Reborn in 1977

Chapter 374: Is This a Hint to Get Married?

Grandpa Lu supported himself on the table to stand up, but instead of going into the room, he slowly walked to the cabinet, opened the door, and, under Chen Fan's strange gaze, took out a bottle of aged medicinal liquor.

He closed the cabinet door, then slowly walked back, placed the smooth liquor bottle on the table, pointed at it, and said with a smile, "Take a look, 20-year-old medicinal liquor, have you ever had it?!"

This medicinal liquor had been steeped until it turned black, and only a little more than half the bottle remained, obviously Grandpa Lu usually drank it too.

Medicinal liquor must be made with liquor of 50 degrees or higher, and the herbs used are also very particular, needing to consider the length of the steeping time. Some herbs are not suitable for long-term steeping, and should be drunk within a few months at most, otherwise they will spoil and cause problems if drunk.

And some herbs, such as ginseng, tiger bone, and deer antler, don't need to worry about the limitation of years at all, they are truly great medicines.

As long as the bottle mouth is sealed tightly and stored properly in a dark place, let alone 20 years, thirty or fifty years is no problem, and the medicinal effect will be stronger.

Grandpa Lu also understood medicine, this bottle of liquor was obviously not ordinary.

Chen Fan stared blankly at the liquor bottle, then looked at him, "You stored it?"

"Of course."

Grandpa Lu supported himself on the table and sat down, laughing, "I didn't store much, I just saw the weather turning cooler at night a few days ago, so I took out a bottle, 'Nourish in spring and reduce in summer, replenish in autumn and store in winter,' you know, tonifying is best done in autumn.

This medicinal liquor is also a great tonic, paired with the pickles you brought me... Hey, speaking of these pickles, they are crisp, refreshing, and moderately salty, I have never eaten such delicious side dishes in my life. But I can't make the taste you make no matter what I do, you have to get me some more."

Chen Fan's eyes twitched slightly.

I'm thinking about your treasure, and you're thinking about my little skill, can't you have a little more ambition?

Then he said, "That's simple, I'll bring you a jar tomorrow."

Grandpa Lu smacked his lips and said, "I have all the ingredients here, why not make it here?"

Chen Fan's face was speechless, "You don't just want the side dishes I make, you want the chili sauce too, right?"

Grandpa Lu laughed, "Who told you to make such an extraordinary flavor, it's also good to have more chili sauce for cooking."

Chen Fan nodded helplessly, "In this village now, you're the only one who can make me do this kind of work, Secretary Yang and the others only ask me to cook when they have distinguished guests, and they don't even need me to prepare the dishes. Even the pickles in my own home are made by Little Jiang and the others under my guidance, I'm too lazy to lend a hand."

Grandpa Lu immediately reacted, "So, the taste of that side dish can be even better?"

Chen Fan pursed his lips, "Your focus is indeed different."

After joking a few times, he stood up, rolled up his sleeves, looked at the medicinal liquor on the table, and said with a smile, "I'll go pick chili peppers in your vegetable garden now, but I have something I need to ask you about."

Grandpa Lu crossed his legs, pointed to the medicinal liquor, and asked triumphantly, "Want to ask me, where did I get this from?"

Chen Fan's eyes lit up immediately, "Your house is only so big, I've been here so many times, and I haven't found the place where you hide things, but there are no traces of digging pits on the ground, and it's even more impossible to hide them in the wall cracks, your house is made of bamboo poles, there are no wall bricks at all. Could it be hidden outside?"

He raised his head, puffed out his chest, put his hand on his chin, and struck a Conan pose, "Could it be that you dug a cellar in the vegetable field?"

Speaking of which, it's really possible, the vegetable field needs to be turned over frequently, digging around is not conspicuous, is it really there?

Grandpa Lu grinned and laughed, he occasionally took out some fresh things for Chen Fan, he knew he couldn't hide it from this kid, and he didn't think about hiding it from him later, otherwise he wouldn't have taken out so many things.

But he didn't expect that he would directly ask himself, this was interesting. It shows that this kid is open and honest, he is thinking about his things on the surface, but in fact he doesn't take it to heart at all, but is interested in his ability to hide things.

Otherwise, if he was wary in his heart, he would never be able to find it.

Grandpa Lu picked up his teacup and slowly took a sip, and said with a smile, "Kid, how about we make a bet."

