Reborn in 1977

Chapter 467: Visiting

Although the two sisters were three years apart, they not only looked like twins, but their birthdays were also very close.

Jiang Tiantian's birthday was on the sixth day of the twelfth lunar month, which is tomorrow, while Jiang Lili's birthday is on the 17th day of the twelfth lunar month. Calculating the time, there isn't much difference, so Chen Fan sent them together for convenience.

The two birthday gifts were exactly the same: a pair of ordinary-looking short leather boots.

However, the leather was not simple. It was the fox fur that Chen Fan had left over from before, and then he used the equipment in the machinery factory to color it. It was still an unremarkable light brown, which was different from the mainstream black and dark brown, but not eye-catching.

The soles were made of rubber taken from the machinery factory, which were light, strong, and non-slip. With his master-level sewing skills, the shoes he made looked simple, but were very comfortable to wear.

Especially the delicate layer of fox fur inside was exceptionally warm. In this cold winter, the two sisters couldn't bear to take them off once they put them on.

Jiang Tiantian walked back and forth in the living room wearing her new shoes, her eyes full of surprise. She looked up at Chen Fan, "They fit perfectly. How did you know my shoe size?"

Birthdays can be seen in the records, but what about shoe sizes?

Giving shoes is not like giving clothes. Clothes can be worn even if they are slightly larger or smaller, but shoes that don't fit are a bit troublesome. If they are too big, you can stuff cotton or newspaper into the shoes, but if they are too small… stomp your feet?

Hearing this, Chen Fan actually avoided her gaze and coughed lightly, "Uh, when I treated you last year, I knew how big your feet were."

The always generous Jiang Tiantian's face turned red instantly, and she lowered her head, not daring to look at him.

Jiang Lili next to her also blushed and lowered her head, not saying a word. So, when he treated her feet, he also measured the size?

Seeing that the atmosphere was a bit awkward, Chen Fan couldn't help but cough again, "Well, I didn't expect you to not only look alike, but even your feet are the same size…"

Before he could finish speaking, seeing the reproachful and shy looks in the two sisters' eyes, he immediately turned around and walked out, "It's getting late, I'll take you back."

He put the two baskets into the trunk, and after the car drove out of the yard, Chen Fan got out of the car, closed the door, and got back in to leave.

After what happened just now, the two sisters were unwilling to sit in the passenger seat and sat together in the back, their faces still a little rosy, and they didn't say anything.

Chen Fan glanced at the rearview mirror, blinked, and said, "I'm going to the machinery factory tomorrow morning. I'll treat Sister Zhou and Sister Zuo to lunch. You guys come along too."

The two sisters said, "Okay."

Chen Fan glanced at the rearview mirror. Just mentioning feet made them so shy?

He coughed again, "After lunch, I'm going to the provincial capital. Do you want any souvenirs?"

Jiang Lili woke up as if from a dream, quickly leaned forward, grabbed the front seat and asked, "What are you going to the provincial capital for? Is there something important?"

Jiang Tiantian also forgot her shyness and stared at him intently.

Chen Fan smiled, "The Jiangnan Literature Magazine invited me, saying they want to restore the Provincial Writers Association, and will recommend me to be one of the first members after the Writers Association is restored."

Jiang Tiantian's eyes lit up instantly, "Really? You're going to be a member of the Provincial Writers Association?!"

Jiang Lili grabbed her sister's arm, her eyes full of hope, "Then Xiaofan will be a veritable great writer in the future?!"

Jiang Tiantian nodded excitedly, "That's right, that's how it is!"

Having this membership qualification makes a big difference.

Although everyone now calls Chen Fan a great writer, that is only popular reputation. For the cultural system, if you don't have the membership qualification of the Writers Association, how can you be considered a great writer?

However, in recent years, although the Writers Association has also had institutions performing their duties, they have completely stopped developing new members, and even many old members have gradually decreased, and the team is becoming increasingly depleted.

In this case, even if Chen Fan wants to join the organization, there is no way to do so.

Now everything has to start from scratch. After the organization is restored, a new batch of members will naturally be developed. When Chen Fan gets his official status, he will be certified as a writer.

As for the title of "great writer," at least he has to be a national member!

I just don't know when it will be restored there, and whether anyone in the province is willing to recommend him.

With a new topic, the little atmosphere just now naturally disappeared.

Well, at least on the surface.

The cotton mill was not far from the machinery factory. Soon, Chen Fan drove into the cotton mill's administrative dormitory area and stopped in front of a two-story villa.

