Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 322 We're Really Out of Money
Once outside, Chen Fan looked at the things everyone had brought in and immediately said, "Could you please check what's in the boxes? If they're books, please help me move them into the new house and put them in the living room on the first floor."

The floor tiles were laid and could be used after two or three days. It's been 12 days now, so they're already firmly in place and there's no problem placing heavy objects on them.

Everyone immediately responded, and several people carried it to the backyard.

Just then, a few more people came in. "Teacher Chen, where should we put the medicinal herbs?"

Chen Fan pointed behind him, "The living room on the first floor of the new house."

After pausing for a moment, he simply walked out. Once outside, he called out to the people who were carrying things down the door, "Please help me carry these to the living room on the first floor of the new house."

I brought back quite a lot of things this time, including about two thousand old books, as well as all sorts of electrical appliances and mechanical parts. There's no place to put all these things in the educated youth compound; currently, only the newly built houses can accommodate them.

I never expected that the new house I finally managed to build would be given away to those "junk" people before I even had a chance to enjoy it.

As Chen Fan was reflecting on this, Secretary Yang and An Quan walked over with the driver.

He quickly went up to the driver and smiled, saying, "You must be tired from your journey. Come inside and sit for a while, and we'll have a couple of drinks later."

The driver was very polite, waving his hand and smiling, "It's alright, it's alright, you go ahead with your work."

Since Secretary Yang and Captain Zhang accompanied the driver into the yard, the security guard, Captain Yang, custodian Huang, and accountant Liu stayed at the gate.

Captain Yang looked at Chen Fan with envy and asked, "How much did you pay for your bicycle and sewing machine?"

Chen Fan glanced at him and chuckled, "Not much, 150 yuan in total."

Accountant Liu stared wide-eyed, "So cheap?"

Chen Fan: "How could it not be cheap if I bought it at a secondhand store? And I didn't even need a coupon!"

"No ticket?"

Upon hearing this, the three of them immediately became excited.

The custodian, Mr. Huang, quickly asked, "Does the secondhand store still have any?"

Chen Fan nodded. "Yes."

Captain Yang clenched his right fist and slammed it into his palm. "Hey, why didn't you buy more?"

Accountant Liu stopped him, "How about we go to the prefectural committee tomorrow too?"

Before Captain Yang could speak, Anquan poured cold water on his enthusiasm, saying, "That's the prefectural committee. It takes two hours by car to get there. You went to such a far place to buy things. Did you even think about how you'd get back?"

Accountant Liu immediately said, "I'll tie the sewing machine to my bicycle and ride back!"

Chen Fan chuckled, "Then you get a flat tire halfway through the journey, and you have nowhere to cry."

Accountant Liu's face darkened. "I...I...I..."

"Don't mention me."

Chen Fan said to the person pushing the bicycle down, "Uncle Huang, the bicycle is here."

Old Huang happily pushed the bicycle over, and when he handed it over, he was a little reluctant to part with it, saying, "This bicycle is really nice."

Chen Fan took the bicycle, but then pushed it to Captain Yang. He glanced at them and said with a smile, "I didn't know you all wanted bicycles. I only heard Captain Yang mention them before, so I only bought one for him."

Everyone was stunned. Yang Chuanfu, holding the bicycle handlebars, looked on in disbelief. "You bought this for me?"

Chen Fan smiled and gestured, "This bicycle is about 8% new, and the price is 78 yuan. I have the receipt here, and I can give it to you later."

He paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "Of course, if you don't want it, I can give it to someone else, or you can keep it for yourself, that's fine too."

Upon hearing this, Accountant Liu reached out to snatch it, shouting, "If he doesn't want it, I will!"

Captain Yang suddenly pounced on the bicycle, waving his arms like a crab, shouting, "Get out, get out, all of you get out! Who said I don't want it? I want this bicycle!"

When he looked up, his face was beaming with joy. "Wow, I can buy a bicycle for only 78 yuan, and I don't even need a ticket! What a steal!"

As he spoke, he pushed his bicycle and ran home, saying, "Xiao Chen, wait here, I'll go get you the money."

Chen Fan looked at him strangely and shouted, "Captain, why aren't you riding?"

Captain Yang's voice drifted from afar, "I'll ride it once I've learned how!"

After a brief silence, the group burst into laughter.

So Yang Chuanfu, who has been dreaming of riding a bicycle for over a decade, actually doesn't know how to ride one?!

After laughing, a hint of melancholy appeared on Accountant Liu's face. "Oh dear, how am I going to go to the prefectural committee to buy a bicycle and a sewing machine?"

The storekeeper, Huang, also looked worried. "That's right. If I had known earlier that the prefectural committee had a secondhand store, I would have gone there long ago. Even without a vehicle, I could have brought back a bundle of dry rations on a handcart."

Old Huang looked left and right, his face full of curiosity. "Is this car used?"

The custodian, Huang, glanced at him. "So what if it's secondhand? It's cheap, only 78 yuan, and no receipt needed!"

Huang Laosi was instantly envious.

Chen Fan chuckled and continued to tempt them, "Besides bicycles and sewing machines, there are also watches and radios..." Hearing this, the three men's eyes widened, and they stared at him in a daze.

