Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 353 is alright too.

From Master Qiu and Master Ma's accounts, Chen Fan gleaned several key points.

First of all, correspondence universities only look at the level of knowledge, and don't care about anything else!
This is very important to Chen Fan.

Despite the fact that after the resumption of the college entrance examination, the higher authorities explicitly abolished political vetting and even repeatedly required local authorities not to set up checkpoints.

But when it comes to execution, well...

In fact, given Chen Fan's current position in Lujiawan, it wouldn't be difficult for him to get a political background check certificate from Secretary Yang, and he would definitely provide it.

Back then, it was time for the college entrance exams. Chen Fan had trained at least 20 college students for Lujiawan. What a significant contribution that was! If he dared not to give it to them, he would be ashamed beyond belief without anyone else even having to say anything.

Chen Fan just hates trouble the most. He never intended to go back to university, so why bother getting this certificate and going through all that trouble?

However, for the sake of future convenience, he also wanted a university degree to enhance his resume (and show off), so the simplest procedure, a correspondence university, suited his needs perfectly.

He had originally planned to wait a few years before enrolling in a correspondence course, but he was surprised to find that it was available now.

Secondly, there is the flexibility of learning.

No need to attend classes, so it won't have much impact on your life. You just need to go to the correspondence center to take the exam at the scheduled time.

This is practically a study plan tailor-made for him!
He didn't want to spend four years in one school, getting up early every day, going to bed late, discussing things with classmates, and spending all his time either in the classroom or the library...

The thought of such a miserable life sent chills down Chen Fan's spine.

What? Giving up?

Who the hell would dare to slack off among the first batch of college students after the resumption of the college entrance examination?

Are they afraid no one will teach them a lesson, or do they think there's a lack of "meddlesome" people?
This year's college entrance exam takers are the most hardworking students in the entire 5000-year history of China, without a doubt!

If you languish among them, you'll be like a firefly in the night, so bright and outstanding.

The class monitor will talk to you, the class president will chat with you, and even student council members will create a duty roster to take turns admonishing you. If none of this works, there will be countless others waiting to talk to you until you reform. Only then will they show a relieved smile, feeling genuinely happy to have saved a "delinquent youth"!

You say you have good grades?

My goodness, your grades are already so good even without studying! If you did study, wouldn't you become a scientist instantly? Then hurry up and start studying!
Therefore, the self-study model of correspondence university is particularly suitable for Chen Fan.

Once I close the door and serve tea, do you know whether I'm buried in my studies or enjoying flowers and music at home?
As long as he passes all the exams, it won't be long before he gets his university diploma. Then Chen Fan will be a real college student, and no one will know that he is actually just a lazy bum!
This is also the main reason why Chen Fan stayed in Lujiawan and refused to leave. If he went to other units, everyone would probably expect him to shine day and night and illuminate their future, just like those ten days in the health department, when he was practically used like a mule.

But here, he is the anchor of stability, the source of confidence. As long as he is here, everyone feels reassured. As for his daily work, no one cares whether he is sleeping or slacking off.

Finally, there's the value of the diploma.

Given the current prestige of correspondence university degrees, full-time students would only admire them, not despise them.

These days, correspondence universities are mainly aimed at people who were not recommended to go to university, those who are too old, or those who want to continue to improve their education. It is not entirely unrelated to whether or not one can get into university, but it is almost unrelated.

Those who can get a diploma are extraordinary. Just think about it, if they can pass all the exams by self-study, wouldn't they be top students if they got into school?

Some leaders even prefer to hire graduates from correspondence universities because their learning abilities are truly strong.

How many people would dare to look down on such a talent?
Therefore, he's determined to attend this correspondence university!

Chen Fan, his mind filled with dreams, had lunch with Master Qiu and Master Ma, and then, together with the leaders of the brigade headquarters, saw them off to the commune's horse-drawn carriage.

Master Qiu held Chen Fan's hand, his face full of reluctance, "You must come to the county town when you have time. After you come, go to the construction company to find me. Even if I'm not there, the logistics director is my nephew, and he will make arrangements for you!"

Chen Fan blinked, glanced at Master Ma, and muttered to himself.

Why didn't he mention this yesterday?
However, Master Ma's apprentice is the general manager, and Master Qiu's nephew is the logistics director.
Isn't this just handing Zhang Wenliang and his gang a free pass to boost their sales figures?!

