Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 284 Learning to ride a horse

After safely packing my things, I prepared to leave.

Before leaving, he revealed some information to Chen Fan: "Inside information, if nothing unexpected happens, a projectionist will come to show a movie in your team in three days."

"What? Showing a movie?"

Chen Fan looked at him in surprise, "You're not kidding?"

Anquan chuckled, "What good would it do me to tease you?"

Chen Fan: "But I didn't receive any notification."

Normally, as the broadcaster, he should be the most well-informed person in the entire brigade. He might know some news before it even reaches the brigade leaders, such as the news about the resumption of the regular farmers' market.

When Secretary Yang spoke to him, Captain Xiao and Captain Ye were still outside.

Therefore, it is unreasonable for security to know about it before he does.

Does this mean the brigade headquarters has already informed Zhang Cuie that she is about to fall out of favor?

As a result, Anquan sneered twice, looked at him and said, "Do you know which company my wife works for?"

Chen Fan's eyes darted around slightly, and he shook his head decisively, "You didn't say that, and neither did Captain Yang and the others."

Safety pointed at him, "That's because you didn't ask."

He paused for a moment, then, with a proud look on his face, pointed in the direction of the commune and said arrogantly, "The cultural station!"

The cultural stations of those days were nothing like they would be later. Later, they were peripheral departments; now, they had a much wider scope of responsibility, especially in studying documents, where they were the main force. Plus, cultural activities were relatively monotonous at the time, making the cultural stations highly sought after. No wonder he was so proud.

Chen Fan suddenly realized, "Your sister-in-law told you this news?!"

The cultural center is in charge of bringing movies to the countryside. The number of times a year a movie is shown in the village depends on the arrangements made by the cultural center.

However, the cultural center was only an implementing department. Because there were too few film projectors, the projection team was under the unified management of the county cultural bureau, and the projectionists were drawn from the county cinema.

Every year, the county cinema has the task of sending movies to the countryside. The overall plan is formulated by the county cultural bureau, while the specific implementation plan is coordinated and arranged by the cultural stations of each commune. Finally, the county cinema arranges projectionists to take the equipment to the countryside to deliver movies to the production teams throughout the county.

As everyone knows, the "Eight Major Positions" in the commune were highly coveted professions: salesperson, driver, telephone operator, projectionist, sanitation worker, grain clerk, broadcaster, and food clerk. Each of these jobs was highly sought after.

Among them, the four professions of "stethoscope, steering wheel, butcher's knife, and salesperson" are the four major professions among the eight professions.

Although projectionists are not among the four major officials, it is still a desirable job.

But anyone who has done it knows that it is a truly tough job.

No matter how big a county was, the projectionist would ride a bicycle, carrying heavy projection equipment, to get there.

These devices include a small generator, a projector, film, and speakers. Anyone with less strength can't ride it very far, let alone bounce around on the dirt roads in the countryside.

Therefore, watching a movie in rural areas is a very difficult thing.

If the commune had its own cinema or projection team, people could watch movies ten or eight times a year. If not, they could only rely on the county cinema, which was terrible; they would be lucky to watch two or three times a year.

Unfortunately, Nanhu Commune did not have its own film projection team, so the number of times a year people could see a movie in Lujiawan was only about three times: once around the time of rice planting, once around the time of the double harvest, and once around the time of the autumn harvest.

Whether it's two or three times depends on the condition of the projectionists in the county cinema's projection team. If a projectionist is injured or sick, then only one can be removed. If it's two injuries or illnesses... I don't even want to think about it.

Having received confirmation from the security department, Chen Fan dashed to Jiang Lili's room, knocked on the open door, and as soon as she turned around, he immediately smiled and said, "I have good news for you."

Jiang Lili got up and walked over, asking curiously, "What good news?"

Chen Fan: "Brother An just said that the projectionist might come to our team to show a movie in three days."

Jiang Lili, who usually avoids things outside of work, suddenly had her eyes light up. "A movie? Really?"

Chen Fan chuckled and said, "I'll go to the brigade headquarters later and see if there's any news. There will definitely be an announcement on the afternoon broadcast."

Jiang Lili nodded quickly and repeatedly, "Okay, okay."

Then she hurriedly came out and said, "I'll go cook."

Chen Fan reached out to stop her, saying with a wry smile, "It's not even 9 o'clock yet, why are you making dinner so early?"