Chen Fan chuckled and said, "Just like sewing machines and bicycles, they don't require coupons, and the prices are even cheaper. Radios are only 30 yuan, and watches are only 80 to 100 yuan. Although they're not half the price of bicycles and sewing machines, they're still 3% to 4% cheaper, which is a super bargain."

Accountant Liu was almost in tears, "Why didn't you buy more?! Were you worried about finding buyers if you bought more?!"

Chen Fan clapped his hands, his face full of regret, and said, "Why don't I want to buy it? But even if it's cheap, it still costs money, and I don't have any!"

He spent a lot of money on this trip to the prefectural committee. On the first day, he spent 60.3 yuan on clothes at the department store, nearly 10 yuan on the "Self-Study Series of Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry" at Xinhua Bookstore, 25 yuan on discounted fabric at the cotton mill store, and 150 yuan on a bicycle and a sewing machine.

Later, I spent another 21.77 yuan on old books and electronic and mechanical parts from a waste recycling company.

That evening, he treated Jiang Tiantian to dinner at the Gongnong Restaurant, where he ordered several large dishes that cost 6.6 yuan. After dinner, he also called a pedicab to take her back to the cotton mill dormitory area before taking the bus home, which cost another 4 mao. In total, it cost him exactly 7 yuan.

Before leaving, I spent 50 yuan on tiger bone and ginseng, and today I spent another 80 yuan on panda.

He had only withdrawn 150 yuan from the brigade headquarters, and not only did he spend it all, he also spent an additional 254 yuan of his own money.

The image of bankruptcy that I had just built up has completely collapsed.

I wonder how many people will believe me if I complain about being poor now?
However, both the custodian Huang and the accountant Liu believed it.

The storekeeper, Huang, sighed in frustration, "How come we're out of money?"

Accountant Liu shook his head and sighed, "If only I could have bought a few more."

Anquan patted Chen Fan on the shoulder, his expression a little regretful, "Opportunities like today, with a truck specially delivering them, are rare. If you had built the house a month later, you could have bought more used goods and large items."

Although his family has a bicycle, it's for his wife's exclusive use. If possible, he would be happy to spend two months' salary to buy a used bicycle.

Chen Fan blinked, beginning to understand why they believed it without a second thought.

If you still have money, who wouldn't want to bring home a few more big items?

He was a little surprised that the "three turns and one sound" (referring to a watch, a revolving door, a radio, and a microphone) held such a high place in their hearts.

After talking for a while, the sewing machine was also carried down.

Chen Fan quickly led them towards the educated youth compound, saying, "This doesn't need to be carried up; we can leave it here."

It is entirely foreseeable that someone will come to borrow the sewing machine, and the number of people who will borrow it will depend on how many people actually know how to use it.

If he didn't have the "three turns and one sound" coupons from the health department, that would be fine. But since he had these coupons, he would definitely keep the new one and put it in the new house. This old one would naturally be placed in the educated youth compound. No matter who comes to borrow it, there is only this one!
The reason I didn't use these tickets before coming back was because of money.

It wasn't that he didn't have enough money; after spending 254, he still had 600 left, more than enough to buy these four items.

But if he actually bought them all, no matter how much he talked, no one would believe he really had no money!
So we should be patient for now and wait until we make the next wave of money before going to the prefectural committee to buy these things back.

……

The sewing machine was brought into the educated youth compound, immediately causing a burst of screams and shouts.

Even Jiang Lili and the other three who had just helped him pack his luggage came over to watch.

Yang Yuejin and Yang Weiguo glared at Yang Ju, "Where do you put it?"

Yang Ju immediately looked at Chen Fan, "Teacher Chen, where should we put this?"

Chen Fan pointed to the storage room, "Let's put it in the storage room for now. Once it's tidied up, we'll use it as a sewing room."

Yang Ju immediately led the people to the storage room.

Everyone else who had finished their work went over to watch the excitement, while Chen Fan walked through the backyard toward his new house, with only An Quan accompanying him.

When he passed the stable, he turned around, opened the gate, and stuffed the mare and foal that had been following him inside.

Afterwards, he hugged the horse's head and patted it, saying, "Good boy/girl, I'm very busy now. I'll take you for a walk tomorrow."

The mare reluctantly took two steps back and snorted.

Anquan couldn't help but shake his head, "The livestock here are almost sentient."

Chen Fan walked through the back door and went upstairs, chuckling as he said, "Animals are inherently intelligent. Look at those dogs and cats, which one doesn't understand human nature? Besides, I studied veterinary medicine. As long as I understand the temperament of these animals, it's easy to communicate with them."

Safety shook his head and sighed, "Anyway, I don't have that ability."

After a short while, they climbed up the slope, walked through the front door into the living room, where dozens of people were unpacking cardboard boxes and taking out their contents.

All the old books were sorted by box and placed on the floor, while other items were placed on the floor using cardboard boxes as mats.

Especially for some of the heavier mechanical parts, several layers of cardboard were used as padding.

Anquan glanced at the things on the ground, then turned to Chen Fan, "What do you plan to do with these things?"

Chen Fan smiled and said, "Sort it out first. I'll keep some and give the rest to the brigade headquarters."

(End of this chapter)