Reborn in 1977

Chapter 264: Easily Obtained

Chen Fan didn't look at the pelts first. Instead, he took the bamboo tube Old Peng handed him, pulled out the wooden stopper wrapped in coarse cloth, and took a sniff. A refreshing fragrance of tea leaves immediately wafted into his nostrils.

He took a deep breath, "Wow, that smells amazing."

Then, he put the stopper back on and pointed inside, "Please, Master Peng, have a seat inside."

Old Peng quickly waved his hand, "No, no, I'm just dropping off the stuff. I still have things to do at home."

As he spoke, he was about to untie the ropes.

Without another word, Chen Fan immediately grabbed his arm and pulled him inside, "No matter what, a guest should at least sit down for a while. There's no way someone can come all this way and not even have a drink of water, especially since you taught me archery, so you're practically half a teacher. If you go back like this, I'll be scolded to death."

Seeing Chen Fan's enthusiasm, Old Peng's face broke into a smile, "Alright, alright, I'll listen to you."

Then he added, "Slow down, slow down, let me untie the pelts."

He then tied the mule to a wooden stake by the woodpile, untied the ropes binding the fur pelts, and was about to pick them up when Chen Fan had already lifted the pelts and carried them on his shoulder. He grinned and followed Chen Fan into the combined-purpose room.

Chen Fan first put the bamboo tube on the table, then placed the pelts on the bamboo bed that had been moved to the corner. He turned around and poured a cup of tea for Old Peng, using the tea leaves from the bamboo tube.

He placed the teacup in front of Old Peng and said with a smile, "I only have a 'one-horse pot' here, and it was bought by Comrade Xiao Jiang. Today, I'll be borrowing flowers to offer to Buddha, using the tea leaves you brought to make tea. Please don't laugh at me."

Old Peng grinned, "What are you saying? You're not someone who cares about these things. If you really wanted to buy some, you could pick out any good tea leaves you want."

Chen Fan also rummaged through the cabinet and found some melon seeds and peanuts, placing them on a ceramic plate on the table. These were leftovers from the New Year, and he hadn't taken them out because there weren't enough for everyone. But since Old Peng was alone, it was okay to put them out.

Old Peng held the teacup and took a sip, then looked up and said, "Actually, I also like drinking from a 'one-horse pot.' It's comfortable to drink from."

Then, he pointed to the bamboo tube, "This kind of tea is not bad either. It's wild tea that grows on the hillside in our team. Few people take care of it. At most, they prune the branches in early spring, then pick a batch before Qingming Festival and another batch before Guyu."

"Pre-Qingming tea is too tender and doesn't have much flavor, but people outside say pre-Qingming tea is good, so we send it to Team Leader Zhong. The brigade headquarters also gets some, specifically for entertaining guests. The pre-Guyu tea has a stronger flavor, so we mostly keep it for ourselves. Just as I was coming over today, Team Leader Zhong told me to bring you a tube."

Chen Fan laughed and nodded, "Then I'm in luck."

From the same tea tree, pre-Qingming tea is the most tender and also the most expensive. Pre-Guyu tea is the most fragrant and has a stronger flavor. The worst is the tea picked after Guyu and before the Start of Summer. The tea at that time already has a bitterness that is difficult to remove and is considered inferior tea.

Even worse is the tea picked after the Start of Summer. The kind that costs a few yuan per kilogram on Pinduoduo in later generations is that kind. It's no different from tree leaves and is purely waste utilization. Because it's cheap, the sales are quite high.

However, aside from the scarcity of pre-Qingming tea, pre-Guyu tea is indeed the best. Xu Ci Shu of the Ming Dynasty recorded in "Tea Treatise" that "Too early for Qingming, too late for the Start of Summer, around Guyu is the perfect time," which refers to the most suitable season for picking tea in the Jiangnan region.

Chen Fan suddenly thought that he didn't know if there were any tea trees behind his homestead and in the woods to the east. He could go take a look later. If there were, now would be the perfect time after Guyu to pick some and try frying tea.

If there weren't, he could transplant two tea trees from somewhere else. Lu Jiawan was so big, it couldn't be that only Team 9 had tea trees, right?

Planting tea trees is better than those useless miscellaneous trees.

Old Peng took a few sips of tea and ate a few peanuts, then stood up and walked towards the fur pelts, saying at the same time, "Take a look at these pelts and see if the tanning is suitable."

Chen Fan also got up and followed him.

Picking up a fox pelt, the entire pelt had been tanned very softly. Picking it up and shaking it open, the middle part was reddish-brown, and the color of the edges gradually faded to a slightly pale yellow. As a pelt, the middle was naturally the back, and the edges were the belly and limbs.

