Reborn in 1977

Chapter 674: Adding Population

At one o'clock in the afternoon, Chen Fan casually made a bowl of river fresh noodles. After eating, he carried a suitcase in one hand and three small birds in the other, and set off in the car.

The airport was about a forty-minute drive from the city. Leaving at this time, he had plenty of time.

He drove unhurriedly, bypassing the city and taking the road along the edge of the city. Before long, he arrived in the suburbs, and the airport was getting closer and closer.

The suburbs on the edge of the provincial capital were actually communes and production teams. The situation in all aspects was similar to that of the Nanhu Commune. The only special thing was that it was closer to the city, making it very convenient to enter the city.

But that was all.

So when Chen Fan passed by a small town, looking at the town on this through street, he felt like he had returned to Nanhu Town.

On both sides of the road were various shops, as well as post offices, health centers, banks and other units. A sign for a primary school was hanging at the entrance of an alley, and the school should be inside the alley.

At this point in time, there was only a month and a half left before the New Year. Although the shops had not yet begun to supply New Year's goods for the Spring Festival, such as fireworks, New Year pictures, artificial flowers, etc., nor had they increased the supply of cigarettes, alcohol, candy, etc.

But there was already a bit of a New Year's atmosphere on the street.

Many people who looked like members of the production team were wandering around in groups of three or five in various shops, selecting various goods.

If it were normal times, the shops would not be so lively. Throughout the year, only before the Spring Festival, when people were preparing for the New Year, would they go to the streets in groups to shop, or go to the market.

This is also one of the biggest differences between the current Spring Festival and the way people celebrate the Spring Festival after the new millennium.

After the new century, materials were extremely abundant and buying and selling became convenient, and many rural Spring Festival customs have changed.

For example, many people would prepare cured meat and fish one or two months in advance, but later most people were too lazy to do it and instead went directly to the street to buy it. Perhaps only some old people were still persisting.

But now it is not like that. The vast majority of families will prepare all kinds of New Year's goods more than a month in advance. The reason for doing this is that, on the one hand, preparing New Year's goods takes time, and on the other hand, there are still fewer materials and money and tickets are very tight, so they can only buy a little today and a little tomorrow, and slowly put them together.

For adults, the trouble is mixed with a bit of joy, but in the eyes of children, it is purely a pre-New Year "ritual".

When it comes time to prepare New Year's goods and make new clothes, it means that the New Year is coming!

You can wear new clothes, set off firecrackers, and eat meat to your heart's content for a few days…

Chen Fan drove slowly through the street, watching this scene, feeling faintly dazed.

It seems like I haven't seriously prepared for something in a long time?

Is it that people become lazy when life gets better and they don't lack anything?

Just like people later no longer seriously prepare for New Year's goods.

Chen Fan shook his head, came back to his senses, and thought to himself, should I be more serious about life in the future, and not let my apprentice do everything? Sometimes participating in it myself is also a kind of life experience.

I can't just slack off and lose my ambition!

Just as he was secretly reflecting, the car drove to the end of the road, and after turning a corner, he saw a large open space next to the road. The snow on the side had not yet melted, but many people were gathering on the open space.

Just by taking a casual look, he knew that there was a market here.

"There's a market in the provincial capital too?"

It's not the first or fifteenth day of the month, nor is it Sunday, what kind of market is this for no reason?

Chen Fan muttered to himself, looked at the time, it was not yet half past one, so he parked the car on the side of the road and got out to take a look.

A small car came over, attracting the attention of many people around. The administrator wearing a red armband kept his eyes on him for a long time without leaving.

But no one came forward to question him.

This place is close to the provincial capital, and it is also one of the roads to the airport. In the past, when there was a market, some cars would park temporarily. Basically, they were just coming to browse and buy things.

With experience, these administrators would relax a lot.

Of course, not everyone gets this kind of treatment.

If you are wearing a patched cotton-padded jacket, carrying a broken bag, and have an unfamiliar face, then I'm sorry.

Look, there are two people in front of him. The administrator had to move his gaze away from Chen Fan and go forward to inquire.

The more there is a market, the more the safety issues cannot be ignored. At this time, the administrator's vigilance will be higher.

Chen Fan sensed that the gaze watching him was no longer there. He instinctively looked back and found that the administrator had shifted his target, so he didn't take it seriously and continued to walk forward.

After strolling around for a while, he felt that this place was similar to the market in Nanhu Commune, mainly selling various rural goods, and of course, there was no shortage of agricultural products.

One side was full of various small animals, chickens, ducks, geese, and also piglets.

