Reborn in 1977

Chapter 456: Guess What Word This Is?

It wasn't too late when I returned to Lujiawan.

It was 8 PM, and Huang Ying and the others weren't asleep yet. The three older girls were gathered around the tea table, previewing their college textbooks, while the three younger ones were nestled on the living room sofa, each engrossed in a magazine, occasionally asking each other about unfamiliar words.

Chen Fan parked the boat, slung his backpack over his shoulder, and strode towards home.

Earlier, there was a crescent moon in the sky, but now, a gentle breeze blew, and the clouds obscured the moon. Chen Fan climbed the embankment, looked at the lights of his home on the hilltop, and suddenly felt a cold sensation on his face.

He looked up and realized that it was snowing again. At first, there were only a few scattered flakes, but soon it became boundless, covering the entire sky.

Reaching out to catch a snowflake, it instantly melted into a drop of water. Chen Fan chuckled twice and continued on his way.

As soon as he stepped off the embankment, the youth center was in an uproar.

Duo Duo and Qiu Qiu were barking wildly, instantly awakening the horses, sheep, chickens in the coop, and the myna and kestrel in the bird nests under the eaves of the new house.

The myna opened its eyes and curiously poked its head out of the nest. After a moment, it suddenly flapped its wings and flew out, shouting, "Xiao Chen is back, Xiao Chen is back."

Chen Fan's face darkened. He picked up a pebble from the ground, flicked it with his finger, and the myna instantly let out a miserable cry, "Ah…"

Without even looking at the myna that had fallen to the ground, Chen Fan strode proudly over it.

Hmph, who do you think you are, calling me Xiao Chen?

The noise outside startled Huang Ying and the others. They put down their books and gathered at the window.

It was pitch black outside. Huang Ying couldn't see anything. "It sounds like the myna?"

Yang Ju leaned next to her. "It sounds like Duo Duo and Qiu Qiu are barking."

Liu Dan opened the window, listened for a while, and said with a smile, "No, it's Gun Gun barking."

Huang Li grinned foolishly, "Gun Gun is so clever, it sounds just like a dog."

Huang Ying glanced at her sister and said unhappily, "What do you mean, 'sounds like a dog'? That's just how Gun Gun barks. Teacher Chen said that pandas have many different calls. When its call sounds like a dog, it means it's startled. It must have been woken up from its sleep and is unhappy."

At that moment, Gun Gun's barking suddenly turned into a bleating sound.

Liu Dan's eyes widened instantly, "Gun Gun is happy."

Huang Ying's eyes darted around, and she suddenly jumped up, "Oh, it must be Teacher Chen is back."

As she spoke, she ran outside, and the other girls quickly followed.

Chen Fan had just climbed to the top of the slope when he saw the gate being pulled open from the inside, and six girls ran out in a row.

Huang Ying ran in front, "Teacher Chen is back."

Chen Fan waved with a smile, "Aren't you all asleep yet?"

Yang Ju reached out to take his bag, "No, we're all studying. You told us to preview our lessons more."

Chen Fan nodded with a smile, then waved his hand and said, "It's snowing, go inside."

Once inside, Yang Ju took the bag and went upstairs, "Yang Mei, come up and help me make the bed."

Liu Dan said to Chen Fan, "You haven't had dinner yet, have you?"

Chen Fan just opened his mouth, "I ate…"

Liu Dan interrupted, "You must be hungry after traveling. Have some supper."

Then she waved to Huang Li, "Let's go cook."

Huang Ying saw that only she and Liu Lu were left, and she wasn't willing to be outdone, "I'll go heat up the bathwater for you."

After speaking, she ran outside.

Liu Lu quickly followed behind, "Sister Ying, I'll help you."

In a matter of seconds, only Chen Fan was left.

He looked at the stairs, then back at the kitchen with the lights on, and chuckled.

In this situation, unless there's a special reason, who would want to leave?!

First, he took a nice bath, changed his clothes, then ate a bowl of longevity noodles, and finally, it was time to open the gifts.

Huang Ying knitted a woolen scarf herself… Hmm, he had previously told Xia Yuping that many people had given him scarves, but that was a deliberate lie to make her feel less special. He didn't expect to actually receive a scarf upon his return.

With the scarf, the others would definitely give something different.

Liu Dan made a pair of cotton shoes, but the craftsmanship wasn't as good as the pair Jiang Lili gave him last year. Yang Ju gave him a pair of leather gloves, and the leather seemed to be rabbit skin she'd gotten from home.

As for the other three, they didn't give anything.

Chen Fan wasn't surprised. Huang Ying and the others had their own private money, but Huang Li and the others didn't. However, he said a few auspicious words, and the sentiment was enough.

…

The next morning.

There were only a few embers left in the fireplace, but the temperature in the room wasn't low.

Chen Fan got out of bed and put on his clothes. The water in the kettle on the fireplace was still warm, perfect for washing his face and brushing his teeth.

He packed his things and went downstairs. The girls were already busy.

