Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 378 The finishing touch
"Being honest and down-to-earth has always been my guiding principle."

As Chen Fan demonstrated, he taught, "The braised chicken must be made with high-quality ingredients and cannot be taken lightly. The same goes for the dipping sauce; otherwise, you'll ruin the reputation of Lujiawan."

He raised the earthenware pot in his hand and said loudly, "Don't underestimate this dipping sauce. It's the essence of braised dishes. Without the dipping sauce, no matter how delicious the braised dishes are, they can only get 90 points. With the dipping sauce, they can get 99 points. I deducted one point to prevent you from becoming arrogant..."

Chen Fan spent the entire morning in the courtyard, teaching them how to make braised dishes.

Although the more people there are, the weaker the influence of the teaching halo becomes, there is still a hierarchy. In addition, Chen Fan is a master chef, and the method of making braised dishes is not difficult. He explains it in a simple and easy-to-understand way. In just half a day, all thirty female workers learned how to make braised chicken.

With everyone working together, all the braised dishes were ready.

Set the braised chicken aside, and pick out the giblets and arrange them according to their different categories.

After it cooled down a bit, Chen Fan picked up a piece of chicken liver, popped it into his mouth, and nodded slightly. "It's alright."

He then smiled at the leaders standing nearby and said, "Come and have a taste, see how it tastes."

Secretary Yang and his group didn't hesitate and immediately strode forward... then they picked out the small scraps to eat.

Chen Fan's eyelids twitched as he looked at it. "So much stuff, is this really necessary?"

Captain Zhang picked up a tiny bit of meat, popped it into his mouth, and slowly savored it with his eyes half-closed. Hearing Chen Fan's words, he immediately opened his eyes and said, "Mmm, delicious. It would be a waste for us to eat something so delicious."

Secretary Yang ate a small piece of chicken intestine and a bit of chicken liver, clapped his hands and nodded, saying, "We just discussed it, and we can't let these things go to waste. It's almost lunchtime in a little over half an hour, so why don't we take these things to the commune to sell? That'll be some money for us."

Chen Fan was stunned.

Although somewhat speechless, Secretary Yang and his group's choice seemed somewhat reasonable.

Before heading to the county town to find a market, the Lujiawan brigade had less than 100 yuan in cash. These braised chickens and offal in front of them could probably sell for more than 100 yuan. It would be strange if they were willing to eat them themselves.

After a pause, Chen Fan said helplessly, "But the commune stipulates that agricultural products can only be sold at farmers' markets, and these things cannot be sold in vegetable markets. Where can you sell them?"

Captain Zhang chuckled and said, "We've already discussed it. We'll deliver to several key units in the commune. We won't set up a stall; we can deliver directly to their door, right?"

Secretary Yang put his hands on his hips and pointed at Chen Fan and Ye Shubao, "If you can find sales channels in the county, we can't fall behind. If we can't go far, we'll try our luck in the commune."

Xiao Liewen grinned from ear to ear, "If we can sell some, we can set up a cooked food workshop here and open a shop in town to do long-term business."

Chen Fan was momentarily speechless, then forced a smile and gave a thumbs up, "Amazing!"

The leaders' arguments were reasonable and well-founded, and highly feasible, so Chen Fan naturally wouldn't stop them.

He's done all the work he was supposed to do, so let them handle the rest themselves.

He now has another task to do, which is to assemble the small boat with Master Wang and the others.

However, there's another thing I need to do before I go to work.

He hasn't had lunch yet.

……

After Secretary Yang and his group left with 31 braised chickens and offal, the female workers also dispersed. Chen Fan quickly waved to Zhang Wenliang, "Brother Hu, go get two chickens."

Zhang Wenliang was taken aback. "What?"

Chen Fan's eyes widened. "You don't want to eat braised chicken? Grab two from your house, one for you and one for me. I'll give you back one tomorrow."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Wenliang immediately walked outside, saying, "Wait here."

Chen Fan shouted from behind, "I want a rooster! And also, get some potatoes; potatoes can be braised too."

Anquan's eyes lit up immediately. "We can get some edamame. Edamame tastes good when boiled."

Zhang Wenliang made a hand gesture without turning his head and hurriedly ran outside.

Chen Fan looked at the safety officer and asked, "Hey, why didn't you go with them?"

Anquan patted his stomach and sighed, saying, "I did want to go, but Secretary Yang said it was their turn to take the lead this time and he wouldn't let me help."

Chen Fan: "But Captain Ye went too."

Anquan glanced at him and said, "That's because he's not hungry."

As she spoke, she patted her stomach again, "I smelled the aroma of chicken for a long time, but I only ate a piece of chicken liver, and now I'm even hungrier."

