Traveling back to 1977

What are we going to do in Chapter 729?
Captain Yang wasn't lying to him. Starting from the third day of the Lunar New Year, people came to visit for three consecutive days.

The first day consisted of 12 team leaders, the second day of students who had been admitted to university and their parents, and the third day of other villagers who knew him well.

Over the course of three days, almost all the New Year's goods, such as cured meat and fish, that Yangmei and her friends had painstakingly prepared were consumed. For some items that weren't prepared in large quantities, some were even taken from their homes.

These things were replaced with a flock of roosters and hens, as well as some cigarettes, alcohol, candy, and tea, which were piled up in a corner of the room.

Nowadays, when people visit each other in the countryside for the New Year, bringing two bags of brown sugar and a few eggs is considered a generous gift, and it's not uncommon to bring a few kilograms of loose liquor. But when villagers come to visit Chen Fan for the New Year, the starting point is two chickens with two kilograms of brown sugar, the eggs are carried in a basket, and even the cigarettes and alcohol are high-end products bought from the supply and marketing cooperative.

The cigarettes were mostly Peony brand, and the liquor was bottled Yunhu Daqu. This made even the working-class families in town envious.

In the past year, Lujiawan supplied agricultural products to many enterprises and units, including cotton mills and machinery factories. At the end of the year, they exchanged a lot of coupons with them and distributed them to the commune members according to the work points ratio. Otherwise, without coupons to buy from the supply and marketing cooperative, they could only buy high-quality bulk wine made from bayberries from the brigade headquarters and bring some chickens and geese to the door.

If that were the case, Chen Fan would probably go crazy.

No, it should be that Yangmei and the others are going crazy.

Even so, Chen Fan received thirty or forty chickens, as well as more than a dozen large white geese, all of which were stretching their necks and fighting amongst themselves, showing no unity whatsoever.

Who said geese are social animals?

Therefore, Chen Fan locked them all in the educated youth compound in front and gave them a severe lesson, which finally taught these geese to unite and launch a group attack on him.

Enraged, Chen Fan grabbed the geese and gave them a good beating, then handed them all over to Huang Li, who was in charge of the commune canteen, and ordered them to be served within a month.

As for the remaining chickens, let's keep them in the educated youth compound.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye, and it was already the sixth day of the first lunar month, February 2nd in the Gregorian calendar.

As usual, Jiang Lili woke up early in the morning, turned over and sat on the kang (a heated brick bed), and put on her clothes with a rustling sound.

Jiang Tiantian opened her eyes instantly, looked at her, then looked outside. It was already very clear, so she sat up, picked up the down jacket that was placed by the kang (a heated brick bed), put it on, and asked, "Who's coming today?"

Although she didn't need to help with cooking these past few days, as Huang Li and the others took care of things in the kitchen, accompanying her sister and following Chen Fan to entertain guests still left her quite exhausted.

Jiang Lili yawned, climbed down to the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), put on her shoes, and shook her head. "I don't know, but almost everyone from Lujiawan except the four brigade cadres is here. But Secretary Yang and the others don't need to come. They are cadres and elders, so there's no reason for them to wish Xiao Fan a Happy New Year. It should be the other way around, Xiao Fan should wish them a Happy New Year."

"is it?"

Jiang Tiantian blinked and thought for a moment, "Then can we take a break today?"

Jiang Lili turned to look at her, gently bit her lip, and her pretty face inexplicably turned red. "If Xiao Fan goes to pay New Year's visits, I should go with him."

Jiang Tiantian leaned back and stretched comfortably. "Go ahead and go. I don't have to come along this time, right?"

On the third day of the Lunar New Year, she went to Master Lu's house and inexplicably received a valuable "Nine Gifts," which she still finds hard to accept.

She had mentioned to Chen Fan that she wanted to return the gift to him, but Chen Fan said it was a gift from Master Lu and had nothing to do with him. He told her to keep it safe, since Master Lu was rich and powerful and wouldn't care about such a small thing.

Plus, Lili insisted that she take it, so she reluctantly accepted it.

If something like this happened again, even if it wasn't an expensive gift, she wouldn't be able to handle it.

All told, she had received countless gifts from Chen Fan, including those from her three masters in Beijing, her uncle and Ya Li, and even souvenirs from Ba Jin.

Every time, Lili gets one and I get one. I really don't know how to return these things.
Jiang Lili had no idea what her sister was thinking. As soon as her sister finished speaking, she grabbed her sister's arm and shook it. "Come on, come with me. I won't be scared if you come with me. Otherwise, I'll be sitting alone in someone else's house while Xiao Fan chats with them. I won't even know where to put my hands."

Jiang Tiantian was so dizzy from being shaken that she couldn't take it anymore, so she sighed and said, "Okay, if Xiao Fan says he wants me to go, I'll go with you. If he doesn't mention it, you're not allowed to mention it either."