Just as he was about to speak, Master Ma, who was already sitting in the carriage, spoke with drunken eyes, "Old Qiu, he always likes to beat around the bush. I'm different; I say what I mean. Um, when will the novel that Teacher Chen wrote for us construction workers be published?"

Chen Fan exclaimed "Ah!" and said with a serious face, "Don't worry, we'll take the first draft with us when we go to the county in a couple of days, and we'll ask the two masters to correct it."

Today and tomorrow are enough for Chen Fan to write several novels, which will be more than enough to get by.

Master Qiu, who had been frowning because of Master Ma's words, immediately beamed with joy upon hearing this. "I won't help you up. You're young, it's more like you're helping me. But let me tell you, if you write a good novel, I'll have my nephew send you a batch of gifts, I guarantee you'll like them."

Chen Fan's eyes lit up. Wait, there's an unexpected surprise?
Master Ma retorted, "The gift from his nephew was approved by my apprentice. I'll have my apprentice approve more good vouchers for you later. I know you have so many chickens, ducks, and geese in Lujiawan, you're definitely not short of money, but you probably don't have many vouchers. Our construction company has more vouchers than we can use, we'll give them all to you!"

After he finished speaking, he lay back and fell fast asleep.

Master Qiu, his eyes glazed with drunkenness, glanced at him disdainfully and scoffed, "Hmph, is that all?"

He then waved to Chen Fan and Secretary Yang, saying, "Goodbye."

Then he lay back and fell asleep.

As Secretary Yang watched the carriage disappear into the distance, he couldn't help but wipe the sweat from his brow. He turned to Chen Fan, took a folded piece of paper from his pocket, and handed it to him. "Here, this is for you."

Chen Fan snapped out of his daze, glanced at Secretary Yang, then at the paper in his hand, took it, opened it, and asked, "What is this?"

As soon as he finished speaking, he saw three large characters at the top of the letter: “Letter of Introduction”.

This letter was none other than the one addressed to him, introducing him to the prefectural committee to enroll in a correspondence university.

Secretary Yang chuckled and said, "I could tell just now that you definitely wanted to enroll in this correspondence university, so I prepared a letter of introduction for you in advance. The date is the day after tomorrow. You can go to the county with Lao Ye and the others and transfer there."

If Chen Fan were to go to university or work for another company, he definitely wouldn't be happy. The aquaculture business in Lujiawan is just starting to show promise; what if something goes wrong if Chen Fan leaves?
He was willing to agree to any other condition as long as Chen Fan didn't leave. Hearing Chen Fan say he wouldn't leave even after getting his university degree, he generously offered to prepare a letter of introduction so Chen Fan wouldn't have to ask for it.

Ye Shubao walked over at this moment and said with a smile, "Last time I gave each of you 50 jin of grain coupons, a total of 150 jin, and you had them all in your hands. You never returned them, so I won't be giving you grain coupons this time."

He was referring to the time he went to the prefectural committee's health department in May to compile a book.

Chen Fan grinned and said, "No need, there are plenty more."

Not to mention local grain coupons, he had 300 jin of grain coupons from all over the country, all of which were "manuscript fees" sent by "Jiangnan Literature and Art". So he didn't lack grain coupons at all.

At this moment, Zhang Wenliang, his face flushed, approached Chen Fan. The strong smell of alcohol made Chen Fan take two steps back and cover his nose. "How much did you drink?"

"Not much, just over a pound."

Zhang Wenliang waved his hand dismissively and grinned, "I have absolutely no doubt that you'll be admitted to the correspondence program at Jiangnan University. Once you become a college student, you absolutely have to treat me!"

Chen Fan glanced at the letter of introduction in his hand, then curled his lip and said with a look of disdain, "Actually, I didn't say I had to enroll. Although Jiangnan University is alright, it's still just a correspondence program... Oh well, since the letter of introduction is already written, I'll go take a look." Before Zhang Wenliang could reach out his hand, Chen Fan quickly turned to the side, folded the paper back up, stuffed it into his pocket, patted his butt, and walked confidently into the brigade headquarters.

The group of people behind them looked at each other, unable to tell whether he was telling the truth or not.
Is he staying in Lujiawan hoping to be recommended to university? But does Lujiawan even have any recommendation slots?

Everyone looked at each other, completely bewildered.
……

Chen Fan ultimately did not return to the educated youth compound. He took a nap in the broadcasting room to sober up, and before he could leave, he was pulled up to the embankment by Secretary Yang and Captain Zhang.

The group walked north along the embankment, their eyes fixed on the surging river in the distance.