There were definitely no big fat pigs, as that was a special commodity and not allowed to be traded casually. However, there were two places selling cattle and horses, and many people were surrounding the stalls, bargaining with each other.

Chen Fan just glanced at it and moved his gaze away without interest.

Turning to the other side, it was almost all kinds of vegetables.

Further ahead was the handicraft sales area, homemade cloth woven at home, handmade cloth shoes, and also tables, stools, chairs, cabinets and other furniture made by themselves. Naturally, there was no need to say much about the appearance, the main thing was that they were simple and durable.

Among them, there was a stall that was actually selling straw sandals?

Although he also sold straw raincoats and bamboo hats, Chen Fan could only secretly give him a thumbs up for taking out straw sandals to sell in the middle of winter.

He stood there looking around, and further ahead was the "catering area".

The stalls with steaming heat were either steamed bun shops or noodle stalls, and there were also various homemade pastries for sale.

So it turns out that there were people selling New Year's goods at this time?

Chen Fan shook his head, regretting that he didn't see anyone carrying an ancestral sauce jar.

Didn't they say that you can often find antiques in the early rural markets, such as the sauce jar at home, the jar for feeding chickens, the jar for feeding dogs, the small bowl for cats…

He had been to many production teams in Nanhu Commune, and he had also visited the market several times, but he had never encountered such a good thing even once.

Could it be that I have no fate with windfall?

Shaking his head and sighing twice, he prepared to leave.

Just as he walked to the edge of the market, he suddenly heard a burst of锣鼓声.

Without needing to shout, as the tight锣鼓声 sounded, the people there quickly and automatically cleared a space.

Chen Fan was tall enough, standing behind the crowd, he could see clearly.

He saw an old man wearing a worn cotton-padded jacket, carrying a mottled red lacquer box on his back, and holding a copper gong in his hand, knocking it non-stop.

In his hand, he was also holding several ropes. The other end of the ropes were a dog and three monkeys respectively.

It turned out to be a monkey show.

Seeing the crowd gathering, the old man didn't say much, he directly put down the box, opened the box, and took out some props.

Although he was holding three monkeys, only one was performing, and the other two were only cat-sized monkeys.

Other people's attention was on the monkey show. As the monkey somersaulted, circled, and danced with guns and sticks, people burst into laughter from time to time.

In this era, there is a lack of entertainment activities, and a monkey show can make people linger.

After the monkey finished performing, the dog came on stage, and after a performance, the monkey jumped onto the dog's back, and the dog carried the monkey running, which was similar to riding a horse.

Seeing this, people spontaneously cheered and applauded.

The old man took the opportunity to pick up the copper gong, turned the back side up, bowed to the crowd, and held the copper gong plate to ask for rewards.

At this time, more than half of the people dispersed in an instant, but there were also some generous people who dropped a few fen coins into the plate.

If someone dropped a dime or two, the old man would also bow and thank them.

When the copper gong was turned to Chen Fan, he took out a bill from his pocket and gently placed it in the plate.

The old man was stunned for a moment, it was actually a yuan?!

What a generous gesture!

He quickly raised his head and saw that it was a young man, but he was dressed brightly, obviously a cadre, so he dispelled his doubts and repeatedly bowed and thanked him, "Thank you, young comrade, for your appreciation."

Chen Fan smiled and said softly, "Where are you from?"

A few traces of caution flashed in the old man's eyes, his eyes turned slightly, and he said with a smile, "I'm from Sichuan. After the autumn harvest, the harvest was not very good, so I rushed out before the New Year to earn a living."

After a pause, he specifically said, "The team issued an introduction letter before I came out, and it was allowed."

Chen Fan smiled and didn't say anything.

He wasn't as ignorant as he was when he first came to this era. Now he has seen more of various situations. Not to mention performing arts, from doing business to begging for rice with a bowl, there is no introduction letter that the production team cannot issue.

(The certificate for begging for rice cannot be issued. It says "When one side is in trouble, all sides support. Share the worries for the country and regenerate through our own efforts", with the seals of the production team and the commune. And they really only want rice, not money)

And he is not an administrator, whether this old man has procedures or not is completely irrelevant to him.

At this time, the crowd had dispersed almost completely. Chen Fan looked around and said softly, "Old comrade, I see that other people use macaques when performing monkey shows, how did you get two golden monkeys?"

When others were watching the show just now, he was watching the two little monkeys.

Their fur was yellow, their faces were blue, their big round eyes were full of grievance, and their sexy thick lips and upturned noses were clearly golden monkey babies.

Can this thing also perform monkey shows?

