Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 372 It Needs to Be Good
After leaving the repair shop, the two greeted Secretary Tian at the water transport company, discussed the details of the transaction for the propeller and diesel engine, declined the invitation to dinner again, and then took their horses and headed back.

After leaving the water transport company, Chen Fan mounted his horse and looked thoughtfully toward the dam.

Anquan was pulling on the reins, preparing to head east, when he didn't hear the commotion beside him. He turned around and asked, "Why did you stop?"

Chen Fan pointed to the dike and asked, "Do you think we can get back to Lujiawan from the dike?"

Anquan immediately blurted out, "Of course!"

The next second he froze, then pulled on the reins and turned around, suddenly realizing something, and said, “That’s right, there are so many people coming and going in the commune town that the horses can’t run. We can walk on the embankment.”

Chen Fan looked at him speechlessly, "You didn't expect that?"

If I had come from the embankment earlier, I wouldn't have had to be surrounded by people on the street like a celebrity.

Anquan said confidently, "My home is in town, my workplace is in town, and there are village roads to Lujiawan, which are even closer. Why would I run up to the riverbank for no reason? To jump into the river!"

Chen Fan's lips twitched slightly. He pulled on the reins and spurred the mare toward the riverbank, while Anquan shouted from behind, "Wait for me!"

Then he lashed the horse's rump with a whip and galloped after it.

Unfortunately, he was only riding an ordinary, small packhorse. Although it was docile, it also meant it couldn't run fast. It could only eat dust following behind the little mare, which made it howl in anger.

Chen Fan ran quickly along the embankment, and five minutes later, Team 5 of Lujiawan appeared before him. It was clear that going up to the commune from the embankment was almost the same as going down below.

The statement that it's safer to be closer likely refers to the distance from the brigade headquarters to the northernmost point of the town, which is shorter than the previous route.

By the way, what about safety?

Chen Fan looked back and saw that the safe horse was still a kilometer behind him, and couldn't help but shake his head.

It's only less than 3 kilometers in total, and it's already this far behind? This horse isn't up to par.

There were faint shouts coming from over there, but I couldn't tell what they were shouting.

It's probably not something nice to say.

Chen Fan didn't bother to listen. He gradually slowed down the horse, patted its neck, and the mare ran along the inner slope of the riverbank into the village.

After telling the mare to go to the barn, Chen Fan turned and went into the brigade headquarters.

Inside the office, Secretary Yang and the others were talking about something, making a noisy and chaotic scene. When they saw Chen Fan enter, they all stopped and looked at him.

Secretary Yang looked up and asked, "How is the situation?"

Chen Fan smiled and nodded, "It can be repaired."

Captain Zhang clapped his hands, beaming with joy, and said, "Great, we've made another free machine."

Secretary Yang tapped the table and grinned, "That's all thanks to Xiao Chen, what are you so proud of?"

Captain Zhang rolled his eyes. "You're even more smug than I am."

Zhang Wenliang took out the cigarettes reserved for entertaining guests at the brigade headquarters, tossed one over, and smiled at Chen Fan, saying, "Stop talking."

Chen Fan grabbed the cigarette, sat down to the side, took the teacup Yang Xingxiu handed him, said thank you, and then smiled as he recounted what had happened that morning.

Finally, he said, "When it will be repaired depends on when the parts are purchased."

He paused for a moment, then looked at Secretary Yang, "However, the two sets of outboard motors and one diesel engine that Secretary Tian promised can be brought back once we have the money ready. We can just send someone with the money to pick them up directly."

Secretary Tian said, "We'll pay for the diesel engine first, which is 800 yuan. We won't charge for the two propeller sets yet. If the two propeller sets can be repaired smoothly, consider them a free gift. If they can't be repaired, we'll pay for the propeller sets later."

Secretary Yang nodded, looked at the others, and said, "If everything goes smoothly, then we will have one propulsion system that can be installed on the large ship, as well as two diesel engines and two outboard motors that can be used to carry two small boats."

At this moment, Chen Fan waved his hand, interrupting him, and said with a smile, "The diesel engine of the water transport company is a 45-horsepower engine. After modification, it can fully propel a medium-sized wooden boat that is two meters wide and ten meters long."

