Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 75 Drawing a pie in the sky? We're very familiar with that.

After a hearty meal and drinks, they saw Zhang Wenliang off.

Captain Yang patted Chen Fan on the shoulder, let out a burp, and said with emotion, "I welcome the team's arrangement of you here with open arms. Although we won't give you a homestead or let you earn work points, you can stay at this educated youth settlement indefinitely. You've also become the brigade's broadcaster, earning 10 work points a day, which is much easier and a hundred times better than earning work points in the fields."

He paused for a moment, then said, "As for the political background check certificate, if you don't go to school or join the army, you don't need it. It just means you can't become a regular employee or cadre, which is a bit of a disadvantage."

To be honest, if Zhu Gong'an helps you find your family someday, I won't want you to leave. It's rare to find someone with your abilities in the production team.

If you're still willing to stay then, I can provide any kind of certificate you need, and we can discuss any terms. If you can't find a job, don't worry. Just work hard for a few years, and when you really need something, I'll go to the brigade and vouch for you. Just relax and work hard here.”

I'm very familiar with empty promises; I've practically eaten them all in my past life.

However, Chen Fan still looked extremely grateful, "Thank you, Captain, I understand."

Captain Yang patted his arm again before turning back.

The custodian, Mr. Huang, said to him, "You can go a little later tomorrow morning. With Mr. Liu in charge, everyone in the room will take care of the preparations. Just go over around 11 o'clock and cook a pot of vegetables."

He was referring to the construction of a house by Huang Laosi's family.

Chen Fan nodded. "I understand."

Accountant Liu chuckled and said, "We'll really be family from now on. Let's work hard."

After saying that, he waved and turned to leave.

Chen Fan stood there for a while, and only after they had gone far away did he feel a little dazed, then turned around and went into the courtyard.

At this moment, Jiang Lili had already started cleaning up the dishes.

It has to be said, people these days can really eat a lot.

The eight dishes, one soup, and three clay pots of rice were all devoured, leaving not a drop of broth. Chen Fan's contribution was less than one-tenth; the rest was eaten by Captain Yang and the other three.

The 5-jin wine jar was almost empty, but luckily Captain Yang said it was his, which saved Chen Fan the trouble of buying more wine.

When Chen Fan took the dishes to the kitchen, he realized that Jiang Lili hadn't finished eating.

The rice was finished, but most of the dishes were left uneaten and were sitting in the cupboard.

When Chen Fan came in, he said with a long face, "You only ate this little bit of food? Was it because my cooking wasn't good?"

Jiang Lili quickly put down the bowls and plates, waving her hands repeatedly, "No, no, this is the best dish I've ever eaten."

She lowered her head as she spoke, "I just can't eat that much. Anyway, it's cold in winter, so I can save it for tomorrow."

Chen Fan tilted his head and thought for a moment, then suddenly sighed, "Sigh... I was thinking of saving some money for tonight's meal, just making some stir-fried cabbage with fatty pork skin, but I didn't expect it to be another big meal. Tomorrow I'm going to Uncle Huang's house for a nice meal. Why is it so hard to save money?"

Then, looking at her, he said, "Let me tell you, you absolutely have to finish your food at lunch tomorrow morning, or you'll ruin my dinner plans, and I'll never forgive you."

Jiang Lili burst out laughing, quickly covering her mouth, her eyes curving into two crescent moons. "Okay."

"Hey, that's right."

Chen Fan put the bowls and plates into the large pot, scooped out a few ladles of hot water, and laughed, "Drink today, for tomorrow we may die. There's always a way out. Let's eat what we have today. Even if we go hungry tomorrow, at least we'll have had a good meal."

Jiang Lili looked at him, smiled slightly, and said softly, "Thank you."

Chen Fan glanced at her and said, "Why are you thanking me? You've been running around doing everything for me today, and I haven't even thanked you yet."

