Reborn in 1977

Leading the horse through the alley, I arrived at the thatched cottage. There were no lights on inside, but everything was clearly visible in the moonlight.

It seemed like the moon was much brighter and bigger back then than it is now?

I patted the horse's head to keep the little mare from running around, then took two large bundles wrapped in coarse cloth from the two baskets, carried them to the door, and then turned to the window and gently knocked, "Fourth Master, Fourth Master."

Lu Fourth Master's voice came from the bedroom, "Is that you? Why are you coming over at this hour?"

As he spoke, he lit the kerosene lamp and quickly got dressed and went out to open the door.

Chen Fan had already picked up the two large bundles and was waiting at the door. The first thing he said when Lu Fourth Master opened the door was, "Seriously? You don't even have a power line here?"

Lu Fourth Master placed the kerosene lamp on the table and went to pour him tea, saying, "It's not necessary. I'm an old man, I go to bed when it's dark and get up when it's light. I don't even use the kerosene lamp much, why would I need a power line? It's a waste of money."

Chen Fan put the two bundles on the table, took the teacup with both hands, sat down on the chair, and said, "You don't need it, but I do. It would be nice to come over and have tea and play chess when I have time."

Lu Fourth Master "hmmphed" twice, "Having tea and playing chess when you have time? How many times have you come over at night this past year? Not once! You leave at the latest when it starts to get dark."

Chen Fan: This conversation is impossible.

Lu Fourth Master took a sip of water and turned to look at the two bundles, "You went out and brought me back two of these things?"

He sniffed, "A meaty smell, um… this smell is wrong."

He directly unwrapped one of the smaller bundles, picked up an oil paper package and smelled it, frowned slightly, and looked at Chen Fan, "This meat has a fishy, gamey smell. What kind of wild animal is it?"

Chen Fan immediately gave a thumbs up, "Fourth Master is still going strong! You can even smell that?!"

Lu Fourth Master chuckled, tossed the oil paper package back into the bundle, "When I was young, I ate all kinds of good things. This little bit of wild animal meat is nothing. But, I'll accept it as a token of your good intentions."

Chen Fan looked at him with a smile, "Wow, that's amazing. You've even eaten tiger meat?"

"Tiger meat?"

Lu Fourth Master's hand trembled, and he quickly picked up the oil paper package, staring at him and asking, "You're saying this is tiger meat?"

Chen Fan chuckled, "This is leopard meat…"

Seeing Lu Fourth Master's expression change slightly, he picked up another large paper package from the bundle, "This is the tiger meat."

Then he introduced the remaining three packages, "This is wolf meat, this is deer meat, this is yellow sheep meat."

Putting down the oil paper package, he smacked his lips, his face full of regret, "Unfortunately, I only hunted one tiger. So many people were begging for it. I was fending them off left and right, unable to fight them all. In the end, I only managed to keep half a tiger's worth of meat, barely filling half a suitcase.

The most I got was deer and yellow sheep meat, but those things aren't rare, so I didn't bring much. I just put a little of each kind of meat together, casually filling two boxes, just to get a taste. It's nothing compared to Fourth Master's vast knowledge and experience. You must have eaten a lot of it before."

Lu Fourth Master's face darkened as he looked at his pretentious, show-off-y appearance. If he knew the word "show-off," he would be even more speechless.

It was true that he was knowledgeable and experienced, but he had never eaten tiger meat before. You had to eat that stuff fresh, and he had never been to the deep mountains and forests. Where would he get it?!

Seeing that Fourth Master's face had even darkened, Chen Fan didn't dare to tease him anymore, fearing that he would lose his breath and he would have to perform first aid himself, so he quickly explained, "I've already processed all this meat. You can just heat it up before eating it. The weather isn't suitable for cold dishes yet, so you have to heat it up.

Also, your old bones aren't as good as they used to be. Eating too much will keep you awake at night. One or two taels at a time is enough. Don't eat too much."

Then he picked up another large bundle, opened it, and said, "Look at these. They're all top-quality mountain goods from the Northeast: red pine nuts, walnuts, hazelnuts, wild sesame seeds, mushrooms, dried wood ear fungus, frog oil, and forest frog jerky.

