Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 30 Making the Grease

After a meal filled with drinks and lively conversation, Chen Fan and Jiang Lili returned to their educated youth settlement together.

As I walked along the road, I could faintly hear voices coming from both sides.

Chen Fan looked over there, but unfortunately the trees blocked his view, so he asked, "Is there any farm work to do today?"

Jiang Lili glanced at it as well, thought for a moment, and said, "They're probably digging for soft-shelled turtles."

Chen Fan "..."

He couldn't help but chuckle, "They acted quickly enough."

I wonder if there will still be turtles in the fishpond after today.

Jiang Lili's lips curled slightly, but she didn't speak. Actually, if Captain Yang hadn't called her over today, she would have gone to dig for turtles too, but not in the big ponds, but in the small ditch behind the village, so she could avoid other people.

The two entered the courtyard and closed the gate. Chen Fan yawned and said as they walked, "Are you reading in your room again today?"

If I hadn't needed to talk to her yesterday, she probably would have sat in her room all day without moving.

Jiang Lili: "Oh, I'll go loosen the soil in the vegetable garden in a bit, and I have some other things to do."

Chen Fan was taken aback. "There's work to do even during the winter off-season?"

The two stood under the eaves. Jiang Lili smiled gently, then quickly lowered her head. "It's called winter off-season, which means there's less work, but there's still a lot to do. In previous years, after the rice harvest, we would start digging the dikes in the eleventh month and stay busy until the end of the twelfth month."

The task for this year hasn't been assigned yet, and we don't know if it's been postponed or canceled. If it's been postponed, it'll probably be soon, otherwise, once it snows and it gets freezing cold, the dike-breaking work will be even more tiring.

Even if it's canceled, the team will arrange for everyone to repair the small water conservancy facilities in the team, and the ditches within the entire production team area will be reinforced and protected against dangers. After the spring, fertilizer will be added to the paddy fields to prepare for transplanting rice seedlings, so that the crops will grow better next year.

In addition to weeding and fertilizing the rapeseed, each household also had its own work to do, tending to the vegetables in their private plots and preparing for the upcoming New Year. The men did heavy work, carrying water, chopping firewood, slaughtering pigs, digging lotus roots, and dredging ponds, while the women were busy preparing snacks, boiling sugar, making tofu, making vermicelli, slaughtering chickens, ducks, and geese, and curing preserved meats.

This year the team had a bumper harvest. Except for a very few families, most will receive a considerable amount of money. Some may need to hire a tailor to come and take their measurements to make new clothes for their families, or hire a bricklayer to repair their houses and stoves, or a carpenter to fix their furniture. ..."

Jiang Lili's voice grew softer and softer as she spoke, staring blankly ahead, her eyes unfocused.

Chen Fan looked her over carefully and guessed that she was probably homesick.

Before her family's misfortune occurred, she was probably just like countless other families, busy preparing for the Lunar New Year.

He sighed inwardly. He didn't know the exact situation of Jiang Lili's family, so he didn't know what to say. He coughed lightly and said loudly,

"I didn't realize there were so many things to do in the countryside during winter. I thought everyone would be hiding indoors by the fire because of the freezing weather."

Jiang Lili suddenly came to her senses, paused for two seconds, and then chuckled softly, "If it snows heavily, everyone does stay home and warm themselves by the fire. But besides working, the team also often organizes meetings in winter, especially when it snows heavily, when no one has to work, making it the perfect time for meetings."

"is it?"

Chen Fan asked curiously, "What kind of meetings are they holding?"

Jiang Lili counted on her fingers, thinking as she spoke, "There are labor summary meetings, advanced commendation meetings, backward criticism meetings, struggle meetings, study meetings, evaluation meetings, and meetings to recall past bitterness and appreciate present sweetness. There are also some meetings to arrange labor and convey documents. That's about it."

Chen Fan stared wide-eyed, secretly marveling at how long-standing the tradition of holding meetings had indeed been established, even extending to the production team.

After chatting for a while, the two went back to their respective rooms. Chen Fan had just drunk some wine and wanted to get some hot water, but all they had was cold water, and the same can of cold tea from yesterday.

In winter, a bowl of cold water or herbal tea has no consequences; you're lucky if you don't end up living in the toilet.

Having just recovered from a serious illness, Chen Fan dared not gamble, so he went to the kitchen to boil a kettle of water.

As I passed by Jiang Lili's room, I saw her carrying a thermos as she came out.

When Jiang Lili saw Chen Fan, she quickly handed him the thermos, saying, "You just drank some alcohol, so you must be thirsty. It's not good to drink cold water in winter, so take this thermos."

Chen Fan didn't answer, but looked at her and asked, "What about you?"

Jiang Lili smiled and shook her head, "I drank a lot of water at the captain's house just now, so I don't need it for now."

There was only one thermos?

Chen Fan blinked, hesitated, and nodded. "I'll just pour one bowl."

I forgot to borrow a thermos from Captain Yang.

However, it remains to be seen whether Captain Yang's family has any extra thermos bottles.

These days, a thermos is a major household item. In 87, when filming Red Sorghum in Mo Yan's hometown, Jiang Wen accidentally kicked and broke Mo Yan's thermos, which was the only one in his house.

Interesting as it may be, thermos flasks were indeed very valuable at that time. Chen Fan only briefly thought about it before putting it out of his mind and not daring to mention it again.

I carried the thermos back to my room, poured a bowl of water, and carried it back to my room. There I saw Jiang Lili carefully brushing paste on the table.

Chen Fan put the thermos aside, leaned over to take a look, and asked, "What's this?"

Jiang Lili glanced at him, continued brushing on the paste, and laughed, "This is for making the backing."

Chen Fan looked at her, puzzled, then at the things on the table.

Apply paste to a wooden board, then pick up a piece of cloth from the side, lay it on top, smooth it out, then apply paste again and lay it on top again.

He was still a little confused. "Hit the arm?"

Why hit the arm?
Jiang Lili burst out laughing, but quickly suppressed it and said with her head down, "It's for making the soles of cloth shoes."

Chen Fan suddenly realized, "Oh, I know, you mean thousand-layered cloth shoes?"

Jiang Lili nodded. "Yes, that's the one."

Chen Fan seemed to have discovered something extraordinary, watching her work intently.

These are handmade. In later generations, they would cost several hundred or even thousands of dollars a pair. They are definitely high-end products!
Oh, right, the same goes for the pairs I'm wearing.

He tilted his head and looked at it for a while, then asked softly, "Making a shoe sole takes so much effort. How much would a pair cost if you bought them outside?"

Jiang Lili, whether out of shyness or something else, kept her head down and didn't look at him. She just said softly, "These aren't worth much. If they were fine cloth shoes made by a shoemaker, they might be worth two or three yuan. But these homemade cloth shoes aren't very nice. Even if someone buys them, they'll only be willing to pay one yuan at most. Any more than that, and they won't agree. Besides, every woman in the family here knows how to make these, so hardly anyone spends money to buy them."

(End of this chapter)