Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 350 Okay, I'll learn
The four girls busied themselves for a while, and soon the table was set. Jiang Lili poured water from the teapot, while Yang Ju poured melon seeds and peanuts into a ceramic plate and brought it over, asking cautiously, "Would you like some cucumbers and tomatoes washed?"

Chen Fan's mouth watered at the sound, and he nodded repeatedly, "Great, great!"

I'm a bit thirsty after drinking, so eating some "vegetables and fruits" would be good.

Yang Ju turned her head and exchanged glances with the three of them, all of whom could see the amusement in each other's eyes. Sure enough, Teacher Chen wasn't really angry.

Ultimately, what Teacher Chen said earlier was for their own good, and thinking about it that way, the girls felt a warm feeling in their hearts.

Yang Ju went to pick cucumbers and tomatoes, and Huang Ying quickly said, "We picked some water chestnuts this afternoon, and they're already cooked. Would you like some?"

Chen Fan's eyes immediately lit up, "Great! Great!"

How long has it been since I've had fresh water chestnuts? I really crave one.

So four more plates appeared on the table: a plate of cucumber strips, a plate of tomatoes, and two plates of water chestnuts.

Why do water chestnuts have two plates?
Because these are two different varieties. One is the two-cornered water chestnut, which is also the most common in the market in later generations. The other is the four-cornered water chestnut, which has one corner at each end and two horizontal corners in the middle, seemingly preventing others from eating it.

The difference between the two types of water chestnuts is that the two-cornered water chestnuts are larger and have a higher starch content, making them more starchy. The four-cornered water chestnuts are slightly smaller, have a crisper texture, but have a higher sugar content, making them sweeter.

Chen Fan picked up a water chestnut and ate a few bites, then casually said, "There should be lotus root tips by now, I'll dig some up and stir-fry them tomorrow."

Yang Ju nodded immediately, "Yes, yes, there are some in the wild lake behind here. I'll go dig them up tomorrow morning."

Right behind Chen Fan's house, at the bottom of the slope, there is a small, undeveloped lake. This lake was actually dug out slowly by the villagers when they were building houses. Because it is not very big, no fish were raised there, so it is considered a wild lake.

However, there were also quite a few lotus roots and miscellaneous fish inside. This is quite amazing; it seems that it doesn't need to be sown with seeds. As long as there is water in a certain place, it can grow aquatic plants and fish on its own.

Seeing Yang Ju's quick thinking, Chen Fan nodded in satisfaction and then instructed, "Don't dig up too much. This stuff won't stay fresh for long. Just enough for one meal is fine."

He peeled another water chestnut before glancing at the four people happily munching on it. His face hardened. "Look at you all, how old are you? Don't you care about your eyesight? What if you become nearsighted later?"

Huang Ying was no longer afraid. Her eyes lit up and she smiled ingratiatingly, "Teacher Chen, the apple trees that were transplanted to the slope in front of your new house have borne fruit, and the pears and dates are also ripe."

Chen Fan was stunned for a moment, "Really?"

Yang Ju nodded quickly, "Yes, yes, there are also many wild fruits in the woods to the east and north. They should be ripe in about a month."

Liu Dan also said, "There are a few wild grapevines in the woods to the north. Most of them are quite sour, but some are edible. They're sweet and sour and quite delicious. They'll be ripe in another month, and I'm sure many children will come to pick them then, so we need to pick them first."

Chen Fan looked at them, somewhat surprised. "This small grove has so many fruit trees?"

He had always thought there was nothing of value in this grove of mixed trees, but he never expected to find so many wild fruits.

It's okay if it's sour; using these sour fruits to make wine is what makes it authentic!

"Yes."

Huang Ying quickly said, "Actually, there are quite a few fruit trees, including apples, pears, and persimmons, but they are all wild and no one takes care of them. No one loosens the soil, fertilizes, or prunes them, so most of the fruits are not very tasty, but they are still good for satisfying your cravings."

At this point, Jiang Lili added, "Some educated youths picked and ate them before, but the taste wasn't very good. Most of them were sour and astringent, so many rotted and nobody ate them. On the other hand, most of the dozen or so fruit trees that were transplanted from the front slope have also borne fruit, and these are definitely tastier than those wild fruits."

The fruit trees that Chen Fan bought before were all mature trees, dug up with the soil still attached, and could bear fruit in the same year, so there was almost no impact.

Unlike the dozen or so fruit trees grafted in the woods to the east, which take at least one or two years to bear fruit.

