Reborn in 1977

Chapter 639: Home-Style Meal

By the end of September, the sunset was occurring much earlier.

Before 6 o'clock, the sky was already somewhat dim, and before long, lights began to illuminate each household.

Jiang Tiantian hurried into the courtyard before nightfall, closed the gate, parked her bicycle, and quickly walked into the house, hearing movement from the kitchen.

Walking over, she saw Chen Fan wearing an apron and busying himself in front of the stove, with Jiang Lili assisting him.

After quickly washing her hands, she went to prepare the dishes with her sister, asking, "Why are you willing to cook today?"

Although Chen Fan's cooking skills were excellent, Jiang Lili usually did the cooking. However, she had to admit that his occasional guidance had greatly improved her sister's culinary skills, which, in her opinion, were no worse than the master chefs at the Writers Association's canteen.

Before Chen Fan could speak, Jiang Lili said, "An-ge and Ying-jie will be here for dinner later. You know that regardless of who cooks better, if Xiao Fan doesn't do it himself, An-ge will grumble from beginning to end."

Jiang Tiantian couldn't help but chuckle, "So Xiao Fan has to do it himself to have some peace and quiet."

Chen Fan simmered a few main dishes, clapped his hands, and turned around, saying, "That's all I can do. Lili can fry a few side dishes later."

He took off his apron, hung it on the wall, and was about to leave when the doorbell rang.

Watching Chen Fan quickly walk out, Jiang Tiantian said to her sister, "Go wash your hands and greet them. I can handle things here."

Jiang Lili didn't stand on ceremony, smiling at her sister, "Alright."

She got up, washed her hands, and quickly walked outside.

By the time she reached the living room, Chen Fan had already opened the courtyard gate and was leading An Quan and Yu Keying in.

He was muttering, "It's rare. How many times have you come here, and this is the first time I've seen you carrying something."

An Quan didn't give an inch, "Tch, you make it sound like you brought a gift when you went to my house."

Chen Fan justified himself, "Didn't I bring something the first time I went to your house?"

An Quan stammered a few times, forced to argue, "That was to my parents' house, not my house. Did you bring a gift when you came to my house?!"

Yu Keying was too lazy to care about their bickering. Seeing Jiang Lili appear at the door, she immediately walked over, "Lili, long time no see."

Jiang Lili quickly supported her, "Slow down. You're pregnant, yet you dare to run so fast."

Yu Keying said, "This is nothing. When we went to the countryside, which of those rural female comrades wasn't still working in the fields even when they were about to give birth? It's still early for me, I'm not that delicate."

Hearing this, Jiang Lili seemed lost in thought.

That's right, life was so hard in Lujiawan back then. In the summer, they worked in the fields under the scorching sun, especially during the double抢 (qiang - harvest season), where they felt like they were shedding a layer of skin. In the winter, their hands were so frozen they couldn't open their fingers, but they still had to work on water conservancy projects, their feet stepping in the icy water. By the time they finished, they were already numb with cold…

She shook her head, helped Yu Keying change her shoes and enter the house, and said with a smile, "Times are different now. If we can be more particular, of course we should be."

Yu Keying sat down on the sofa, teasing her, "So, you can't bear hardship anymore?"

Jiang Lili went to pour tea, smiling, "I used to be reluctant to eat well or dress well. I didn't even dare to turn on the radio at home because when I thought about the old days, I felt like eating or dressing well was like committing a crime.

But Xiao Fan told me, 'If you don't have to suffer, don't go looking for it.' Suffering in the past was unavoidable. If we can live a good life, why not live it well?"

She brought over two cups of tea, placed them on the coffee table, and sat down next to Yu Keying, "So now, I eat meat every day, and if I have fabric, I make new clothes for myself and my family. I can even test the styles I design. When life is good, I'm in a much better mood."

After hearing this, Yu Keying suddenly had a realization, nodding slowly in agreement, "Yes, that makes sense."

An Quan sat to the side, suddenly slapping his thigh and smiling at Yu Keying, "Then, wife, shouldn't we buy a big house?"

He looked around, "I think a small Western-style house like this is especially good, spacious and comfortable, with excellent lighting and ventilation."

Chen Fan sat down opposite him, curiously asking, "Didn't you say you were going to buy a small Western-style house during the summer vacation last time? Why haven't you bought it yet?"

Yu Keying smiled embarrassedly, "We asked about it later. A small Western-style house like this costs more than 30,000 yuan, quite a bit more than when you bought yours, so we couldn't bring ourselves to make a decision."

Chen Fan blinked. Has the price gone up so quickly?

But thinking about it, it made sense. With high demand, prices would definitely rise. He just didn't expect the price response to be so quick. When Zhou Yali bought that small Western-style house in August, the price hadn't risen much yet.

Hmm, could it be due to the US dollar exchange rate?

