Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 500 Never seen the world

What is the first reaction of ordinary people when they first come to a big city from the countryside?
Amazed by the skyscrapers?

Amazed by the bustling traffic?
Some people may be, but some may not.

Zhang Wenliang's first reaction was...yue.

Don't get me wrong, it's not that he has a problem with Shanghai, he's just seasick.

Besides him, there were Yang Jiamin, Xiao Huaqiang, and Ye Anguo.

These three were militiamen selected by the brigade headquarters to accompany Chen Fan and Zhang Wenliang to Shanghai to purchase seedlings.

Don't let their short stature fool you; they're all muscular and strong, capable of wielding telephone poles like magic staffs. Like Zhang Wenliang, they're all strapping young men in their mid-twenties who, since their teens, have been carrying guns and assisting the police in suppressing enemy agents; they've all seen blood on their hands.

Even with just that, it's not guaranteed that you'll get the opportunity.

Besides being good at fighting, they are also the team's new veterinarians.

The veterinarians that Chen Fan had painstakingly trained all passed the university entrance exams, so the production team found another group of people to learn from them. Since there were no requirements, each team secretly arranged for several people to learn from them, some older and some younger, but these were the older ones.

From October until now, they have been training for nearly 5 months. Since they are not going to take the veterinary certificate exam, they just need to focus on practical work. Now they can basically take on routine veterinary tasks.

As the saying goes, there are many capable militiamen and qualified veterinarians (currently only in Lujiawan), but militia veterinarians who dare to fight and kill are rare.

This is the main reason why they were able to come along.

Although Chen Fan didn't understand why the village would send these killing machines over just to buy some seedlings when things weren't going to be so difficult a few years from now, he figured it wouldn't do any harm and didn't think much of it.

Unfortunately, even heroes have now become cowards, squatting on the dock with Zhang Wenliang, spitting into the Huangpu River together.

Chen Fan wore a brown sheepskin cap, a royal blue cashmere coat made by Jiang Tiantian and Jiang Lili, and a neatly ironed Zhongshan suit underneath his open coat, along with a pair of shiny black leather shoes.

And at his feet lay an exquisitely crafted rattan suitcase he had made himself, making him look like a noble young man from the Republic of China era... cough cough, he should be a high-ranking official from some prestigious organization, instantly becoming the most dazzling guy on the dock.

Then the four people standing not far away, facing the Huangpu River, were universally disliked.

Chen Fan took out a Zhonghua cigarette with a filter tip from his pocket, tapped it lightly on the pack twice, put it in his mouth, lit it with a silver lighter, and exhaled a puff of smoke.

Hiss... Several people bumped into each other on the dock, causing a commotion.

Chen Fan glanced at the crowd, ignoring several burning gazes, and turned to look at Zhang Wenliang and the others. "Don't stand on the side. You're all still swaying and dizzy. If you fall headfirst into the river, I don't want to go down and fish you out."

Zhang Wenliang took out a handkerchief to wipe his mouth, took two steps back and plopped down on the large black travel bag. He took a couple of breaths, then turned to look at him, "What is dizziness?"

Chen Fan shrugged. "If you get seasick on a boat, you get seasick; if you get seasick on land, you get landsick."

Zhang Wenliang tugged at the water bottle slung over his shoulder, unscrewed the cap, and gulped down two mouthfuls of water, but his head was still foggy. "Won't I get bed sickness tonight?"

Chen Fan nodded. "It's normal to feel dizzy in bed. That's why it takes at least three to five days to get things done. Do you really think you can just come here, buy some things, and rush back? It won't be until your body has recovered in a day or two."

Zhang Wenliang put the kettle down, turned to look at him, and asked, "Then how come you're alright?"

The four people next to him also looked at him with curiosity, each of them wondering to themselves, who among them hadn't been on a boat before? They often rode on the team's transport boat, and they had even rowed their own boats out to fish in the river before without getting seasick.

Why did I get seasick?
Chen Fan shrugged innocently. "Have you forgotten the horse riding stance? Just change your body movement from following the horse to following the ship. When you're one with the ship, you won't get seasick, and you can adjust quickly once you're on land. Those crew members are used to life on the ship, and it just becomes second nature. Whether they're getting on or off the ship, nothing happens to them."

Zhang Wenliang stared in disbelief, "...Why didn't you say so sooner?"

It's just a horse stance, like anyone can't do it.

After taking the last drag of his cigarette, Chen Fan flicked the butt into the Huangpu River and said quietly, "I thought you understood."