Seeing that they had so many fruits, Chen Fan immediately nodded and said, "It's alright. You can go and take a look sometime. Pick all the ones that are almost ripe. Keep the sweet ones for yourself, and give the rest to the children and elderly in the village. Soak the sour ones in water and I'll make wine from them."

Liu Dan asked in surprise, "Wild fruits can be used to make wine?"

Chen Fan nodded and smiled, "Wild fruit wine has a low alcohol content, which is why it tastes so good."

Then he slapped his arm and waved at Jiang Lili, "Bring the incense burner from my room and light it, there are too many mosquitoes here."

Jiang Lili quickly ran to his room, brought out an incense burner, opened the lid, and found a pile of unburnt herbs inside. She lit it with a match, and a medicinal fragrance wafted out, causing the mosquitoes to scatter in all directions.

Chen Fan then ate a tomato and continued, "Remember what I just said: your body is your own. No matter how hard you work, you must take care of your health. If you don't cherish yourselves, who will care about you?"

The four girls pursed their lips and lowered their heads shyly.

Chen Fan didn't say much, but instead said, "Actually, I didn't organize this tea party to criticize you. It's just that you've already completed a quarter of the course, which isn't too slow. And once you've built a solid foundation, you'll learn the later parts faster and faster."

After learning these basics, the next step is to choose your major. So, I'd like to ask you all, have you thought about what you want to do in the future? When choosing a major, you should align it with that direction.

After eating two more slices of tomato, a piece of cucumber, and three water chestnuts, Chen Fan looked at the four of them and asked, "Why aren't you saying anything?"

Huang Ying frowned, looked at the other three, then turned to Chen Fan and said with a worried expression, "We don't know what those majors are for, or which ones are more suitable for us, so we don't know how to choose."

Chen Fan glanced at her, then at the others, and laughed, "What are those majors for? That's a complicated explanation."

He paused for a moment, then said, "Let me ask you another question. Do you have any dreams? The things you've wanted to do since you were little?"

Liu Dan's eyes lit up immediately, and she raised her hand and said, "I have it."

Chen Fan nodded in satisfaction, pointed at her, and said, "Speak."

Liu Dan clasped her hands to her chest, her eyes filled with longing, "I want to be able to eat meat every day!"

Uh……

That is, Chen Fan's mouth was empty at this moment, otherwise he would most likely have choked.

Then Huang Ying and Yang Ju raised their hands, their faces full of excitement, and said, "Me too, we can eat meat every day."

Huang Ying added, "I also want lots of new clothes!"

Chen Fan felt helpless. He wanted to say that this was not an ideal, but then he thought about it again. How could he say that hoping to live a good life was not an ideal?
He could only clutch his chest and say, "I mean work. After all, to eat meat and wear new clothes, you need money and ration coupons. Where do money and coupons come from? You have to work to get them, right?!"

The three of them laughed awkwardly. At this moment, Huang Ying noticed that Jiang Lili seemed to be lost in thought, so she said, "Xiao Li, you haven't said anything yet."

When Jiang Lili heard her being called, she snapped back to reality. After thinking through Huang Ying's words, she shook her head with an awkward smile, "I hadn't thought about it."

Chen Fan glanced at her but didn't say anything.

He had asked Jiang Lili this question before, and she told him that when she was in elementary school, her homeroom teacher asked the whole class about their dreams. Her answer was to be able to make lots of beautiful clothes and dress everyone up nicely.

These are indeed the words of a child.

Then Chen Fan's summary for her was to become a fashion designer.

However, Huang Ying, Yang Ju, and Liu Dan can all have this ideal, but Jiang Lili cannot.

Therefore, she naturally dared not say it here. Even if Huang Ying and the other two did not complain, what if they let it slip in front of others?

For safety's sake, being cautious in speech and action is the best choice.

When Jiang Lili said no, Huang Ying and the others weren't surprised, because they didn't have any themselves.

However, since Teacher Chen asked at this point, I have to make one up on the spot.

So Huang Ying said, "If I had to choose a job, the one I'd most like to be is a sales clerk at a supply and marketing cooperative!"

Yang Ju quickly followed, raising her hand high, her little face full of pride, "I want to be the first tractor driver in Lujiawan!"

Chen Fan couldn't help but grin. There weren't any tractors in Lujiawan yet, and even if they were bought, it wouldn't be her turn.

However, her spirit is commendable, especially since it's surprising that she has such ambition; her hobby is quite unique!

