Reborn in 1977

Chapter 285: Accepting the Loss

Just past noon, Chen Fan slung his homemade sheepskin backpack over his shoulder and rode his horse towards the brigade headquarters.

The little mare, with light steps, galloped across the fields, feeling the saddle on her back, and neighed incessantly, as if saying, "Wearing this thing is very comfortable."

Chen Fan patted the mare's neck and laughed heartily.

He only learned later that wearing a saddle was better for the horse, but he was helpless because the South Lake Commune couldn't buy a suitable riding saddle.

South Lake didn't lack saddles for packhorses, but unfortunately, they were the wooden frame type, convenient for pulling carts. Want a riding saddle? Sorry, we don't have it.

The saddle he made himself involved collecting leather scraps, entrusting someone to buy rivets in the county town for safety, making wooden boards himself, and forging metal parts himself… It took a lot of effort to finally make it.

Barely passable, it could be considered unique in the South Lake Commune. As for whether the county town had it, he didn't know.

Actually, this was also related to the geographical location. The Jiangnan region had many waterways. Even if mules and horses were raised, it was for plowing or hauling goods. Very few people rode horses.

For short distances, people relied on their own two legs; for long distances, they relied on boats or mule carts.

After all, raising a riding horse specifically was a considerable expense. The horse's feed alone was equivalent to the rations of at least two people.

Spending so much money to raise a riding horse was something only the landlords and wealthy people of the past could do. Even wealthy units would rather find ways to buy bicycles than raise horses to ride.

That's why Chen Fan's riding his horse through the streets was so eye-catching.

But everyone also knew that he was a lone wolf, without family burdens, and he received two work points. Adding the stories of him saving the little foal and the little mare, everyone believed that he was destined for these two horses, so no one gossiped.

If it were someone else, who knows what people would say behind their back.

Before long, he arrived at Team 5. Passing through the woods, some people began to comment on Chen Fan.

"Yo, Teacher Chen, your outfit is not bad."

"Oh my, this saddle, this bridle, and this backpack, even the big cadres can't compare to you."

"More than just cadres, look at Teacher Chen's backpack, it's so beautiful, even better than the bags in the department store counters in the county town. Teacher Chen, did you make this yourself?"

Chen Fan laughed and said, "Ah, I just made it casually."

After speaking, he changed the subject, "Why didn't you go to the market?"

"We're not going. Even if we go, we won't be able to sell anything."

"Buying things? No money. Selling things? Just a little pickled vegetable. Every household can make it, and no one spends money to buy it. We might as well just rest at home."

"If only I had Teacher Chen's ability to cook, I would definitely go sell turtle meat. Hey, Teacher Chen, why did San Huzi only bring so little turtle meat this time? It's not even half as much as last time?"

Chen Fan didn't stop either, riding his horse slowly forward, laughing and saying, "Because he can't catch turtles anymore. I guess after he finishes selling this time, he won't sell turtle meat anymore either."

As soon as these words came out, they aroused another round of discussion.

"That's right, there are so few turtles now. During the twelfth lunar month, you could dig up several baskets full with a casual dig, but now you can't even fill a basin even if you dig up a whole ditch."

"You still have the nerve to say that. During the New Year, you ate turtles at home every day. The turtle shells piled up into a basket. If you had taken them out to sell, how much money could you have made?"

"What would you sell them for back then? It's better to keep them until now to sell. There aren't many turtles left now. I think the price will definitely rise."

"According to you, wouldn't it be better to raise them for a while and sell them in a few months?"

"Actually, if you ask me, you could raise turtles in paddy fields. Teacher Chen, what do you say… Hey, where's Teacher Chen?"

"Still Teacher Chen, Teacher Chen left long ago. He's going to work at the brigade headquarters."

…

Chen Fan led the horse to the animal shed next to the brigade headquarters, put his hands in his pockets, and walked towards the courtyard.

At this moment, Xiao Liewen walked out of his house with a rice bowl in his hand and shouted at Chen Fan on the slope, "What are you doing here at this time? Have you eaten?"

Lin Yuanxiang didn't come out either, sitting upright on a stool, shouting through the gate, "If you haven't eaten, come over and have a couple of drinks."

The Xiao family even prepared to get bowls and chopsticks.

Chen Fan quickly walked to the edge of the threshing ground, waved his hand to them across the pond, "No need, no need, I've already eaten. You eat yours."