Chen Fan's eyes lit up immediately, "How to bet?"

Grandpa Lu crossed his legs, looking at him with a smile on his face, "Aren't you guessing the vegetable field, then go find it yourself, anyway, no matter whether it's inside or outside the house, anything you find belongs to you, how about it?!"

Chen Fan clapped his hands, pretending to be shy and said, "Look at you, look at you, it's not easy for you to store things, how can I be embarrassed to ask for them."

Grandpa Lu's face changed, looking at him with a half-smile, "Don't be polite, I'm an old man with half my body in the ground, and I have no relatives or friends, you barely count as half a disciple, these things can't be taken away anyway, if they're gone one day, they're gone, it's better to use them to play a game with you, it's a pastime."

Chen Fan blinked, bent down and whispered, "Or, let's simply have an apprenticeship ceremony, and you will be my master from now on, and I will take care of you in your old age?"

Grandpa Lu was slightly stunned, and took a deep look at Chen Fan, seemingly quite tempted.

But in the blink of an eye, he sighed secretly in his heart, waved his hand and said, "Forget about the apprenticeship, it's enough for us two to have this fate, too much is as bad as too little."

He turned his head to look out the door, his emotions were quite low, and he said quietly, "The world is getting better day by day, but the sky is unpredictable, who knows when the wind will start blowing again, it's good the way it is now..."

Saying that, he turned to look at Chen Fan, his smile full of relief, "When no one is around, come over and take a look when you have time, accompany me for a meal and chat for a while, that's enough. In front of outsiders, you still have to be careful, don't involve me in anything you do or say, that's good for you and me."

Chen Fan pursed his lips and nodded lightly, then grinned, looked at Grandpa Lu and asked, "Grandpa Lu, you're so good at hiding, aren't there other disciples besides me? Let me tell you, if you give the treasure to others, don't blame me for adding more salt to the dishes!"

Grandpa Lu was immediately amused, "Get out."

Chen Fan hurried out, "Okay."

After he finished, he didn't forget to look back and greet, "I'll go pick chili peppers first, and then I'll come to your neighborhood to find treasure when I have time, this bet isn't just for today, right?"

Grandpa Lu rolled his eyes, "Valid forever."

"Okay."

Chen Fan rubbed his hands and ran happily to the backyard.

After he walked away, Grandpa Lu couldn't help shaking his head and laughing non-stop.

Chen Fan picked a basket under the eaves and ran to the vegetable garden behind him in a puff of smoke.

This vegetable garden is not big, only about 50 square meters, probably the smallest in Lujiawan, the bamboo fence around it is mainly to prevent chickens, ducks and geese from entering to eat the vegetables.

Chen Fan opened the bamboo vegetable garden door and went in, almost half of it was planted with chili peppers, which is also the norm in many commune members' vegetable gardens.

After all, chili peppers are the main ingredient for making pickles, and they can also be used as vegetables, so the consumption is naturally the greatest.

The other is broad beans and soybeans, which can also be used to make sauce.

Broad beans mature in late spring and early summer, while soybeans are a little later, and can be harvested after the double抢 (double harvest), sometimes it will overlap with the double抢 time, then people have to be spared to rush to harvest soybeans, which is even more tiring.

Fortunately, not many soybeans are planted in Lujiawan, so the burden will not be too heavy.

There are no broad beans or soybeans in this garden, so Chen Fan focused on picking chili peppers.

Before the chili peppers filled the basket, Chen Fan suddenly stopped, looking down at a small piece of soil in a daze.

After a few seconds, he raised his head and looked at Grandpa Lu's thatched cottage, and couldn't help but mutter in a low voice, "This old man, if he wants to give something, just give it directly, he's still playing games, he's really old but not old at heart."

Then he looked around, found a section of withered yellow bamboo stick not far away, went to get it, and started digging at the piece of soil that was not much different from the surroundings.

As a result, the bamboo stick was inserted less than 20 centimeters, and it poked into a hard object.

This is a vegetable field, I don't know how many times it has been turned over, how can there be hard things?

Chen Fan's face was full of smiles, Grandpa Lu was afraid that he couldn't find it!

Continue to dig, sure enough, only digging a layer of soil on the surface, you can see a pottery pot lying down.

The jar is about 30 centimeters thick, and the height is about the same, if it weren't for the bottom and mouth of the jar, it would look like a small ball.