Chen Fan looked at the opposite bank of the river, his brows furrowing slightly. "How wide is this river?"

Zhang Wenliang glanced around casually and said, "This is the middle section, one of the widest parts. The water conservancy institute measured it last year; it's 568 meters, a little narrower than the 620-meter intake."

He pointed to the front, "The section around the bend ahead, between teams 1 and 12, is even wider, I think it's 598 meters or 589 meters, I can't remember exactly. But the section with your team 6 is narrower, only about 400 meters, less than 500 meters."

Xiao Liewen, standing beside him with his hands behind his back and still holding his pipe, said softly, "This river is also a tributary of the Yangtze River. There is a fork in the river at Team 9. The river is about the same width as here and can go directly to the Yangtze River. Then, following the river, you can reach Yunhu and Gufeng County. It's just that it's a much longer detour than going by land."

As he spoke, he brought his pipe to his front, filled it with tobacco, and said, “There are three rivers like this in Gufeng County. Each of them branches into two or three smaller streams, which are narrower, only a hundred or two hundred meters wide.”

These tributaries and branch streams, along with the main stream of the Yangtze River, are all key monitoring targets. Every year when there is a major flood, Gufeng County is practically submerged in water, facing numerous dangers. All villagers on both sides of the river must be on duty at the dikes, and no negligence is allowed.

Otherwise, if a breach occurs in one area, a continuous flow of water will flood not just a small patch, but the entire commune, or even several interconnected communes. At that point, everyone will be turned into turtles.

Zhang Wenliang had already sobered up. He took off his straw hat, wiped his sweat, and instead of putting it back on, he used it to fan himself. As he walked forward, he said, “There’s a guard post every mile. The militia is the main force, but relying solely on the militia isn’t enough. Each guard post needs at least two groups rotating shifts, one group on the day shift and one group on the night shift. Each group has three people, so each guard post needs to have six people. The entire dike is more than a hundred miles long and it’s half a circle. We need to arrange at least 700 or 800 people to guard the dike.”

The sentry post is built and dismantled every year. We were busy with the double harvest a while ago, and these past few days we've been building a small water tower and laying water pipes. We haven't had time to build the sentry post yet. Thankfully, the small water tower was completed and topped off this morning. I'll take a half-day break this afternoon, and tomorrow I have to finish building the sentry post so I can go to the county to sell ducks the day after tomorrow.”

Chen Fan was about to ask why there weren't permanent sentry posts. He remembered that when he was a child, all he saw on the river embankment were permanent sentry posts built of brick and tile.

But considering that there were hardly any brick houses in the entire Lujiawan area, he fell silent. As for building with adobe bricks, the riverside was too damp, and the houses would probably become dilapidated in a few years, making the cost-effectiveness too low and naturally unacceptable.

Ye Shubao opened his shirt to reveal a white undershirt underneath, and fanned himself frantically with a straw hat. "Just a few straw mats to wrap around, some straw, some mud to build a roof, it won't take much time. But I think this weather is strangely hot, it might change, I don't know if it will rain heavily tomorrow."

Chen Fan adjusted the brim of his straw hat, looked up at the sky, and silently calculated in his mind, "There will probably be a heavy rain tonight, but it will be sunny tomorrow, so it won't affect the construction."

Everyone turned to look at him. Secretary Yang looked at him strangely. "What's wrong? You came from the Imperial Observatory, and you can observe the stars at night and the clouds during the day?"

Chen Fan lowered his hat brim and said calmly, "What's so hard to predict? Since the start of the double harvest season, Lujiawan has experienced a heavy rain almost every week, usually from 10 p.m. to midnight and ending around 4 or 5 a.m. Only once did it rain for two hours in the afternoon."

Today's weather is exactly the same as the previous few times when it rained heavily. It would be really strange if it didn't rain tonight.

Everyone was speechless, then turned around and walked forward.

I thought he was a fortune teller, but this is all he is?!
Chen Fan was very happy. It would rain heavily tonight, which would definitely cool down the temperature, and he could get a good night's sleep.

After walking a while, Xiao Liewen suddenly said, "No, we must arrange for someone to be on duty on the dike tonight."

Chen Fan was taken aback. Was he in such a hurry?
It's going to rain heavily tonight!
At this moment, Secretary Yang and Captain Zhang also realized what was happening, stopped and walked to the riverbank, staring at the river in a daze.

