Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 83: Good Luck
Upon hearing this, Chen Fan's eyes widened. How could this person slander someone's innocence out of thin air?

Suddenly, the crowd became noisy. Chen Fan, who was about to argue, craned his neck to look over and saw Huang Laosi carrying a long bamboo pole with a string of firecrackers hanging from the end, walking happily towards the house.

Someone nearby shouted, "Old Huang, why don't you get a string of electric whips?"

Huang Laosi immediately turned around and laughed and scolded, "You're trying to scare me. A string of electric firecrackers costs a dollar or so and they're gone in two shots. I can get a string of small red firecrackers that can keep going for half a day and only costs three or five cents. Only a fool would buy electric firecrackers."

Then someone shouted, "Then you should at least buy a string of firecrackers!"

Huang Laosi walked to the front of the new house, laid the bamboo pole flat, and stretched it out in front of Huang Laoda. At the same time, he laughed and said, "The big firecrackers are just a little bigger. If you want to hear a loud noise, you might as well buy the door-opening cannons. I bought two sets of door-opening cannons. They can fire 20 shots. They are two cents cheaper than the big firecrackers, and they are louder. What a bargain!"

After Huang finished speaking, he smiled and lit the fuse with a cigarette.

Chen Fan noticed that the fuse burned very slowly, and it only started to explode after Huang Laosi raised the bamboo pole high above the roof.

Moreover, these firecrackers didn't explode like the firecrackers of later generations, with a loud "crackling" sound. Instead, they exploded slowly, one by one, with a "pop~pop pop~pop~pop~pop~pop pop..." sound.

That's incredibly slow.

Chen Fan looked up, completely absorbed. It was amazing that such a short string of firecrackers could keep going for so long.

And what are those electric whips, little red whips, big ocean whips, and door-opening cannons they're talking about?

Oh, right, Huang Laosi is currently setting off the small red firecrackers; they should be setting off the opening firecrackers later.

The string of one hundred small red firecrackers exploded for nearly a minute before it was all set off.

Then Huang Laosi put the bamboo pole aside and took out two cardboard boxes from his pocket.

Chen Fan quickly rushed over to see what was going on.

When the custodian saw his appearance, he couldn't help but shake his head and chuckle.

No matter how capable he is, he's still just a kid. It's already quite good that he's able to follow the rules and know when to advance and retreat. As long as he doesn't cause any major trouble, let him be.

Based on his observation of Chen Fan, he estimated that this kid wouldn't cause any major trouble.

Chen Fan squeezed to the front and saw that Huang Laosi was holding two boxes of firecrackers, each about the thickness of a thumb and seven or eight centimeters long.

Old Huang lit a cigarette and put it in his mouth. He picked up a firecracker, lit it at the tip of the cigarette, and threw it into the house after it had burned halfway. Two seconds later, it exploded with a "bang".

He lit all twenty firecrackers one by one and threw them in, and they went off twenty times in a row, just as he finished smoking a cigarette.

It has to be said, it was indeed very lively.

After the last firecracker went off, he suddenly raised his hands and shouted, "Great fortune for the roof-raising ceremony!"

Several construction workers rushed over immediately. They first placed ladders on the wall, one on each side, and then two people lifted the large beams onto their shoulders and climbed up the ladders while shouting slogans.

"Auspicious day and gentle breeze bring good fortune, a propitious time for raising the roof beam. Joy surrounds the beam, all things go smoothly, auspiciousness fills the house frequently. The beam stands tall, welcoming a hundred blessings, suppressing three calamities and receiving a thousand auspicious omens. On this auspicious day, the roof beam is raised, the house rises high, on this auspicious time, the family business prospers. The pillar reaches the heavens and earth, good fortune arrives, the beam carries the sun and moon, five blessings descend..."

They would take two steps and call out, with two people walking in front and two following behind. Before long, they would climb up the gable wall and walk all the way to the top. Only then would the four of them work together to place the beam across the top of the roof.

The workers below were also busy, erecting two main beams to support the beams.

Only then did thunderous applause erupt, signifying the successful completion of the new house's beam erection.

Then came the intense construction work.

There can't be just one beam; the entire roof is supported by beams, which, in addition to the gable walls and interior walls, are supported by several main pillars.

The laborers were responsible for moving the materials, while the experienced workers were responsible for positioning, reinforcing, laying planks, and thatching. Two other teams were responsible for installing doors and windows.

The guests didn't go to rest at Old Master Huang's house diagonally across the street; instead, they all gathered in the open space in front of the house to watch the excitement.

Chen Fan jumped around, watching the masters' movements and verifying them one by one with the tips they had told him the day before yesterday. By noon, the carpenter and the bricklayer had finally reached LV3 and become qualified full-time workers.

Unfortunately, no one asked him to build a house.

But someone asked him to cook.

"Master Chen, everything is ready over there. Could you please go and get it ready?"

Chen Fan turned his head and saw that it was the little girl named Huang Ying.

Uh, calling her "little girl" isn't quite appropriate. Considering our current ages, it's not certain who's older than whom.

I just don't know who Huang, the custodian, is.

Having achieved his goal, he readily followed her away.

When he came over, he found that Jiang Lili was already waiting by the stove, and it seemed that she still remembered what Chen Fan had said.

Chen Fan glanced at the stove, where there was prepared turtle meat, fish slices, and kimchi. He smiled at her and said, "They're all ready. Why don't you go sit down for a while?"

Jiang Lili was about to say something when Huang Ying pulled her away, saying, "You're a guest, how can we let you help out? Come, come, come inside, sit down, have some tea and peanuts, I'll take care of the fire."

After pushing Jiang Lili into the main room, Huang Ying returned, deftly picked up a bundle of straw, and started to light it. After it caught fire, she added cotton stalks to it.

This was the second time she had tended the fire for Chen Fan, so she knew when and how much heat was needed.

As soon as the pot was heated, Chen Fan immediately got into the zone.

We'll make a larger batch today.

Three tables of cooks, five tables of guests, and one table for their own family—a total of nine tables of food.

The main force was still Liu Jujiang, who was in the kitchen smoking and fuming, while Chen Fan was outside basking in the sun and enjoying the breeze.

Before the food was even served, everyone across the table came over, drawn by the aroma.

Some people crowded around Chen Fan's stove, peeking out and saying, "It smells so good!"

Someone even ran to the kitchen door and shouted, "Master Liu, you need to ask Master Chen for something."

Liu Jujiang laughed heartily, "Why is that?"

The man laughed and said, "With Master Chen's skills, if he were also a craftsman, he would probably steal your business."

Upon hearing this, Liu Jujiang was overjoyed and laughed, "What you say makes some sense. Chef Chen's cooking skills are indeed better than mine."

Chen Fan quickly said from outside, "One thing at a time. The team leader also said that day that I'm not cut out to be a cook. Master Liu cooked several tables of food, and I haven't even finished one table yet. Asking me to be a cook? I'm afraid I'll have to wait until dinner for lunch."

Everyone burst into laughter at these words.

Chen Fan laughed and said, "Besides, Master Liu's skills are top-notch. He and I each have our own style, so it's hard to say who is better. I'm just a novice. When it comes to preparing banquets, you still have to be an old master like Master Liu."

These words made Liu Jujiang overjoyed, and he repeatedly laughed and said, "Master Chen, you flatter me."

(End of this chapter)