Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 367 A tacit understanding
It has been about ten days since the small water tower was completed, and the water storage tank is also ready for use. As long as the pumps are started and the water valves are opened, water can be supplied to Teams 5 and 6.

Despite the simplicity of the task, no one on the team dared to touch it, fearing they might damage the water tower.

Actually, they could have asked the commune to borrow a water supplier to help with the operation, but after discussing it, the leaders felt that Chen Fan was the biggest contributor to the small water tower. Now that the water tower was built, the first time they opened the valve to release water, such a meaningful task, had to be handed over to Chen Fan. That's why they waited for Chen Fan to come back today.

Chen Fan was quite pleased to hear this, "Let's not wait any longer, let's do it this afternoon."

afternoon?

Don't these things usually happen in the morning?

Secretary Yang turned to look at the others, who all had the same bewildered expression.

Two seconds later, Xiao Liewen gritted his teeth and said, "New era, new methods. Who says we can't hold the launch ceremony in the afternoon? Besides, launching in the afternoon will be just in time for making dinner in the evening, saving us the trouble of fetching water."

Upon hearing this, Secretary Yang finally nodded, "Alright, then this afternoon."

Captain Zhang grinned and said, "The firecrackers have all been bought. It's still quite hot, so let's not go too early. How about we set it for 4 o'clock?"

The group exchanged glances and then set a time.

Chen Fan then picked up his textbooks again, waved his hand, and said, "I'll go home first and come over before 4 p.m.

This time, no one stopped him, and he left the brigade headquarters without any problems.

……

As Chen Fan walked through the grove and onto the road, he heard birds chirping overhead.

Looking up, he saw a large bird swooping down, and a happy smile appeared on his face as he raised his left hand high.

The next second, the falcon landed on my arm, turning its head and chirping.

Chen Fan grinned from ear to ear, "What a good boy."

The falcon blinked and chirped.

It then spread its wings and soared into the sky, flying swiftly towards the educated youth settlement, chirping incessantly along the way.

In the rice paddy, Jiang Lili, wearing a straw hat, was intently searching for barnyard grass, pulling it up one by one. Suddenly, she heard the call of a hawk overhead. She immediately looked up and saw the hawk circling overhead. Her eyes lit up. "Xiao Fan is back."

Not far away, Huang Ying raised her hand and wiped the sweat from her brow with her sleeve. Her face was flushed, and she was breathing slightly heavily. She turned to look at Jiang Lili and asked, "Lili, who's back?"

Jiang Lili pointed to the sky and raised her voice, saying, "The Eurasian Hobby's flight path is a bit strange; it must be Teacher Chen returning."

The sound carried far away, and Huang Ying, Yang Ju, and Liu Dan's eyes lit up. Teacher Chen was back?
Team leader Yang, who was working nearby, heard her words and immediately said, "You should go back first. What if he really comes back and there's no one at home?"

The people around watched with smiles, having no objections whatsoever.

Now everyone knows that the team's chickens, ducks, and geese have found a market, which was found by Teacher Chen. Moreover, they are going to open a cooked food workshop and cooked food shop in the county town, so that Lujiawan will have a decent side business in the future.

Most importantly, these side businesses in the county town will definitely require a lot of manpower. No matter who gets the spot in the end, it is Teacher Chen who brings hope to everyone.

It's just a matter of letting Yang Ju and the others go back to greet them sooner, what does it matter?!

Amidst the laughter of the crowd, Jiang Lili and the other three, their faces flushed, quickly walked up the ridge and ran towards the educated youth compound.

As soon as they stepped onto the main road, they heard faint greetings coming from afar.

After listening carefully, it was clearly someone calling "Teacher Chen", so Chen Fan really came back!

They exchanged a glance and then ran back as fast as they could.

……

Chen Fan greeted everyone as he returned to the educated youth compound.

As soon as I entered the courtyard, I saw Huang Ying running over excitedly, "Teacher Chen, let me help you with your bag."

As she spoke, she took the bag from his body.

Yang Ju also ran over, "Teacher Chen, the tea is ready for you, please come in and sit down."

Duoduo and Qiuqiu ran to his feet, wagging their tails and twisting their bodies into an S-shape. Two neighs, one loud and one soft, came from behind. Before Chen Fan could reach the door, the mare and foal ran up to him and headbutted him.

