Reborn in 1977

Chapter 320: The Mighty Yangtze River is All Water

A few more days passed in the blink of an eye.

May 28th, Saturday, the 12th day at Yunhu.

The day before, Zhang Juemin told Chen Fan that if they didn't return tomorrow, Secretary Yang and the others would organize a group to kidnap them.

So, after repeated negotiations with Hao Liyang, Chen Fan finally settled on leaving today.

In the past few days, under the arrangement of the Health Department, Chen Fan visited several of the larger hospitals in Yunhu, successfully completing his guidance mission.

At the same time, the final draft of the "Handbook of First Aid for Common Sudden Injuries and Illnesses" was also successfully completed, which was the main reason why they could set off back to Lujiawan today.

In the backyard of the Health Department's guest house, several porters loaded boxes and loose items onto the truck.

These included old books, electrical appliances, and mechanical parts that Chen Fan had scavenged from the waste recycling company, as well as a bicycle and sewing machine he had bought at the second-hand store, and souvenirs purchased by the three of them.

Then there were some "local specialties" sent by the Health Department.

Since it was the health system, the local specialties naturally had their own characteristics.

For Chen Fan, it was 100 kinds of commonly used Chinese herbal medicines, 1 jin of each, totaling 100 jin, which took several large cloth bags to hold.

Originally, Chen Fan wanted to get some good medicines like tiger bone and old ginseng, but unfortunately, there wasn't much stock in Yunhu City.

After begging shamelessly and spending 50 yuan, he managed to get two tiger knees and a 30-year-old ginseng.

Tiger knees are the best part of a tiger, and there was an ancient saying, "Kill the tiger to take the patella," which is also the top-grade raw material for tiger bone wine.

Using these two tiger knees and the 30-year-old ginseng as the main ingredients, plus a dozen other medicinal materials, Chen Fan could concoct a jar of top-grade tiger bone wine.

The kind that would make your whole body feel hot with just a sip!

It wasn't a waste of his 50 yuan.

What he got was medicinal materials, while Zhang Juemin, as a proper health worker from the production team, got a commemorative edition toolbox from the Health Department.

Ahem, it was just an ordinary toolbox with the words "Yunhu Area Health Department Commemorative" printed around it.

Zhang Juemin felt particularly awesome carrying it on his body.

Chen Fan really couldn't bear to look at his triumphant appearance.

In addition to this, there was a pile of messy tickets, including tickets for the "Three Revolutions and One Sound," all fully equipped.

There were also 5 packs of Yulan cigarettes with filter tips that Chen Fan exchanged from the director with his exclusive secret recipe, "Five Ways to Cook Soft-Shelled Turtle."

As a veteran cadre of the health system, he naturally knew that soft-shelled turtle was a nourishing delicacy, but Yunhu had no tradition of eating soft-shelled turtle before, and they didn't know how to cook it, so they could only imagine it.

Now that they had obtained the cooking secret from Chen Fan and passed it on to the chef in the Health Department's cafeteria without reservation, what were a mere 5 packs of filter-tipped cigarettes worth?!

Chen Fan even suspected that the tickets for the "Three Revolutions and One Sound" were the price difference they had made up later.

Zhang Juemin and Zhang Wenliang were very conscious of not taking any of these things, even if Chen Fan wanted to share them, they resolutely refused.

Zhang Juemin also carefully instructed Chen Fan to keep those tickets, especially the tickets for the "Three Revolutions and One Sound," which would definitely be useful when he got married in the future!

Chen Fan could only smile silently at this, and then shook hands with the leaders and old experts of the Health Department one by one to bid farewell.

Director, "Don't relax your studies when you get down there, and think carefully about the job transfer."

Director, "Come and see us when you have time."

Hao Liyang, "If you figure it out one day, give Section Chief Yan a call, the position will still be reserved for you."

Yan Liyuan, "If you have any difficulties down there, just give me a call, I will definitely not refuse to do what I can."

Chen Fan, "Thank you, thank you, thank you for the leaders' kindness..."

After a good deal of pulling and tugging, Chen Fan sat in the passenger seat.

Zhang Juemin and Zhang Wenliang very decisively climbed into the back of the truck, sitting in the pre-reserved gap, smiling especially happily.

They heard that sitting here would prevent motion sickness, so they wouldn't feel uncomfortable on the way back!

As Yan Liyuan gave a gesture, the driver started the car and slowly drove away from the backyard of the Health Department, heading towards Gufeng County amidst the crowd's waving farewell.