As he spoke, he made a gesture, smiled, and turned to enter the courtyard of the brigade headquarters.

Xiao Liewen returned to the house, his brow furrowed slightly, "This kid has never been so active before. Did he take the wrong medicine today, or what?"

Lin Yuanxiang finished his meal in a few mouthfuls, wiped his mouth, stood up, and said, "We'll know when we go take a look."

Then he took out his smoking pipe, lit it, and walked unsteadily upwards.

Xiao Liewen also quickly finished his meal, threw down the bowl, and followed closely behind.

On the other side of the pond, Zhang Cuie also ran out of her house, running quickly upwards. Her mother called her to stop and handed her an egg.

Needless to say, it was definitely for Teacher Chen.

Lin Yuanxiang arrived at the brigade headquarters first, only to find that Chen Fan hadn't gone to the broadcasting room above, but was sitting in their office, leisurely making tea.

Seeing the two of them come over, Chen Fan found their teacups, poured water to make tea, and asked, "You finished eating so quickly? Why didn't you rest at home?"

Xiao Liewen then took out his dry tobacco pipe, looked at him, and said, "This is something to ask you. Tell me, how long have you been here, and when have you ever come so early at noon? Tell me, what's the situation?"

Putting the two cups of tea in front of them, Chen Fan rolled up his sleeves and was about to speak when Zhang Cuie ran in panting, "Teacher, I'm here."

Chen Fan looked back at her, his face full of puzzlement, "Why did you come so early?"

Zhang Cuie widened her eyes, "Didn't you come over because you had something to do? I was eating at home and saw you, so I quickly finished eating and then came over."

As she spoke, she stretched out her hand, "Here, my mom told me to bring it."

Chen Fan took the egg from her hand, feeling somewhat dumbfounded, "I just came over to see if the commune had sent down any notices, there's nothing else."

Lin Yuanxiang sighed on the side, "Look at this little girl, following you to learn to be a broadcaster, and she brings you food every day. This old man taught you so many things, but I haven't gotten any benefits."

Zhang Cuie was unconvinced, turned to look at him, "I formally became a disciple. The teacher said that the new society should have a new look, not allowing me to kowtow, nor allowing me to call him 'Master,' and not charging tuition, so I only bring some food. My teacher didn't become your disciple, and you beat him every day, and you still expect him to bring you things? What are you thinking?"

When listening to the first half, Chen Fan smiled quite happily, but when he heard the second half, he couldn't laugh anymore, and immediately coughed, "What 'beat me every day,' that was sparring. I see that he's old and let him win. You child, how old is he and how old are you? Stop saying nonsense, apologize quickly."

Zhang Cuie pouted, although still unconvinced, she still bowed obediently to Lin Yuanxiang, "I'm sorry."

Lin Yuanxiang, on the one hand, liked Zhang Cuie's straightforwardness and appreciated her respect for her teacher, so protective of Chen Fan, and on the other hand, sighed at someone's shamelessness. In the end, he could only sigh, "Why is the gap between people so big?"

Zhang Cuie agreed with this sentence very much, "Exactly."

As she spoke, she glanced at someone with a smile on his face, her eyes full of disdain.

Lin Yuanxiang was speechless, glanced at someone who was smiling from ear to ear, and simply sulked and smoked.

Xiao Liewen then looked at Chen Fan and asked, "You just said that you wanted to see if the commune had sent down any notices. Did you get any news?"

Chen Fan nodded and was about to speak when a burst of footsteps and loud voices came over.

"Time is tight and the task is heavy. You have to arrange it well. In addition to doing a good job…"

Halfway through the sentence, Secretary Yang and Team Leader Zhang appeared at the door. Behind them was Zhang Wenliang. When they saw so many people in the office, they naturally stopped talking.

Xiao Liewen immediately raised his head and said loudly, "You're back, how's the situation?"

The three of them entered the door one after another. Chen Fan waved his hand, "Xiao E, make tea."

Zhang Wenliang was speechless, "You're using my sister as a servant, aren't you? The key is that this isn't your office either."

Zhang Cuie turned her head and glared at him, "I want to."

As she spoke, she trotted off to make tea.

Zhang Wenliang hummed twice, looked at his cousin, who was busy getting teacups, and then looked at Chen Fan, who was full of smiles, "How did you teach her? Teach me."