Upon hearing this, Secretary Yang was overjoyed. "Great! A 10-meter-long boat can now sail on the Yangtze River. The boat that Lao Wang and his team are currently building is 10 meters long, and this machine can be directly installed on it. We'll also build another 20-meter-long boat and put the propulsion system on it!"

Before he could finish speaking, Ye Shubao said, "Old Yang, there are two things I need to mention first..."

His words immediately drew everyone's attention.

Ye Shubao coughed and was about to speak when Anquan strode in, muttering, "Xiao Chen, you're not human! You ran so fast and left me covered in dust. Tell me, are you deliberately getting revenge?"

When everyone saw Anquan's disheveled appearance and recalled what he had just said, they immediately understood what had happened and burst into laughter.

Zhang Wenliang smiled with feigned disdain, “Brother An, you’re still a bit lacking. Everyone in our team knows that Xiao Chen’s horse is fast. When I go out with him, I either don’t ride a horse, or I simply run ahead of him to prevent him from getting ahead. Otherwise, you’ll end up like you today, covered in dust.”

Chen Fan spread his hands innocently, "I've already slowed down the horse, but the horse you're riding can't run, and your own riding skills aren't good either. What can I do?!"

Anquan was speechless. He ran over, grabbed the cigarette pack on the table, and angrily pulled out a cigarette and lit it.

At this moment, Yang Xingxiu brought him a glass of water, and An Quan smiled happily, "Xingxiu is the best."

He glanced at someone and muttered to himself, "Girl, you should start thinking about your marriage, but you have to be careful who you choose. Don't pick someone unreliable, or you'll regret it later."

Yang Xingxiu blushed instantly and glared at him reproachfully, "I shouldn't have poured you water."

Everyone else burst into laughter, but Zhang Wenliang was completely bewildered. Why are you all looking at me like that?

After a while, Ye Shubao tapped the table and continued the previous topic.

He coughed lightly, looked at everyone, and said seriously, "What I meant just now was that we should call Lao Wang and the others back to build ships. Is this something that can only be done once and not again?"
In any case, Lao Wang and his group are all formal workers on the construction team. As people from our village, it is true that their homes are here, but their employment status and household registration are registered with the construction team.

Asking them to help build one boat is fine, the construction team won't say anything out of consideration for this fellow villager. But if you ask them to build a second one, that's where things get complicated.

Upon hearing this, Secretary Yang frowned and slowly nodded, "That makes sense."

At this moment, Xiao Liewen looked at everyone and added, "Old Wang's side is one aspect, and the other side..."

As he spoke, he turned to look at Chen Fan, then back at Secretary Yang and Captain Zhang, saying, "Whether it's the propeller or the outboard motor, it's all thanks to Xiao Chen. Without him, it would have been difficult for us to buy them."

Anquan, sitting to the side, nodded and said softly, "That's true. Just now, Secretary Tian said that the Hongxing Brigade offered 800 for that diesel engine, but he didn't sell it. On the one hand, he thought the price was too low, and on the other hand, he wanted to keep it for the unit's own use."

They only offered to have this machine because of Xiao Chen, and even gave us the lowest price of 800 yuan. Otherwise, we wouldn't have known the shipping company even had one.

He chuckled self-deprecatingly, "As the section chief of the tax office, I really don't have that much face in front of Secretary Tian. These past few days, his enthusiasm has been thanks to Teacher Chen."

Chen Fan listened from the side, his eyes darting around a couple of times, but he didn't say anything, only a faint smile on his face.

This kind of thing shouldn't be discussed in front of him.

However, the brigade headquarters was only so big, and everyone there had a good relationship with him, so there was nothing to hide. This also served to show him the brigade's attitude: everyone knew about his contributions to the brigade.

Moreover, he couldn't refuse this reward. Firstly, the team had a reward and punishment system in place, and even the most active members received rewards for being active in production. He had made such a great contribution to the team, and it was all outside of his job duties, so how could he not be rewarded?
However, Chen Fan was now completely calm. Under the current system, even if there were a hefty reward, how much could it really be?

