Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 466 Birthday Gift
Walking along the embankment to the riverside dock, Chen Fan boarded his small yacht, started the boat engine, and headed upstream.

He was certainly not going back to Lujiawan, but to a cargo terminal upstream.

Chen Fan originally thought that Yunhu only had two docks, but he did not expect that in addition to the large cargo dock not far from the passenger dock, there was another small cargo dock upstream.

However, this dock is exclusively for the use of large factories in the Chengbei Industrial Zone and generally does not accept docking of foreign ships.

But it doesn't matter, he's practically part of the machine factory, so he can just mention the factory's name when the time comes.

Yunhu has a well-connected waterway network, linking almost all the districts and counties below and some communes, so whether for domestic sales or transport to other places, waterway is the most convenient way.

Machinery factories, cotton mills, and Yunhu Steel Plant are all major customers of this wharf. Their raw materials are unloaded here, and their products sold to other places are also loaded onto ships here.

The Yunhu Steel Plant sounds impressive, but it was actually one of the substandard steel plants built during the period of rapid development.

At that time, even Nanhu Commune built a steel company, which was very impressive, and it produced a lot of iron.

Fortunately, in less than six months, not only Nanhu Steel Plant, but all the steel plants in the entire Yunhu area were shut down, leaving only the prefectural committee as the sole remaining entity, which was considered the last vestige of its prefectural dignity.

Yunhu area does not produce coal or iron ore, so all ores, coal, and diesel have to be transported from other places, resulting in extremely high costs. As a result, the products are not very competitive, so the production scale has been reduced again and again, and a large number of employees have been transferred to other units.

Today, the steel plant has fewer than a thousand employees, mainly producing steel for construction. There is also a special steel workshop that produces special steel parts to supply machinery factories.

Overall, the market is basically local and can be considered self-sufficient.

As a result, in the field of heavy industry in Yunhu, it can only follow behind the machinery factory and get scraps.

What a disgrace to the steel industry!
However, having this steel plant is quite convenient.

For example, if Chen Fan wanted to build a new house now, given his position in the machinery factory, he could easily build a frame structure house directly with reinforced concrete.

Unlike a few months ago, when we had to go safely to the shipping company's repair shop to try and get some ship steel bars back for them, otherwise we couldn't even think about pouring precast slabs or building a two-story building.

A few minutes later, the small boat docked. I first dragged two baskets out of the cabin, then put on my small backpack, carried the baskets on a shoulder pole, and walked up the cargo ramp to the management office halfway up the slope. I found the administrator who came out after seeing what was happening and registered the situation.

Just then, a truck from the machinery factory was delivering goods, so Chen Fan hitched a ride back.

The truck swayed slowly, and it took less than ten minutes to drive from the dock to the entrance of the machinery factory. After getting off at the intersection, it was just a short walk to home.

他是1月9日晚上离开的，今天是1月13日，过去了正好4天。

Moreover, it has been snowing intermittently for the past four days, and the snow has accumulated to a depth of more than half a foot in the unattended fields.

But at this moment, there was only a thin layer of snow in the yard, which must have fallen today and hadn't been cleared yet.

Even the jeep parked in the corner of the yard had been wiped clean, and apart from a thin layer of snow on top, it looked very clean overall.

Chen Fan checked the time; it was 5:50 p.m. Administrative units usually close at 6 p.m., so he placed the carrying pole in the living room and casually put his backpack on the octagonal table.

The two raccoon dogs that were guarding the house in the backyard came out when they heard the noise and obediently lay down in front of him, meowing.

Chen Fan looked at them, then at the fresh fish piled up in one of the baskets. After hesitating for two seconds, he picked out two palm-sized crucian carp, turned around, and threw them to them. "Don't touch anything here. Anyone who touches it dies!"

The two raccoons, who had just put the fish in their mouths and were feeling quite happy, shuddered when they heard this and immediately darted back to the kitchen, not daring to look at the delicious food in the basket for even a second.

After settling the two cats, Chen Fan went to the backyard to wash his hands and then began preparing dinner.

have eaten?
He was certain that someone would arrive within half an hour at most.

Sure enough, after Chen Fan cooked a pot and put it on the coal stove, then sat at the door in a daze, the courtyard gate was pushed open a short while later.