Chen Fan held a horse's head in one arm, played a game with two dogs with one leg up, and turned to Huang Ying and Yang Ju, saying, "I'm coming home, why are you being so polite?"

Then he asked, "Where are Lili and Liu Dan?"

As soon as he finished speaking, two girls ran out of the kitchen.

Liu Dan ran ahead, grinning, and said, "Teacher Chen, you haven't eaten yet, have you? We're cooking for you, it'll be ready soon."

Jiang Lili stopped a short distance behind Liu Dan, staring at him intently without saying a word, only smiling.

Chen Fan's gaze fell on her face, his smile widening even further. "You didn't go to work today?"

Huang Ying quickly said, "We were working when Lili saw the Eurasian Hobby circling in the sky and thought it was you who had returned, so the team leader told us to come back and greet you first."

Chen Fan was somewhat surprised upon hearing this and looked at Jiang Lili, asking, "You can understand the flight posture of a Eurasian Hobby?"

Jiang Lili lowered her head slightly, blushing, and said, "I don't really understand it either, I just see that it used to always circle around your head."

Liu Dan jumped back a step, grabbed her arm, and laughed, "That's still impressive, I can't do that."

As he spoke, surrounded by four women, Chen Fan entered the room and sat down on a chair.

Sure enough, there was a cup of freshly poured cold tea on the table.

He picked up his teacup and took a big gulp, then smiled at them and said, "What are you all standing for? Sit down."

When we offered them a seat, they refused.

Jiang Lili suddenly realized something and pointed to the kitchen, "Ah, there's still food cooking in the pot, I'll go check it out."

He then ran out.

Liu Dan quickly followed, "I'll go too."

Yang Ju, "I'll go get you some bathwater."

Then they ran away too.

They've now figured out Chen Fan's habits: he showers every time he comes back from outings, changes his clothes when they're dirty, likes to drink tea, never smokes or drinks when there are no guests, doesn't like to be disturbed when he's reading, likes pandas, falcons, horses, and dogs, dislikes pigs, chickens, ducks, and geese, always keeps the yard clean and hygienic, prefers meat to vegetables, and is more casual with people he's familiar with...

If Chen Fan knew all this, he would suspect that they did nothing but think about him all day long.

All three girls ran away, leaving only Huang Ying standing there, racking her brains for something else to do.

Then he picked up a rag and shook it, saying, "I'll rub the rag and wipe your luggage bag."

He then ran out.

That's right. When Teacher Chen comes back from his trip, he not only washes himself but also wipes his luggage clean. No wonder everyone guesses he must come from a cadre family. Let alone in the countryside, even in Nanhu Town, you've never seen such a clean person.

Chen Fan leaned back in his chair, took off his shoes, put his feet on the dog, and watched the two horses trotting happily at the door, comfortably drinking his tea.

This is life!

A little while later, Huang Ying came back with a clean rag to wipe his backpack.

Yang Ju, with her sleeves rolled up high and water droplets still clinging to her sunburnt arms, ran to the door and said, "Teacher Chen, the bathwater is ready."

Chen Fan then stood up wearing his homemade wooden slippers, stretched, and then took the backpack that Huang Ying had just cleaned, taking out a small cloth bag from it.

Unwrapping the cloth bag revealed four pen cases.

Chen Fan looked at the two of them and smiled, "These are souvenirs I brought for you, one for each of you."

Huang Ying and Yang Ju immediately beamed with joy, "Thank you, Teacher Chen."

Chen Fan smiled and waved his hand, took out clean clothes from his backpack, and went to the next room to wash up.

The two girls happily opened the pencil case, only to find four identical Hero brand fountain pens inside.

Okay, no need to choose anymore.

They each grabbed two gifts and ran happily to the kitchen. "Lili, Xiaodan, Teacher Chen brought us gifts!"...

After taking a shower and having dinner, Chen Fan, thinking about the panda panda in the backyard, headed towards the backyard.

Huang Ying and the others followed closely as usual, with Jiang Lili trailing behind, her eyes shining with joy. But when she looked at the other three, she couldn't help but pout, her gaze dimming.

After passing through the back door and climbing up the slope, Huang Ying suddenly exclaimed "Ah!" and said with a smile, "Teacher Chen, we've also prepared a gift for you."

Chen Fan turned to look at her. "What gift?"

Huang Ying turned around and waved to Jiang Lili at the back, smiling, "Lili, come here quickly, you can talk to Teacher Chen."

