Reborn in 1977

Chapter 389 Picking Cotton

Back in Lujiawan, temporarily setting aside his busy work, Chen Fan returned to his leisurely retirement state.

He woke up at 6:00 AM, first practicing a set of Tai Chi, and after finishing, Yang Ju and the others would have already prepared breakfast, so he could wash up and eat.

Then the girls would go to work, but one person would stay behind in the backyard, busy tending to the livestock, managing the vegetable garden, cleaning up, and also going to the hillside behind to clean the new house and feed the pandas.

After finishing these tasks, they would start preparing lunch.

As for Chen Fan, if there was nothing else to do, he would usually read books and drink tea in the study on the second floor of the new house, listen to music and the radio in the living room on the first floor, hug Gun Gun in the panda enclosure... or, under Gun Gun's pitiful gaze, ride the little mare, carrying a shotgun, with a yellow dog on his left and a falcon on his right, riding alone across the flatlands.

Occasionally, he would bring back one or two small animals; if not, he would just consider it a walk.

After lunch, he would take a nap, and then he would ride his horse to the brigade headquarters for a stroll, check Zhang Cuie's learning progress, and wander around the study class, offering guidance.

He would also check on the training situation at the cooked food workshop.

With the reserve personnel trained previously, the new round of personnel training for the prefectural committee's new stores no longer required Chen Fan to personally take charge; the eight people who stayed in the team were enough to be training teachers. The old hands lead the new, that's the tradition.

He would mostly just watch from the side, pointing out and correcting any areas that weren't understood.

The prefectural committee's ten stores were still under construction and renovation, but they had already begun operating, so it was natural to hurry with staffing.

Secretary Yang was also a ruthless person. He arranged for a team to live at each construction site, with all the renovation materials prepared in the team, and then transported them from here by boat, and then by manpower-pulled carts to the corresponding locations.

Although Yunhu City was not even half the size of what it would be decades later, its area was still considerable, with distances of about ten kilometers between each store. The construction team members stubbornly pulled the materials to the sites with carts.

Chen Fan reckoned that although he had the labor, he couldn't endure the hardship, so he could only cheer them on in spirit.

He also gave Secretary Yang a suggestion.

Pulling bricks with carts on the roads of Yunhu City, how eye-catching would that be?

Shouldn't such a good opportunity be used for advertising?

For example, the construction team members could all be given clothes printed with "Luwan Cooked Food Store," and a banner could be erected on the carts with the words "Luwan Cooked Food Store."

In this way, the effect would be significant, and almost half of Yunhu City would know that there was a "Luwan Cooked Food Store." As for what they sold?

Just go to the waiting halls of the three passenger stations or passenger terminals to see!

The stores weren't ready yet, but the canteens of several hospitals and a university had already started supplying cooked food.

Or you could buy it at the waiting halls of the three passenger stations and passenger terminals. There were no stores there, but there were stalls, and the things sold were the same. The sales volume of some individual stalls was even higher than that of the main store at the Gufeng County terminal.

A large warehouse under the passenger terminal was converted into a kitchen. Currently, all the cooked food for the entire prefectural committee's stores was made here. After the stores at the passenger stations were built, a portion would be separated out to form a pattern of 4 kitchens and 10 stores, which would be much more convenient at that time.

However, some people were taking advantage of the frequent trips of the transport ships to the prefectural committee for "personal gain under the guise of public service."

Since Chen Fan bought a sewing machine and a bicycle from the prefectural committee's second-hand store in May, many people in the team had been eyeing the things in the second-hand store.

Rural people mainly value practicality and don't care whether the goods are new or old. Cheap and useful is good.

After the Sixth Team's Captain Yang learned to ride a bicycle, he would wipe the bike that Chen Fan helped him buy until it was shiny, and then ride it from the Sixth Team to the Twelfth Team, and from the First Team to the Fifth Team, almost becoming a voluntary messenger.

This behavior naturally attracted a wave of envy.

Fortunately, although they were envious, no one secretly hit him with a stick. They just smiled on the surface and cursed him as a show-off in their hearts.

When the brigade settled the first payment for the purchase of chickens, ducks, and geese with the members a few days ago, plus the wooden boats traveling back and forth to the prefectural committee several times a day these past few days, everyone was moved.