He looked up and saw Jiang Lili running happily towards him, followed by Jiang Tiantian who closed the courtyard gate and quickened her pace without realizing it.

Chen Fan stood up, waved to them, and smiled, "I knew you'd be coming. Dinner is ready, let's eat first."

Jiang Lili stood under the eaves, stamping her feet to clear away the little snow and mud that was left. She looked directly at him and asked, "When did you get back?"

Chen Fan, "I just got back not long ago."

After stomping her feet, Jiang Tiantian went inside, then turned around and closed the door, saying, "Why didn't you close the door earlier? It's so cold."

Chen Fan smiled and said, "I just finished cooking, it's a bit hot, this is a good opportunity to cool off."

It wouldn't be appropriate to say that they were waiting specifically for them.

Jiang Tiantian looked at him helplessly, "The more you sweat in winter, the more you need to avoid the wind, otherwise you'll catch a cold and that would be terrible."

As she walked inside, she said, "You guys go ahead and eat. I'll sweep the snow out of the yard first."

Jiang Lili quickly followed, "Sister, I'll go with you."

Chen Fan shooed them away from behind, "What's the point of sweeping? The snow's already been swept clean. There's no fun in it at all. Go eat."

As soon as Jiang Tiantian stood at the door of the storage room, her younger sister pushed her forward. Jiang Lili could only hug her older sister and laugh, "Don't push me, we won't sweep anymore, okay?"

Chen Fan pushed them directly out the back door before letting go, saying, "They're not enthusiastic about eating, they have problems with their thinking, and they always wait until after they finish eating to talk about anything."

The three of them entered the restaurant, but instead of moving the dining table, they brought over the coal stove with the stew pot on it. They then placed two bowls of side dishes and a basket of vegetables on the table, including cabbage and red mustard greens. There were also potatoes and white radishes in the pot, all of which are common vegetables in Yunhu during winter.

The main dish was fresh pork ribs that Chen Fan brought.

Just like in Lujiawan, Jiang Lili poured wine for Chen Fan first, and then served rice to herself and her sister.

She sat down at the table with her rice bowl in her hand and looked at Chen Fan, asking, "By now, the team should have dried up the ponds, right?"

Chen Fan took a sip of wine, nodded and smiled, "Cheers. All the fish have been caught. I hadn't had time to distribute them to the whole team when I arrived, so the team brought your share over first. Besides the fish, there's also some lotus root that we dug up beforehand."

Jiang Lili's eyes lit up immediately, "You have fresh lotus roots too!"

Jiang Tiantian asked curiously, "She's no longer there, but she still has these things?"

Chen Fan turned to her and smiled, "Although the person has left, the debt is still there."

He glanced at Jiang Lili as he spoke, “In this year, Lili has earned about 2300 work points. This year, in addition to the normal agricultural income, her sideline income will also be added, so the value of work points is particularly high. After deducting the previously pre-issued rations, Lili should be able to receive another sum of money.”

Hearing this, Jiang Lili smiled so much that her eyes curved into crescent moons.

Chen Fan continued with a smile, "Besides the profit sharing, Lili will also receive a share of the team's welfare items."

He pointed to the living room outside, "I brought you all the pork, fish, and lotus root that were distributed."

He then pointed at the ribs in the pot with his chopsticks and laughed, "These two ribs are Lili's treat."

Jiang Lili was slightly taken aback. "Did the team slaughter a pig for the New Year so early?"

She had lived in Lujiawan for nearly four years, so she knew exactly when to do what. According to past practice, the pig for the New Year should be slaughtered after the 20th of the twelfth lunar month. Why is it so early this year?
Chen Fan shook his head. "Not yet."

He picked up a piece of pork rib and put it in Jiang Tiantian's bowl, then picked up another piece and put it in Jiang Lili's bowl, looking at her and smiling.
"This is pork from Captain Yang's house. He knew I was going to deliver safety supplies today, so he cut off a piece and asked me to bring it to you. I know you like ribs, so I got you a few front ribs and a pound of pork belly. When the team slaughters the public pig for the New Year, you can return your share to him."

Hearing this, Jiang Lili chuckled like a fool, feeling happy that Xiao Fan was thinking of her all the time.

Jiang Tiantian glanced helplessly at her younger sister. Even Xiao Fan knows you love pork ribs. You don't usually only eat pork ribs over there, do you?

