Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 285 Willing to admit defeat
Just after noon, Chen Fan shouldered his homemade sheepskin backpack and rode his horse to the brigade headquarters.

The young mare galloped across the field with light steps, feeling the saddle on her back and neighing incessantly, "It's so comfortable wearing this."

Chen Fan patted the horse's neck and laughed heartily.

He only learned later that saddles were better for horses, but he was helpless because the Nanhu Commune couldn't buy suitable riding saddles.

Nanhu has no shortage of packhorse saddles, but unfortunately they are the kind with wooden frames, convenient for pulling carts. If you want saddles for riding horses? Sorry, we don't have any.

The saddle he made himself involved a great deal of effort: gathering leather, asking a security guard to buy rivets in the county town, making the wooden planks, and forging the metal parts himself.

It's barely one of a kind in Nanhu Commune, but whether it exists in the county seat is still unknown.

This is actually related to the geographical location. There are many waterways in the Jiangnan region, so even if mules and horses were raised, they were mainly used for plowing or hauling goods, and very few people rode horses.

For short distances, one can travel on foot; for long distances, one can travel by boat or mule cart.

After all, raising a horse for riding is extremely expensive; the horse's feed alone is equivalent to the food rations of at least two people.

Spending so much money to keep a riding horse was something only wealthy landlords could do in the past. Even well-off organizations would rather buy bicycles than keep horses.

That's why Chen Fan attracted so much attention when he rode his horse around town.

However, as everyone knows, he is all alone, without any family burdens, and he also receives two work points. In addition, given his stories of rescuing a foal and a mare, everyone believes that he has a special connection with these two horses, which is why no one goesssips.

If it were someone else, who knows what people would say about them behind their back.

Before long, they arrived at Team 5. After passing through the woods, people began to criticize Chen Fan.

"Hey, Teacher Chen, you're dressed nicely."

"Oh my, your saddle, your bridle, and your backpack—even high-ranking officials can't compare to you."

"Not just cadres, look at Teacher Chen's backpack, it's so beautiful, even prettier than the bags in the department store counter in the county town. Teacher Chen, did you make this yourself?"

Chen Fan chuckled and said, "Ah, I just made it casually."

After saying that, he changed the subject, "Why didn't you go to the market?"

"I'm not going. I won't be able to sell anything even if I go."

"I have no money to buy things. I can only sell some pickles, which every household makes, but no one buys them. So I might as well stay home and rest."

"If I had Teacher Chen's cooking skills, I would definitely sell turtle meat too. Hey, Teacher Chen, why did Sanhuzi only bring such a small amount of turtle meat this time? It's not even half of what it was last time!"

Chen Fan didn't stop, riding his horse slowly forward, laughing, "Because he can't catch any more turtles. I guess after this, he won't sell turtles anymore."

These words sparked another round of discussion.

"Yes, there are so few turtles now. In December, you could easily dig up several baskets of them, but now you can't even fill a basin by digging a whole ditch."

"You have the nerve to say that? During the Spring Festival, we ate turtle every day at home. The turtle shells piled up in a basket. If we had taken them out to sell, how much money could we have made?"

"What would we sell back then? We might as well save them and sell them now. There aren't many soft-shelled turtles left, so I think the price is bound to go up."

"If that's the case, then we might as well raise them for a while and sell them in a few months."

"Actually, if you ask me, we could raise soft-shelled turtles in some paddy fields, Professor Chen, what do you think... Oh, where's Professor Chen?"

"Teacher Chen? Teacher Chen left a long time ago. She went to work at the brigade headquarters."

……

Chen Fan led the horse to the livestock shed next to the brigade headquarters, put his hands in his pockets, and walked into the yard.

At this moment, Xiao Liewen walked out of his house with a rice bowl in his hand and called out to Chen Fan on the slope, "What are you doing here at this hour? Have you eaten yet?"

Lin Yuanxiang didn't come out either, but sat upright on the bench and called out through the door, "Come and have a couple of drinks if you haven't eaten."

The Xiao family even went to get bowls and chopsticks.

Chen Fan quickly walked to the edge of the field and waved to them across the pond, "No need, no need, I've already eaten, you guys eat."

He then made a gesture, smiled, and turned to enter the courtyard of the brigade headquarters.