Zhang Wenliang said with a long face: "Damn it, all that kung fu training was for nothing."

Chen Fan picked up his suitcase and looked at the sky. "It's late. If you can still move, get off the train as soon as possible. Old An might have been waiting outside for a long time."

After saying that, he walked out.

Zhang Wenliang and the others immediately grabbed their bags and followed.

They disembarked late to begin with, and then lingered at the dock for a while. By then, there were no other passengers, so they were able to leave the dock smoothly.

Unlike the Yangtze River wharves with their long steps, the Shiliupu Wharf on the Huangpu River is right next to the water. Ships can enter and exit by simply berthing on the pier, and after passing through the wharf waiting room, they can reach the road.

Yes, this is the famous Bund.

In addition, Shiliupu Wharf is not just one wharf, but actually a long series of wharves.

The name "Shiliupu" originated during the Xianfeng and Tongzhi periods of the Qing Dynasty. At that time, in order to resist the Taiping Army's attacks, local officials organized the businesses inside and outside the city of Shanghai, intending to establish a joint defense force. They divided the entire city of Shanghai into 27 "pu" according to their territories, from the first pu to the 27th pu. However, they only divided it up to the sixteenth pu, and this last one is called Shiliupu.

Later, in 1909, when Shanghai implemented local self-government, these shops were all abolished.

Only "Shiliupu" (十六铺) has been preserved in the minds of Shanghainese because of these wharves.

Therefore, Shiliupu Wharf is not just one wharf, but a collective term for all wharves in the Shiliupu area.

These include local short-distance passenger terminals, Yangtze River long-distance passenger terminals, sea passenger terminals, bulk cargo terminals, fresh produce terminals, and so on, all concentrated along a short stretch of the Huangpu River.

The Shiliupu Wharf that is often mentioned mostly refers to the short-distance passenger wharf and the Yangtze River passenger wharf, which was also the busiest passenger wharf on the Huangpu River at that time.

Walking to the side of the road, Chen Fan looked around.

There should be relatively few people rushing to catch the boat at this time. The entrance to the dock is sparsely populated, but there is a long queue not far from the exit. I wonder what they are doing there.

Surely they weren't buying tickets?

Zhang Wenliang walked up to him, turned around and looked around, "Where's Lao An? You said he'd been waiting for a long time, but there's no sign of him."

Chen Fan looked around and suddenly pointed to the side, "Hey, isn't that it?"

The others looked in the direction he was looking and saw a tricycle with Anquan's shirt open, pedaling hard with his hat hanging off the handlebars.

He rode up to them and quickly saw Chen Fan and the others. He immediately perked up, rode over on his tricycle, and even straightened up to wave and greet them, "Am I late?"

He glanced at his watch and said, "I'm a few minutes late. There's nothing I can do. There are just too many people in this area; I can't ride fast at all."

It then came to a stop with a creak in front of them.

Without even saying hello, Zhang Wenliang circled the tricycle once, clicking his tongue and saying, "You didn't come to pick us up in this piece of junk, did you?"

Anquan rolled his eyes. "What do you think? I borrowed this from the old man who collects scraps at the street corner."

He pointed around and said, "Just in time to pick up you bunch of losers."

"No."

Zhang Wenliang became anxious, "This tricycle is so small, there's no room for all of us to sit in it."

"What are you dreaming about? This is just pulling the luggage; the rest of you are walking behind."

Anquan suddenly jumped off the bike, waved at him, and said, "You ride it."

Zhang Wenliang said with a sullen face, "Didn't you always brag about how many taxis there are in Shanghai? Can't you just call two taxis?"

Anquan pursed her lips, looking at him with displeasure. "Why are you so picky? Where did your frugality and simplicity go? Don't you have any of the qualities of a revolutionary son or daughter?"

Chen Fan grinned and laughed, took out a cigarette, handed it to him, lit it for him, and asked with a smile, "Is your place far away?"

Anquan was smoking a cigarette, just about to say a few words of praise, when he heard this and was stunned. He turned his head and looked at the long queue. "Didn't you apply for a guesthouse?"

Applying for a guesthouse?

Five country bumpkins who had never traveled far from home stared at him, their eyes filled with utter naiveté.

Although Anquan enjoyed seeing their naivety, now was not the time to tease them. He slapped his forehead, pointed at the line, and said, "Get in line, I'll explain everything to you slowly."

Before he finished speaking, Ye Anguo quickly ran over.

Well, it seems like no new people are joining now, so it doesn't matter whether they join or not.