This was Chen Fan's first time here. In the past, he would drop them off at the factory gate, but today it was too late, so he took them to their doorstep.

The villa was not big, only about 8 meters wide. The foundation was raised one meter above the ground, which should be a special design made in the early years for waterproofing.

In the past, the entire Yunhu area was a depression, and it was easy to be flooded by heavy rain. The places with high terrain in the urban area had long been occupied by ancient people, and were almost all ancient buildings. Therefore, when building houses later, either soil was brought in from other places to fill the depression, or soil was taken directly from the local area to raise the foundation of the house.

Of course, there were also those who were stubborn and did not raise the foundation, and waited to be flooded every year!

Until later, water conservancy projects were carried out every year, and the city's drainage system was gradually improved. Now it is much better. As long as it is not continuous heavy rain, urban waterlogging will generally not occur.

However, the habit of raising the foundation to build houses has been retained by some people.

When the cotton mill was built in the 1950s, this architectural method of raising the foundation was naturally used. There were high steps in front of the door, and you had to go up the steps to enter the door.

At this time, the lights were on in the house. It should be Jiang's parents waiting at home because the two sisters hadn't returned yet.

Chen Fan turned off the car. Just as he opened the door, the villa door was pulled open, and Jiang Heng and Shen Xueyi appeared at the door together.

When the two saw the Jeep parked at the door, they frowned slightly at first, but when they saw Chen Fan getting out of the driver's seat, they immediately smiled and greeted him, "Xiaofan is here."

Judging from Jiang Lili's perspective, there was nothing wrong with them calling him Xiaofan.

Chen Fan also waved to say hello immediately, "Hello, Uncle and Auntie."

The two sisters got out of the car. Jiang Lili quickly ran to her mother's side, took her arm, and said, "Mom, Xiaofan brought all the welfare items the team distributed to me."

Shen Xueyi was a little curious, "What is it?"

Jiang Tiantian had already walked to the back of the car, opened the trunk, and picked up a basket and put it on the ground. When she went to pick up the other one, Chen Fan had already come over to unload the basket.

He picked up the carrying pole and carried it into the house.

Jiang Lili took her mother's arm and pulled her into the house, smiling, "It's just some pork, and fish and lotus root."

She looked back at Chen Fan, leaned close to her mother's ear and whispered, "But we haven't been given so much before. There were only one or two pounds of meat, and only a few fish. There's a lot more in that load."

Shen Xueyi glared at her daughter secretly, but her eyes were full of smiles, "What do you want to say?"

Jiang Lili chuckled dryly, and quickened her pace.

Jiang Heng walked at the back. After Chen Fan carried the load into the house, he looked left and right at the houses not far away on both sides. There were figures flashing by the windows, obviously people were looking this way.

There wasn't much privacy in the villa area either.

However, he didn't care. Instead, he raised his forehead and hummed a little tune into the house.

After Chen Fan entered the house, before he could speak, Jiang Tiantian took him to the side, "Put it here."

After he put down the things, she poured him hot water to wash his hands.

After washing up, she took Chen Fan to the living room to sit down.

Jiang Lili had already made him tea, and she and her sister sat together, but they were on the same sofa as Chen Fan, only separated by one person's space.

Jiang Heng sat in the main seat, his face full of kindness, smiling at Chen Fan, "I wanted to invite you to our house for dinner a long time ago, but I heard Lili say that you have been very busy and don't have much time. It just so happened that your aunt and I have just resumed work and are very busy every day, so it was delayed."

Chen Fan smiled and said, "You don't have to be so polite."

He turned to look at the two sisters, turned back and said, "But I do have a lot of things to do during this time. After I finish, I will come to visit formally."

Shen Xueyi pulled a chair and sat next to her husband. Hearing this, she immediately smiled at Chen Fan, "What formal or informal, you just said, we are not outsiders, you don't have to be so polite."

Chen Fan's face stiffened slightly, these words… have a deeper meaning?!

Jiang Heng also laughed, "Yes, yes, you really don't have to be polite. When you are free one day, come directly to our house. I know your cooking is very good, but,"

He pointed to Jiang Lili, "Lili's cooking is also very good, much better than before. You can let Lili cook, and we can have a meal together and have fun."

The blush on Jiang Lili's face hadn't faded yet. Hearing her father's words, she immediately said, "My cooking was taught by Xiaofan."

Shen Xueyi glared at her again, "You're quite proud."

Jiang Lili quickly lowered her head and stuck out her tongue, holding her sister and not saying a word.