Jiang Lili stopped, turned around and smiled awkwardly, but then laughed happily the next second, "They're showing a movie."

Chen Fan laughed and said, "Is your happiest moment eating cake while watching a movie?"

Jiang Lili wrinkled her nose, then burst out laughing, "No way."

Chen Fan raised an eyebrow and smiled, "Isn't that right?"

Jiang Lili's eyes flickered slightly, and she smiled with her head down, "No."

Chen Fan asked curiously, "What is that?"

Before Jiang Lili could even speak, her face flushed slightly. Then, she turned around and skipped into the room, saying, "I won't tell you."

Chen Fan pursed his lips and muttered under his breath, "Can't I even say this?"

While there was still time, he took out his tools and ran to the backyard to work on the nearly completed saddle.

Where stitching is needed, use a steel needle and fishing line to sew the pieces of leather together. Where fixation is needed, use a hammer to tighten each rivet.

Before long, a saddle covered with light yellow sheepskin was completed.

He put the saddle on the mare's back, checked that it fit, and then fastened the buckles. He then put the homemade leather bridle on the mare.

The neatly dressed mare appeared before us looking brand new.

The little pony jumped and skipped around, shouting, "Me too! Me too!"

Chen Fan patted his head. "You're still a long way off. Let's talk about it in a few years."

He then took two steps back, looked at the dashing, tall, chestnut-colored horse, and nodded in satisfaction. "Just like me, it's incredibly handsome!"

Leading the mare to the front yard, Jiang Lili came out upon hearing the noise. Seeing the mare's appearance, she was immediately captivated, exclaiming, "So beautiful!"

Before, when it was bare, I didn't notice, but now, with a saddle, this tall mare looks just like a warhorse from a movie, appealing to both men and women.

Even Duoduo and Qiuqiu stopped running around and ran over with their short legs, looking up at them expectantly.

Duoduo, "Why is it wearing clothes?"

Ball, "Why don't we have clothes?"

A falcon also descended from the sky, standing on the rooftop watching the mare, chirping softly.

Then she and the two dogs looked at Chen Fan. Chen Fan shoved the two puppies aside, ignoring the falcon on the roof, led the horse to Jiang Lili, shook his head, and laughed, "Want to ride?"

Jiang Lili looked at him, then at the mare, her eyes filled with longing yet also with some timidity. "I can't ride a horse."

Chen Fan laughed and said, "What's the big deal? I forgot you injured your foot a few days ago and rode back on horseback."

He paused for a moment, then said, "It's much easier to ride with a saddle than without one. Why don't you come up and give it a try?"

Jiang Lili looked at him, then at the horse, and finally couldn't resist the urge. She took two steps forward and asked, "How do I get on?"

Chen Fan: "Grab the saddle with both hands, not the back, grab the front. And put your left foot in the stirrup."

Following his instructions, Jiang Lili gripped the saddle tightly with both hands and climbed up using the stirrups.

The mare suddenly took two steps, and Jiang Lili panicked. Just as she was about to fall, Chen Fan supported her arm with one hand and her thigh with the other, and with a push, he put her firmly on the saddle.

He then asked, "How was it?"

Feeling the strange sensation on her thigh, Jiang Lili blushed instantly. Upon hearing Chen Fan's question, she gently bit her lip and said, "It's nothing."

It was clearly an accident, and she couldn't say anything, so she could only pretend that nothing had happened.

But they didn't see Chen Fan wink at the mare, "Well done."

The mare immediately raised her head high in pride, swayed her body, and neighed...

Jiang Lili was immediately panicked, "Ah..."

Chen Fan immediately tightened the reins with one hand and supported her lower back with the other. "It's alright, it's alright. It's probably the first time it's wearing a saddle and it's not used to it. I'll lead it and take you for a couple of laps."

Jiang Lili gripped the saddle tightly with both hands, her voice trembling slightly, "Are you...really alright?"

Seeing that she was quite frightened, Chen Fan didn't dare to play any more tricks and immediately said, "Look, it's quiet now, so I promise it'll be fine."

Jiang Lili went to look at the mare again and saw that it was standing quietly in place without moving. She then breathed a sigh of relief.

Seeing that she had relaxed, Chen Fan smiled and said, "Sit tight, I'll lead the horse and take you for a few steps."

Without waiting for her to speak, he led the horse around in circles in the yard.

