Reborn in 1977

Not every team is assigned a cadre to be stationed at a specific point. This is mainly because the commune doesn't have enough cadres to send out. So, generally, the poorest and most backward team in a production brigade is selected to be stationed at, as that's where providing assistance would be most meaningful.

However, in actual practice, it's a different story.

Because in this era, everyone is pretty much the same. The resources within a single production brigade are also similar. If it's poor, the whole area is poor; if it's rich, the whole area is rich. It's not like decades later, where you might have a poverty-stricken village next to a wealthy one. That's highly unlikely.

Therefore, when the commune chooses a stationing point, they simply pick one that's nearby, so they can occasionally go home and visit when they're not too busy.

For the Lujiawan Production Brigade, out of the 12 teams, Team 5 and Team 6 are the closest. But Team 5 is the brigade headquarters, and the stationed cadre naturally can't get mixed up with the brigade leaders, or what kind of stationing would that be?

So, naturally, Team 6 became the fixed location for the commune cadre's stationing.

Cadre An arrived today. After he got here, the brigade called Team Leader Yang, who came to pick him up.

If he had come two days earlier, he could have hitched a ride on a donkey cart to pick him up. But today, the donkey carts have all gone to haul manure. The only idle adult livestock in the entire brigade is Chen Fan's little mare, so Team Leader Yang could only walk over.

The few of them stood together smoking, and they quickly became acquainted.

Cadre An's surname is An, and his given name is 'Quan' (meaning 'safe'). In his own words, 'Safe, safe, even if it's not safe, it's still safe. Whether it's safe or not, it's all safe.'

He's fair-skinned, of medium height, and a bit chubby all over. He looks like a cadre at first glance. His original work unit is the tax bureau. He didn't mention his position, but he must be at least a minor official, or he wouldn't have been sent here to be stationed.

Seeing that this person was easy to get along with, Chen Fan said with a smile, 'Cadre An, everyone in the production team is busy these days, except for me, who's relatively free. If you have any questions, you can come to me at any time. If I don't know, I can find someone who does for you.'

As soon as he said this, the three of them chuckled, leaving Chen Fan a bit puzzled.

An Quan pinched his cigarette, smiling like a Maitreya Buddha, 'First of all, I must thank Teacher Chen for his kindness. But, when it comes to Lujiawan, I'm more familiar with it than you are.'

Team Leader Yang, with his left hand behind his back and his right hand holding a cigarette, laughed so hard that he couldn't close his mouth. 'Little Chen, the house you're sleeping in now was originally where Old An lived.'

'Ah?'

Chen Fan looked at him in surprise, 'You were also an educated youth before?'

Is this an old-timer?!

An Quan nodded and smiled, 'Not only was I an educated youth, but I was also among the first batch of educated youths after the organized large-scale movement to the countryside, arriving here in early '69.'

Chen Fan's heart stirred slightly as he looked at him and asked, 'Then you're not a local?'

Sending people to the countryside also had a process. In the beginning, it was high school and junior high school graduates from big cities who hadn't been assigned jobs who were sent to the countryside. Later, it gradually spread to the county and township levels, but this spread was quite fast, almost in the same year.

But if he's saying he was among the first batch, then he must have come from a big city.

But listening to him speak, he clearly has a local accent.

An Quan smiled and nodded, 'My hometown is Shanghai. Back then, eight cities across the country, BJ, Shanghai, Tianjin, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Wuhan, Chengdu, and Chongqing, had people who needed to be sent out. Other places were arranged nearby. I belonged to the group that had to be sent out, and as a result, I came here.'

Chen Fan grinned and blinked, somewhat speechless. Coming from a big city to this small village and becoming a commune cadre, that basically cut off the possibility of returning to Shanghai.

Seeing Chen Fan's expression, An Quan knew what he was thinking, because he had seen too many such expressions over the years.

But he seemed very happy, raising his head and laughing, 'Haha, I'm considered lucky. Many people were assigned to Yunnan, Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, and Heilongjiang. At least I'm still in the mainland. Although it's not as good as those assigned to Chongming, this place is near the river. To go back to Shanghai, starting from here, it only takes three or four days by bus and boat, which is much better than those people.'