They were fully loaded when they went, but empty when they came back!

Before, no one went to the prefectural committee to buy second-hand goods because the road was far and the water was long and inconvenient. Now, didn't the opportunity come?!

The ship needed people to carry bricks over there, so many people volunteered to carry bricks for free. After carrying the bricks, they could take the boat to the second-hand store to buy good things and bring them back on the empty boat. It was simply a win-win!

So, when Chen Fan rode his horse through the team, he would occasionally encounter one or two people riding bicycles past him.

"Good morning, Teacher Chen."

"Good noon, Teacher Chen."

"Good afternoon, Teacher Chen."

"Good evening..."

In short, it was a bit indescribable.

...

Another ten days or so passed, and it was now September 14th.

Chen Fan woke up from his nap at noon, washed his face, greeted Jiang Lili, who was reading a book, and slowly rode his horse towards the brigade headquarters.

Before he could go far, he heard the sound of a bicycle bell behind him.

Looking back, Captain Yang was riding his bike quickly to catch up.

When he was level with Chen Fan, he squeezed the brakes and laughed loudly, "Going to the brigade headquarters again?"

Chen Fan's eyes twitched slightly, "Yeah."

Speaking of which, he shows off his bicycle every day; isn't he tired of it yet?

Moreover, he was only slightly higher than the horse's back on his bike. Isn't it tiring to talk to me like this?

Then he asked, "Are you going to the brigade headquarters too?"

Captain Yang nodded, "Yes, we're going to start picking cotton in the next two days. I'm going to the brigade to have a meeting to discuss the regulations."

At this time, the cotton in Jiangnan was mainly medium-staple cotton, unlike later when many places switched to long-staple cotton. When the cotton bolls of medium-staple cotton matured in autumn, after a few days of exposure to the strong sun, the cotton shells would completely crack open, and the cotton inside would expand like flowers.

Only then would the members go to pick it.

This fully mature cotton was easy to pick. When picking, they would tie a cloth bag around their waist, and a gentle pinch with their fingers could grab a large handful.

Also, because the cotton stalks were relatively short this year, they had to bend over to pick them, just like picking things up, so picking cotton was called picking cotton.

(Picking Cotton)

Chen Fan glanced at the dry land on the hillside, turned his head back, and said, "Is our cotton task heavy?"

Captain Yang shook his head and smiled, "It's not heavy. Compared to rice, cotton and rapeseed oil can only be considered icing on the cake, but there are still some tasks, and we've already been given deposits. We just need to plant according to the task amount, and after the harvest, we'll go to the cotton purchasing station to hand in the task and collect the remaining money."

Chen Fan was a little curious, "There's a deposit too?"

Speaking of which, the pigs I raise also belong to the assigned purchase task, so why isn't there a deposit?

Captain Yang smiled and said, "Cotton is different from other things. Pork belongs to the assigned purchase. In the past, there were also assigned purchases of wool, tobacco leaves, fresh eggs, herbs, tea, honey, and silk, but the varieties here are relatively simple. After a year, it didn't work out, and in the end, only pork was left.

Cotton belongs to pre-purchase. Grain, oil, and cotton, besides grain and oil, cotton is the most important, but the investment in growing cotton is even greater. This thing can't be eaten, so some people are unwilling to plant it.

So, every year after the higher authorities issue production tasks, the commune breaks down the tasks to each production team, and then, according to the planned planting area, they first issue a deposit. This deposit is mainly used to buy seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides and is deducted when the task is handed in."

Chen Fan nodded in understanding, "So that's how it is."

Compulsory purchase, unified purchase, assigned purchase, negotiated purchase, reward sales, barter.

Adding the pre-purchase he just learned about, he now knew seven different agricultural products and the different policies that should be followed in different situations.

It was also difficult for Captain Yang and the others to remember everything clearly and not make any mistakes.

The two of them were talking, and before long, they arrived at the brigade headquarters.

As a result, before Chen Fan could dismount, An Quan pulled a horse and jumped on it, driving it over and saying, "You came at the right time. I was just about to look for you. The waterway transportation company just called, and the parts have arrived. They want you to go and take a look."