The old man was stunned when he heard his words. He looked back at the two little monkeys huddled together for warmth, and when he turned back, his face was full of wry smiles. "Comrade, you don't know, I've been tricked!"

As he said this, he couldn't help but wipe his face. "A few days ago in Hubei, I ran into a fellow villager, also a monkey trainer…"

As he recounted his story, Chen Fan understood what had happened to him.

Simply put, he got drunk and was tricked into spending money to buy two useless little monkeys. He didn't even know if these two monkeys were caught by his fellow villager or if his fellow villager was also tricked into buying them.

Golden monkeys are different from macaques. They don't have the ability to perform, and they have a particularly gentle temperament. Even if they are whipped, they will only cry and hug their heads. They can't learn the skills taught by the monkey trainer at all.

So these two monkeys were stuck in the old man's hands. Not only were they useless, but raising them was a waste of food.

So, at Chen Fan's suggestion, the two parties reached a friendly agreement, and everyone was happy.

The old man took 40 yuan, as if he had picked up a great bargain, and quickly left with his box on his back, dragging his precious monkeys and dog, for fear that the young man would go back on his word.

As for the useless golden monkeys, they naturally ended up in Chen Fan's hands.

After the old man left, Chen Fan led the two little monkeys into the car.

Closing the car door, he began to lay down the rules for them.

"No catching birds, no moving around. As long as you behave, you'll have food and shelter, and you won't be beaten."

The two little monkeys were ignorant, but when they heard that they would never be beaten again, they were so happy that they kept squealing, forgetting to be curious about why this big monkey could speak monkey language.

The two monkeys were untied and sat obediently together on the passenger seat, staring intently at the three bird heads in the bag below.

Five pairs of eyes met, and they were packed in the bag all the way from the car to the plane, flying all the way to Jingcheng.

…

By the time they arrived in Jingcheng, it was already dark. Chen Fan was not in a hurry to find Zhou Zhengdong.

He took a taxi back to the city as usual. Since he was carrying three birds and two monkeys, he didn't go to his master's place, but went straight home.

He also wanted to see if Liu Juan and Ma Lan were as reliable as Master Zhang said.

The car stopped at the door. Chen Fan paid the fare and got out of the car with his luggage.

He carried the pigskin bag containing the gyrfalcons in his left hand, and the two little monkeys were in the large schoolbag slung over his shoulder. His right hand released the suitcase and took out the key to open the door.

He pushed open the small iron door and entered. The large house was dark.

He had just carried the suitcase in and closed the small door when a dog rushed out, barking loudly at him.

Chen Fan glanced at it. Hmm, it was a half-grown Wu Hei dog.

The so-called Wu Hei (Five Black) means black head, black body, black tail, black feet, and black tongue.

Although it is very special, it is also one of the purebred Chinese pastoral dog breeds, and it has a very special status among the people, which is to guard the house and ward off evil spirits.

In terms of breed, the Wu Hei dog is slightly stronger than the Duo Duo and Qiu Qiu two local dogs at the Lu Family Bay.

However, when did the family have such a dog?

Looking at the barking Wu Hei dog, Chen Fan didn't say anything, just looked at it with gentle eyes.

Seeming to feel Chen Fan's meaning, the dog gradually stopped barking, moved its legs a few times, and actually sat down, sticking its tongue out at him.

Chen Fan smiled slightly and made a few "tsk, tsk, tsk" sounds to it. The Wu Hei dog even wagged its tail.

At this time, Liu Juan's voice came from the front yard, "Xiao Hei, Xiao Hei?"

The dog immediately turned its head and glanced back when it heard the sound. It looked back at Chen Fan before reluctantly calling out and running back.

Seeing this scene, Chen Fan couldn't help but laugh.

As expected of the legendary house-guarding dog, under his influence, it still remembered its owner. Not bad, not bad.

The dog's barking returned. Liu Juan trotted behind it. When she saw Chen Fan, she exclaimed in surprise, "Is that Brother Chen?"

Chen Fan waved and greeted her, "It's me."

Then he walked towards the door of the house.

Liu Juan first turned her head and shouted, "Ma Lan, Ma Lan, Brother Chen is back."

Then she ran in front of Chen Fan, preparing to open the door.

But when she got to the door, she embarrassedly found that she didn't have the key.

Fortunately, Chen Fan had brought the key. He directly opened the door. Liu Juan took the suitcase from his hand, turned on the light after entering the door, and quickly went to make tea.

She came over with the tea in a little while and put it in front of Chen Fan. Then she looked at the three gyrfalcons jumping out of the bag and the two little monkeys huddled together, and she was so surprised that she couldn't speak.

