Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 253 Horseshoeing

As Xiao Liewen walked downstairs, he found himself already sitting in his office drinking tea, just like always.

Hearing footsteps, he immediately looked towards the door and called out when Chen Fan appeared, "Little Chen."

Chen Fan turned and stepped into their office. "Captain Xiao, you wanted to see me?"

Xiao Liewen pointed to the long bench against the wall, tossed him a cigarette, then took out his own pipe, lit it, exhaled a puff of smoke, and said, "I heard that when you were renovating the toilet, you also came up with some kind of squat toilet? And you even tiled your stove?"

Chen Fan chuckled, "Oh, you mean this?"

He picked up a cigarette, took the match Xiao Liewen handed him, struck a match to light the cigarette, but didn't smoke it. He continued, "It's not a porcelain shard, just some pottery shards I fired myself, the kind that's about the same quality as a bowl. If it gets dirty, you can just wipe it with a cloth. As for that squat toilet, I saw a report about apartment buildings in the newspaper and then, based on the knowledge in the book 'Building Technology,' I made it myself. The toilet and sewers aren't even completely dry yet, and I haven't tested whether they work well or not."

Xiao Liewen clicked his tongue, took a puff of his cigarette, and said, "You're worried it won't work well? I heard that Lao Yang and the others ordered more than a dozen squat toilets from you. If it didn't work well, would they have spent the money?"

Chen Fan chuckled and said, "Let's put the money aside for now. The key issue is that it's been raining for the past few days, so we can't fire the kiln. The clay blanks I made overnight have been sitting there for two or three days and they still haven't dried completely. If we want to deliver the goods, we have to wait until the clay blanks are completely dry and the weather clears up."

Xiao Liewen nodded and said, "Anyway, I don't care when you fire the kiln, count me in. Besides that squat toilet, you also need the ceramic shards for the stove. I'll calculate the cost for you later."

Chen Fan naturally agreed without hesitation. Even if he didn't pay, it was only right that he give him a set of skills for free, based on all the kung fu he had learned from him.

On another note, since I'm learning kung fu from him, should I become his apprentice?

After the matter was settled, Xiao Liewen smiled with satisfaction and then asked, "I noticed you're carrying a bag. Where are you going?"

Chen Fan pointed south, "I need to take care of some business at the commune."

Xiao Liewen didn't think much of it, and just casually asked, "What do you need to do at the commune?"

Chen Fan smiled and said, "I wrote a novel a while ago and wanted to try submitting it to Jiangnan Literature and Art. Today I'm going to mail the letter."

As Chen Fan said this, he felt a little down. He had been thinking of making a fortune through writing, but these days there were very few newspapers and periodicals. Apart from the most authoritative "two newspapers and one magazine," namely the second-rate Daily, the PLA Daily, and the Red Flag Magazine, there were basically only local dailys and a very small number of magazines left.

Many newspapers and periodicals that were once thriving more than a decade ago have ceased publication. Even those few that have resumed publication have mostly changed their names and only solicited submissions from specific local organizations, which is one of the reasons why literary development has been limited in the last ten years.

It was probably not until the second half of this year that major newspapers and periodicals began to "resume publication," which then reached its peak in the early 80s and finally faded away quietly in the late 90s.

Now, there are only a few options available. Jiangnan Literature and Art only recently resumed its original name and started soliciting submissions from the public. Chen Fan saw the news in the newspaper and thought he would give it a try.

Otherwise, he would have to submit his work to the Yunhu Daily, but who knows if the Prefectural Committee Daily would publish this type of novel.

Captain Xiao had no idea about Chen Fan's thoughts. He almost choked on his smoke and stared blankly at Chen Fan. "Writing novels?"

Although Chen Fan had written two news reports, writing novels and writing news reports are two different things. One is about facts, and the other is about fiction. He never expected that Chen Fan could also write novels.

He then spread his hands and said, "Where's the manuscript? Let me see it."

Without hesitation, Chen Fan took out a stack of manuscript paper from the cloth bag and handed it to him.

Captain Xiao unfolded the manuscript paper and frowned at first glance, "Why does it look like a girl's handwriting?"

Chen Fan coughed lightly, "Uh, because I'm usually quite busy, I asked Comrade Xiao Jiang to copy it."

Captain Xiao glanced at him, said nothing, and then carefully read the manuscript.

An article of over 38,000 words was naturally not easy to read. He only read two pages before handing the manuscript back to Chen Fan, grinning and saying, "Good, very good. You wrote a story about cadres stationed in rural areas, right?"

Chen Fan put away the manuscript paper, nodded and smiled, "Yes, it was inspired by Cadre An. Then I talked to Xiao Jiang and Xiao Yang about the advanced deeds of some cadres who had been stationed in Lujiawan before, and then I made artistic modifications to write it like this."

