Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 273 Martial Arts Secrets
Chen Fan wanted to buy rivets, not to repair the circuit board, but to make saddles and belts.

Rivets are excellent for securing leather and panels, and also for connecting belts; they're even better than regular nails. Using large rivets to drill holes in belts also looks much better. That's why he decided to buy some rivets to improve the saddle and belt.

Unexpectedly, I heard these words from Wang Xiaoling.

This made him feel a little numb.

He couldn't buy the rivets, so he bought some yeast starters. They had large yeast starters, small yeast starters, red yeast starters, wheat yeast starters, and bran yeast starters. These days, many people brew their own wine, so the supply and marketing cooperatives had plenty of all kinds of yeast starters, making it very convenient to buy them.

Daqu and Xiaoqu are obviously used for brewing baijiu (Chinese white liquor), while red yeast rice and wheat yeast rice can be used to brew huangjiu (yellow wine). In addition, red yeast rice can also be used to make fermented bean curd and cherry meat. Bran yeast rice is a good ingredient for brewing soy sauce-flavored liquor and can also be used to brew beer, so Chen Fan bought some of them.

He hadn't started brewing wine with the grains he brought back last time; he originally planned to wait until he was done with this busy period.

However, when I was cleaning Jiang Lili's wound today, I didn't have any high-proof alcohol, so I could only use Yunhu Daqu. Not only is it expensive, but it's not as effective as alcohol. So I decided to start brewing early and collect some alcohol in advance. Brewing the wine became a side project.

He also wanted to buy some reagents for testing methanol, but unfortunately the supply and marketing cooperative didn't have any. He would have to go to a specialized chemical supply store, which would require going to the county town to buy them. He could only wait until later.

Anyway, methanol has a boiling point of 64 degrees Celsius and ethanol has a boiling point of 75 degrees Celsius. After removing the beginning and end and processing it a little, there shouldn't be much of a problem.

If all else fails, store it in a cellar for a year to ensure that all the methanol evaporates completely.

……

After leaving the supply and marketing cooperative's store, Chen Fan rode his horse slowly towards the scrap metal recycling station.

The reason he was taking his time was because he was thinking about the relationship between the rivets and the circuit board.

You have to admit that when you're mentally sharp, your brain works really well; you can recall many things if you think about them carefully.

Moreover, he studied mechatronics in college and wasn't exactly an amateur when it came to circuit boards. He had even played with old machines using vacuum tubes and diodes back in school. Thinking back carefully, he actually remembered some things.

Rivets were indeed an essential component of early circuit boards, he just hadn't noticed them before.

Long ago, before PCB printing technology became widespread, most vacuum tube radios in the 1940s and 50s used a point-and-pad method to solder circuits.

The so-called bridge strip is a piece of electronic components that is soldered onto a board to form a circuit. If you consider a printed circuit board as a plane, then the bridge strip is three-dimensional. From today's perspective, no one would think that it is a circuit board.

The parts that fix the metal tabs of some electronic components to the board are rivets, which function similarly to the solder joints on later printed circuit boards.

That alone doesn't show the importance of rivets to circuit boards.

As time went by, in the 60s, transistors began to gradually replace vacuum tubes and become the mainstream components of radios and other electrical appliances. However, due to the lack of technological advancements, many electrical appliance manufacturing techniques at the time still followed the assembly methods of vacuum tubes, and even the movement mechanisms were designed according to the vacuum tube movement mechanism.

This gave many electronics enthusiasts room to DIY, and many wireless equipment stores also sprang up as a result.

Back then, a single high-frequency transistor cost more than two yuan. A genuine imitation of the Jiangsu-made 401 transistor, domestically produced as the 3AG1, cost 6.03 yuan. A thin-film triplet also cost five or six yuan. The smaller the electronic component, the more expensive it was; the larger the component, the cheaper it was.

After purchasing these expensive electronic components, you need to fix them onto a circuit board and form a circuit with metal wires to make it a complete circuit board.

The most crucial connection point is the rivet.

Back then, there was a type of board that was popular called a "perforated board" or "universal board," and it is still used by electronics enthusiasts today.

