Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 464 Farewell
The door was pushed open, and a gust of cold wind blew in, making everyone more alert and turning to look at the doorway.

Upon recognizing Chen Fan, An Quan immediately stood up and said, "You've come at the perfect time, let's have a drink together."

Lü Yanan simply picked up her wine glass and walked over, waving her other hand, "Ding Qian, quickly get a glass..."

Then he raised his hands again, "Brothers and sisters, Teacher Chen is here, what should we do?"

A dozen or so people shouted in unison, "Pour it down his throat!"

Before he could finish speaking, they burst into laughter.

It was as if the oppressive atmosphere in the room had never existed.

Seeing his opponent's fierce demeanor, Chen Fan quickly raised his hands in fright, "Slow down, slow down! We can drink, but don't force me. What's that saying again?"

Before he could finish speaking, Ding Qian shoved a glass of wine into his hand.

He held up his wine glass, his face full of helplessness, and said, "This wine is good, but don't overindulge!"

Despite his insistence, Anquan approached with a wine glass in hand, saying, "Stop talking nonsense. This is our last meal together, so there's no way I'm letting you off the hook."

He turned around, raised his hand, and shouted, "Everyone, tell me, does he want to drink this glass of wine?"

A dozen or so people shouted in unison, laughing and joking, "Drink, drink, drink..."

Seeing that the atmosphere was right, Chen Fan was immediately filled with heroic spirit. He walked to the table, slammed his hand on it, and shouted, "Alright, drink!"

Seeing how decisive he was, everyone applauded and cheered.

Amid cheers, Chen Fan raised his glass and downed it in one gulp.

The crowd cheered again.

But the next second, Chen Fan leaned against the table and slumped onto the stool, his head pressing against his arm, and started snoring.

Upon seeing this, the room fell silent. After a couple of seconds, Lü Yanan burst out laughing, and the others couldn't help but chuckle as well, and they started toasting each other again.

This time, it was a truly joyous celebration for the student's admission to university.

……

The next day, January 13th, was the fifth day of the twelfth lunar month.

Wearing a thick cotton-padded coat, Anquan sat in the co-pilot's seat of the small yacht, with his bags and suitcases in the cabin behind him. Today was the day he would return to Shanghai.

He gripped the handrail, looked at the flat river surface, and said with emotion, "It's been a month. A month after I finished the exam, I wanted to go back to Shanghai. I waited until I received the admission notice. This month of waiting has finally paid off."

Chen Fan glanced at him, then continued to focus on navigating the boat, chuckling softly, "I originally thought you'd wait until you received your acceptance letter before starting preparations for returning to the city. Resigning right after the exams is indeed a bit risky, huh?"

Anquan looked at him and smiled, "Didn't you say that we both have good grades and a great chance of getting into university? Besides,..."

He turned to look at the river. “Both Keying and I come from working-class families with impeccable credentials. If we hadn’t been unlucky back then and missed the big recruitment drive to return to the city, we wouldn’t have been stuck here all this time. This time we’ve finally managed to take a gamble, so we might as well go back to the city. Even if we don’t pass the exam, with our work experience, we shouldn’t be unable to find a job to make a living.”

It was definitely bad luck.

Two years before he went to the countryside, those who voluntarily applied to be sent to the countryside basically returned to the city within two or three years and could be given priority in job placement.

Although it's not a great job, it solves the problem of returning to the city.

Starting from the year of the large-scale rural resettlement program, whether or not one could return to the city basically depended on two things.

One is "ability," which includes, but is not limited to, various relationships such as one's own family and relatives. If all else fails, as long as the family members are financially secure and have a bit of a knack for networking, they can visit the leaders' homes more often and manage to get the child transferred back.

The other factor is luck.

In fact, if Anquan had not accepted the commune's "transfer" and had instead stayed in Lujiawan, he could have been transferred back in four or five years at most.

He wasn't in Jiang Lili's situation, where he had to adhere to the unspoken rule of "graduating in 7 years." If he had worked for 4 or 5 years, and then applied to higher authorities, the educated youth office would most likely have approved it, and he would have been given priority in job placement after returning to Shanghai.

So sometimes it can only be said that it's a matter of timing and fate.

However, his perseverance paid off. He was admitted to university and returned home as a college student. Moreover, both he and his wife were students at key universities, so their future prospects were undoubtedly limitless.

Anquan shook his head to clear his mind, then smiled at Chen Fan and said, "You know what, after I quit my job, I was actually a little scared. What if I hadn't passed the exam?"
But then again, if the college entrance examination hadn't been reinstated, it wouldn't have been a problem. But now that it has, neither I nor Keying can suppress our desire to return to the city.

