Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 389 Picking Cotton

Back in Lujiawan, putting aside his busy work for the time being, Chen Fan returned to a state of retirement.

I get up at 6 a.m., practice a set of Tai Chi, and after finishing, Yang Ju and the others have already prepared breakfast. After washing up, I can eat breakfast.

Then the girls go to work, but one person is left to busy herself in the backyard, tending to the livestock, tending the vegetable garden, cleaning, and also cleaning the new house and feeding the pandas on the earthen slope behind.

After finishing all that, it's time to start preparing lunch.

As for Chen Fan, if he has nothing else to do, he usually reads and drinks tea in the study on the second floor of the new house, listens to music and the radio in the living room on the first floor, cuddles pandas in the panda enclosure, or rides a mare with a hunting rifle on his back, leading a yellow dog on the left and a falcon on the right, riding alone across the plains.

Occasionally, they'll bring back one or two small animals; otherwise, they just let them out for a stroll.

After lunch, he would take a nap, and then ride his horse to the brigade headquarters to check on Zhang Cuie's learning progress, visit the study class, and offer some guidance.

While we're at it, let's take a look at the training situation at the cooked food workshops.

With the previous trainees already in place, Chen Fan no longer needs to personally lead the new round of training for the new branch of the prefectural committee. The eight people who remained in the team are enough to serve as training instructors; it's a tradition to have experienced trainers mentor new ones.

He would at most observe from the sidelines and offer guidance and corrections for anything he didn't understand.

The ten stores of the prefectural committee are still under construction and decoration, but they have already started to open for business, so they naturally need to speed up the manpower allocation.

Secretary Yang was a ruthless man. He arranged for a team to live on each construction site. All the decoration materials were prepared in the team and then transported from there by boat, and then hauled to the appropriate locations by handcart.

Although the current Yunhu urban area is not half the size it will be decades later, it is still quite large. The distance between each shop is about ten kilometers, and the construction team members managed to haul all the materials to the site using handcarts.

Chen Fan knew that although he had the manpower, he couldn't endure the hardship, so he could only offer encouragement and support.

I also gave Secretary Yang a suggestion.

Dragging bricks on a handcart on the roads of Yunhu City would attract a lot of attention.

Such a great opportunity, shouldn't we do some advertising?
For example, the members of the construction team could be dressed in clothes printed with "Luwan Cooked Food Shop," and a banner could be hung on the cart that read "Luwan Cooked Food Shop."

This had a remarkable effect; almost half of the people in Yunhu city knew about the "Luwan Delicatessen," as for what it sold.

Go to the waiting rooms at the three bus stations or ferry terminals and you'll see!
The stores are not ready yet, but several hospitals and a university cafeteria have already started serving cooked food.

Alternatively, you can buy them at the waiting rooms of the three passenger stations and passenger terminals. There are no stores there, but there are stalls selling the same things. Some individual stores even have higher sales than the main store at Gufeng County Wharf.

A large warehouse below the passenger terminal has been converted into a kitchen. Currently, all the cooked food for the prefectural committee stores is made here. Once the stores at the passenger station are built, a portion of the kitchen will be separated, forming a layout of 4 kitchens and 10 stores, which will be much more convenient at that time.

However, some people took advantage of the frequent transport ships traveling to and from the local party committee to "use public office for private gain".

Since Chen Fan bought a sewing machine and a bicycle from the prefectural committee's secondhand store in May, many people in the team have been eyeing the items in the store.

Rural people prioritize affordability and don't care whether goods are new or used; cheap and easy to use is considered good quality.

After Captain Yang of Team 6 learned to ride a bicycle, he would polish the bike that Chen Fan had bought for him until it shone, and then ride it from Team 6 to Team 12, and then from Team 1 to Team 5, practically becoming a volunteer messenger.

This kind of behavior naturally attracted a lot of attention.

Fortunately, despite their envy, no one secretly attacked him. They just smiled on the surface but cursed him as a show-off in their hearts.

Two days ago, the brigade settled the first payment for the chickens, ducks and geese purchased by the commune members. In addition, the wooden boat had been making several trips to and from the prefectural committee every day in the past few days, and everyone began to have their own ideas.