Chen Fan was immediately shocked, digging around the pottery pot, and soon dug out the pottery pot.

Uncover the oiled paper that tightly wrapped the mouth of the jar, and pull out the camphor wood stopper, and inside the jar are several small objects tightly wrapped in oiled paper.

The moisture-proof work is done quite well.

Chen Fan chuckled, but did not immediately reveal the mystery.

First, he filled the pit back up, then continued picking chili peppers. Only after filling the basket did he carry the jar out.

Back in the front yard, before even entering the gate, Chen Fan deliberately grinned and laughed, "Fourth Master, take a look, what's this thing!"

Old Master Lu looked at him, then at the jar in his hand, and was immediately shocked. He stood up abruptly, "Oh, you actually found it?"

Chen Fan's eyelids twitched.

Old man, your acting is fine, but could you take it easy? You're over 70 years old and have a leg injury. If you strain your back, I don't want to be changing your bedpans.

He placed the chili pepper basket outside the door, carried the pottery jar into the house, and handed it to Fourth Master, who ran over. "What's wrong? Are you reluctant to part with it? I haven't seen what good things are inside, but judging by your reaction, you should be able to make a fortune."

Old Master Lu ran over but didn't take it. Instead, he said with a pained expression, "A gentleman's word is as good as a horse. If you found it, it's yours."

After a pause, his expression suddenly changed, and he walked back with his hands behind his back, "Out of sight, out of mind."

Chen Fan suppressed a smile, walked to the table, sat down, placed the pottery jar on the ground, and slowly took things out of it.

First, he took out a rectangular package. While unwrapping the oil paper, he said, "Don't be so distressed. Good things should be brought out to bask in the sun. If they're always buried in the ground, they'll become antiques in a few decades, only good for looking at, with no use at all. Actually, that's not very interesting.

Let me see what this thing is…"

After unwrapping the oil paper, there was a small brocade box inside. Chen Fan couldn't help but be stunned when he opened the brocade box. He turned to look at Old Master Lu, "A pair of pocket watches?"

The box was divided into two halves, each side inlaid with a pocket watch. Although many years had passed, the watch cases still shimmered with a bit of luster. Judging by the color, they should be made of 14K gold, very bright and beautiful.

He took out one of the watches and looked at it. The watch back and case only had a few simple floral patterns sketched out, looking very inconspicuous.

He gently pressed it, and with a crisp 'ding' sound, the watch case immediately popped open, very pleasant to the ear.

The inside of the watch case was engraved with a Cupid shooting an arrow pattern. The periphery of the dial was a circle of auspicious patterns. The sapphire crystal face was crystal clear, and the dial used diamonds of different sizes to mark the hour and minute scales, with a small second hand below, appearing simple and elegant.

There was also a gold watch chain to match. When the cover was closed, it was grand and elegant; when the cover was opened, it was exquisite and luxurious.

Looking at the other watch, it was almost identical, except it was a size smaller, and the Cupid inside this watch case was holding a harp. That was the only difference.

Chen Fan finally glanced at the brand logo. Oh, a Patek Philippe and Cartier collaboration model, not bad.

(36-year collaboration model pocket watch)

Then, he put the two watches back in the box, preparing to continue opening the box.

Old Master Lu finally turned his face and looked at the two pocket watches in the box, saying, "Oh, so it's this."

He sighed softly, turned his head, sat up straight, and said softly, "I bought this in Shanghai back then. I bought them as a pair, intending to give them to my nephew as a wedding gift, but unfortunately, they left in a hurry and I didn't have time to give them."

He turned his face again and smiled, "It's fate that you were able to dig up this jar. It just so happens that you've reached the age where you can get married. These two pocket watches are for you. Keep one for yourself, and quickly find an owner for the other one."

Chen Fan's face fell. Was he being urged to marry?

I'm only 16 years old and I'm already being urged to marry?

Honestly, is he doing this on purpose?

Chen Fan took a deep breath and said unhappily, "What do you mean 'giving' it to me? I won this. You don't know, I dug for a long time just now and almost collapsed from exhaustion."

Muttering, he took out the next package from the jar.

As soon as he unwrapped the oil paper, Old Master Lu stopped acting and glanced at it, saying, "Oh, this was also a wedding gift I planned to give to my nephew. Two gold pens made to order at the China Pen Factory, but unfortunately, I didn't get to give them away either. You take one, and quickly find an owner for the other one."

