Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 84 will premiere tomorrow.

Amidst laughter, Chen Fan and Chef Liu both started cooking and serving the dishes.

The two bowls in the middle contain soft-shelled turtle and sauerkraut fish, surrounded by eight large bowls. Compared to the two main dishes, these dishes are much cheaper. Apart from some cured meat and fish, they are mostly vegetables from our own garden. In addition, the soft-shelled turtle was dug up by ourselves, and the black carp used to make the sauerkraut fish was caught by ourselves. This whole meal really didn't cost much.

However, with so many dishes laid out together, especially the sauerkraut fish with a layer of oil floating on top, everyone's mouth watered.

There weren't many formalities at the banquet. Huang Laosi raised his wine glass and said a few words of thanks, and then everyone started eating.

After everyone had eaten, Captain Yang, who was sitting at the main table, suddenly stood up and said loudly, "Taking advantage of Huang Laosi's banquet, I have two things to say, which will save the time of calling a meeting with each household."

Everyone turned to look at him, while those with their backs to him simply straddled the bench; no one took it lightly.

Just as Chen Fan was about to put down his chopsticks to listen to Captain Yang speak, he suddenly noticed that everyone was gripping their chopsticks tightly, some even managing to pick up food with them.

No wonder those people sit straddling rather than backwards; they can eat and hold meetings at the same time.

Captain Yang placed his hands on the table, looked around at everyone, and said loudly, "I just received a call from the brigade, asking me to inform you of two things. First, the broadcast cables are all installed, and broadcasting will begin tomorrow..."

Before he could finish speaking, someone shouted, "Great!"

The next second, everyone was excitedly discussing it.

"Then we'll have loudspeakers to listen to from now on."

"It's great to have a radio to listen to operas, and to be able to use a loudspeaker to announce things in the brigade."

“I’d heard people say that some places had broadcasting to every village a few years ago, and even gave every household a small loudspeaker radio. But when we were working in the fields during the day, we couldn’t hear the announcements from the small loudspeakers. Later, they installed big loudspeakers outside. We got it all done in one go.”

"If you ask me, the loudspeaker is better. When it's on, you can hear it everywhere. The small loudspeaker is very quiet. You can only hear it when you're sitting right under it. You can't hear it clearly if you're a little far away."

The construction workers were also overjoyed. They were all from Team 4 of Lujiawan, and the launch of the Lujiawan loudspeaker was naturally closely related to them.

Chen Fan was completely bewildered. He was supposed to start work tomorrow, but no one had come to inform him, the broadcaster.

What happened? Did the offer slip away?

Captain Yang grinned broadly, his face glowing. Unlike usual, he didn't bang on the table to quiet everyone down. Instead, he waited until everyone was quiet before loudly announcing, "Once this broadcast system is installed, it will play once every morning from 7 to 9. In the afternoon, it will be from 4 to 5 in winter and from 5 to 6 in summer. Basically, as soon as the broadcast starts in the morning, we have to go to work, and as soon as the broadcast stops in the afternoon, we can go home."

Immediately, a member laughed and said, "Then it becomes the work bell and the off-get off work bell."

Then someone chimed in, "It's just like going to work."

Someone even shouted at Captain Yang, "Captain, is there a Sunday?"

As soon as he finished speaking, he was met with a burst of laughter.

Captain Yang pointed at the man and laughed, "You want Sundays too? Fine, then you won't take work points, and every day will be Sunday for you."

The man immediately surrendered, saying, "What am I supposed to eat if I don't earn work points? I haven't had anything to do these past few days, and I haven't been able to earn any work points. I'm feeling very uncertain."

This question seemed to resonate with many people, so someone asked, "Captain, are you still going to help with the dike work this year?"

"Should the ditch still be repaired?"

"Today is already the 11th of the twelfth lunar month. If we don't make arrangements soon, it will be the New Year." Captain Yang raised his hand, and the surrounding noise immediately stopped.

He then said, "The brigade hasn't notified us about the river construction yet, but I asked around and they should be notified soon. It's probably not a big repair this year, just three to five days' work, and it should be finished quickly."

Upon hearing this, everyone started discussing it again.

"Three to five days of work is fine too."

"It's better than sitting inside."

"There's still no sign of work this year, so I guessed there wouldn't be any major repairs. Last year, we started work as soon as winter began and worked for almost half a month. It's almost Chinese New Year and there's still no sign of work, so it's too late for a major repair."

“A small overhaul every year and a major overhaul every three to five years. We just had a major overhaul last year, so it’s normal to have a small overhaul this year.”

Captain Yang waved his hand again, and after things quieted down, he continued, "Although there aren't many workers to clear the dike, there is another task."

After looking around at everyone, he continued, "The commune issued a notice that the schistosomiasis prevention station requires all ditches and ponds to be cleaned up, ponds to be dredged and used for irrigation, and ditches and canals to be cleared of silt, to ensure that not a single screw is left behind."

Sitting at the same table, Chen Fan's eyes darted around slightly. Blood control station? Schistosomiasis?

Before he could think any further, the people around him had already started making a ruckus.

"Dredging the ditch is a major undertaking; it probably won't be finished in less than half a month."

"Fortunately, it's just dredging. If it were renovation, it would require more work than digging up a dam."

"That's nonsense. Dike repair will take at most a month or two, and ditch renovation will take at least two months. It will start after the late rice harvest. And if we're going to do it, it won't be this year."

Listening to the commune members' words, Chen Fan was completely bewildered. What were they even talking about?
What does it mean to renovate a ditch? Why does it take more than two months?

Unfortunately, Jiang Lili isn't around now, so there's no one to explain things to him.

After everyone finished discussing, Captain Yang said loudly, "These are the two main things. We'll start broadcasting tomorrow, and we need to dredge the ditches. We'll wait for further notice about the dike repairs, but it should be soon. Get your baskets, carrying poles, and shovels ready. Don't wait for the notice to come down before you start repairing. It will not only waste time, but also your own work points."

He paused for a moment, then continued, "Also, this time it's the same as every year, a large-scale contract system. Our team's section of the river embankment will be completed once it's inspected and accepted. Some people shouldn't drag their feet, or you'll be waiting for Accountant Liu to deduct your work points. Don't come crying to me for your injustice."

Finally, with a wave of his hand, he said, "That's settled, you can continue eating."

After saying that, he sat down, picked up his chopsticks, but then took a sip of wine, ignoring the surrounding chatter.

Just as Chen Fan was about to ask a question, Captain Yang exhaled a breath of alcohol and said to him, "Deputy Captain Ye just called and asked me to tell you to go early tomorrow morning. It's the first time the brigade is broadcasting, so it's better to be early than late, understand?"

Hearing this, Chen Fan finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Thankfully, the offer is still valid.

Honestly, we were sitting at the same table, and you didn't even tell me beforehand that you had so much time to talk to me.

However, he only dared to complain in his heart, while on the surface he was respectful and said, "Understood, Captain. I will get up and set off before dawn tomorrow morning."

Captain Yang smiled slightly and nodded in satisfaction, "Do a good job, the entire brigade of over three thousand people is watching you."

(End of this chapter)