Reborn in 1977

Chapter 508: Reunion

February 26th, the twentieth day of the first lunar month, Sunday.

Sixteen Docks.

Chen Fan stood at the exit, a cigarette dangling from his mouth, his eyes scanning the faces of those emerging.

After a moment, his eyes suddenly lit up, he tossed the cigarette butt to the ground and stomped it out, raising his right hand to wave.

Jiang Lili and Jiang Tiantian were energetically carrying their suitcases, trudging through the crowd. As soon as they exited the dock, they saw Chen Fan waving, and they immediately excitedly raised their hands to wave back.

A minute later, the three successfully met.

Chen Fan took the two large suitcases, leading them forward, and said with a smile, "Welcome to Shanghai, the big port city. I wish you a pleasant four-year study life."

The two grinned, Jiang Tiantian laughing, "You've only been here a few more days, and you're already a Shanghainese?"

Chen Fan was about to speak when a shout came from behind, "Comrade Jiang, Comrade Jiang."

He turned his head to look, and the two sisters both had helpless expressions on their faces.

Looking further ahead, he saw several boys gathered together, each carrying bags and suitcases. They looked to be in their twenties, with the air of students about them. They were probably also college students coming to register, and the one who called out was one of them.

Jiang Lili's face was already full of disgust, while Jiang Tiantian rolled her eyes helplessly, took a deep breath, took her sister's hand, adjusted her expression, and turned to say, "Oh, my brother-in-law is here to pick us up. Goodbye."

After speaking, she pulled her sister and quickly walked forward.

Chen Fan looked directly at the group, and then at the person who had called out. The group immediately stopped.

After a few seconds, Chen Fan didn't say anything or make any other gesture, and directly turned and left.

Once they reached the roadside, Chen Fan caught up with the two sisters, smiling as he asked, "Admirers you met on the ship?"

As soon as Jiang Lili heard this, she immediately pouted, "On the way here, we saw that they were also coming to Shanghai to study. One of them is from Fudan University. When they came over to talk to us, we just briefly got to know them.

But they kept pestering us like flies. We didn't want to pay attention to them, but they shamelessly wouldn't leave. Especially the one who called out just now, he's like a leper dog, so annoying."

Chen Fan frowned slightly, "Didn't you tell Captain Si?"

Captain Si was the captain of the ship that he took to safely return to Shanghai. This time, when the two sisters came over, he asked Captain Si to help him buy second-class tickets using his identity. Otherwise, they would only be able to sit in third class at most.

Jiang Tiantian looked at him and said softly, "I didn't see them doing anything excessive, so I didn't tell Captain Si."

Chen Fan said "Oh", which was also within his expectations.

In the past few years, they had become accustomed to living cautiously. If there wasn't an excessive situation, they would be embarrassed to bother Captain Si, which was normal.

However, just because they didn't care didn't mean that Chen Fan didn't take it to heart.

Although he was known to be open-minded, kind, and well-liked in Lujiawan, and even many people in the district committee knew it, if someone tried to hit on his woman, if he could still tolerate that… how could he tolerate that?

He carried the suitcases and walked towards a pedicab, casually smiling as he said, "It's okay, we'll just chase away the flies. If they keep bothering you in the future, tell me and I'll take care of it."

Jiang Lili immediately nodded happily, "Okay."

In her eyes, her man was omnipotent. When he stood in front of anyone, that person would be ashamed of themselves and take the initiative to retreat. It was very simple.

That's right, and there's also my sister.

So she directly said, "The person just now is from Fudan University, but he's not in the same major as my sister. What's most annoying is that he used to be an sent-down youth, and he boasts about staying there for seven or eight years. He got into college this year and he's so smug…"

As she spoke, she turned to look at Jiang Tiantian, "Sister, if he comes to find you again, tell Xiao Fan and let Xiao Fan go find him."

Jiang Tiantian pursed her lips and smiled, nodding. Although she didn't say anything, she couldn't help but glance at Chen Fan.

Well, this time there shouldn't be any rat-biting incidents happening, right?

Get in the car, set off.

Jiang Lili sat in the middle, with Chen Fan on the left and her sister on the right.

The space in the car was a bit small, and she was sitting close to Chen Fan, which made her heart beat faster.

After a while, she took a deep breath, her face flushed, and turned to look at Chen Fan, pretending to be nonchalant as she asked softly, "Where are we going now?"

Jiang Tiantian also came back to her senses and quickly said, "That's right, my dad said that after getting off the boat, we need to go to the reception center to get a letter of introduction."

As she spoke, she looked back. Well, at this time the car had already left the riverside, and she didn't know where they had arrived.

Could it be that they had to turn back?

Chen Fan smiled, took Jiang Lili's little hand, and said, "Don't worry, I definitely won't let you sleep on the streets. You'll know in a while."