The ship was fully loaded on the way there, but returned empty!
Nobody used to go to the prefectural committee to buy secondhand goods because it was too far and inconvenient. Now, isn't this the opportunity?!
When the boat transported bricks, people were needed to carry them. Many people volunteered to carry the bricks for free. After they finished carrying the bricks, they would take a bus to a secondhand store to buy good things and then bring them back on the empty boat. It was convenient for both public and private purposes!
So when Chen Fan rode his horse through the team, he would occasionally encounter one or two people riding bicycles past him.

Good morning, Teacher Chen.

Good afternoon, Teacher Chen.

"Good afternoon, Teacher Chen."

Good evening...

In short, it's a bit hard to explain.

……

Ten days or so have passed, and it is now September 14th.

Chen Fan woke up from his nap at noon, washed his face, greeted Jiang Lili who was reading, and then rode his horse slowly toward the brigade headquarters.

Before he had gone far, the sound of a bicycle bell rang out behind him.

Looking back, Captain Yang quickly caught up on his bicycle.

Once he was level with Chen Fan, he squeezed the brakes and laughed loudly, "Going to the brigade headquarters again?"

Chen Fan's eye twitched slightly. "Ah."

I'm always showing off my bicycle, aren't I tired of it yet?

Besides, he's only slightly taller than a horse while riding a bicycle. Doesn't he get tired talking to me like that?
He then asked, "Are you going to the brigade headquarters too?"

Captain Yang nodded. "Yes, we'll start picking cotton in the next couple of days. We'll have a meeting at the brigade headquarters to discuss the procedures."

At this time, cotton in the Jiangnan region was mainly medium-staple cotton, unlike later when many places switched to long-staple cotton. When the cotton bolls of medium-staple cotton ripen in autumn, after a few days of exposure to the strong sun, the cotton husks will completely crack open, and the cotton inside will swell up, resembling flowers.

Only then will the villagers go to pick the fruit.

This fully mature cotton is very easy to pick. When picking it, you can tie a cloth bag to your body and easily grab a handful with your fingers.

Because the cotton stalks were relatively short these days, picking them required bending over constantly, just like picking up other things, so picking cotton was called picking cotton.

(Picking cotton)

Chen Fan glanced at the dry fields on the slope, then turned back and asked, "Is our cotton production task heavy?"

Captain Yang shook his head and laughed, "It's not heavy. Compared to rice, cotton and rapeseed oil are just icing on the cake. However, there are still some tasks, and we've even been given a deposit. We just need to plant according to the task amount, and after the harvest, we can go to the cotton purchasing station to hand in the task and collect the remaining money."

Chen Fan asked curiously, "What about the deposit?"

That being said, since the pigs I raise are also part of the purchase task, why wasn't there a deposit?

Captain Yang laughed and said, "Cotton is different from other things. Pork is a product that is sold through wholesale channels. In the past, we also sold wool, tobacco, fresh eggs, herbs, tea, honey, and silk. However, the variety of products here is relatively limited. We tried to sell them for a year but couldn't make them work. In the end, we only had pork left."

Cotton is purchased in advance. Among grains, oils and cotton, cotton is the most important, except for grains and oils. However, the investment in growing cotton is even greater. Since it is not edible, some people are unwilling to grow it.

Therefore, after the higher authorities issued production targets each year, the commune would then break down the targets to each production team. Based on the planned amount of land to be planted, a deposit would be issued upfront. This deposit was mainly used to purchase seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides, and would be deducted from the final amount upon completion of the production target.

Chen Fan nodded in realization, "I see."

Purchase, centralized purchase, dispatched purchase, negotiated purchase, incentive sales, and exchange purchase.

With the addition of the pre-order information he just learned, he now knows about seven different agricultural products and the different policies that apply to different situations.

It's remarkable that Captain Yang and his team remembered everything so clearly, without making a single mistake.

The two talked for a while and soon arrived at the brigade headquarters.

Before Chen Fan could dismount, An Quan pulled up a horse, mounted it, and rode over, saying, "You've come at the right time. I was just about to look for you when the shipping company called. The parts have arrived, and they want you to come and take a look."

Chen Fan immediately pulled on the reins and turned the car around, chuckling, "How many days have we been waiting? Three weeks, right? This part is taking forever to arrive."

With that, he spurred his horse and galloped towards the embankment.