Xiao Liewen nodded slowly. "Okay, Mr. Li once said something like, 'Art originates from life, transcends life, and serves the people.' Although your article is a bit exaggerated, it is not divorced from reality and can be considered a practical application of Mr. Li's guidance."

Then he waved his hand and said, "Go on, hurry up and mail the letter. The sooner it's sent, the sooner it'll be published."

Chen Fan was immediately embarrassed. "Not necessarily. If the manuscript doesn't pass the review, the magazine will reject it."

Xiao Liewen was taken aback. "Oh, they even reject manuscripts?"

However, he seemed even more confident than Chen Fan himself, raising his head and laughing, "It's alright, you've already published two articles in the prefectural committee newspaper, what magazine is this? Is it even more prestigious than the prefectural committee daily? If you ask me, it's definitely no problem."

Chen Fan gave an awkward laugh, offering no further explanation. Well, while *Jiangnan Literature* wasn't widely known, in terms of prefectural committee daily publications, it was actually slightly higher in rank. This was because the magazine wasn't based in Yunhu, but in the provincial capital, directly managed by the provincial writers' association—essentially, an internal publication of the Jiangnan Provincial Writers' Association. Publishing a few articles there practically guaranteed membership in the association.

That's why he chose to submit his work to this magazine first.

Even if the manuscript is rejected, the newspaper won't feel ashamed to submit it to Yunhu Daily as a substitute.

It's possible that the newspaper's editor-in-chief is one of the editors of "Jiangnan Literature," so why would they dislike the manuscripts that the newspaper doesn't want?
After leaving the brigade headquarters, Chen Fan rode his horse towards the commune.

Soon I arrived at the post office. I bought envelopes and stamps, wrote the recipient's address on the envelope, stuffed the manuscript paper inside, applied the communal paste from the counter to seal it, and then dabbed a little on the stamp and carefully pasted it onto the upper right corner of the envelope.

Since it was being sent to the provincial capital, which was considered a long-distance shipment, it would cost 8 cents. He bought two 4-cent stamps and affixed them.

Within the local area, the price is only 4 cents. When Jiang Lili and Jiang Tiantian correspond, they only need a 4-cent stamp.

Thinking of Jiang Tiantian, Chen Fan's eyes flickered, and an idea came to him.

Jiang Tiantian lives in the city, where the Xinhua Bookstore should have more books than in the county town. When I help Jiang Lili mail a letter later, I can write a letter to her along with it and ask her to check if there are any books I need.

Hmm, that's a good idea.

He walked out of the post office, dropped the letter into the mailbox at the door, then untied the reins from the tree, mounted his horse, and prepared to leave.

At that moment, the mare snorted and whispered, "My foot hurts."

Foot pain?

Chen Fan paused for a moment, then dismounted and squatted down to ask, "Which foot hurts?"

The mare raised her left foreleg, "This one."

Chen Fan held the horse's hoof and inspected it, then gently patted his head, muttering to himself, "It's time to put horseshoes on the pony."

The horses here are mostly used as pack horses or draft horses, and there are very few riding horses. Most horse owners do not have the habit of shoeing their horses, so he overlooked this point.

I didn't expect that riding horses every day during this period would cause some damage to the horses' hooves.

He then stopped riding and led the horse toward the repair shop. He couldn't remember if it was Secretary Yang or Captain Zhang who had said that the blacksmith at the repair shop had previously shod the army's warhorses, and that he should be able to solve the problem by talking to him.

The post office and the repair shop were on the same street, one at the east end and the other at the west end. Walking east along the road, you would soon reach the repair shop.

Chen Fan stood at the door, smiling as he greeted him, "Master, can you shoe horses?"

The blacksmith immediately got up, came out and looked around the mare, then lifted each of its hooves to check.

The mare appeared exceptionally docile as Chen Fan held her reins.

After inspecting the horse, the blacksmith stood up, patted its back, and laughed, "This is a fine horse."

He then said to Chen Fan, "You're using it as a horse, aren't you?"

Chen Fan nodded, "Yes, but I haven't ridden it for very long. I bought it when I went to the market last time."

The blacksmith nodded suddenly, "I remember now, you bought the foal first, and then the mare, this is the one?"

Chen Fan: "Yes, this is the one."

He paused for a moment, then asked, "How is it? Can you shoe the horses?"

The blacksmith smiled and said, "Of course."

He added, "This horse used to be used as a pack animal and was never shod, so its hooves are quite damaged. If you had come any later, the horse would have suffered a lot."

He then went inside, picked up his tools, and measured the horse's hooves.

The measurement was completed in no time. Without saying much, he picked up a few pieces of iron and threw them into the furnace, saying without looking up, "If you're not in a hurry, just wait for half an hour."

(End of this chapter)