Reborn in 1977

Chapter 149: 9.99 RMB, Free Shipping

February 8th, the 21st day of the twelfth lunar month.

Another heavy snow fell last night, and the sky didn't clear until morning.

The initial excitement having worn off, Chen Fan didn't get up particularly early today, opening his eyes only when the alarm clock rang.

He lay in the warm quilt for five or six minutes before finally turning over and getting out of bed.

Wrapped in a cotton coat, he went outside. Jiang Lili was already busy in the kitchen, so Chen Fan prepared to inspect all the furry little creatures.

First, he went to the room next door. The two puppies were still the size of his palm, chubby and huddled together. When he lifted the straw mat covering the basket, letting in cold air, they immediately opened one eye in displeasure and glanced at him. Not smelling the aroma of breakfast, they closed their eyes and continued to sleep.

Chen Fan couldn't help but suspect, could they be two dumb dogs? It's already daylight and they're still not getting up?

He replaced the cover and went to check on the chicks. They were all awake, but huddled together for warmth. When Chen Fan lifted the cover, they immediately started chirping non-stop. After chirping for a while, they realized there was no food, so they chirped even louder.

Sure enough, even dumber than dogs.

At this moment, Jiang Lili walked in carrying two bowls, and said with a soft smile, "The chicks need to eat in the morning, or they'll keep chirping."

Chen Fan directly removed the cover, pointed to the basket next to him, and asked, "What about the puppies?"

Jiang Lili squeezed aside a few chicks in the middle with one hand, placed the small bowl filled with bran into the chicken coop, and placed the other bowl into the dog basket. At the same time, she said with a smile, "The puppies are very well-behaved. They eat when there's food, and don't make a fuss when there isn't. They just lie there quietly."

After a pause, she added, "The chicks won't be afraid of the cold until they're a month old. It's still snowing outside, so we can only let them run around inside the house for a while. It's not good to keep them locked in the basket all the time."

Chen Fan looked at the puppies again, "Shouldn't we let them out?"

Jiang Lili shook her head, and said with a smile, "We can't let them out together. The puppies will chase the chicks, and the chicks will get scared."

Chen Fan picked up the two puppies, glared at them fiercely, "You're still bullies? Can you even run?"

The two puppies didn't look at him, but whined and looked towards the basket. Who is this annoying person? I want to eat!

Chen Fan put the two gluttons down speechlessly, waved his hand, "I'll go check the back."

Jiang Lili quickly said, "I've already fed the colt and the lamb with fodder, and cooked pig feed for the piglets. I've also cleaned their pens. They're all doing well."

Hearing this, Chen Fan turned around and looked at her with a surprised expression, "What time did you get up?"

Wouldn't it take an hour to finish all that? It's only a little past 6 o'clock now!

Jiang Lili pursed her lips and smiled, "I just woke up and got up."

Chen Fan couldn't help but shake his head and sigh, "If it weren't for you in this family, they would definitely starve to death."

Jiang Lili's fair face suddenly turned red, "No, it's nothing. Um, I'll go make breakfast."

Saying that, she lowered her head and walked out.

Chen Fan scratched his head, looking at her back in confusion. What's wrong with her now?

Standing up, he still went to the backyard, patted the colt, patted the lamb, scolded the piglets, checked the peregrine falcon's injuries, and fed it some strips of meat.

After completing the routine, he went to check the pit he had dug last night.

As a martial arts master, of course, he had to take an unconventional path.

He immediately moved an old homemade ladder from the woodshed, first climbed onto the wall, then stood on the wall and pulled the ladder up, switched sides and climbed down.

Checking the woodpile, thankfully, only a layer of snowflakes had fallen on top, and not much had fallen into the middle.

He planned to come back after his morning shift and chop all these miscellaneous trees into firewood.

Then he went to look at the pit not far away, shook off the snow on the branches covering it, and checked the pit walls. They seemed to be frozen solid?

Well, when the firewood is dry, he can try firing the kiln.

The pit kiln firing was just an experiment. He had already asked Zhu Hao to help him see if the bookstores in the county had any books on kiln firing. If he could buy them, he could build a fixed kiln himself and fire things for fun when he had nothing to do.

Even if there were no books, it didn't matter. The structure of an earthen kiln was not complicated, and he had watched so many videos of people building and firing their own kilns before he transmigrated. There were not only those for firing pottery and bricks, but also ovens for making bread, cakes, and roast duck. By experimenting slowly, he could always replicate them.

After covering the kiln opening with branches again, Chen Fan returned the way he came.

After eating breakfast, he rushed to the brigade headquarters to work. As soon as 9 o'clock arrived, he rushed to the commune to return the bamboo baskets and wooden sticks he had borrowed from the breeding station yesterday, and then went to the state-owned restaurant to find Zhu Hao.

The salesperson guarding the counter still recognized him. As soon as she saw him coming, she greeted him with a smile and went inside to call Zhu Hao.

When Zhu Hao came out, he was carrying a bundle of books. He handed them to him, and said with a smile, "They just arrived not long ago. See if they're suitable for you."

Then he handed him a socket with a wire, "Wire and socket."

Chen Fan first put the wire and socket into his bag, and said with a smile, "Thank you, Brother Hao, and Sister-in-law."

Zhu Hao waved his hand, "Hey, it's a small matter. Take a look at these books first and see if they're suitable. If they're not, you can return them."

Chen Fan widened his eyes, "Can I still return them?"

Zhu Hao laughed, "It depends on who you know."

Chen Fan instantly understood, and then smiled. He lowered his head to look at the books.

The 1975 edition of "Plain Language Explanation of Tangtou Songjue", the same 1975 edition of "Case Discussion Compilation", as well as "Medicinal Material Processing", "Indigenous Methods of Grass Pulping and Papermaking", "Popularization of Chemical Industry", "Teenage Science and Technology Production", "Knowledge of Waste Recycling and Utilization", "Utilization of Rural Household Biogas", "Technical Transformation of Indigenous Coking", "Indigenous Steelmaking", "Indigenous Brick and Tile Sintering", "Indigenous Pottery Firing", "Knowledge of Rural Sideline Production", "Clothing Tailoring", "Common Rural Breeding", "Home Sugar Making Technology", "Construction Technology", "Indigenous Machinery for Agricultural Product Processing".

A total of 18 books, all practical books that could be used. Chen Fan was overjoyed, and immediately thanked Zhu Hao repeatedly.

As a result, Zhu Hao waved his hand and sneered, "What are you thanking me for? The bookstore should be thanking you. These books have been on the shelves for so long that they've gathered a layer of dust. They can't be removed even if no one buys them, and they have to be cleaned every day. Now that you've bought them all, they can even increase their performance."

State-owned units also had performance requirements, but there were only rewards for completing them, and no penalties for not completing them.

Chen Fan re-bundled the books, looked at Zhu Hao and asked, "Is 10 RMB enough? I'll give you the difference now."

Zhu Hao waved his hand again and smiled, "The wire and socket didn't cost any money. They were old goods stored in your sister-in-law's unit, and they would have been scrapped anyway. She found a acquaintance at the Xinhua Bookstore, gave the money and the list to them, and asked them to help buy them. It was exactly 9.99 RMB. He was given 1 fen to buy candy."

Chen Fan couldn't help but laugh, "This is 999 delivered to your door!"

Zhu Hao corrected him seriously, "It's 9.99 RMB."

As a result, before he could finish speaking, he burst out laughing himself.