Reborn in 1977

Chapter 186: A Pure Relationship Between a Man and a Woman

The more they chatted, the happier they became. Before they knew it, the two of them had finished the plate of pastries Chen Fan had brought out while drinking tea.

It wasn't until the 12 o'clock chime came from the radio that Jiang Lili suddenly realized, "Oh no, I haven't made lunch yet."

As she said that, she stood up in a fluster, ready to go to the kitchen.

Chen Fan quickly stopped her, "Why bother making lunch? You're already full from the rice candies. Could you even eat more?"

Jiang Lili turned around, her face flushed, and said, "I couldn't."

Chen Fan smiled and said, "Then let's skip lunch. We'll have a nice dinner together tonight."

He then stood up, "Yesterday, I brought a charcoal stove to Old Man Lu. When Captain Xiao saw it, he wanted one too. I'm going to get some clay now and make one for him."

Jiang Lili's eyes widened, "You're making clay figurines on such a cold day?"

She paused for a moment, then frowned slightly, pouting her lips as she said, "What if others ask you for charcoal stoves in the future?"

Chen Fan looked at her with surprise, chuckling, "Not bad, Comrade Xiao Jiang. You're already thinking about preventing problems before they arise."

Jiang Lili wrinkled her nose, "I'm not stupid. You're so capable. If you didn't give things away, it would be fine, but once you start, you won't be able to stop. Where would you find the time to deal with them all then?"

Chen Fan waved his hand with a smile, saying softly, "I'm not stupid either. The one for Old Man Lu doesn't count. Today's one for Captain Xiao, he's trading me for a sheepskin earmuff worth ten yuan, so it's not free. If others want one in the future, whether it's a charcoal stove or something else, the standard is set here. Giving things away for free is forcing me to offend Captain Xiao, understand?"

Jiang Lili's lips parted slightly, her eyes wide, "So that's how it is."

Immediately, her eyes curved into crescents as she smiled, "I'll boil a pot of hot water. It won't be so cold to work with the clay with hot water."

This time, Chen Fan didn't stop her. After Jiang Lili went to boil water, he found a bamboo basket and took a shovel to dig mud behind the house.

With the support of the skill panel, his pottery skills were getting better and better. Compared to the crooked and cracked dates of his first clay figurines, the clay figurines he made now were already quite presentable. Even without a pottery wheel, he could still make a roughly round bowl.

However, today he didn't make bowls but pressed many clay slabs with wooden boards.

Jiang Lili watched from the side, her eyes full of confusion, "What are these?"

Chen Fan looked at her, chuckling, "Guess."

Jiang Lili wrinkled her nose, pouting her lips as she said, "I can't guess."

Seeing her expression, Chen Fan couldn't help but laugh.

Sister Jiang came once yesterday, unlocking many of Little Jiang's emoticons, making her much more lively than before.

Compared to when they first met, when she would lower her head and blush at the slightest thing, it was a world of difference.

Seeing Chen Fan laughing at her, Jiang Lili wasn't angry. She just smiled and said, "Then tell me, what are they for?"

Most of these strange clay slabs were square, but there were also various curves, some with inner curves, some with outer curves, and some were curved inward like tiles, leaving her completely clueless.

Chen Fan didn't tell her the answer, just smiling, "After this batch of ceramics is fired, if not too many are damaged, you'll know the answer then."

He looked at the clay slabs, feeling a little apprehensive in his heart. He wondered if these ceramic slabs would warp during firing.

Seeing that he wouldn't tell her, Jiang Lili didn't pursue the question, smiling as she made clay figurines with him.

However, compared to Chen Fan's rapidly improving craftsmanship, her skills were still at the level of her first clay figurine. But she didn't mind. In Chen Fan's words, they were all things she used herself. As long as they were useful, what did it matter?

The two of them worked until after three in the afternoon, placing the clay figurines one by one under the shed next to the kitchen.

