Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 508 Convergence
February 26th, the 2th day of the first lunar month, Sunday.

Shilipu Wharf.

Chen Fan stood at the exit, a cigarette dangling from his mouth, his gaze sweeping over the faces of those leaving the station.

A moment later, his eyes suddenly lit up. He threw the cigarette butt on the ground, stomped it out, and raised his right hand to wave.

The two sisters, Jiang Lili and Jiang Tiantian, were struggling to carry their suitcases through the crowd. As soon as they stepped out of the dock, they saw Chen Fan waving, and the two sisters immediately raised their hands and waved back excitedly.

One minute later, the three successfully reunited.

Chen Fan took the two large suitcases and led them forward, smiling as he said, "Welcome to Shanghai, the great port city. I wish you a pleasant four-year study period."

The two grinned and chuckled. Jiang Tiantian laughed and said, "You've only been here a few days, and you've already become a Shanghainese?"

Just as Chen Fan was about to speak, a voice called out from behind, "Comrade Jiang, Comrade Jiang."

He turned his head and looked at the two sisters, whose faces both looked helpless.

Looking further ahead, I saw several boys gathered together, each carrying something on their shoulders or in their hands. They all looked to be in their early twenties and had the air of scholars about them. They were probably college students who had come to register. One of them was the one who was shouting.

Jiang Lili's face was full of disgust. Jiang Tiantian rolled her eyes helplessly, took a deep breath, took her sister's hand, adjusted her expression, turned around and said, "Oh, my brother-in-law is here to pick us up. Goodbye."

After saying that, he grabbed his sister and quickly walked forward.

Chen Fan glanced at the group of people, then at the person who had shouted, and they immediately stopped in their tracks.

After a few seconds of silence, Chen Fan turned and left without saying a word or making any other gesture.

Once they reached the roadside, Chen Fan caught up with the two sisters and asked with a smile, "The suitors you met on the boat?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Lili immediately pouted, "The ship was halfway there. We saw that they were also coming to Shanghai to study, and one of them was even from Fudan University. When they came to find us, we got to know each other briefly."

They swarmed around us like flies, and even though we didn't want to pay them any attention, they wouldn't leave. Especially the one who yelled earlier—he was like a mangy dog, so annoying!

Chen Fan frowned slightly. "Didn't you tell Captain Si?"

Captain Si was the captain of the ship he had safely escorted back to Shanghai. This time, he asked Captain Si to help him buy second-class tickets using his own identity; otherwise, they could only sit in third class at most.

Jiang Tiantian glanced at him and whispered, "I didn't tell Captain Si because I didn't see them making any excessive moves."

Chen Fan responded with an "Oh," which was exactly what he expected.

They had become accustomed to living cautiously in the past few years, so it was normal for them to feel embarrassed to bother Captain Si unless there was something excessive going on.

However, their indifference doesn't mean Chen Fan didn't care.

Although he was known for his open-mindedness and kindness in Lujiawan, and even many people in the prefectural committee knew him, if someone had designs on his woman, he could tolerate it... but could he tolerate it?

He carried his suitcase and walked towards a three-wheeled taxi, casually chuckling, "It's alright, just shoo away the flies. If they bother you again, just let me know and I'll take care of it."

Jiang Lili immediately nodded happily, "Okay."

In her eyes, her man is omnipotent. He can stand in front of anyone and make them feel ashamed and back away. It's that simple.

Oh, and my older sister too.

So she said directly, "That guy was from Fudan University, but not in the same major as me. I hate him the most. He used to cut in line at various places and bragged about spending seven or eight years there. Now that he's gotten into university, he's so smug..."

Then she turned to look at Jiang Tiantian and said, "Sister, if he comes looking for you again, just tell Xiaofan to go find him."

Jiang Tiantian smiled and nodded, though she didn't say anything, she couldn't help but glance at Chen Fan.

Hmm, hopefully there won't be any rat bites this time?
Get on the bus and depart.

Jiang Lili sat in the middle, with Chen Fan on her left and her older sister on her right.

The car was a bit cramped, and being so close to Chen Fan made her heart race.

After a while, she took a deep breath, blushed, turned to look at Chen Fan, and asked in a low voice as if nothing had happened, "Where are we going now?"

Jiang Tiantian then came to her senses and quickly said, "Oh right, my dad said that after we get off the ship, we need to go to the guesthouse's assignment office to get a letter of introduction."

As she spoke, she looked back, and well, by then the car had already driven away from the riverbank, and she had no idea where it was.

Should we turn back?

Chen Fan smiled, casually grabbed Jiang Lili's small hand, and said, "Don't worry, I definitely won't let you sleep on the streets. You'll see in a bit."