You're a foodie, so you definitely know how to eat these things. I won't say too much. Later, find a basket and hang it from the rafters, so the rats don't ruin it."

Lu Fourth Master looked at these good things, unable to hide his surprise, and looked at him and asked, "You went to the Northeast?"

Chen Fan nodded, "Ah, didn't Yunhu Machinery Factory want to build a car factory, and the application was approved? They went to FAW to discuss aid construction, and since I was in Beijing, I went with them."

Lu Fourth Master's face immediately turned strange when he heard this, "Yunhu Machinery Factory wants to build cars? And they got aid construction from FAW?"

He carefully sized up Chen Fan, "Isn't there anything else going on here?"

Why would FAW provide aid to Yunhu Automobile Factory for no reason? And why would the First Ministry of Machinery Industry approve the application?

Yunhu Machinery Factory could only be called a local boss. Not to mention other provinces, even in Jiangnan Province, there were countless units more powerful than it. He didn't believe there wasn't another reason behind this.

Chen Fan laughed, "There's nothing special. It's just that I sorted out two car design drawings from the notebook left by my father. After I submitted them, the leaders of the First Ministry of Machinery Industry thought they could be used, and then that's what happened."

Lu Fourth Master understood the situation, but he was even more confused, "You can design cars?"

This stuff is "high technology." Back then, if we hadn't relied on the "Big Brother," we wouldn't have been able to have our own car factory so quickly.

Oh, now it's Soviet Revisionism, the kind that can argue every day without even meeting.

That's not the key. The point is, when did this little guy learn to design cars?

Chen Fan coughed twice, "It's not design. I just sorted out the notes on the notebook and came up with this."

Lu Fourth Master glanced at him, as if to say, Do you think I believe that?!

But seeing that he wasn't willing to talk, Fourth Master didn't continue the topic and instead said, "You went out this time, what are the new things outside? Tell me about them."

The old man leaned back in his chair, a look of reminiscence in his eyes. Back then, he had traveled to many places, both north and south, and had even lived in Shanghai for two or three years. In the blink of an eye, decades had passed, and he didn't know what the world outside was like now?

Chen Fan's spirits immediately lifted when he heard Lu Fourth Master's words. Wasn't it just bragging? He was good at that.

He immediately found melon seeds and peanuts, poured another cup of water, and then began to tell his story in a serious manner,

"Speaking of that day, it was just after the Spring Festival, still the fifth day of the first month. The sky was dim, and the ground was covered with snow. It was freezing cold. Zhang Company Commander and I braved the cold wind and boarded the passenger ship to the east, drifting all the way to Shanghai…"

Lu Fourth Master was also good at listening to stories, occasionally chiming in with a few words.

"Oh, accommodation has to be allocated, that's really new."

"Dairy cows are a good thing, but it's a pity you didn't buy one back. Try harder next time."

"Oh, you stayed at the Jinjiang Hotel? I've never stayed there. That's right, it didn't exist when I was in Shanghai."

"You bought a house? And a small Western-style building! Tsk tsk, 30,000 yuan, you must have emptied your pockets! Serves you right!"

"You saw Ba Jin? That's pretty good. He's a good person. You have to respect him a little, and don't be as rude as you are in front of me."

"What? You stole a fountain pen and a few paintings? Hmm, forget what I just said."

"You went to Beijing? And you went to the Memorial Hall? Good, good, did you say hello to Mr. Li for me? Good. Oh, and Xiao Yang, Xiao Zhang, and Xiao Xiao, yes, you should say hello. Everyone is thinking about him."

… … … …

The two chatted like this, not knowing how long it had been, until Xiao Liewen came over with a flashlight. They suddenly realized that it was already 8 o'clock?

Had they been chatting for two hours?

Xiao Liewen shone the flashlight on the two piles of melon seed and peanut shells on the ground, and his head immediately ached. He pointed at Chen Fan and started scolding, "Old Master is old and can't eat too many greasy things. Don't you know that melon seeds and peanuts can be used to make oil? Also, you don't sleep, but does Fourth Master not sleep? Can he compare to you?"