Jiang Lili rolled her eyes slightly, grinned, and said, "No problem."

After saying that, he got up and walked out, saying, "I'll go see if Xiao Fan is up yet."

As a result, her older sister grabbed her arm and glared at her fiercely, saying, "Don't you dare tell anyone."

Jiang Lili's lips twitched slightly, her expression extremely exaggerated, "No way!"

Just as the two sisters were playfully bickering, there was a sudden knock on the door.

Chen Fan stood at the door, not intending to go in, and said, "Ladies, it's time to get up. Today we're going to visit Secretary Yang and a few other leaders to wish them a Happy New Year. Let's try to visit all the places we need to today and leave early tomorrow morning."

He's been exhausted these past few days.

It wasn't physical exhaustion, but mental exhaustion. Dealing with dozens of people all at once, it's no wonder you're tired.

Inside the room, after Chen Fan finished speaking, Jiang Lili immediately responded loudly, "Okay!"

After waiting a few seconds and hearing no movement outside, she bent down and hugged her sister, giggling, "Did you hear that? I didn't conspire with him, so don't try to cheat later."

Jiang Tiantian hugged her back, "It's finally going to end, so let's walk together one more time."

He paused for a moment, then said, "You've lived in Lujiawan without incident for nearly four years. There must have been some secret support from the brigade and team leaders. We should go and wish them a Happy New Year to express our gratitude."

Jiang Lili thought it made sense and nodded, "Yes, I'll tell you later."

……

Chen Fan had just finished heating up breakfast in the kitchen when the two sisters came over after washing up.

After breakfast, the three of them rode two horses, carrying two baskets of New Year's gifts, and headed towards Team 7, accompanied by a dog and four birds of prey.

The four leaders were stationed in different departments: Secretary Yang was in Team 4, Ye Shubao was in Team 7, and Captain Zhang and Xiao Liewen were both in Team 5.

Chen Fan planned to go to Team 7 first, then Team 4, and finally Team 5, and have lunch at Master Xiao's house.

In the afternoon, I would go to the commune to wish Zhou, the head of the veterinary station, and Zhu, the food station master, a few other acquaintances, a Happy New Year. That would be about it.

If all goes well, I can leave first thing tomorrow morning.

The process went relatively smoothly.

Aside from the inevitable back-and-forth, with Deputy Captain Ye and Secretary Yang insisting he stay for dinner, which he then firmly refused, nothing else went wrong. In Chen Fan's words, every time he came back, there was a gathering at the brigade headquarters, so one more day wouldn't make a difference. After arranging his work outside in a few days, he would return to Lujiawan to seclude himself for writing, and then he could eat every day.

After getting rid of those two, the three of them went to Team 5 together.

He only stayed at Captain Zhang's house for a short while, had a cup of tea and smoked a few cigarettes, before heading to Xiao Liewen's house.

Master Xiao's children had all gone out to pay New Year's visits, leaving only him and his wife in the house, making it unusually quiet.

Chen Fan took the last bag out of the basket and called out as he entered, "Fourth Master, Happy New Year!"

This fourth master naturally comes from Lin Yuanxiang and the others. Originally, Xiao Liewen, as Chen Fan's guide in learning martial arts, could be considered the master. However, with higher-ranking officials, one can be suppressed by several senior superiors. In addition, he was indeed younger than them, so he could only sit in the fourth seat with grievance.

However, when he heard Chen Fan call him Fourth Master, Xiao Liewen was quite happy and walked out of the room with a smile, saying, "You're here, why did you bring anything?"

Then, seeing the two sisters following behind him, and recalling the scene at Master Lu's house on the third day of the Lunar New Year, a fleeting strange light flashed in his eyes.

However, he remained outwardly calm. Faced with the two sisters' New Year's greetings and Jiang Lili's words of gratitude, he laughed it off, saying, "It's nothing, it's all in the past. It's the New Year now, let's not talk about those things."

Then, while his wife was entertaining him, he quietly went back to his room, put an extra red envelope in his pocket, and then casually came out and sat down next to Chen Fan.

Chen Fan took out his homemade leaf cigarettes and handed one over.

Xiao Liewen took it, lit it, and took a satisfying puff. "Hmm, this is good, and it's easy to smoke."

Then, turning to look at the bag Chen Fan had brought over on the table, she asked, "Is anything inside?"

Chen Fan didn't answer directly, but made a small gesture, "There are eight cartons of Peony cigarettes inside, all for you!"

Xiao Liewen didn't say much, just coughed twice, "Keep eight cartons of this kind of tobacco for me too."

Chen Fan's face darkened. "I only made 50 in total. How could I possibly give you any?"

He then gritted his teeth and gestured again, "At most 10."

Xiao Liewen rolled his eyes. "How many can't you make yourself? Send me 50 of them. Go get them after you finish eating."