Now they all lived in the room with the kang (heated brick bed). Originally, Chen Fan had planned to live in this room himself, thinking how comfortable it would be to snuggle on the kang in the cold weather!

However, he had gotten used to living on the second floor, so this room was convenient for the girls.

Anyway, the kang was big enough for six girls to sleep on, and it could also save on coal.

It had snowed all night, but it wasn't very thick. Except for Liu Dan and Huang Li, who were preparing breakfast, the others were busy shoveling snow, and soon they had cleared the courtyard.

After breakfast, Yang Ju had already led the little mare with the saddle on.

Seeing its owner, the little mare instantly rushed forward, burying its head in Chen Fan's arms.

Chen Fan hugged the little mare's head and patted it a few times, then laughed heartily, jumped on its back, and headed towards the brigade headquarters through the snow.

Perhaps it was because of the snow, or perhaps it was too early, but Lujiawan was particularly deserted this morning, and even the smoke from the chimneys couldn't be seen.

However, he could faintly hear the sounds of chickens crowing and dogs barking from the residential area on the hillside.

The little mare trotted lightly along the village road, and soon arrived at Lujiawan Team 5.

It wasn't until Chen Fan walked into the courtyard of the brigade headquarters that he saw anyone.

An Quan and Zhang Wenliang were brushing lime on the walls with brushes. Suddenly, they heard someone speaking behind them, "What are you doing?"

The two of them were startled and turned around abruptly. When they saw it was Chen Fan, their faces lit up with surprise.

An Quan didn't even put down the brush in his hand, and pointed at Chen Fan, "Hey, you're back?"

Chen Fan walked forward with his hands behind his back, "Hmph, I just went to take care of something, of course I'm coming back. Besides, I'm still the special envoy from the Health Department stationed in Lujiawan."

Zhang Wenliang put down his brush, picked up a rag and wiped his hands, and said with a smile, "Have you finished your business over there?"

Chen Fan took out a cigarette, pulled out two and handed them to them, "Pretty much. Anyway, it's enough to keep them busy for a while. After your business is done, I'll go over again in a couple of days."

Zhang Wenliang's dark face, didn't know if he blushed or not, pretended to be nonchalant, "What business could I have? It's just that there are some things in the team to deal with. And, it's been a month since the college entrance exams ended, why haven't the admission notices arrived yet?"

Based on Chen Fan's understanding of him, he should be a little embarrassed, so he first looked at An Quan, "Brother An, Third Brother Hu said he's fine, so when are you going back to Shanghai?"

Zhang Wenliang's eyes widened when he heard this, and his expression immediately changed. He bit his cigarette and said, "Go back? Go back to what? The admission notice hasn't even arrived yet. Go back and eat ourselves?"

Chen Fan explained earnestly, "There's definitely no problem with An Ge's admission notice. I've already asked a friend in the Education Department to help check. He was admitted to Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and the notice has already been sent out. If there are no accidents, it should arrive in the next few days."

An Quan's expression instantly changed, and he looked at him with surprise, "Really?"

Chen Fan nodded with a smile, "Of course it's true. How could I joke about something like this? And also your wife's, I inquired about it together. She's also been admitted. You both got your first choices."

An Quan was so happy that he clapped his hands, but he forgot that he was holding a brush, and got a hand full of lime.

However, he didn't feel annoyed at all. He threw the brush away, took a rag to wipe his hands, and grinned non-stop.

Zhang Wenliang was also happy for him. He struck a match to light his cigarette and said with a smile, "Lao An, you've finally made it through."

Then he turned to look at Chen Fan, "These past few days, he's been more and more anxious every day, sometimes unable to sleep all night. If it hadn't snowed last night, which was perfect for snuggling in bed and sleeping soundly, I bet he would have been sleepless again."

An Quan grinned from ear to ear, "The bitter days are over, the bitter days are over!"

Zhang Wenliang laughed for a while, then looked at Chen Fan again, "Did you inquire about Xiao'e and the others as well?"

"I did."

Chen Fan looked up at the sky, only to see it starting to snow again, so he walked under the eaves and said with a smile, "But when I inquired, there were some problems with theirs. It hadn't been decided at the time."

Zhang Wenliang was immediately shocked, "What problems?"

At this moment, Zhang Cui'e happened to walk into the courtyard. Beside her was a slightly older girl, Zhang Xiuyue, who had taken over her job as a broadcaster.

Seeing Zhang Cui'e, Zhang Wenliang quickly shut his mouth and quickly winked at Chen Fan.

The meaning was obvious: don't tell Xiao'e about this for now.

Chen Fan ignored him and waved at Zhang Cui'e, who was running over while shouting "Master", "Slow down, be careful not to fall."

Zhang Cui'e rushed to him and said with a silly smile, "Don't worry, I practice the Little Eight Trigrams Palm you taught me every day, my feet are very steady."

Chen Fan said seriously, "Even if they're steady, you still have to be careful. Don't be careless just because you know a little kung fu, or you'll fall."

Seeing that his master seemed a little angry, Zhang Cui'e immediately stood still and nodded seriously, "I understand, Master, I'll pay attention."