Chen Fan chuckled, "What do you mean how did I teach her? I call this sincerity for sincerity. As long as I teach her all kinds of knowledge without reservation, she will naturally respect me. Hey, what can you teach?"

Zhang Wenliang's face fell, and he sat down next to him, crossed his legs, and smoked.

Secretary Yang and Team Leader Zhang returned to their seats, looked around at everyone, and said with a smile, "I have good news for you all. Our production team is going to show a movie."

Xiao Liewen was immediately surprised, "Oh, is it confirmed?"

Secretary Yang nodded and smiled, "After we finished the market, we went to Secretary Qian's place on the way back. Stationmaster Tang Xianwen from the cultural center was also there. He told us the news, which saved us the trouble of making a special phone call to inform you."

After a pause, he added, "The time is set for May 4th, and the location is still the old place, the village elementary school playground in Team 10. It's a big place, and more than a thousand people can sit there."

As he spoke, he turned to look at Chen Fan, "Xiao Chen, broadcast this information this afternoon."

Chen Fan nodded immediately, "Okay."

At this moment, Xiao Liewen asked, "Were you waiting for this notice?"

Chen Fan smiled and nodded, "Yes, Ange went to my place this morning, and I heard it from him."

Xiao Liewen nodded, "That's right. His wife is the deputy stationmaster of the cultural center. Although she's not in charge of movie screenings, she's well-informed and can find out in advance, which is normal."

As soon as he finished speaking, Team Leader Zhang said to Zhang Wenliang, "Sanhu, I wasn't finished just now. You must do your security work well. Although Team 10 is relatively remote, people from other places will definitely come. Anyway, it's not the first time you've been in charge. You know the specific details. In short, make arrangements and don't allow any problems to occur."

Zhang Wenliang nodded solemnly, "Understood."

At this time, Xiao Liewen thought for a moment, looked at Secretary Yang and Team Leader Zhang, and said, "Now that the rice transplanting is finished, and the market is over, and the movie screening is the night after next, why don't we just do the militia spring training too?"

The others had no objections and expressed their agreement.

With the leaders unanimously in agreement, Zhang Wenliang naturally obeyed the order.

He turned to look at Chen Fan, "Are you going to use your own hunting rifle or the company's rifle this time?"

Chen Fan said without hesitation, "Use the rifle."

Lin Yuanxiang raised his head and looked at him, saying, "Aren't you very fond of those two hunting rifles? Why don't you use the hunting rifle?"

Chen Fan sighed softly, "Hunting rifle bullets cost 40 cents each, but rifle bullets are free. Any fool knows which one to choose."

This sentence silenced everyone in the room.

Zhang Wenliang wiped his face and looked around. He immediately spotted the leather backpack in the corner of the long chair, stood up and walked over, grabbed the backpack, and almost without thinking, his eyes fell on Chen Fan's face, "Is this yours?"

Chen Fan nodded, "Yes, I made it myself."

Zhang Wenliang didn't ask him where the leather came from. Whether it was the 19 fox skins he got from hunting last time, or the three sheepskins the team rewarded him after his short story was published in the "Jiangnan Literature" magazine, it was enough to show that Chen Fan didn't lack leather.

The key was the craftsmanship, which made him deeply suspicious, "Are you sure you made this bag yourself?"

Chen Fan chuckled, "Can it be fake?"

After a pause, he added, "Or are you saying you've seen a backpack like this somewhere else?"

Zhang Wenliang immediately shook his head, "I've never seen it before."

At this time, the others also came over to join in the fun, taking Chen Fan's backpack to study.

It was actually a backpack similar to a computer backpack in later generations, with a smaller outer bag on the outside, and then two large bags with two compartments each, for a total of four layers. The openings of the two large pockets used copper-toothed zippers, which, combined with the light yellow original color of the sheepskin, looked very high-end. The smaller outer bag used three snaps, which were convenient for storing some loose items.

In addition, Chen Fan also used brass to make several buckles, and then used leather to pad and sew them on the bag. Depending on the different usage environments, the backpack could be turned into a shoulder bag, which was very convenient.

While everyone was studying the backpack, Chen Fan approached Lin Yuanxiang and said in a low voice, "Uncle Lin, you said before that if I could make a saddle myself, you would give me a saber."

Lin Yuanxiang turned to look at him, "Is the saddle ready?"

Chen Fan chuckled, "Of course, the main thing was making the saddle, the leather bag was just a side project."

Lin Yuanxiang smiled slightly, "Seeing is believing."