...

As when they came, they had to go to the dock to cross the Yangtze River first.

The car drove all the way, and after more than ten minutes, they could see the Yangtze River levee.

Just as they were about to go uphill, Chen Fan saw a lot of people gathered not far ahead, and there seemed to be some strange sounds coming from inside, sometimes "咿咿咿咿...", sometimes "嘎嘎", occasionally mixed with muffled snorts.

Hearing it in his ears, it was clearly chaotic panic sounds like "uncomfortable" and "go away," which made him feel a little strange.

He looked in that direction and asked, "Master, do you know what they're doing there?"

The driver was also a formal employee of the Health Department, so he naturally knew about Chen Fan's contributions and the attitude of many leaders in the bureau towards him, so he was also very polite.

He drove the car directly towards that side and said with a smile, "If you're interested, you'll know when you go over and take a look."

Chen Fan smiled and was about to say no when he suddenly saw a figure in the crowd, and couldn't help but widen his eyes, "I'll go, a panda?!"

"A panda?"

The driver quickly reacted, "Oh, that should be an artisan from Sichuan who came to set up a stall and perform."

Chen Fan quickly turned to look at him, his face full of shock, "Set up a stall and perform? Use a panda to perform?"

(Life is not easy, the cat is performing.

This baby should have no dislikes, right?!)

Seeing Chen Fan's shocked face, the driver couldn't help but smile, "Yes, it's just a panda, people can still juggle tigers and bears, what's a panda."

After a pause, he said, "Every year in spring and autumn, many farmers come here from Sichuan, Guizhou, and southern Zhejiang.

They have many mountains and little land there, and the harvest is not enough for food throughout the year, so during the period from transplanting rice to harvesting, the production team will issue them letters of introduction to allow them to come out and make a living.

Those who are not capable will hold a bowl in their left hand, a stick in their right hand, and carry a cloth bag on their shoulders, begging wherever they go.

Those who are capable are like this, getting a monkey to perform, or bringing a few dogs to perform, and there are also those who perform with bears and tigers, but that kind is usually in groups, at least two or three people, less than that can't handle it."

Speaking of this, he pointed to the crowd, "This should be someone performing with a panda.

But they don't dare to go to the city, they only find places to set up stalls and perform in the districts and counties below or in the suburbs of the city.

Even if they are seen by the public security, they will not be embarrassed if they take out the letter of introduction."

Chen Fan's eyes turned slightly, and he immediately opened the car door, "I'll go take a look."

As soon as he got out of the car, Zhang Wenliang and Zhang Juemin came down and followed behind him.

They had heard clearly what Chen Fan said in the driver's seat, and they didn't even need to ask, they just followed.

Chen Fan squeezed through the crowd and saw a giant panda sitting restlessly in a large wooden cage, occasionally letting out hoarse roars, "Ee", "Gaa"...

Next to it were three short men, looking anxiously at the panda in the cage, completely at a loss.

In the distance, there were three flatbed carts. One was empty, and the other two each had a cage. One cage held several dogs, and the other held several monkeys. At this moment, they were all watching the anxious panda, obediently趴着 (趴着 - pinyin: pāzhe, meaning lying prone), and not moving around.

The surrounding people were not afraid, pointing and gossiping curiously, all guessing what had happened to the panda.

Chen Fan looked at the panda and walked over slowly.

One of them immediately spoke with a standard Sichuan accent, "This young comrade, don't get too close, be careful of being scratched by the cat."

Chen Fan smiled and waved his hand, "It's okay, I'm a veterinarian, I'm here to see what's going on with it."

"You're a veterinarian?"

One of the men immediately looked surprised, but the next second, his face fell again, "A veterinarian won't know how to treat a panda."

The last person gritted his teeth and said, "Whatever, at least the little doctor understands medicine."

Then he bowed to Chen Fan, "Please help us take a look, little doctor."

Chen Fan originally wanted to take out his veterinarian certificate to prove it, but he didn't expect them not to look at it, so he put it back.

Just as he was about to approach the cage, he was stopped by Zhang Wenliang.

He said to Chen Fan with a serious face, "You need to think carefully, this is a bear, not a cat, are you really sure you can do it?!"

Chen Fan smiled, "How can a man say he can't?"

Then he patted his arm, walked to the cage, and asked the panda, "Hey, what's wrong with you?"

When the panda heard someone talking to it, it immediately pounced over. The wooden cage was not very sturdy to begin with, and it shook violently when it pounced, scaring the three performers. They rushed over to pull Chen Fan away.

