Reborn in 1977

Of course, Chen Fan wouldn't argue; instead, he thanked Supervisor Huang profusely.

The man was delivering sweet potatoes, giving him almost half a sack for free, so he naturally had to express his gratitude.

After seeing Supervisor Huang off, he didn't dare close the door completely, leaving it ajar to at least provide some cover.

Returning to the room, he noticed that the bowl of tea he'd poured for Team Leader Yang hadn't been touched. Chen Fan picked it up, felt the temperature was just right, and took a big gulp.

It tasted quite good. What kind of tea was this?

He stood up and lifted the lid of the teapot, revealing two leaves, each the size of a baby's palm, floating inside. It turned out to be 'One-Leaf Tea'.

The so-called 'One-Leaf Tea' meant that one leaf could brew a whole pot of tea. In some places, it was also called 'Three-Leaf Tea'.

These leaves weren't tea leaves in the traditional sense but were fresh leaves picked from the 'Hubei Flowering Crabapple' tree, directly dried and withered.

Brewing tea with these leaves was believed to have various medicinal and health benefits, such as promoting saliva production and quenching thirst, strengthening the spleen and stomach, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties, resistance to hypoxia, anti-fatigue effects, and lowering blood sugar. It could also invigorate blood circulation, regulate menstruation, detoxify, clear heat, and promote urination, mainly treating wind-heat colds.

Hubei Flowering Crabapple trees were found in many places across the country, but this type of tea was mainly popular in Hubei, Hunan, and the Yangtze River coastal areas of Jiangnan Province. Chen Fan had only drunk it when he was a child.

Actually, the best way to drink this tea wasn't freshly brewed but as overnight tea.

Brewing the tea the night before, then drinking a big bowl of cold One-Leaf Tea after returning from working in the fields the next day, was incredibly refreshing and thirst-quenching.

However, it was usually drunk more in the summer; in the winter, it was too cold and could easily upset the stomach, so people drank it less. If they did drink it, it would be hot. Perhaps Jiang Lili added two leaves because she saw he was physically weak, to prevent him from catching a cold.

A bowl of One-Leaf Tea instantly brought Chen Fan back to his childhood memories. He sat in the chair, his eyes looking outside, but his vision was unfocused. Before he knew it, he had finished the bowl of tea.

Feeling full and warm, nothing would be better than crawling back into bed for another nap on such a cold day.

Unfortunately, the straw and cotton quilt were still airing outside, leaving only an empty bamboo bed.

His body hadn't fully recovered yet. If he slept like this, he might start running a fever again before nightfall. By then, not even One-Leaf Tea, or even Seven Wolves cigarettes, would be of any use.

Chen Fan could only wrap his cotton coat tighter and sit in the chair, lost in thought.

After a while, he couldn't sit still any longer. He stood up and walked outside, turning right and arriving at Jiang Lili's door.

Jiang Lili was sitting at the table reading a book. Seeing him come over, she immediately stood up and asked, "Is there something you need?"

Chen Fan smiled. "Oh, it's just that I don't have anything to do right now and I'm bored. I was wondering if you had any books I could read?"

"Oh."

Jiang Lili held up the book in her hand, walked over, and handed it to him. "I only have this book."

Chen Fan took it and was immediately dumbfounded. 'Little Red Book'? (Quotations from Chairman Mao)

But to be honest, he was actually a little interested, so he asked, "Can I borrow it to read?"

Jiang Lili nodded. "Yes, you can take it."

After a pause, remembering the villagers saying that Chen Fan had amnesia, she said in a low voice, "You have to be careful when you read it, don't damage it, or something bad might happen."

Chen Fan opened his mouth and slowly nodded. After a two-second pause, he smiled and said, "Got it, got it."

Saying that, he raised it and waved it. "Thank you."

Jiang Lili lowered her head shyly. "You're welcome."

Chen Fan waved his hand, then remembered she couldn't see him with her head down. He didn't say anything more, just pursed his lips and turned to leave.

Returning to the room, he sat in the chair, leaning against the square table. He picked up the Little Red Book and carefully opened it.

Jiang Lili's reminder was necessary. The policies hadn't been fully defined yet, and everyone, from top to bottom, was basically following the habits of the past few years. It was just that the bottom line was much more flexible, and people weren't as ruthless when dealing with problems.

Overall, it was better to respect the current customs and habits.

Not all Little Red Books were necessarily red, or rather, not all palm-sized booklets were red. Normal collections also had white covers. This one did.

Chen Fan held the book, and soon became engrossed in reading it. He felt that many of the things it talked about were insightful and penetrating, and he was so absorbed that he didn't even notice someone had entered the room.

Team Leader Yang walked back and forth in front of him three times before clearing his throat.

Hearing the sound, Chen Fan immediately looked up. "Oh, Team Leader, you're here."

He then put the book on the table and picked up the teapot to pour tea.

Team Leader Yang waved his hand. "No, no, I'm just passing by."

He picked up the book on the table, flipped through it gently, then turned to look at Chen Fan and asked softly, "Where did you get this?"

Chen Fan smiled awkwardly. "I borrowed it from Jiang Lili."

"Oh,"

Team Leader Yang nodded vigorously. "This is good, this is good."

Then he gently put the book down, pointed to the two wooden basins on the ground. "I made these wooden basins myself. You can use them for now."

Chen Fan quickly nodded. "Thank you, thank you. Team Leader, you're so thoughtful."

He was really a little touched that Team Leader Yang kept running back and forth to bring him things.

Team Leader Yang waved his hand and smiled. "It's nothing, it's just handicraft work, it's not worth much. The educated youth here all use enamel basins, and they don't like this kind of rough stuff. I'm just giving it to you for emergency use."

Chen Fan said solemnly, "No matter what, you saved my life, Team Leader, and you've been busy helping me arrange things. I won't say much more in the way of thanks. Just watch my performance in the future!"

Team Leader Yang laughed, feeling a little strange in his heart.

You're not from our production team, so what performance are you talking about?

What, are you planning to freeload and not leave?

"You keep reading, I'll go back first."

He shook his head and turned to leave, but when he reached the door, he suddenly turned back again.

Chen Fan followed behind, wanting to see him off, and almost bumped into him.

"Well,"

Team Leader Yang pointed to the village on the hillside and smiled. "If you have nothing to do, go to the village and walk around, get to know people. Also, my family will be slaughtering the New Year pig the day after tomorrow morning. If you have nothing to do, come and lend a hand. Call Jiang Lili and come with her."

Saying 'lend a hand' was actually just an invitation for him to come and eat meat.

Chen Fan carrying water earlier had spread throughout the entire village. A tall man of 1.8 meters carrying half a bucket of water was even worse than that girl Jiang Lili. Everyone was laughing from the beginning of the village to the end.

With that little strength, what help could he possibly be?

He could only help with eating.

Chen Fan was also aware of his own limitations. With his current abilities, going there would just be for fun. He planned to give a perfunctory answer and leave before dinner started.

But when he thought about watching the pig slaughter, if he helped, even if it was just moving things, it might trigger a new skill. He seemed to hear a voice saying, "You have a new order," and his eyes immediately lit up.

He stood at attention. "Team Leader, don't worry, I guarantee I'll be there on time and resolutely complete the task!"

Team Leader Yang chuckled, patted him on the shoulder. "Okay, come early the day after tomorrow."

After saying that, he turned and left with his hands behind his back.

Chen Fan saw him off at the courtyard door, looking at the thatched houses nestled among the trees on the hillside, overjoyed beyond words.

His eyes had been fixed on Jiang Lili, and he had almost forgotten that there were hundreds of people waiting for him to grind experience points!