Chen Fan shrank his head and quickly found a broom and dustpan to clean up, "I was wrong, I was wrong. I'll pay attention next time, I'll definitely pay attention next time."

Xiao Liewen was furious, "There's a next time? You're not allowed to come over at night in the future!"

Chen Fan kept his hands and feet moving, "Yes, yes, I won't come, I won't come."

Lu Fourth Master rinsed his mouth with tea, wiped his face with a towel, and decisively hid in the room, "I'm going to sleep. Close the door when you leave."

Then with a bang, he closed the room door tightly first.

Chen Fan quickly cleaned the ground and the table, found a rope, tied the two bundles together, and hung them on the rafters before going out and closing the door.

The little mare standing outside neighed aggrievedly, How can you chat so much?

Chen Fan touched its nose, held the reins, followed behind Captain Xiao, and said softly, "Captain, I want to tell you something."

Xiao Liewen didn't turn his head back, "What else could it be? Did your Master Lin send his regards to me? He and I have been comrades-in-arms for over twenty years, what's that, no need to mention it."

Chen Fan, "How did you know? I was there for many days, but he really didn't mention you."

Xiao Liewen suddenly stopped and turned to look at him, "Impossible, absolutely impossible."

When he saw the serious expression on Chen Fan's face, he frowned slightly. The next second, he turned his anger into a smile, "Hmph, don't even think about using such a superficial method to sow discord. I won't believe it."

After speaking, he continued to walk forward.

Chen Fan followed behind and chuckled, "I knew Captain, you were wise and intelligent, but what I want to tell you is not Master Lin's matter, it's that Master Zhang has gone bankrupt. You definitely won't believe it."

Xiao Liewen hmmphed twice, completely ignoring him.

The next second, he turned his head again, "Old Zhang also taught you his skills?"

"Yes, I even kowtowed and offered tea."

Chen Fan explained, and continued, "Doesn't Master Zhang always want to build a Taoist temple? In order to buy the Taoist temple, he spent all his money, but he still couldn't build the Taoist temple, because he ran out of money. The house he bought is too dilapidated. It can't be used unless it's torn down and rebuilt, so he's worried now."

Hearing this, Xiao Liewen had to believe it.

Back in the army, everyone who knew him knew that rebuilding the Taoist temple was Old Zhang's obsession. To say he would go bankrupt for it would be completely understandable.

He thought for a moment and asked, "What about your Master Lin? Didn't he offer any support?"

Chen Fan replied, "He did. Master Lin even emptied his savings account, spending several thousand. But that little bit of money wasn't nearly enough to rebuild the temple. If I hadn't bought a house, I would have given all my money too.

Oh, I bought a small Western-style house in Shanghai. Terribly expensive, cost over thirty thousand, so all my money is gone."

Xiao Liewen couldn't help but stop in his tracks, his face full of hesitation.

Does building a Taoist temple really cost that much?

Building a small Western-style house in the village only costs four or five thousand. Even if the Taoist temple has four or five courtyards inside and out, twenty thousand should be about right, right? Adding the cost of the land, thirty thousand still isn't enough?

Old Zhang was so stingy back then, saving all his money to build the Taoist temple later. Even if he bought a house back then to settle down, his salary has increased since then, hasn't it? Could it be that he can't even come up with thirty thousand?

Could it be that Old Zhang wants to build a super Taoist temple complex?

Xiao Liewen clicked his tongue, feeling that Old Zhang was being a bit of a spendthrift.

But this was something he couldn't easily advise against. They had risked their lives together, so he naturally knew that in Old Zhang's heart, nothing else mattered; only this matter couldn't be taken lightly.

Xiao Liewen thought it over and over, and finally sighed inwardly. Well, they were old brothers. What else could he do besides offer some financial support?

He raised his head and looked at Chen Fan, holding out his hand. "Where's my stuff?"

Chen Fan immediately took a large package from the basket and stuffed it into his hands. "A few local specialties, a small token of my appreciation."

Xiao Liewen grabbed the package, weighed it in his hand, and nodded in satisfaction. "You little rascal, you have a conscience."

This package was not much smaller than the two of Fourth Master Lu's combined, so it seemed to be about the same weight.

Looking at the other packages in the basket, they were clearly much smaller.

