Reborn in 1977

Chapter 671: Fishing Alone on a Cold River in Snowy Weather

A flock of geese flew from the horizon, forming an "L" shape and then a "V" shape.

Reaching the skies above Star Lake, they plunged down like dumplings, heads first, breaking through the wind and snow to land on the lake surface. They honked and refused to leave, paddling around in search of food.

In the center of the lake, surrounded by geese, a small awning boat rested on the water. Chen Fan sat cross-legged at the bow, draped in a straw raincoat and wearing a bamboo hat, earnestly fishing with a rod in hand.

The black awning was covered with a thick layer of snow, but this didn't necessarily mean Chen Fan had been there for a long time.

Before setting out, he had only swept the bow and stern, leaving the top of the cabin untouched. The snow had accumulated for a whole day and night, so it was bound to be thick.

Fortunately, the awning was of decent quality, with sturdy wooden frames on all sides, only covered by the awning on top, and it was arched to distribute the force. The awning was made of bamboo strips, woven like a mat, then repeatedly brushed with several layers of tung oil and painted black, making it windproof and rainproof. That's why it could withstand such heavy snow.

If it were one of those tourist awning boats from later generations, this layer of snow would probably have collapsed the awning.

A good awning boat was not only a tool for fishermen to make a living but also their home.

Throughout the Yangtze River basin, including Dongting Lake, Honghu Lake, Poyang Lake, Taihu Lake, and all the way to the sea, and then south from the Huangpu River estuary to Hainan Island, including Hong Kong and Taiwan, these fishing boats that served as homes were once ubiquitous.

They were called by different names in different places, such as "Dan Family Fishing Boats" or "Lian Family Fishing Boats," and the people were also called "Dan People," "Dan Family People," or "Boat Households." In early documents, they were also referred to as "Yacht People," "White Water Lads," or "Yan."

All of these referred to families living on boats.

In the movie "The Battle at Lake Changjin," Wu Qianli's parents and younger brother lived on a boat, which was a Dan Family Fishing Boat.

(Movie still, Dan Family Fishing Boat)

Chen Fan had previously written an article titled "Dan Family Fishing Boat," which told the story of the daily life of people living on the water and their fight against the enemy during the war, with a plot similar to "Red Sorghum."

The size of the fishing boats also varied. The smaller ones had a bamboo shed built on the boat, with the hull being only a meter longer than ordinary small wooden boats. Inside, wooden planks could be laid down for sleeping, and removing the planks created living space, which was the kind of boat Chen Fan was sitting on.

The slightly larger ones were similar to those in the movie still, with a certain amount of activity space inside the cabin, but that was about it. The largest ones were like multi-story ships, with upper and lower levels, as well as dedicated kitchens and toilets.

In addition, there were rafts made of rows of logs tied together, with wooden houses built on the rafts, forming a small village. This was more common in old Hong Kong movies.

These Dan Family Fishing Boats were rare in the north for a simple reason: apart from the multi-story ships, these things were not much better than thatched sheds. They had almost no insulation. South of the Yangtze River was slightly better, but north of the Yangtze River, people would die if they lived on the water in winter!

But even in the warm Guangdong area, a small coal stove had to be burned in the boat for warmth during the winter, or it would be impossible to survive.

These water-dwelling families were not completely brought ashore until around 2018. For example, Honghu Lake proposed in 2016, "No more enclosure nets in Honghu Lake, not a single bamboo pole left, and all fishermen ashore."

Zhaoqing in the Xijiang River area of Guangdong also provided affordable rental housing for the last 207 fishing households in 2018, solving their problem of living ashore. After that, Dan Family Fishing Boats gradually disappeared.

But that was decades later. As for now, there were simply too many such fishing boats. Just find a dock along the Yangtze River, and there would be large Dan Family settlements.

Near these settlements, there were naturally small docks for building and repairing fishing boats.

The communes in various places did not ignore the Dan People either. Universal registration was not a joke.

Dan Family Fishing Boats were generally classified as the local commune's "Transportation Cooperative" or became part of a fishing company, belonging to a relatively special group.

Originally, Chen Fan only hoped that Huang Tianzhi could help him find a small wooden boat for fishing, but he didn't expect him to get several of these Dan Family Awning Boats, which was very helpful!

He sat at the bow fishing, and after a while, he leisurely lifted the rod, and a palm-sized crucian carp was pulled out of the water, creating ripples.

Chen Fan shook his head, removed the hook, and threw it away casually, hitting a goose on the head. The fish fell into the water with a plop, but before it could swim away, it was caught by another goose and swallowed in two gulps.

The goose that was hit shook its head and squawked a few times. No one admitted responsibility for the fresh fish bomb, so it could only plunge its head into the water again to forage.