With her hand being held, Jiang Lili no longer cared about where she was staying and had already stuck her head out like a quail.

As for Jiang Tiantian, she didn't see the two's little actions, so she just said "Oh" and sat down comfortably, waiting to arrive at their destination.

Twenty minutes later, the tricycle stopped in front of the iron gate, and the three people got off one after another. Chen Fan then carried two large boxes off from the back.

By this time, Jiang Lili had returned to normal. She took her sister's arm, looked around, and then at the iron gate that was clearly not an ordinary door, her face full of confusion. "There's no guesthouse here?"

Chen Fan smiled slightly, raised his chin and pointed to the doorbell button on the iron gate, "Press it."

The two sisters exchanged a glance, both looking hesitant.

After a two-second pause, Jiang Lili hesitantly raised her hand to press the button, while turning to look at Chen Fan and asking softly, "Are you staying at your friend's house? Isn't that inappropriate?"

As she pressed down, a melodious bell sound faintly came from inside.

(Republic of China era copper electric bell)

Chen Fan didn't answer her question, but just smiled at her.

The two sisters exchanged another glance, their hearts filled with growing unease.

However, based on their trust in Chen Fan, neither of them spoke again.

A moment later, a voice came from inside, "Coming, coming."

Jiang Lili's eyes suddenly lit up. She turned to look at Chen Fan and asked in surprise, "Is this Brother An? Is this his house?"

The next second, Anquan opened the iron gate from the inside and overheard Jiang Lili's words. He couldn't help but laugh and say, "It's me, but this isn't my house, it's yours. When the owner comes home, the gate must be opened to welcome them."

Jiang Lili was about to greet him, but upon hearing this, she froze, looking at him with a bewildered expression. "My...my home?"

Jiang Tiantian, however, quickly realized what was happening and turned to look at Chen Fan, "Did you buy this?"

It's not hers, and her sister can't buy a house, so it can only be Chen Fan's house.

His home, isn't that his sister's home?! Chen Fan smiled and nodded, then gestured inside, "Let's go home."

After the three entered, Anquan closed the door and laughed loudly, "We bought the house on the fifteenth of the first lunar month, furnished it with all the furniture on the sixteenth, and added a few more things on the seventeenth, and then Old Chen moved in."

Since I had nowhere else to go, Keying and I ended up staying here as strangers.

He gestured to Jiang Lili and said in a serious tone, "But it's not a free stay. This house has two and a half floors, and with the attic, it's 354 square meters. It took Keying and me two whole days to clean it inside and out. It was so difficult."

After the house was ready to live in, he sent a telegram to his wife, asking her to come over as soon as possible so they could decorate their new home together.

Of course, the couple will have to stay here until they can move into their new home.

Since they had already stayed at Chen Fan's house in Lujiawan before, they were familiar with each other after the first time, so neither of them felt embarrassed.

Chen Fan carried the suitcase into the living room and said with a smile, "It's okay, since your family is moving soon anyway. I'll come and help you and clean the floor for you."

Anquan scoffed, "Forget it, we might not even be in Shanghai by then."

He paused abruptly, then turned to look at Jiang Lili, "Your man owes you favors, and you'll have to repay them. You'll have to go and help him out."

Jiang Lili blushed, but nodded generously, "Okay, just let me know in advance."

Jiang Tiantian smiled and said, "I'll go help out then too."

As soon as she finished speaking, she suddenly felt something was wrong.

Xiao Fan's friend was joking with Lili, why should I get involved? Wouldn't that just make things awkward for myself?

However, no one laughed at her here, and Anquan laughed along with her, saying, "Okay, two for two, that's fair."

Jiang Tiantian didn't dare to speak this time. After smiling, she turned her gaze to the furnishings in the room.

The red door leads to the entryway, where there's a shoe cabinet... uh, I don't think I changed my shoes just now?

The moment the thought crossed her mind, Chen Fan had already brought over two pairs of slippers. "Your feet must be tired. Change into these cotton slippers; they'll be more comfortable."

Jiang Lili immediately pulled her sister to sit down on the sofa.

She stroked the dark green leather with her hand, a hint of amazement in her eyes, "This sofa is so soft and smooth."

Chen Fan smiled, picked up two suitcases and went upstairs, saying with a smile, "I found these in a secondhand store. They're furniture from the Republican era. The leather was all damaged when I found them, so this is a new cover."

As soon as he finished speaking, he disappeared down the stairs.

The security guard stood in the middle of the living room, pointing around and saying, "This is the tea cabinet, and there's a chaise lounge over there with a view outside. Anyway, this is your own home, so please make yourselves at home. I won't entertain you any further."

