Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 60 Writing a Diary

"I arrived here on January 19th and was unconscious for half a day and a night. I woke up on the morning of January 20th and caught a turtle to eat in the afternoon. On the 21st, I taught Team 6 how to kill a turtle. On the morning of the 22nd, Captain Yang's family slaughtered a pig, and in the afternoon I went to the brigade to teach how to kill a turtle. On the morning of the 23rd, I went to Team 4 and in the afternoon to Team 7. On the same day, all the production teams went to the commune to install utility poles. On the morning of the 24th, I went to Team 8 and in the afternoon to Team 9. The production teams planted utility poles. Today is January 25th. I'm going to the brigade headquarters to teach Deputy Captain Xiao's family how to make sauerkraut. The production teams continue to plant utility poles."

Chen Fan inserted the dip pen into the bamboo tube, his face showing a hint of melancholy.

Five days have passed, and today is the sixth day. Why hasn't Officer Zhu responded yet?
Jiang Lili stood to the side, staring in disbelief at what he had written. "This is your diary?"

Chen Fan looked at her strangely, "Oh, is there a problem?"

Jiang Lili glanced at him, then at the words on the notebook, and said, "You wrote it too simply."

In her opinion, even elementary school students write better than this.

She now doubts whether Chen Fan actually attended upper primary school (grades 1-3 are called lower primary school, and grades 4-5 are called upper primary school).

Chen Fan didn't take it seriously. "A diary is just a record of what happens each day. Why write it in such detail?"

If it weren't for the purpose of aiding memory, who in their right mind would keep a diary?
He then turned the notebook over, removed the back cover, and opened to the last page. "I need to do some bookkeeping now. Can you help me check the books?"

Although Captain Yang explained very clearly what these were—rewards, thank-you gifts, and return gifts—he couldn't just accept them as a matter of course; he would have to repay this favor when the opportunity arose.

After all, in his eyes, teaching how to kill turtles was nothing special, especially since Team 6 had given him work points.

He hadn't had paper and pens before, and he was too embarrassed to borrow them from Jiang Lili. But yesterday, in Team 9, their accountant gave him a notebook, two dip pens, and several packets of ink powder.

Dip pens are not true fountain pens; they are more like quill pens, consisting of a nib and a long barrel. To write, you dip the nib in ink, which is inconvenient. Moreover, the ink flow is uneven; it's very concentrated when you first dip the nib, but becomes lighter and lighter as you write, until you have to dip it again.

This was a gift from the accountant, who thought Chen Fan looked like a scholar.

Ink powder is a small packet of dry powder that, when dissolved in water and shaken well, becomes ink.

Chen Fan had never seen either of these items before, and at first he refused to accept them. However, after his captain told him that they were not worth much, he finally took them.

In addition, that notebook with rough paper was just right for jotting down some things.

"Oh."

Jiang Lili pouted and looked at the things piled up next to her, enough to make two beds. "Where do I start memorizing?"

Chen Fan thought for a moment, "Let's start with the brigade headquarters, one thing at a time."

Then Jiang Lili counted the items and reported them to him, and Chen Fan quickly recorded them.

Upon taking stock, it turned out there was quite a lot of stuff.

Leaving aside the "gift package for educated youth" from the brigade headquarters, and the military overcoat and heavy leather shoes given by Deputy Captain Xiao, the things given by each squad alone were quite substantial.

Of the 12 teams, 6 teams only received a few sets of clothes and shoes, 30 jin of rice, and half a bag of sweet potatoes. Of the remaining 11 teams, 5 were led by Chen Fan himself, and 6 were led by Liu Jujiang. Liu Jujiang only collected one piece of meat and one fish from the places he went to, and delivered the rest to Chen Fan.

Now, in total, there are 250 jin of rice, 16 pieces of cured pork, 16 pieces of cured fish, 33 jin of cotton, and 11 jin of rapeseed oil.

These were the main supplies. Other miscellaneous items included 5 packets of pickled vegetables, 8 bottles of homemade soy sauce, 8 bottles of homemade vinegar, 6 jars of chili sauce, 6 jars of kimchi, a kidney-shaped basin, two bamboo chairs, a bamboo basket, a backpack, two carrying poles, four buckets, two bathtubs, two straw hats, two raincoats, four pairs of straw sandals, three pairs of wooden clogs, two washboards, and finally, the writing brush, ink, and paper he was currently using. These wooden clogs weren't the kind used in everyday life; they were common household items that have been passed down for over three thousand years. King Fuchai of Wu loved the sound of Xi Shi dancing in wooden clogs and even built a "Clog-Sounding Corridor." Li Bai also wrote the line, "Wearing Xie Lingyun's clogs, I ascend the ladder to the clouds."

A wooden board is shaped like a foot, with two vertical wooden boards nailed to the bottom, one in front and one behind. A few holes are drilled along the edge of the board, and some hemp ropes are strung together, and that makes a common rural wooden clog.

On rainy days, wooden clogs could be tied directly to shoes to prevent feet from getting dirty with mud and to reduce the risk of slipping. Some wealthy families would attach a piece of leather to the sole of their clogs so they could wear them barefoot. Poor people who wanted to wear them barefoot had to use several layers of homespun cloth, letting it harden before making the upper.

At that time, a good pair of leather clogs cost 2 yuan, which was not cheap.

As for straw hats, raincoats, and straw sandals, they are now an essential "three-piece set" for every household.

Families with means even had one set per person, while poor families without means would at least have two straw hats and a raincoat.

The most expensive item was the straw raincoat, which was labor-intensive and time-consuming to make, and could sell for two yuan at the market. The cheapest item was straw sandals, which cost five cents a pair, and almost every household in the production team had someone who knew how to make straw sandals.

This huge pile of odds and ends may not be worth much money, but the sentiment behind it is precious, so Chen Fan wrote them all down.

After finishing his work, it was already bright daylight. Chen Fan stretched and stood up, saying, "I'm going to Team 5 to help Captain Xiao's family make sauerkraut. If all goes well, I should be back this afternoon. Tonight, we'll continue eating soft-shelled turtle."

Speaking of turtles, he suddenly remembered, "Hey, are those turtles I put in the pig trough in the back all right?"

Jiang Lili grinned and said, "By the time you remember them, they'll either starve or freeze to death."

Chen Fan's eyes widened. "Huh?"

Jiang Lili smiled and said, "Don't worry, I brought back some silt to fill the two stone troughs, and they're both fine now."

Chen Fan breathed a sigh of relief and laughed, "It would be a pity if they died. Their blood wouldn't be released, and their flesh wouldn't taste good at all."

He paused for a moment, then added, "Don't just leave these fish hanging there. You can cut off a piece to eat when you have a meal."

Jiang Lili shook her head repeatedly, "This is your food, how can I eat it?"

Chen Fan straightened his face and said, "Well, I also accepted a pair of cotton shoes from you."

Jiang Lili kept her head down and remained silent.

Chen Fan's face fell. Well, this was a silent protest.

He could only wave his hand and say, "I'll cook from now on after I finish today's work."

Jiang Lili quickly raised her head, puffed out her cheeks, and remained silent.

Chen Fan wanted to laugh again.

Just then, there was a knock on the gate, and Captain Yang pushed it open and walked in. "Oh, Xiao Chen, you're still here. I was afraid you'd already gone out. Officer Zhu is coming over in a bit; he wants to talk to you about something."

(End of this chapter)