Reborn in 1977

He boiled water to wash his face and wiped his body down, which helped to dissipate much of the alcohol fumes.

It was just a pity that he was still wearing those pajamas, with a cotton-padded coat on top. He didn't know when the new clothes that Captain Yang had promised would materialize. Until then, he would have to keep wearing this outfit.

Everything else was fine, but not changing his underwear for a day made him feel unclean all over, and he felt uncomfortable everywhere.

But there was nothing he could do; he could only wait.

After a quick tidy-up, Chen Fan prepared to go out.

Jiang Lili came over and asked, "Aren't you going to rest for a bit?"

Chen Fan shook his head and smiled, "I slept early last night, so I'm not sleepy at all now. I might as well go early and come back early."

He didn't dare to light the kerosene lamp anymore. He had to wash up and go to bed before dark, otherwise, after dark, especially on cloudy days with no stars or moon, it was pitch black, and he couldn't do anything.

He had managed to kick his habit of staying up late before the transmigration.

Seeing Chen Fan say this, Jiang Lili didn't say anything more. She turned and walked to the woodpile outside the kitchen, pulled out a wooden stick, and walked back to hand it to Chen Fan, "Take this with you."

Chen Fan was stunned. This wooden stick was about the thickness of an egg, a little over a meter long, and still had bark on it. It seemed to have been trimmed directly from a branch, and looked like it was made of jujube wood.

He immediately realized what it was for and couldn't help but chuckle, "A dog-beating stick, huh?"

Jiang Lili didn't laugh, but looked at him very seriously, "Many families here keep dogs, and the guard dogs can be very fierce. Once they bite, they won't let go. This stick is for you just in case. If you see a dog on the road, it's best to avoid it and not walk in front of people's houses. When you get there, find a local to guide you immediately, otherwise it will be dangerous, because there are a lot of dogs in the production team."

Chen Fan figured that while he could speak foreign languages and might be able to chat with good dogs, he might not be able to communicate with vicious dogs and reach an agreement.

For example, so many people in China can speak English and Japanese, but they haven't been able to reach an agreement with the United States and Japan.

When mad dogs want to bite people, people can't just let them bite, so necessary precautions are still needed.

Chen Fan took the wooden stick in his hand and tapped it on the ground, finding that it reached just to his chest. He couldn't help but laugh, "I heard that chest-high is a staff, eyebrow-high is a pole. This should be considered a dog-beating stick."

It was a pity he didn't know the Dog-Beating Staff Technique; otherwise, he could have been a stand-in for the Beggar Clan leader.

He didn't have anything to take with him, so he was about to leave with the dog-beating stick when he suddenly thought of something and turned back, "By the way, how do I get to Team 5?"

After all this time, Captain Yang hadn't given him the address yet.

Jiang Lili pursed her lips and smiled, leading him out of the courtyard gate and pointing to the path leading directly west, "Follow this path, and you'll soon see a ditch more than three meters wide. Cross the ditch and continue walking, and you'll see a large ditch six or seven meters wide with cedar trees planted on both sides. Cross the bridge over the large ditch, and you'll be on the main road of the Lujiawan Production Team.

If you want to go to the commune, follow the main road south, and you'll be there in half an hour. If you want to go to Team 5, you have to cross a bridge. There's a diagonal road, about the same width as this one, with a small ditch on the side of the road. Just follow that road, and you'll get to Team 5."

Then she looked at Chen Fan and smiled, "That's where the brigade headquarters is. I've only been there twice, but the road is pretty easy to follow. Just follow the road and you'll get there."

After a pause, she asked, "By the way, did Captain Yang give you a letter of introduction?"

Chen Fan was imagining the route she described when he heard this and was immediately stunned, "Do you need a letter of introduction even within the production team?"

He had always thought that letters of introduction were for outsiders. Everyone in the production team belonged to the same brigade, just like in a company. Did you need a letter of introduction even for that?

"Under normal circumstances, of course not."

Jiang Lili looked at him without blinking and asked, "But, do you know anyone in the brigade?"

Chen Fan shook his head, "I don't."

Jiang Lili asked again, "Do they know you?"

Chen Fan thought for a moment and continued to shake his head, "They probably don't either."

These days weren't like later generations, where you could video chat. Nowadays, even taking a photo required going to the commune, and some communes didn't even have a photo studio, so you had to go to the county town. You even had to bathe and change clothes the day before taking a photo, making it a grand occasion.

Without even a photo, who in the brigade would know him?

Jiang Lili said, "So, without a letter of introduction, how will you prove that you are Chen Fan?"

After a pause, she added, "And you're a unregistered resident right now. If you run into the patrol team, they won't recognize you, and you won't be able to produce any proof, they'll definitely take you straight to the small dark room. Although the captain can vouch for you, you'll still suffer a bit."

Chen Fan was surprised again, "There's a patrol team?"

Jiang Lili nodded very seriously, "Yes, there is. It's the people from the militia company. Lujiawan has a militia company, divided into three platoons, with four squads in each platoon. Each team has a squad of militiamen, and the 12 squads take turns patrolling. In the winter, they even have concentrated drills. They have the right to shoot bad elements directly if they encounter them."

Chen Fan raised his hands in fright, "Okay, I'll go get a letter of introduction from the captain!"

Watching Chen Fan trot back up the slope, Jiang Lili couldn't help but cover her mouth and laugh, but after laughing for a while, she quickly suppressed it, carefully looked around, and then looked at Chen Fan until his figure disappeared from sight before turning around and entering the courtyard.

Chen Fan ran to Captain Yang's house, successfully obtained a letter of introduction, and then strode towards the brigade.

… …

With a stick in hand, Chen Fan's heart suddenly surged with boldness. He didn't take the road in front of the educated youth spot, but instead followed a path in front of a villager's house down the slope.

Then he encountered several graves and three stray dogs.

Before the stray dogs could howl, Chen Fan took the initiative to greet them, "Guarding the house? Guard it well, don't let bad people in. See you later."

The three stray dogs were immediately stunned, blankly watching him pass through the bare graveyard, follow the ridge to the road, and walk away.

Who is this person? He can actually speak dog language?

The three dogs met and all felt that this rare event had to be shared with their good brothers, and immediately scattered and ran off.

Soon, the village was filled with the sound of dogs barking.

Chen Fan was walking on the road when he heard the barking, looked back, and couldn't help but wipe away a cold sweat.

Jiang Lili really didn't lie to him; there were really a lot of dogs kept here.

What a pity that he had been staying obediently in the house for the past two days and only went to Captain Yang's house. Otherwise, chatting with so many dogs would have raised his foreign language level to level 2!

Following the path forward, he soon saw the small ditch that Jiang Lili had mentioned. The ditch was already dry at this time, with only a pool of mud left at the bottom. He didn't know if there were any soft-shelled turtles hiding inside.

After crossing a "wooden bridge" made of three intertwined tree trunks, he walked forward for a while and arrived at Lujiawan's "main road."

It was actually just a five- or six-meter-wide dirt road, with two ruts on the road, extending into the distance.

After admiring the scenery for two minutes, Chen Fan continued on his way.

After crossing another wooden bridge and walking along a small path extending in a west-north direction, he turned around again, stood on an earthen slope, and looked back. He could only see a bit of the outline of Team 6's small earthen slope, and that was only because there was a long river embankment as a reference; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to see it at all.

Just then, several stray dogs suddenly ran out of the woods in front of him, standing there and looking at him from a distance.

Chen Fan took a breath. Seeing these dogs, he knew he had arrived at Team 5.