(China Gold Pen, the Crown of National Products)

Chen Fan opened it with a dark face. Inside were indeed two black fountain pens.

He slammed the lid shut, turned his face, and said, "Fourth Master, don't tell me everything in this jar comes in pairs?"

Old Master Lu gasped, raising his head as if in thought.

After a few seconds, he frowned and said, "It's been too long, I can't remember. You should open them yourself and take a look."

Chen Fan's mouth twitched. He put the pair of pocket watches and the pair of pens aside and took out the remaining three packages in one go.

After unwrapping them all, there were three more small brocade boxes.

Sure enough, as expected, one was a ring box, containing a pair of substantial diamond rings; one was a pair of dragon and phoenix jade pendants; and the last one was finally not one for a man and one for a woman.

It was a pair of Imperial Green jade bracelets.

There was a conclusion. If he wasn't being urged to marry, Chen Fan would eat these things!

Seeing Chen Fan's depressed expression, Old Master Lu coughed and said seriously, "Back then, when the war broke out, the Lu family split up and went their separate ways. Because they left in a hurry, these things were forgotten to be given to my nephew. When they were collected, they were naturally put together. That's understandable, right!"

Chen Fan nodded slowly, put the 5 boxes into his backpack one by one, stuffed all the oil paper into the pottery jar, and leaned the pottery jar against the wall, leaving it for Old Master Lu to use next time.

Then, he turned his head and asked, "Forgive me for asking, but how old was your nephew back then?"

Old Master Lu clenched his right fist and slammed it into his left palm, saying with indignation, "Speaking of this, it makes me angry. My two older brothers had 5 daughters in a row. Finally, they managed to have a son, but he was only 4 or 5 years old when he had to follow them and be displaced. Tell me, isn't that hateful?"

Chen Fan blinked, "So you bought him wedding gifts when your nephew was 4 years old?"

Old Master Lu looked at him and smiled, "That's not it."

Then, he held out 3 fingers, "3 years old."

Chen Fan took a deep breath, forcing a smile on his face.

He finally understood why he was being urged to marry.

In comparison, he was almost 17 years old. It was time to urge him!

Chen Fan felt a little tired and decisively ran to check on the braised rabbit meat simmering on the stove. He also used dried chili peppers and peppercorns to heat oil and make a sauce, picked out the rabbit head, and poured the freshly made chili oil on it, making a spicy rabbit head.

Then, he started eating.

I have to say, Old Master Lu's medicinal wine was really powerful.

He only took a small sip and felt the blood in his whole body surging, especially for Chen Fan, who practiced martial arts, the reaction was even more obvious.

So he even forgot to eat the rabbit meat, taking small sips of the wine. After each sip, he followed the modified Great Toad Breathing Technique taught by Lin Yuanxiang, using the modified Tiger and Leopard Thunder Sound to stimulate his internal organs… , several secret techniques were used in combination or in rotation, taking sips of the wine one after another.

Before long, most of a rabbit went into Old Master Lu's mouth, and the bottle of medicinal wine was emptied by Chen Fan.

Old Master Lu looked at the empty wine bottle with an expression that was more distressed than when he looked at the pottery jar.

At first, he saw Chen Fan turning red and wanted to remind him, but before long, the redness gradually faded, and Chen Fan returned to normal, so he didn't say anything.

He was silently comforting himself in his heart, it's okay, it's okay, there's still wine, no rush.

When Chen Fan picked up the empty bottle, he finally came back to his senses and shook the bottle upside down, trying to shake it downwards, but only two drops came out!

He immediately smiled at Old Master Lu, "Fourth Master, is there any more?"

Old Master Lu immediately shook his head, "No more, no more, that was the last bottle. Once it's gone, it's gone."

Chen Fan's eyes were full of suspicion, "Really?"

Old Master Lu widened his eyes and pointed to his backpack, saying, "I wasn't stingy with those things, would I be reluctant to part with a little wine?!"

Breathing heavily, he said earnestly, "Young people need to know how to restrain themselves. I only drank a small cup just now, less than 1 tael. You drank at least 6 or 7 taels. This wine is very strong, you can't drink any more."

Chen Fan's eyes lit up, "So there's still some left?"

As soon as Old Master Lu heard this, he stood up angrily and chased him away, "Go, go, go, I already said there's none left. Finish eating and leave quickly, don't bother me."