Reborn in 1977

In fact, tableware in the 1970s already had many styles and colors, such as clustered flowers, twining branches, butterflies, phoenixes, and so on. There were all sorts of patterns, and even foreign paintings specially for export, depicting little angels, two little foreigners, and the like.

Besides the wide variety of patterns, auspicious characters were also common.

After all, the past decade was also a decade of endless "auspicious words." Things like "Double Happiness" and "Good Fortune" were old hat. "Universal Celebration," "Boundless Longevity," and various slogans were also abundant, not as monotonous and dull as later generations imagined.

(Old Bowl)

However, these exquisitely crafted medium-to-high-end ceramic products were mostly expensive. Compared to coarse porcelain bowls that only cost about two mao, the price of this type of tableware was much higher.

Cheap ones cost five or six mao each, and slightly more expensive porcelain bowls costing one or two yuan each were not uncommon, especially fine bone china for export, packed in bright red boxes. A set of 36 pieces cost two or three hundred yuan, and there were still no sellers.

Two or three hundred yuan in the 1970s was more expensive than a bicycle, just for an ordinary set of tableware!

So, there is no shortage of rich people at any time.

But for the vast majority of ordinary people, exquisite high-end products were too far removed from life, so far that many people lived their whole lives without even knowing these things existed.

What they usually saw the most were the green-tinged coarse porcelain bowls in the supply and marketing cooperatives, and slightly more expensive "high-end" bowls and plates printed with patterns and words, priced from a few mao to more than one yuan.

That green color was the color produced by the most basic glaze, similar to the pottery fired by Chen Fan. But it didn't have patterns or auspicious words on it.

Now Chen Fan was going to combine the two.

Forget about the patterns. Time was tight, and he was too lazy to paint them.

Besides, he only planned to sell a complete set of 36 pieces of tableware for 10 yuan. Writing a few words on it was about right. Did they expect him to paint a "Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix"?

It was just a token gesture anyway.

So, for three consecutive days, the four girls were busy working overtime, while Chen Fan himself was responsible for making the charcoal stoves.

In addition, to improve efficiency, he also fired several sets of "molds."

Actually, they were just pottery with a fixed shape. For example, for making bowls, it was a hemisphere. You only needed to cover the surface of the sphere with clay, spread the mud evenly, and after it dried slightly, remove the "mold" to get a pottery blank for a bowl.

Then, he hauled away all the colored gravel from the brigade headquarters, painstakingly made two large buckets of glaze, and finally, before departure, finished firing his "planned production" products, not letting the girls laugh at him.

In the courtyard, Huang Ying, Yang Ju, and Liu Dan surrounded the cleaned pottery, exclaiming in admiration.

Huang Ying: "Teacher Chen, the charcoal stove you fired this time is so beautiful. It also has so many auspicious words written on it."

Yang Ju counted from the side: "There's 'Fortune, Prosperity, and Longevity,' 'Good Luck and Happiness,' 'Longevity as High as the Southern Mountain,' 'Lucky Star Shining Brightly,'..."

Liu Dan opened her mouth slightly, looked at Chen Fan, and asked, "Teacher Chen, why didn't the stove my family bought before have any words on it?"

As soon as she said this, Yang Ju and Huang Ying also looked at him expectantly.

Chen Fan coughed dryly, "Mainly because, well, the one sold before was cheaper. This one is two yuan more expensive."

It wasn't that he hadn't thought of writing words on the stove before. It was a seller's market. Simply shaping it was enough. Why bother with so much trouble?

But now, to expand the market and compete with the supply and marketing cooperative and the potters of the Victory Brigade, he had to think of more ways.

Then he didn't consider the goods he sold before.

Teacher Chen, who had entered the role of boss, still had a lot of business ethics. In order not to make the people who bought it before feel like they had lost out, he decisively decided to raise the price by two yuan.

That should be fine, right?!

Hearing him say this, the three of Huang Ying nodded in realization.

Huang Ying still felt a little regretful, "If I had known earlier that you could write words, my family would have bought the 12-yuan stove."

Chen Fan's mouth twitched slightly. I didn't realize your family was so wealthy!