Anquan accompanied them that way, saying, "When out-of-towners come to big cities and want to stay in a guesthouse, the first thing they should do is apply for a guesthouse at the guesthouse allocation office."

Chen Fan was puzzled. "Aren't you supposed to find a guesthouse yourself?"

Anquan glanced at him and said, "I've found that your Xiao Jiang is right. You're a genius in academics, but a country bumpkin in life. You don't know anything."

Zhang Wenliang said quietly from the side, "Please don't expand the scope of the attack, thank you."

Anquan turned around and said, "Don't flatter yourself. You're just a country bumpkin, not worthy of being called a genius in academics."

Zhang Wenliang: I shouldn't have spoken.

Anquan continued, "Think about it, if everyone is allowed to find their own guesthouses, won't they all just look for the nicer ones? After all, it's reimbursable, so why not stay in a better place? But then, who will stay in the less comfortable ones?"

Chen Fan silently took out a cigarette, lit it, stopped beside the group, and said softly, "Then why don't we just make sure the conditions are better?"

Anquan immediately exhaled a puff of smoke, almost choking on it.

He coughed several times before saying irritably, "I was thinking the same thing, but is it even possible?"

Chen Fan smoked a cigarette and looked at the small window. Only then did he notice a line of small characters on the window: "Guesthouse Assignment Office".

Who the hell can see this? This is ridiculous.

Anquan flicked off his cigarette ash and continued, "In short, all long-distance transportation hubs, including train, bus, and water transport, have guesthouses." Chen Fan asked curiously, "What about airports? Do they have them too?"

Safety almost choked again, "I've never been on a plane, how would I know this?"

Chen Fan said "Oh," and calmly raised his hand to indicate, "You can continue."

He was wondering to himself, how could he have forgotten about the plane?

Now I'm a proper division-level official, qualified to buy plane tickets. I'll fly to the capital soon. I heard they even give out Moutai on the plane now. It would be quite interesting to get drunk and travel thousands of miles there.

Anquan rolled his eyes and continued, "Anyway, all the guesthouse rooms in the city will be allocated to arriving travelers through these allocation offices. Travelers can only stay at the guesthouses designated by the allocation office. When guesthouses receive travelers from other places, they only look at the letter of introduction given by the allocation office. No other documents are acceptable."

He took a drag of his cigarette and shrugged at Chen Fan. "If you're lucky, you might be assigned to a hotel catering to foreigners. Those hotels are very nice, with bathrooms in the rooms. If you're unlucky, you might be assigned to a public bathhouse."

Chen Fan was surprised again, "Shanghai has bathhouses too?"

Isn't that exclusive to the North?

Anquan loved seeing his ignorant look and chuckled, "How novel! Why can't Shanghai have bathhouses? Wuxi isn't that far from here, and they've been having meat-filled water in the morning and water-filled meat in the evening for hundreds of years!"

(Shanghai Huzhong Bathhouse in the 70s)

Chen Fan couldn't help but marvel, "I thought Southerners were ashamed to be honest with each other, but it turns out that's not the case."

Anquan naturally understood what he meant and smiled proudly, "Shanghai is a place where the north and south meet and the east and west blend together. As long as it's a good thing, we're willing to give it a try."

Let me tell you, Shanghai's bathhouses aren't a recent phenomenon. As early as 100 years ago, the scholar Ge Yuanxu recorded in his "Miscellaneous Notes on a Trip to Shanghai": "Among the bathhouses in the concessions, Changyuan Garden in Pentang Lane and Yiyuan Garden on Zilai Street were the best, followed by Jiuxing Garden. The official seats were lavishly furnished, with tables and chairs made of mahogany inlaid with lake stones. Nearby, there are also the Yiyuan Garden and the Chun Garden, with their secluded rooms and winding corridors, which are elegant and pleasant..."

This shows that Shanghai's bathhouses were already quite high-end more than a hundred years ago. If there were high-end bathhouses, wouldn't there have been plenty of mid- to low-end bathhouses as well?

He suddenly snapped his fingers and chuckled in a low voice, "If I could get a room in a high-end bathhouse, that would be a steal! Bathhouses cost less money, only a few cents a night, but the environment is quite nice, and I can even spend a few more cents to take a bath before bed. Don't you think that's a great deal?!"

(A bath at Hujiang Bathhouse costs 35 cents)

Chen Fan clicked his tongue, watching Ye Anguo getting closer and closer to the window, and muttered, "Then I'd rather go to the foreign-related hotel. It's more expensive, but it's more convenient."

