Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 342 Stand out
Chen Fan first rode his horse back to the educated youth compound, retrieved the money and industrial coupons, and then hurriedly headed straight for the commune.

In the fields where the educated youth were working, Jiang Lili was panting heavily as she harvested rice without stopping. Large beads of sweat dripped down her face, but she didn't bother to wipe them away. Even though she was wearing a straw hat, her face was turning dark.

Behind her were ears of grain that had fallen to the ground.

Not far away, Huang Ying finally couldn't hold on any longer. She put her left hand on her waist and slowly straightened up. Just then, she saw Chen Fan riding by on horseback and couldn't help but ask curiously, "Where is Teacher Chen going?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Lili, Yang Ju, and Liu Dan all stood up straight and looked towards the main road.

Yang Ju twisted her waist. "I don't know, maybe they're going to the brigade headquarters."

Liu Dan: "Ah, he turned a corner; he's probably going to the commune."

Jiang Lili exhaled a breath of hot air, looked up at the glaring sun, and then said breathlessly, "Look, it's almost 4 o'clock. There's still a large area over there that needs to be harvested. Let's hurry up."

Huang Ying and the other two didn't say much after hearing this. They stretched their bodies a little, caught their breath, and bent down to continue harvesting rice.

……

Chen Fan rode his horse into town, stopped directly in front of the supply and marketing cooperative, jumped off the horse, and strode into the store.

Inside the store, the large ceiling fan was whirring away. The supply and marketing cooperative's store faces north, so it's cool except for the afternoon sun after 5 p.m. Even in the sweltering July, you can feel a cool breeze as soon as you enter. Compared to the cooperative members working in the fields, the ceiling fan above them makes it seem like heaven and earth.

Feeling the cool breeze from the ceiling fan, Chen Fan suddenly understood why farmers in this era all wanted to move to the city.

Even in the fertile countryside where food and drink are plentiful, the intensity of labor... compared to being an unregistered resident in the city, it's a hundred times more arduous.

Upon seeing Chen Fan enter, Wang Xiaoling, who was resting on a recliner enjoying the breeze, slowly got up, leaned on the counter for support, and walked over, smiling, "Teacher Chen is here! What do you want to buy today?"

Chen Fan snapped out of his reverie and waved with a smile, "Hello, Sister Ling. I came to check out the fan."

Wang Xiaoling's eyes lit up. "Oh, you're here to buy an electric fan?"

Then he laughed and said, "That's true. On such a hot day, without an electric fan to blow air, it's too hot to sleep."

Then he led Chen Fan to the electric fan counter on the other side, and took out several fans and placed them on the counter. "Look, this is a Taohuayuan electric fan produced by Norinco Corporation. It's of very good quality. In addition to having three wind speeds, it also has a timer and oscillation function. It's a high-end product."

(A 77 electric fan from Taohuayuan)

Chen Fan glanced at the electric fan and casually asked, "How much is this?"

Wang Xiaoling laughed and said, "This has many functions and looks good, but it's expensive, costing 160 yuan."

Chen Fan looked up abruptly, "160?"

He knew electric fans were expensive, but this little table fan was too expensive; it was almost as expensive as a floor fan.

Wang Xiaoling chuckled and said, "It's expensive, isn't it? There are even more expensive ones out there."

As he spoke, he pointed to an electric fan that hadn't been taken down from the counter and said, "It's a Shanghai Huasheng brand, 225 yuan. It has the same function as the 'Taohuayuan' brand, but it's a more prestigious brand, so it's 65 yuan more expensive. It's almost the price of a small electric fan."

Before Chen Fan could speak, she moved the Peach Blossom Spring electric fan back to the shelf behind her and put it there. "The expensive ones aren't worth it. There are cheaper ones here."

Then he brought over another electric fan, "This one's cheap, Seagull table fan, 86 each."

(The invoice for the table fan from 81, although a few years late, has never increased in price.)

Chen Fan glanced at the unassuming electric fan, still mentally calculating how many pigs a Huasheng electric fan was equivalent to. When he came to his senses, he pointed to a floor fan in the counter and asked, "Sister Ling, how much is this?"