Xiao Liewen returned to the house, his brows furrowing slightly. "This kid has never been this enthusiastic before. Did he take the wrong medicine today, or what?"

Lin Yuanxiang finished his meal in a few bites, wiped his mouth, stood up and said, "Why don't we go and see for ourselves?"

He then pulled out a pipe, lit it, and took a step while shaking it as he went upwards.

Xiao Liewen quickly finished his rice, threw down his bowl, and followed closely behind.

On the other side of the pond, Zhang Cuie also ran out of her house and dashed upstream. Her mother called her back and gave her an egg.

Needless to say, it's definitely for Teacher Chen.

Lin Yuanxiang arrived at the brigade headquarters first, only to find that Chen Fan had not gone to the broadcasting room upstairs, but was sitting in their office, leisurely making tea.

Upon seeing the two of them arrive, Chen Fan retrieved their teacups, poured water, and brewed tea, asking, "You finished eating so quickly? Why weren't you resting at home?"

Xiao Liewen then pulled out his pipe, looked at him, and said, "That's a question for you. How long have you been here? When have you ever come here this early at noon? Tell me, what's going on?"

Chen Fan placed two cups of tea in front of them, rolled up his sleeves, and was about to speak when Zhang Cuie ran in breathlessly, "Teacher, I've arrived."

Chen Fan turned to look at her, his face full of bewilderment. "Why are you here so early?"

Zhang Cuie opened her eyes wide. "Didn't you come here on business? I was eating at home when I saw you, so I quickly finished my meal and came over."

He held out his hand and said, "Here, my mom asked me to bring this."

Chen Fan took the eggs from her hand, somewhat amused and exasperated. "I just came to see if the commune had issued any notices, nothing else."

Lin Yuanxiang sighed from the side, "Look at that young girl, she's learning to be a broadcaster from you, and she even brings you food every day. I, this old man, have taught you so much, but I haven't seen you get any benefits in return."

Zhang Cuie was unconvinced and turned to look at him. "I formally became your apprentice. It was my teacher who said that the new society should have a new look, and he forbade me to kowtow or call him 'Master,' and he wouldn't charge me tuition. That's why I only brought some food. My teacher didn't become your apprentice, and you beat him every day. You expect him to bring you things? What are you thinking?"

Chen Fan laughed quite happily when he heard the first half, but when he heard the second half, he immediately stopped laughing and coughed, "What do you mean by hitting me every day? That was during practice. I was letting him off easy because he's older. You kid, how old are you compared to him? Stop talking nonsense and apologize now."

Zhang Cuie pouted, still unconvinced, but still obediently bowed to Lin Yuanxiang, saying, "I'm sorry."

On the one hand, Lin Yuanxiang liked Zhang Cuie's straightforwardness and admired her respect for her teachers and her defense of Chen Fan. On the other hand, he was also disgusted by someone's shamelessness. In the end, he could only sigh, "How can the difference between people be so great?"

Zhang Cuie agreed with this statement, saying, "That's right."

As she spoke, she glanced at someone with eyes full of disdain.

Lin Yuanxiang was speechless. He glanced at the person who was grinning from ear to ear, and simply buried his head in his cigarette.

Xiao Liewen then looked at Chen Fan and asked, "You just said you wanted to see if the commune had issued any notice. Did you receive any information?"

Chen Fan nodded and was about to speak when he heard footsteps and loud voices.

"Time is tight and the task is heavy, you need to make good arrangements. Besides doing a good job..."

Halfway through their conversation, Secretary Yang and Captain Zhang appeared at the door, followed by Zhang Wenliang. Seeing so many people in the office, they naturally stopped talking.

Xiao Liewen immediately raised his head and said loudly, "You're back! How did things go?"

The three entered one after another, and Chen Fan waved his hand, "Xiao'e, make some tea."

Zhang Wenliang was speechless. "You're treating my sister like a servant, aren't you? This isn't your office, is it?"

Zhang Cuie turned and glared at him. "I'm happy to." With that, she skipped off to make tea.

Zhang Wenliang snorted twice, glanced at his cousin who was busy getting teacups, and then at Chen Fan with a big smile on his face, "How did you teach me? Teach me, will you?"