Yang Ju chimed in, "This gift was originally Lili's idea, and then the four of us made it together. We only finished it the day before yesterday."

Upon hearing this, Chen Fan couldn't help but ask curiously, "You made this yourselves? What is it?"

When Jiang Lili was called, she immediately adjusted her expression, took two quick steps forward, and said softly, "Actually, it's nothing much. I just made two sets of sofa cushions, chair cushions, and two large backrest pillows for the bed and chairs on the second floor."

The so-called bed and chair is actually a Luohan bed. She didn't know the name of the Luohan bed, but it looked like a very large chair, so she called it a bed and chair.

Upon hearing her words, Chen Fan immediately became interested. "Sofa cushions? How did you come up with the idea of ​​making these?"

To be honest, he had thought about making a few sets of sofa cushions. Solid wood chairs can be a bit uncomfortable to sit on for a long time, and cushions would make a big difference.

Unexpectedly, before he could even take any action, Jiang Lili had already done it while he was away. Could it be that they were telepathically connected?
Jiang Lili smiled and was about to speak when Huang Ying jumped out and laughed, "That day we were reading in the study, and I said the chair was too hard. Lili said we should make some seat cushions. So we found some thatch, dried it, wove it into straw mats, and then wrapped them in cloth. They made very nice seat cushions."

These straw mats are for summer, and we also made cotton mats for winter, so they're not hot in summer and warm in winter. Teacher Chen, do you like them?

Chen Fan nodded slightly and chuckled, "I like it, I like it, you're so thoughtful."

As he spoke, his gaze inadvertently fell on Jiang Lili, whose pretty face immediately flushed slightly, and she lowered her head.

While they were talking, the group had already climbed to the top of the slope, and Yang Ju quickly went over to open the gate to the panda enclosure.

Pushing open the door, Chen Fan was speechless.

The panda was lying on a wooden stake under the shade of a tree, limbs dangling down, fast asleep. Next to it, two foot-long panda cubs were wrestling together, their bodies covered in dust from the fall, but thankfully their black and white colors were still clearly distinguishable, and their good looks were not affected.

Chen Fan walked straight over, picked up Changchang and Shuishui in each hand, and glared at them fiercely, "Who told you to fight?"

The two panda cubs were initially stunned. Weren't we on the ground? How did we start flying?

Once it saw reality clearly, it flailed its limbs in terror and barked wildly, "Mommy, help me..."

Gun Gun was sleeping soundly when he vaguely heard the screams of the two babies. He opened his eyes groggily and slowly raised his head to look around.

Hey, where's the baby?
Oh, it seems to be in the back?
It struggled to climb off the wooden stake, striking a fierce pose, ready to rescue the baby. But when it turned around and saw Chen Fan, its eyes lit up, and it scrambled over to him, grabbing his leg and babbling.

Chen Fan put Changchang and Shuishui on the ground, and helplessly tried to shake Gungun away, "I just changed into clean pants!"

Unfortunately, the baby was holding on too tightly and couldn't be shaken off at all.

With no other option, he could only stay in the panda enclosure and play games with the three giant pandas to make up for the ten days or so he hadn't taken care of them.

Fortunately, he only needed to look after the panda cubs. Sitting on the wooden post, holding the panda cubs in his arms, and watching four girls play with the two panda babies, he unknowingly whiled away more than an hour.

It wasn't until Chen Fan remembered that he had to turn on the small water tower in the afternoon that he kicked and threw Gun Gun into its room, and hung Chang Chang and Shui Shui on the high tree branches, and then rushed them into the room while they were climbing down!
As Chen Fan emerged from the panda enclosure, he wiped away a bead of cold sweat. "Good grief, all that bathing was for nothing."

Yang Ju immediately said, "It's okay, I'll get you some water when we get back and you can wash it again."

Chen Fan's lips twitched slightly. "So all I do all day is take showers, huh?"

Jiang Lili had already opened the door, and Chen Fan immediately went over and entered the living room, where he immediately saw the cushions on the sofa.

Huang Ying ran to the sofa, gesturing excitedly and laughing, "Teacher Chen, why don't you sit down and try it?"

Chen Fan walked over, picked up the cushion on the single sofa and looked at it. The outside was blue homespun cloth, and without taking it apart, he could feel the soft yet firm straw mat inside.

He put down the cushion, plopped down on it to feel it, and couldn't help but nod, giving it two thumbs up, "Hmm, pretty good."