What else can Chen Fan do when faced with this kind of person?

All I could do was wave my hand and say, "Then you go cook."

Safety clapped his hands and said, "I'm good at this, leave it to me."

A moment later, Zhang Wenliang came over, holding a chicken in one hand and a basket in the other, his face beaming, and said, "I happened to have a soft-shelled turtle with me, so I brought it over as well."

He then put the basket on the ground and said, "Here are the potatoes and edamame you wanted. I also brought some cucumbers and tomatoes. We can make a good meal."

Chen Fan looked at the half-basket of potatoes and asked, "Why are there so many?"

Zhang Wenliang laughed and said, "This stuff isn't worth much, so let's make a lot. I'll take the leftovers home and let my family try them too."

Chen Fan chuckled and waved at him, "Go to the backyard and call your sister over to help tidy up."

As a result, Zhang Wenliang stood in front of the moon gate between the middle and back courtyards and shouted into the courtyard, "Xiao'e, your master is calling you."

Zhang Cuie's voice came immediately, "Coming!"

When it comes to cooking, safety is slightly better; Zhang Wenliang is the kind of person you shouldn't have any expectations of. So, it was Chen Fan and Zhang Cuie who took the lead.

Since they had already started, Chen Fan took the opportunity to teach her how to cook braised dishes. The two of them worked together and all the dishes were ready in less than an hour.

To prevent the flavors from mixing, they were stewed separately in a small pot, but when they were taken out, they were laid out on the whole table.

Anquan pulled a bottle of Yunhu Daqu liquor from the cupboard and chuckled, "Old Yang won't let us eat chicken, so we'll just eat it ourselves. This bottle of liquor is one I brought over last time, and we haven't finished it yet, so it'll go perfectly with it."

As a result, Chen Fan took out a large earthenware pot and filled it with everything.

Then he put the lid on and chuckled at them, "You guys enjoy your meal, I'm going to find somewhere else to drink."

After saying that, he picked up the earthenware pot and left.

Anquan was somewhat puzzled, "Where is he going?"

Zhang Wenliang glanced at Chen Fan's retreating figure and immediately guessed the answer. He then picked up the wine bottle, poured wine for An Quan, and said with a smile, "Don't ask, just pretend you don't know."

Anquan, who had lived in Lujiawan for several years, only paused for two seconds before realizing what was happening. He immediately raised his head and said "Oh, oh" twice. Then, as if nothing had happened, he picked up his wine bowl, clinked it against Zhang Wenliang's, took a sip, and turned to look at Zhang Cuie, who was holding a large bowl of rice. He said with a smile, "Little Cuie, what did your master teach you?"...

Chen Fan, carrying the earthenware pot and with his head bowed, walked towards Master Lu's house. When the commune members saw him, they didn't greet him as usual, but just smiled and remained silent.

After passing through the narrow alley and walking a short distance, you will arrive at the door of Master Lu's house.

At this moment, Master Lu was eating. He was holding a small wine bowl in his hand, and in front of him was a plate of braised rabbit meat left over from yesterday.

However, there wasn't much rabbit meat left, but there were a few more pieces of potato.

Chen Fan crept in quietly, grinned, and whispered, "Fourth Master, having a drink?"

Master Lu's hand holding the wine bowl trembled slightly. He turned to look at him helplessly, "You used to come every three to five days. Why are you coming so often today?"

I didn't know you had such a good medicinal wine!

Chen Fan muttered to himself, placed the earthenware pot he was carrying on the table, and lifted the lid. A rich aroma of braised meat immediately wafted out.

He chuckled and said, "Didn't you smell the braised chicken just now? Look, this is cooked food that we're going to sell in the county town. The braised chicken is the first dish; there will be braised duck and braised goose later. The government-owned chickens have already been taken to the commune by Secretary Yang and the others to sell. This is my own chicken, which I made separately later. I brought it here especially for you!"

He deliberately emphasized the word "specially".

Master Lu was no ordinary man; he knew exactly what the man was thinking. He chuckled and said, "Oh, I knew you were a filial son. Well, now that the things have been delivered, you can go and do your work."

He then put the lid on the earthenware pot, saying, "I'll save this for dinner."

"No!"

Chen Fan plopped down, removed the lid, and said in a serious tone, "I haven't eaten yet because I brought you food. How about we eat together, and I'll have a drink with you too."

After saying that, he ran to the cabinet, opened the door, and took out a bottle of medicinal wine with shining eyes. He turned around and ran back, saying, "It's rare for you to be in such a good mood, I'll drink with you."

Master Lu was heartbroken. How could you tell I was happy?

Want some?
Have a bottle!

I can't live this day!
……

Chen Fan barely ate any food this time, desperately suppressing his boiling blood and qi, and gulped down the entire bottle of wine.