After speaking, she glanced at the two sisters sitting awkwardly to the side, her eyes darting around, and then went to call for help.

The next second, Zhang Cuie appeared at the door, and saw Chen Fan with a big smile, "Master, you're here."

Then he ran up to Chen Fan and knelt down with a thud, "I kowtow to Master and wish Master a Happy New Year. May Master and Master's wife be healthy and safe every year."

Chen Fan chuckled and helped her up, took out a red envelope and handed it to her, saying with a smile, "Your master's wife and aunt are bored, take them to the brigade headquarters' archives to read some books, and while you're at it, turn on the radio. It's the New Year, so don't broadcast on time, it'll be fine to let it play for a while longer."

Chen Fan was very fond of this "eldest disciple".

This young girl doesn't have many ulterior motives. She is very respectful and obedient to me. When the news of my relationship with Jiang Lili got out, only her blessing was the most genuine.

As for his other apprentices, Chen Fan said that he's now a man who's been in relationships, not the naive young man he once was, so he knows what they're thinking. In short, as long as they don't become rebellious disciples, that's good enough; just don't try anything with him.

Hearing Chen Fan's words, Zhang Cuie chuckled happily and turned to take Jiang Lili's hand, "Master's wife and aunts, I'll take you to the broadcasting station, it's so much fun there."

Jiang Lili blushed and, together with her sister, greeted Xiao Liewen before following Zhang Cuie out.

After they left, and there was no one else around, Chen Fan turned to Xiao Liewen and asked in a low voice, "Fourth Master, is there still no news from Brother Sanhu?"

Xiao Liewen took two puffs of his cigarette, shook his head, and said nothing.

After a while, he suddenly grinned and said, "You know what, without Sanhuzi, the New Year is a bit less lively. If he were home, along with those guys from the militia squad, they could turn the whole village upside down."

Seeing that he changed the subject, Chen Fan stopped dwelling on it and said with a smile, "Not necessarily. He's a father now, so he'll be more mature. I think the village will have one less tiger and one more big cat in the future."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Liewen couldn't help but laugh out loud, "Yes, yes, yes, it's possible, it's definitely possible."

Just then, Captain Zhang strolled over, stepped over the threshold, and entered the room, laughing, "What are you saying, laughing so loudly?"

Although Xiao Liewen knew that Zhang Wenliang was going to contribute to the country, it was the New Year after all, and Zhang's nephew was not around, so it was not appropriate to bring it up. He smiled and said, "We're talking about your grand-nephew, Sanhu. He's such a cute little boy, so chubby-cheeked."

Captain Zhang pulled up a chair and sat down, took the tobacco leaf Chen Fan offered, immediately knocked out the remaining ash from his pipe, and said with a smile, "Hmm, that kid is indeed a bit rough around the edges, just like his father."

Then she turned to Chen Fan and said, "Sanhu's wife just finished her postpartum confinement yesterday and went back to her parents' home today. Did you see her at Lao Yang's house?"

Chen Fan was also prone to lying, so he immediately picked up where Xiao Liewen left off, saying, "I just met your wife and child at Uncle Yang's house, and that's when we started talking about this."

Captain Zhang nodded, then changed the subject, "Hey, Xiao Fan, you heard about the news from the day before yesterday, right? Tell me, what is that Shekou Industrial Zone for? How is it different from the Lujiawan Industrial Zone we're working on now?"

Two days ago, on January 31, the higher authorities officially announced that the first open industrial zone in the country would be established in Shekou, Guangdong, which would later become the Shekou Industrial Zone.

When this decision was made, the concept of special economic zones didn't exist yet, hence the saying, "Shekou came first, then Shenzhen." Some also refer to it as "the starting point of Shenzhen."

Many of the nation's firsts in the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone originated here.

Since becoming wealthy, the people of Lujiawan, under the overall command of the brigade and the guidance of the squad leaders, have actively paid attention to national affairs, diligently studied cultural knowledge, and their social atmosphere has greatly improved compared to before.

So ever since this news came out, this topic has become one of the focal points in Lujiawan these past two days.

Even when many people visited Chen Fan's home for the New Year, they talked about this topic.

When Captain Zhang mentioned it, Chen Fan's mind flashed with information about Shekou, but he kept talking and said with a smile, "That's different from our Lujiawan Industrial Zone. We're concentrating our resources to do things better, bringing together related agricultural and sideline industries to improve efficiency."

The Shekou Industrial Zone is a special investment promotion area targeting Hong Kong businesses, aiming to attract Hong Kong's capital and technology and leverage their advantages to develop our economy.

Upon hearing this, Captain Zhang and Xiao Liewen turned to look at each other, both able to see the confusion in each other's eyes.

Attracting investment? Or is it about Hong Kong? Getting Hong Kong capitalists to invest in the mainland?

What is this for?
(End of this chapter)