Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 360 Reunion

After boarding the bus, which bumped and jostled for nearly an hour, Chen Fan finally got off when the bus had left Yunhu city and stopped beside a large lake.

The wind blows and the water ripples. Looking out over the lake, you can only see the nearby shore. Further away, there is still a vast expanse of blue water that seems to stretch as far as the eye can see.

He turned around 360 degrees, looked around, and then chose a direction to walk in.

After a short while, we passed through a grove of trees and came to see a small village.

Before he even got close to the house at the village entrance, two dogs came running out and barked at him.

Chen Fan glanced at them twice and stood still. After waiting for two more seconds, two children ran out of the house.

One looked to be 7 or 8 years old, and the other was only 4 or 5. Their clothes hung loosely on their bodies, clearly not very fit. As soon as the two of them came out, the two dogs shut their mouths, ran to their feet, sat down, and wagged their tails while staring at Chen Fan.

Chen Fan stepped forward, walked up to them, and asked with a smile, "Young man, may I ask you something?"

Chen Fan's attitude seemed to please the older child, who immediately straightened his back and said, "Mr. Li said that we should learn from Lei Feng's good example. Just ask me anything, and I'll tell you everything I know. What do you want to know?"

Chen Fan chuckled and asked, "Is this Huangjiawan?"

Huangjiawan is the village where Chen Fan's mother grew up before he transmigrated. This area is close to Yunhu Lake... This Yunhu Lake is not the Yunhu Lake in Yunhu City, but the large lake next to it, from which Yunhu City got its name.

Around Yunhu Lake, there are more than a dozen villages, or production teams, of varying sizes. Because they are close to the water and most are named after surnames, the names of the villages are quite similar.

For example, Huangjiawan, Lijiazhuang, Wangjiazui, Chenjiadang, etc., you can tell from their names how far these villages are from the lake.

On his first day here, Chen Fan thought about visiting the place where his parents lived when they were young.

Last time he came to the prefectural committee, he was accompanied by Zhang Juemin and Zhang Wenliang, so he didn't come to look for it. But today he saw the name of Huangjiawan bus stop on the bus platform, so he took a bus to find it.

At this moment, he was filled with anxiety, wondering if he could find his maternal grandparents and mother's family.

He hadn't thought about what would happen after he found it.

Upon hearing Chen Fan's words, the child immediately nodded and said, "Yes, this is Huangjiawan. Who are you looking for?"

Chen Fan gritted his teeth slightly, smiled, and continued to ask, "Is there someone named Huang Jiawen in your team?"

"Huang Jiawen?"

The child looked up at the sky, his face full of confusion. Who is it?

Chen Fan immediately understood. Ah, he definitely didn't know.

How many children know adults' names? They just call them "Uncle" or "Grandpa".

Just then, an old woman slowly walked out with small, quick steps. "San Ya Zi, who is it?"

The child immediately turned around and shouted, "Grandma, someone's looking for someone. Does anyone in our team have a name like Huang Jiawen?"

The old woman slowly walked over, looked Chen Fan up and down a few times, and then said, "Are you looking for Huang Jiawen?"

Chen Fan nodded immediately, his heart pounding. "Yes, Huang Jiawen, his wife is named Shen Changxiu, and they have a daughter named Huang Aiping. Is she here?"

The old lady immediately shook her head, "No, that's not true."

Chen Fan was stunned for a moment, and it took him several seconds to react before he looked at her in surprise, "No?"

Are you kidding me?
He recognized the old lady as soon as she came out, and according to how he used to call her when he was a child, he would have to call her "Great-Auntie".

They're not actually relatives.

However, in the Yunhu area, within the same village, children from different families call each other "Dad Zhang" or "Mom Li" to show closeness, which has absolutely nothing to do with whether they are relatives.

If there are too many people with the same surname, address them according to how you would address your own relatives.

It wasn't until more than 20 years later that no one called them that anymore; men were all called "uncle" and women were all called "aunt."

That's how this great-aunt came to be, but back then she didn't live in the brick house at the entrance of the village, but in a two-story building a little further in.

As for the child who was talking to him earlier, if he wasn't mistaken, it should be Uncle Huang San, who was very good at raising and training dogs and later opened a dog farm.

