Reborn in 1977

After the people from Team 10 left, Chen Fan picked up his wine glass and took a sip.

Ugh, this water is really hard to drink.

He glanced at the three security guards who were talking, and with a slight flick of his wrist, the wine bottle fell to the ground with a clang, "Oops, the wine spilled."

Captain Yang was about to pick it up, but Chen Fan quickly stopped him, "Forget it, it's all spilled. Let's just change it to Yunhu Daqu."

Hearing that he wasn't drinking the bulk wine and wanted Yunhu Daqu instead, Captain Yang didn't bother to pick it up.

Chen Fan turned to look at Jiang Lili, who was cleaning up the table, and smiled with narrowed eyes, "Xiao Jiang, please get me a bottle of ‘wine’."

The word "wine" here is emphasized.

Jiang Lili smiled with pursed lips, "Okay."

Then she went inside to get the wine.

Soon, Jiang Lili brought the wine over and poured it for him.

Chen Fan said "Thank you", picked up the wine glass, and took a sip.

This is real wine!

Drinking that wine-flavored water all night was really uncomfortable.

Exhaling a breath of alcohol, Chen Fan looked at the three people next to him and asked softly, "That Old Gao, do you all know about his situation?"

When that person mentioned Old Gao just now, he noticed that their expressions were not right, and later, after listening, it was indeed the case.

He was actually a Japanese war orphan.

In fact, there are many Japanese war orphans in our country, calculated in units of "ten thousand", especially in the Northeast, there are many such people. I don't know how many orphans and abandoned children were adopted by local villagers.

Some returned to their country to find relatives after the opening up, while others stayed permanently.

In addition, there are also remnants in many places across the country.

It is indeed rare to see two here, but it is not an incredible thing.

Hearing Chen Fan's question, neither An Quan nor Zhang Wenliang had time to speak, but Captain Yang said, "You don't need to worry about his situation. Anyway, what that person said is true. You just need to consider whether to go or not."

Chen Fan took a sip of wine, his brow slightly furrowed, "Listening to your tone, it seems like it would be best for me to go?"

Captain Yang paused with the hand holding his wine glass, then quickly raised it again, took a sip, and said with a sigh and a smile, "If you go, it's just a meal. If you don't go, it's fine too."

The next second, he put down his wine glass, picked up some food, and said softly, "The old Japanese hospital was located where the village school is now. Team 10 was also unlucky. Based on the principle of arranging things nearby, the main force arranged Old Gao and his family in Team 10."

He put down his chopsticks and smiled at Chen Fan, "I was still young at that time, even younger than Old Gao. I only remember that all the adults in the village both disliked them and had to take special care of them, afraid that they would suddenly disappear.

But then again, Old Gao and his family were also pitiful…"

Speaking to this point, he shook his head and stopped talking, just silently eating his food.

Chen Fan turned to look at An Quan and Zhang Wenliang, both of whom were drinking wine and not saying anything.

Seeing this scene, Chen Fan realized what a "leader's order" meant in this era.

It meant that even if you were unwilling in your heart, you would still firmly execute it.

At the same time, he also understood what Captain Yang didn't say later meant.

Putting aside what happened later, at that time, Old Gao and his wife were surrounded by hostile people, but they could only rely on these people to survive. It was hard to imagine their life being easy. As for the people of Team 10, they must have felt awkward, hating them to death but still having to take care of them.

It was very helpless.

But that's how life is. Whether you like it or not, twisting and turning, you eventually twist together.

He pondered for two seconds, raised his head, and suddenly smiled, "Hey, Captain, do you think Old Gao's wife can make sushi?"

Captain Yang looked at him in astonishment. After several seconds, he shook his head and said, "I don't know about that."

He turned his head and asked, looking confused, "What is 'sushi'? Is there a dish called that?"

Zhang Wenliang also had a confused look on his face, looking left and right.

An Quan, who came from the big pier, was more knowledgeable. He coughed twice and said with a wry smile, "What nonsense are you talking about? Sushi, not 'shousi', sushi is a type of Japanese rice ball."