Finally, Liu Dan added, "I want to be a broadcaster."

As soon as she finished speaking, she blushed and lowered her head.

Because Chen Fan was a broadcaster, and he had even taken on a student named Zhang Cuie. She was very resentful about this. It was only because Zhang Cuie had a geographical advantage—living in the 5th team and having an uncle who was the team leader—that she had this apprenticeship opportunity. Otherwise, given that she and Teacher Chen lived under the same roof, how could she have gotten it?!

When Chen Fan heard them talk about their ideal jobs, he couldn't help but nod in agreement.

The commune had eight key personnel: projectionist, salesperson, tractor driver, telephone operator, sanitation worker, cook, broadcaster, and technician.

These jobs were considered the best jobs in the world by the ordinary people at the commune level, so it was only natural that they all chose to work among the eight major positions.

But their knowledge was limited, while Chen Fan's was far more extensive. He picked up his teacup, took a sip, and then gave his concluding remarks, "Huang Ying, you want to be a sales clerk, right?"

Huang Ying nodded immediately, looking at Teacher Chen with trepidation.

She had told others before that she wanted to be a sales clerk, but she was only met with ridicule. Surely Teacher Chen wouldn't laugh at her?

Chen Fan looked at her and chuckled softly, "Then do you know what the best salespeople do?"

Huang Ying paused for a moment, then gently shook her head. "I don't know."

Aren't sales clerks just people who stand behind the counter selling things? Why are there good and bad ones?

Chen Fan explained with a smile, "The best salespeople are actually closely related to the development of our country."

Huang Ying's eyes widened instantly. Selling something has to do with the country?

Chen Fan continued, "Do you know that our country spends a lot of foreign exchange every year to import advanced equipment from abroad?"

Upon hearing this, Huang Ying's eyes widened in confusion. "I...I...I only know about foreign exchange, it seems to be foreign money."

This was because she loved reading books and newspapers, and whenever she had the chance, she would go to the gate of the educated youth compound and wait there, hoping to find some books and newspapers to read from the educated youth. That's how she learned about foreign exchange from them.

This is one of the reasons why she is particularly close to Jiang Lili, because they have met many times before.

Otherwise, how would a country girl have any opportunity to know about foreign exchange?

Yang Ju then interjected, asking with a puzzled look, "Teacher Chen, you said we need to buy advanced equipment from abroad. Does that mean all the equipment abroad is advanced?"

At that time, people's impression was that people in foreign countries were living in dire straits. If that was the case, how could foreign equipment be more advanced?
In response, Chen Fan simply used one example to change her impression: "Do you know that we recognized the Russians as our big brother back then, and they provided us with a lot of industrial technology and equipment?"

Upon hearing this, even someone as naive as Yang Ju understood something. "So, we're going to buy equipment from the Russians?"

Chen Fan shook his head slightly, "No, that's not it. We've fallen out with the Russians, why would we buy their stuff? We're buying American equipment."

Although we haven't officially established a relationship yet, we've stopped hurling insults at each other, and there are even quite a few news reports about our interactions in the newspapers, so we can be considered to be in a honeymoon period.

Now that Chen Fan brought it up, Yang Ju also thought of the news in the newspaper, and nodded in realization, remaining silent.

Chen Fan smiled, turned to look at Huang Ying, and continued, "You're right, foreign exchange is foreign money. But do you know where foreign exchange comes from?"

Huang Ying shook her head blankly, "I don't know."

Chen Fan: "Foreign exchange is foreign money. So, if you want to take money from other people, what should you do?"

Huang Ying's eyes darted around, and then, recalling what Chen Fan had just said, she suddenly realized, "I know! The best salesperson you're talking about, is it someone who sells things to foreigners so we can have foreign money?"

Chen Fan gave a thumbs up, "You're really smart, you guessed it right away."

He looked at Huang Ying and said seriously, "The best salesperson is one who sells our country's products to foreigners at the highest possible price, in exchange for their foreign exchange. Then our country can use this foreign exchange to buy their advanced equipment and help the country develop."

Huang Ying jumped up, her face flushed, and said, "I want to be the best saleswoman!"

Chen Fan nodded in satisfaction; kids these days are so easy to fool.

No, this can't be called deception, it should be called "education"!
He immediately coughed lightly, "If you want to be the best salesperson, you need to learn more cultural knowledge, especially foreign languages. From today onwards, in addition to continuing to study math, physics, and chemistry, you also need to learn English. Can you do that?"