That little kid who was still naked must be Uncle Huang Jiu, who has become a contractor and even bought a house in the provincial capital to settle down?

The people all match up, and the location is correct. My maternal grandfather's family has been from this village for generations, so how could there be no one?

The old lady looked at Chen Fan and said, "If you're talking about Huang Jiawen, there are three in our team. One is named Huang Jiawen, the 'Wen' in 'culture,' another is named Huang Jiawen, the 'Wen' in 'smell,' and the third is named Huang Jiawen, the 'Wen' in 'rain' radical with 'culture' on the bottom. But none of their wives are named Shen Changxiu, and they all have sons, no daughters."

Chen Fan was stunned. No?
He was stunned for several seconds before he came to his senses, his face full of disappointment. "Oh, the one I was looking for has the fire radical '筆' in it. I must have remembered the wrong place."

The old lady laughed and said, "There are more than a dozen production teams here, and most of them have similar names. It's normal to make a mistake. Why don't you go ask in other teams? It's not just Huangjiawan that has people with the surname Huang. Other teams have them too."

Chen Fan nodded slowly, forcing a smile. "Okay, I'll go check out other places. Um, thanks."

The old lady waved her hand, "It's alright, it's alright."

After leaving Huangjiawan, Chen Fan walked to the bus stop, which was only for returning passengers, and stood there in a daze.

He only boarded the bus absentmindedly when it arrived.

However, he hasn't given up yet.

Half an hour later, the bus entered the city, and we changed buses again, getting off at a factory.

Another round of probing ensued.

Alright, neither my father's family nor anyone else has any.

Everything and everyone else in this world is the same except for my parents and their families.
After figuring out the situation, Chen Fan realized that only one reason could explain it.

Quantum mechanics!

According to proper quantum mechanics, there are countless parallel worlds that are either very different or very similar. Among these parallel worlds, some are vastly different, while others may have only minor differences. Or perhaps I've ended up in a very similar parallel world?

He sat on the roadside for more than half an hour until the factory workers finished their morning shift and a constant stream of people walked past him, at which point he finally came to his senses.

It seems I really have time-traveled!

Chen Fan rubbed his face vigorously with both hands, stood up, looked around, then at the bus stop sign. A bus arrived, and he boarded and slowly drove off in another direction.

……

This time it wasn't far; a dozen minutes later, I got off the bus in front of a Xinhua Bookstore.

Continue walking forward, turn right at the first intersection, and after walking a while, you'll reach the supply and marketing cooperative branch where Jiang Tiantian works.

Chen Fan walked to the door and glanced inside, only to find that Jiang Tiantian was the only one there.

There were no customers in the store at that moment. Jiang Tiantian sat alone in the corner of the counter, staring blankly with a vacant look in her eyes, seemingly lost in thought.

Chen Fan walked in, came up to her, bent down and looked at her without saying a word.

Several seconds later, Jiang Tiantian realized that there seemed to be someone in front of her. She suddenly woke up and quickly stood up.

She was about to speak when she saw that the person in front of her was Chen Fan. She froze, looked around, and blinked, as if wondering if she was dreaming.

Seeing her expression, Chen Fan straightened up and couldn't help but chuckle, "What, haven't seen you for over two months, don't you recognize me?"

The last time I left the prefectural committee was at the end of May, and today is August 19th, which is less than 3 months ago.

Jiang Tiantian then realized what was happening, two blushes rising on her fair face, her eyes sparkling with disbelief, "Why are you here?"

As soon as she said it, she realized it wasn't a good way to put it, and quickly added, "I meant, when did you arrive?"

Chen Fan laughed, "Just arrived." He shrugged as he spoke, "Look, I haven't even put my luggage down yet."

Jiang Tiantian finally calmed down, opened the horizontal counter, and came out, smiling, "Judging from your appearance, you probably haven't eaten yet, have you?"

Seeing Chen Fan nod in confirmation, she continued, "There's a restaurant at the street corner. Go there and rest for a bit. My two colleagues who work with me have gone home for lunch and will be back soon. I'll come find you when they get back. Let's eat first, and then I'll take you to find a guesthouse to stay in."