Wang Xiaoling glanced at it and introduced, "This is a floor fan produced in our Gufeng County. It has oscillation and timer functions, and also has 3 wind speeds. It only costs 150 yuan, but you need a lot of industrial coupons, 12 of them."

Chen Fan immediately made the decision, "This is it!"

He then took out his money and counted the tickets.

He doesn't care about the brand; the main thing is that local products have a warranty. If it's from out of town, no matter how big the brand, if it breaks, he can only take it to a repair shop himself. Sometimes, due to missing parts or quality defects in extreme cases, it can't be repaired at all, which is really bad luck.

Local products don't have this problem. Although you have to pay for repairs yourself, the parts can be adjusted in a day or two, and serious problems can be replaced with new ones. If they don't care, you can go directly to their door. You don't need to worry about after-sales service at all.

Seeing how decisive he was, Wang Xiaoling quickly issued the invoice and packed the package.

After the cashier finished issuing the receipt, she had already placed an unopened electric fan on the counter and tied a rope to make it easier to carry.

Chen Fan thanked him and left with the electric fan.

After stepping outside, I tied the electric fan to the saddle and was about to mount my horse when I noticed a newly opened cold drink shop next door.

He turned to look at Wang Xiaoling, who had followed him out, and asked, "Sister Ling, when did this cold drink shop open?"

Wang Xiaoling turned her head and glanced at it, then smiled and said, "It's been open for almost a month. Actually, this place is run by the commune's food company. It's only open for four months a year, and it only sells cold drinks. It's closed most of the time. You probably haven't noticed, but sometimes unemployed old ladies come here to buy supplies and carry them to the countryside to sell."

Chen Fan immediately became interested. "Can I buy it?"

Wang Xiaoling immediately nodded, "Of course."

He then stepped out and said, "Come on, I'll take you there."

She waved, turned the corner, and went into the ice cream shop next door, calling out to the people inside, "Someone come out here, I want to buy an ice cream."

A woman came out of a small room at the back. When she saw it was her, she couldn't help but laugh and said, "You've already eaten two today, and you're still eating? Aren't you afraid of getting a stomachache?"

Wang Xiaoling pointed at Chen Fan, "What do you mean I'm eating it? It's Teacher Chen who wants to buy it."

The man's eyes lit up when he saw Chen Fan. "Oh, it's Teacher Chen! You've come to town today? What kind of popsicle would you like? My treat!"

As he spoke, he lifted the large wooden cabinet next to him. Inside was a thick layer of cotton quilt, but a chill immediately rose up.

Chen Fan quickly replied, "No, no, I want to buy more to take back to the team. Is there anything I can easily carry?"

Both Wang Xiaoling and the man were taken aback. They were going to take him back?

The saleswoman put down the lid, looked at him, and asked, "How many do you want to buy?"

Chen Fan grinned. "How much do you have left?"

Ah?
Is this a big deal?!

The saleswoman picked up the ledger hanging on the wall, started calculating with the abacus, and then looked up and said, "This morning, the popsicle vendors stocked up on a lot of goods. There are only 20 cream popsicles, 30 mung bean popsicles, and 50 ice cream bars left. Ice cream bars are expensive, so fewer people buy them, which is why there are the most left."

After a pause, she continued, "Normally, we don't allow individuals to sell too much here, except for you. It really wouldn't work for anyone else. But I can only charge you the retail price, not the wholesale price, because you're not registered with the industry and commerce bureau and don't have a business license, so you can't purchase goods."

Those who purchase goods cannot be called individual business owners; they are more like people from the production team who come out to do side jobs to make a living.

In cities, there are also people who have difficulty making a living but lack skills or are unable to work regularly. In order to take care of them, the government allows them to engage in certain business activities within a specific scope.

For example, after registering with the neighborhood office, you can make and sell things like candied hawthorns and braised eggs at home. Or you can set up a stall at a fixed location to repair shoes or mend clothes.

In those eras of TV dramas, the people who sold candied hawthorns and repaired shoes on the street were like this. They didn't have a work unit, and no one paid them a salary. They lived on a meager profit and sometimes had to bear "business risks".

The person selling popsicles with a box on their back was one of them.

The boxes were also special; they weren't like the ones from the 80s where you could just grab any styrofoam box or two thermos flasks and go sell them. Instead, they were provided by the cold drink shops, who only charged a labor fee and sold them to those people.