Chen Fan chuckled, thinking that this guy was an optimist.

Yang Chuanfu said with a smile, 'What's the use of three or four days? You still haven't gone back even once.'

'Tch.'

An Quan's smile didn't diminish as he shook his head and said, 'I don't have money. The travel expenses are only a dozen yuan, but from here to the county, from the county to the prefectural committee, it costs money every time. Back then, we even owed food rations. The first time we celebrated the New Year, it was your old man who took pity on us and sent a pound of meat, which twenty people shared. Otherwise, we wouldn't have had any oily food at all.'

Ye Shubao, who was smoking, suddenly choked, coughing and pointing at him. After a while, he laughed and scolded, 'You still have the nerve to say you didn't have any oily food? Stealing Team 6's dog is one thing, but you even stole from Team 7. I had only raised that dog for a year, and you guys could bring yourselves to do it.'

An Quan immediately winked and made faces, 'That's a great injustice! This matter has nothing to do with me. Look at me, it's good enough if I don't get bitten by a dog, how could I possibly steal a dog?'

Yang Chuanfu nodded on the side, 'Yeah, you don't steal dogs, you eat dog meat. The stench in your mouth didn't dissipate for three days.'

Even with An Quan's thick skin, he couldn't help but blush slightly, 'Oh dear, you all know?'

Ye Shubao, with a cigarette in his mouth, glanced at him, 'Otherwise? Although there are quite a few people in Lujiawan, before you guys came, not even a needle was lost. As soon as you came, seven or eight dogs disappeared silently in a year. The dogs would take a detour when they saw you guys.'

An Quan grinned and chuckled, 'This really has nothing to do with me. I didn't eat dog meat either. I just used the leftover soup from what they ate to cook some vegetable noodles and tasted a bit of the flavor.'

Chen Fan was stunned as he listened. The educated youth spot is full of talent. Being able to sneak away a dog silently isn't an easy task.

Team Leader Yang chuckled twice, exhaling a puff of smoke, "They're all just teenagers, many of whom probably hadn't even washed a pair of socks before leaving home. Suddenly, they're here, lacking food and clothing, and having to do heavy farm work. What can you do?"

The smile on An Quan's face also faded a bit. He silently took two puffs of his cigarette, exhaled a long stream of smoke, and then suddenly smiled, saying, "Our batch was actually pretty good. We'd only been here for a year when the city started a large-scale recruitment drive, and people went back to the city one after another. The later ones were the pitiful ones, many of them stayed for a full three years before leaving."

He turned to look at Chen Fan, smiling, "The recruitment quota that time was really generous. Besides satisfying that year's graduates, people were also going back in droves. I thought to myself at the time, with so many openings, surely there'll be one for me, right? But…"

He suddenly slapped his thigh, almost laughing to tears, "Guess what? By the time the recruitment ended, I got a telegram from home with two words: 'Filled up'!"

"There was nothing I could do. If this batch was full, then I'd just wait for the next one. Then, not long after, the county's various departments also started expanding their recruitment. This time, those with higher education were given priority. Those who, like me, hadn't been recruited simply went to work in the county's departments, which was also considered 'washing their feet and going ashore,' no longer having to farm."

"At the time, I thought, there are so many factories in the city, this recruitment can't just happen once, right? I still wanted to go back to Shanghai, so I didn't go with them and continued to wait."

"This wait lasted another year. Because of the large-scale recruitment, those graduates had already had their work assignments settled, and no new educated youth were coming down. For a while, I was the only one guarding the educated youth station, guarding and guarding, until the educated youth of '72 arrived, and I still hadn't been able to wait for another large-scale recruitment."

"Later, I corresponded with classmates in Shanghai and learned that since that large-scale recruitment, the schools had resumed their teaching order, and the factories no longer lacked people. Vocational school and university students were guaranteed job assignments, while junior high and high school graduates weren't guaranteed assignments. Although they were priority recruitment targets, there were too many of them, and some had to find their own way out. Those who weren't accepted by any work unit had to go to the countryside."

