Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 310 A Huge Joke

Before coming in, Chen Fan thought it was just ordinary acquaintances communicating, but he didn't expect it to turn into an argument.

He doesn't really like prying into people's privacy, but there's only one alley here, so there's no way to avoid it.

The only way to avoid it is to retreat.

Just as he was about to back away, he heard another voice.

"Look at your current situation. Do you still think you're the pampered darling of the world? Huh? You're just a child from a family that's been dumped, unwanted, and considered inferior. Besides, you're already 21, an old maid. What respectable family do you expect to marry you?"

No matter what, Old Li comes from an upright family, is a legitimate worker, and his father is a leader in the factory. He's more than a match for you.

"Oh, now look what's happened! He doesn't look down on you, but you're looking down on him. Do you even have a brain? I came here out of the blue to play matchmaker for you, I've been running around here at least eight or ten times these past few days, haven't I? I've said everything I could think of, good and bad, but you won't listen to a word. Well then, you can just wait to be an old maid for the rest of your life."

Upon hearing this, Chen Fan frowned deeply, his face turning ashen. He strode forward, his voice growing clearer and clearer.

Jiang Tiantian, panting heavily, struggled to suppress her anger. "I respect you and call you Sister Liu, but look at what you've done! Does he deserve to be called 'sister'? Everyone in the cotton mill knows what kind of person he is! He's lazy and shirks his work, idle all day long, spending his paycheck on eating, drinking, and gambling. He has two children at home, and they're both learning bad habits from him, causing trouble all the time. His wife just died recently, did he even cry once? And now, just a few days later, he's already thinking about finding someone else?"
"You dare say you're doing this for my own good? Bah! I bet you just took his dirty money and wanted to curry favor with his father, who's a deputy director, and you're pushing me into this mess. How can you be so heartless? You don't deserve to be called a human being!"

"Hey, what nonsense are you spouting, you brat? No matter how bad Old Li is, his family background is a million times better than yours. Marrying him is a huge step up for you..."

Upon reaching this point, Chen Fan could already see two figures. He couldn't resist any longer, so he squeaked a few times at the mouse that was staring at him expectantly and tossed it a piece of candy.

The mouse jumped up and snatched it in its mouth.

Chen Fan then lightly kicked it, sending it flying in an arc.

Then he looked up, lightly leaped, reached out and hooked his hand on the wall, flipped over and jumped onto the roof to hide.

The next second, Sister Liu suddenly screamed, "Ah...a rat..."

Chen Fan squatted on the roof and saw a woman in her forties or fifties with two braids rush out from the corner, covering her head and running forward, screaming continuously. Chased by the rat, she ran out of the alley at the speed of light and disappeared without a trace.

Looking at the empty alleyway entrance, Chen Fan coldly snorted twice, silently praying that the rat didn't have too many viruses on it.

Otherwise, they deserve to die.

Jiang Tiantian stood blankly against the corner of the wall, still not having reacted.

They were arguing peacefully when suddenly a rat fell from the sky and landed on Sister Liu's head, scratching and biting her. Sister Liu was so scared that her hands and feet went weak, and she hid in a corner, too afraid to move. But to her surprise, the rat only chased after Sister Liu and didn't scratch her at all.

After Sister Liu's voice disappeared, she gasped for breath and cautiously poked her head out, only to find the alleyway ahead empty and devoid of anything.

Only then did she slide down the wall and squat down, burying her face in her arms, trying to keep quiet, and sobbing.

After a long while, Jiang Tiantian managed to suppress her emotions, took a deep breath, wiped away the tears on her face, and stood up with her head down.

Then, when she looked up, she saw Chen Fan standing in front of her, smiling at her with a handkerchief in his outstretched hand.

"Xiao...Xiao Fan?"

Jiang Tiantian stared at him blankly, not reacting for a moment. "You... what are you doing here?"

Chen Fan smiled slightly, pursed his lips, and stretched out his hand. "It's clean, wipe it."

Jiang Tiantian quickly took the handkerchief from his hand, turned her back to wipe her face clean, took a few deep breaths, and then turned back around, saying with her head down, "You...you saw everything?"

Chen Fan didn't say much, but took out the letter written by Jiang Lili and the small cloth bag tied with a rope from his bag and handed them to her. "I'm here on a business trip to the prefectural committee. Lili asked me to bring this to you."

Jiang Tiantian took the envelope with both hands. When she saw her sister's handwriting on the envelope, she was overwhelmed with emotions and tears almost welled up in her eyes again.