Safety waved goodbye to Captain Yang, then cracked the whip twice and chased after him, saying, "You're running so fast again, wait for me."

After finally catching up, he laughed and said, "What do you think this is, something you can just buy in any store? These kinds of accessories are expensive; it's good if they arrive in three weeks."

The two rode at full speed. Chen Fan told the mare to slow down and wait until it was safe. They arrived at the water transport company's repair shop in less than ten minutes.

Inside the factory, the spare parts for the two thrusters were already prepared.

The water level has receded, so the operation was not carried out on the second floor, but was placed directly on the first floor.

Secretary Tian, ​​Cui Baozhang, and several other leaders of the water transport company stood aside, their eyes fixed on the parts, while Chen Fan assembled them with the help of several experienced workers.

After a period of intense work, the main parts of the thruster were assembled.

Only then did Secretary Tian and the others walk over, staring intently at Chen Fan. "How is it?" Chen Fan looked up and smiled. "Let's test drive it first."

Cui Baozhang and Secretary Tian exchanged a glance, and then Cui Baozhang gestured to a mechanic.

The man nodded slightly, picked up a bucket of diesel fuel, poured it into the engine, and then started the machine.

A few seconds later, a deafening roar rang out, and the huge propeller began to spin.

Upon seeing this, everyone spontaneously raised their hands to applaud.

Secretary Tian clapped his hands and strode forward, his face full of excitement as he grasped Chen Fan's hand. "Teacher Chen is truly extraordinary! Even the engineers from the provincial capital couldn't fix it, but you fixed it as soon as you arrived, saving our unit from a huge loss!"

Chen Fan chuckled and said, "Although we checked it just now and there were no problems, we still need to load it onto the ship for testing to truly understand it."

He paused for a moment, then added, "And I'm not working for nothing; the commune members in Lujiawan are all eagerly awaiting my return."

Secretary Tian immediately threw his head back and laughed heartily, "Don't worry, once your ship is built, we'll install one right there. I guarantee you won't be disappointed!"

He then turned and waved to Cui Baozhang, "Old Cui, load and test the ship."

Cui Baozhang couldn't help but gesture, "Good."

The rest of the work was entirely up to Chen Fan; that was the job of their repair shop.

The support frame was activated, and a boat was towed out of the water, after which the intense installation work began.

However, this kind of work cannot be completed in a short time.

Good news finally came from the shipping company the following evening.

The repaired propeller is working perfectly and there are no problems. The large wooden boat in Lujiawan is now stable!

The news caused an uproar in Lujiawan.

Although the small, assembled boats available nowadays are quite useful, who wouldn't want a real, large boat if given the choice?

Moreover, Lujiawan is now making a fortune every day, and there's no need to worry about not being able to afford diesel. With this big ship, they can deliver more goods to the prefectural committee and earn even more money.

How could we not make them happy with such a great thing!
However, their happiness didn't last long before they had to get busy again.

December 9, morning.

Jiang Lili walked out wearing a long-sleeved coat, a straw hat on her head, and a gray-white cloth bag hanging on her shoulder.

Behind her, Huang Ying, Yang Ju, and Liu Dan were all dressed the same.

Huang Ying glanced around and saw that no one was in the courtyard. She walked to Chen Fan's room, intending to greet him before leaving, but found that no one was in the room either. She couldn't help but wonder, "Where did Teacher Chen go?"

Liu Dan immediately shook her head, "I don't know."

Yang Ju said, "I just saw him go into the room, but now he's gone when I come out."

She turned to look at Jiang Lili, "Lili, do you know?"

Jiang Lili looked blankly at him and shook her head gently. "I don't know. I went into the house with you to make the preparations, and I didn't see where he went."

Just then, Chen Fan came out from the backyard. He was wearing a straw hat, his sleeves were rolled up high, his trousers were rolled up to his knees, and he had a cloth bag hanging on his shoulder.

The four girls stared wide-eyed.

Chen Fan walked up to them and smiled, "Ready? Let's go."

He then walked outside.

After taking a couple of steps and not hearing any noise behind him, he immediately turned around and looked at them. "Hey, why aren't you leaving?"

Huang Ying swallowed hard, seemingly incredulous. "Teacher Chen, what are you going to do?"