Chen Fan nodded. "Okay, I'll wait for you over there."

He then waved, smiled, and turned to walk out.

Jiang Tiantian escorted him to the door and watched him leave. It took her a while to come to her senses. She first looked at the sparse pedestrians on the road, and seeing that no one was paying attention to her, she turned around and went into the store.

Chen Fan walked quickly to the street corner and easily spotted a small restaurant. He pushed open the door and glanced inside. He found nine square tables, each with four stools, just like the state-run restaurants in Nanhu Town. Clearly, this was a small restaurant managed by the street's food company.

Although it was noon, only two tables were occupied in the restaurant, with the rest of the seats empty.

Chen Fan walked to the counter, looked up at the small wooden board hanging on the wall, which had today's menu written on it.

(Ordering food)
These small restaurants usually display their menus on signs, some of which are wooden signs, while others have words written on a small blackboard.

Those paper or even brochure-style menus still exist now, but they are generally found in high-end venues, such as the Capital Hotel, the Old Moscow Hotel, or the Jinjiang Hotel in Shanghai, or wild game restaurants in provincial capitals. These are basically places that are open to the public, and their levels are all different.

They also ordered food first and paid after finishing their meal, just like in later times.

This doesn't work. You have to look at the menu on the wall, order, and then immediately take out your money and pay. You won't get any food if you don't pay.

In some places, you even have to go to the food counter to get your food yourself.

However, Chen Fan noticed a waiter carrying a tray of dishes, indicating that he didn't need to do anything himself here.

He didn't know how long it would take for Jiang Tiantian to arrive, so he ordered a more time-consuming main dish: braised chicken in a clay pot. Adding a side of fresh greens that could be cooked in the clay pot only cost an extra 5 cents. He also ordered a plate of salt and pepper soybeans, a plate of cucumber salad, and a bottle of Yunhu Daqu liquor, before paying with his fare money.

There was no one sitting in the corner by the window, so I took the bottle and sat down. I put my backpack on the bench against the wall, and just as I unscrewed the bottle cap, the waiter brought over two plates of cold dishes and a wine bowl on a tray.

Jiang Tiantian drank with cold dishes for more than ten minutes before hurriedly entering the restaurant.

She spotted Chen Fan drinking alone in the corner at first glance, took a deep breath, and walked steadily over.

Chen Fan immediately raised his hand to greet them, "Here."

Jiang Tiantian pulled out a stool and sat down to his left. She glanced at the half-empty wine bottle and frowned slightly, but she didn't say anything. She just looked at Chen Fan and smiled, "Have you ordered yet? If not, I'll go order."

Chen Fan put down his chopsticks and said with a smile, "I ordered, it should be here soon."

He turned to look at the food delivery window in the back kitchen. "I ordered braised chicken in a clay pot, with a plate of greens added."

Then he looked at Jiang Tiantian and asked, "Do you like it? Would you like to order something else?"

Jiang Tiantian smiled and nodded, "No need, this is enough. Who doesn't love chicken?"

She smiled slightly at Chen Fan, "What brings you here today? Is there anything I can do for you?"

Chen Fan laughed and shook his head, saying, "No, that's not it. Didn't I tell you last time that Lujiawan raises a lot of chickens, ducks, and geese? This time, we're mainly here to find a market for these live poultry."

Jiang Tiantian nodded gently, "Oh, so that's what it is."

She rolled her eyes slightly and asked with a hint of curiosity, "Did you come alone?"

He hadn't even put down his luggage, and there was no one else with him; he clearly came alone. Did Lujiawan really trust this outsider so much that they entrusted him with such an important task?

Chen Fan laughed and said, "It's just about finding sales channels. I have some connections in the health department, so I can handle it by myself. Sending more people wouldn't make any difference and would only increase expenses, so they let me do it myself."

Jiang Tiantian pursed her lips and smiled, "That's because you're very capable. Someone else might not have been able to do it."

She paused for a moment, then asked hesitantly in a low voice, "You seem a little worried, are you afraid it won't sell well?"