Chen Fan had just cast the hook into the lake when the cabin door of the awning behind him was pushed open, and a gust of heat accompanied Xu Qizhen's voice, "Why did you throw away such a big fish?"

Chen Fan didn't turn his head, "Is a palm-sized fish considered big? Let's not compete with the birds for food. I'll catch you something they can't eat right away."

He Qingsheng, smoking a cigarette, stretched it out to the charcoal stove to flick off the ashes, "Then hurry up, the water is about to boil, waiting for the fish to go into the pot."

Next to him was Tan Yong, leaning against the cotton quilt and smoking, looking lazy, indicating that he was too warm to move.

Chen Fan still didn't turn around, just made a gesture, "It'll be ready soon."

As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly lifted the rod, and a foot-long river catfish was pulled up.

Seeing this, Tan Yong wasn't lazy anymore, pushing He Qingsheng to walk out of the cabin, causing the small boat to shake.

Xu Qizhen, frightened, supported the charcoal stove and screamed, "Slow down, be careful the kettle falls over."

Chen Fan turned his head and smiled, "It's okay, this is a fishing boat where Dan people live. The bottom hold is much deeper than ordinary boats, so it's not easy to capsize."

Seeing that the small boat shook for a while and then regained its balance, and the charcoal stove and the pot on it, which were stuck in the table pit, were all fine, Xu Qizhen breathed a long sigh of relief.

Then she shook her head and sighed, "Fishing alone on a cold river in snowy weather is indeed very artistic, but it's too easy to make people anxious."

At this time, Tan Yong also slowed down, smiling sheepishly, his eyes staring straight at the river catfish, "This guy is big, how are you going to prepare it?"

Chen Fan turned his head and glanced at him, smiling, "Of course, steamed."

He Qingsheng was very curious, "Isn't river catfish a warm-water fish? Can you still catch river catfish in this cold winter?"

Star Lake has waterways connected to a Yangtze River tributary, so it's not surprising that there are river catfish in it. What surprised him was how he could catch river catfish in such cold weather?

Chen Fan smiled as he processed the fish, "You're saying that the active water temperature for river catfish is between 24 and 28 degrees, but that doesn't mean they can only survive in that temperature range.

River catfish can survive above zero degrees and below thirty-eight degrees. The lake surface hasn't frozen yet, and the bottom of the water should be around five or six degrees. River catfish just stop foraging, they won't turn belly up."

He Qingsheng was even more puzzled, looking at him suspiciously, "They've stopped foraging, so how did you catch them?"

Chen Fan smiled slightly, "Luck."

Then he drove them into the cabin, "We're going to stew fish, everyone go inside and sit down."

A knife simply gestured a few times in his hand, and the river catfish was gutted and chopped into evenly sized pieces, washed clean with lake water, and several geese immediately swam over and glared at him.

Chen Fan wasn't stingy and threw the fish entrails directly to them.

It's just that Jiang Lili wasn't here today, otherwise she would definitely catch two live ones back.

Inside the cabin, Tan Yong took down the boiled copper kettle, and He Qingsheng turned around and put an iron pot on it.

Chen Fan put the fish in a basin, hung the bamboo hat and straw raincoat at the cabin door, then drilled in, poured oil, and added ginger. When the oil was hot, he picked up the river catfish and threw it into the pot. With a sizzling sound, a fragrant aroma filled the air.

Xu Qizhen took a deep breath, "So fragrant."

Then she watched Chen Fan operate, with a bit of suspicion in her eyes, "Can you cook?"

Chen Fan chuckled twice, "A little bit, just for fun."

Hearing this, He Qingsheng and the others immediately gave up hope for him.

Xu Qizhen even wanted to snatch the spatula.

Unfortunately, Chen Fan moved too fast. With a few quick movements, several seasonings were put into the pot, then boiling water was poured in and the lid was covered. After a while, a gurgling sound and a rich, fragrant aroma filled the pot.

After the fish was put in the pot, Chen Fan cleaned up the cooking utensils, opened the hatch, took out a large Chinese cabbage from inside, held it in his hand, used a dustpan to catch it, and brushed it down a few times, filling a dustpan.

Holding the dustpan and rinsing it in the lake water, lifting it up and placing it on the basin to drain, and then wiping his hands with a towel, Chen Fan announced that the preparation was complete.

Returning to the cabin, sitting next to Xu Qizhen, he took out four small bowls and a jar of aged yellow wine from the cupboard.

Pouring some hot water, he warmed the yellow wine. After a few minutes, he lifted the lid of the pot, poured some yellow wine into it, and simmered it for another two minutes. The steamed river catfish was ready.

Each person had a bowl of wine, and the pot contained a milky white fish soup. The cute river catfish soaked in the soup, making people salivate.

