Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 252 is to be kept for later use.

The snake went into the fish basket, and Chen Fan picked it up and looked inside.

Ugh, curled up in a ball, looks awful.

Anquan and Captain Yang were rushing over when they saw this scene and were all stunned.

Captain Yang wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked at Chen Fan with a puzzled expression. "How did you manage to get it in there by itself?"

Chen Fan said confidently, "That's easy. It makes you all dizzy from chasing it. I just need to put the fish basket in its path, and it will obediently crawl inside."

Everyone was speechless. They had chased after him for so long, only to find themselves automatically crawling into Chen Fan's fish basket, right under everyone's noses.

If you didn't see it with your own eyes, who would believe it?

After a few seconds of hesitation, Captain Yang coughed and raised his head, saying, "It's good that you caught it. Um, Xiao Ju, find something to block the fish basket and take it to a distance to release it."

It turned out that Yang Ju and the other three had also come over, so Captain Yang told his daughter to go do some work.

Before Yang Ju could speak, Accountant Liu shouted from the side, "Huh? Release it! Such a big snake, it's worth two pounds of meat!"

Several voices also came from the crowd behind.

"Snake meat is a good thing; it can clear heat and detoxify."

"Yes, it can also relieve rheumatism, reduce swelling and relieve pain."

"Didn't Liu Jujiang stew a pot of snake meat the year before last? It would have been better to save it and eat it."

Captain Yang turned around, hands on his hips, and said irritably, "Eat, eat, all you know is how to eat. You young lads don't know anything, and Old Liu is just joining in the commotion. This is a rat snake, a beneficial snake, don't you understand?"

Where there are rat snakes, there are not only fewer rats, but also no venomous snakes. The rat snake is the "king of snakes" and eats venomous snakes, so wherever there are rat snakes, that area is very "clean".

"If the snake hadn't been burrowing on the back slope, I wouldn't have chased it away for fear it would frighten Xiao Chen."

Then he turned to Chen Fan and said, "Don't be afraid. This snake isn't poisonous. Take it to the area where we grow forage grass and release it. I can guarantee that there won't be any poisonous insects or rats in that area."

At this moment, Yang Ju had already rolled up a ball of straw and timidly held it up to Chen Fan.

Chen Fan didn't refuse. He took the straw and used it to plug the opening of the fish basket, then smiled and said, "Captain, you said it's a beneficial snake, so keep it for me."

Captain Yang was immediately startled. "Huh? You're going to keep it?"

Anquan also looked puzzled. After confirming that the opening of the fish basket had been blocked, he took a few steps forward to take a closer look, and then looked at Chen Fan, "Are you sure you want to raise this thing?"

Chen Fan smiled and said, "It's not like we're raising it, we're just letting it make a nest outside the yard. A few days ago, we had rats in our yard. With this snake around, it will definitely reduce the rat problem."

Upon hearing his words, Jiang Lili and the other three girls turned pale and clasped their arms tightly together in silent protest.

However, Jiang Lili was still not used to speaking in front of too many people, and Huang Ying and the other two came with a learning attitude and other thoughts, so they almost never thought of refuting Chen Fan's opinion. Therefore, at this moment, none of the residents of the educated youth settlement expressed any objection.

Seeing that they were all silent, and considering that Chen Fan was willing to keep the snake, Captain Yang nodded and said, "Then you have to take good care of the snake yourself. Although it won't bite if you don't provoke it, it's too close to the yard and it will occasionally sneak into the yard or even into the room. Then it's hard to say what will happen. It might bite you. Even if the rat snake isn't venomous, a bite will still hurt, so you have to keep a close eye on it."

Chen Fan smiled and said, "That's easy. I'll dig up some balsam flowers and senna flowers and plant them at the door of the room, then the snakes won't come."

Upon hearing this, everyone was taken aback.

An Quan asked curiously, "The balsam flowers and the 'Wang Jiangnan' flower you mentioned, can they repel snakes?"

Chen Fan nodded and smiled, "Both balsam flowers and senna are medicinal herbs. Besides their medicinal value, they are also very effective at repelling snakes. No matter what kind of snake it is, it will avoid you when it smells these two plants."

Captain Yang blinked and asked, "How do you know this?"

Chen Fan: "It's written in the book. You'll know if you read more books."

Captain Yang and the others were speechless for a moment.

That's why I hate dealing with intellectuals the most; it makes me feel like I'm particularly uncultured.

Since Chen Fan had a way to deal with it, Jiang Lili and the others were no longer afraid, and no one else would object. So they each went to the back mountain to fetch soil, while Chen Fan carried the fish basket to the nearby woods to release the fish.

There is a distance of about 50 meters between the educated youth settlement and the river embankment, and there is a ditch three or four meters wide in the middle, which is just right for the rat snake to make its home.

He walked into the woods, but instead of releasing the snake, he held the fish basket and said to it, "Did you hear that? They said they were going to stew you and eat you. I'm the one who rescued you."

The snake was a little confused. "I can't understand your language, so how would I know what you were saying?"
However, it was a bit slow-witted and had never encountered a person who could speak snake language before. So it believed whatever Chen Fan said and immediately flicked its tongue, saying, "Oh."

Is this all the reaction you get for saving my life? You're nowhere near as good as a falcon.