He gestured and said, "Captain Zhang is at his house. You can just take it over there directly."

Then he turned and walked towards his own home, still muttering to himself, should he donate three thousand, or five thousand? Or maybe eight thousand?

He couldn't possibly make it ten thousand, his entire income for the whole year last year was only that much.

Right, should he tell the other old brothers?

Hmm, he should still say something. With Old Zhang's temper, he definitely wouldn't open his mouth himself, nor would he let the company commander and the others open their mouths, but if he runs out of money, what else can he do?

He can only let the old guys chip in.

This Old Zhang, he's been burdened by the Taoist temple, what a sin!

Chen Fan watched Xiao Liewen's sighing back, raising his eyebrows triumphantly.

Hmph, let you scold me, I'll make you spend some money!

He thought it was simple, anyway, he wasn't really swindling Captain Xiao's money. Whether he donated it or not, Master Zhang definitely wouldn't want it. He just wanted to make Captain Xiao worry for a few days.

Thinking that he had slightly tricked Captain Xiao, Chen Fan happily led the little mare to continue delivering gifts.

He sent two packages to Fourth Master Lu, and a large one to Xiao Liewen. The others didn't get such good treatment.

Secretary Yang, Captain Zhang, and Deputy Captain Ye all had individual gifts, but the portions were much smaller.

People have different degrees of closeness. Everyone knew that Fourth Master Lu and Captain Xiao had the grace of teaching Chen Fan, so they were masters in all but name. No one would say a word of complaint about giving them more.

Just like Chen Fan treated Zhang Cuie differently, Yang Ju and the others could only be jealous, and didn't dare to say "I want a share too." There was no reason for that.

So, besides the three leaders, Chen Fan simply made a big gift package for the rest and handed it over to Captain Zhang to deal with.

Otherwise, there were so many acquaintances in the production team, how could he deliver to them all!

… …

The next morning, Chen Fan got up early as usual. After washing up, he went downstairs for his morning exercise.

At this time, Yang Mei and the others were already up and busy.

Huang Li was in the kitchen making breakfast, Liu Lu was mopping the floor and wiping the tables in the house, and as for Yang Mei, she had already returned from cutting pig grass outside, preparing to cook pig feed in the back.

Chen Fan looked around and felt that it wasn't good to just watch, so he went into the panda enclosure to feed the滚滚 (gǔn gǔn, a nickname for pandas).

Duo Duo and Qiu Qiu could only watch from afar with envy, not daring to approach.

The myna fluttered its wings and landed on the courtyard wall, staring at Chen Fan without saying a word.

Chen Fan was a little unaccustomed to the bird's silence, and immediately turned to look at it. "Haven't you had breakfast yet?"

The myna immediately perked up, flapping its wings and flying over, landing on the滚滚's wooden bar. "Ate insects, still want to eat."

Chen Fan tossed a stone in his hand. "Then go eat some more."

The myna looked at the stone, feeling a little familiar. After a moment, it decisively flew away, silently muttering that someone didn't have martial ethics.

The hobby returned with a rabbit in its mouth, strangely glancing at the silent myna, but didn't pay attention. It dived down towards Chen Fan.

It dropped the rabbit, then landed on Chen Fan's shoulder, chirping happily.

Chen Fan grabbed it in his hand and petted it. After a while, he grabbed it and threw it into the sky. The hobby took the opportunity to soar into the sky.

Watching the hobby fly away, Chen Fan picked up the rabbit and walked out, "Huang Li, stew the rabbit, add a dish for lunch."

At this time, Huang Li had already made breakfast, Yang Mei had also finished feeding the pigs, Liu Lu had mopped a piece of land in front of the door, put away the mop, washed her hands, and hurried over.

Chen Fan took a big meat bun and took a bite, when he heard the sound of reading coming from the educated youth courtyard not far away, and couldn't help but look in that direction.

Yang Mei saw his gaze and immediately said, "That's the educated youth in the educated youth courtyard doing morning reading. They also get up at 6 o'clock every morning, clean up, eat breakfast, and then start morning reading and learning, and then wait until 7 or 8 o'clock to go to work with everyone."