Essentially, it's a board with N small holes neatly arranged on it. These holes are for making it easy to rivet. Various electronic components are connected together with metal wires using rivets to form a complete circuit, which is a "circuit board".

In response to this trend of DIY electronics, even professional magazines have joined in, providing technical guidance.

(A 60s radio magazine analyzing a radio circuit board; the small white round holes on the brown board are the rivets.)

The high price of radios and the simple assembly process have led many people to choose to assemble their own radios. Rivets are also classified as electronic components and are openly found in electronics stores, rather than hardware stores or supply and marketing cooperatives.

Having figured out the reason, Chen Fan thought about going to the county sometime when he had time.

I've never been to the county town before, so I don't know what a county town is like in this day and age. At least it should have a movie theater, right?
That said, Nanhu Town isn't small; it has over a dozen units of all sizes. Cough cough, although most of them are small workshops, there are still "big enterprises" like the water transport company, yet it doesn't even have a movie theater. How stingy!

Muttering to myself, I arrived at the recycling station shortly afterward.

This was his second time here. The last time was in December when he went to the market. He thought that the protagonists in novels were picking up bargains at the scrap yard, so he came to pick up bargains too, but he didn't even find a funnel.

I came here today not hoping to find a bargain, but just to buy some scrap iron and copper.

As soon as he dismounted, people from the scrap metal recycling station came out to greet him.

Don't let the fact that this is just a small waste recycling station fool you; there are three people working here.

One person weighs and receives goods, another keeps accounts and acts as a cashier, and there's also an office manager whose job is unclear. It's a small but complete organization.

Upon seeing Chen Fan dismount at the entrance of the scrap yard, the bookkeeper sitting at the back of the store immediately called out, "Manager, Teacher Chen is here."

The uncle in charge of receiving and weighing the goods at the entrance had already gone up to greet him, grinning as if he had seen a relative, "Teacher Chen is here! I heard your article was published in the newspaper?"

This attitude is completely different from last time.

Chen Fan guessed that he was semi-illiterate, otherwise he wouldn't be unable to distinguish between newspapers and magazines.

The thought flashed through my mind, but I pulled myself back to it, took out a cigarette, and chatted with the unfamiliar weighbridge operator, "Haha, it's just a small matter, and even you know about it."

Thinking to myself, this time their attitude is different from last time. But how did they come to know me?
The weighbridge operator took the cigarette and laughed, "This is no small matter. Our Nanhu has produced a writer. In the past, we would have celebrated this with gongs and drums."

I'll even parade me through the streets as a public spectacle.

Chen Fan inwardly complained, but his smile remained unchanged as he asked, "I don't remember knowing you before. How did you recognize me?"

The weighbridge operator pointed to the mare next to him and said with a smile, "You're the only one in the whole commune who rides a horse without a saddle, and the horse is so beautiful, and the age and appearance are about the same. It would be strange if you could mistake it for someone else."

Chen Fan turned to look at the mare. "So it was you who betrayed me?!"

The mare snorted. "What?"

Just then, two more people came out. Chen Fan immediately handed them two cigarettes and smiled at one of the men, who was wearing a Zhongshan suit, saying, "You must be the director. Hello, I'd like to buy some scrap iron and copper. Is that convenient for you?"

The weighbridge operator immediately introduced them, "This is our Director Fang, and this is Accountant Wu."

Chen Fan then greeted them again, "Director Fang, Accountant Wu."

Director Fang accepted the cigarette, his face beaming with joy. "Teacher Chen, you're too kind. How much scrap iron and copper do you need?"

Chen Fan smiled and said, "Not many, just a few pounds of each will do, but it's best if they're of good quality."

Without saying a word, Director Fang turned around and walked inside. "We definitely have a few kilograms. The best scrap iron comes from the shipyard, especially from the engine room. It's even harder than deck iron, so the quality is guaranteed. As for copper, do you want red copper or brass? If you want large pieces, we only have brass, and if you want red copper, we only have small pieces."

Chen Fan followed him, intending to look at the pile of scrap in the corner of the store, but found that Director Fang was still walking in.

He suddenly realized why there was nothing there when he came last time; it was just a junkyard with a small warehouse?!

After passing through an office and exiting through the back door, there was a small courtyard behind it, and surprisingly, there was another small house further inside the courtyard.

