Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 329 Souvenirs

Jiang Lili happily followed behind Chen Fan. When they passed the "Panda Garden", she unconsciously lowered her head, afraid of attracting the attention of the workers next to her.

But how could others not see such a big, living person?
Yang Yuejin casually slipped over to Captain Yang and whispered, "Uncle, did that female educated youth go inside with Teacher Chen?"

Yang Chuanfu glanced at Jiang Lili, then at him, and said, "My eyes aren't blind."

He then coughed lightly, looked around, and seeing that they all looked rather nervous, he said with a dark face, "Sneaking around like that, what are you all thinking?"

He stopped hoeing, pointed at the house, and said, “In broad daylight, with such big glass windows, you can see everything clearly, whether there’s something going on or not. You’re just making wild guesses.”

He paused for a moment, then continued, "Company Commander Zhang said this morning that Xiao Jiang's family is from Yunhu. Xiao Chen asked him to deliver a letter to his family when he went to Yunhu this time. There's a high chance there's a reply. It's a very normal thing. Don't overthink it."

Upon hearing this, the others quickly abandoned their gossipy thoughts, put their minds at ease, and focused on their work.

Yang Chuanfu glanced at the room again, a question forming in his mind: "It's just bringing some things, why do they insist on talking to each other alone? Is there really something fishy going on?"

……

Jiang Lili followed Chen Fan into the living room. Chen Fan rummaged through a cardboard box filled with miscellaneous items and pulled out a large package, handing it to her and saying, "This is for you, sister."

Jiang Lili took the items with both hands and, without any hesitation, untied the rope. Inside were two pieces of cloth, two packets of brown sugar, a box of pastries, and a pair of new cloth shoes. All these items were wrapped tightly in the two pieces of cloth, ensuring that nothing was leaked.

Of course, there was also an indispensable letter.

Chen Fan leaned over to take a look. "Hey, this fabric seems to be a qualified product?"

Jiang Lili nodded gently with a smile, "It's a qualified product, just right to make a set of clothes."

As she spoke, she picked up a small cloth bag and waved it at Chen Fan, "I also added buttons and rubber bands."

Chen Fan chuckled and said, "You're quite thoughtful."

In the past, when Jiang Tiantian came to visit her, she either didn't dare to bring anything, or she would secretly bring a bag of candy, for fear of being discovered.

Now that Chen Fan has given his assurance, she dares to send something over.

Chen Fan dared to make such a guarantee because of the attitude set by the brigade headquarters.

I don't care, I won't ask!

Let alone sending her some ordinary gifts, as long as she doesn't openly engage in bourgeois practices, nobody cares.

As for the possible "accidents," namely other educated youth... there aren't any now!

It's not that no educated youth went to the countryside that year; in fact, there were quite a few. At the beginning of the year, the newspapers even reported that many people went to the countryside in large Liberation trucks.

But in the end, it's still the same old routine: basically, it's all about "arranging things nearby," and only those who can't avoid it will be sent down.

Lujiawan is far from the city, with only Nanhu Town nearby. As for the educated youth assigned to the town this year?

Chen Fan had heard about this; there were only a few of them, and they were all living off their parents at home.

They were all dreaming, waiting for the time to go through the "return to the city" procedures.

They won't even bother to look like it!

They weren't exactly audacious, but the main issue was the growing calls in newspapers to resolve the problems of educated youth sent to the countryside; some were writing open letters, others were making proposals.

If there's a way, who would go down directly?

Everyone is at home waiting for the day when the clouds disperse and the sun shines!
So, in the end, it's hard to say what Jiang Lili's future holds, but there are absolutely no other risks, Chen Fan can confidently guarantee that.

His actions earned him a lot of goodwill, deeply moving Jiang Tiantian.

Jiang Lili was so happy that she couldn't speak as she held all these things.

The items themselves aren't important; what matters is that my sister sent them. Since she was able to ask Chen Fan to deliver these things, it means that she and her parents weren't having such a hard time in the city. Otherwise, brown sugar and pastries wouldn't be so easy to buy!
Chen Fan continued rummaging through the box, first pulling out a large bundle of cloth, which was a high-grade cotton-silk blend fabric he had bought from the cotton mill's retail store, grade two.

He put the bundle of fabric aside and continued searching, saying, "I brought you some souvenirs. I still need to organize some old books later, so please take them all back with you."

Jiang Lili looked surprised, with a hint of delight in her eyes. "There are souvenirs too?"

Chen Fan finally found a small bag, turned around and handed it to her, "It's just some things for little girls, just a token."

