his work points, and settle the accounts uniformly when the dividends are distributed.

Even manure is valuable.

When Chen Fan arrived, the pit in front had already been dug, and the workers were laying bricks with "soil cement".

Upon seeing Chen Fan, a man in his twenties exclaimed, "Teacher Chen, the sewage pipes you paved with bricks are more luxurious than the houses people build!"

Everyone burst into laughter, but they had no ill intentions.

The bricks Chen Fan gave were all burnt "black bricks," which were very brittle and would break easily with a few taps, making them unsuitable for building houses. However, when combined with soil and cement, they were perfect for constructing sewage channels where soil pollution had to be carefully prevented.

Besides the tunnels, the septic tanks and compost pits were also made of these black bricks.

Chen Fan stepped forward and laughed loudly, "Of course! They say, 'Without the stench of manure, there's no fragrance of rice blossoms.' Manure is a great fertilizer for the fields. The more fertile the fields, the better the harvest. Shouldn't we build a mansion for such a wonderful thing?"

As soon as he said that, everyone around burst into laughter.

Even the people in the courtyard burst into laughter when they heard his words.

Someone shouted from over the courtyard wall, "No wonder Teacher Chen wanted to renovate the toilets, it turns out he wanted to make the excrement more comfortable."

A few jokes quickly bridged the gap between Chen Fan and the other members.

Although he has lived here for more than two months and has had contact with everyone many times, he is not really familiar with the others except for a few.

Today, thanks to Captain Yang's call, 30 people came to help, which was also an opportunity for me to get to know everyone.

For these men who toil in the fields year-round, there's no need to say anything else. Just be down-to-earth, say a few common sayings, and you'll quickly build rapport.

As Chen Fan joked around, he took out a cigarette and offered it to others. Just then, Accountant Liu ran up from behind and shouted, "Little Chen, the tree has been brought over."

Chen Fan immediately turned around and shouted, "Okay, I'm coming right away."

He turned around, greeted the others, and then quickly ran towards the earthen slope.

Of the 30 strong laborers who came today, 10 were from the Yang family, 10 from the Liu family, and 10 from the Huang family. Three of them were dismantling the earthen stove in the front kitchen. Don't underestimate this earthen stove; it had been burned for 10 years, and the stove platform was already rock hard. If only one person were to smash it, it would be difficult to break it down in a short time.

Five people dismantled the toilet in the backyard and carried the manure tank to the back, where they built a "public toilet" on the embankment below the septic tank for the commune members working in the nearby fields.

Needless to say, this was also Chen Fan's suggestion.

Eight more people were digging tunnels and septic tanks here. Digging the tunnels was simple, but laying the bricks was a bit more troublesome. To finish the work as soon as possible, a little more people were needed.

The remaining half, a total of 14 people, went to help Chen Fan carry the big tree.

After the hunt, we need to quickly clear some of the wasteland to prepare for planting livestock grass. Otherwise, after this rain, the weeds in the wasteland will grow like crazy in a few days. They can grow several inches overnight and reach half a person's height in a few days. It will be much more difficult to deal with them then.

Taking advantage of the rain stopping today, each team organized women and the elderly to clear weeds, while the men rested for the time being to prepare for the next phase of heavy farm work.

In Team 6, just like the other teams, they were busy clearing several plots of wasteland nearby. The only difference was that Captain Yang had assigned some people to help Chen Fan renovate his house and homestead.

In those wastelands, besides weeds, there were also many miscellaneous trees, including a dozen or so fir and camphor trees. However, because the weeds and other trees had taken away their nutrients, they were underdeveloped, with thin trunks and not very lush branches and leaves. They were the kind of trees that could be cut down at will without anyone caring.

After discussing it with Chen Fan, Captain Yang decided to transplant all of the dozen or so trees to him. In addition, some short trees such as peach, pear, and osmanthus trees were also dug up to replace some of the useless miscellaneous trees and to facilitate the grafting of fruit trees in the future.

As for the fees, Captain Yang said that no money was needed. After all, once the aquaculture industry develops, those trees will be cut down as miscellaneous trees. All that was needed was a pack of economical cigarettes for each of the helpers.

After thinking about it, Chen Fan agreed with half of Captain Yang's opinion.

Half of what he meant was that he wouldn't pay for the trees planted outside of his designated "two mu" of land. But what if he paid for them, but they were planted on public land?

He only gave a token amount of 10 yuan for the few trees he had planted in his yard.

This price is practically free. The kind of wood used for telephone poles costs 32 yuan per piece. Even though it's been treated, a camphor tree over a foot thick must cost more than 10 yuan, right?
Not to mention, Chen Fan also picked out more than a dozen peach, pear and osmanthus trees to plant in his yard for 10 yuan each, which would belong to him personally in the future. It was practically a steal.

Chen Fan quickly ran to his homestead and saw several carts parked at the bottom of the slope. People were carrying trees up the slope and planting them in the holes they had dug in advance.

On the other side of the unseen earthen slope, one could faintly hear human voices, clearly indicating that someone was transplanting large trees there.

Chen Fan stood aside, saying how hard it was, while looking around to see what he could do to help.

As a result, Captain Yang disliked him and waved him aside repeatedly, saying, "You don't understand this kind of thing. Go to the side and don't get in the way."

Chen Fan decisively retreated, stood against the courtyard wall, and looked at everyone busy for him with an embarrassed expression.

Someone put the tree into the pit, picked up a carrying pole, and came down, shouting to Chen Fan, "Teacher Chen, I heard from the people in Team 9 that you taught them how to cook wild game the day before yesterday, and it tasted really good. Are there any wild game to eat today?"

Chen Fan laughed loudly, "Yes, definitely! I invited Chef Liu over yesterday and told him how to cook wild game. Chef Liu is preparing lunch in the front yard now. We'll have lunch later, so everyone should have a few more drinks!"

Upon hearing his words, the atmosphere immediately heated up, and more than a dozen people shouted in unison, "Great!"

(End of this chapter)