Zhang Wenliang stopped fanning the water, put his straw hat on his head, put one hand on his hip, and pointed to the river not far from his feet, saying, "The water level is already very high, only about 10 meters from the embankment. If there is a lot of rain tonight, the water level will definitely rise."

"more than."

Ye Shubao frowned and said, "We are in the middle reaches of the river. If there had been heavy rain upstream a couple of days ago, the water level would have risen and the river would have rushed over. The water level would have risen too quickly and the current would have been very strong. There could have been a disaster."

After a discussion, the leaders decided to bring forward the time for going up the embankment.

But now there isn't even a sentry post, what should we do?
Secretary Yang, experienced and composed, directed the operation: "Old Zhang, go back to the brigade headquarters now and personally use the loudspeaker to tell each squad to send someone to build the outpost. Remember to remind them that there might be a heavy rain tonight, so make sure the materials are sturdy. If the materials aren't ready yet, use waterproof tarpaulins to build a shelter, but someone must be on duty."

Captain Zhang nodded, said nothing more, and turned to walk back.

Secretary Yang then looked at Ye Shubao, "Today is the first day on the dike, and it's all done in such a rush. Go and inform each team to prepare a couple of hearty dishes to reward those who are on the dike. The bill will be paid by the brigade."

Ye Shubao nodded, but did not leave immediately. "I'll watch it through first, and then I'll let you know when I get back."

Secretary Yang grunted in response, said nothing more, and turned to continue walking forward.

Chen Fan followed behind them, wondering what he could do. Should he continue writing reports?
Then, looking up, I saw seven or eight children splashing around in the turbulent river ahead, while several others sat on the bank, laughing and splashing water.

Upon seeing this scene, he immediately prepared to shout something.

Before he could even shout, he heard Xiao Liewen yell, "All of you, get up here! Who told you to go into the water? Get your asses up here!"

The sound carried far and wide, and the group of children dared not misbehave. They obediently swam to the shore, while those who were already on the shore went naked onto the embankment.

Seeing the few people still in the water, Chen Fan quickened his pace, ready to go down and rescue them at any moment.

But after a few seconds, his eyes filled with curiosity. These kids are amazing! They're like eels in the water, diving dozens of meters in a single leap. In no time, they were all on shore.

No wonder he grew up by the water.

But praise is one thing, but a beating is still necessary.

Secretary Yang took the lead, running forward at a brisk pace. He soon reached the group of children, and without a word, he kicked them—one, two, three…

These children were beaten, but they didn't cry. They just stubbornly stuck out their little penises and pouted their lips.

Seeing that they were still defiant, Secretary Yang slapped each of them on the buttocks again, saying, "Go home now. If you dare come to the embankment again, I'll break your legs. Get out."

The children immediately bent over and ran towards the village below, laughing and joking.

Zhang Wenliang seemed used to this, his expression complex, and said softly to Chen Fan, "Most of the children in Lujiawan can swim, but as the old saying goes, those who drown are often the ones who can swim..."

He turned to look at the rolling river. "In this river, one or two children used to be taken away every year. The old folks said it was because the water ghosts were looking for someone to take their place and escape. The previous secretary didn't believe in such superstitions, so one year he forcibly prohibited children from going onto the dike for the entire summer. Sure enough, no one died that year. Later, a rule was established in Lujiawan that children were not allowed to go onto the dike during July, August, and September. This is the fourth team, which is why Secretary Yang is so angry."

Chen Fan suddenly realized that Secretary Yang was from Team 4. His team's members were not following the rules, which not only made him lose face, but more importantly, it posed a great safety hazard. It was only natural that he was angry.

He paused for two seconds, then asked curiously, "Then why only limit it to three months, instead of simply banning children from going into the water altogether?"

Zhang Wenliang smiled and said to him, "That won't work either. There's plenty of water here, rivers, lakes, and ditches everywhere. Whether it's for fishing or guarding the dikes, how can you do it if you can't swim? Besides, there's always the possibility of something happening to someone. What if you fall into the water while walking and you can't swim, and there's no one around? Are you just going to wait to die?"

Chen Fan thought it made sense. Although it is said that "even good swimmers can drown", we cannot give up eating because of a bad experience. We still need to learn what we need to learn. However, we need to do a good job of risk management. During the three months when the current is the fastest and the water level is the highest, we should prohibit these children who are not yet grown up from going into the water. This way, we can keep the danger to a minimum.

This way, the children here won't be hindered from learning survival skills, and tragedies can be avoided. It seems the previous Party Secretary was a wise man.

(End of this chapter)