At this time, Xu Qizhen had already forgotten her previous doubts, picked up a piece of fish and put it in her mouth. After just one bite, her eyes lit up, and she couldn't even bother to say much, directly holding the bowl and starting to eat.

He Qingsheng and Tan Yong on the opposite side were no better, holding the bowl, blowing on the heat, eating meat, exhaling, and drinking soup in one go, repeating this process.

Only Chen Fan was holding a bowl of wine on the side, wondering if they had forgotten what they came to do?

After thinking about it, he turned around and walked out again.

The three foodies only glanced at him and continued to fight.

They were all worried that if they didn't act quickly enough, they would get the least to eat?

Soon, they wouldn't have to worry anymore.

Before long, Chen Fan came in carrying a basin filled with chunks of Jiangtuan fish.

He Qingsheng's eyes widened. Was this also luck?

Chen Fan poured the fish into the pot, added some ginger and salt for seasoning, and covered the pot. Once the soup boiled again, the fish would be cooked.

At this point, He Qingsheng and the other two regained their composure, put down their bowls and chopsticks, and picked up their wine bowls.

Xu Qizhen turned to look at Chen Fan, her eyes full of surprise, "Where did you learn to cook? It tastes even better than what the chefs at the Yangtze River Hotel make!"

He Qingsheng and Tan Yong nodded in unison, both looking at him expectantly.

Chen Fan coughed dryly, crossed his legs, and lit a cigarette. The smoke drifted out of the cabin with the air currents, along with someone's voice, "Isn't cooking something anyone with hands can do?"

Three faces fell in unison. They wanted to explode, but seeing the boiling pot and the snow-white fish, they decided to endure it.

He Qingsheng took a sip of yellow wine, then took out two cigarettes and lit one for Tan Yong as well.

After puffing out smoke for a few seconds, he coughed dryly, "Yesterday and the day before's meetings were very successful. Now, it can be said that everything in our unit is set, just waiting for success.

Well, Lao Zhao and Lao Qian went to find Xiao Bian yesterday and will soon take over the work of the correspondence center in full. Lao Sun also went to the "Jiangnan Literature" magazine to discuss separating the "Literary Youth" magazine from them and officially making it independent.

Their main work will focus on these two areas. These are all old comrades, and they are steady in their work. We can just wait for the results in the future without having to ask about it."

As he spoke, he took a puff of smoke, thought for a moment, and took another sip of old yellow wine, turning to look at Chen Fan, "Where did you buy this wine? It's very good."

Tan Yong also nodded repeatedly, "Mellow!"

The corner of Chen Fan's eye twitched slightly, "I'll send you a jar when we get back."

He Qingsheng, Tan Yong: "Okay!"

At this time, they were very glad that when Chen Fan said he wanted to go out and fish alone on the cold river and cook on the boat, they did not stop him. Instead, they were also interested, forcing Xu Qizhen to follow them on the boat to hold the first meeting of the new presidium on the lake.

As for one member of the presidium not being present, it was not important. They could just let him know later.

Unexpectedly, there was a surprise on the boat.

This pot of braised Jiangtuan alone was worth the trip.

Another jar of old yellow wine was even more worthwhile!

After feeling satisfied, He Qingsheng finally turned his attention back to work and said to Chen Fan, "Anyway, it was made very clear at yesterday's work meeting that everything else remains the same, except that the foreign exchange you are responsible for is this year's key project. Do you have any plans for this?"

Chen Fan pondered for two seconds, silently picked up his bowl, scooped a few pieces of fish, and filled half a bowl of soup. Slowly and methodically, he took a puff of smoke, a sip of wine, a bite of meat, and a sip of soup. After finishing, he turned to look at Xu Qizhen, "Sister Xu, Huifang used to be in charge of the correspondence center and Literary Youth magazine. Can you help me ask her if she wants to continue to cultivate these two projects or follow me to do new projects?"

While he was eating and drinking, the three people next to him were not idle. They accidentally finished another bowl each.

Hearing Chen Fan's words, Xu Qizhen quickly raised her head and said without thinking, "No need to ask, she wants to continue to follow you."

Chen Fan raised his eyebrows slightly, not expecting this little girl to be so loyal. Was she captivated by his talent?

Then he heard Xu Qizhen continue, "I talked to her before the meeting. Although the correspondence center and the magazine are ready-made businesses and she helped you set them up, you can see the end at a glance, and that's how the future will be.

If she continues to follow you, it will be different. Now, discussions about how to develop the economy and whether to open the door are raging. In the cultural field, after discussing with the Ministry of Culture, the tone for opening the door for exchange will be determined.