Director Fang led him directly to the front of the inner room, unlocking the door as he spoke, “The higher-value items are stored here. They are generally not sold to outsiders; they are all sent to the county, then categorized and handed over, and then the county headquarters approves them for use by the relevant units. Items that the county units do not need are also handed over to the prefectural committee to support national construction.”

He pushed open the door, glanced back, and laughed, "But others won't be an exception, but Teacher Chen is definitely an exception. Even if the leaders come, they won't say anything. It's a rare occasion for you to come, so come in and take what you want. We can settle the bill together later."

Chen Fan offered him another cigarette with a big smile, "Thank you, thank you."

I'll just believe those polite words for now.

Following Director Fang into the room, Chen Fan turned his head and looked around. The room wasn't large, but it contained a lot of things. One of the boxes contained a piece of iron that looked quite unusual. He tapped it a few times, and it jingled, indicating that it was quite tough. There was also a layer of black grease on the iron piece that hadn't been wiped clean.

There were also several shelves with some copper parts on them, which looked like they had been taken off the machine. Among them was a bundle of copper wire, which, although it had been cleaned, still had stains visible in the seams. It was unclear which machine it came from.

Although he had studied mechanics, he was not familiar with the old artifacts of this era and could not tell what the parts were.

Director Fang smoked a cigarette to the side, saying nothing and letting him choose for himself.

Chen Fan's gaze fell on the half-full box of old books in the corner. He turned around with a look of surprise and asked, "Director Fang, can we buy these old books too?"

Director Fang laughed heartily, "I'll say it again: others may not be able to do it, but Teacher Chen can."

Chen Fan's eye twitched slightly. The last time he came here, the people at your store didn't say that.

When I asked about used books, they simply said they didn't have any.

However, he could tell that Director Fang's words sounded much more sincere than before, so he asked curiously, "These old books weren't taken to make paper?"

Director Fang shook his head and said with a smile, "These old books are different from waste paper. They need to be sent to the county waste recycling company first, and then combined with all the old books from other communes. The library will then select them first. If they don't have any of them, they will be put into the library, and then Xinhua Bookstore will select them again."

Some people in the county were unemployed and too old to work in factories, so they were registered under the street office and allowed to run used bookstores to make a living. Their superior was Xinhua Bookstore, and they got most of their books from there. However, new books were too expensive; even comic books cost one or two cents each, and large volumes cost one or two yuan, or even four or five yuan. So the street office negotiated with the waste recycling company to utilize the used books and wholesale them to them.

Only the leftovers, which nobody wanted, were used to make paper.

Chen Fan suddenly realized that he vaguely remembered that when he was a child, his grandfather had told him that a cadre from the village had worked at a waste recycling company in Yunhu, where he had dealt with old books.

Unlike what many people on the internet say in later generations, this era doesn't allow you to see this or that. As long as the books aren't particularly special, like the works of Lanling Xiaoxiaosheng, no one really cares.

Cough cough, actually no one cares if you really want to see it. It's not like we have a grudge. Who would do something that harms others and doesn't benefit themselves?

Of course, those with whom one has a grudge are another matter.

But one thing is true: there were very few types of books in that era. Because literary creation had almost come to a standstill, with only a few writers still creating and the subject matter being very limited, it gave people the feeling of having a restricted reading experience.

Upon learning that these books were available for purchase, Chen Fan immediately rushed over.

Then he was disappointed.

There weren't many books, only about half a box, and most of them were elementary school textbooks, which were practically useless. He would have been willing to buy middle school textbooks for Jiang Lili and the others, but elementary school textbooks were better left unused.

Then there are some well-worn literary works from that era, which are of little value.

However, adhering to the principle of never leaving empty-handed, he still managed to pull out two books from inside.

One is a song collection with sheet music, which can be used to practice the harmonica.

The other book was actually a martial arts manual—have you ever heard of Tai Chi?!
Chen Fan curiously flipped through the book, "Tai Chi Movement," published in 62. He wondered if there were any secret techniques inside.
(62 edition of Tai Chi Chuan exercises, priced at 0.6 yuan)
Captain Xiao taught him Xingyi spear technique, which he had already thoroughly mastered. Now, all he can do is buy some books to study on his own, which is quite a predicament.