Chen Fan grabbed the cloth bag and shook it. "Go pick up some cotton."

Yang Ju gasped, staring intently at him. "Picking cotton? You're going to pick cotton?"

Liu Dan's mouth dropped open. "Uh, do you know how to pick cotton?"

Jiang Lili's face was full of conflict. "Why don't you go and paint instead?"

Chen Fan was speechless for a moment, then put his hands on his hips and said, "What's wrong with me picking cotton? It's just picking cotton! Are you bullying me because I don't know how? If I don't know how, I'll learn!"

The four looked at each other, then at Chen Fan.

Well, Teacher Chen was already swaggering out with an air of nonchalance, as if he didn't recognize anyone.

Jiang Lili quickly followed behind, shouting, "Teacher Chen, you can't roll up your trouser legs, you'll get bitten by bugs or snakes."

Chen Fan decisively rolled down his trouser leg and continued forward.

Yang Ju was not to be outdone, saying, "You can't roll up your sleeves either, the cotton husk is very hard and there are cotton stalks, which will scratch your arms."

She really wanted to say, "Your skin is so delicate, you're bound to get scratched."

Then they saw Chen Fan pull down his sleeves and then take out a pair of gloves from his pocket and put them on.

Liu Dan, being the most straightforward, immediately shouted upon seeing his posture, "You can't wear gloves, otherwise it won't be easy to clean them properly, and that would be a waste."

Chen Fan took off his gloves and put them in his pocket.

Huang Ying's eyes darted around, and she quickly ran forward, "Teacher Chen, let me teach you..."

Chen Fan: "Picking cotton is something you can do with your hands, do you really need to be taught?"

……

Two hours later, Chen Fan sat on the edge of the field, took a sip of water, and said to Yang Ju earnestly, "Xiao Ju, your dream is to study machinery. Look how tiring it is to pick cotton. In the future, you must develop our own cotton-picking machine. When that time comes, we won't have to pick cotton one by one by hand like we do today. It's so tiring!"

Yang Ju chuckled dryly twice, "I'm afraid I won't be able to."

Chen Fan's expression turned extremely serious. "If you don't know how, then learn. Start with the mechanical principles, and we will definitely be able to develop our own cotton harvester."

Huang Ying's eyes were full of curiosity. "Teacher Chen, you keep talking about our own cotton-picking machines. Have other countries already developed machines that can pick cotton?"

Chen Fan nodded. "Not only do they have cotton harvesters, but the United States invented the world's first cotton harvester as early as 1884. At the beginning of this century, they began to promote the use of cotton harvesters."

Our country also imported a lot of cotton harvesters starting in the 60s, but they were mainly used in plains areas; they were relatively rare in places like ours.

Jiang Lili couldn't help but be curious, staring intently at him, and asked softly, "Is the gap between us and other countries really that big?"

Chen Fan said with a smile, "It's big in some ways, but small in others."

Jiang Lili's eyes were full of confusion. What did that mean?

Chen Fan explained, "From a scientific and technological perspective, there is indeed a certain gap between us and the world's developed countries. However, this gap is not insurmountable, because we have the world's largest population and can nurture the most talent..."

Not far away, a group of people watched them chat with longing eyes.

One of them whispered, "Accountant Liu, you can't deduct points for this."

The other person nodded repeatedly, "Old Ba is right. Look at Teacher Chen, she's definitely teaching them skills. She's even teaching them in the fields. It's different from us resting."

Accountant Liu was already conflicted when she heard their words and couldn't help but look up and say, "Which eye of yours saw me deduct their work points?"

He handed over the scorebook, saying, "Look, look, did I deduct a single point from them?"

Some people actually craned their necks to look, and exclaimed, "Oh dear, there really isn't any!"

A person next to him laughed and said, "If you ask me, Teacher Chen doesn't even need to go to the fields. She can just stay inside and teach them well."

A woman immediately rushed over, grabbed Accountant Liu's sleeve, and said, "Why don't we just let them all go back and keep recording their work points? We can also record one for Teacher Chen. You'll get subsidies and work points at the same time, and he can too."

Accountant Liu was on the verge of tears. "Sister-in-law, we're getting subsidies, but Xiao Chen gets a salary, and double that! How can we compare to him?"

(End of this chapter)