She quickly took two deep breaths to hold back her tears, wiped her eyes discreetly as she did so, and then looked up and forced a smile, saying, "Thank you."

Chen Fan smiled and said, "You're welcome."

Jiang Tiantian lowered her head, unsure of what to say for a moment. After a while, she murmured, "What...what did you hear just now?"

Chen Fan's eyes darted around slightly. "Uh, I didn't hear anything, just a little bit."

Jiang Tiantian's face flushed red and then turned pale. She lowered her head and said, "I'm sorry you had to see this."

Chen Fan immediately shook his head, "It really was a huge joke..."

Jiang Tiantian was stunned for a moment, her face turned pale as she looked up at him, feeling as if something was blocking her throat and chest, making her unable to speak.

Chen Fan then pointed to the alley entrance, "I'm talking about that person. He should look in the mirror and see what he looks like. A toad trying to eat swan meat, what a joke."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Tiantian suddenly breathed a sigh of relief and lowered her head again.

Chen Fan glanced at her and laughed, "Don't pay attention to those petty people. Someone will take care of them sooner or later."

She paused for a moment, then said, "The last time I saw you, you seemed quite confident. Even though life wasn't going well for you, you were still able to hold your head high. How come you've suddenly become like your sister?"

Jiang Tiantian paused, her lips moved slightly, her left hand holding the cloth bag and the letter, her right hand gently stroking the letter, and she said softly, "Every time she writes to me, she always says how good life is, that she has enough to eat and wear, and that she has made friends. She never tells me the truth."

After speaking, she paused for two seconds before taking a deep breath, trying to regain her composure, and looked at him, asking, "What is my sister usually like?"

Chen Fan pursed his lips, shook his head, looked around, and said, "This isn't the place to talk. How about we go somewhere else? I mean, if it doesn't interfere with your work."

Jiang Tiantian nodded gently and said with a smile, "Okay."

She glanced back at the alley entrance. "My current job isn't too much of a hassle. Although I'm still a sales clerk, they don't give me any important work. I just do odd jobs in the store, like sweeping or moving goods. It doesn't matter whether I'm there or not."

In the past, she definitely wouldn't have said that, but Chen Fan had seen her most pathetic side, so there was nothing left to hide.

She turned to Chen Fan and smiled, "This place is very close to the river. I know a spot that nobody usually goes to. Let's go there."

Chen Fan smiled and nodded, "Looking at the water and feeling the breeze, it suits me just fine."

Jiang Tiantian smiled and continued walking deeper into the alley.

Chen Fan walked alongside her, curiously peering inside. "Is there a path inside?" She turned to look at Chen Fan and smiled. "It's not really a path, just a narrow passage between a few houses, just big enough for a person to walk through."

After walking a few steps, Jiang Tiantian glanced at Chen Fan again, seemingly hesitant to speak.

Chen Fan noticed her expression and couldn't help but smile, "Is there anything you want to ask?"

Jiang Tiantian pursed her lips and asked curiously, "Just now, that mouse?"

Chen Fan coughed lightly and said casually, "Ah, that woman is really unlucky. The rat just happened to fall on her head. But, she deserves it. She does all sorts of wicked things. Otherwise, why would the rat keep biting her? Right?"

A smile appeared in Jiang Tiantian's eyes, and the corners of her lips curled up slightly. She did not ask any further questions.

After walking a few steps, a narrow alley, only about a meter wide, suddenly appeared. In Jiang Tiantian's words, it couldn't even be called a road; it was just a gap left when the houses were built, and even the dirt ground was a bit uneven.

The two went in one after the other, and then turned seven or eight corners in a row. Chen Fan couldn't help but say, "Do you usually walk here? It doesn't seem very safe here."

Jiang Tiantian instantly understood what he meant. She took out a screwdriver from her pocket, turned around, raised it, removed the bamboo tube, and waved it at him. "I'm carrying this, it'll be fine."

Chen Fan looked at the screwdriver blade, which had been sharpened to a fine point, and couldn't help but chuckle. "This thing actually works?"

Jiang Tiantian put the bamboo tube back on, put the screwdriver in her pocket, and said softly, "If I really encounter a bad guy, and I can't kill him, I'll kill myself."

The smile on Chen Fan's face gradually disappeared. Looking at her back, he didn't know what to say.

Jiang Tiantian seemed to sense his gaze and said as they walked, "Actually, it's okay. Even though there's no one here now, there are people all around. If you shout for help, a lot of people will rush out immediately. No bad guys will dare to commit a crime here."

The chances of encountering bad people are much higher only in secluded alleyways where there are no other houses nearby, or in places far from populated areas. But I never go to those kinds of places.