The night before we resigned, we didn't sleep a wink, discussing whether we should stay here if we didn't pass the exam.

Chen Fan glanced at him again and said with a smile, "Judging from your actions, you're clearly going all in."

Anquan nodded, his face full of emotion, and turned to look out the window. "Taking the college entrance exam is a do-or-die situation, and so is resigning from my job. Once the thought of returning to the city took hold, it wouldn't go away. I don't want to wait, and neither does Keying."

He exhaled a long breath, and a smile returned to his face. "Thankfully, it's good news in the end."

Chen Fan smiled, "Actually, with your exam scores and backgrounds, there's no problem. Your admission is a sure thing, but..."

He turned to look at the security, "I really admire you guys for making that decision back then."

He gave a thumbs-up as he spoke, "Just for that determination, I have high hopes for you. When you become a leader in the future, you'll have to take good care of your underlings."

Anquan threw his head back and laughed arrogantly, "No problem! If anyone dares to cause you trouble, just mention my name!"

Then his expression hardened, "But next time I ask you to drink, can you at least be more straightforward? You only had one drink and you're already pretending to be drunk. You have no shame at all!"

Chen Fan blinked. "You think I only drank that one cup? By the time I went in, I had already been forced to drink more than half a jin (250ml). If it weren't for the little mare knowing the way yesterday, and the myna bird keeping me awake by its noise overhead, I might have been abandoned halfway there."

Anquan couldn't help but laugh out loud, "Your alcohol tolerance is indeed a bit low, at most you can only handle 8 liang (400ml), you still need to practice."

Chen Fan pursed his lips, "I don't accompany my superiors to social events, so why should I practice my drinking capacity? As long as I have fun, that's all that matters."

But in my heart I was thinking, I wonder if I have the skill to drink alcohol, and whether this thing is related to one's constitution? But my constitution is not bad.

His thoughts raced, and he glanced at the security guard again. "Hey, what happened to you guys yesterday?"

Anquan was about to speak when he heard this and was taken aback. "You still saw it yesterday?"

Chen Fan scoffed, "I'm not blind. The moment I opened the door, it was filled with smoke. Not a single person was talking loudly. If you didn't know better, you'd think it was a funeral.

With a long face, Anquan said, "You're a good person in every way, except you have a big mouth." He paused, sighed softly, and briefly recounted the situation from yesterday. Finally, he said, "That's the situation. All of us educated youth have families to support. Once we go to school, we don't know what the future holds."

He is now extremely grateful that he specifically chose a wife who was a sent-down youth from a nearby hometown; otherwise, he would certainly be one of those people in a dilemma.

After hearing his words, Chen Fan fell silent.

After a long while, he sighed and said, "There's nothing I can do about this."

He looked up and quickened his pace, saying softly, "Even the most upright officials find it hard to settle family disputes. Whether they separate or stay together in the future ultimately depends on themselves."

Those who are willing to help can bring their families along, get a certificate from their workplace or school, and rent a place near the school to stay. Even if they all depend on him for support, based on a minimum living standard of 5 yuan per person, the 19.5 yuan subsidy can barely support 4 people.

Moreover, if adults go along, they can find odd jobs, or get a certificate from the school and a letter of introduction from the neighborhood office to buy small items from the supply and marketing cooperative and sell them at a stall near the school gate, or set up a tea stall. They should be able to earn enough to cover their living expenses!

At this point, Chen Fan turned to look at Anquan and chuckled softly, "Let's see if he can swallow his pride."

If you let your wife or husband set up a stall at the school gate, your classmates will definitely know, and there will definitely be people who laugh at you openly or secretly. If you don't have a thick skin and a strong mentality, you really can't do this kind of thing.

Upon hearing this suggestion, Anquan nodded slightly, "That is indeed a possible solution."

Chen Fan smiled but didn't say anything.

There are solutions, but how many people are willing and dare to do them?

After a few seconds of pause, he continued, "If it's about saving face, or if they have ulterior motives, then there's nothing that can be done. There will only be one outcome: divorce. There will be no other way."

What separates birds of a feather from each other is not only great calamity, but also great wealth and honor.

Imagine a scenario where one person is a promising college graduate living in a big city, while the other is an ordinary commune member working at the grassroots level. How can things possibly turn out well?!
That's impossible.

Anquan frowned and remained silent for a long time.