Chen Fan waved his hand, and the three birds flapped their wings and flew up, circling in the house before landing on the railing on the second floor and staying still.

The two monkeys huddled together, looking at Chen Fan with innocent eyes, "Hungry, hungry."

At this time, Ma Lan walked in from the south gate, shouting loudly before she even arrived, "Brother Chen is back! Have you eaten yet? I'll make something."

Through the open door, Chen Fan also saw the scene of the small building at the end of the garden. Only one room was lit?

He shifted his gaze and smiled at Ma Lan, "Sorry to bother you, just make something simple."

After a pause, he asked, "Is there any meat at home?"

Liu Juan looked a little embarrassed, "N-no."

Ma Lan quickly said, "There are fish in the ditch in the garden."

Chen Fan's mouth twitched slightly. Those were the ones he deliberately caught at Houhai and put in the ditch to feed the gyrfalcons. It would be better to let them catch the fish themselves.

So he said, "Forget it, just boil two bowls of noodles."

Then he opened the suitcase, took out a paper bag from it, and put it on the table, "Heat this up. Also, boil a few eggs and get some raw vegetables for the monkeys to eat."

He waved his hand at the gyrfalcons, and the three birds immediately flew out to find something to fill their stomachs.

Ma Lan picked up the paper bag and smelled a meaty aroma without opening it. She couldn't help but sigh that Brother Chen was Brother Chen, always carrying meat with him.

She didn't know that this was the airplane meal that Chen Fan had scrounged on the plane. However, others ate one serving, while he relied on his handsome face and the cuteness of the two monkeys and three birds to pack two more servings.

Others take souvenirs when they fly, but he packs food when he flies. It's already a routine. Just get used to it.

Ma Lan went to the kitchen to get busy, while Liu Juan was left behind by Chen Fan to ask about the situation at home.

Liu Juan, "Grandpa Zhang and the others are all fine. The three grandpas often come here to sit, but they didn't bring anyone back. Ma Lan and I have been living here. Besides occasionally going home, there's nothing else."

As she spoke, she looked at the Wu Hei dog lying on the ground, "This is Xiao Hei. Grandpa Zhang was worried that the two of us girls living here weren't safe, so he specially found it."

Chen Fan looked at Xiao Hei, and Xiao Hei immediately wagged its tail.

Seeing this scene, Liu Juan's eyes were full of surprise, "Xiao Hei is usually very fierce. It barks when it sees strangers. We don't dare to take it out. I didn't expect it to be so friendly the first time it saw you. It seems to know that you are the owner here."

Chen Fan smiled and didn't say much, "This dog is good."

He gently rubbed Xiao Hei with his foot, then looked at Liu Juan and asked, "Do you two live in one room?"

"Ah?"

Liu Juan was stunned, but quickly came back to her senses. Thinking of what Chen Fan had said before, that they could each choose a room, she understood what he meant.

Then her face flushed slightly, and she said, "Your house is very big. It's enough for us to live in one room. It's warmer and more reassuring."

Hearing this, Chen Fan frowned slightly.

It wasn't because of them, but because she had said before that Master Zhang was worried about their safety and specially found Xiao Hei, but now she said that living together was more reassuring.

So, are there more security problems outside now?

After asking again, it was indeed the case.

Liu Juan pursed her lips and said softly, "Actually, as long as you don't go to more remote places, nothing usually happens. And if you try not to go out at night, there won't be any problems."

Chen Fan nodded lightly, paused for two seconds, and changed the subject, looking around, "You don't have heating?"

Liu Juan said "Ah" and quickly stood up, saying, "We only burned a small stove in our room. We didn't burn the boiler. I'll go burn it now."

The house was equipped with household heating when it was built. The boiler was in the small building in front. Usually, Chen Fan didn't live here, so they didn't burn the boiler. Now that the owner is back, they naturally have to turn on the heating.

As for whether the house is too big and would be too wasteful, Chen Fan had already considered this. The household heating also has valve controls. You only need to open the corresponding valve to reduce the heating space and avoid waste as much as possible.

When Liu Juan went to burn the boiler, Ma Lan also made dinner and brought it over on a dinner plate.

Chen Fan and the two little monkeys each held a bowl and started eating with gusto.

After eating their fill, the two monkeys finally relaxed, sat together on the table, and smiled straight at Chen Fan.

As expected, they had food and shelter and didn't have to be beaten. They had to hold on to this thigh!

Chen Fan looked at the monkeys and then at the dog, thinking in his heart, wouldn't this be considered an increase in the family's population?