Hearing Chen Fan's praise, the four girls beamed with joy.

Chen Fan pointed to the long sofa next to him, "Don't stand, sit down too."

After they sat down, Chen Fan asked, "How have your studies been these past few days?"

This time, Huang Ying didn't rush to answer. Instead, she turned to look at Jiang Lili along with Yang Ju and Liu Dan.

Clearly, Jiang Lili is the top student when it comes to academics.

Seeing that they were all looking at her, Jiang Lili didn't refuse. She pursed her lips and said softly, "I've already finished half of it and am now learning the third book. If all goes well, I should be able to finish it all this year."

Then, looking at Huang Ying and the others, and then at Chen Fan, he continued, "They are a little slower than me, but Xiao Ying is almost finished with the second book. Xiao Dan has only scratched the surface, but she has also started learning the second book."

The complete set of self-study books in mathematics, physics, and chemistry consists of 17 volumes, including four volumes of algebra, four volumes of physics, four volumes of chemistry, two volumes of plane geometry, one volume of solid geometry, one volume of plane analytic geometry, and one volume of trigonometry.

In other words, there are 5 books in the geometry category. Chen Fan rearranged the math books so that they could learn them in order.

So, getting to the third book means we're halfway through the process. Considering we got the books at the end of May, this is pretty good progress.

However, Chen Fan was not entirely satisfied.

If he hadn't gone to the prefectural committee, he could have let them learn at their own pace, and it wouldn't have mattered much if they hadn't finished learning by the time the college entrance examination was reinstated.

At least they can complete more than half of the course, which gives them an advantage among the many applicants nationwide.

But when he thought about how Teacher Guo and Teacher He had already guessed that the college entrance examination would be reinstated and had been hinting to those around them to study hard, he lost his confidence.

The college admission rate for this year's cohort is only 4.79%, less than five percent. If this is the case for these two individuals, what about the national average? With such a low probability, it is of course the more attention we pay to it, the better.

Thinking of this, Chen Fan frowned slightly and looked up at them.

Seeing his serious expression, the four girls, including Jiang Lili, couldn't help but sit up straight, their hearts pounding.

Will Teacher Chen be angry?

Just as they were feeling uneasy, Chen Fan said seriously, "In three months, you have already learned to this extent, which is quite good."

Hearing this, the four girls breathed a sigh of relief.

Then Chen Fan continued, "But that's not enough."

not enough?
Huang Ying blinked, looked at Chen Fan, and asked cautiously, "Teacher Chen, is something the matter? Is that why we need to speed up our studies?"

Yang Ju and Liu Dan nodded slightly, looking at him expectantly.

Jiang Lili, however, remained silent, her eyes thoughtful, as she watched Chen Fan intently.

Chen Fan coughed lightly and said softly, "There are some things I can't say outright, and you can't tell anyone else about what happened today. Do you understand?"

The four girls paused, exchanged glances, and although they were very puzzled, they didn't say anything, but simply nodded slightly, "Understood."

Chen Fan smiled at them and said, "In short, starting today, you should focus more on your studies. Apart from necessary work, all other unimportant things, such as making pottery blanks, should be suspended."

I will create a study plan for you, and rearrange your courses based on your previous goals.

He looked at Liu Dan as he spoke, “For example, Xiao Dan, if you want to be a broadcaster, then there’s no need for you to study physics and chemistry. You should focus your studies on humanities subjects like history and geography to build your knowledge base.”

Liu Dan blinked and nodded blankly, still somewhat confused. "Why?"

Huang Ying whispered, "If that's the case, what should we say if others ask?"

There are almost no secrets in the production team, let alone the fact that they live in the educated youth compound, which is under the spotlight. Every day, countless people are watching them, and any slight change could attract attention. If someone asks them, they really don't know how to answer.

We can't just say it was arranged by Teacher Chen, can we?

Isn't that blatant favoritism?!

Chen Fan thought for a moment and said, "Just now at the brigade headquarters, I was talking to Secretary Yang and the others about strengthening the training of professional talents. If anyone asks, just use this reason to answer that we are preparing for choosing a major in the future."

At this point, a thought suddenly struck him: it might be a good thing if the news of Huang Ying and the others studying hard spread. It might even inspire everyone who is studying to increase their study time!
That way, perhaps when they take the college entrance examination, their scores will be slightly better.

(End of this chapter)