Jiang Lili took it, opened it, and her eyes lit up immediately. She took out a butterfly hair clip and exclaimed, "So pretty!"

(In the 70s, metal butterfly hair clips were cheaper than plastic ones. The price only exceeded that of plastic products after the 80s. They were a bit tight on hair.)

Chen Fan coughed lightly and said with a smile, "This is for you. If they ask later, just say it was given to you by your sister. The other four chemical (plastic) headbands are for each of you."

Jiang Lili's cheeks flushed instantly, and she lowered her head and gave a barely perceptible "Mmm," "I...I'm going back."

After saying that, he turned around and left.

Chen Fan quickly said, "When the brigade headquarters comes to collect the rabbits, do you know which ones they'll take?"

Jiang Lili didn't turn her head, "I know."

After saying that, he grabbed his things and ran out.

Chen Fan glanced at the figure running outside the window and couldn't stop smiling.

Then, turning his gaze, he saw a dozen or so grown men staring at him, and his expression stiffened slightly. Oh well, he decided to continue organizing the books.

Then they found a few empty boxes, took out stacks of old textbooks, and arranged them in the order of the semesters into the boxes, waiting to deliver them to the village primary school the next day.

……

After working for an unknown amount of time, Zhang Wenliang strode in. Seeing him busy among the piles of books, he couldn't help but smile and ask, "How's the sorting going?"

Chen Fan straightened up, stretched, tossed the book in his hand into a box, and then pointed to three boxes, saying, "The elementary and middle school textbooks are all in there."

He paused for a moment, then added, "I also found two sets of 'Self-Study Series on Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry' and more than a dozen incomplete sets of 'Series' books, and put them all in there. I'll arrange it later and have them study along with the junior high school content."

Zhang Wenliang was slightly taken aback. "Oh, there are such treasures?" Based on the experience of the motorcycle driver from the health department buying the books, he knew that this set of books was hard to find. He didn't expect to find so many in the pile of old books.

Two complete sets and a dozen or so individual books—that's quite a lot.

He quickly went over to take a look and sure enough, he saw a stack of books in a box. He squatted down and flipped through them, his brows furrowing slightly. "But not many people in our team can understand them!"

Whether it's Huang Ying and the others who live with Chen Fan, Zhang Cuie who guards the broadcasting room, or the 12 veterinarians, they all learn the content from junior high school textbooks, namely the "Industrial Basics" and "Agricultural Basics" curriculum.

(The images for agricultural and industrial foundations were requested by readers last time; here they are.)
Chen Fan smiled and said, "If you don't understand it, then learn it. It's all basic knowledge. If you can't even understand this material, how can you expect anyone to understand those professional textbooks?"

Zhang Wenliang nodded in agreement, "That's true."

Chen Fan said, "I'll gather all 12 veterinarians back, and also Huang Ying and the others, as well as Xiao'e and the girls' tutoring class she taught for a few days. I'll give them two months of intensive training so they can learn the contents of this set of materials."

Zhang Wenliang was nodding when he heard the last part and paused, "Is two months enough?"

He had previously heard Chen Fan say that the 17-book set of "Self-Study Series on Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry" almost covered the learning content of four years of junior high and high school. How much could one learn by condensing four years of content into two months?
Chen Fan simply smiled.

Learning four years' worth of content in two months is something most people can't do, but he's different. Not only can he teach these people, but he can also elevate his teaching skills to a higher level.

and many more.

At that moment, he suddenly changed his mind and immediately rejected the idea.

Anyone would find it strange that someone with a weak foundation could learn four years' worth of material in just two months, so you absolutely shouldn't do that!

After pausing for two seconds, he smiled and said, "Two months is definitely not enough to finish learning everything, but learning just the first book should be enough. Since it is a self-study series, it means that self-study is the main focus. I will guide them through it first to lay a solid foundation, and then they can slowly learn on their own."

Anyway, this is all pre-planned junior high school content. Our village primary school only has second grade. The earliest we can enroll our first junior high students is in three years. Are you worried about not having enough junior high school teachers in three years?!

Hearing this, Zhang Wenliang nodded slightly and laughed, "I knew it. No matter how talented a person is, they can't finish four years' worth of lessons in two months. Otherwise, someone like me who takes two years to complete a grade would probably dig a hole and bury myself."

Chen Fan's eyes lit up. "Oh, you have this glorious history?"

Zhang Wenliang then realized he had let something slip and quickly waved his hand, "Hey, that's all in the past, let's not talk about it anymore."