Unfortunately, the younger sister was only staring at someone and completely missed her glance.

Jiang Lili took a delicious bite, pursing her lips and chewing slowly. After finishing the food in her mouth, she asked, "Did Brother An go back to Shanghai today?"

Chen Fan put down his wine glass and nodded. "I'll take him to the ship this afternoon. It'll take four days on the journey, and he won't arrive in Shanghai until the evening of the 17th." Jiang Tiantian suddenly said from the side, "Then when we go to school, don't we also have to take a four-day ship trip?"

Chen Fan turned to look at her, hesitated for a moment, and said, "If we take a boat, it will indeed take four days."

Jiang Lili held up four fingers, her eyes somewhat glazed over, as if wondering what it would be like to spend four days on the ship.
As for taking the train?
Sorry, there are currently no direct trains from the provincial capital to Shanghai.

To get there by train, you first have to take a bus from Yunhu to the provincial capital, then take another train from the provincial capital to Zhengzhou, then transfer to Xuzhou or Nanjing, and finally arrive in Shanghai.

This trip not only costs more money, but more importantly, it requires multiple transfers and there are fewer trains at this time. Therefore, when people from Yunhu go to other places, as long as they are close to the banks of the Yangtze River, they basically choose to take a boat.

It's a bit slow, but it's convenient. Just get on the ship, lie down on the bed, and you'll be there when you get off. How simple!
Jiang Tiantian looked at her sister's fingers and felt a little dizzy. Four days! She'd get seasick.

Chen Fan glanced at the two of them, hesitated for a moment, and said in a low voice, "How about I drive you there?"

The two sisters turned to look at him together, seemingly somewhat tempted.

But the next second, they both shook their heads.

Jiang Tiantian said firmly, "No, it's too far. It'll be tiring for you to drive. Besides, we're not some kind of leaders or cadres. There's no reason for us to take a special car to school. No way."

Jiang Lili withdrew her fingers and shook her head repeatedly, "No, let's just take the boat ourselves."

Chen Fan sighed softly, picking up some food as he said, "I was worried about the negative impact, otherwise I was just about to drive over to pick you up from get off work."

Jiang Lili asked curiously, "I saw you sitting at the door just now, as if you were waiting for us. How did you know we were coming?"

Chen Fan glanced at her. "I'm not blind. If it wasn't you, who swept the snow in the yard?"

The two sisters looked at each other, their faces turning slightly red.

Jiang Tiantian quickly lowered her head to eat, while Jiang Lili coughed lightly and decisively changed the subject, "We didn't talk much on the phone last time. When are Xiaoying and the others going to school to register?"

Chen Fan: "It's similar to your situation. We all registered at the end of February and officially started school on March 1st."

It seems that the start dates for this batch of undergraduate institutions are all around this time, although some are later.

For example, in Fujian, the college entrance examination has not yet started at this time. They are much later than other provinces. It seems that the exam is held in February or March, and school starts in May.

However, that's an extremely rare case; generally, exams are held in December, and students enroll in February or March.

Jiang Lili asked about other things related to Huang Ying and the others, and Chen Fan told her all of them.

Finally, when the two sisters heard that Huang Ying and her friends were preparing for university courses, they couldn't sit still any longer.

Jiang Lili looked at her sister and asked, "Sis, should we start previewing the material too?"

Jiang Tiantian nodded without hesitation, "Of course I want to."

She hesitated again, "But we all have to go to work during the day, and we can't neglect our work."

The two sisters exchanged a glance, their eyes involuntarily turning to Chen Fan.

Chen Fan looked at the two of them and smiled, "You also want to learn about security, so you're quitting your jobs?"

Upon hearing this, the two sisters couldn't help but chuckle awkwardly.

Their situation is somewhat different from Anquan's. Anquan had worked at his company for many years. Regardless of his merits and hard work, he was at least qualified. When he wanted to resign to go to school, even his superiors didn't want to persuade him too much. Instead, they offered him some words of blessing.

However, Chen Fan had used Sister Zhou's connections to get the two sisters to the Education Bureau to avoid trouble. Now that the trouble is over and they have been admitted to university, it seems a bit like he's just abandoning them after they've served their purpose.