Chen Fan supported the cage with one hand, turned around and waved to them, indicating that it was okay, then turned back to look at the panda, "What's wrong with you?"

The panda didn't know how to express itself, but just whimpered, "Uncomfortable, uncomfortable."

After saying that, it suddenly turned around and spun around in the small cage.

Chen Fan's veterinary skills were not learned in vain. Unlike when he asked Little Ma, when he could only guess that it was gastroenteritis, he already had a judgment in his mind based on the panda's current performance.

He immediately turned to the three men and said, "If I'm not mistaken, it should be about to give birth."

"Give birth?"

The three men looked at each other.

Finally, two of them focused their attention on the other man's face.

The man's face was blank, "What are we going to do?"

Regardless of any animal, they will be different from usual for a period of time after giving birth. Some have small differences and it will pass quickly, while others have big differences, even like a different "animal."

He had only learned a little panda taming skill from others, and then went into the mountains to find a baby panda. Usually, he didn't know how to raise it, so he sent it to his master to raise it with his panda. It was fine for the first two or three years, how could it suddenly get pregnant this year?

And there was no sign of it at all.

Chen Fan looked at the panda, making "clucking" sounds.

Soon, the panda calmed down and sat in the cage, leaning against the wooden fence, letting Chen Fan stroke its head.

Right there, the panda suddenly opened its legs, and with a 'biu', a "little mouse" fell out.

Chen Fan opened his eyes wide, his eyes full of smiles, "Hey, it's born."

Just as he was about to speak, there was another 'biu', and another "little mouse" fell out.

Chen Fan opened his mouth wide, "It's even twins?!"

He was happy, but the performer had a sad face. He didn't know how to raise baby pandas!

Chen Fan turned his head and saw his expression, and was immediately stunned, "What's wrong?"

The man didn't speak, just looked at the one big and two small pandas in the cage, his face full of depression.

He didn't know how to raise baby pandas, and the big panda probably couldn't perform to earn money during this time. What to do?

He didn't speak, and his companion whispered his difficulties.

Chen Fan's eyes rolled slightly, he looked at the panda, then at the man, and asked, "How did you get this panda?"

The man sighed and said, "How else? I went into the mountains myself and caught it in a trap."

As he spoke, he gestured, "When I caught it, it was only as big as a dog. I raised it for two or three years, and I don't know how many bamboos I chopped down to raise it to this size."

Chen Fan blinked and asked, "Then, are you selling this panda?"

The man was stunned and looked at him in surprise, "You want to buy it?"

Chen Fan glanced at the panda, which was smelling and biting the two "little mice", stood up and smiled, "It depends on whether it's expensive. If it's not too much money, I can buy it."

The man asked in confusion, "What are you buying a panda for?"

Chen Fan waved his hand, "I'm a veterinarian at the zoo. If you sell it, I'll just buy it for the zoo."

Hearing this, Zhang Juemin and Zhang Wenliang looked at each other, thinking, this kid lies very fluently?!

The man's face was relieved, and he smiled at Chen Fan, "Look at this panda, it's worth as much as a big fat pig, and it can also perform. I can earn some money every time I come out these two years, look at this..."

Chen Fan thought for a while and said, "Like this, let's use the price of pork, 5毛 (máo - a unit of Chinese currency, 1/10 of a yuan) per pound."

He turned his head to look at the panda, then turned back, "This panda is probably only 150 pounds at most, I'll give you 75 yuan, and the two small ones will be a bonus, how about that?"

75 yuan?

The man's eyes lit up, but then a sly look flashed across his face, "Add a little more, add a little more!"

Chen Fan thought for a while, "80 yuan at most, take it or leave it."

The man nodded and bowed, "Make it a round number, how about 100?"

Chen Fan cupped his fist in salute, "Can't afford it, goodbye!"

After saying that, he turned and left.

The man quickly shouted, "80, just 80!"

10 minutes later, a space was cleared on the truck, and the three performers worked together to lift the cage onto the truck.

Chen Fan drove Zhang Wenliang to the front to sit, leaned against the cage himself, and touched the giant panda, "From today on, you'll be called '滚滚' (Gǔn gǔn - a common nickname for pandas, meaning 'rolling')."

Then he looked at the two little pandas, "You'll be called '长江' (Chángjiāng - Yangtze River), and you'll be called '都是水' (Dōu shì shuǐ - All Water)!"

Thank you everyone for your votes, (`) 比心 (bǐ xīn - finger heart).