This place was well-ventilated on two sides and wouldn't be exposed to rain or snow, making it the perfect place for air-drying. Chen Fan had built a shelf here specifically for placing clay figurines.

Looking at the shelves full of clay figurines, the two of them looked at each other and chuckled.

… …

In the afternoon, they continued to work.

When he arrived at the brigade headquarters, Chen Fan first turned on the radio on time. After waiting for a while and confirming that there were no problems, he went to the front yard.

As in the morning, he arranged the learning content for the class as usual, letting them study on their own. If they had any questions, they could wait for him to come over and answer them later.

After leaving the classroom converted from the conference room, Chen Fan passed through the central hall and walked to the office opposite.

Today, there was no one else here, only Secretary Yang was on duty.

The production team definitely couldn't compare to a factory. Factories had a 3-day holiday for the Spring Festival, from the first to the third day of the lunar year. Except for one or two people staying on duty, everyone else could stay home.

The production team, on the other hand, had holidays from the first to the fifteenth day of the lunar year. Under normal circumstances, the brigade headquarters would not be open for business, with only one person staying on duty. It wasn't until after the fifteenth day of the lunar year that all the coordinating workers would return to work as normal.

This was considered good. It was said that some local production teams would continue to rest until the second day of the second lunar month, and would only return to normal work after the "Dragon Raises Its Head" festival.

Therefore, during this period, all the leaders of the brigade headquarters would take turns being on duty.

Today was the first day of the lunar year, and the person in charge of duty was the biggest boss of the brigade headquarters, Secretary Yang.

Seeing Chen Fan come in, Secretary Yang put down the newspaper in his hand, "Little Chen, have you finished assigning the work?"

The office faced the classroom, so he could hear clearly what Chen Fan said over there. Of course, he knew.

Chen Fan came closer and nodded, "Finished. I told them to study on their own. I'll answer any questions they have later."

He paused, then smiled ingratiatingly, "Secretary Yang, can I borrow the brigade headquarters' phone?"

"Use the phone?"

Secretary Yang looked at him in confusion, "What do you need the phone for? Who are you calling?"

Could it be that this kid had acquaintances in the commune and wanted to call someone to wish them a Happy New Year?

But that didn't seem right. He had forgotten so many things, who's phone number would he remember?

Thinking of this, Secretary Yang's heart suddenly skipped a beat.

Oh no.

Could it be that he remembered something? Was this treasure about to slip away?

Just as he was scaring himself, he heard Chen Fan say,

"Didn't Little Jiang's sister come to see her, and then rushed back early this morning? It's snowing heavily. The roads are slippery. Little Jiang is worried about her sister, so she asked me to call her sister's work unit and ask if she got home."

Secretary Yang stared at him, blinking his eyes for a long time before he came back to his senses, "Little Jiang? Sister?"

Chen Fan nodded, "Yeah."

Secretary Yang blinked, "What's your relationship?"

Chen Fan was immediately speechless, raising his right hand solemnly, "I guarantee to Mr. Li, we have a pure relationship between a man and a woman."

"Oh."

Secretary Yang nodded in realization, "Alright, you want to make a call, right."

He got up and walked to the cabinet behind him, first took out a key to open a lock, pulled open the cabinet door, inside was a white tin box, the box was also hung with a small lock.

He changed a key to open the small lock, revealing a black telephone inside.

(Hand-cranked telephone)

He carefully took out the telephone, pulling out a thick black wire behind it.

Then he put it on the table, looked at Chen Fan and coughed, "Go ahead and call."

Chen Fan tilted his head and looked at the telephone, silently recalling how to use this type of magneto telephone.

Should he pick up the microphone first, or crank the handle first?

Seeing that he wasn't moving, Secretary Yang's face changed slightly, smiling, "You don't know how to use it, do you? I'll teach you."

He then pointed to the crank enthusiastically, "See this? Crank it slowly first, don't use too much force, too much force will pull it off. Be sure to go slowly. The phone will ring when the signal is connected. Then you can pick up the microphone and tell the operator the phone number you want to dial."