Chen Fan immediately reached out, "Please."

The two of them walked outside.

The others heard their conversation, and immediately stopped looking at the leather bag and followed behind.

Secretary Yang, still with a cigarette in his mouth, said to Team Leader Zhang in a low voice, "Think about it for me, what else can't this kid do?"

Team Leader Zhang also shook his head and sighed, "Let alone the broadcaster and veterinarian, he also knows how to burn pottery, bricklaying, carpentry, and now he can make leather bags and saddles. It's really unimaginable how he knows so many things at such a young age."

At this time, Zhang Cuie whispered from the side, "The teacher said that what he actually knows is not refined, only considered beginner-level, and he doesn't know everything, for example, he doesn't know how to farm."

Hearing this, Secretary Yang and Team Leader Zhang looked at each other, and then sighed, "He's just not a proper farmer."

In this day and age, anyone who comes from the countryside, no matter how capable they are, how many people don't know how to farm?

Before long, they arrived at the livestock shed, and from a distance, they saw the saddle on the back of the small mare.

Lin Yuanxiang took the lead to walk over, not even reaching out, just getting closer to look, looking at the top and looking at the bottom, not even letting go of the stirrups, then turned to look at Chen Fan, his eyes full of strangeness, "Don't tell me, you even made these stirrups yourself?"

Chen Fan chuckled, "The craftsmanship is a bit rough, I hope you won't laugh."

Lin Yuanxiang stood up straight and couldn't help but shake his head and sigh, "If you were in the base area back then, you would definitely be the greatest treasure."

Having been here for some time, the more he understood Chen Fan, the more he felt. He was afraid that if he threw this kid alone into the deep mountains and old forests, he could make a base with his bare hands. Back then, the team was poor and blank, and this kind of all-rounder who was close to production and life was really an object of contention from all sides.

After passing the inspection, Lin Yuanxiang was not ambiguous, and immediately smiled, "Okay, I'm willing to admit defeat, I'll have someone send the saber over later."

Hearing him say this, Chen Fan was embarrassed instead, and quickly waved his hand and said, "No need, no need, just joking."

After a pause, he smiled again, "Actually, I'm making a knife myself, and it's almost done now. I estimate that in a few days, I'll be able to make the knife. Then I'll ask you to give me some pointers."

Lin Yuanxiang was speechless again, put his hands behind his back and looked at him, "Hey, I say, are you planning to make everything yourself in the future? The clothes are spun by yourself, woven by yourself, cut by yourself, and sewn by yourself. The rice you eat is grown by yourself, transplanted by yourself, and then the house is built by yourself, you do everything yourself?"

When the people next to him heard this, they couldn't help but laugh.

Chen Fan immediately shook his head and smiled, "Not that much. Isn't it because I have no choice? When I first came here, if it weren't for the secretaries and team leaders sponsoring me a few sets of clothes, I wouldn't even have any clothes to change into. If I can spend money to buy it, who would be willing to do it myself?"

Zhang Wenliang walked over from the side and smiled, "This sentence only applies to you. You have the money to buy it, but in our rural areas, it's really 'If you can do it yourself, who would spend money to buy it'?"

Everyone burst into laughter again.

After watching the saddle, everyone went their separate ways.

Xiao Liewen continued to stay in the office, and Lin Yuanxiang accompanied him to chat. Secretary Yang and Team Leader Zhang went to the small teams to check the progress of rice transplanting.

Zhang Wenliang pulled Chen Fan over, handed him a stack of money, "The dividend from selling soft-shelled turtles today is only 15 yuan. It can't be compared to the last time, but at least it's considered sold out. More and more people are setting up stalls now, and business is not easy to do."

Saying that, he patted Chen Fan's arm, "Hurry up and raise the rabbits. I'm still waiting for the rabbit meat you make."

Chen Fan smiled and nodded, "The first batch of rabbits will be handed over in a few days. The little rabbits can't be counted on for the time being, but a batch of big rabbits can be released. You can discuss buying some with Team Leader Ye then."

Zhang Wenliang was overjoyed, "Okay, when you bring the rabbits over, I'll go find Uncle Ye."

After Zhang Wenliang left to arrange the militia spring training, Chen Fan turned around and took Zhang Cuie to the broadcasting room to teach her the knowledge in the middle school textbooks. At the same time, waiting for the broadcasting time to arrive, he would notify the entire brigade of the movie screening.