If it were just the two of them, they wouldn't need to think too much, but since Chen Fan was also involved, the two of them hesitated.

Chen Fan looked at the two of them and laughed, "If you want to quit, then quit. Actually, if you ask me, your current jobs don't mean much to you. You might as well quit and rest at home for a few days to prepare for school."

He picked up a piece of white radish and put it in his bowl. As he ate, he said, "It's okay. I'll go and say hello to Sister Zuo and Sister Zhou tomorrow. They'll understand."

This is really nothing serious. Every organization has a specific position for each person. If those two leave, the leaders in the organization will be more than happy to see them go, as they can use those two positions to curry favor.

Besides, they are different from Chen Fan; they are dispensable to the unit. Furthermore, they all got into university, which brings honor to the Education Department and is enough to repay this favor.

Since there's no point in staying, and there are benefits to leaving, it's no wonder Sister Zuo is angry!
Seeing Chen Fan's decisiveness, the two sisters exchanged a glance. Then, Jiang Tiantian looked at Chen Fan cautiously and asked, "You're not angry, are you?"

Chen Fan looked at her. "Why would I be angry?"

He suddenly chuckled and said to the two of them, "Don't overthink it. I know what I'm doing."

As soon as he finished speaking, he looked at the two of them and smiled, "Are you two blaming me for reminding Xiaoying and the others to prepare for the lesson, but not for you?"

Jiang Tiantian immediately shook her head, "No."

Jiang Lili shook her head repeatedly, "Really not."

She knew Chen Fan better after all, and couldn't help but pout, "I definitely don't blame you, but I just don't understand why you reminded them but not us?"

Chen Fan smiled and nodded, "Yes, that's the truth."

Jiang Lili blushed slightly, staring intently at him, and whispered, "Why?"

Chen Fan raised an eyebrow. "Because their talent isn't as good as yours."

The two sisters exchanged a glance, then looked at him simultaneously, "What do you mean?"

Chen Fan smiled and said, "I could tell when you were preparing to review."

He first looked at Jiang Lili, "You have great talent. Whether it's humanities or sciences, you learn everything very quickly. Before the news of the resumption of the college entrance examination was announced, you were reading books on textiles in your study. With the influence of your family, you didn't need to preview the material at all, and you were already far ahead of your future classmates."

Then, looking at Jiang Tiantian, he said, "Your talent is not bad either, but you are a bit unbalanced in your studies. Your understanding of mathematics and science is only average. But this average is only relative to Lili. Compared to others, such as Huang Ying and the others, you are quite good."

Your greatest strength lies in the humanities; you have an exceptionally good memory and comprehension of words. Since you'll be studying Chinese literature, just like Lili, there's no need to be too anxious.

He sighed as he spoke, "To be honest, Xiao'e and Xiaoying's talents are not bad, but they are limited. At most, they are outstanding in the Nanhu area. If we broaden the scope to the whole country, they can only be considered ordinary."

They were lucky to have prepared so far in advance, and they happened to be there when the college entrance examination was reinstated and the questions were not too difficult; otherwise, it would have been difficult for them to get high scores.

That's why I asked them to start studying in advance to prepare for university.

Finally, he shrugged at the two of them, "But you two don't need to."

The two sisters exchanged a glance, pursing their lips to suppress a laugh. So he was praising us?
The three chatted and ate, and before they knew it, night had fallen. Looking at the time, it was already 7 p.m., so Chen Fan prepared to take them home.

After Jiang Lili finished cleaning up the dishes and came out, Chen Fan took out two small packages from his backpack, handed them to them respectively, and said with a smile, "These were originally meant for you on your birthdays, but I couldn't hold back, so I'll give them to you now."

The two sisters looked at him together, "What is this?"

Chen Fan handed it forward and said with a smile, "A birthday present."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Lili accepted it with a joyful expression.

Jiang Tiantian was overjoyed, "There's one for me too?"

She doesn't remember telling Chen Fan her birthday.
Chen Fan handed her the gift and said with a smile, "I've seen your file. Tomorrow is your birthday."

As she spoke, she glanced at Jiang Lili, who was unwrapping her gifts, and said, "Hers won't be long either. I'm planning to go to the provincial capital in the next couple of days, so I'll give you your birthday presents in advance."

(End of this chapter)