Reborn in 1977

The next morning, before Chen Fan had even gotten out of bed, someone started banging on his door.

He opened his eyes and turned to look out the window. Sure enough, a hazy light enveloped the earth. It was bright, but the sun hadn't come up yet.

He sighed softly, not moving an inch, and called out with his eyes closed, "Stop knocking. Who goes visiting at this hour?"

The next second, the door clicked open, and Zhou Yali first peeked through the openwork screen, secretly glancing to see if he was lying on the bed in a t-shirt and shorts, sprawled out. Only then did she straighten up and wave her hand. "You can enter."

Immediately, she strode in with her head held high.

Following behind her were naturally the two sisters. Jiang Lili was fine, but Jiang Tiantian's face was already flushed red. Fortunately, she was walking last, so no one saw.

Hearing the noise, Chen Fan sat up helplessly and glanced at the clock on the wall. "I say, ladies, it's not even 6 a.m. yet. Aren't you sleepy?"

Even if it were 6 a.m., they wouldn't need to knock. He would get up on his own.

Zhou Yali walked to the bedside and stood there, her hands folded and her chin slightly raised. "Sleepy? What's sleepy? Have you forgotten what Master told us yesterday? We still have to go to the market to buy vegetables and then go to Grandpa Liu's house to cook. We have to get up early to buy vegetables, or there won't be any left if we go late."

Chen Fan sighed softly. "I gave the money and coupons to Liu Juan yesterday. They should be back soon."

Zhou Yali's expression stiffened slightly. "When did that happen?"

Chen Fan shook his head and waved them away. "Get out, get out. You're a grown woman barging into a man's room. Aren't you ashamed?"

Zhou Yali was pushed towards the door. "Aren't you wearing clothes? I…"

Then, there was a 'bang' as the door was closed.

Looking at the two sisters who were biting their lips and trying not to laugh, she immediately became angry. "What happened to the united front we agreed on? Why aren't you saying anything?"

Jiang Tiantian shrank her head and said with a red face, "You were the one who said 'united front.' I didn't agree."

Jiang Lili giggled. "Cousin, were you like this in America too?"

"Not really."

Zhou Yali sighed. "I used to hear friends say that older sisters can bully their younger brothers and even drag them out of bed early in the morning. Unfortunately, I didn't have a younger brother back then, so I never tried it. Now that I finally have a younger brother, I still can't bully him. It's really disappointing."

Chen Fan changed his clothes, opened the door, and flicked her forehead without mercy. "Didn't your friend tell you that you can only bully your younger brother when he's young? Once he grows up, he'll just suppress you in return."

Zhou Yali covered her forehead, her eyes full of confusion. "Is that so?"

Chen Fan glanced at the two sisters who were still snickering and shook his head helplessly. He turned and went downstairs, and Zhou Yali and the others quickly followed.

As soon as they reached the bottom of the stairs, the door was pushed open, and Liu Juan and Ma Lan walked in, each carrying a vegetable basket.

Seeing that they were already up, Liu Juan quickly changed her shoes and trotted over.

Chen Fan glanced at them. "Back so early?"

They didn't have bicycles and could only walk, plus the time it took to buy vegetables. Hadn't they gone to the market before 5 a.m.?

Liu Juan ran to the large wooden table, placed the baskets on the table, and took out lunch boxes one by one. "Here's the breakfast I just bought. I don't know if it suits your taste."

Chen Fan waved his hand. "You guys sit down and eat too."

Then he smiled. "As long as it's not douzhi, anything else is fine."

Liu Juan couldn't help but chuckle, then quickly restrained herself. "Have you had douzhi before?"

Chen Fan waved his hand. "Never had it."

He also said, "Don't always say 'you, you, you.' You don't have to be so polite."

Old Beijingers always use 'you' when talking to outsiders, but they're not usually that polite at home.

Chen Fan could adapt to local customs when dealing with outsiders, but he wasn't used to it at home.

