Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 262 Hello, Hello, Hello, Everyone

In the afternoon, Zhang Cuie shifted her focus to studying Chinese, starting from the basics. After assigning her her study tasks, Chen Fan went to the newly built breeding farm not far from the village.

This is a flat area near the riverbank, not too far from the village, about two miles away. Two large, semi-open livestock sheds were built here using adobe bricks and wood. They are similar in style to pigsties, with walls on three sides and a low wall only one meter high on the side where the two sheds face each other. Inside the sheds are rows of bamboo cages.

During this period, Anquan did nothing but keep an eye on the construction of the breeding farm with Ye Shubao.

When Chen Fan arrived, they were covered in mud and discussing the layout of the farm with the workers.

These workers were actually members of the Lujiawan commune. Except for the main wall of the livestock shed, which was overseen by a master construction worker, everything else was done by the team's laborers. For the commune members, who were used to doing everything themselves, building a livestock shed was not a difficult task.

When he arrived, almost everyone greeted Chen Fan.

"Teacher Chen is here."

"Has Teacher Chen eaten yet?"

"Teacher Chen, could you please point out where this needs to be changed?"

"Teacher Chen, we made these cages. Could you please take a look and see if they meet the requirements?"

Chen Fan responded with a smile to each of them, "Hello, hello. Eat up, or you'll starve. It's very well built, you're all experts, you don't need my guidance. This rabbit cage is well made, even better than I could make myself, you truly are a master craftsman..."

Anquan walked over, took out a cigarette and offered it to him, saying with a smile, "Master chef, could you give me some pointers? Is there anything else I should be careful about at the farm?"

After exchanging pleasantries, Chen Fan stamped his foot without saying a word and said in a low voice, "The ground needs to be hardened. Too much mud makes it inconvenient to clean and easily accumulates bacteria. If possible, use bricks and stones to pave the ground. If not, use cinders. We can't just leave it bare like this."

Anquan nodded slowly. "If you're talking about coal, I really can't help you. It's a controlled resource. But I can get several truckloads of burnt coal ash. That's no problem."

Chen Fan turned his head to look at the two large livestock sheds on the left and right, and said, "Inside the rabbit shed, sprinkle more lime on the ground for disinfection, and make sure the rabbit cages are kept clean..."

Based on his experience raising rabbits over the past period and the knowledge he learned from books, he pointed out several key precautions and recorded all the safety precautions.

After he finished speaking, Ye Shubao said, "Then let's build this place into a model breeding farm according to your standards. Let's accumulate experience here first, and then gradually expand its promotion."

Then he looked at Chen Fan and asked, "When can you hand over your rabbit?"

Chen Fan turned to look at the environment. "This place is not yet ready for large-scale breeding. Let's wait a month or so, until the end of May or the beginning of June, when it's ready. I'll transfer some rabbits here first, big and small, male and female."

The main problem is that many of the rabbits he's raising seem to be pregnant again. The people at the production team's breeding farm don't have any experience taking care of baby rabbits, so he'll definitely have to wait until these baby rabbits are born, teach a few people how to handle the situation, and then transfer another batch of rabbits over.

Ye Shubao nodded gently, "Waiting another month or so is fine. We'll be transplanting rice soon, and when things are a bit more relaxed after that, it will be the best time to receive the rice."

He paused for a moment, then added, "But don't go too late, or it will cause trouble if it coincides with the 'double harvest' (harvesting and planting)."

Chen Fan laughed and said, "Of course not, I know that much."

Anquan looked at him and smiled, "You have to be reliable. This farm depends entirely on you."

Chen Fan quickly waved his hand and pointed to Ye Shubao beside him, "Watch me? Then where are you going to put Captain Ye?"

Ye Shubao calmly took a puff of his cigarette. "Where should I put it? I'll hang it on the wall."

Upon hearing this, Chen Fan was both amused and exasperated, while An Quan burst into laughter.

……

Time passed little by little, and before we knew it, it was late April.

In the vegetable garden behind Yang Chuanfu's house, more than a dozen people gathered together, while on the nearby village road, there were dozens or even hundreds of onlookers.

Today is the day Chen Fan "delivers" his first product, which is a squat toilet.

Simply delivering the goods isn't enough; after-sales service must also be provided. Otherwise, if we buy them, no one will build such flush toilets, and they'll just become decorations.

As Chen Fan and Captain Yang had agreed beforehand, today he would provide on-site instruction, helping Captain Yang build a toilet while guiding the members of the "toilet construction team."