After a couple of seconds, he said, "Ying-jie, then you should buy a house sooner rather than later."

Yu Keying was a little puzzled, "Huh?"

Chen Fan smiled, "Think about it. House prices are rising so fast, and the increase is quite substantial. It must be because there are too many people who need houses that prices are rising like this. So, as long as the housing problem still exists, house prices will definitely continue to rise in the future, right?"

Yu Keying also realized, nodding in understanding, "That's right."

She immediately turned to look at An Quan, "Lao An, let's take some time off tomorrow morning and finalize the house as soon as possible."

Of course An Quan was eager to do so, nodding repeatedly, "Okay."

Chen Fan said from the side, "As long as the house is good, it doesn't matter if it costs a little more or a little less. If you're short on money temporarily, you can ask Lili. She has some here."

Jiang Lili immediately nodded repeatedly, "I have more than 5,000 yuan here. If it's not enough, you can tell me."

Half of this money was the dividend she received last year in Lujiawan, and the other 3,000 was the living expenses Chen Fan gave her. She didn't want it at first, but Chen Fan's words, "It's a matter of course to give money to my wife," made her heart flutter and her mind go numb, and she accepted it confusedly.

If Chen Fan hadn't been so insistent on not taking any more money later, fearing that there would be too much, she could have taken out not just 5,000, but even 50,000 yuan.

An Quan looked at Chen Fan and smiled, "I certainly won't be polite with you, but we really don't need it."

He looked at Yu Keying, turned back, and said, "Keying and I discussed it. After we buy a big house, we'll sell this one we're living in now to my brother at a fair price. Counting that money, we'll have enough for the renovations too."

Yu Keying also smiled, "This house cost 4,567 yuan, and the renovations cost another 800, adding up to more than 5,000 yuan. We can decorate the house as nicely as yours."

Jiang Lili took her hand and smiled, "Then I'll have to visit your new home in the future too."

Yu Keying squeezed her hand, her face full of smiles, "You're welcome anytime."

After a pause, she looked around, "Where's Tiantian?"

Jiang Lili suddenly stood up, "My sister is still busy in the kitchen. You guys sit for a while, I'll go cook."

An Quan immediately looked at Chen Fan, "Aren't you cooking?"

Jiang Lili walked quickly inside, smiling, "Xiao Fan made a few main dishes, I'll make the rest of the side dishes."

An Quan pointed at Chen Fan, "Lazy."

Chen Fan was too lazy to pay attention to him, turning to look at Yu Keying, "Did you sign up for the overseas student selection exam a few days ago?"

The overseas student selection exam that Professor Xu had mentioned to him before was held as scheduled on September 15th. Nearly 15,000 people signed up, but only over 3,000 reached the admission line, making it extremely competitive.

You should know that those who dare to sign up have certain strengths in English. Anyone who isn't confident in their English wouldn't even dare to sign up.

What? Russian?

Sorry, we're not at all harmonious with the Soviets right now. It's good enough if we don't argue. Send exchange students?

Impossible, absolutely impossible!

Hearing him mention this, An Quan and Yu Keying exchanged a look, bitter smiles appearing on their faces.

An Quan shook his head and sighed, "The exchange student selection exam is basically an English test. Back then, to be on the safe side, we directly gave up the additional subjects for the college entrance exam. Whether it's English or Russian, we've long forgotten it. How would we dare to sign up?"

Yu Keying pursed her lips and shook her head, then looked at Chen Fan, "What about you? Did you participate?"

An Quan immediately followed up, "With your English level, you're definitely qualified, right?"

Chen Fan picked up his teacup, took a sip, and sighed, "English is definitely not a problem. My teacher even said he wanted to get me a spot to be an international cultural exchange ambassador or something, but I didn't want it. Of course, I didn't take the exam either."

An Quan and his wife both opened their mouths wide, staring at him blankly for several seconds.

After a while, An Quan let out a long breath, turned to look at his wife, and whispered, "Why do I feel like hitting him?"

Yu Keying pondered for two seconds, "Hitting people is not good. However, I also want to hit him."

Chen Fan's face fell. He didn't even want to talk to them.

As if you could beat me?

He put down his teacup and said to the two of them, "The reason I'm not going is actually because I have my reasons."

Seeing the couple both looking at him, he continued, "According to the current domestic situation, the trend is undoubtedly very obvious.

Regardless of which faction is arguing, their direction is actually the same.

That is, we cannot go back to the past. We should focus on development, especially on developing the economy and improving people's livelihoods.

The problem between them is only what method to use to achieve this goal. Think about it, isn't that the truth?"

An Quan and his wife nodded thoughtfully.

After a pause of two seconds, An Quan raised his head and looked at him, "What does this have to do with you not wanting to study abroad?"