Liu Juan didn't say much. After setting out the breakfast, she pointed to Ma Lan, who was preparing to go to the back. "We'll go sort out the vegetables."

Chen Fan picked up his chopsticks but put them down again. "Don't touch the vegetables yet. I'll handle them. Come and eat breakfast first, or it won't taste good when it's cold."

Seeing Chen Fan's insistence, Liu Juan and Ma Lan exchanged glances before cautiously coming over to sit down.

It was only then that Zhou Yali asked in a low voice, "What is douzhi?"

Chen Fan glanced at her and smiled. "Interested?"

Zhou Yali nodded, then thought for a moment and shook her head. "I'm just curious."

Chen Fan said, "It's okay. I'll buy you a bowl to try later, and you'll know."

Seeing that her sister also looked curious, Jiang Lili leaned over and whispered in her ear, "Xiao Fan said in his letter that it's fermented mung bean milk. After it's cooked, it's douzhi. It's especially hard to drink."

Jiang Tiantian suddenly understood, secretly glanced at Zhou Yali, who still had a look of anticipation on her face, and lowered her head, trying not to laugh as she ate breakfast.

Chen Fan ate a fried dough ring and drank a mouthful of flavored millet porridge, saying without looking up, "Juanzi, Ma Lan, how long have you been back in the city?"

They had returned home yesterday, and by the time they had cleaned up, it was already dark. Chen Fan hadn't talked to them much, but had just given them a menu and told them to go to the market early to buy vegetables. He hadn't expected them to leave at five o'clock.

So, he took advantage of the fact that everyone was here to chat a little, so he could have a better understanding.

Otherwise, when he wasn't here, and it was just the two of them at home, even if they were recommended by Master Zhang, he wouldn't be completely at ease.

Not to mention the location of this house, but the house itself and the things inside, thirty years later, would be worth hundreds of millions. Especially those 7501 porcelain in the basement. Losing any one piece would be worth hundreds of thousands, and all together they were priceless.

How could he feel comfortable using them without knowing their background?

Hearing Chen Fan's words, Liu Juan quickly put down her chopsticks and was about to speak, but saw Chen Fan wave his hand. "Don't be so nervous. It's not like I'm interrogating a prisoner. I'm just bored when we're eating, so I'm chatting."

"Oh."

Liu Juan responded, picked up her chopsticks again, glanced at Ma Lan, who was doing the same, and then turned back, saying in a slightly nervous voice, "We came back in February of this year, almost half a year ago."

Zhou Yali looked up at them. "February? That's right around the New Year?"

Liu Juan nodded, a smile appearing on her face. "The Lunar New Year's Eve was February 6th. We left on the 2nd, transferred trains for three days, and arrived home just in time on the day before New Year's Eve."

Zhou Yali smiled. "That's pretty good."

Hearing this, Jiang Lili and Jiang Tiantian couldn't help but exchange glances, then looked at Chen Fan at the same time.

If it weren't for him, Jiang Lili would probably still be in Lujiawan, not even knowing when she could go home.

Because of this, every time Jiang Lili saw educated youth returning from the countryside, especially those with similar experiences to her, she felt a bit melancholy and her gratitude to Chen Fan increased.

Chen Fan didn't notice the two sisters' gazes, and continued to eat with his head down, while asking, "Where did you go to the countryside, and how long were you there?"

Liu Juan, "In Heilongjiang, for three years."

She really answered one question at a time, without adding a single extra word.

Chen Fan glanced at her without showing any expression, then looked at Ma Lan, who was also a little nervous, and a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

Then he continued to ask questions.

By the time they finished breakfast, he had a pretty good understanding of their situation.

Liu Juan's family had six people: her parents and three younger siblings. As the eldest sister, she took the initiative to apply to go to the countryside and stayed for three years before returning to the city this year.

Ma Lan's situation was similar, except that her family had one more younger brother. The two families lived in the same large courtyard, and went and returned at the same time. The location of their time in the countryside was also the same place.