In the time it takes to say a few words and turn a few corners, Chen Fan saw the towering Yangtze River embankment outside the alley.

The two climbed up the grassy slope, crossed the embankment, and were greeted by the surging river.

It's currently the flood season, and although the water level isn't particularly high, the river's flow is quite rapid.

The river, which is over 3,000 meters wide, is now nearly 2,000 meters wide. With the surging current, it seems that people could be swept away at any moment. People with a little less courage probably wouldn't dare to go near the riverbank.

Jiang Tiantian, however, knew the way well and followed an inconspicuous path on the outer embankment slope into a small grove of trees.

She turned to look at Chen Fan, pointed to a piece of broken wood not far away, and said with a smile, "I dragged this piece of wood here to use as a chair. You can see the river, but no one outside can see you. If someone comes, the branches and fallen leaves here will be the best sentinels, and I can spot them immediately."

Chen Fan looked around and couldn't help but laugh, "This is your secret garden?"

"Secret Garden?"

Jiang Tiantian's eyes lit up. Although it was the first time she had heard this word, she immediately understood Chen Fan's meaning and asked curiously, "Is there any story behind it?"

He took a few steps back, gestured for Chen Fan to sit down, and then gave a self-deprecating smile, saying, "I can only ask you to sit here."

Chen Fan plopped down on the chair and laughed, "With such a beautiful view, this place is much better than other places."

Jiang Tiantian smiled and sat down at the other end of the broken log.

Chen Fan first answered her question, "The Secret Garden is a children's book written by American author Frances Hodgson Burnett at the beginning of this century. The story is very long, so I won't tell you now, but I'll tell you about it another time. Later, the book became popular all over the world, and people used the Secret Garden to describe a place that only they know, a place to relax their mind and let themselves go."

Jiang Tiantian, clutching her cloth bag, gazed at the Yangtze River with a slightly dreamy look in her eyes. "A fairy tale? How wonderful!"

Chen Fan turned to look at her and smiled, "Want to read the letter first?"

Jiang Tiantian then sat up straight, took the letter and looked at it, then suddenly laughed and said, "Actually, I don't need to read it. I already know what it says. My sister is just writing fairy tales to make my parents and me think she lives in a fairy tale castle."

Chen Fan raised an eyebrow, his eyes darting around. "Hmm, if that's the case, aren't you the same?"

He paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "Every kind-hearted person weaves fairy tales for those around them, hiding their sadness and spreading joy. Whether she is truly happy or not, she must have been happy when she wrote this letter."

Jiang Tiantian turned to look at him, revealing a bright smile, "You're very good at comforting people."

Before Chen Fan could speak, she put her legs together, placed the cloth bag on her thighs, carefully tore open the envelope, and took out the letter to read.

Chen Fan glanced at her, then turned his gaze to the Yangtze River, thinking to himself, "Zhang Juemin and Zhang Wenliang have books to read at Xinhua Bookstore, so they shouldn't be getting impatient while waiting, right?"

Not long after, Jiang Tiantian finished reading the letter, folded it up, put it in the envelope, turned to look at Chen Fan with curiosity, her eyes shining with unprecedented light, "You wrote 'On the Fields of Hope'? My God, you are the first real writer I have ever met!"

Chen Fan turned to look at her and couldn't help but chuckle, "She even told you this?"

Jiang Tiantian nodded vigorously, "I did! I also said you built a house and made your own handbags and belts. You're really amazing!"

Chen Fan felt a little dizzy. Why was he writing about his own things all the time?

They even praised me like that to my face! It made me so embarrassed!
He could only modestly say, "Actually, it's nothing, just some small trinkets, not worth mentioning."

Jiang Tiantian immediately shook her head, "How can this be a trinket? It's clearly a great skill!"

She hugged the letter and the cloth bag to her chest again, propped her arms on her legs, looked at the river not far away, and said with longing, "I have tried writing myself, but I always feel that I can't write well, so I admire the great writers who can write good stories the most."

As she spoke, she turned to look at Chen Fan, "I never expected that I would have such a person by my side. It's such a pleasant surprise."

Chen Fan feigned embarrassment, saying, "If you keep praising me like that, I'll have no choice but to jump into the river and hide."

Jiang Tiantian smiled and shook her head, "Okay, then I won't say anything more."

She immediately changed the subject, "Can you tell me about Lili?"

"Okay."

Chen Fan rested his elbows on his legs and recounted everything he knew about Jiang Lili without reservation.

(End of this chapter)