Anquan clicked his tongue, looking rather disheartened. "I almost forgot, you're a nouveau riche, you're wealthy."

He turned his head and inadvertently glanced at Zhang Wenliang and the others, who were all nodding, their faces full of agreement. He was slightly taken aback, hesitated for a couple of seconds, and then asked in a low voice, "How much will you get in dividends this year?"

Zhang Wenliang coughed lightly, a subtle yet radiant smile spreading across his face.

Before he could speak, Xiao Huaqiang interrupted, "Our team 5 did poorly this year, only 5 cents a work point. Team 6 did better, with one work point worth more than 6 cents. The highest is still the brigade headquarters, where one work point is worth 3 yuan."

His eyes were filled with envy and jealousy as he looked at Chen Fan. "Teacher Chen took more than 20,000 yuan by himself, which is much more than the secretary and the team leader. He made a fortune!"

Anquan's vision blurred, and he almost lost his balance. He grabbed the man's arm and asked, "How much?"

Chen Fan flicked his cigarette ash and said calmly, "It's just over 20,000. Why are you making such a fuss, like you've never seen anything like it before?"

Anquan blinked rapidly and pinched his eye hard. "It doesn't hurt. It really was a dream."

Xiao Huaqiang looked at him innocently, "Why don't you pinch yourself instead?"

Anquan abruptly withdrew her hand, staring at him blankly. "Really?"

Before Xiao Huaqiang could speak, Zhang Wenliang suddenly put his bag on the ground, took out an envelope from inside, then closed the bag, stood up and handed the envelope to Anquan, saying, "Here, your share of the profits."

Anquan exclaimed "Huh?" and looked at him in confusion, "I get a share of the profits?"

Zhang Wenliang nodded, and seeing that he didn't take it, he stuffed it directly into his hand and said with a smile, "You were busy with the brigade headquarters for the last two months. You also resigned at that time, so the brigade headquarters leaders held a meeting and unanimously agreed to give you work points."

Looking at the envelope in his hand, Anquan felt a little embarrassed and wanted to decline.

At this moment, Chen Fan said softly, "Two months is 60 workdays, 600 work points, and one work point is worth 3 yuan, so this is 1800 yuan."

The feeling of being electrocuted made me pull my hand back immediately, quickly stuff the money into the inside pocket of my cotton coat, and wrap the coat tightly around myself.

After a few seconds of stunned silence, he finally reacted, glaring at Zhang Wenliang and saying, "1800! You're giving it to me right here, aren't you afraid someone will rob you!"

"Rob?"

Yang Jiamin and Xiao Huaqiang simultaneously lifted their cotton-padded coats, revealing pistols at their waists, and looked around, saying, "What kind of petty thief dares to rob us?"

Zhang Wenliang was somewhat surprised, "Are there still people in Shanghai who dare to rob money?"

I've never heard of anyone robbing people on the street in Yunhu.

An Quan looked a little embarrassed. "Ahem, originally there wasn't one, but recently there have been a lot of people returning to the city. When there are a lot of people, things get chaotic, so I was just saying to be on the safe side. Yes, just on the safe side."

"Oh."

Zhang Wenliang nodded and smiled, "Don't worry, there's no chance of anything going wrong. Even if the few of us can't handle it, you know Xiao Chen's abilities. Give him a stone, and he can take your life!"

Safety spat twice, "Pah, pah, pah, what would I do with human lives? I'm saying safety comes first."

Zhang Wenliang nodded mindlessly, "Yes, yes, you're number one, you're number one."

Ignoring his teasing, Anquan remarked with emotion, "I shouldn't have taken this money in the first place..."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Wenliang interrupted him, "What do you mean 'shouldn't'? It should be, absolutely should be! How much did you do in Lujiawan last year? If it weren't for your all-out help, running around to several units in the commune to get the paperwork done, and even going with Captain Ye to find other brigades to get seedlings on credit, would our breeding farm have been able to get off so smoothly?"

Chen Fan patted him on the shoulder, took a cigarette and put it in his mouth. "Take it without worry. It's just that you were a government cadre back then, so it wasn't appropriate to calculate your work points. Otherwise, like Dr. Zhang, you would have received both salary and work points, and no one would have said anything."

Looking at the two of them, Anquan felt relieved and chuckled, "Looks like I should have quit my job sooner, otherwise I could have bought a big house by now."