When talking about that experience, the two didn't complain or show much low mood. On the contrary, when talking about hunting and winter fishing, they even showed a rare bit of excitement.

Chen Fan had a basic understanding of their situation.

In general, they were honest and optimistic, with no outstanding advantages, nor obvious bad habits. They were the kind who were dutiful and quick with their hands and feet.

Master Zhang didn't find the wrong people for him.

As for their relationship with Master Zhang, Chen Fan clearly heard a lie.

Both of them said they were just neighbors, and seeing that their family was in difficulty, he introduced them to work here.

But from their words, Chen Fan heard something else.

However, this was not a big deal, because when asked about their father's situation, after repeated questioning, Chen Fan captured two pieces of information.

Both were disabled and both were left on the battlefield.

In this case, he wouldn't believe it even if he was beaten to death that the two's fathers had nothing to do with Master Zhang.

Since they were old comrades or even possibly old subordinates' daughters of Master Zhang, there was no need to question them too much.

Chen Fan was basically relieved.

After finishing breakfast, he took the tissue that Zhou Yali brought and wiped his mouth. Amidst someone's protests, Chen Fan looked at Liu Juan and Ma Lan with a smile and asked, "Have you ever thought about taking the college entrance examination?"

The two looked at each other and shook their heads almost simultaneously.

Liu Juan said with a wry smile, "When we were in school, although our grades were okay, we studied industrial and agricultural basics at that time, and the difficulty of Chinese, mathematics, and English was not high. It's very different from the current textbooks.

Later, after three years in the countryside, we basically didn't read any books, and we forgot a large part of it.

Actually, we both signed up for last year's college entrance examination, but we didn't pass.

After returning home, we had nothing to do, and we both thought about reviewing, but after reviewing for a few months, our grades were still not ideal, so we didn't even sign up for this year's college entrance examination, and we didn't want to waste any more time."

Chen Fan nodded lightly. For people with poor talent, unless he lectures with a teaching halo, no amount of effort will be of much use.

But even if he sends them to university, their subsequent studies will make them despair.

Well, this is a bit like Liu Lu and Huang Li. They are both better at doing than thinking.

However, Chen Fan didn't care. He didn't want to send them to university in the first place. There was no reason for it, and they hadn't reached that level of friendship.

He mainly wanted to see if these two people had any value to be cultivated.

If they did, then he would keep them as full-time housekeepers, so as not to have to change people in the future.

Did he really think that the small building next to the garden was just for show?

That was the dormitory area he prepared for future domestic staff. He didn't want to clean such a big house himself. It's just that in front of Master Zhang and the others, he said it was a guest room.

But this is not urgent, we can talk about it slowly later.

After chatting for a few more words, he went to deal with the vegetables he bought back.

There were not many vegetables, but the processing was very exquisite. The beef was sliced, the pork was shredded, the fish was deboned... and then marinated with his own carefully prepared sauce, which could not only add flavor but also ensure that it would not spoil in the hot environment.

There is no refrigerator or air conditioner here.

Well, why not fleece my cousin again?

Didn't she say that she couldn't sleep without air conditioning in the summer? Although she slept very well last night, it wouldn't delay installing air conditioning in the house.

Liu Juan and Ma Lan stood aside, wanting to help, but didn't know where to start.

The two's eyes became more and more surprised.

Aren't you a great writer? Why do you look more and more like a great chef?

Jiang Lili skillfully came over to help, re-processed these pre-processed dishes, and put them in lunch boxes. Her movements were skilled and orderly, and it was obvious that she often worked in the kitchen.

Seeing this scene, Liu Juan and Ma Lan couldn't help but feel awkward.

They also knew what their current job was. To put it bluntly, they were just female workers, not even nannies.

