Reborn in 1977

After a burst of laughter, they finally decided on the vegetables to plant this year.

First, tomatoes, and second, cucumbers. These two received unanimous agreement from the four girls and Chen Fan.

In an era lacking fruit, these two almost completely replaced the function of fruit in the countryside. Which rural child hasn't had the experience of picking a tomato directly from the garden and biting into it?

In winter, when these two vegetables are unavailable, white radishes and carrots can also be used as alternatives, but their taste is not as good.

In addition, Chen Fan wanted potatoes to be planted under the cucumber vines, and they also decided to plant some peppers and eggplants.

Anyway, there are spring plantings and summer harvests, autumn plantings and winter harvests. Different seasons have different vegetable plantings. Chen Fan doesn't understand this aspect, so he'll just let the girls handle it. He only needs to wait and eat.

As they talked and worked, time passed quickly. Before long, they had finished tidying up the vegetable garden, and the four of them hurried to prepare lunch.

Chen Fan returned to his room to rest for a while before being called to eat.

It was then that he mentioned inviting the security cadre to dinner tomorrow night.

Jiang Lili looked at him and asked softly, "Should we make it simple or more elaborate?"

Chen Fan thought for a moment. "Let's make it more elaborate. If we're inviting Security Cadre An, we should also invite Captain Yang, Accountant Liu, and Storekeeper Huang."

Jiang Lili pondered for two seconds and said, "If we want to make it more elaborate, we'll need fresh meat and vegetables, but right now we only have cured meat and fish. The chicks are only a month and a half old and weigh less than half a catty. It would be a pity to kill them now. The three hens are also laying eggs. How about we see if any family in the team is selling roosters and buy one to kill and eat? Stew it with some small potatoes, and that would be a big dish. Then kill a big fish and make sauerkraut fish. In addition, just stir-fry some cured meat and vegetables, and it would be a very lavish meal."

Huang Ying immediately said, "My family has small potatoes planted. I'll go dig some later."

Chen Fan looked at her and chuckled, "I'm the one treating, how can I go to your house to dig vegetables?"

Huang Ying said matter-of-factly, "We're here learning skills from you, and you haven't charged us tuition. What's the big deal about taking some potatoes?"

Yang Ju followed up, "There are only radishes and greens here, and we've already dug them up this year. The greens are old and can't be stored, so they can only be used to feed pigs and rabbits. We can't just use radishes to entertain guests, can we? It just so happens that my vegetable garden still has spinach, celery, and Chinese cabbage. I'll pick some tomorrow to make it look better."

Liu Dan also quickly said, "My family has a rooster that's just three months old. It's when the meat tastes best. I'll go back and catch it later."

Chen Fan looked at the three of them, blinked, and suddenly laughed, "Why does it feel like you guys are competing? Huang Ying wants to dig potatoes, and Yang Ju wants to pick greens."

As he spoke, he looked at Liu Dan and couldn't help but chuckle, "You're even more ruthless, directly catching the chicken from your house. Aren't you afraid your parents will beat you?"

Jiang Lili was eating with her rice bowl in her hands, and when she heard this, she almost spat out a mouthful of rice.

She looked at him first, then at the three somewhat uncomfortable girls, and couldn't help but curl the corners of her lips as she continued to eat.

Seeing that his words had made the three of them a little embarrassed, Chen Fan chuckled and laughed, "Alright, let's do as you say."

After a pause, he added, "However, it's okay to take a little potatoes and greens, but Liu Dan, your rooster is too valuable to take for nothing. I'll trade you a hen for it."

Trading a hen for a rooster seems like a loss, but if it's for eating, it's completely different.

Rooster meat is more tender and chewy, and whether it's fried, stir-fried, deep-fried, stewed, roasted, or braised, rooster is the first choice. Especially young roosters that have just reached adulthood, the taste is absolutely amazing.

Hens, on the other hand, lay eggs more often and have a longer growth cycle, so their meat is relatively tougher and very difficult to stew until tender. Especially this kind of free-range native chicken that hasn't been improved, it often takes more than two hours to stew. The older the hen, the harder it is to stew until tender, and even after stewing, the meat is still relatively tough.

