Reborn in 1977

After chatting for a long time, seeing that the sun was already high in the sky, Chen Fan was afraid that if he didn't leave soon, Captain Xiao would send someone to look for him. So, he leaned on his dog-beating stick and strode towards Team 5.

As he approached Team 5, he saw many people erecting utility poles, extending them from the village in both directions. They had already been planting them for a day yesterday, and today they were far away. Chen Fan stood on the ridge of the field, looking into the distance, unable to make out the people clearly, so he went straight to the village.

As before, the first to greet him were those dogs.

Chen Fan whistled, asking the dogs for directions. He had only been to the brigade headquarters last time and didn't know exactly which house Captain Xiao lived in.

The dogs were very familiar with the place. Hearing him say he was going to Captain Xiao's house, a large spotted dog immediately jumped out, bounding and leaping ahead to lead the way.

The big yellow dog barked, "Woof woof woof (He is from the Xiao family!)"

Chen Fan chuckled. Was he finding the right person right away?

Surrounded by the dogs, Chen Fan walked onto the small path on the ridge.

The commune members who heard the sound came out and greeted him one after another.

"Master Chen is here."

"Are you going to Captain Xiao's house to make sauerkraut? I'll take you there."

Chen Fan waved his hand with a smile, "Thank you, thank you, sorry for the trouble."

Although the dogs were leading the way, it felt strange to go directly like this. Anyway, the villagers would also go to watch the fun, so it was better to follow them.

Soon, they arrived at Captain Xiao's house. His family had been divided early and had obtained a brick house, which was the last one by the pond, with the ground paved with blue bricks and kept very clean.

At this time, there were two jars drying at the door, both small jars about half a meter high and thirty to forty centimeters in diameter. The locals generally used this kind of jar to pickle vegetables.

Chen Fan knew at a glance that these were the jars that Captain Xiao's family was going to use to make sauerkraut.

Before Chen Fan could speak, someone shouted loudly, "Captain Xiao, Master Chen is here!"

Captain Xiao heard the sound and came out, laughing heartily, "I was wondering why the big spotted dog at home was always barking, it turns out you've come."

He immediately welcomed him into the house, "Come, come, sit inside."

At the same time, a crowd of people poured out of the rooms on both sides.

Chen Fan greeted with a smile, "Hello, Captain Xiao. Public Security Officer Zhu went to my place this morning, so I'm a bit late."

Captain Xiao suddenly understood, "Oh, so that's how it is. I was thinking that if you didn't come, I would send someone to pick you up."

Then, his expression changed slightly, and he looked at Chen Fan and whispered, "Did Public Security Officer Zhu bring good news?"

Chen Fan shook his head with a sad expression, "The police stations in the whole county have been asked to assist in the investigation, but there is no news."

When Captain Xiao heard this, his face also showed some disappointment. After two seconds, he comforted him, "It's okay, it's okay. You can stay here with peace of mind. If you have any difficulties, you can mention them to me, and we'll wait for news slowly."

Chen Fan raised his head, displaying the acting skills of a production team-level actor, and said with a forced smile, "Thank you, Captain Xiao. I don't have any difficulties. The things sent by the various teams these two days are enough for me to eat for a year, and there are also the clothes sent by the brigade headquarters. I lack nothing."

Captain Xiao nodded with a smile, patted his arm, "Young man, take it easy, ah, take your time."

Then, he introduced his family to him.

His family was also a large one. He married a wife and had children early, and then continued to have children after returning from the north with injuries.

At that time, they advocated that more people meant more strength, so they had six children in one go. Besides himself and his wife, the oldest of the six children was already 27 years old, and the youngest was also 20 years old, all of whom were already married.

Now, only the youngest son lives with them here. The eldest son and the second son have separated and live in the adobe house behind. The three daughters are also married, one in Team 5, and the other two married to other teams.

But today, everyone has come back, and the married daughters have also brought their children. There are nearly a dozen people squeezed into the room. When Chen Fan arrived, they all poured out to greet him and meet him.

Chen Fan got to know them all, and then began to teach them how to make sauerkraut.

Today was also a public lesson, and anyone in the village who was willing to learn could come and watch.

Chen Fan, "Captain Xiao, have you prepared the cabbage according to the method I said?"

Captain Xiao nodded, "As you said, I took half of it to a cool and ventilated place and have been drying it for two days."

The youngest daughter-in-law next to him asked, "Master Chen, why do you dry half and not dry the other half?"

Chen Fan smiled and said, "These are two different processes. One is called cooked pickling, which requires scalding it with boiling water, draining the water, and then putting it in the jar. The other is called raw pickling, which means drying the cabbage first, and then cutting it directly and putting it in the jar for pickling."

Then he said, "Cooked pickling requires boiling a large pot of hot water, and also preparing a sloping cutting board to put the vegetables on. You guys do the preparation work first, and I'll do the raw pickling here."

Then, under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Chen Fan taught while operating.

The Xiao family was definitely standing at the front, even the three daughters who had married out were standing in the first row, occupying a favorable position. The other villagers consciously leaned back, staring at Chen Fan's movements while muttering to themselves, some even taking small notebooks and recording carefully.

If killing soft-shelled turtles gave everyone one more meat dish, so they could occasionally taste some meat, then sauerkraut was related to their daily diet.

In the past, there were only pickled vegetables and pickled cabbage here, and they usually relied on these two to eat. There was no sauerkraut.

Although Master Chen said that it is best to make sauerkraut at 5 to 15 degrees Celsius, and it is easy to spoil if the temperature is too high, it is okay to eat it for a winter. What's more, sauerkraut can also be used as a side dish, and can be fried and stewed with other dishes. This is more versatile than pickled vegetables and pickled cabbage, so naturally they have to pay attention to it.

After a busy time, both jars were filled.

At this time, Chen Fan clapped his hands and said, panting, "This jar of cooked pickles, after two or three days, when the water comes out, you have to refill it with water, preferably well water. If not, use boiled water. The water in the river ditch is not very clean, so it's best not to use it."

Captain Xiao nodded seriously, raised his hand and pointed to the top, "There is a well in the backyard of the brigade headquarters, you can use well water."

Chen Fan added, "This jar of raw pickles needs to be watered at this time tomorrow, preferably with a little white wine. That's about it. After more than half a month, as long as all these vegetables turn yellow, it means they are pickled through, and then you can eat them."

Then he carefully explained, "You must not eat the ones that are not pickled through, and you must not eat the ones that are spoiled, they are poisonous."

"Ah?"

Everyone was shocked and looked at him in unison, "Poisonous?"

Chen Fan chuckled, "Don't worry, the toxicity is not great. The ones that are not pickled through will have nitrite. After people eat them, they will feel nauseous, vomit, have abdominal pain, and diarrhea. In severe cases, the skin and mucous membranes will appear purplish-black, blue, or bluish-brown, so you must wait until the sauerkraut is pickled before you can eat it, and don't eat too much at one time, just add a little flavor."

Hearing him say this, the timid people couldn't help but start to back down. For an unfamiliar sauerkraut, it's not worth it to get sick.

But there are also bold people who laughed and said, "It won't kill anyone, what are you afraid of?"

For this kind of person, Chen Fan can only salute him as a good man!