900 a month, that's over 10,000 a year!
This huge sum of money could buy a house with a living room and a room, plus a set of fine furniture, and still have more than enough to spare.

"Buy a house?"

Zhang Wenliang looked at him with some curiosity, "Are you going to buy a house?"

Anquan smiled and was about to speak when his eyes suddenly reddened, and he quickly took a deep breath.

Upon seeing this, Chen Fan took out a pack of cigarettes, waved them around, and finally handed one to him.

Using the unfinished cigarette butt as a starting point, I lit the cigarette, exhaled a puff of smoke, and finally calmed myself down.

He patted the thick envelope on his chest and said with a smile, "Don't laugh at me, my parents' house is not big to begin with, only two small rooms, which together are just 40 square meters. After I went to the countryside, my brother got married in less than two years and now he still lives with my parents. The four of them, plus my parents, live in the small house and there is no room to move. When I came back, there was not even a place to sit. I could only sleep on the floor every day."

At this point, he exhaled a long breath, looked at the streetlights that had just been turned on, and took a drag of his cigarette. "Because of this, Keying hasn't come over yet. She hasn't met my parents, so I was thinking, could I use the money to find someone to exchange a room for her, so she could have a home?"

Chen Fan nodded slightly and said, "Your idea is right. After the college entrance examination, more and more educated youth will return to the city, and the housing in the city will become more and more scarce, and the price will definitely become higher and higher. If you can buy a house as soon as possible, do it as soon as possible to avoid more and more trouble later."

Upon hearing this, Anquan's eyes lit up. "You think so too?"

Despite his constant joking, after a year of getting to know each other, especially after the college entrance exam incident, he, like the people of Lujiawan, had a blind trust in Chen Fan.

Hearing his opinion, which was exactly the same as his own, suddenly gave him confidence.

Chen Fan smiled and said, "However, private individuals are not allowed to buy houses now. If you want to buy one, you can only do so through acquaintances. Do you have any connections in this area?"

Anquan chuckled twice and said, "Buying a house is not allowed, but people are always changing houses. They go from big houses to small houses, from new houses to old houses, and from the city center to the suburbs. It has almost never stopped."

The housing management office under the subdistrict office has set up a special "housing exchange applicant" program to address the housing needs of residents. My parents work at the subdistrict office, so they have access to a lot of information and finding a place shouldn't be a problem.

He paused, took a drag of his cigarette, and continued, "But finding a good place to live is difficult; good places are expensive."

He smiled at Zhang Wenliang, "I lived in Nanhu for 10 years, and after deducting all expenses, I only saved a little over 600 yuan. Ke Ying saved a little more than me, but only 1000 yuan. Now, a 20-square-meter old apartment in Shanghai costs 1600 yuan..."

Zhang Wenliang's eyes widened immediately. "How much? 1600? 20 square meters?"

He spread his arms to gesture, seemingly trying to figure out how big 20 square meters was, then looked up with a look of amazement, "That's so dark!"

1600 could build a large, single-story house in Lujiawan, a brick and tile house at that, but here you can only exchange it for a 20-square-meter old house? Isn't that a rip-off?

Anquan gave a wry smile. "That's why I'm not willing. Besides, Keying and I are not young anymore. We're thinking it would be best to have a child in the next couple of years. A small room isn't enough."

He let out a long breath, pressed his chest, and laughed, "Now it's all good. With this money, I can get a slightly bigger one."

Chen Fan nodded in agreement, “Don’t worry about the money. Just find a good house, one with a kitchen and bathroom, and settle it all at once to avoid future trouble.”

After saying that, he pointed to Zhang Wenliang and said, "If you need money, just borrow from him. He received more than 10,000 yuan in dividends this year. The two of them together earn more than me."

Zhang Wenliang rolled his eyes. "Thanks for doing me a favor."

Anquan finally returned to normal, grabbed Zhang Wenliang's hand, shook it vigorously twice, and said sincerely, "Comrade Zhang, my happiness for the rest of my life depends entirely on you!"

Zhang Wenliang was speechless.

Just then, Ye Anguo finally received the assigned guesthouse and ran back excitedly, holding up a slip of paper. He said weakly, "It's a bathhouse, what should I do?"

Anquan grabbed the form, slapped his lips lightly, and looked up, leaving everyone looking at each other in surprise.

They actually got assigned to the bathhouse?

Chen Fan shook his handsome cashmere coat and then stomped his leather shoes.

Damn it, if I'd known I was going to stay in a public bathhouse, I wouldn't have changed into that flashy outfit.

(End of this chapter)