Chen Fan chuckled and said, "What do you mean by 'how to teach'? I call it 'treating sincerity for sincerity.' As long as I teach her all kinds of knowledge without reservation, she will naturally respect me. Hey, what can you teach?"

Zhang Wenliang, with a sullen face, went straight to sit down next to him, crossed his legs, and started smoking.

Secretary Yang and Captain Zhang returned to their seats, looked around at everyone, and then said with a smile, "I have good news for you. Our production team is going to show a movie!"

Xiao Liewen was immediately surprised, "Oh, it's settled?"

Secretary Yang nodded and smiled, "After we finished shopping at the market, we stopped by Secretary Qian's place on the way back. It just so happened that Director Tang Xianwen of the Cultural Station was there, and he told us the news, saving us the trouble of making a special phone call to inform him."

After a pause, he added, "The date is set for May 4th, and the location is the same as before: the playground of the village primary school in Team 10. It's a large place that can accommodate more than a thousand people."

As he spoke, he turned to look at Chen Fan and said, "Xiao Chen, please announce this on the broadcast this afternoon."

Chen Fan immediately nodded, "Okay."

At this moment, Xiao Liewen asked, "Is this the notification you've been waiting for?"

Chen Fan smiled and nodded, saying, "Yes, Brother An came to my place this morning. I heard it from him."

Xiao Liewen nodded. "That makes sense. His wife is the deputy director of the cultural station. Although she doesn't handle film screenings, she's well-informed and it's normal for her to know in advance."

As soon as he finished speaking, Captain Zhang said to Zhang Wenliang, "Sanhu, I haven't finished yet. You must do a good job in this security work. Although Team 10 is located in a relatively remote area, there will definitely be people from other places coming over. Anyway, this isn't your first time in charge, and you know the specific details. In short, you must make good arrangements and not allow any problems to occur."

Zhang Wenliang nodded solemnly, "Understood."

At this moment, Xiao Liewen thought for a moment, looked at Secretary Yang and Captain Zhang, and said, "The rice planting is finished, the market is finished, and the movie screening is the night after tomorrow. Why don't we just do the militia's spring training as well?"

Everyone else agreed without objection.

With the leadership unanimously approving the order, Zhang Wenliang naturally complied and carried it out.

He turned to look at Chen Fan and asked, "Are you using your own hunting rifle this time, or the company's rifle?"

Chen Fan replied without hesitation, "Use a rifle."

Lin Yuanxiang looked up at him and said, "Didn't you cherish those two hunting rifles? Why aren't you using them?"

Chen Fan sighed softly, "Shotgun bullets cost 4 cents each, while rifle bullets are free. Even a fool knows which to choose."

This sentence silenced everyone in the room.

Zhang Wenliang wiped his face, looked around, and immediately spotted the leather backpack in the corner of the bench. He stood up, walked over, grabbed the backpack, and almost without thinking, his gaze fell on Chen Fan's face. "Is this yours?"

Chen Fan nodded. "Yes, I made it myself."

Zhang Wenliang didn't ask him where he got the pelts. Whether it was the 19 fox pelts he got from the last hunt or the three sheepskins the team rewarded him with after his novel was published in the "Jiangnan Literature" magazine, it was enough to show that Chen Fan was not short of pelts.

The key issue was the craftsmanship, which made him deeply suspicious: "Are you sure you made this bag yourself?"

Chen Fan chuckled and said, "How could this be fake?"

He paused for a moment, then said, "Or have you seen a backpack like this somewhere else?"

Zhang Wenliang immediately shook his head, "Never seen it before."

At this point, others also came over to join in the fun, examining Chen Fan's backpack.

It's essentially a laptop backpack similar to those of later generations. It has a smaller outer bag, then two larger bags with two additional compartments, making a total of four layers. The two large bags are closed with brass zippers, and the light yellow sheepskin gives it a very high-end look. The smaller outer bag has three snap buttons for easy storage of small items.

In addition, Chen Fan made several buckles with copper, then padded them with leather and sewed them onto the bag. Depending on the usage environment, the backpack can be turned into a shoulder bag, which is very convenient.

While everyone was examining the backpacks, Chen Fan leaned close to Lin Yuanxiang and whispered, "Uncle Lin, you said before that if I could make a saddle myself, you would give me a saber."

Lin Yuanxiang turned to look at him, "Is the saddle ready?"