As he emerged from the alley, he rubbed his stomach, pondering to himself. Counting what he drank yesterday, he figured he couldn't drink for at least two weeks. He needed to digest this first.

Master Lin's secret technique and Fourth Master's medicinal wine are a perfect match!
As for the benefits, only Chen Fan himself knows the truth.

Anyway, if he runs into Lin Yuanxiang again, he's confident he can beat him back... Of course, that won't do, we have to respect our teachers, that's the gist of it.

……

Without going to the brigade headquarters, he went directly to the livestock shed, mounted a mare, and headed towards Team 4.

Once on the riverbank, the mare galloped wildly and reached Team 4 in less than 5 minutes.

That is the place where we encountered a group of children swimming and playing in the water when we were patrolling the river embankment with Captain Yang and the others.

Running down the riverbank, before you even pass through a few large, leafy trees, you see a threshing ground with dozens of logs of varying lengths.

Some are long, some are short, some are thick, some are thin, some are wide, some are narrow...

As a Level 4 builder, Chen Fan possessed various construction skills, including bricklaying and carpentry, and could tell at a glance that this was a part of a ship.

The longest piece is the keel, and the square planks of varying lengths are the planks... These pieces of wood form the "flesh and bones" of the wooden boat, and when assembled, they make up a wooden boat.

The sound of the mare's hooves had already startled the busy workers. Mr. Wang, who was working on a long piece of timber, frowned slightly and turned to look in the direction of the sound.

Before he could get angry, a smile had already spread across his face. He immediately threw down the plane in his hand, clapped his hands, and went to greet him, "Teacher Chen, what brings you here today?"

Then he turned around and yelled, "Why are you stopping? Hurry up!"

As soon as they reached the edge of the threshing ground, Chen Fan dismounted, threw off the reins, took out a cigarette, offered one to Master Wang, and then said with a smile, "Isn't it true that the wooden boat won't be launched for another month or two? The delivery to the prefectural committee can't be delayed, so Secretary Yang..."

Before he could finish speaking, Master Wang suddenly slapped his forehead, "I remember now, I remember now."

He chuckled at Chen Fan and said, "You're going to tie the small boats together and deliver goods to the prefectural and county governments, right? Secretary Yang mentioned this to me yesterday, but I couldn't recall it at the moment."

After saying that, Master Wang turned around without looking at anyone in particular, and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Bring out all the small boats that we prepared yesterday."

As soon as he finished speaking, half of the dozens of workers on the threshing floor immediately split up and ran towards one place.

When they returned, they all came out pushing and pulling carts.

On the cart was a small boat, three or four meters long. The boat was placed on the cart, pulled by one person in front and pushed by four people behind.

One vehicle after another was pulled past Chen Fan and then pushed onto the riverbank.

Master Wang lit a cigarette, exhaled a puff of smoke, pointed to the embankment, and said with a smile, "Teacher Chen, let's go up."

Chen Fan realized what was happening, smiled, and nodded, "Okay."

Walking side by side with Master Wang, they soon reached the riverbank. At this point, all six small boats had been moved to the ground and placed there, while the carpenters stood aside, waiting for Master Wang's instructions.

Master Wang looked at Chen Fan and smiled, "Teacher Chen, Secretary Yang specifically said yesterday that he wanted to hear your opinion. What do you think we should do about this?"

Chen Fan quickly smiled and said, "No, I've also heard Secretary Yang mention that you were a master craftsman who worked in the shipyard back in the day. We should definitely listen to you on this kind of thing."

Master Wang immediately chuckled and said, "That's an old almanac from many years ago."

After he finished speaking, he frowned, stared at the small boats, took a few puffs of his cigarette, and then looked at Chen Fan. “Teacher Chen, do you think this will work? Two boats side by side, three rows straight, with the diesel engine and outboard motor installed between the last two boats.”

This is equivalent to piecing together six small boats into one large boat, 10 meters long and less than two meters wide, and then securing it with nails and wooden planks. As long as it doesn't encounter a strong wind or heavy rain, there's basically no need to worry about it falling apart. Moreover, this size of boat is easier to maneuver.

Chen Fan immediately nodded and said, "You think the same way I do."

It's as if he wasn't the one who suggested lining up three boats side by side or in two rows.

He paused for a moment, then said with a hint of hesitation, "You're an expert, I don't know if this will work."

He gestured and said, "It's about adding a small triangular sail to the ship. Although it will affect the cargo capacity, it can increase the ship's speed a bit. What do you think?"

A smile appeared in Master Wang's eyes, but he clapped his hands with delight, exclaiming, "As expected of Teacher Chen, you've done the finishing touch!"

(End of this chapter)