He turned to look at Chen Fan, "Then you can forget about it. This is the inland, not the seaside. There is no seaweed, no sea fish. You want sushi? More like 'shousi'."

Captain Yang looked at him, speechless, "Aren't you still saying 'shousi'?"

Chen Fan laughed, picked up his wine glass, and smiled, "Okay, then I'll go to his house and see if there is any 'shousi'."

To be honest, he didn't really like going to other people's houses for dinner, let alone a Japanese person's.

But there was no way around it. People in this era especially, especially, especially valued the orders issued by the military leaders. Even after so many years, maybe that leader himself had forgotten, even if everyone hated the Japanese to death, they would still follow the order to raise the Japanese war orphans and treat them "equally".

That wasn't treating them equally at all, it was clearly "treating them differently".

Moreover, the Chinese people are kind, and most people have a sense of compassion.

Otherwise, during the famine years, wouldn't it be normal for one or two people to die? But they, who were alone and helpless, managed to survive safely and well. If it weren't for the help of the villagers, who would believe it?!

Chen Fan himself didn't know how to evaluate it. Anyway, he was just going for a meal. Just think of it as an ordinary villager's invitation and don't think too much.

… …

The moon was high in the sky, and only the four of them were still drinking in the yard. Chen Fan, after all, had the advantage of starting later, and successfully got the three of them drunk. Then, he asked Yang Ju and the other two to help the aunties send them away.

In the yard, Jiang Lili came to clean up the mess. Seeing Chen Fan drinking alone, she couldn't help but ask softly, "Are you unwilling to go?"

Chen Fan looked up at her and smiled, "There's nothing willing or unwilling about it. The people of Team 10 have been getting along with them for over 30 years. I'm just having a meal. What's the big deal?"

After a pause, he added, "Besides, you saw that night, everyone was pretty nice to their family. They should have slowly accepted them later.

People are like that. Treat others as you would like to be treated. After getting along for a long time, you'll have some feelings."

Seeing that Jiang Lili's eyes seemed a little dim, his mind quickly worked, and he vaguely guessed what she was thinking.

She was thinking that Old Gao and his family had integrated into the village, but she was still being excluded, feeling emotional about her own situation.

So he said softly, "You are different from them. They are an external conflict, and a blood feud at that. Not to mention this generation, even the next generation and the generation after that, it will be written into history books and won't be forgotten even after thousands of years. Now it's just because there is a leader's order to accept a few individuals. The situation can't be generalized.

Your problem is just a little misunderstanding within us. It doesn't even count as a conflict. Once the misunderstanding is cleared up, everything will be fine."

Then he looked at her with a smile, "Don't worry, that day shouldn't be far away."

In fact, it's often like this: first there are calls from below, and then there are actions from above.

Chen Fan had also learned indirectly that Jiang Lili's father's problem was not serious. It was more that competitors took the opportunity to kick him when he was down, but even so, they failed to kick her father out of his unit. So as long as the opportunity comes, it will be easy to turn things around.

Jiang Lili pursed her lips, her eyes brightening again, and nodded with a smile, "Mm."

The orange light shone on her, and her smile seemed particularly warm and innocent, causing Chen Fan to be a little dazed for a moment.

When he quickly came back to his senses, he smiled casually, "It's late, go wash up and rest early."

Jiang Lili pursed her lips, nodded with a smile, "I'll pour water for you first, and I'll go to rest after I finish cleaning up."

Chen Fan watched her back, turned around, raised his wine glass, and drank it all in one gulp.

Ha, so spicy.

I'd better brew some yellow wine myself as soon as possible.

… …

The next afternoon, Chen Fan rode his horse to Team 10 as invited.

He first found Su Yujun and sat with him for a while, then together, they went to Old Gao's house.

That's right, Su Yujun was the main companion that Old Gao had invited today.

Old Gao's house was on the edge of the village. Neither the front nor the back yard had fences, seemingly showing an attitude of "no concealment."

Chen Fan took a quick look and began to doubt the stereotype that "the Japanese are very hygienic."