Jiang Lili was a little nervous at first, gripping the front of the saddle with both hands and sitting stiffly on the horse, looking like she was ready to jump off at any moment.

Chen Fan led the horse forward slowly, looked at her and smiled, "Relax, I'm here, you'll be fine."

Jiang Lili glanced at him, forced a smile, and tried to relax, but it didn't seem to work. She timidly said, "Maybe...maybe I should get down."

Chen Fan, however, kept leading the horse, saying, "This is just the beginning, how can you give up now? Listen to me, I guarantee you'll learn to ride a horse very quickly."

Jiang Lili pouted and said, "But it's no use for me to learn to ride a horse. I don't need to go to work anywhere else, and I don't even have a horse."

Chen Fan laughed and said, "Learning to ride a horse doesn't necessarily have to be useful. The most important thing is whether you want to learn, whether you want to ride a horse and gallop, and whether you are happy riding a horse."

Jiang Lili rolled her eyes slightly and then fell silent.

Chen Fan looked up at her, then at her body, and said, "Relax first. If you don't know what to do, start by letting go. Let go of her hands first."

Jiang Lili watched the mare turning steadily, gritted her teeth gently, and bravely let go of her hands.

Chen Fan gave her a thumbs up, "Now hold the reins, but don't pull."

Then he corrected her movements, "Don't hold too loosely, and don't hold too tightly. Hold it here, that's right."

Then he added, "Now relax your back."

Jiang Lili, however, didn't know what to do. "How do I relax?"

Chen Fan stopped the horse, turned around and looked at her, "Don't move, I'll give you a couple of taps."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Lili tensed up even more.

But it's no use.

Chen Fan gently patted her lower back, and she suddenly felt weak all over, relaxing and sitting loosely on the saddle.

My body was relaxed, but my face was so red it looked like it was about to bleed.

Chen Fan glanced at her, pretending not to see, and said, "Yes, that's right."

Then, leading the horse, he continued walking and said, "Once you learn to ride a horse, you can slowly learn to trot, and finally you can gallop on horseback."

Jiang Lili tried to distract herself and asked curiously, "Did you learn to ride a horse like this too?"

Chen Fan shook his head. "That's not it."

He turned to look at Jiang Lili and smiled, "I first learned how to stand in a horse stance from Captain Xiao, and then I could ride a horse directly without even needing a saddle."

Jiang Lili's eyes were full of admiration. "I never thought it was that difficult when I saw you riding a horse before. But today I tried it myself, even with a saddle, and it still felt so difficult. You are really amazing."

Chen Fan chuckled and said, "This is just the beginning. You'll see how amazing I am in the future."

Jiang Lili wrinkled her nose and said coquettishly, "You really have no modesty at all."

Chen Fan laughed and said, "That depends on who I'm talking to. If it's someone else, I'll definitely be more polite than anyone else. If I'm still polite to you, then I won't even have anyone to tell the truth to me."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Lili couldn't help but grin, her smile unstoppable.

After walking around once more, Chen Fan saw that she was sitting quite steadily, so he said, "Now try jogging a little. Just sit still and don't move around."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Lili became a little nervous again, "Oh, so fast?"

Chen Fan turned to look at her, raised his right hand and made a clapping gesture. Jiang Lili immediately tried to relax, but her body became more and more stiff.

Seeing this, Chen Fan was quite helpless. It wasn't that he intentionally wanted to take the picture, but Jiang Lili's body couldn't relax if he didn't. So, instead of patting the horse's rump, he gently patted her lower back.

He then released the reins, took two steps back, and said to her, "Don't worry, it's very docile, and since you brush its fur and feed it regularly, it won't reject you. Just sit there comfortably."

As soon as Jiang Lili nodded, the mare started to trot, and she gripped the reins tightly.

As the mare ran, she complained, "Master, can you teach her? She's shaking the reins wrong. This is supposed to make me run faster!"

Chen Fan's lips twitched slightly as he shouted loudly from the side, "Relax, I mean the reins, don't pull them too tight. Also, don't grip them too firmly, just hold them lightly. You can put your hands on the horse's body, or on your own thighs."

Jiang Lili followed the instructions one by one and quickly learned to do it quite well.

Hearing only the last half of the sentence, she couldn't help but glance at Chen Fan, wanting to ask him, "You really didn't do it on purpose just now?"
(End of this chapter)