Jiang Lili's hand was being held, so she didn't care where she was staying. She had already buried her head and pretended to be a quail.

As for Jiang Tiantian, she didn't see the two's small actions, so she said "Oh" and sat obediently, waiting to reach her destination.

Twenty minutes later, the pedicab stopped in front of an iron gate. The three got out of the car one after another, and Chen Fan took the two large boxes down from behind.

At this time, Jiang Lili had returned to normal. She took her sister's arm, looked around, and then looked at the iron gate that was obviously not an ordinary entrance, her face full of confusion, "There's no reception center here either?"

Chen Fan smiled slightly, raised his chin and pointed to the doorbell button on the iron gate, "Press it."

The two sisters looked at each other, both with some hesitation on their faces.

After a pause of two seconds, Jiang Lili hesitantly raised her hand to press it, while turning to look at Chen Fan, asking softly, "Are we staying at your friend's house? Isn't that a bit inappropriate?"

As her finger pressed down, a melodious ringing sound could be vaguely heard from inside.

(Republic of China copper doorbell)

Chen Fan didn't answer her question, but just smiled at her.

The two sisters looked at each other again, feeling more and more uneasy.

However, based on their trust in Chen Fan, neither of them spoke again.

After a moment, a voice came from inside, "Coming, coming."

Jiang Lili's eyes suddenly lit up, and she turned to look at Chen Fan, asking in surprise, "Is that Brother An? Is this his house?"

The next second, An Quan opened the entire iron gate from the inside, and happened to hear Jiang Lili's words. He couldn't help but laugh and said, "I'm An Quan, that's right, but this isn't my house, it's your house. When the owner comes home, we must open the big door to welcome them."

Jiang Lili originally wanted to say hello, but she was stunned when she heard this, looking at him with a confused expression, "My, my house?"

Jiang Tiantian reacted quickly, turning to look at Chen Fan, "Did you buy this?"

It's not hers, and her sister couldn't possibly buy a house, so it could only be Chen Fan's house.

His home, wouldn't that be her sister's home?!

Chen Fan nodded with a smile, and then gestured inside, "Let's go, let's go home."

After the three entered, An Quan closed the door, and at the same time laughed loudly, "I bought the house on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, and equipped all the furniture on the sixteenth day. On the seventeenth day, I added a few more things, and Lao Chen moved in.

It just so happened that I had nowhere to go, so Ke Ying and I are 'living under someone else's roof' here."

He gestured to Jiang Lili and said with a serious expression, "But it's not a free stay. This house has two and a half floors, and with the attic, it's 354 square meters. Ke Ying and I spent two whole days cleaning it inside and out. It was so hard."

Now that the house was habitable, he sent a telegram to his wife, asking her to come as soon as possible so they could decorate their new home together.

Of course, before their new home was ready, the two of them would have to stay here first.

Anyway, they had already stayed at Chen Fan's house in Lujiawan before, so they weren't embarrassed about it.

Chen Fan carried his suitcase into the living room and said with a smile, "It's okay. Anyway, you're moving soon. When the time comes, I'll come and help you, and I'll mop your floors too."

Anquan curled his lip, "Forget it. It's not certain whether you'll be in Shanghai then or not."

As he spoke, he suddenly paused, turned to look at Jiang Lili, "Your man owes a debt of gratitude, and you'll have to repay it. You'll have to help out when the time comes."

Jiang Lili's pretty face turned red, but she nodded generously, "Okay, just let me know in advance."

Jiang Tiantian also smiled, "I'll come and help too when the time comes."

As soon as she said that, she suddenly felt something was wrong.

Xiao Fan's friend was joking with Lili. Why did she join in? Wouldn't that be awkward?

But no one laughed at her here. Anquan followed her words and laughed, "Okay, two for two, that's fair."

Jiang Tiantian didn't dare to speak anymore. After smiling, she turned her gaze to the furnishings in the room.

The red door led to the entrance hall, where a shoe cabinet was placed... Uh, didn't she change her shoes just now?

As soon as the thought popped into her head, Chen Fan had already brought two pairs of slippers over, "Your feet must be tired. Put on these cotton slippers. They'll be more comfortable."

Jiang Lili immediately pulled her sister to sit on the sofa.

She stroked the dark green leather with her hand, a hint of amazement in her eyes, "This sofa is so soft and smooth."

Chen Fan smiled, picked up the two suitcases, and walked upstairs, smiling as he said, "I found it in a second-hand store. It's a piece of furniture from the Republican era. The leather was damaged when I found it, so I had it reupholstered."

As soon as he finished speaking, he disappeared on the stairs.

Anquan stood in the middle of the living room, pointing here and there, "This is the tea cabinet, and there's a chaise lounge over there where you can look outside. Anyway, this is your own home, so make yourselves at home. I won't entertain you anymore."