Lu Xun wrote in "Dawn Blossoms Plucked at Dusk · Ah Chang and \u003cClassic of Mountains and Seas\u003e": "Mother Chang, as I've said before, was a female worker who always led me, or to put it grandly, my nanny."

It can be seen that nannies are more advanced than female workers.

Real nannies, in addition to cleaning, must also be able to cook, take care of children, and those with higher requirements must even be able to teach children.

And they only knew how to clean before. They originally thought that when the host came back this time, they could show off their cooking skills, but now it seems that they can't show it at all.

Thinking of this, both of them felt a little ashamed.

Chen Fan finished packing quickly, washed his hands, and then, under the expectant gazes of Zhou Yali and the other two, said to Liu Juan and the other two, "We are going out in the morning, and the boxed meals will also be taken away. The rest are for you, and you can solve your own lunch.

We'll be back in the afternoon, and then we'll see. We may have to trouble you to take us around the surrounding alleys."

He pointed to Zhou Yali next to him and said with a smile, "My cousin is back from the United States and is more interested in the folk customs of our capital."

Liu Juan and the other two immediately nodded repeatedly, "Okay, we are very familiar with this area, and we know where to go."

Chen Fan smiled and then said to Zhou Yali, "It's still early, you can rest at home first, or chat with Juanzi and the others about old Beijing. I'll go out for a while and be back soon."

Zhou Yali was stunned for a moment, "You wouldn't be trying to ditch us and go by yourself, would you?"

Chen Fan pointed to the basket next to him unhappily, "Didn't you see that the vegetables are all here? Am I going to go with empty hands?"

Zhou Yali smiled sheepishly and stopped talking.

Although Jiang Lili and Jiang Tiantian were also a little curious, they had full confidence in Chen Fan and believed that he would never lie to them, so they didn't say anything.

Chen Fan didn't take anything, only brought some money, and went out to find a taxi stand.

After a while, when the dispatcher called a car, he opened the door and got in, heading west.

The car didn't drive for long, and according to the address Chen Fan said, it stopped in front of a courtyard house that was obviously newly built.

Unlike traditional courtyard houses, there are no traditional portals such as Guangliang gates or Ruyi gates. Embedded in the wall are two red wooden doors, and there is no threshold below, just a cement floor.

Next to the wooden door, there is a plaque with white characters on a black background, which reads "Yunhu Automobile Factory Beijing Office".

That's right, this is Yunqi Factory's territory in Beijing.

As for why Chen Fan came here?

Of course, he came to borrow a car.

As a car factory, can there be no cars in the office?

He walked to the door and knocked on the door, three times, and a voice with a Yunhu accent immediately sounded inside, "Coming, coming."

Accompanied by a faint sound of footsteps, the door opened from the inside, and a figure appeared at the door.

Chen Fan looked at him and immediately smiled, "Director Shi, have you been transferred to the Beijing Office?"

When Director Shi saw that it was him, he was also happy and grinned, "So it's Consultant Chen, please come in, please come in."

As he said that, he welcomed the person into the courtyard, and at the same time said with a smile, "I have been transferred here, but I am the deputy director. The director is also the deputy director of the factory. He is more hardworking and runs between Yunhu and Beijing. When he is not here, I am responsible for guarding the house."

Chen Fan glanced at the cars parked in the courtyard and said with a smile, "That's not bad either. When things are straightened out, you will definitely be the director."

Director Shi couldn't close his mouth with joy, "I haven't thought about it, I haven't thought about it, it's good to be able to handle things well."

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Chen Fan explained his intention.

When Director Shi heard this, he immediately took out the key of a Yunhu car and handed it to him without saying a word, "Drive it as you please. When you come here, it's like coming home. Don't be polite."

But Chen Fan waved his hand, "Forget about the car, we have more people, change me a van."

The main reason is that the car is too eye-catching, it's better to be low-key with a van.

Director Shi was not polite either, and changed another key for him, and also brought him two buckets of gasoline.

A minute later, Chen Fan drove the van out of the door dashingly.