There were 12 people in total, each of whom had worked as a laborer several times before and learned how to build toilets. As long as you explained the key points to them and told them how to do it, they could learn quickly.

Under Chen Fan's guidance, a dozen people worked together and soon a toilet was completed.

Like the toilet in the backyard of the educated youth settlement, it occupies an area of ​​four square meters. The difference is that this one uses adobe bricks, but the walls are plastered with lime, so you can't tell from the outside. Squatting inside, it looks quite decent.

After it was finished, Captain Yang curiously looked at the toilet from the doorway and asked, "Is it finished? Where does all the waste go?"

Yang Chuanfu looked at the newly built toilet with satisfaction and said with a smile, "Don't worry, old man, the excrement won't be wasted. It will all be flushed into the septic tank at the back, which is even easier to empty than before."

Aunt Yang pulled Yang Ju aside and asked, "Is this flush toilet really that good?"

Yang Ju whispered, "I've told you so many times, it really works. Once the soil and cement inside are completely dry, the sewer will be usable too. You'll see once you try it. After using the toilet, just flush with a ladle of water, and it'll be clean immediately. If it's going to smell, it'll be the septic tank at the back. But the septic tank is usually covered, so there's not much of a smell. It's much better than the old latrine."

Aunt Yang nodded slightly, glanced at Chen Fan chatting and laughing with others not far away, and asked in a low voice, "You've been there for two months now, have you gained anything?"

Yang Ju was slightly taken aback, thought for a moment and said, "Yes, I'm currently in the second year of junior high school and will soon be in the third year. If all goes well, I can finish high school this year. Teacher Chen said that after we finish high school, he will teach us a skill, whether it's veterinary medicine, cooking, pottery, or being a broadcaster or a repairman."

Aunt Yang frowned slightly. "That Zhang Cuie also finished high school?"

Now everyone in the brigade knows that Zhang Cuie is learning to be a broadcaster from Chen Fan, so she has naturally heard about it too.

Yang Ju shook her head. "It seems not yet. She should be about the same as us. But Teacher Chen said that Zhang Cuie doesn't have to work, so her learning progress is faster than ours. Plus, she's in Team 5, right next to the brigade headquarters, so they'll start teaching her earlier."

Aunt Yang pursed her lips and secretly nudged Yang Ju, "You're so stupid. You believe everything others say. Teacher Chen is giving her special treatment because she's trying to win Teacher Chen's favor. Can't you be a little smarter?" Yang Ju was also troubled, "I don't know how to do that."

Aunt Yang sighed; in truth, she didn't know either.

On the other two sides, Huang Ying and Liu Dan were in similar situations.

Previously, everyone started on the same footing, so there was no sense of crisis. But now that Zhang Cuie has suddenly started learning broadcasting techniques ahead of schedule, it has made them feel a bit of a crisis.

It wasn't that Chen Fan was worried that if Zhang Cuie learned it, Chen Fan wouldn't teach them the skill; rather, he was worried that he would lose the initiative and miss the opportunity.

It is said that those who are near the water get the moon first. Although Zhang Cuie is close to where Chen Fan works, they live in the same courtyard as Chen Fan. How come they are considered to be behind?
Can't figure it out.

Despite their inability to understand it, it made them feel a sense of crisis, but they hadn't yet come up with a solution.

……

After the toilet was built, Chen Fan had a big drinking session at Captain Yang's house, where the members of the "toilet construction team" were also present.

It wasn't Captain Yang who was treating us today. Normally, according to custom, he should be the one to treat us when he has a family event. But this is such a small project, it doesn't even require a dozen people.

It's not like last time when Chen Fan repaired the yard, transplanted trees, opened a back door in the backyard of the educated youth settlement, and built toilets. Several things came together, which is why Captain Yang found so many people to go over for him.

Today's main purpose is to let these "construction team members" learn a trade from Chen Fan. These people are basically from the "three major families" of Team 6. In addition, if they learn something and go out to work and earn money, they will also have to give a share to the team. Therefore, this meal will be paid from the team's public account.

In addition, each team member bought Chen Fan a pack of cigarettes and two bottles of wine.

It wasn't a formal apprenticeship ceremony; it was just a return gift for learning the craft, similar to how I was taught how to cook soft-shelled turtles.

Jiang Lili and the other three helped carry the cigarettes and alcohol back as a thank-you gift, so Chen Fan naturally stayed behind to drink with them.

As the wine flowed freely, Chen Fan, leaning on his glass, launched into a long-winded speech: "Don't underestimate building a toilet. There's more to it than meets the eye."