Chen Fan raised an eyebrow slightly, wondering if he was that obvious.
He then shook his head and laughed, "No, it's just that besides this, I also want to go to the correspondence course center of Jiangnan University in Yunhu and apply for their correspondence course. I'm just wondering how difficult their exams are. If I don't pass, then it will be a wasted trip."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Tiantian instinctively felt that he was not telling the truth.

Although she had only met Chen Fan twice, he gave her a very optimistic feeling. If it was just a small matter, she probably wouldn't take it to heart.

If he were someone who cared about education and future prospects, he should have accepted the health department's invitation last time instead of insisting on returning to Lujiawan.

But everyone has their little secrets, so since he wouldn't tell her, she didn't press him further. She simply smiled and said, "I only found out today that Jiangnan University has a correspondence course center here. Otherwise, I would have been thinking of enrolling. But I've been away from textbooks for several years, and I've almost forgotten everything I learned before. Even if I wanted to enroll, I wouldn't have the energy."

You are different. I saw in Lili's letter that you not only teach them basic knowledge, but also run a training class in the production team to train teachers for the village primary school. Once these teachers have completed their training, the scale of the village primary school will be expanded. In the future, not only will you run a higher primary school, but you will also run a junior high school.

"You're capable of training teachers, so your knowledge base must be excellent. It's just a correspondence course entrance exam; you'll definitely be fine."

Chen Fan chuckled, "Thanks for your kind words, it would be best if you could pass on the first try."

Just then, the waiter came over with a tray, and the two of them simultaneously fell silent.

First, they put on a charcoal stove, then a large earthenware pot, and finally a plate piled high with green vegetables on the table. Then they picked up the tray and left without saying a word.

Watching the waiter leave, Chen Fan smiled and said, "Come on."

Jiang Tiantian picked up her chopsticks, placed a piece of chicken on his plate, and said with a smile, "You're a guest from afar, so please eat first."

Chen Fan didn't stand on ceremony and picked up his chopsticks to eat. "Let's not be so polite and just relax."

Jiang Tiantian smiled and nodded, "That's fine."

At this moment, the waiter came over again, threw down two large bowls of rice, and left again.

Jiang Tiantian stared blankly at the huge bowl of rice piled high in the air. Was there at least half a pound of rice in there?

These days, a few ounces of rice isn't calculated by the amount of cooked rice like in later canteens; it's calculated by the amount of raw rice. Chen Fan ordered a pound of rice, and it turned out to be a pound of rice. Then the waiter brought them two large bowls, which completely baffled Jiang Tiantian.

Chen Fan could tell a lot from her expression, so he pushed his rice bowl over and said, "Hey, give me what you can't finish."

Jiang Tiantian turned to look at him, blinked, and after realizing what he meant, immediately smiled and said, "Okay."

He then picked out nearly half a bowl of rice and distributed it, while piling the other bowl into a ball.

Chen Fan moved the bowl back, picked up his chopsticks, and said, "Eat."

He then picked up his rice bowl and began to eat.

Seeing Chen Fan wolfing down his food, Jiang Tiantian couldn't help but smile before slowly finishing her own meal.

Neither of them spoke for a moment.

After Chen Fan finished a large bowl of rice, he straightened up, let out a long breath, picked up the wine bottle, poured a bowl of wine, and planned to drink it slowly.

When Jiang Tiantian saw his expression, her eyes sparkled, and she said to him, "Pour some for me too."

Chen Fan turned to look at her, and was about to ask, "You drink too?"
He swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue, got up and went to the food serving area. He asked the chef inside for a wine bowl, turned back and placed it in front of Jiang Tiantian. He poured her half a bowl and said with a smile, "You have to go to work this afternoon, so drink less."

Jiang Tiantian smiled and said, "I took half a day off, so I don't need to go over this afternoon."

Ok?
Chen Fan looked at her strangely. What did she mean? Did she think it wasn't enough?

However, Jiang Tiantian did not ask for more. She simply picked up her wine bowl, held it in front of him, and said with a smile, "I'm offering you a toast as a token of my appreciation."

Chen Fan clinked his wine bowl against hers. "What's the reason?"

Jiang Tiantian took a breath and smiled, "Welcome to Yunhu!"

Chen Fan laughed and said, "That's a good reason, we have to drink."

(End of this chapter)