However, he himself knew that such publicly published "martial arts manuals" were almost impossible to contain any secret techniques, and this book was indeed not one of them. It only contained some moves and footwork, and did not involve strength. He could just consider it as broadening his horizons.

He took two books, picked out some iron pieces and copper parts of different sizes, and went out to pay the bill.

The weighbridge operator couldn't distinguish between copper and iron, so he just threw the metal onto the scale and randomly called out a number, "10 jin (5 catties)."

Chen Fan glanced at him, confirming that copper and iron were priced the same?

Looking at the scale again, wow, the weight was pushed up to the iron bar above, so it probably weighed at least two more pounds.

Director Fang ignored the weight on the scale and waved his hand, "Xiao Wu, issue the invoice, 10 jin of scrap iron out of the warehouse."

As for the two books, he didn't mention them at all. He also gave them a burlap sack with several patches for free, and stuffed all the copper and iron into it.

Chen Fan could only say that he couldn't refuse such a kind offer, so he gladly accepted, took out 3 yuan, picked up the sack, and left.

Then I sighed to myself, "Scrap metal is really expensive."

……

After buying the goods, he rode his horse to Team 7.

As the car sped along the main road of Lujiawan, the villagers who were planting rice seedlings in the paddy fields on both sides heard the noise and straightened up to look.

"Hey, Teacher Chen, where are you going?"

“He’s busy all day long, running around to the 6th team, the brigade, and the commune. He probably has something to do now.”

But no one mentioned that Teacher Chen's work had been published in the magazine, because they didn't know about it yet.

In town, the postman helped spread the word, but in the production team, he only went to the brigade headquarters, so the news hadn't spread yet. But in less than two days, everyone in the brigade would know, and he might even become famous throughout the entire commune. Teacher Chen would be famous again in Nanhu.

They knew nothing about the magazine, but they had heard gossip about Team 6.

"Hey, hey, hey, have you heard? Something big happened to Team 6 today."

"What's the big deal?"

"It was that female educated youth who got her foot pricked while transplanting rice seedlings."

"What's the big deal? The year before last, before I even started working in the fields, I stepped on a rock and got a huge cut, which delayed me for several days. Male workers get 12 points a day for transplanting rice, and female workers get 10 points. It's a huge loss."

"That's not it. She couldn't explain it clearly, so let me explain. Do you know that Teacher Chen hugged that female educated youth?"

As soon as he finished speaking, a chorus of surprised "Ah!"s erupted.

Dozens of people around looked at the man, and someone immediately shouted, "Speak up, what's going on?"

"It was that female educated youth. She had pricked her foot, and then Teacher Chen happened to pass by. Without saying a word, he rode his horse over there. That was a narrow ridge between the fields, less than a meter wide, and he dared to ride his horse there. You can imagine how anxious he was."

That wasn't all. When he got to the edge of the field, he jumped down, ran into the field without even taking off his shoes, grabbed the female educated youth, and rushed back. Tell me, didn't something happen to them?!

A murmur rippled through the crowd.

"Is it really true? They're not even taking their shoes off?"

"You can ride a horse on such a narrow paddy field ridge? That's probably nonsense."

"There are so many people when transplanting rice seedlings. Even if something happened to them, they wouldn't hug each other like that in public. It must be fake."

At this point, the woman who first broke the gossip finally seized her opportunity and shouted, "It's fake! Old Wang's third daughter next door is married in Team 6. She was right there. She went back to her parents' house at noon today. That's what I heard from her. Teacher Chen took off her shoes before going into the fields..."

Another older woman objected, "My third sister went to Team 6 today and heard it from her own ears. How could it be fake? She definitely didn't take her clothes off."

"Take it off!"

"She didn't take it off... she definitely didn't take it off."

"She's definitely taken it off..."

……

Chen Fan had no idea that half the brigade was discussing whether he had taken his clothes off or not. He was only concerned with riding quickly to Team 7, buying more than 3 jin of fresh milk from their Captain Tang Xianjun, giving him a dollar, and then carrying the milk in a bamboo tube home to prepare to make a cake.

(End of this chapter)