Chen Fan had also heard Captain Yang say it yesterday, so he nodded and smiled, "It seems that this batch of educated youth is very different."

Liu Lu raised her head and said, "They are quite different. When they first came, you could tell that they had never done farm work, and the clothes they wore were very good, but after only a few days, they quickly learned how to work. Although they didn't do very well, they have made great progress."

Huang Li swallowed the porridge in her mouth and also joined the conversation. "Actually, we all know that they came for you, Teacher, so at the beginning, no one paid attention to them except for going to work, but later we saw that they also worked hard, and they were still studying hard after work, so we slowly had more contact with them.

When my sister and the others were there before, we also went to see them. Everyone's eyes were very bright, and they were really different from those educated youth in the commune."

Chen Fan nodded and smiled, "If what you said is true, then these people are worth pulling up."

The three girls smiled at each other and didn't say anything more.

After breakfast, the three girls collected farm tools and went to work. The sound of reading in the educated youth courtyard also stopped. In the sound of the morning news broadcast on the loudspeaker, the noisy sound of talking clearly came from the village road in front, and gradually the scattered sounds gathered into one and scattered into the fields.

Although the spring plowing has been done now, the farm work is endless. The chickens, ducks, and rabbits raised by each household need to cut pasture, the weeds in the vegetable garden need to be removed, the fruit trees need to be pruned, the rice fields and vegetable gardens need to be fertilized, the crops need to be watered, and pesticides need to be sprayed to prevent diseases, … … .

In the countryside, as long as there is work in sight, there is endless work to do every day.

Chen Fan waited for them all to leave, turned around and entered the house, and climbed all the way up to the roof along the stairs.

There is a very small stairwell on the roof, which can be directly accessed from below.

Chen Fan stepped on the soft and hard thatch, stood on the roof and looked around.

This is probably the highest place nearby, more than ten meters higher than the dam, and the surrounding scenery is in full view.

In front of the 6th team village, the original uniform mud-walled houses have disappeared by nearly half, replaced by two-story Western-style buildings with red bricks and blue tiles.

All the buildings are the original color of red bricks, and no exterior wall paint has been applied, so you can save a sum of money.

Although the commune members' families in Lujiawan are not short of money now, they will not waste it easily. It's good to have a brick and tile building, what else do you want for exterior walls?!

Turning around and looking at the fields in the west, there are sparse seedlings in the paddy fields. After two or three months, these green seedlings will grow into golden rice, thus ushering in the double grab season.

Further away, the whistle of the cargo ship sounded, which means that "Luwan No. 2" has started delivering goods again.

Chen Fan stood on the roof, took a deep breath of the 8 o'clock morning air, and stretched contentedly, hoping in the distance!

Then he heard Captain Yang's voice behind him, "What are you doing climbing on the roof?"

Chen Fan turned around and waved, "I'll be down right away."

After saying that, he ran downstairs in a puff of smoke.

Coming out of the gate, he took out a cigarette and handed one over, "Captain, didn't you take people to work today?"

Captain Yang took the cigarette, brought it to the lighter Chen Fan handed over and lit it, took a puff, "I'm just about to go to work. I'm here to tell you, didn't you say yesterday that you would invite you to give a lecture to the students at the village school? Last night I called the 10th team, and Principal Xiao said that you can decide the time, and the school can do it at any time."

He looked Chen Fan up and down, "I see you're quite free, why don't you go over and take a look today?"

Chen Fan coughed dryly, "It's no problem to go over today, but I'm not free at all."

Captain Yang looked at him, "Then are you going to write something again?"

Chen Fan looked around, "No, I plan to learn how to farm."

"Pfft … … Cough cough cough cough."

When Captain Yang heard this, he was immediately choked by a mouthful of smoke until tears came out. After finally catching his breath, he raised his head and looked at him in disbelief, "You? Learn how to farm?"

Chen Fan nodded very seriously, "That's right, I think, as a qualified member of Lujiawan, it's not okay if you don't know how to farm."

Captain Yang smoked half a cigarette in one breath, then threw away the cigarette butt, "No problem, let's go, I'll teach you how to farm now."

Chen Fan stretched out his hand and pushed forward, "Wait a minute, let me go to the village school for a class first!"