The open space in front was indeed free of garbage, but two half-grown pigs were roaming freely, running around in the open space. There were hardly any intact spots in the entire open space, and a sour, rotten stench wafted over, catching people off guard.

The two pigs should have been in the pigsty next to the house. The gate of the pigsty was open, and next to it was the kitchen, filled with white mist. It was unclear what was being cooked inside.

Several pieces of clothing hung on a bamboo pole clothes rack near the kitchen entrance, their colors making one question whether they had been washed or not.

Frankly, the level of hygiene was quite beyond Chen Fan's expectations, even颠覆想象.

Just as Chen Fan couldn't help but frown, a person rushed out of the house—it was Old Gao.

Seeing Chen Fan and Su Yujun arrive, Old Gao was overjoyed and quickly ran over.

Chen Fan was about to wave hello when Old Gao suddenly knelt on the ground, startling him.

Old Gao wasn't good with words; he simply kowtowed once. Before Su Yujun could help him up, he nimbly got to his feet, bowed, and ushered them into his home.

Was kowtowing his way of expressing gratitude?

Chen Fan and Su Yujun exchanged glances, smiled awkwardly, and followed Old Gao inside.

The house was tidied up, barely clean, showing signs of a hasty cleaning. However, some long-standing stains were simply impossible to remove.

A boy of about seven or eight years old was in the main room. He looked at Chen Fan and Su Yujun with curiosity but didn't say a word.

Old Gao pulled the child over and pushed him to the ground, "Kowtow to Teacher Chen."

The child, somewhat dazed, was obedient and kowtowed without hesitation.

He wanted to kowtow again, but Old Gao pulled him up, "One is enough."

Then, he grinned at Chen Fan, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth, making Chen Fan's scalp tingle.

After a couple of seconds, Old Gao seemed to remember something and quickly darted into the adjacent room.

Chen Fan finally had a chance to examine the house.

It was a simple two-bay mud-walled house. The walls and floor were undecorated. The yellow mud walls were peeling, and the floor was also dirt, without even the most basic three-earth mixture.

As for the layout, entering the door led to the main room, with a small door on the west side leading to a room, and that was it!

The furnishings in the main room were also simple. Two portraits hung side by side on the wall, one of Mr. Li and one of Mr. Hua.

Below the portraits was an Eight Immortals table with a large teapot on it, a stack of bowls next to it, and a few benches and chairs against the wall. That was all.

The child sat timidly on a chair, holding a bamboo toy that was unrecognizable.

Chen Fan smiled at him and was about to speak when Old Gao came out of the room, holding a pack of Peony cigarettes. He clumsily tore a large opening in the cigarette pack and offered it to Chen Fan and Su Yujun with both hands, smiling earnestly, "Teacher Chen, Captain, please have a cigarette."

Since they were already here, Chen Fan pretended not to notice the dirt under his fingernails and took two cigarettes, handing one to Su Yujun.

Su Yujun took it and suddenly burst out laughing without warning.

Old Gao was confused by his laughter and couldn't help but look at Chen Fan.

Chen Fan knew what Su Yujun was laughing at; he was laughing at how Chen Fan was clearly uncomfortable but still pretending to be nonchalant.

Thinking about himself, although he also lived in a mud-walled house at the educated youth spot and wore the same clothes as everyone else, the fact that his room was tidy and his clothes were changed daily was old news in Lujiawan.

Not to mention being a neat freak, he could at least be considered hygienic, which had become a topic of conversation in the countryside.

But looking at Old Gao's place, anyone who cared about hygiene probably couldn't even sit down.

Yet he could sit there with his eyes closed and accept a cigarette as if nothing was wrong. To Su Yujun, that was hilarious.

Old Gao didn't know what they were laughing at, but seeing them both laughing, he joined in.

Perhaps hearing the laughter, Old Gao's wife, who was busy in the kitchen, came out and greeted them warmly, "Hello, Teacher Chen, hello, Captain Su."

She hurried to pour tea for them.