It wasn't until the small yacht sped out of the Liuhua River and into the Yangtze River that An Quan came to his senses. He turned to Chen Fan and smiled, "Don't tell anyone else this, especially not in front of those educated youth. You might get beaten up."

Chen Fan chuckled, "What are you saying? I'm not stupid."

As she spoke, she deliberately pointed at him, "Let me tell you, I won't acknowledge this if anyone finds out. And as for that suggestion just now, you can tell other people if you want, but don't tell them it was my idea."

Anquan found it strange, "This is a good thing, why can't we say anything?"

Chen Fan chuckled and said, "On the surface it's a good thing, but when they actually do it, and they have to be careful with every penny, or when they're ridiculed, are you sure these people won't curse me behind closed doors?"

Anquan gave a helpless smirk. Human nature has always been fickle; how could he be so sure?

By this time, the small yacht had approached the passenger terminal. He slowed down and steered the small boat toward the boat dock, saying, "Besides, even if they don't curse me and are grateful from the bottom of their hearts, I don't need it."

I helped you get into university, you should acknowledge that favor, right? What favor could be greater than that? That's enough, I don't really care about such a small favor.”

Anquan pursed his lips, then couldn't help but give a thumbs up, "You're awesome."

However, to be honest, this favor was really dispensable to Chen Fan.

As for himself, after thinking it over, he decided to write the suggestion in a letter and send it to Ding Qian and the others.

He wasn't trying to gain favor; he just couldn't bear to do it. Some people might indeed want to take the opportunity to get rid of their spouses, but others genuinely can't bear to part with them. Writing a letter gives them a choice.

Of course, whether or not they listen to this advice is up to them.

And whether it's gratitude or veiled insults, he doesn't care; at worst, they can just part ways amicably.

We're both college students, and he's from a top university, so who's afraid of whom?!

The small yacht gently bumped into the dock, which was wrapped with straw for protection. Chen Fan turned off the boat engine, got up and helped An Quan carry two large packages. He then walked out of the cabin and said, "I said, you didn't bring all your belongings with you, did you?"

With one on his back, one hanging in front of his chest, and another in each hand, Anquan followed Chen Fan in a disheveled manner. "What do you mean by 'all my belongings'? I only have half of it, okay? Ke Ying took the other half with her when she went back last time."

Chen Fan turned around and gave him an admiring look, "You guys are really awesome!"

Anquan's eyes widened. "These are all valuable possessions bought with money. How could they be lost?"

Chen Fan shrugged, jumped ashore without looking back, and tied the cable to the iron stake.

He'd rather spend money to buy new things than bring his bedding and luggage.

That makes sense, though; these days, it's normal for people like Anquan to bring all their belongings on the road.

Buying again, that sounds nice, but who else is like him, earning several thousand yuan a month and hiding dozens of cloth and cotton coupons?
They're simply living in the 1990s as if it were the 1970s!
The passenger terminal's docks are not connected; each dock is separated by a series of iron fences.

To get from the small boat dock to the long-distance passenger ship dock, you first have to climb a long slope to the breakwater, then walk to the passenger terminal waiting room, wait for the passenger ship to arrive, queue up to have your ticket checked and enter the station, then go down another long slope, and finally board the ship with your ticket.

But Chen Fan was too proud to climb the slope, so he waved to the workers on the dock through the iron fence, "Brother Zhao, Brother Xu."

Two people from the crowd immediately came over. One of them unlocked the iron gate and laughed, "Going to take a boat?"

Chen Fan pointed to safety with his other hand, "Send your friend onto the ship."

He said it with a proud look on his face, "I got into Shanghai Jiao Tong University, my home is in Shanghai, I went back to the city to study!"

The smiles on the two employees' faces deepened even further. "Oh my, that's incredible! A graduate of a top university, their future is limitless!"

Anquan had already put down the package he was carrying, took out a cigarette and offered it to everyone, nodding with a smile, "You're too kind, you're too kind. We're all serving the people."

With an insider leading the way, Chen Fan moved in a straight line across the cement dock by the river.

At the same time, he quietly explained to the security guard, "They are all employees of the passenger terminal and are also regular customers of Luwan Delicatessen. They also know that I have a good relationship with Director Lin of their passenger terminal, so I have a good relationship with them as well."

Anquan's lips twitched slightly, and he gave him a thumbs up, "You're still the best."

They arrived at the passenger ship terminal shortly after. Chen Fan asked, "Where are the tickets?"

Anquan immediately put down his luggage, took out a ship ticket from his pocket, and said, "Here it is."

When he saw it clearly, his eyes widened in disbelief. "How come it's second class?"

(End of this chapter)