It just means getting more work points, or the team providing feed to support the small animals at home.

It all boils down to this.

He's now indifferent to worldly desires, hence his invincibility. It's alright, you guys discuss it yourselves, good or bad, whatever you want, I don't care!

After the safety officer finished speaking, Ye Shubao looked at him, then at Secretary Yang, Captain Zhang, and Xiao Liewen, and said seriously, "The second point I wanted to make is this. Last time, Xiao Chen brought back two diesel engines, and the team took advantage of him by replacing them with some useless bamboo branches and a little building material. I'm still a little embarrassed to admit it." Secretary Yang coughed, glanced at Chen Fan sitting next to him, and said with feigned embarrassment, "But that's all the resources the team had."

If Chen Fan's main job was as a technician in the team, or in another related position, and his responsibility was to help the team buy equipment, then the significance would definitely be different.

That just means he did a good job. When it comes to the New Year's settlement, it would be good if he got an extra 10 yuan bonus.

But that's not the case. Xiao Chen is a broadcaster and a veterinarian, but not a technician or a mechanic. Therefore, the production team should exchange any contributions unrelated to those two positions for equivalent money or goods.

When the production team was first formed, not counting what we kept for ourselves, everything that the team requisitioned—cattle, horses, carts, windmills—was all clearly accounted for and we were given appropriate compensation.

Some might say that gratuitous donations do exist, and in fact, they are quite common, as there are many people who understand the greater good.

However, many people also received compensation. The rule that the government should not take a single needle or thread from the people has been in place for many years. Leaving aside those withered branches and fallen leaves, at least under Mr. Li's attention, most areas have always strictly implemented this rule. This system was established back then.

Otherwise, the production team could requisition the belongings of commune members at any time, and these were farmers, wouldn't that cause chaos and disorder?!
It would be strange if no one caused trouble.

Seeing that the leaders were somewhat embarrassed, Chen Fan coughed lightly to attract their attention, and then smiled and said, "Actually, there's no need to go to so much trouble. The goods haven't even been brought back yet, so there's no point in discussing this."

If you ask me, the most urgent thing right now is to ask Master Wang and the others for help..."

He paused abruptly, clicked his tongue slightly, looked at Ye Shubao, and said with a hint of helplessness, "Captain Ye, if we can't get Master Wang and the others to build a second boat, what about the wooden boats at the repair shop?"

Upon hearing this, Ye Shubao also looked troubled.

Yes, we should. We can't keep bothering Lao Wang and the others.

But with the carpenters in our team, it's not certain that we can successfully build a ship that's over 20 meters long.

This isn't a small boat that's only two or three meters long, where you can just put together a few planks. The structure of a large boat is much more complex, with different types of wood used for the bottom, keel, and other parts. Just hearing about it makes your head spin.

Don't you want it?
But I'm not willing to give up.

A 45-horsepower diesel engine can power the new ship under construction, and another set of propulsion systems awaiting repair can be used on another, larger ship once it is fixed.

Even if we don't sell chickens, ducks, and geese, with these two boats, the team's surplus agricultural products can be transported to the prefectural committee and county town to sell, and we can earn so much more money!
What to do?
After a brief silence, Chen Fan rolled his eyes slightly and said softly, "How about we ask Master Wang to go and take a look first? If it's not suitable, then there's no need for further discussion. That propulsion system can only be used on the new 10-meter ship."

If that half of the ship still has any use,..."

He turned to Secretary Yang and smiled, "Perhaps the team could pay for it and hire an experienced mechanic from the repair shop to modify that boat."

The repair shop used to be a shipyard, but it only built wooden boats. Now, what they want to buy is also a wooden boat.

So, what else is there?!

Upon hearing his words, Secretary Yang, Captain Zhang, Xiao Liewen, Ye Shubao, and others couldn't help but nod repeatedly.

Secretary Yang chuckled softly, "Hehe, that's what repair shops do, how could we forget their original business?!"

Anquan picked up where he left off, saying, "That's called being blind to what's right under your nose. I only remembered that they were ship repairmen, but I forgot that they could also build ships."

