Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 67 Cunning and Scheming (Please continue reading)

Secretary Yang, wearing a cotton-padded coat and with his hands behind his back, walked unsteadily to the small building at the back.

The others followed behind him, standing together in front of a room on the first floor.

The three rooms on the first floor here are the brigade headquarters' private warehouse.

Originally, the entire building was a radio station, but two rooms on the second floor were specially vacated to make room for the radio station. One room was used as a broadcasting room and the other as a newspaper and magazine archive, thus turning it into a multi-purpose building.

Secretary Yang didn't have a key to the place either, so he stood at the door with everyone else and waited.

Soon, Luo Guitian, the brigade's storekeeper, ran over, took out a set of keys, unlocked the door, and opened it.

Then, looking at Secretary Yang, he asked, "These are all old, dilapidated things left over from long ago. What are you looking for here?"

Back when we were liberated, our troops took over the Lu family compound, which had been occupied by the Japanese. We cleared out some broken things that we couldn't bear to throw away, and put them all in this room.

Although generations of custodians have been dedicated to their duties and frequently come in to wipe the dust, junk is junk, what good is it?

Secretary Yang smiled and said, "I wouldn't bear to part with something that isn't junk."

The group then went inside and saw a lot of things piled up against the wall.

The corrupt winds from above couldn't reach the remote Lujiawan. Even during the most chaotic times, it wasn't affected much. At most, there were more meetings, but otherwise, there was no turmoil, and it was preserved intact.

Secretary Yang walked around and finally stopped in front of a small clock, removing the cloth covering it.

This clock is only about a foot tall, and about half a foot wide and thick. It has a base and a glass cover. Compared to modern alarm clocks, it is "big, clumsy and bulky".

Even now, in the 70s, this kind of clock has been phased out of the historical stage. You can only find it in secondhand stores; regular stores don't sell it anymore.

Zhang Changjiang tilted his head and looked at it, then at Secretary Yang, and said with a look of surprise, "You're not going to use this to reward him, are you? He's a bad guy!"

If it hadn't been broken for decades, this clock wouldn't have remained here unattended for so long.

Even Yang Xingxiu, Secretary Yang's own daughter, couldn't help but mutter "old miser" to herself.

Even sending a small gift worth a dollar or two is better than sending a broken item!

A new alarm clock now only costs a dozen yuan, about the same as the outfit I gave Chen Fan before.

Even if this kind of "clumsy and rough" item is in good condition, let alone broken, if you take it to a secondhand shop, they'll only offer you three or five yuan at most, no more!
As for the broken ones, they are worthless. The money from selling them as secondhand goods wouldn't even cover the repair costs, so who would bother to fix them?
Seeing their expressions, Secretary Yang gave them a cold shoulder and said, "You don't know anything."

He then lowered his voice and said, "This young Master Chen is quite eccentric. On the one hand, he can cook, and on the other hand, he can repair radios and operate radios and record players."

"Didn't you see? Technician Huang didn't even have to lift a finger; he fixed everything in no time. Keep in mind he's only 16 or 7 years old. How did he learn such skills?"

Xiao Liewen pondered, "Cooking and repairing appliances are completely unrelated; it is indeed a bit strange."

Zhang Changjiang looked at Secretary Yang and asked, "What was the meaning behind giving him this clock?"

Secretary Yang chuckled, "I don't care what his background is. I'll pretend I don't know anything without evidence. The fact is, he's useful to our Lujiawan. As long as there's no evidence to prove he's a bad person, he's a treasure of Lujiawan."

He paused for a moment, then laughed and said, "Didn't he say he forgot where it came from? I'll help him think of something. Since he can fix radios, let's see if he can fix this clock too."

Zhang Wenliang immediately said, "But these two are different." Even though he didn't know much about them, he knew that one required electricity and the other required winding, so they were completely different things.

Secretary Yang chuckled and said, "That's exactly what I want. I want to see just how much skill he has. If he can fix this too, then our brigade won't have to worry about things breaking down anymore."

Zhang Changjiang suddenly realized, and then gave a thumbs up, "If we're talking about cunning and shrewdness, you're the one!"

Secretary Yang glared at him. "Pah! You can't even speak properly. Is this what they call cunning and shrewd? This is clearly just being calculating and scheming!"

Ye Shubao and Xiao Liewen's lips twitched slightly; this word wasn't much better.

Secretary Yang waved his hand and said, "Sanhu, wrap this up and take it to him tomorrow. Tell him it's a reward for him, but he has to fix it himself."

Zhang Wenliang suppressed a laugh, "Let's not go until tomorrow. I'll arrange it later, and we'll have it carried over on horseback."

Yang Xingxiu shook her head and sighed, "You all just bully honest people."

She was thinking of just taking the items as a bonus, but she didn't expect it to be just this one thing. Isn't this bullying an honest person?
After glancing at his daughter, Secretary Yang pondered for two seconds, then pointed to a wooden box next to him that was larger than a clock, "Guardian Luo, include this talking box in the list as well."

He then laughed and said, "If he can fix radios, he can definitely fix microphones. We haven't treated him unfairly, have we?"

Yang Xingxiu fell silent, her mind filled with doubt. Could this broken radio, which had been damaged since the War of Resistance against Japan, really be repaired?

……

Chen Fan, leaning on his dog-beating stick, strode across the vast fields.

Although he hadn't been exercising deliberately these past few days, the daily walking, coupled with good food and wine, had boosted his physique to 9 and his strength to 7.5, making him no less capable than a strong adult laborer.

Then they saw a lean man in the distance carrying a wooden telephone pole, walking briskly without needing anyone's help, and erecting the pole.

He silently corrected himself, "I am definitely no worse than half a grown adult laborer!"
It is said that although people in those days did not eat anything good, they were much stronger than those who were well-fed later on.

It's very unscientific.

Disheartened, Chen Fan kept his head down and hurried on his way, returning to the educated youth settlement more than half an hour later.

When he entered the courtyard, he discovered that a utility pole had been erected next to his room, close to the courtyard wall.

Not only that, but there's also an electrical wire running under the eaves. What's going on?

Hearing the noise, Jiang Lili came out with a smile on her face, "You're back. Did everything go smoothly?"

Chen Fan smiled and nodded, "Smoothly. The brigade headquarters also installed a broadcasting machine today. Once the cables for the whole team are connected, we can start broadcasting."

He then pointed to the utility pole and asked, "Didn't you say you wouldn't be running cables into the houses this time? Why are you still running cables in?"

Jiang Lili walked to his side and looked at the power line side by side. She smiled and said, "I heard it's a requirement of the commune. All the educated youth settlements in the five production brigades of the commune, including Lujiawan, have to be connected to power lines and have electric lights installed."

Chen Fan's eyes widened. "Such a good thing?"

He then frowned slightly and asked a crucial question, "Who pays for the electricity?"

(End of this chapter)