Huang Ying raised her head high and said without hesitation, "Yes!"

Very good, one is done.

Chen Fan set his sights on the next target, Yang Ju.

He rested his arms on the table and smiled at Yang Ju, "Why do you want to be a tractor driver instead of a tractor driver?"

Yang Ju mumbled in a daze, "Because...because the production team only knows how to buy tractors, not cars."

Chen Fan immediately shook his head, "You're wrong to think like that. Didn't you see what the newspaper said? Some advanced production teams not only have cars, but also big trucks, jeeps, and even agricultural machinery, such as rice transplanters and harvesters."

If we had this kind of machinery, during the double harvest season, we wouldn't need manpower to harvest at all. We could just drive the harvester around the paddy field, and all the rice would be collected in the truck bed, saving us the trouble of threshing.

Yang Ju felt inspired and immediately changed her mind, "Then I'll be the harvester driver!"

Chen Fan waved his hand, "Hey, I made a mistake again."

Yang Ju was stunned and at a loss for what to do.

Chen Fan said with a smile, "Whether it's a tractor, a car, a harvester, or a rice transplanter, they all have one thing in common. Think about it carefully, what is that common point?"

Yang Ju looked completely bewildered. What did they have in common?

She hesitated and said, "Are they all machines?"

Chen Fan lightly slapped the table. "Hey, you got it right."

Yang Ju's eyes lit up instantly. Hey, she guessed right?
Chen Fan said with a smile, "Have you noticed that tractors, harvesters, and rice transplanters all have the character 'machine' in their names? That's because they all belong to the category of machines."

So instead of being a tractor driver, you might as well develop your career in mechanics. As long as you can thoroughly understand mechanics, you can not only drive tractors, cars, and farm machinery, but you can even develop better machines yourself.

By then, production teams across the country will be using the rice transplanter you invented to transplant rice seedlings. When the rice ripens, they will be harvested using the combine harvester you invented, and then transported to the grain depot by the tractor you invented to deliver the grain to the state…

As Chen Fan spoke, Yang Ju's eyes grew brighter and brighter. Hearing this, she couldn't hold back any longer and immediately shouted, "I'll study mechanical engineering!"

Chen Fan snapped his fingers. "Great!" He looked at Yang Ju with a kind smile. "Then besides math, physics, and chemistry, you also need to learn English well."

Yang Ju was somewhat bewildered, "Does mechanical engineering require learning English?"

Chen Fan nodded, "That's right, because the most advanced machinery is abroad. If you don't learn English well, how can you understand that advanced machinery? If you can't even understand other people's things, how can you develop the best machinery?"

Yang Ju suddenly realized, and nodded vigorously, "I understand!"

Chen Fan nodded and smiled with satisfaction.

Finally, he looked at Liu Dan.

The little girl looked at him expectantly, "Teacher Chen, please tell me what I should learn!"

Chen Fan's lips twitched slightly. "I didn't even have time to guide you before you answered, which puts me in a difficult position."

However, the girl is only 16 or 7 years old. Although I look young, I am actually 27 or 8 years old. I can't argue with her.

He then took a deep breath and said to her, "You should study literature."

If the textbooks we found hadn't excluded journalism or media studies, we definitely wouldn't have let her study literature.

The closest thing to becoming a TV host right now is a literature major.

Of course, this is just an excuse; ultimately, we'll have to wait until she applies for her major and then send her to journalism.

These days, the best journalism program is probably Peking University's journalism department. If she can graduate from there and receive guidance from him, Chen Fan believes that her future will definitely be bright.

Liu Dan readily agreed to Chen Fan's suggestion, nodding and saying, "Okay, I will study literature diligently."

She was secretly pleased. Isn't literature just language arts? Teacher Chen is recognized as the "Number One Writer in Gufeng County". With him as her teacher, how could she not learn literature well?

It must not be possible!
At this point, Chen Fan added, "Besides literature, you also need to learn English well."

Liu Dan was completely bewildered. "I have to learn English too?"

What does literature have to do with English?

Chen Fan nodded and said matter-of-factly, "The best broadcasters are those who broadcast to the whole world. How can you mobilize foreign people living in dire straits if you don't speak English?"

Liu Dan immediately realized, "Okay, I'll learn!"

Chen Fan looked at Jiang Lili one last time.

Before he could speak, Jiang Lili timidly raised her hand, "I will study math, physics, and chemistry well, and I will also study English well, so as to contribute to the development of the country!"

(End of this chapter)