Jiang Lili walked out carrying two baskets and said softly, "Everything is ready. We can leave when the flatbed cart arrives."

The charcoal stove didn't need special handling. It could be placed directly on the flatbed cart, cushioned with straw, and pulled away. The complete sets of tableware were packed in small baskets, lined with straw to prevent collisions. When sold, the baskets would be taken away together for 10 yuan, which was very convenient.

Chen Fan had ordered these baskets from several bamboo weavers in the team. Each one only cost 1 mao, cheap and practical. As for the other loose pottery items, they were packed in two large bamboo baskets. Chen Fan already had the large bamboo baskets, so he didn't need to buy them.

30 baskets only cost 3 yuan, but they could add a lot of color to the products. You should know that in this era, when buying bowls, they were tied with straw rope, either buying a bundle and taking it away, or buying individual ones and taking them away yourself. Who would give away a basket for free!

As before, they went to find Master Liu to borrow the cart. As before, it was the donkey and mule from last time. They pulled the charcoal stove and the baskets full of tableware and hurried to the market.

...

Same old acquaintances, same old location, same old routine.

When they arrived, they didn't need to unload the goods. They simply placed the two flatbed carts horizontally on the side of the road, which was the best stall.

The members of Lujiawan around them, as well as the passing pedestrians, greeted Chen Fan while watching them with great interest.

A big man setting up a stall with four girls was a combination that was hard not to gossip about!

So, unknowingly, the topic of discussion among the surrounding people quickly changed.

"What's going on with Teacher Chen? Bringing four girls out, which one is he interested in?"

"How can you say for sure? All four of them are from Team 6. That little Jiang is also an educated youth. Although her background isn't good, she's diligent and down-to-earth. The other three said they wanted to prevent a lonely man and woman, but as a result, they all got mixed up together. It looks like Old Yang and the others sent them over for matchmaking. Little Jiang's intentions are still unknown. Those three are probably going to have a three-woman competition for a husband."

"If you ask me, the first to be eliminated is Little Jiang. She has a problem with her background, and she's thin. She's not as strong as some girls who are a few years younger than her. Who in a proper family would be willing to marry her? Teacher Chen is such a good catch. Wouldn't it be fine to pick one of those three?"

"What are you saying? Why does he have to pick one of those three? We in Team 5 aren't without anyone either. Zhang Cuie isn't any worse than Yang Ju and the others. She has looks and ability..."

"We in Team 7 have people too!"

On the market, pedestrians came and went, the noise was deafening, and Chen Fan couldn't hear what the people around him were saying. He was just busy with his own business.

Compared to selling turtle meat last time...

Thinking of turtle meat, Chen Fan couldn't help but look into the distance and muttered, "How many families selling cooked food have come today?"

Jiang Lili happened to be standing next to him. Hearing his words, she also turned around and looked. She saw that almost everywhere surrounding the lake was filled with steaming white mist. Just counting casually, there were at least fifty or sixty.

She couldn't help but open her mouth slightly, "Are these all selling turtles?"

Chen Fan clicked his tongue and said softly, "I also helped Zhang Battalion Commander make two large pots of turtle meat after work yesterday. He must be selling turtle meat here. I just don't know what the other families are selling."

Huang Ying, Yang Ju, and Liu Dan also walked over to stand next to him, looking at the scene in the distance, feeling somewhat puzzled.

Just as Yang Ju was about to ask, someone behind them shouted, "Master, how are these sold?"

The four girls looked at Chen Fan at the same time.

Chen Fan had already walked over and said with a smile, "Comrade, which one do you want to see? The stove or the tableware?"

The middle-aged man smiled at Chen Fan, "So it's Master Chen. You're not selling turtle meat anymore, you've switched to selling ceramics?"

As soon as Chen Fan heard this, he thought, hey, he's a regular customer. He probably bought turtle meat at the market last time, or at least saw it from the side, so he exchanged a few polite greetings with a smile.

Then he whispered to Jiang Lili and the three of Huang Ying, "I told you how to introduce the products at home before. Now, who wants to do it?"

Jiang Lili pursed her lips, glanced at the three people next to her, and didn't say anything.

The boldest Huang Ying raised her hand without hesitation, "I'll do it!"