This is also the common color of fox fur. Pure red or pure white foxes are extremely rare, and each pelt is priceless. Chen Fan obviously didn't have such good luck to be able to hunt such top-quality foxes.

However, this kind of fox fur is not bad either. It's just that if you want to make a monochrome fur coat, you have to cut off the edges and only use the fur from the middle of the back.

No wonder a fur cloak requires a dozen or even twenty fox pelts. That's all to pursue beauty and is wasteful. Otherwise, if you make the most of each pelt, six or seven pelts would be more than enough.

Old Peng looked at Chen Fan and asked with a smile, "How is it?"

Chen Fan immediately gave a thumbs up, "Master Peng has good craftsmanship."

He put down the pelt, looked at him, and said with a smile, "To be honest, I also know a little about tanning, but after seeing the pelts you tanned today, I'm really embarrassed to show mine."

Old Peng immediately laughed heartily, "I'm just relying on my age and experience to be more skilled. If it were you at this age, I would still be assisting my old father."

Speaking of this, he felt a little depressed. Other things were okay, but archery and flying stones required time and effort. But this Teacher Chen learned them as soon as he tried. He could only sigh that the difference between people was really incomparable.

Shaking his head, he directly stopped thinking about this and pointed to the fur pelts, saying, "There are a total of 19 fox pelts. None of them were skinned badly. Also, the fox tails are all there, but these small pelts aren't very useful. With some tailoring, they can only be used to make collars or scarves, or a hat."

Chen Fan was also a little worried looking at the pile of fox tails. It seemed that these things were later used to make accessories. A small portion would be used to make hat brims or collars, and the fur on the tails was different from the fur on the pelts. The tail fur was fluffier. He had no idea how to handle this stuff for the time being.

If this fox fur could be a little tougher, it could also be pieced together to make a belt, but unfortunately, it couldn't.

Chen Fan didn't have a good idea for the time being, so he ignored it for now, spread the pelts on the bamboo bed, and invited Old Peng to sit down, smoke, and drink tea.

After finishing a cigarette, Old Peng was about to say goodbye, "Teacher Chen, I really have to go back. I still have things to do at home, and my grandson is still being watched by the neighbors."

He was an outsider, and his household registration was not here, so naturally, he would not go to work with the people from the production team. He usually just helped take care of the children at home or did some other handicrafts. Jiangnan had a large rice harvest, and his family didn't lack his food rations, so he lived comfortably.

Seeing that he really had something to do, Chen Fan didn't try to keep him and immediately said with a smile, "Alright, alright, if you have something to do, I won't delay you, but I haven't collected the labor fee yet. You have to tell me how much it is."

Old Peng quickly waved his hand, "No, no, the tanning fee has already been recorded by Team Leader Zhong in the team's account. If you want to calculate the money, go find him. Don't look for me."

Upon hearing this, Chen Fan was surprised. Such a thing had actually happened?

With Captain Zhong absent, he couldn't do much. Besides, even if he offered money, they probably wouldn't accept it. He could only wait for a future opportunity to make amends.

However, he couldn't let Old Peng and his companion return empty-handed.

Chen Fan pondered for a couple of seconds, then turned and walked to the other side of the room. He picked up two bundles of pottery from the cabinet, walked back, and said with a smile, "Master Peng, these are some pottery pieces I made myself. If you don't mind, please take them back for your own use. And please give the other bundle to Captain Zhong."

Old Peng was about to refuse again, but Chen Fan stuffed the bundles into his arms, deliberately putting on a stern face and saying, "If you don't accept them, you're looking down on my craftsmanship."

Hearing Chen Fan's words, Old Peng had no choice but to accept them, saying somewhat embarrassedly, "Look at you, look at you, I just came to deliver something, and you're being so polite."

Before Chen Fan could speak, he rolled his eyes and asked, "Is the bow and arrow I gave you last time still working well? If you run out of arrows, I can send you some more."

Previously, he had taught Chen Fan archery and had given him a set of bow and arrows as a gift. Anyway, he made them himself, so they weren't worth much. The most valuable part was the arrowheads, but those could be bought for one yuan for 20 at the repair shop in town, so it wasn't a big deal. Chen Fan didn't decline much and accepted them on the spot.

Chen Fan smiled and said, "They're very useful. I went hunting last time, but there haven't been any other animals for me to hunt since then. I haven't used a single arrow. They're all still hanging on the wall."

Hearing this, Old Peng was at a loss. He had been thinking of giving something in return to repay the favor a little. After all, Teacher Chen's pottery was now somewhat famous in Nanhu. A complete set could sell for 10 yuan at the market. Even if this bundle wasn't worth 10 yuan, it should be worth 5 yuan.

Unfortunately, Chen Fan didn't need anything. He couldn't just give him something that others wouldn't use.