As he spoke, he pointed to the kitchen behind him, "I'm going to help Ke Ying. The food will be ready soon."

Before he finished speaking, he disappeared into the living room.

The two sisters looked at each other, and they could both see the joy and amazement in each other's eyes.

Jiang Tiantian took the cotton slippers she had taken off and put them in the shoe cabinet, then looked around again.

The most eye-catching thing was naturally the west wall full of glass windows. She had never seen such a house before. Almost the entire wall had been hollowed out, supported by a sturdy iron frame, and inlaid with transparent glass. Not only was the light excellent, but the artistic hollow patterns on the iron frame were also very beautiful.

She couldn't help but walk to the chaise lounge in front of the window and sit down, reaching out to touch it. The leather was as soft and smooth as the sofa. When she turned her head to look out the window, she suddenly had the feeling of being in a painting, with the scenery coming from outside the window.

After being stunned for a while, she turned her head to look at the living room again.

In front of a set of dark green sofas was a rosewood coffee table. Against the wall near the door was a set of rosewood cabinets. The upper part was a display shelf, with several porcelain jars on it, and the lower part was a closed cabinet.

After Jiang Lili walked around, she walked to the tea cabinet, squatted down, opened the cabinet door, took out a few teacups and a kettle, and turned to smile at her sister.

Jiang Tiantian also pursed her lips and smiled, walked over, and poured tea together.

Jiang Lili looked up at the porcelain jars on the display shelf, "Um, there's tea and coffee here, as well as malt extract, milk powder, and snacks."

Jiang Tiantian looked at it for a few moments, then turned to her and said, "Needless to say, except for the tea, the other things must be prepared for you."

Chen Fan liked to drink tea and coffee, but he was indifferent to malt extract and milk powder, and even seemed to dislike them a little. But he had bought a lot for Jiang Lili, so it was self-evident who these things were prepared for.

Jiang Lili felt as if she had eaten honey, sweetness filling her heart, but she took her sister's arm and said娇憨ly, "Then you can drink it together when you come."

Jiang Tiantian宠溺ly touched her face, then took down the tea canister, made five cups of green tea, and put them on the round table in the dining room. Only then did she take her sister to the kitchen to greet Anquan and Yu Keying.

Yu Keying was busy in the kitchen. When she saw the two of them coming, her face was full of enthusiasm, "Hello, Lili, we meet again. Are you both hungry? There are snacks in the tea cabinet. Go and have some to tide you over. I'll be ready in another twenty minutes."

Jiang Lili had lived with her in Chen Fan's house in Lujiawan for a period of time, and their relationship was not bad. At this time, she walked over directly and said, "Sister Ying, I'll help you."

"No, no."

Yu Keying pushed her out, "You just got off the boat. You must be very tired. Go and rest for a while."

Anquan was also washing vegetables on the side, and said while speaking, "We don't need you today. Wait until tomorrow. Tomorrow we're going to see the house being renovated, so we won't have time to cook."

He had also gone to the neighborhood office to find a renovation team to start working on his house as soon as possible. Building and renovating houses in this era was not as troublesome as it would be in later generations. There were fewer processes and the materials were simpler. As long as there was enough labor, the renovation could be completed in ten days or half a month.

Construction started on the fifteenth day of the first month, and it hasn't even been a week today. The overall framework has already come out, and the next step is to enter the construction stage. During this time, he has to be on-site to keep an eye on things, otherwise, if it's not done well, it will need to be reworked.

Jiang Lili was about to say something when Chen Fan's voice came, "Lili, Tiantian, the luggage is in your rooms. There's a bathroom upstairs, and there's hot water too. Go and wash up and change your clothes, and then come down for dinner later."

Chen Fan walked down the stairs and circled the living room, "Huh, where is everyone?"

Then he saw the two sisters running from the corridor leading to the kitchen, "Oh, you went to the kitchen?"

Jiang Lili walked up to him and smiled up at him, "I wanted to help Sister Keying, but I couldn't."

Chen Fan took her hand, "It's okay. It'll be her turn to help you cook tomorrow."

As he spoke, he looked at Jiang Tiantian, "There are three rooms upstairs, one for me and one for each of you. The layout and furnishings are the same, so I just put the suitcases in randomly. Go up and take a look first."

The two sisters looked at each other and nodded to him in unison. Then they turned around and went upstairs hand in hand.

Chen Fan stretched lazily, put his hands on his hips, exhaled a long breath, took out a cigarette from his pocket, and lit it.

After exhaling a puff of smoke, he turned around and saw the few cups of hot tea on the dining table.

He turned his head to look at the stairwell, a smile on his face.

This is what it feels like to have a home.