Jiang Tiantian always kept a smile on her face, but her eyes were a little erratic, obviously thinking about something.

Chen Fan sat in his seat, chuckling dryly, looking at Jiang Heng and Shen Xueyi, and inexplicably felt like a prospective son-in-law visiting the family.

At this moment, Jiang Heng suddenly sighed softly and said to Chen Fan, "Lili was in the countryside before, which caused you a lot of trouble. I didn't expect that after you sent her back to the city, you are still worrying about our family. It's really hard for you."

Chen Fan raised his head, and just as he was about to speak, Jiang Heng bent down and took out a stack of newspapers from the shelf under the coffee table and placed them in front of him.

Jiang Heng looked at the newspaper and said, "If it weren't for this article you wrote, I would probably still be burning boilers, and your aunt would still be sweeping the streets."

As he spoke, he turned to look at Chen Fan, "Although we are family and shouldn't speak like outsiders, I can clearly see your good intentions. You took a great risk writing this article, which shows your character. I am very relieved about you."

Shen Xueyi also sat aside with a smile on her face, looking at him as if he were her son-in-law.

The smile on Chen Fan's face gradually became unnatural.

I haven't said anything yet, and you've already agreed?

Do you even know what I'm going to say?

At this time, Jiang Lili, who was next to him, was already extremely shy, and immediately called out "Dad" before running upstairs with a flushed face.

Jiang Tiantian came back to her senses and saw this scene, instinctively giving Chen Fan an apologetic smile, but then she thought about it, did she even need to?

So she shrugged helplessly and smiled, "I'll go upstairs and check on her."

After speaking, she also got up and went upstairs.

Chen Fan looked at her back, blinked, then looked at Jiang Heng, and was about to speak when his eyes caught one of the newspapers on the coffee table.

He immediately pulled it out, and his eyes widened, "Even second-rate newspapers reprinted it?"

This second-rate newspaper published the article he published in Yunhu Daily and Jiangnan Daily, "Actively Respond to the Call and Quickly Implement Mr. Li's Cadre Policy."

At this moment, he suddenly understood why the Provincial Writers Association Reconstruction Committee asked him to attend a meeting and promised to recommend him as one of the first writers to join the Writers Association after the reconstruction.

The achievements he had made were certainly crucial, but in the current situation, his article was actually reprinted by a second-rate newspaper, which was definitely not a coincidence.

Therefore, if the Jiangnan Provincial Writers Association was rebuilt, and he, the author of the article, was not a member, wouldn't that be ridiculous?!

Jiang Heng, who was next to him, looked surprised when he saw Chen Fan's surprised expression, "You didn't know?"

He pointed to the newspaper in Chen Fan's hand, "Yunhu Daily and Jiangnan Daily published it on the same day. The second-rate newspaper reprinted it on January 9th. According to the normal process, after an article is published, it is first reviewed, then published in internal reference materials, and then the leaders make instructions. It takes about a week to reprint it, which is considered very fast."

Chen Fan raised his head, smiled embarrassedly, and said, "I've been very busy recently. I've been working at the machinery factory since the end of December. On the 9th, I just finished the work at the machinery factory and went back to Lujiawan. I haven't even reported to the Health Department for half a month since I came to the Prefectural Committee today, so I haven't had time to read the newspaper."

You should know that his job is still as a special commissioner of the Health Department.

Jiang Heng nodded with emotion, "The able are always burdened with more work."

He turned to look at Chen Fan and smiled softly with some embarrassment, "Actually, the leadership of the cotton mill has mentioned to me several times recently that they want to hire you as a health consultant for our cotton mill, just like the machinery factory, and the benefits and treatment will be the same as the machinery factory."

As he spoke, he suddenly chuckled twice and pointed to the outside of the door, "But it doesn't include giving you a car!"

Every unit in the entire Prefectural Committee, including the former machinery factory, lacked cars.

Only the machinery factory was rich and daring enough to give Chen Fan a car... and it was still an old car that couldn't be driven until it was repaired.

Chen Fan naturally took it as a joke and laughed, "Factory Director Yang did mention this to me once, but I really don't have time, so I didn't agree."

At this time, Shen Xueyi, who was sitting next to him, smiled and said, "Actually, it won't take up much of your time. If you can agree, it will also give you a nominal position as a health consultant. You only need to come to the cotton mill once or twice a month to guide the sanitation work, and the salary is 100 yuan per month, plus all the welfare benefits of the cotton mill."