At this moment, Chen Fan had an idea and asked, "Master Peng, I wanted to ask, when you used to hunt, did you ever save any large hides?"

Old Peng was stunned for a moment and looked at him in confusion, "Large hides? With or without fur? How big?"

Chen Fan lifted his clothes and pointed to the cloth belt around his waist, smiling, "I've always wanted to find a piece of hide to make a belt, but I haven't found a suitable one at the market after going twice. I was wondering if you had any."

Old Peng suddenly understood and said with a smile, "Belts are usually made of cowhide or pigskin. Other animals are either too small or the hide isn't strong enough. But cowhide and pigskin are controlled materials. Not only is the state purchasing them, but some counties, communes, and teams have also started their own leather factories and are also purchasing them. They are in urgent need of these two types of hides.

So cowhide and pigskin are almost impossible to find at the market. If anyone dares to sell them, there's only one outcome: they will be confiscated on the spot. There's no other possibility. Naturally, I don't have any here either."

Hearing this, Chen Fan was a little dumbfounded.

Is that so? I just want to get a good leather belt. Do I have to go to the county to buy one?

Old Peng seemed to hesitate for a moment, then said, "However, although I don't have cowhide or pigskin here, I do have a hide that can also be used to make a belt."

Chen Fan noticed the change in his expression just now and turned his eyes slightly, immediately asking, "What kind of hide?"

Old Peng looked at him and smiled, "Have you ever heard of a 'pig dragon'?"

Chen Fan's eyes widened instantly, "A Yangtze alligator?!"

Old Peng laughed and said, "As expected of Teacher Chen, you even know about Yangtze alligators. Years ago, when we were hunting by the river, we encountered a few 'pig dragons'. We killed a few at the time. The hide of this 'pig dragon' is actually quite good, but because there are too few 'pig dragons', they are not on the import and export company's purchase list. So a few of us team members divided up those hides ourselves. I still have one in my hand. If you want it, I'll bring it to you later."

Chen Fan nodded quickly, "Yes, yes, yes, I definitely want it."

Just kidding, this is alligator skin, a skin that's even better than cowhide. How could he not want it?!

As soon as he finished speaking, Chen Fan quickly added, "However, Master Peng, I want the whole hide. Otherwise, it will be difficult for you to deal with the rest. So you must accept money. If you don't accept money, I don't want it."

Old Peng seemed a little embarrassed, "Teacher Chen, although this 'pig dragon' hide is quite good, it's really not worth much. People by the river often catch 'pig dragons'. A hide only sells for 3 or 5 yuan. You say that the bundle of pottery you're giving me is worth more than 3 or 5 yuan, right?!"

Chen Fan was a little speechless. Using a bundle of not-so-exquisite earthenware to exchange for an alligator skin, and still feeling like he was getting too much, could only happen in this era.

In fact, at this point in time, alligator skin has long become the world's top leather material, but it is not valued in China because it is used as a luxury item. It wasn't until the 1990s that alligators went from protective breeding by professional institutions to commercial breeding by the private sector, but it was still mainly for food, and breeding for leather purposes was even later.

The main reason is that the world's top alligator skin production area is in Thailand. The alligator skins they breed are almost entirely contracted by the world's top leather goods manufacturers. The quality of ordinary wild alligator skins is simply not up to their standards, so even import and export companies ignore this high-quality leather because 'low-quality' alligator skin is very cheap on the international market, and there is even no demand for it.

As a result, domestic alligator skin cannot be sold at a high price, which is only natural. Even if there are a few alligator skin products, the price is comparable to cowhide, and together with other small-category leather products, it is considered a supplement to cowhide.

Thinking of this, Chen Fan said, "The pottery is a gift from me to you. You taught me archery last time, and I haven't given you a thank-you gift yet. This little thank-you gift isn't too much, right? So you can't not accept money for this hide, or I really won't dare to take it."

Old Peng smiled, thought for a moment, and said, "Then let's do it like the people by the river sell the hide, and give me 3 yuan."

Chen Fan smiled and said, "Don't say 3 yuan. I don't believe you can buy a tanned alligator skin for 3 yuan."

After a pause, he smiled and said, "The current purchase price of cowhide is 4.4 yuan per jin. Let's use the price of cowhide, weigh it later, and calculate how much it is. No one will lose out, and no one will take advantage."

Hearing this, Old Peng finally stopped declining and laughed, "Okay, let's do as you say."

Then he gestured, "I'll bring you the hide later."

Chen Fan chuckled, "Don't wait until later. I happen to have nothing to do right now. I'll go with you to take a look and thank Captain Zhong by the way."

Oh my, I searched for a long time for cowhide and couldn't find it, but I didn't expect to find an alligator skin here. It can be considered effortless. This wave is a win.