Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 54 Borrowing and Returning

Who has a problem?

It's definitely not Chen Fan!

With the information recorded in the production team's ledger, the requisition procedures, and the signatures of Captain Yang and a few others to certify it, what is there to be afraid of?

Only a fool would refuse to get so many things for free without making any mistakes.

After signing the ledger and settling the debt for the rice he had borrowed last time, Chen Fan happily saw Captain Yang and the others out of the courtyard, bolted the gate, turned around and went back into his room, grinning foolishly at the things in the room.

It wasn't easy. When I arrived, I was all alone and couldn't even afford a meal. And now, just a few days later, I have so much wealth. So, the saying "knowledge is wealth" is not without reason.

Jiang Lili stood at the door, her eyes filled with joy, and asked softly, "Chen Fan, do you need any help?"

Chen Fan turned to look at her and smiled, "I couldn't be happier. I really don't know how to do it by myself."

The main problem is that I'm not familiar with some things and need someone to guide me.

Jiang Lili walked in, picked up the lantern first, and said softly, "Light this lamp first. It's much brighter than a kerosene lamp, and you can see much more clearly. It just uses a little more oil, but not much."

Chen Fan nodded repeatedly, "Okay."

At this point, only a faint glimmer of light remained outside; it would be completely dark in less than five minutes, and it would be time to light the lamps.

But how do you make this lantern?

He carried the lantern, looking left and right, but couldn't find a way to remove the glass cover.

Jiang Lili watched him fiddling with the lantern with curiosity. "Haven't you used this before?"

Chen Fan turned around and looked at her, then gave an awkward laugh, "Ah."

He had used kerosene lamps before, but this was the first time he had ever used a lantern; he had only seen it a few times even when he was a child.

Jiang Lili pointed to the base cover below, "We need to pour kerosene here first."

He then unscrewed the oil can cap, picked up the kerosene bottle and poured a little into it, then turned a wire ring, and a white, flat cotton wick slowly emerged from inside the lamp holder.

Jiang Lili then pointed to a metal lever, "Press it here."

Chen Fan pinched the lever and gently pressed it down. Hey, the lampshade actually rose up!
How amazing!

Jiang Lili had already picked up a match from the table, lit one, and inserted it into the bottom of the lampshade to ignite the wick.

As soon as she removed her hand, Chen Fan loosened his grip, and the lampshade fell down, firmly covering the light.

He looked at the lantern with a face full of surprise, "It's quite interesting."

Jiang Lili suddenly chuckled softly, then quickly covered her mouth.

Chen Fan turned to look at her and laughed, "Don't you find it funny that I look so naive?"

Jiang Lili's pretty face immediately turned red, and she waved her hands repeatedly in denial, "No, no."

Chen Fan straightened up and chuckled, "It's alright. 'To know what you know and to know what you don't know is true knowledge.' If you don't know how to use it, you don't know how to use it. There's nothing shameful about it."

He paused for a moment, then asked with a smile, "Then let me ask you one too: do you know who invented the kerosene lamp, and how it came about?"

Jiang Lili was completely bewildered. "Huh?"

Then she gently shook her head, looking at him with curious eyes, "I don't know where it came from?" Chen Fan smiled and said, "It's impossible to know who invented this kerosene lamp. Although oil lamps appeared in my country a long time ago, this kerosene lamp was introduced from America."

"Oh? Really?"

Jiang Lili's eyes widened, her face full of disbelief. "I thought it had always been like this in ancient times."

Chen Fan walked to the chair next to him and sat down, gesturing for her to sit as well. He then continued, "Think about it. The lampshade of this kerosene lamp is made of glass. Modern industrialized flat glass was invented in the late 19th century, and various practical glass products only appeared in the early 21st century. The most distinctive feature of the kerosene lamp is its glass lampshade. Only inexpensive industrialized glass allowed the kerosene lamp to enter thousands of households. Do you think it existed in ancient times?"

Jiang Lili's eyes were full of amazement. "So that's how it is."

Then, curiously, he asked, "Who invented the kerosene lamp?"

Chen Fan shook his head. "There is no record of who invented the kerosene lamp. However, the reason why it is called a kerosene lamp is because it was originally hung on the roof of a horse-drawn carriage or on the back of a horse for lighting. The first people to use kerosene lamps in this way were the cowboys of the American West."

Later, American merchants brought the kerosene lamp to Shanghai. Initially, it was mostly fishermen in Shanghai and the surrounding areas who bought it. They discovered that this type of lamp, hung on their fishing boats, was protected from rain and wind, and its light was much brighter than that of a lantern, making it very convenient for fishing at night. This is how it quickly became popular. Some outsiders, unaware of its significance, simply knew it was a lamp hung on fishing boats and named it "boat lamp" or "mast lamp."

Jiang Lili looked at him in amazement, then at the lantern, "So a small lantern has so many stories behind it?"

Chen Fan stood up with a smile and said, "There are many more good stories to come. If you want to hear them, I'll tell you when I have time. Right now, I need you to help me tidy up my things."

Jiang Lili's pretty face flushed red, and she quickly stood up to get to work. As she sorted and put things away, she said...
"Some educated youth preferred kerosene lamps to kerosene lamps. This was because kerosene lamps were brighter than kerosene lamps and didn't produce black smoke, as the smoke was blocked by the lampshade, so there was no strong kerosene smell. Unfortunately, kerosene lamps were much more expensive than kerosene lamps, and they required ration coupons, making them very difficult to buy."

Chen Fan looked at her and asked curiously, "Didn't you send out lanterns?"

Jiang Lili gently shook her head, "No, we only have one kerosene lamp, and we have to buy kerosene ourselves."

Chen Fan raised an eyebrow and looked back at the supplies spread out on the empty bed. He had just heard the custodian Huang say that these were the things that educated youth were given, based on the standards for educated youth.

He then asked, "What kind of things were given to the educated youth?"

Jiang Lili looked around and listed each item: "One single mosquito net, one bed sheet, one set of quilt covers, two quilts, two towels, one toothbrush and one toothpaste, one enamel mug, one aluminum lunch box, one spoon, two enamel basins, one thermos, one bar of soap, one pin tumbler lock, um, that's all."

Then he turned to look at him and said, "There is also a kerosene lamp, but it's not for everyone. There's one for each room, and there aren't any extras."

Chen Fan looked at the items next to him and found that there was still a 9-foot-long piece of blue cotton cloth, two sets of shirts, two pairs of shorts, two pairs of rubber-soled shoes, a water bottle, a flashlight, three No. 1 batteries, a lantern, and a pound of kerosene.

They also gave us an extra set of towel, toothbrush, and toothpaste.

It seems he sets high standards for himself.

Forget it, whatever. As long as it's legitimate, there's nothing to be afraid of.

Chen Fan stood there without moving, and Jiang Lili quickly helped him organize his things, saying at the same time,
"You can put away your toothbrush, toothpaste, and towel for later use."

Chen Fan quickly said, "Wait, get two towels, a toothbrush, and a tube of toothpaste. I need to return this to you."

Seeing Jiang Lili looking a little embarrassed, Chen Fan smiled and said, "If you borrow and return, it's easy to borrow again. What if I don't have any one day? I'll have to borrow from you again."

Jiang Lili still looked somewhat hesitant. "But what I lent you was tooth powder. Toothpaste is much more expensive than tooth powder."

Chen Fan laughed and said, "Just consider it as me keeping it with you. When I run out, I'll borrow it from you again."

Jiang Lili then nodded slightly, "Okay."

Her shy demeanor made it seem as if she were the one in debt, not the creditor.

(End of this chapter)