"In order not to go to the countryside, many people were fighting tooth and nail for those few leaked new openings, and I gave up the idea of returning to the city."

"Originally, I had already prepared myself to take root in Lujiawan, planning to spend my whole life here. But as the saying goes, when Heaven closes a door, it opens a window. Unexpectedly, I encountered the commune's recruitment. Although there were only a few openings, I had the most seniority and the highest education, so I was recommended to the commune, and I've been working there ever since."

Ye Shubao and Yang Chuanfu already knew these things. He was saying it for Chen Fan's benefit.

It was nothing more than chatting, reminiscing about the past.

After chatting for a while, a cigarette was finished, and Chen Fan lit another one for them.

An Quan took the cigarette and turned his head again, and saw the easel, "Teacher Chen, what are you painting?"

As he spoke, he walked over.

Chen Fan and the others also followed, moving to the easel.

An Quan looked at the sketch on the easel and couldn't help but nod repeatedly, turning his face to look at Chen Fan in surprise, "Amazing, such a realistic sketch, and every detail is so clear. It's not easy to draw."

Chen Fan was a little curious, "Do you also know about painting, Comrade An?"

An Quan waved his hand, "Don't call me Comrade An. That's just Ye and Yang teasing me. If you think highly of me, just call me Brother Quan, or Old An, either is fine."

He then smiled and said, "I don't know about painting, but my wife knows a little. Her home is near the Zhejiang Academy of Fine Arts. She used to learn painting from the teachers at the school. If the Central Academy of Fine Arts hadn't been suspended for two years, she probably could have gotten in. Since she couldn't go to university, she could only come here to be an educated youth like me. She also didn't have a chance to return to the city."

"But she was an educated youth in the Red Star Brigade, and later she also entered the commune's work unit. So we just ended up together. She often paints at home, so I've seen some."

Chen Fan suddenly understood. He was from Shanghai, and his wife was from Hangzhou, but the two of them met in the Nanhu Commune, thousands of miles away. It was fate.

At this time, An Quan lowered his head and flicked the cigarette ash. He suddenly saw the two little rabbits in the basket and couldn't help but be a little curious, "What are you doing with two rabbits? These two are too small, there's not much meat."

Chen Fan smiled, "These aren't for eating. I plan to try raising a few pairs of rabbits. If it's successful, it'll also add a sideline to the production team."

"Raising rabbits?"

An Quan nodded thoughtfully, "That's a good idea. Anyway, Lujiawan doesn't lack veterinarians, so they should be able to solve the problem of rabbits getting sick easily."

Then he looked at him and asked, "But rabbit seedlings aren't easy to buy. Where did you buy these little rabbits from?"

Chen Fan smiled and said, "I didn't buy these little rabbits…"

Before he could finish speaking, Team Leader Yang suddenly stopped him, "Wait a minute."

Then he pointed at An Quan and smiled, "Let's make a bet. If you can guess where the rabbits came from, I'll treat you to a meal with wine and dishes, guaranteed to have chicken and meat. If you lose, I don't want much, just a pack of Donghai cigarettes."

An Quan was also a fun-loving person, and immediately slapped his thigh, "Bet!"

Then his eyes darted around, tilting his head and thinking for a long time. He looked at Chen Fan again, only to see him smiling without saying a word, so he tentatively asked, "Did some commune member catch a rabbit's nest and you bought them?"

Chen Fan smiled and shook his head, "No."

An Quan thought again, then clapped his hands, "I know, you have a good relationship with the veterinary station, and you asked them to help you collect them?"

Chen Fan still shook his head, "Also no."

An Quan suddenly felt a little numb. He guessed several more times, but it was still wrong.

Finally, he spread his hands, helplessly saying, "I can't guess."

Team Leader Yang immediately laughed triumphantly, "Hahahaha, these were caught by the bird raised by Little Chen!"

An Quan's eyes widened instantly, "Caught by the bird?"

Just then, a chirp came from the sky, "Chirp chirp."

Chen Fan immediately looked up, pointing at the dark shadow in the sky and laughing, "Look, it's bringing another rabbit."