Accountant Liu poured him a drink, her face flushed, and nodded repeatedly, "That's right, that's right."

The custodian, Mr. Huang, chimed in, "I heard you say that there are quite a few tricks to this. The ground around you has to be higher, the squatting pit has to be at the lowest point, and you can scatter a few ping-pong balls to measure the height difference. These are all tips."

Chen Fan blushed and waved his hand, "That's not what I meant."

He looked around at the people with hazy eyes and laughed, "Don't underestimate this toilet construction. The most valuable part isn't the walls, but the interior decoration."

Upon hearing this, everyone stared at him intently.

Captain Yang and his two companions exchanged glances, all of them on high alert, waiting for Chen Fan to continue.

Accountant Liu was eager to take out her notebook and write it down, but it was really inappropriate in this situation.

Chen Fan seemed a little drunk, and mumbled, "If the toilet needs renovation, does the house people live in also need renovation?"

Captain Yang immediately chimed in, "Of course we'll take it!"

Chen Fan nodded to him and said, "Of course we want to, but how we build them is different. When people here build houses, the best they can do is build brick houses, cement floors, and plaster, which is very rough. If you read more newspapers and books, you'll know that people in big cities are very particular about how they build their houses."

The group exchanged bewildered glances. Asking us semi-literate folks to read newspapers and books? That would be quite difficult.

Accountant Liu's eyes darted around slightly. She raised her glass and clinked it against Chen Fan's, then asked in a low voice, "How exactly is it supposed to be?"

Chen Fan took a sip of his wine, blinked, and asked, "How exactly is it supposed to be special?"

He put down his wine glass and gestured with his hands. "The floor is paved with tiles. Do you know what tiles are? Ceramics, ceramics, coarse pottery and fine porcelain, all collectively called ceramics. These tiles are much more high-end than the pottery shards I make, and the patterns are beautiful too. The walls, plastered with lime, that's basic, you know, it's as good as silver?"

Seeing everyone shake their heads, Chen Fan chuckled and said, "You don't know, do you? You know the Great Hall of the People, right? When the Great Hall of the People was built, the walls were painted with cossilized lime. That kind of lime only lasts for a few months. If you wipe it with your hand, your hand will be covered in white. Cossilized lime is also a white paint, but once you apply it, it can last for three or four years. It doesn't come off even when you stick it."

That's not all; they smeared cocaine under the wall.

He turned around and gestured to the wall next to him, "Paint everything from here to the ground, usually green, but red is fine too. That paint is even more effective than silver paint. As long as the paint doesn't peel off, it won't attract dust."

And the ceiling…

He looked up and pointed to the thatched roof, "Use wooden boards or tarpaulins to seal the roof up, so the dust won't fall down. And the plumbing, carpentry, doors, windows, furniture..."

After going on and on about the major renovation projects, he slammed his hand on the table and said, "And then there's the toilet."

The people who were listening intently were startled by the noise and came back to their senses, continuing to watch him.

Chen Fan turned his head and looked around, then chuckled and said, "We build the toilets in the backyard now. As Cadre An mentioned last time, people in the city who live in apartment buildings build their toilets inside their homes. They're all flush toilets anyway. You've all tried the toilets at the educated youth settlement; they're clean after a quick flush, with no smell at all. Building them inside the houses doesn't have any impact."

After saying this, he ate a few bites of food, put down his chopsticks, spread his hands, and said seriously, "If you can master the technology of building toilets and apply it to housing decoration, you can gain a foothold not only in Nanhu Commune, but also in Gufeng County."

"We'll use toilet construction as a starting point, and include all the decoration projects I just mentioned. We'll provide renovation services to the public, helping them with whole-house renovations. You can think about it yourselves: is it more profitable to renovate an entire house, or just build a toilet?"

Does this even need calculating? The larger the project, the higher the profit—isn't that common sense?!
Accountant Liu immediately raised his glass, "Come on, Teacher Chen is indeed Teacher Chen, he's really capable. Let's all toast Teacher Chen."

Everyone immediately raised their glasses and clinked them together in front of Chen Fan.

Captain Yang downed the drink in his glass in one gulp, his eyes shining. "Xiao Chen, you just said you also had a carpenter, but we don't have a carpenter in our team?"

Chen Fan chuckled and said, "Captain, you'll choke if you eat all the food yourself. Lujiawan is so big, aren't there enough carpenters and bamboo craftsmen? Share some with others, and it'll be good for everyone!"

(End of this chapter)