Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 69 My eyes aren't blind.

Upon learning that he could sell things, Chen Fan immediately became excited.

Let me take a quick look at what I have on hand.

Rice, cured meat, cured fish, cotton, rapeseed oil.

First of all, rice and oil definitely cannot be sold. These are necessities. Selling them today and buying them again tomorrow would allow the government to profit from the price difference. Only someone with a brain full of water would do such a thing.

However, some of the cured pork, cured fish, and cotton can be sold. There are 16 pieces of cured pork and 16 pieces of cured fish, so we can keep 6 for ourselves. We also have 33 jin of cotton, so we can keep a little for ourselves and sell the rest.

There are other miscellaneous items as well; I don't know if they accept things like pickles, soy sauce, and vinegar.

As for the rest, Chen Fan's gaze swept over the other two bamboo beds, and he asked curiously, "Are items like that bucket, bathtub, raincoat, wooden clogs, and washboard valuable?"

Jiang Lili followed his gaze and said, "Well, these things aren't worth much money. The most valuable item is probably the raincoat, which I think costs a little over two yuan apiece. The bucket and bathtub are probably a little over one yuan each, and the rest are even less."

The most valuable items are probably cured pork and cured fish, which are even more expensive than fresh ones. Cured pork should sell for 1 yuan per jin (5g), cured fish for 5 yuan per jin, and cotton wool for 7 yuan per jin.

Hearing her say that, Chen Fan understood.

So the only things that can be sold are meat, fish, and cotton. Even if you bring other things over, you won't get much money for them, so there's no point in bothering.

Then another question popped into his head: "Selling things shouldn't require household registration or letters of introduction, right?"

Jiang Lili suppressed a laugh and gently shook her head. "No need. As long as the items are fine, and they're not sensitive industrial products like electrical wires or copper wires, the purchasing station won't ask about their origin."

After a pause, she added, "If you want to sell things at the commune's purchasing station, you can borrow a cart from the team leader. If you have 10 more work points, you can also borrow a donkey, which will make things much easier."

Chen Fan's eyes lit up immediately. "We can borrow a donkey too?"

Jiang Lili was about to nod when she remembered that Chen Fan was not a member of the team, so she suddenly lowered her head and murmured, "I just don't know if the team leader will be willing to lend it to me."

Chen Fan understood her unspoken meaning. He first clicked his tongue, then grinned and said, "It's okay. Anyway, I have a carrying pole, a basket, and a big backpack. I can just carry it over."

Hearing him say that, Jiang Lili also looked up and smiled.

She liked Chen Fan's optimistic personality; it seemed like no difficulty could defeat him.

Chen Fan leaned back in his chair, crossed his legs smugly, and chuckled, "Hey, once I sell some of these things, I'll be a happy commune member with rice in the granary and money in my pocket."

That's what the newspaper I just read said: the People's Commune was meant to provide its members with this kind of happy life.

Thinking back on the days he had spent, he suddenly felt that life in this era wasn't so bad after all.

After a few seconds of pause, he suddenly slapped his thigh and said, "We must save money tonight."

Jiang Lili turned to look at him, somewhat puzzled.

Why would you suddenly say that for no reason?

Chen Fan said with a bitter face, "Look at me, I've been eating big meals of meat and fish and drinking alcohol wherever I go these past few days. If this continues, there will only be one outcome: I'll become fat and bloated. Isn't that alienating me from the masses? So I absolutely can't eat like this anymore. Tonight, I'll just have pickled vegetables and maybe some stir-fried cabbage."

Then he turned to Jiang Lili and said excitedly, "Let me tell you, stir-fried pork skin with cabbage stalks is a great dish. The cabbage stalks absorb the oil from the meat, and the pork skin and cracklings absorb the aroma of the cabbage. It's so delicious! Plus, the cabbage soup is great for soaking rice. You can eat three big bowls in one meal!"

Jiang Lili stared at him dumbfounded.

Fatty pork skin stir-fried with cabbage? You call that saving money?
Chen Fan looked at her and asked, "What, you don't like this?"

Jiang Lili opened her mouth to speak when there was a sudden knock on the half-closed gate of the courtyard, which was then pushed open, and someone called out, "Is Master Chen here?"

The two quickly got up and went outside. They saw Zhang Wenliang tying the horse's reins to a cedar tree at the edge of the woods, then picking up two baskets from the horse's back and walking into the yard.

Chen Fan had already gone to greet him, "Brother Sanhu, what brings you here? Is something the matter?"

Jiang Lili also greeted him timidly, "Hello, Company Commander Zhang."

Zhang Wenliang smiled faintly and nodded at her without saying a word, then turned to Chen Fan and said with a smile, "What, not welcome?"

Chen Fan immediately smiled and said, "Welcome, welcome, of course you're welcome."

Then he turned to the side and said, "Come in, please come in."

She then took the basket from his hands, saying, "Let me help you carry this."

Zhang Wenliang didn't stand on ceremony and handed him the basket directly, saying, "You really have to carry this."

Chen Fan turned his head. "It's not for me again, is it?"

Zhang Wenliang laughed and pointed to his room, "Let's talk inside."

As he spoke, he walked inside.

Chen Fan glanced at him, then at Jiang Lili. She immediately gestured for him to go back to his room. Chen Fan nodded, and she then walked towards her own room.

He strode into the house, placed the basket on the table, moved the teacup that Jiang Lili had drunk from to his seat against the wall, poured Zhang Wenliang a new bowl of tea, and asked with a smile, "What kind of show are you putting on today?"

Zhang Wenliang took the teacup, took a sip, wiped his mouth, and then smiled, saying, "Today's performance is 'Broadcast'."

Before Chen Fan could ask a question, he pointed to the basket and said, "Take this out first."

Chen Fan picked up the two bundles inside and placed them on the table himself.

There was still a lot of straw in the basket, which tightly wrapped the two bundles, so he was very careful when he carried them.

He then opened a bundle, his eyes lit up, and he was overjoyed. He turned to Zhang Wenliang and exclaimed, "A radio?"

Although it's an old-fashioned tube radio, it's still a radio!
Zhang Wenliang smiled, but instead of explaining, he pointed to the other bundle and said, "Take a look at this one."

With a mix of nervousness and anticipation, Chen Fan untied the bundle, revealing a beautiful horse-head clock before him.

Upon seeing this clock, Chen Fan couldn't help but feel a little surprised and delighted.

Because he had collected a grandfather clock before he transmigrated, which he bought to practice using when he was studying mechanical principles in college. This kind of grandfather clock is actually not expensive; it is among the cheapest of small antiques. A grandfather clock in good condition only costs five or six hundred yuan, which he could easily afford with his income.

After he had thoroughly studied the clock, he placed it in the old house left by his parents in his hometown.

So seeing this clock did make him quite happy.

only,……

He leaned closer to the watch face and looked at it, then turned to Zhang Wenliang. "It looks broken?"

Zhang Wenliang chuckled and said, "You figured it out?"

Chen Fan's lips twitched slightly. "My eyes aren't blind."

(End of this chapter)