Then he quickly changed the subject, "I just brought you two hundred pounds of fresh bamboo, it's all piled up in the educated youth compound up ahead, enough for your panda to eat for two days. From now on, someone will bring you a cartload every day, so your panda won't go hungry."

Chen Fan chuckled and didn't press the matter further.

Zhang Wenliang took out a cigarette and waved it at him, "Let's go outside and have a smoke."

Chen Fan pulled a pack of magnolias from his pocket. "Take mine, let everyone have a taste."

"My sweetheart!"

Startled, Zhang Wenliang quickly grabbed his wrist, stuffing the cigarette and hand back into his pocket. He glanced outside, then turned back to him and whispered, "Let me tell you, I wouldn't stop you from pulling out a pack of Peony cigarettes, but this kind of cigarette isn't something you can just pull out like that! It has a filter!"

"If you take them out today, tomorrow the whole commune will know you have filtered cigarettes. Even the commune leaders have never smoked such good cigarettes. And you're still giving them out?"

Chen Fan was somewhat amused and exasperated. "It can't be that bad, can it?"

"As for!"

Zhang Wenliang patted his pocket and said, "Listen to me, it's fine for us guys to smoke together behind closed doors, just don't take it out and make people hate you."

Chen Fan's eyes flickered slightly, and he decided to go along with it. "Okay, I'll listen to you."

He hadn't thought that much about it before, but he still understood the principle of keeping a low profile. Since Zhang Wenliang said so, listening to him must be the right thing to do.

"now it's right."

Zhang Wenliang chuckled, took out a pack of Donghai cigarettes from his pocket and gave it to him, "Go out and buy some."

Chen Fan didn't stand on ceremony, took it and walked out, saying, "I'll return it to you later."

Once outside, he went over to greet everyone, "Take a break and have a smoke."

He took out one for himself and gave the rest to Captain Yang.

Captain Yang told everyone to rest on the spot, lit a cigarette, and walked over to Zhang Wenliang with Accountant Liu and Warehouse Keeper Huang, sitting together on the steps of the covered walkway.

The others simply found a spot and sat down, using hoes and shovels as cushions.

Even within the same team, with relatives among them, and even if they had just been working together, there was a clear distinction between ordinary members and cadres.

Captain Yang looked at Zhang Wenliang, "Come over here to pull the rabbit?"

Zhang Wenliang nodded, pointing with his cigarette-smoking finger to the educated youth settlement down the slope, "They're down there counting and packing them into cages, they'll be taken away soon."

Chen Fan said from the side, "Today we mainly want to bring over the newly grown baby rabbits and try to raise them for two months. If we can keep these little ones alive, they will be easier to raise when they grow up."

Then I'll deliver the rabbits in batches every two months. By the end of the year, the earliest rabbits will be able to give birth. The females will be kept to continue breeding, and the males, besides keeping a batch for breeding, can be gradually sold.

Accountant Liu chimed in from the other side, grinning, "By then, the chickens, ducks, and geese will all be ready for market, and everyone can have a prosperous New Year this year!"

Chen Fan's heart skipped a beat upon hearing this, and he turned to ask, "How many seedlings have you brought back so far?"

Huang, the storekeeper, knew best. He chuckled as he smoked, "In the few days you were away, several batches have been brought back, with each household receiving at least 30 chicks, 20 ducklings, and 10 goslings."

Even Old Xiong in the team complained, saying that he was the real duck herder, and that they wouldn't let him herd the ducks; instead, they distributed them to each household because they didn't trust him.

Accountant Liu, standing nearby, immediately laughed and said, "He's talking nonsense. How many ducks can he herd by himself? The team has over a thousand ducks in total, plus the two hundred or so he used to herd. He couldn't possibly manage even if he worked himself to death."

Captain Yang took a puff of his cigarette and said with a smile, "If we really let him drive away these thousands of ducks and geese, he'll probably eat all the fish fry in our dozen or so fish ponds."

At this point, he turned to Chen Fan, gave him a thumbs up, and grinned from ear to ear. "It's all thanks to you for coming up with the idea of ​​raising earthworms to feed them. You can use cooked earthworms mixed with some grass to raise dozens of chickens, ducks, and geese. It's not much more tiring than before. The key is that you can raise more animals. I wonder how much money you'll make when they grow up in a few months!"

Accountant Liu nodded repeatedly, "It's like earning more than ten times the money with the same amount of labor."

He even counted on his fingers, "30 chickens is 100 yuan, 20 ducks and 10 geese are another 100 or 200 yuan, that's 200 or 300 yuan, it's like making money for free!"

(End of this chapter)