Seeing that she really remembered, Chen Fan nodded with a smile, then turned to look at Zhang Xiuyue, "Xiao Yue, I told Secretary Yang before that you will be the official broadcaster starting from New Year's Day, so you have to be more attentive."

Zhang Xiuyue was a little nervous in front of Chen Fan. Hearing Chen Fan's words, she nodded repeatedly and said softly, "Yes, Teacher Chen, I remember."

Chen Fan smiled again, "But don't be too nervous. Remember what I said, doing things is nothing more than four words: 'bold and careful'. If there's anything you don't understand, or any other problems, you can come to me."

Zhang Xiuyue nodded again and again, "Yes, thank you, Teacher Chen."

Seeing that she was still a little restrained, Chen Fan waved to the two of them, "Okay, it's almost time to start broadcasting, you guys go in."

After the two left, Zhang Wenliang immediately grabbed Chen Fan's arm and asked in a low voice, "You said there was a problem just now, what problem?"

Chen Fan looked at him and said unhappily, "Having a problem doesn't necessarily mean it's a bad thing, it could also be a good thing. Why are you so anxious?"

An Quan also laughed from the side, "That's right, didn't you see how calm he is? If it was really a bad thing, he would have already found a way to solve it, why would he be here chatting with you."

Zhang Wenliang breathed a sigh of relief and pointed at Chen Fan, "You kid are deliberately scaring me."

Chen Fan's face fell, "I really didn't this time."

Zhang Wenliang's expression changed slightly, "So, you have before?"

Chen Fan quickly changed the subject, looking at the slogans on the wall that had all been painted white, and asked curiously, "What are you doing? Rewriting the slogans?"

An Quan waved his hand, "No, didn't the newspaper say a few days ago that we should promote 'Second Simplified Characters'? The commune also held a meeting and asked each production team to replace the propaganda slogans with Second Simplified Characters. In the future, literacy classes and schools should also try to use Second Simplified Characters."

"But the production team was terribly busy some time ago, and we didn't have time to do it. Taking advantage of the heavy snow today, it's not good to go to work, so I'm completing this task with Lao Zhang."

After speaking, he picked up the brush and handed it to Chen Fan, "Want to join us?"

Chen Fan decisively took two steps back and said seriously, "Sorry, I don't know how to read!"

This was definitely not a joke. The Second Simplified Characters were only implemented for a few years, and when he went to school, he still used the previous First Simplified Characters… well, that's not right either.

Because although the Second Simplified Characters were later abolished, some Second Simplified Characters were still retained and used together with the First Simplified Characters.

As for which ones are First Simplified Characters and which ones are Second Simplified Characters, he really doesn't know.

When he said he didn't know how to read, An Quan didn't let him go and immediately threw a piece of paper over, "Here, a table of Second Simplified Characters, just copy them."

Chen Fan took it in his hand and looked at the table of contents first.

This is the "First Table" of Second Simplified Characters, with a total of 248 simplified characters. It is written very clearly on the paper that it will be implemented directly upon publication.

Looking at these Second Simplified Characters, Chen Fan was indeed very confused.

How to put it, if there is no reference table, taking it out alone, it is very abstract.

No wonder it was cancelled a few years later, some characters are indeed simplified too much.

A grass radical on top, a treasure cover in the middle, and a one below, guess what character this is?

The answer is "蒙" (méng), meaning 'to deceive' or 'ignorant'.

Yes, the 豕 (shǐ, pig) at the bottom was directly thrown away!

What about 辶 (chuò, walk radical) plus a 占 (zhàn, occupy)?

That's right, it's 建 (jiàn), meaning 'to build'.

Do you know which country is 太国 (Tài Guó)?

Yes, it's 泰国 (Tàiguó), Thailand.

And 土 (tǔ, earth radical) plus a 上 (shàng, above), who would have thought it would be 壤 (rǎng), meaning 'soil'?!

In comparison, 傅 (fù) becoming 付 (fù), 副 (fù) still becoming 付 (fù), these are minor issues.

And 戴 (dài) becoming 代 (dài), 萧 (xiāo) becoming 肖 (xiào), 阎 (yán) becoming 闫 (yán), if the ancestors don't mind changing their surnames, it shouldn't be a big problem, right?!

There are also some characters that most later generations' fonts cannot display, such as 餐 (cān), which only has half a head left.

(Second Simplified Characters. Guess what the three characters in the lower right corner are)

After Chen Fan finished reading this table of Second Simplified Characters, he decisively threw it back to An Quan, "Never learned it, can't do it."

Before An Quan could speak, he took out an envelope from his pocket and handed it to Zhang Wenliang in a low voice, "Here, don't say I'm not loyal, take these things and then go home and change your clothes. While you're not working today, we'll go to Secretary Yang's house later."

Zhang Wenliang was still pretending to be ignorant, he actually acted cute shamelessly, "Why?"

An Quan's old face darkened, he snatched the envelope from his hand, opened it and took a look, nodding and saying, "With these, the marriage proposal is guaranteed!"