Then he pointed to the kitchen behind him, "I'll go help Keying, the food will be ready soon."

Before he finished speaking, he disappeared into the living room.

The two sisters looked at each other and could see the joy and amazement in each other's eyes.

Jiang Tiantian took the cotton shoes she had taken off and put them in the shoe cabinet, then looked around the room again.

What catches the eye most is naturally the west wall full of glass windows. She had never seen a house like this before. Almost the entire wall was hollowed out, supported by a sturdy iron frame, and then inlaid with transparent glass. Not only was the light excellent, but the artistic openwork patterns on the iron frame were also very beautiful.

I couldn't help but walk to the chaise lounge by the window and sit down. I reached out and touched it; it was as soft and smooth as the leather of the sofa. Then I turned my head to look out the window and suddenly felt as if I was sitting in the scenery and the scenery was coming from outside the window.

After a moment of stunned silence, she turned back to look at the living room.

In front of a set of dark green sofas is a mahogany coffee table. Against the wall near the door is a set of mahogany cabinets, the upper part of which is a display shelf with several porcelain jars, and the lower part is a closed cabinet.

After circling around, Jiang Lili walked to the tea cabinet, squatted down, opened the cabinet door, took out a few teacups and a kettle, and then turned to her sister with a wide grin.

Jiang Tiantian smiled and went over to pour tea together.

Jiang Lili looked up at the porcelain jars on the display shelf. "Hmm, there's tea and coffee here, as well as malted milk powder, milk powder, and pastries."

Jiang Tiantian glanced at it a few times, then turned to her and said, "Needless to say, everything else except the tea is definitely prepared for you."

Chen Fan loves drinking tea and coffee, but he is indifferent to malted milk powder and milk powder, and even seems to dislike them. However, he has bought quite a few for Jiang Lili. So it is self-evident who these things are for.

Jiang Lili felt as if she had eaten honey, the sweetness spreading through her heart. Yet, she took her sister's arm and said sweetly, "Then you can drink with us when you come over."

Jiang Tiantian affectionately touched her face, then took the tea canister, brewed five cups of tea, and placed them on the round table in the dining room before taking her younger sister to the kitchen to greet An Quan and Yu Keying.

Yu Keying was busy in the kitchen when she saw the two of them come over. Her face was full of enthusiasm. "Hello, Lili, it's nice to see you again. You must be hungry. There are some snacks in the tea cabinet. Go and have something to eat first. I'll be done in about twenty minutes."

Jiang Lili had lived with Chen Fan at his home in Lujiawan for a while and they had a fairly good relationship. So she went over to him and said, "Sister Ying, let me help you."

"no, I'm fine."

Yu Keying pushed her out, saying, "You must be very tired after you just got off the ship. Go and rest for a while."

While washing the vegetables, Anquan said, "We don't need you today. Let's wait until tomorrow. Tomorrow we're going to look at the house renovation, so we won't have time to cook."

His house was immediately renovated by a renovation team from the neighborhood committee. Building and decorating a house in those days was far less complicated than in later generations. There were fewer processes and the materials were simpler. As long as there were enough workers, the renovation could be completed in ten days to half a month.

Construction began on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, and less than a week later, the overall framework is already in place. The next step is to enter the construction phase. During this time, he will need to go to the site to oversee the work, otherwise, if it is not done well, it will need to be reworked.

Jiang Lili was about to speak when Chen Fan's voice came, "Lili, Tiantian, the luggage is in your room. There's a bathroom and hot water upstairs. Go wash up and change your clothes first, then come down for dinner later."

Chen Fan walked down the stairs, circled around the living room, and exclaimed, "Huh, where is everyone?"

Then I saw the two sisters running from the hallway leading to the kitchen. "Hey, you went to the kitchen?"

Jiang Lili walked up to him, looked up and smiled, "I originally wanted to help Sister Keying, but I couldn't."

Chen Fan took her hand and said, "It's okay, she'll cook for you tomorrow."

Then he looked at Jiang Tiantian and said, "There are three rooms upstairs, one for me and one for each of you. The layout and furnishings are all the same, so I just left my suitcase anywhere. Let's go upstairs and take a look."

The two sisters exchanged a glance, nodded to him in unison, and then turned and went up the stairs hand in hand.

Chen Fan stretched, put his hands on his hips, exhaled a long breath, took out a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and left it.

He exhaled a puff of smoke, and as soon as he turned around, he saw several cups of hot tea on the dining table.

He turned to look at the stairwell, a smile spreading across his face.

This is what home feels like.

(End of this chapter)