However, Chen Fan didn't hold it against it and continued, "But I won't save you for nothing. From today onwards, the important task of cleaning up the rats in this yard and the earthen slope behind it will be your responsibility. If there are any other snakes, you will also be responsible for driving them away."

"Rat-shaped snake, can I eat it?"

Chen Fan's lips twitched slightly. He forgot that this non-venomous snake was known as the "King of Snakes" because it ate its own kind. No matter how venomous a snake was, it would only be eaten by the rat snake.

Well, large pythons are an exception, mainly because they're too tough to chew, but there aren't any pythons here. Chen Fan said, "Do with it as you please. There's only one, but from now on, no rats or other snakes are allowed on my territory. Got it?"

The garland serpent continued flicking its tongue, "Understood."

Chen Fan said, "Also, you're not allowed to bite anyone. If you see someone, run away immediately. If someone hits you, call the police..."

He stopped mid-sentence, then remembered that snakes can't speak, and quickly changed his words, "You can either come find me or hide in a hole, understand?"

"I understand," said the cauliflower snake.

Chen Fan then removed the straw bundle, laid the fish basket on the ground, and the rat snake quickly crawled out, then curled up into a ball and stood up to look at Chen Fan.

Chen Fan's face fell. "What, you're not convinced? Want to fight me one-on-one?"

As he spoke, he took out a pebble the size of a pigeon's egg, flicked his wrist, and knocked down a sparrow with a snap.

The cauliflower snake shuddered. "I don't want a one-on-one fight."

Chen Fan clapped his hands and smiled coldly, "If you don't want a one-on-one fight, go catch some rats."

He paused for a moment, then added, "Also, don't try to run away, look up."

The rat snake raised its head, and a hawk on a branch was looking at it with eager eyes. Upon seeing the hawk, the rat snake couldn't help but shudder and quickly slithered away.

Chen Fan frowned slightly. "Where are you going?"

Rat snake, used for catching mice.

Chen Fan nodded in satisfaction. That's more like how you do your job.

……

On April 11, the 23rd day of the second lunar month, Chen Fan got up early as usual and rushed to the brigade headquarters for work.

Zhang Cuie, the "volunteer," was already waiting there, hunched over the table reading and studying. Not only that, she also cleaned the entire broadcasting room spotlessly, even mopping the floor until it was smooth and shiny.

Seeing this, Teacher Chen nodded with satisfaction. Not bad, not bad. Taking on this student has indeed made things much easier for me.

Then I looked at my teacup and saw that I had already brewed half a cup of green tea.

Chen Fan didn't have any tea himself. If he wasn't mistaken, Zhang Cuie must have scavenged it from her uncle, Captain Zhang's, house. Her filial piety was truly commendable.

It was only then that Zhang Cuie, who was reading a book, heard the noise and came to her senses.

Upon seeing that it was Chen Fan, she quickly stood up and respectfully greeted him, "Hello, teacher."

Then he picked up the kettle and filled the half-cup with tea.

Chen Fan pulled up a chair, sat down, picked up his teacup, and took a sip; the temperature was just right.

Only then did he raise his head to look at Zhang Cuie, and said with a smile, "How have you been feeling after studying here for five days?"

Zhang Cuie grinned broadly, "It feels great. I've learned how to turn the device on and off, and how to read the broadcasts.

Then her face fell quickly, and she pouted, saying, "It's just that I'm learning appliance repair a bit slowly; I'm still getting familiar with the main parts."

Chen Fan placed the teacup on the table and chuckled softly, "It's just the beginning, don't rush. Turning the machine on and off is just the simplest way to use it. Even someone who can't read can learn it quickly, let alone someone who's been to school. There's nothing to be proud of."

Zhang Cuie blushed, lowered her head in embarrassment, and murmured, "I... I wasn't proud."

Chen Fan waved his hand and continued, "I didn't mean to criticize you, I just wanted to give you a heads-up. Also, reading the broadcast seems simple, but it's actually quite complicated. First of all, standard Mandarin is the foundation. Right now, you can only barely read a short article with pinyin annotations, and your pronunciation isn't very standard either. That won't do. You have to study and practice diligently. It would be best to read aloud for an hour every morning, and your progress will definitely be very obvious."

As for appliance repair, you don't need to rush. First, solidify your understanding of electrical appliances from middle school. Later, I'll find someone to help you buy a couple of books on appliance repair in the county, and ideally, a few sets of radio parts. Try assembling and repairing them yourself, and then gradually progress step by step. Sooner or later, you'll master electrical appliances."

Zhang Cuie nodded vigorously with a face full of gratitude, "Thank you, teacher."

Chen Fan smiled and waved his hand, then took out the alarm clock and placed it on the table. "It's almost time, get ready to turn it on."

Zhang Cuie immediately straightened her face, quickly tidied up the textbooks on the table, then focused her mind and stared intently at the alarm clock, waiting for the broadcast time to begin.

At 6:59, she quickly turned on the radio and the broadcasting machine, and the song "The East Is Red" immediately came from the loudspeaker outside.

This song is usually played before a radio program begins to test the equipment.

Zhang Cuie breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that the device was playing normally.

Chen Fan smiled, stood up and said, "You stay here and watch over things. I'm going to the commune to take care of some business."

After saying that, he turned around and walked out.

(End of this chapter)