As long as there are no major changes, the Foreign Liaison Department should be the most promising department in our unit. Moreover, you are not clueless. The Asian and African regions have the Takahashi Publishing House with the small book as a guarantee, and the European and American regions have your uncle's company. It can be said that the innate conditions are the best.

If Huifang follows you, she will not only be able to continue to make contributions and build the foundation for foreign exchange for our Provincial Writers Association, but she may also have the opportunity to study abroad in the future.

Compared to staying in those two projects, there is no need to think about it. Following you will definitely have more room for development."

Chen Fan narrowed his eyes. So there is no emotion, only benefits?

Looking at Chen Fan's face, Xu Qizhen chuckled dryly twice, "Of course, Huifang personally prefers to work under your leadership. You are so good, you dare to delegate power and dare to take responsibility, allowing her, a student who just graduated this year, to get enough growth. Where can you find such a leader? You can't find one at all!"

He Qingsheng, Tan Yong: … … ???

Chen Fan understood that Bian Huifang still wanted to continue to follow him, so things would be easier to handle.

He looked up at He Qingsheng, "After this meeting, I'm afraid it will be difficult to allocate all the resources of the unit to serve the Liaison Department as before, right?"

He Qingsheng thought for a while and pointed directly to the core of the problem, "Do you want to add people?"

Chen Fan smiled and handed over two cigarettes, "The Foreign Liaison Department is said to have two divisions, but besides me and Bian Huifang, there is only Director Duan, and he doesn't even have a clerk under him.

Secondly, foreign liaison requires understanding foreign languages. Before, when you contacted Hideo Takahashi, you also found the translators in the association to do the translation. Now that we want to formally establish the Foreign Liaison Department, we can't still rely on this kind of temporary conscription, right?"

He Qingsheng pondered for two seconds and asked seriously, "What do you want to do?"

Chen Fan smiled and said, "The first step is to set up the framework. In addition to the division director, each of the two divisions must have three to five clerks to handle various tasks in a timely manner, at least one of whom must be a foreign language talent.

English is an international language, and those who understand English have priority. Although Russian is the working language of the Soviet Union, it doesn't matter whether we have it or not given our current relationship with Lao Su.

In addition, since we now have close cooperation with Takahashi Publishing House, then a person who understands Japanese is definitely essential."

After a pause, he looked at He Qingsheng's worried face, shrugged and said, "That's all for now. Let's talk about the next step after we have enough people."

He Qingsheng's face was so bitter that water could drip out of it. Even the delicious fish soup was no longer fragrant, and the old yellow wine had no taste.

He rubbed his face and said to Chen Fan, "You said it easily, English first, and you must have someone who understands Japanese. I want that too. But where can I find it?

Those college students recruited last year and this year were targeted by major units as soon as they entered the school. Those in Beijing were directly regarded as delicacies by the ministries, and the situation in various places below was similar. Jiangnan University and Normal University are the schools with the most foreign language talents in the provincial capital, but those people have long been targeted by the province, and even the city can't get involved. Who do you want me to ask for people?"

Chen Fan stretched the cigarette into the charcoal stove, flicked the ashes, and smiled at him, "Let the personnel department try first, and if that doesn't work, you can go out in person. How do you know the result if you don't try?"

He Qingsheng was almost suffocated with anger. So you're not going to do it, right?

He frowned and took a puff of smoke, turned to look at Tan Yong, and then at Xu Qizhen, "Why don't we let the personnel department try first?"

Tan Yong and Xu Qizhen looked at each other, pondered for two seconds, and nodded slightly.

But they were all saddened in their hearts for Lao Li, the newly appointed head of the personnel department.

Poor personnel department that was just restored, letting him, an old comrade familiar with the unit's situation, take the lead, and he was thrown a hot potato. I wonder if he will rush to Lao He's office and jump up and down?

Chen Fan leaned back in his chair and smiled without saying a word.

Let me do things? No problem, give me enough people first.

As long as I have enough people, I will distribute the work.

Chairman He and Secretary-General Xu taught me, don't be afraid to delegate power and give the people below more opportunities. The people below make achievements, and your own achievements will be even higher!

Putting this problem aside for now, He Qingsheng asked about Chen Fan's plans again.

Chen Fan did not hide anything and explained his thoughts clearly.

The few people ate and chatted, finished the fish, and then put the prepared cabbage into the pot, which was eventually eaten clean.

By this time, it was almost noon. There was no need to eat lunch today. In addition, the alcohol was kicking in, so they planned to go home and sleep.

Chen Fan rowed the boat, passing through the flock of geese, startling countless birds, and slowly returned to the dock.

Before the boat could dock, he saw Bian Huifang standing on the waterfront platform waving, "Director, someone from the province came and said that your uncle is coming, and asked me to notify you quickly."