Therefore, the most suitable thing for hens is to make chicken soup.

Hen soup is the only cooking method that surpasses rooster soup. The deliciousness of chicken soup cannot be compared to rooster soup. Therefore, there is a saying in Yunhu that "hen soup, rooster meat."

But Liu Dan didn't want to exchange it. She immediately said with puffed cheeks, "You want their things, but you don't want my things. It's just a small rooster. You gave me so much money last time when we fired pottery. How can I repay you then?"

As she spoke, her eyes even started to tear up.

When Chen Fan saw this, he immediately felt a little panicked. Why was she crying?

Giving me something, not being able to return it?

They're just taking a little potatoes and greens, can that compare to your small rooster?

He blinked and quickly turned to the three girls next to him for help.

Well, each of them was almost burying their faces in their bowls, as if fighting with piglets for food.

Chen Fan smacked his lips and had no choice but to say helplessly, "Alright, alright, then I won't exchange it. You bring the small rooster tomorrow, okay?"

Liu Dan immediately smiled through her tears and nodded vigorously, "I'll go catch it later."

Chen Fan nodded, then looked at the three of them and said unhappily, "If you don't look up, you'll suffocate."

This time, even Jiang Lili couldn't help it. The three of them laughed together, and they almost couldn't hold their rice bowls steady.

After a burst of laughter, Chen Fan told them about the decision made at yesterday's meeting, and finally said, "So, after a few more days, when the brigade headquarters contacts the breeding station and purchases enough chicks, you will also have to act as 'master craftsmen' and teach others how to raise earthworms and how to use earthworms to raise chickens.

At that time, you must explain all the precautions clearly. I know that some people are very busy, so busy that they don't even have time to drink a sip of water, but raising chickens is not a trivial matter. It can't be compared to the previous free-range model where no one cared.

They just casually raise a few chickens at home, and when they remember, they sprinkle a handful of rice bran. If they don't remember, they let the chickens find their own food. Anyway, they vaguely raise them to adulthood, and they still lay eggs and eat meat.

But large-scale breeding is different. When the time comes, ask them if their chickens often get sick, and even die in serious cases?…"

Before he could finish speaking, Liu Dan nodded repeatedly, "That's true, one of my second uncle's chickens died last year, and the other ones were almost dead too. Later, they had to go to the veterinary station to buy medicine and feed them to save them."

Chen Fan didn't blame her for interrupting and nodded with a smile, "Yes, this situation is not uncommon. Many times, it's caused by the chickens eating wild insects. Earthworms are similar to wild insects, and they also carry germs. If they are not treated and directly used for feeding, it's very likely to cause the chickens to be infected with infectious diseases. At that time, the loss will not be just for their family, but it may also affect the chickens of other families in the team, so you must be very cautious."

Hearing this, Huang Ying thought a step further and asked with some concern, "What if someone doesn't want to?"

According to what Chen Fan said, the risk of raising chickens seems to be not small. She knows very well that many people in the team don't actually want to take risks and just like to live a stable life. If raising chickens leads to debt, it is estimated that many people will back down.

Chen Fan looked at her and smiled, "Our principle is to prioritize voluntariness and not force anyone. Because handing over the chickens to the commune members' families to raise is also for the benefit of everyone. The commune members who raise chickens can convert the number of chickens raised into work points, or they can keep them themselves and only return the money for the chicks to the commune. The benefits still go to the commune members themselves.

If they don't want to, then when other families make money from raising chickens, don't blame the brigade headquarters for not letting them raise chickens.

Furthermore, the brigade headquarters will also run its own chicken farm, so whether or not the commune members' families raise chickens does not affect the overall situation."

As he spoke, he looked at the four girls, "Anyway, you only need to teach others the techniques of raising earthworms and using earthworms to raise chickens. You don't have to worry about anything else."

Jiang Lili thought for a moment, looked at him, and asked, "Do I have to teach too?"

Chen Fan looked at her and smiled, "You also know this technique, of course, it will be counted on you."

After a pause, he smiled again, "But don't worry, doing this will earn you more work points than working in the fields, so you won't be at a disadvantage."