Reborn in 1977

Coming out of the brigade headquarters, Chen Fan rode the mule home.

When he got to Team 6, he first returned the animal and quickly ran off after leaving a pack of cigarettes for Master Liu.

The price of a pack of cigarettes was more expensive than borrowing the animal using work points.

However, the fact that he didn't even ask a question and unhesitatingly lent him the animal was giving him face. If he didn't appreciate it and took it for granted, there probably wouldn't be a next time.

Giving and taking, this is how relationships are built.

Before long, he returned to the educated youth spot and found the courtyard surprisingly quiet. There didn't seem to be any sound from the back either. The snow in the yard had been shoveled clean, but he didn't know where Jiang Lili was.

He put his things down and walked to the door of Jiang Lili's room, gently knocking. "Xiao Jiang, are you there?"

Jiang Lili's voice immediately rang out, "Coming."

Soon the door was opened, and Jiang Lili looked at Chen Fan, forcing a smile on her face. "You're back. I, I'll go cook."

Chen Fan didn't move aside but looked down at her.

Jiang Lili quickly lowered her head, not wanting him to see her slightly red eyes.

After a few seconds, Chen Fan said softly, "I sent your sister off on the bus. The bus tires had chains on them, so don't worry about slipping. If all goes well, she should be in the county seat by now, maybe even almost to Yunhu."

Nanhuzhen wasn't actually that far from the prefectural committee's Yunhu City, only less than a hundred kilometers, but it had to cross a river and the Yangtze River. In this era, there were no bridges, so they had to cross the river by ferry.

From Nanhu to Guofeng County, it usually took about half an hour by car. With the snow, it would take a little longer, say an hour. Then from Guofeng County to Yunhu City, it usually took an hour, but today, let's say two hours. In this day and age, there weren't any traffic jams. No matter how slow the car drove, it was still moving. Adding it all up, three hours should be enough.

Jiang Tian Tian's bus left at 7:00 a.m., and it was almost 10:00 a.m. now, so it should be about right.

It was just that Jiang Tian Tian had almost had an accident yesterday, and today she was traveling on ice and snow, so it was natural that Jiang Lili was a little worried.

Hearing Chen Fan's words, Jiang Lili still didn't look up, but just said, "Thank you."

Chen Fan pursed his lips and smiled. "You're welcome."

After a pause, he added, "If you're still worried, why not give me a phone number where your family can be reached? When I go to work this afternoon, I can make a call from the brigade headquarters and find out if she's arrived home safely."

Jiang Lili took a deep breath and finally raised her head, looking at Chen Fan with misty eyes. After several seconds, she said softly, "Thank you."

Chen Fan smiled and was about to speak when he heard Jiang Lili exhale a long breath and say, "I'll go cook."

Saying that, she was about to go out.

But Chen Fan waved his hand, "No hurry, it's not even 10:00 a.m. yet, and I'm not hungry."

Then he pointed to his room, "I'll get the stove fire going. You wash your face and come over for a chat."

Jiang Lili paused and said hesitantly, "What is there to talk about?"

Chen Fan smiled and said, "Anything. Anyway, it's snowing heavily today, and there's nothing we can do. It's rare for us to be lazy for a while. We can sit and warm ourselves by the fire and chat."

The current Jiang Lili, or rather, the Jiang Lili since Jiang Tian Tian came yesterday afternoon, was very different from usual.

Usually, she seemed like a strong woman, always having endless work to do and always doing it well.

But these past two days, in front of her sister, she had revealed a naivete that Chen Fan had never seen before, and now she was showing an unprecedented helplessness, which couldn't help but make Chen Fan feel pity.

Anyway, he had nothing to do now, so it wouldn't hurt to enlighten her.

Enlightening people doesn't necessarily require great eloquence. More often than not, listening might be a better choice.

Chen Fan lit the stove fire, turned on the radio, and made two cups of tea. He handed one cup to Jiang Lili and sat down comfortably.

Jiang Lili sat upright on the chair, glancing at him with her head lowered. After a long while, seeing that he still didn't speak, she said, "What do you want to talk about?"

Chen Fan held the teacup and turned to look at her, smiling. "Anything. We can talk about anything. Anyway, let's throw away all the unhappy things and happily celebrate the New Year."

Then he shook his head, "No, that's not right. It should be happily living every day."

Jiang Lili rarely pouted, her eyes blankly staring at the door that was left ajar, and sighed softly, "Can we really happily live every day?"

Chen Fan looked at her, feeling that at this moment, Jiang Lili was like a sentimental 17-year-old girl.

After all, she was only 17 years old.

Looking at Jiang Lili's profile, Chen Fan was stunned for several seconds before he came back to his senses, smiling and saying, "Whether we can happily live every day doesn't depend on who we meet or what we suffer, but on ourselves."

He leaned slightly, half-leaning on the table, and smiled at her. "Have you met Old Man Lu Si?"

Jiang Lili turned to look at him and gently shook her head, "No."

Chen Fan, "Heh, that's a pity. Let me tell you, Old Man Lu Si is a wonderful person. Don't look at his clothes being patched upon patched, but the patches are better than others', each one square and stylish. He always keeps himself neat and clean, even when he's just come from the fields, he still walks with his back straight..."

He recounted his observations of Old Man Lu Si these past few days in detail. Finally, he looked at Jiang Lili and said softly, "Think about it, how much suffering has Old Man Lu Si endured? His family business is gone, his family is gone, and he's crippled. But he can still maintain a good attitude, working, reading, and living seriously. If even he can do it, what reason do we have to sigh and complain?"

Jiang Lili nodded slowly, as if she had realized something. "So Old Man Lu Si has such a good attitude. I always thought he was like some people, not even daring to look people in the eye, always lowering his head and not daring to speak loudly."

As soon as she finished speaking, she heard a strange sound from the side.

Turning her head, she saw Chen Fan's face flushed red, desperately trying to hold back his laughter.

Jiang Lili rolled her eyes slightly and couldn't help but coquettishly say, "You're annoying."

As soon as she finished speaking, she couldn't help but giggle, then laughed so hard that she couldn't stop.

At this moment, she also realized that what she had just said was about herself!

After laughing for a while, Jiang Lili exhaled a long breath, turned to look at Chen Fan, and smiled softly, "Thank you, Xiao Fan."

Chen Fan waved his hand and smiled at her, "Do you feel any better now?"

Jiang Lili nodded gently, "Yes, much better."

Then she exhaled a long breath and said with a smile, "Actually, I was just thinking about my sister that made me unhappy."

She said, turning to look at Chen Fan, "You don't know how good my sister is. Our family is from out of town, and our grandparents weren't around. When we were little, my parents were busy with work, and my sister always took care of me. She learned to cook with my mother when she was six, and later she cooked even better than my mother. I learned my cooking skills from her.

At school, her grades were also very good. She was always the first in the class. Later, she was admitted to Yunhu Technical School, and after graduation, she was assigned to the supply and marketing cooperative..."

Chen Fan looked at Jiang Lili, who had opened the floodgates of conversation, and finally breathed a sigh of relief in his heart.

It was good to be able to chat. As long as she started talking and said all the words in her heart, she wouldn't develop a mental illness.