The crates are made of thin wooden planks, usually painted red, and bear the words "Industry and Commerce" and a personal number to identify them. Just seeing the crates tells you they're "regulars"; otherwise… well, you're in trouble!
Cream popsicles are actually made by mixing saccharin and creamer with water and then freezing them. They are the cheapest popsicles, costing only 3 cents each. Mung bean popsicles are a bit more expensive, costing 4 cents each. Ice cream is the most expensive because it uses the most "cream," costing 8 cents each.

20根奶油冰棒6毛钱、30根绿豆冰棒1块2、50根雪糕4块。

One hundred popsicles cost only 5.8 yuan.

The saleswoman helped find an ice pop box, stuffed a small quilt inside, put all the ice pops in, carefully wrapped it up, and closed the lid. At the same time, she said to Chen Fan, "I'll lend you this box for now, but you have to return it tomorrow. Otherwise, if a new application to sell ice pops is approved, they won't have a box to pick up, and they'll have to skip numbers, which will make it difficult to manage."

Chen Fan lifted the rope on the box and slung it over his shoulder, chuckling, "Don't worry, sis, I'll bring it back to you later." The saleswoman laughed, "Then you might not make it in time. It's already past 4 o'clock, and I get off work at 5 o'clock."

Chen Fan smiled and said, "Then I'll see how time is. If I have time, I'll send it; if not, I'll send it tomorrow morning."

After waving goodbye, Chen Fan left the ice cream shop, mounted his horse, and headed back.

Although it was past 4 o'clock, the sun was still very strong.

Actually, this is still considered good. If it goes on for a few more days, until late July, no one can go to the fields before 4 pm. Anyone who dares to go to work should be prepared to suffer from heatstroke. If they don't earn work points and instead die, that would be a real loss.

The members can still distinguish this point.

Chen Fan rode at full speed and soon arrived at Team 6.

When they arrived here, he slowed down a bit. The little mare trotted along the ridge of the field, with figures dressed in similar clothes and wearing straw hats on both sides, making it almost impossible to tell who was who.

Just then, a voice rang out from the side, "Teacher Chen, what's that you carrying on your back? It looks like an ice cream box!"

Chen Fan chuckled, but instead of answering his question, he asked, "Where is Captain Yang?"

The man turned his head and pointed in a direction, saying, "I think I saw him over there just now."

He had barely finished speaking when he shouted, "Captain, Teacher Chen is looking for you!"

The sound carried far, and someone immediately chimed in, "Captain, where are you? Teacher Chen needs to talk to you."

Shouts echoed across the rice paddies. At first, everyone was quite serious, helping to search for the person. But then, someone burst into laughter, and within seconds, almost everyone was laughing hysterically, as if they had heard the funniest joke in the world.

Chen Fan sat on horseback, dumbfounded. How could anyone laugh at this?
How low is your threshold for laughter?
However, this immediately dispelled the somewhat dull atmosphere, and everyone seemed to be in much better spirits, cutting the rice more easily.

Just then, a child's innocent crying voice came from the side, "Waaah, it's so hot, I want to go home."

Chen Fan looked over and saw a child of about 7 or 8 years old standing in the rice field, looking up and crying loudly. His straw hat had fallen off, and the rope around his neck was swaying in the wind.

Beside his feet was a thick stack of rice, clearly indicating that he had just been helping the adults gather the ears of rice.

There were several children of different ages nearby, who also stopped working and looked somewhat bewildered.

Upon seeing this, Chen Fan immediately dismounted, put down the popsicle box, and quickly walked along the ridge of the field.

Before he could get close, a woman quickly ran over, squatted down, and hugged the child. "Sweetie, after we harvest the rice, Mommy will make you some new rice cakes, okay?"

The child hugged his mother's neck, sobbed a few times, and then nodded vigorously, "Then you can't lie to me, okay?"

The mother hugged her child tightly and laughed, "I wouldn't lie to you, even if I were a big shot. Look at all these people here. I'm sure I won't lie to you. I'll definitely make you some new rice cakes, okay?"

The child immediately stopped crying and smiled, wiping away his tears as he continued picking up the rice stalks.