Chen Fan immediately pulled the reins and turned around, laughing, "How many days have I been waiting? It's been three weeks, right? These parts are slow in coming."

As he said that, he drove his horse towards the dam.

An Quan waved goodbye to Captain Yang, cracked his whip twice, and chased after him, "Running so fast again, wait for me."

It wasn't easy catching up, and he only smiled and said, "What do you think this is? Something you can just buy at a store? These parts are expensive, and it's good if they arrive in three weeks."

The two of them sped along, Chen Fan telling the little mare to slow down a bit and wait for safety. Still, it took less than ten minutes to reach the repair shop of the water transport company.

Inside the workshop, the spare parts for the two thrusters were already prepared.

Now that the water level had receded, they didn't operate on the second floor, but directly on the first.

Secretary Tian, Cui Baozhang, and several other leaders of the water transport company stood by, staring intently at the parts as Chen Fan, assisted by several veteran technicians, began assembling them.

After a period of intense work, the main parts of the thrusters were assembled.

Only then did Secretary Tian and the others walk over, watching Chen Fan intently. "How is it?"

Chen Fan looked up and smiled. "Let's test it first."

Cui Baozhang and Secretary Tian exchanged glances, and Cui Baozhang gestured to a mechanic.

The man nodded slightly, picked up a bucket of diesel, poured it into the engine, and started the machine.

A few seconds later, a deafening roar sounded, and the huge propeller began to spin.

Seeing this, everyone couldn't help but raise their hands and applaud.

Secretary Tian clapped his hands as he quickly stepped forward, excitedly shaking Chen Fan's hand. "Teacher Chen is indeed extraordinary. Even the engineers from the provincial capital couldn't fix it, but you fixed it as soon as you arrived, saving our company a great deal of money!"

Chen Fan chuckled. "Although I checked just now and there were no problems, it still needs to be tested on the boat to really understand it."

After a pause, he added, "And I'm not working for free. The members of Lujiawan are eagerly waiting."

Secretary Tian immediately laughed loudly. "Don't worry, when your boat is built, we'll install one directly on it, and we guarantee you won't be disappointed!"

Then he turned to Cui Baozhang and waved his hand. "Old Cui, install it on the boat for testing."

Cui Baozhang happily gestured in agreement. "Okay."

The following work didn't require Chen Fan's intervention at all; this was the kind of work their repair shop was supposed to do.

They started the support and dragged a boat out of the water, then began the intense installation work.

However, this kind of work couldn't be completed in a short time.

It wasn't until the evening of the next day that good news finally came from the water transport company.

The repaired thruster was working normally without any problems. The big wooden boat of Lujiawan was secure!

The news spread, and Lujiawan was in an uproar.

Although the current assembled small boats were also quite useful, if they had a choice, who wouldn't want a real big boat?

Moreover, Lujiawan was now making money hand over fist and didn't have to worry about not being able to afford diesel. With this big boat, they could send more goods to the prefectural committee and earn even more money.

How could such a great thing not make them happy!

However, before they could be happy for long, they had to start getting busy again.

September 16th, morning.

Jiang Lili came out wearing long sleeves and trousers, a straw hat on her head, and a grayish-white cloth bag hanging on her shoulder.

Behind her, Huang Ying, Yang Ju, and Liu Dan were all dressed the same way.

Huang Ying looked around the courtyard and, seeing no one, walked to the door of Chen Fan's room, intending to say hello before leaving. However, she found that the room was also empty and couldn't help but wonder, "Where did Teacher Chen go?"

Liu Dan immediately shook her head. "I don't know."

Yang Ju said, "I just saw him go into the room, but now he's not here when I come out."

She turned to look at Jiang Lili. "Lili, do you know?"

Jiang Lili looked blank and gently shook her head. "I don't know. I was in the room with you preparing, and I didn't see where he went."

Just then, Chen Fan walked out from the backyard, wearing a straw hat on his head, his sleeves rolled up high, his pants legs rolled up to his knees, and a cloth bag hanging on his shoulder.

The four girls instantly stared wide-eyed.

Chen Fan walked up to them and smiled. "Are you ready? Let's go then."

As he walked out, he didn't hear any movement behind him, so he turned around to look at them. "Hey, why aren't you leaving?"