Chen Fan chuckled and said, "Of course, the main focus is on making saddles, and leather bags are just a side project."

Lin Yuanxiang smiled slightly, "Seeing is believing."

Chen Fan immediately extended his hand, "Please."

The two then walked outside.

Everyone else heard them talking, and immediately stopped looking at the briefcases and followed behind.

Secretary Yang, still smoking, whispered to Captain Zhang, "Think for me, is there anything this kid can't do?"

Captain Zhang shook his head and sighed, "Not to mention being a broadcaster and veterinarian, he can also make pottery, do bricklaying, and carpentry. Now he can even make leather bags and saddles. It's unbelievable how someone so young can know so many things."

At this moment, Zhang Cuie whispered from the side, "The teacher said that he is not proficient in anything, only at the beginner level, and he doesn't know everything, for example, he doesn't know how to farm."

Upon hearing this, Secretary Yang and Captain Zhang exchanged glances, then let out a long sigh, "He's not a proper farmer at all."

These days, no matter how capable someone is, almost everyone who comes from the countryside knows how to farm.

Before long, they arrived at the barn and could see the saddle on the mare's back from afar.

Lin Yuanxiang walked over first, not reaching out, but just getting closer to look, examining it from top to bottom, not even missing the stirrups. Then he turned to look at Chen Fan, his eyes full of strangeness, "Don't tell me you even made these stirrups yourself?"

Chen Fan chuckled and said, "My skills are a bit rough, please excuse me."

Lin Yuanxiang straightened up and couldn't help but shake his head and sigh, "If you were in the base area back then, you would definitely be the greatest treasure."

Having been here for some time, the more he learned about Chen Fan, the more impressed he became. He thought that if you threw this kid into the deep mountains and forests, he could probably build a base with his bare hands. Back then, the team was dirt poor, and this kind of all-rounder who was close to production and life was really sought after by all sides.

After the inspection was passed, Lin Yuanxiang didn't hesitate and immediately said with a smile, "Okay, a bet is a bet. I'll have someone send the saber over right away."

Hearing him say that, Chen Fan felt embarrassed and quickly waved his hand, saying, "No need, no need, it was just a joke."

He paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "Actually, I'm forging the knife myself. It's almost finished now. I estimate it will be completed in a few more days. I'll ask for your guidance then."

Lin Yuanxiang was speechless again. He put his hands behind his back and looked at him. "Hey, are you planning to make everything yourself from now on? Spin the yarn, weave the cloth, cut and sew the clothes yourself, cultivate the fields and plant the rice yourself, build the house yourself, do everything yourself?"

Upon hearing this, the people nearby couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Chen Fan immediately shook his head and laughed, "It's not that bad. I had no choice. When I first came here, if the secretary and team leaders hadn't sponsored me a few sets of clothes, I wouldn't have had a single change of clothes. If you could just buy them, who would want to make them themselves?"

Zhang Wenliang walked over from the side and laughed, "That saying only applies to you. You have the money to buy it. In our rural area, it's really true that 'if you can make it yourself, who would spend money to buy it?'"

Everyone laughed again.

After inspecting the saddle, everyone went their separate ways.

Xiao Liewen remained in the office, chatting with Lin Yuanxiang. Secretary Yang and Captain Zhang went down to their respective teams to check on the progress of rice planting.

Zhang Wenliang pulled Chen Fan aside and handed him a stack of money. "Today's profit share from selling turtles is only 15 yuan, which is not as much as last time, but at least we sold them all. There are more and more people setting up stalls now, and business is not easy."

He patted Chen Fan's arm and said, "Hurry up and raise the rabbits. I'm waiting for your rabbit meat."

Chen Fan smiled and nodded, "The first batch of rabbits will be handed over in a few days. We can't count on the baby rabbits for now, but we can produce a batch of adult rabbits. You can talk to Captain Ye about buying some."

Zhang Wenliang was overjoyed. "Okay, once you bring the rabbit over, I'll go find Uncle Ye."

After Zhang Wenliang left to arrange the militia's spring training, Chen Fan turned around and took Zhang Cuie to the broadcasting room to teach her the knowledge from her middle school textbooks. At the same time, he waited for the broadcast time to be used to notify the whole brigade to show a movie.

(End of this chapter)