Someone nearby saw Chen Fan standing on the edge of the field and couldn't help but laugh, "Teacher Chen, it's alright. Just coax the child a little and he'll be fine. Rural children aren't that delicate."

Chen Fan turned to look at him, smiled and nodded, but didn't say anything, and turned to walk back.

As soon as we reached the main road, we saw Captain Yang striding towards us, muttering, "Half the village heard you looking for someone. What do you want from me?"

Chen Fan quickly carried the ice pop box over and placed it in front of him, saying, "I just bought these at the commune, could you give me some points?"

Captain Yang looked at the box. "Oh ho, popsicles?"

Looking at him again, he asked, "Are you treating?"

Chen Fan quickly said, "Isn't today the first day of the double harvest? This is the only time. I can't afford to invite more than this."

Then, pointing to the box, he said, "There aren't many left, just a little bit: 20 cream popsicles, 30 mung bean popsicles, and 50 ice cream bars. I don't know how to divide them, so I'll leave them to you."

Captain Yang looked at him and suddenly chuckled, startling Chen Fan. "W-what's wrong?"

"What else is wrong?"

Captain Yang looked around and lowered his voice to ask him, "What's the reason for treating the whole squad to popsicles?"

Chen Fan's eyes darted around slightly, and he stammered, "I just saw that everyone was working really hard..."

Before he could finish speaking, Captain Yang said earnestly, "I understand your intentions and know you mean well, but that's not how things should be done. Haven't you heard the saying, 'A small favor is appreciated, but an excessive one breeds resentment'?"

Chen Fan blinked. "Did I deliver it to the wrong address?"

Captain Yang snorted twice, pointed at him, and said, "In terms of intelligence, all the thousands of people in Lujiawan combined can't compare to you, but in terms of interpersonal skills, you're still far behind. You delivered popsicles today, will you deliver them tomorrow, and the day after?"

Chen Fan wasn't stupid; he immediately understood what he meant and couldn't help but purse his lips, saying, "I understand what you mean."

Then he pointed to the box, "But I've already bought everything, what should I do?"

Captain Yang snorted twice more, "Have you told anyone else? I'm saying you bought this yourself."

Chen Fan immediately shook his head, "No, I came to find you as soon as I got back."

Captain Yang said, "You did a smart thing. Remember, no matter who asks, just say I told you to buy it, and that you don't know anything else, understand?"

Chen Fan nodded immediately, "Understood."

He then chuckled and said, "Thank you, Captain."

Captain Yang curled his lip, "How much is it in total?"

Chen Fan: "5.8 yuan."

"5.8 yuan?"

Captain Yang gritted his teeth, picked up the box and left, muttering to himself, no one knew what he was saying.

Before long, members of the militia squad were spreading the word that, "The team leader asked Teacher Chen to buy popsicles from the commune. The quantity is limited, so we'll distribute one popsicle to each household first. There are also 20 cream popsicles and 30 mung bean popsicles to be given to the person with the highest work points today. They can collect them when we finish work and calculate the work points."

The news caused an uproar throughout Team 6.

"Captain is so heroic!"

"Thank you for your hard work, Teacher Chen."

"Mommy, I want ice cream..."

"Okay, okay, we'll have ice cream when we're done with this."

On a small earthen slope, the storekeeper, Huang, felt his heart bleed as he recorded in his ledger, "Another 5.8 yuan has gone out."

Accountant Liu, who was standing to the side, was calculating in his mind and chuckled, "How about I cover the 5.8 yuan?"

The custodian, Huang, rolled his eyes. "You probably don't understand the situation. Do you think you're the one who should pay for this? This money can't be paid by one person!"

Captain Yang, smoking a cigarette, chuckled and said, "Alright, alright, young Chen meant well, he just doesn't quite know the rules."

He paused for a moment, then laughed, "But on the other hand, he's a really nice guy. My daughter Xiaoju told me that he made lunch today and even boiled hot water for them to bathe. I just saw a cardboard box on his horse that looked like a fan box; it might have been bought from the commune."

He didn't buy it earlier or later, but only today. He probably does it because he cares about the girls; whoever marries him in the future won't suffer.

Upon hearing this, the storekeeper Huang and accountant Liu exchanged a glance, their eyes sparking intensely as they silently plotted how to help their daughter stand out!

(End of this chapter)