Yu Keying also frowned and asked, "That's right. If you go abroad to study and come back, can't you still participate in building the motherland?"

Chen Fan's mouth twitched slightly. He forgot that exchange students in this era are very different from those a few years later.

The people who are sent out now basically have the intention of returning to the country after completing their studies. They study hard abroad, and as soon as they have achieved something, they immediately return to the country to participate in construction.

For example, the first batch of 52 exchange students selected at the end of this year, many of them are scientific researchers who have been working for many years. After being sent out in February next year, everyone studied hard, and then all of them returned to the country without exception and made very outstanding contributions in their respective positions.

Therefore, the development line of reasoning is almost untenable in the current environment.

He touched his head and said with a smile, "What I mean is that if it is not to learn advanced foreign technology, then whether or not to go abroad is actually not important.

Staying in the country may provide more opportunities for development. The future situation may not be worse than returning from studying abroad."

There are not so many exchange students returning yet. When they come back, they also bring back various things they have seen and heard abroad. Over time, more and more people will yearn for life abroad, thus forming the craze for studying abroad from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s.

Therefore, what An Quan and Yu Keying are thinking about at this time is only that they can learn some advanced foreign knowledge after studying abroad, and that after studying abroad, it seems that they can be gilded with gold, making them seem more powerful than others.

As for what can be truly gained, or rather, changing to a different life, they haven't thought too much about these specific things.

Hearing Chen Fan say this, they felt that it made sense, so they no longer dwelled on the matter of not being able to learn English well.

But the next second, they heard Chen Fan say, "If you still have the energy, my suggestion is to try to learn English well."

The couple raised their heads together, "Huh?"

What does this mean?

One moment he says that staying behind may not be worse than studying abroad, and the next moment he advises them to learn English well.

I'm not going abroad, so why should I learn English?

Chen Fan said seriously, "In July this year, the higher-ups held a meeting to discuss economic issues and clearly emphasized that we should make good use of foreign capital and introduce advanced foreign technology and equipment in large quantities.

Last time my uncle returned to China, some leaders also talked to him, expressing their hope that he could return to China to invest."

Hearing this, An Quan and his wife suddenly understood.

Yu Keying said directly, "If this policy can be fully implemented, then there will definitely be many opportunities to deal with foreign businessmen in the future. If we know English, we will have more opportunities to stand out in the workplace than others."

Chen Fan smiled, "That's right."

An Quan patted his thigh, turned to look at his wife, his face full of hesitation.

Learning English from scratch, such a difficult task, who should it be given to?

Yu Keying reached out and patted the back of his hand, smiling, "I don't have much ambition. You're different. You're the head of the family, and you're smarter than me. This arduous task is entrusted to you."

An Quan's face fell, "Okay, okay."

How many letters are there in the English alphabet?

Before he could remember, Jiang Lili came out of the kitchen with a tray and laughed loudly, "Comrades, dinner is served!"

An Quan quickly got up, "I'll serve the dishes."

He's not good at cooking, but helping to serve the dishes is no problem.

With more people, the strength is greater. Before long, all the dishes were on the table.

An Quan pulled out a chair and sat down, looking at the full table of dishes, "Wow, so many good dishes, so extravagant."

Chen Fan sat next to him and said calmly, "Just a regular home-cooked meal. We usually eat this."

Yu Keying looked at Jiang Lili and asked quietly, "Was he not bragging?"

Jiang Lili smiled, "The only difference between today and usual is that we added two dishes, and a few dishes were made by Xiao Fan."

Yu Keying opened her mouth, looking at the chicken, duck, fish, meat, shrimp, and crabs on the table, "You just said not to endure hardship. This is living the good life."

Chen Fan took out a bottle of his own brewed premium yellow wine and poured it for An Quan, "For safety's sake, I won't let you drink liquor today, so Ying Jie won't have to take care of you when you get back. Let's drink yellow wine today.

In fact, strong liquor existed as early as the Yuan Dynasty, but until the late Qing Dynasty, yellow wine was always the main drink in China's more than 3,000-year history of wine. Why?"

An Quan, "… Why?"

Chen Fan put the wine bottle aside and smiled, "Liquor only became mainstream during the Republic of China. Guess what kind of people held power at that time?"

An Quan thought for a while, "Warlords?"

Chen Fan smiled and nodded, "That's right, warlords. Think about what kind of people warlords are? They are all warriors who are ready to die on the battlefield. It's normal for warriors to like liquor, right?

So liquor can be considered 'warrior wine'.

And yellow wine is mild. In ancient times, it was the favorite of literati. This yellow wine can be regarded as 'literary wine'.

We are both literati, so drinking yellow wine is just right."

Then he picked up his bowl and clinked it with An Quan's, "Cheers."

An Quan held a large bowl of yellow wine, stunned. You call this "literary wine"?

Crude is more like it.