Huang Ying swallowed, seemingly in disbelief. "T-Teacher Chen, what are you going to do?"

Chen Fan grabbed the cloth bag and shook it. "Going to pick cotton."

Yang Ju gasped, staring at him intently. "Pick cotton? You're going to pick cotton?"

Liu Dan even opened her mouth. "Uh, can you pick cotton?"

Jiang Lili's face was full of hesitation. "Why don't you go back to painting?"

Chen Fan was speechless. He put his hands on his hips and said, "What's wrong with me picking cotton? Isn't it just picking cotton? Are you looking down on me because I don't know how? If I don't know how, I'll learn!"

The four of them looked at each other and then at Chen Fan.

Well, Teacher Chen was already striding out with an arrogant gait.

Jiang Lili quickly followed behind, shouting, "Little... Teacher Chen, you can't roll up your pants legs, you'll get bitten by bugs or snakes."

Chen Fan promptly lowered his pants legs and continued forward.

Yang Ju wasn't to be outdone. "You can't roll up your sleeves either. The cotton bolls are hard, and there are cotton stalks that will scratch your arms."

She really wanted to say that his skin was so tender that he would definitely get scratched.

Then she saw Chen Fan put down his sleeves and take out a pair of gloves from his pocket and put them on.

Liu Dan was the most straightforward. Seeing his posture, she immediately shouted, "You can't wear gloves, otherwise it won't be easy to pick them clean, and that would be a waste."

Chen Fan took off his gloves again and stuffed them into his pocket.

Huang Ying's eyes darted around, and she quickly ran forward. "Teacher Chen, let me teach you..."

Chen Fan said, "Isn't picking cotton just something you can do with your hands? Do you need to teach me?"

...

Two hours later, Chen Fan sat on the edge of the field, took a sip of water, and said earnestly to Yang Ju, "Xiaoju, your ideal is to study machinery. Look, picking cotton is so tiring. In the future, you must develop our own cotton-picking machine. By that time, we won't have to pick cotton boll by boll manually like today. How tiring!"

Yang Ju chuckled dryly. "I'm afraid I can't."

Chen Fan's expression became extremely serious. "If you can't, then learn. Start with the principles of machinery and you will definitely be able to develop our own cotton-picking machine."

Huang Ying's eyes were full of curiosity. "Teacher Chen, you keep saying our own cotton-picking machine. Have other countries already developed machines that can pick cotton?"

Chen Fan nodded. "Not only do they have them, but as early as 1884, the United States invented the world's first cotton-picking machine. At the beginning of this century, they began to promote the use of cotton-picking machines.

And our country also started importing many cotton-picking machines from the 1960s, but they are mainly used in plain areas. They are relatively rare in places like ours."

Jiang Lili couldn't help but be curious. She looked at him intently and asked softly, "Is the gap between us and foreign countries really that big?"

Chen Fan smiled and said, "It's big and small at the same time."

Jiang Lili's eyes were full of confusion. What did he mean?

Chen Fan explained, "From a scientific and technological point of view, there is indeed a certain gap between us and the developed countries in the world, but this gap is not irreparable, because we have the largest population in the world, which can breed the most talent..."

Not far away, a group of people were watching them chat eagerly.

One of them whispered, "Accountant Liu, you can't deduct points for this."

Another nodded repeatedly. "Old Ba is right. Look at Teacher Chen, he's definitely teaching those girls some skills. He's even teaching them in the fields. It's not the same as us resting."

Accountant Liu was struggling in his heart. Hearing their words, he couldn't help but raise his head and say, "Which of your eyes saw me deducting work points from them?"

As he spoke, he handed over the scoring book in his hand. "Look, look, did I deduct even one point from them?"

Someone really stretched their neck to look. "Oh, you really didn't."

A person next to him smiled and said, "If you ask me, Teacher Chen doesn't even need to come to the fields. It's enough to teach those girls well in the house."

A woman immediately rushed over, pulled on Accountant Liu's sleeve, and said, "Why don't you just let them all go back and still record work points, and also record a share for Teacher Chen. You guys get both subsidies and work points, he can too."

Accountant Liu was on the verge of tears. "Sister-in-law, we get subsidies, but Little Chen gets wages, and he gets double the amount. How can we compare to him?"