Old Gao slapped his forehead, his face full of regret and apology. How could he have forgotten the rule of serving tea to guests upon arrival?!

Old Gao's wife had been preparing for this meal for almost a day, and soon the dishes were on the table.

Old Gao had spent a lot of money for this treat.

A braised rooster, a hen soup—two chickens were slaughtered. There was also a fish, a plate of meat, and a few appetizers.

Originally, Old Gao wanted his wife and child to eat in the kitchen, but Chen Fan insisted on calling them back to join them at the table.

Chen Fan didn't want to think about how the meal was finished.

Whether the food was delicious was not even an issue.

Because he hardly ate any of the dishes.

When eating, he basically only ate broad beans and soybeans, and gave any other dishes he picked up to the child across from him.

The main reason was that the bamboo chopsticks were almost black. Chen Fan didn't even dare to touch the chopsticks much, let alone eat the dishes!

(True story, true filth. In reality, they couldn't be saved, and the whole family died.)

Old Gao thought that Teacher Chen was intentionally taking care of the child and was moved to tears.

Although he didn't eat much, he did drink two glasses of wine, so this "thank-you feast" could be considered a success.

After leaving Old Gao's house, Su Yujun led Chen Fan towards his own home. He turned to look at him, and before he could say anything, he burst out laughing again.

Chen Fan, slightly drunk, wiped away some sweat, paused for a couple of seconds, and said to him with a smile, "Does Old Gao's child go to school?"

Su Yujun put his hands behind his back, walked slowly forward, and said, "He went for two years and then stopped. If he continued, he would have to go to Nanhua Primary School in the commune, which is too far from here. Old Gao is worried."

Chen Fan nodded slowly. After a while, when they reached the entrance of Su Yujun's house, he stopped and said to Su Yujun, "Captain, I'm not just talking about Old Gao's child. I just think that children should read more books. If there aren't the conditions, then we should think of a way. After all, each generation should be stronger than the last, right?"

Su Yujun's smile faded, and he sighed softly, "We've thought about this problem too, but we can't think of a good solution. Teacher Xiao at the primary school is already overwhelmed with two grades. He really can't handle any more. And if we add another teacher, there isn't a suitable person…"

Before he could finish, Chen Fan said, "Didn't Su Guanglin finish primary school? When he was in the veterinary class, I even taught them a small part of junior high school knowledge. Wouldn't he work?"

Hearing this, Su Yujun was stunned and frowned tightly, "He wasn't good enough before. He only graduated from elementary school. He learned some high school knowledge by buying two old high school textbooks from the scrap station and studying them at home for several years to reach that level.

As for now, isn't he going to be a veterinarian? Almost every household in our team is expanding their sideline business of raising livestock this year. He has been busy these days inspecting the chickens, ducks, and geese for each household and using medicine for prevention. I'm afraid he doesn't have time."

Chen Fan smiled and said, "I don't mean to add a new grade…"

Here, he paused again, thought for a moment, and continued, "How about this? First, let's check the situation and see if there are any others who want to continue learning. It's not about going to school for classes, just people who want to learn more. If there are a few people, you can find someone to give those children a lesson every day, so they can learn without delaying their labor. As for the teacher's labor fee, let the children's parents give a few pounds of grain, just as a token."

After speaking, he turned to look at Su Yujun and said softly, "Of course, this is just my own idea. I don't know if it will work, if anyone is willing to be the teacher, or even if any children are willing to continue learning. If it works, it will be like paving the way for the next generation, so they can seize opportunities when they arise. If no one is interested, then pretend I didn't say anything."

Su Yujun nodded slowly, then looked at Chen Fan with a complex expression, "I used to call you Teacher Chen because everyone else did. Today I know that you really are a teacher!"

Chen Fan waved his hand with a smile, "Don't say any more flattering words. No matter how much you say, I can't do anything else. I can only beat the drums on the sidelines."

Hearing this, Su Yujun couldn't help but laugh, "Beating the drums on the sidelines is also a skill."

Then, he stopped talking about this topic, fetched Chen Fan's horse, and sent him away.