Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 96 Educated Youth Forest

Chen Fan ran all the way back to the educated youth settlement. When he entered the door, he was already panting and his face was flushed.

I was careless. I was so engrossed in the thrill of improving my skills that I ran like the wind and didn't notice my physical condition. It wasn't until I got to my doorstep that I realized I was almost completely exhausted.

However, it wasn't without its benefits. Along the way, not only did my martial arts experience points skyrocket, reaching level 2, but my experience bar also filled up to half full, and even my physique increased by 0.3, reaching 9.5.

Therefore, cheat codes can prove that it is true that practicing martial arts can improve physical health.

Of course, you can't just practice haphazardly. You have to be able to perform the movements perfectly like Chen Fan, and you can't overdo it.

Jiang Lili was tidying up in the yard. She divided all the cotton into two piles and put them into new baskets. The two baskets were placed side by side under the eaves, with a carrying pole across them, ready to be set off at any time.

Seeing Chen Fan enter, she was about to speak when she noticed he was covered in sweat and his face was flushed. She quickly walked over and asked anxiously, "What's wrong? What happened?"

She raised her hands as if to help, but hesitated.

In broad daylight, someone could come by at any moment. If they were seen, not only would you be in trouble, but you might even implicate Chen Fan.

Chen Fan, leaning on his dog-beating stick, was too tired to speak. He waved his hand, pointed into the house, and walked straight inside.

Jiang Lili followed beside him, but dared not get too close, she was extremely anxious.

As soon as Chen Fan entered the room and sat down, she immediately poured him a cup of tea. "This was just brewed, and it's still warm. Have some water first."

Chen Fan took a small sip and exhaled a long breath before catching his breath. He looked at her and smiled, "It's nothing. I just wasn't paying attention when I came back from my run today. I ran too hard. I won't do it again next time."

Hearing his words and seeing that his complexion had improved considerably, Jiang Lili finally breathed a long sigh of relief, "It's good that you're alright."

After a pause, she added, "Then you rest for a bit, I'll go cook."

After that, he walked out.

The 12 teams in Lujiawan were almost all within a half-hour walk. People's feet were strong back then, and they could walk about 7 kilometers in an hour without stopping, so there were about 3 or 4 kilometers between the teams.

From team 6 to team 10, there is a distance of about 14 kilometers. Even if you walk on the river embankment, which is slightly shorter, it is still more than 10 kilometers and will take at least an hour and a half to walk.

It will take them at least three and a half hours to get there and back, so let's say four hours. If they leave at 10 a.m., they won't be home until at least 2 p.m.

With such a long duration and such a high level of physical activity, it's essential to eat well.

Jiang Lili quickly finished cooking.

A bowl of stir-fried cabbage, a carp that Chen Fan caught in the river a couple of days ago, lightly fried in oil, then braised with scallions, ginger, garlic, and locally produced fermented bean paste and chili sauce—it's fresh, fragrant, and appetizing.

Since Chen Fan moved in, Jiang Lili's meals have improved dramatically, even surpassing those of commune cadres.

If it weren't for "Master Chen" being there, someone would probably have come and dragged her to a meeting long ago.

Now everything is fine. Anyone who comes will only see Chen Fan eating, and it has nothing to do with anyone else.

After the two finished eating, Jiang Lili busied herself clearing away the dishes, while Chen Fan drank some warm tea to aid digestion. Half an hour later, Chen Fan picked up his load and set off.

Of the 33 jin of cotton, only 3 jin were kept at home in case it was needed to make cotton-padded clothes, trousers, or shoes later. The remaining 30 jin were divided into two baskets, which looked full, but actually didn't weigh much.

During this period, Chen Fan insisted on carrying water every day and had already mastered the skill of carrying a load. Unfortunately, he failed to level up the skill and it was directly classified as a household chore.

After walking north along the riverbank for a while, Chen Fan glanced at Jiang Lili, who was about three meters away from him, and made conversation, saying, "I see a lot of small groves here. Do you usually chop firewood here?"

Jiang Lili came to her senses and looked at the woods on both sides of the riverbank. "Oh, it's not for cutting firewood. You can't just cut down trees here. You have to get permission from the brigade. But you can come here to collect dead branches."

Then he added, “The cedar forest at the entrance of the educated youth settlement, and the mixed forest where they dug adobe bricks in the backyard, were originally designated as ‘educated youth forests’ by the commune to solve the problem of educated youth having firewood. They were allowed to decide when to cut down trees. They didn’t need to report when cutting branches, but they did need to report in advance when cutting down trees, but it was just a formality.”

However, after the first group of educated youth finished planting the trees, they all left less than two years later due to the city's large-scale recruitment of workers and the reopening of universities. The trees hadn't grown much by then, so they weren't cut down.

Chen Fan was a little curious, "Large-scale recruitment of workers and large-scale enrollment?"

Jiang Lili nodded. "In 71, a notice was issued that if there were suitable job opportunities in the city, educated youth should be given priority. At that time, the whole country was supporting the construction of the Third Front, and many key workers left the cities to go to the large and small Third Fronts, which suddenly created a lot of demand for recruitment."

By 72, all universities began to expand their enrollment of workers, peasants, and soldiers as college students, so many educated youth returned to the cities in those two years, except for…

She suddenly lowered her head and pursed her lips, saying, "Except for those with problems, they must stay in the countryside for at least 7 years before they may have a chance to return to the city. Those who have not stayed for 7 years will not be considered."

Chen Fan naturally understood the meaning behind her last sentence.

I just don't quite understand where this 7-year standard came from?

But seeing her expression, he hesitated to ask, so he naturally changed the subject and laughed, "So, it's like the predecessors planting trees so that the successors can enjoy the shade?"

Jiang Lili looked up, smiled, and nodded. "Mm."

Chen Fan then asked, "Then why weren't the later ones cut down either?"

Jiang Lili said, "Because the later educated youth didn't stay long. The longest they stayed was more than a year before they went home, and the shortest was less than a month. They never even came here; their names just appeared on the village's list."

He paused for a moment, then continued, “Moreover, everyone really likes that cedar forest. Even if they need to cut firewood, they will only go to the mixed forest behind it, but they can’t cut much. They just cook some rice and don’t even cook vegetables often. The straw from the two seasons a year, as well as the cotton stalks after the cotton harvest, are all good firewood. That’s enough, so no one goes to cut firewood.”

"Oh, I see."

Chen Fan nodded and chatted with her casually. Before they knew it, they had walked for more than an hour and were about to reach their destination.

When Jiang Lili saw the 10th team village, she felt a little disappointed.

On one side is a winding river, and on the other side are vibrant fields. In the distance, small villages cluster together with wisps of smoke rising from their chimneys, creating a scene as beautiful as a prose poem from a textbook.

Especially with someone by my side who is willing to talk to me and is so good-looking, I wish this path could continue forever.

(End of this chapter)