Jiang Lili lowered her head. "You're so smart, you must know what I mean."

Chen Fan paused for a moment, then continued washing the dishes, chuckling softly, "The winds up here blow east one minute, west the next. Now the wind has changed direction; who knows, one day you might turn your life around, rise to prominence, and be transferred back to Yunhu as a cadre. Hey, if I ever come begging to your door, don't pretend you don't know me." Jiang Lili looked at him with a broad smile, "I won't."

I don't know if she means she won't turn into a phoenix, or that she won't pretend not to know him.

This small village was too isolated; there were no newspapers or radio broadcasts, only the brigade headquarters had them, but she couldn't go there. She only learned about the fact that bad people had been overthrown last year, and that there was even a possibility of a change in the political climate, from the discussions of the educated youth whose families lived in Nanhu Commune.

But she had no idea when it would be implemented or when it would be her turn, so how could she expect to rise to a higher social status?

After a two-second pause, she suddenly came to her senses and quickly went over to snatch the dishcloth from Chen Fan's hand, saying, "I'll wash the dishes. You go and rest."

Chen Fan took two steps back, looked at her and smiled, "Alright, I'll go tidy up the house."

The busy work lasted until evening. By the time the kidney basins and baskets were washed clean and the water vats were filled, it was already dark.

Chen Fan took a bath, but instead of going to bed as usual, he turned on the light and started reading under the bright light.

The light switch is a pull cord switch. The switch box is installed very high up, with a cord hanging down. Pulling it once turns it on, and pulling it again turns it off.

The light bulb was only 20 watts and was an old-fashioned tungsten filament bulb, far inferior to the advanced LED lights of later generations, but still much better than a kerosene lamp, and it didn't produce any black soot.

The soft light shone on the pages of the book, as if painting it with a yellow hue. Chen Fan read it carefully, word by word, until he couldn't help but yawn. Only then did he put the book away in the cabinet and go to bed.

……

The next morning, Chen Fan heard a noise in the yard, so he got up, yawned, and went outside.

At that moment, Jiang Lili was sweeping the yard with a long bamboo broom. Hearing the door open, she turned around and looked at him, "Get up."

A gust of cold wind outside jolted Chen Fan awake, and he yawned, which made him more alert. He laughed and said, "Let's go check out the excitement."

Jiang Lili smiled, lowered her head, and continued sweeping the floor.

These things have never been her concern.

Chen Fan stood there for a while before washing his face and brushing his teeth. He then greeted Jiang Lili and left the yard to walk forward.

Before you even reach Huang Laosi's house, you can hear the sounds of hammering and banging. When you get closer, you'll find the place already bustling with activity.

More than a dozen people took off their cotton-padded coats, some wearing only a smock, and some even exposing their undershirts. They were digging and shoveling, and trenches had appeared in the ground, with broken bricks piled up next to them for foundation work.

When Huang Laosi saw Chen Fan, he immediately came over, first dusting off his hands, then taking out a pack of economy cigarettes, pushing one out from the bottom and handing it to him, "Master Chen, you're here so early?"

Now Chen Fan understood a bit of the local custom: whether he smoked it or not, he had to accept the cigarette. He took it out of the pack and said with a smile, "You came to check on things after you got up. Fourth Uncle, where are you cooking?"

Huang Laosi pointed to a room diagonally opposite, "They are still preparing, no rush. Master Liu hasn't arrived yet. You can go sit down for a while and we'll get started when it's time."

Chen Fan looked around and remembered that the woman seemed to have come out of this room yesterday, so he nodded and smiled, "Okay, I understand."

He paused for a moment, then said, "Is it alright for me to just watch the excitement from here?"

Huang Laosi laughed heartily, "If you don't mind the chaos, you can watch it all day long."

He raised his hand and waved, "Then I won't greet you."

Chen Fan: "You go ahead and get back to work."

Then he put his hands in his pockets and looked around.

(End of this chapter)