Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 56 Kidney Basin

The next day, Chen Fan continued to teach how to kill turtles.

Yesterday we went to team 5, today we went to teams 4 and 7, and tomorrow we'll go to teams 8 and 9. Then the mission will be complete.

The work in Team 4 went smoothly. Before leaving, the team leader gave us a basket of things, which was about the same as what Team 5 gave us yesterday.

Rice, cured meat, cured fish, cotton, rapeseed oil, pickles, homemade soy sauce, homemade vinegar, chili sauce, and kimchi.

There was nothing new about it, and Chen Fan suspected that they had all conspired together.

Even if it's just one less jar of chili sauce, I'd be happy to exchange it for a few lotus roots.

With so much oil, it would be a shame not to fry a few plates of lotus root sandwiches.

There are also fried radish balls, tofu balls, sesame balls, sweet potato chips, crispy pork, mini fried dough twists, fried fish pieces, fried meatballs, fried egg rolls, fried spring rolls, and more...

Oh my, my mouth is watering.

No, I need to find a way to get some flour and glutinous rice flour in a few days. I have to recreate the New Year's treats I ate when I was a child to satisfy my cravings.

After finishing his work and leaving, just like yesterday in Team 5, the captain of Team 4 arranged for the militia squad leader to ride a mule to take him to the next stop, Team 7.

However, as they passed by a house, Chen Fan saw an old man doing carpentry work, with a brand-new wooden basin next to him. He was immediately tempted and asked the militia squad leader, "Squad leader, is that wooden basin for sale?"

The squad leader looked at him, then at the wooden basin, and asked with a smile, "Master Chen wants it?"

Chen Fan nodded vigorously, "Yes, I want it."

He then gave an awkward laugh and said, "But I don't have any money, but I can exchange these things for it."

It means those things they just gave us. If the transaction goes through, it's like he's confiscating the supplies here and will only be taking a large wooden basin back with him.

But just thinking about being able to take a bath makes all the extra supplies worthwhile!
He wasn't sure if it would be enough, as he remembered that large wooden basins were quite expensive.

Upon hearing this, the squad leader immediately became displeased. "Are you looking down on me? You came all this way and went through all that trouble, only to bring back a wooden basin? Is that acceptable?"

He then dismounted, walked straight over, and shouted, "Father, Master Chen took a liking to the wooden tub, so I gave it to him."

Well, we've run right into their line of fire.

The old man chuckled and looked up, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth. "Good, good, good. It's rare that Master Chen thinks highly of my skills. He really thinks highly of this old man. Here, take it."

Then he put down the tools in his hand and straightened up, saying, "I also have a basket, a wooden tub, and a bamboo basket. I'll give you some of those too."

Chen Fan quickly dismounted, went over to stop him, and said seriously, "No, no, no, it wasn't easy for you to make this, how could I take it for free? Here, I'll take it..."

"Stop!"

The squad leader shouted, glaring at Chen Fan, "What, are you looking down on me?"

Chen Fan waved his hands repeatedly, a wry smile on his face, "Class monitor, I never looked down on anyone, it's just..."

Now he knows what it means to be a scholar who can't reason with a soldier, and to have a conflict arising from buying things.
Fortunately, the squad leader heard the commotion and rushed over. "What happened?"

The squad leader pointed to the large wooden basin and said with a wronged expression, "Master Chen took a liking to this wooden basin, and I offered to give it to him, but he insisted on exchanging it for those other things."

Upon hearing this, the squad leader was also displeased and glared at him, saying, "Master Chen, this is going too far!" Chen Fan looked miserable, wondering how he had gone too far.
I really want a bathtub, but I don't have any money, so I can only trade it for something... Wait, is it because I traded it for something they gave me?
Can I exchange the items given by Team 5 for this?
The squad leader sighed deeply. "The brigade headquarters gave us some guidelines, and we'll follow them strictly. But then again, it's just that we don't have anything particularly good to offer in our village, otherwise we would have at least managed to scrape together twenty or thirty yuan as a return gift."

Look at this wooden basin. It didn't cost much. It just required some wire and tung oil. The wood was from fir trees grown in the village. He just needed a certificate from the brigade headquarters, a few work points deducted, and it was ready to use after being cut down and dried. It wasn't worth much money because of the little bit of craftsmanship.

Even back when going to the market wasn't prohibited, this wooden basin, if dragged to the market, would only sell for two or three yuan at most, not even worth the price of a piece of meat.

I know you're reluctant to give these things back and want to return them to us in a more dignified way. But we may be poor, but we're not lacking in spirit. We'll do what needs to be done. The brigade headquarters has set the standards, so we'll follow those standards.

Furthermore, the brigade headquarters said that each squad could add some inexpensive items as needed, and now I've decided to add a wooden basin as well.

Then he pointed at Chen Fan and said seriously, "You don't need to worry about it. We'll arrange for someone to haul it back to you on a cart."

Chen Fan stared wide-eyed at the squad leader. "Is that what I meant?"

Do you know how much this big wooden basin will sell for in the future?
1200 yuan!

When the squad leader saw that he still didn't speak, his expression changed. "What's wrong? You really look down on us?"

Chen Fan snapped his lips shut, then nodded, then quickly shook his head, "I mean, we can't let our uncle suffer a loss."

The squad leader laughed and said, "You don't need to worry about that. His wooden basin is considered requisitioned, and I will naturally give him work points in return. I won't let him suffer any losses."

At this point, the other members also gathered around, offering their advice.
"Master Chen, just keep it. What's the big deal about a wooden basin?"

"I know you mean well, Master Chen, but we don't need these things. You can just take them."

Looking into the sincere eyes of his fellow villagers, Chen Fan suddenly thought of a joke from later generations.

A poor relative visited a rich relative's house, and when the poor relative left, the rich relative gave the poor relative two sets of old clothes. Then the rich relative visited the poor relative's house, and when the poor relative left, the poor relative gave him a large amount of cured meat, cured fish, homemade rapeseed oil, and other rare and expensive items, as if afraid the poor relative wouldn't like them.

I'm not a rich relative, and they're not a poor one. Undeniably, farmers can be difficult at times, but they're more open and honest with those they consider "one of their own"!
Thinking of this, Chen Fan felt a surge of warmth in his heart, so he cupped his hands in thanks to the team leader and the villagers around him, saying, "Thank you very much."

The squad leader slapped his thigh and said with a beaming smile, "Hey, that's right!"

Then he called out, "San Gouzi, hitch up a donkey cart and help Master Chen take him back."

He then pointed to the basket on the squad leader's horse, "Why don't we just take all these things back with us? It'll make the journey easier."

As a result, Chen Fan received another large wooden basin.

As Chen Fan's figure receded into the distance, the villagers continued to whisper among themselves.
"What does Master Chen need the kidney basin for?"

"It's probably for killing turtles. He's an experienced chef, and he kills a lot at once, so he uses a kidney-shaped basin to hold them."

"possible."

"It's definitely not a bath."

"You idiot, don't talk nonsense! Who bathes in a kidney-shaped basin? Do you think this is like slaughtering a pig? How much water would that use?!"

……

(End of this chapter)