Captain Zhang patted the table and grinned, "Then it's settled. We'll ask Lao Wang to inspect the goods first. If it's acceptable, we'll also place an order with the shipping company and ask them to build us a ship."

Chen Fan said, “I think that ship still has about 20 meters left. If it is still usable, it should be able to be converted into a new ship of about the same length. Then we can install the propeller on this ship, install the 45-horsepower diesel engine on the 10-meter ship, and keep the remaining diesel engine as a spare.”

Secretary Yang finally made the decision, "It's settled then."

Seeing that the matter was settled, Chen Fan decisively stood up and said, "Then you two continue talking, I'll take my leave first."

Zhang Wenliang called out to him, "Where are you going?"

Chen Fan rubbed his stomach. "It's almost noon, and there's no lunch provided here. I have to find somewhere to eat!"

Ye Shubao immediately raised his hand and waved, "Slow down about eating. We were just discussing the list of workers for the cooked food workshop. Take a look and give us your opinion."

Chen Fan's lips twitched slightly. "Didn't I say yesterday that a housewife who can cook is good enough?"

Ye Shubao looked somewhat helpless. "Is this the standard in stores too?"

Chen Fan nodded, "That's right, it's just weighing and collecting money. Don't even mention not knowing how to do basic accounting. Although I said that even if your grades aren't that good, you should at least know how to do basic accounting."

He paused for a moment, then suddenly remembered something, "Oh, right, it would be best if she had a good image."

Secretary Yang blinked. "So you want something that looks good?"

Chen Fan said, "That's right. Not only do they have to look good, but they also have to be clean, just like the sales clerks at the commune's supply and marketing cooperative. Look, do more people buy things from Sister Xiaoling or Aunt Liu?"

Yang Xingxiu blushed slightly and spat out in annoyance, "That's called being improper."

Chen Fan's expression remained unchanged as he said righteously, "Just ask me if you want to sell more roast ducks."

Yang Xingxiu fell silent.

Ye Shubao picked up a notebook and a pencil from the table, sketched on the paper, and then handed it to Yang Xingxiu. "Xiuer, look, aren't these people prettier?"

Yang Xingxiu took it, glanced at it from beginning to end, then narrowed her eyes and turned to look at Ye Shubao, "I didn't expect you to be like this, Uncle Ye?!"

Ye Shubao was slightly taken aback. What happened to me?
Chen Fan suppressed a laugh, got up and walked out, "I'm leaving. You guys decide on the people, and I'll teach them how to make cooked food."

Ye Shubao was still somewhat bewildered as he watched Chen Fan leave the room and turn into the courtyard.

Zhang Wenliang leaned closer to him and whispered, "Uncle Ye, you picked out all the best-looking ones right away. Do you usually have them on your mind?"

In an instant, Ye Shubao's face turned bright red. He stood up, grabbed a chair, and was about to smash it when he shouted, "You dare to make fun of me? I'll beat you to death, you little bastard!"

Captain Zhang, who had been laughing happily to the side, couldn't help but darken his face upon hearing this. "Who are you calling a turtle?"

Unfortunately, Ye Shubao ignored him and rushed towards Zhang Wenliang with the chair in his hand.

Zhang Wenliang turned and ran away, saying, "It wasn't me who said that, it was Xingxiu who said you only pick the good-looking ones."

Ye Shubao chased after her relentlessly, "Do you think I'm stupid? When did she say that? You still dare to run? Stop right there..."

……

Hearing the commotion in the front yard, Chen Fan laughed and went up to the second floor of the back yard.

In the broadcasting room, Zhang Cuie was engrossed in doing her homework and was completely unaware of Chen Fan's arrival.

Chen Fan walked over with his hands behind his back, stood quietly to the side for a while, and couldn't help but nod slightly.

After she finished a question, Chen Fan chuckled softly, "Not bad, not bad."

Zhang Cuie was startled, but after a moment, she immediately stood up straight and exclaimed with delight, "Teacher!"

Chen Fan laughed and took out a pen from his pocket, handing it to her. "This is a gift for you. I was too busy yesterday to come see you."

Zhang Cuie quickly accepted the gift with both hands, beaming from ear to ear, "Thank you, teacher."

(End of this chapter)