It was not appropriate for Jiang Heng to say this, otherwise it would seem too formal and distant. It was better for Shen Xueyi to say it, so even if Chen Fan still disagreed, it would not hurt the harmony.

However, from the bottom of their hearts, they both hoped that Chen Fan could agree to this invitation.

It wasn't really for health guidance.

Or rather, health guidance was just incidental. The greater purpose was the same as the original intention of the machinery factory, which was to value Chen Fan's identity as a writer.

It's just that now the machinery factory has completely abandoned Chen Fan's identity as a writer and is fully committed to studying the sets of car design drawings he gave them, and has no time to pay attention to other things.

Chen Fan naturally understood their purpose, or rather, the purpose of the cotton mill leaders. He carefully considered it for two seconds, then raised his head and smiled, "Since Uncle and Aunt have said so, it would be impolite for me not to agree."

Anyway, it's just going once or twice a month, which is easier than the machinery factory, so just give them some face.

After a pause, he added, "But this matter still needs the consent of the Health Department."

After all, he was a member of a unit, and he couldn't just go out and earn extra money without organization or discipline, including the machinery factory, which was also with the written consent of the Health Department!

Only in this way could the subsidies and benefits given by the unit be legitimately pocketed.

Hearing that Chen Fan actually agreed, Jiang Heng and Shen Xueyi immediately laughed heartily.

Hearing Chen Fan's request, Jiang Heng immediately nodded and said, "It should be, it should be, we have to follow the normal procedures, and we can't cause you any trouble. I will have someone send a letter to the Health Department tomorrow."

After a pause, he added, "If everything goes well, when is the earliest you can come to the cotton mill?"

He was worried that Chen Fan would think he was urging him, so he smiled and said, "You don't need to squeeze in time, you can come over whenever you finish your other business. Just let me know in advance, and I will make arrangements."

Chen Fan thought for a while and said, "I have to go to the provincial capital tomorrow, and I'm not sure when I can come back. As for the specifics, let's wait until I return to Yunhu."

"That's fine."

Jiang Heng nodded, then became a little curious, "Are you going to the provincial capital on a business trip?"

Shen Xueyi also asked, "Are you going to the Department of Health?"

Chen Fan shook his head with a smile, "No, Jiangnan Literature Magazine sent a letter saying that the province is preparing to rebuild the Provincial Writers Association and asked me to attend a meeting."

When Jiang Heng heard this, he was overjoyed, "Rebuilding the Provincial Writers Association? So, are you going to become a member of the Provincial Writers Association?"

Chen Fan smiled modestly, "It's not clear yet. It's too early to talk about membership. We'll have to wait until after the meeting to know."

Hearing him say this, Jiang Heng deliberately put on a stern face, "It's a sure thing, what's too early? Young people need to have confidence. I think your membership is definitely stable, otherwise why would they ask you to attend a meeting? Wouldn't that be making fun of people?! They definitely wouldn't do such a thing!"

Since others had more confidence in him than he did, what else could Chen Fan say but chuckle in agreement.

After chatting for a while, Chen Fan saw that it was getting late, so he excused himself that he had something to do tomorrow and bid farewell.

After sending Chen Fan to the door and watching the car drive away, Shen Xueyi patted her husband's arm with a smile and whispered, "This matter is settled, right?"

Jiang Heng pursed his lips and frowned, thought for a while and said, "Eighty or ninety percent."

Shen Xueyi was immediately unhappy, "Why only eighty or ninety percent? Xiao Fan didn't say anything to refuse."

Jiang Heng looked at her and said softly, "In this kind of matter, especially in our house, there is no reason to refuse in person, right?"

Shen Xueyi was slightly stunned, "That seems to be true."

Then she asked, "Then what do you think we should do?"

Jiang Heng looked up at the ceiling, "Tomorrow, let Lili go find him again. If Xiao Fan doesn't look for her to explain, or directly says he refuses, then it's certain."

Shen Xueyi nodded, "Yes, that makes sense."

Then she sighed, "Our two daughters are more ambitious than the other. It's rare to have such an excellent young man like Xiao Fan who has taken a liking to our Lili, and Lili obviously likes him too, so we should quickly settle the relationship.

Otherwise, when Lili goes to school later, and Xiao Fan also wants to take the graduate exam, with the two of them in different places, who knows what might happen."

Jiang Heng chuckled, "What could happen?"

He closed the door, put his arm around his wife's shoulder and walked inside, "Children and grandchildren have their own blessings, we'll just watch."