Reborn in 1977

Inside the kitchen, Yang Ju was busy at the stove, one pot steaming rice and another ready for stir-frying.

Seeing Chen Fan enter, she paused slightly. "Why are you up so early?"

Chen Fan waved his hand. "Go and rest for a while. I'll handle the logistics during this period."

Yang Ju continued her work without stopping. "No need, I'm almost done. Just making some dishes and rice balls."

Seeing she wouldn't leave, Chen Fan directly pushed her out. "I told you to go out, just go. Leave the kitchen to me."

Then, looking at the chopped vegetables at the bottom of the basin, he said, "Rice balls are fine for breakfast, but you won't be able to eat them for lunch and dinner. I'll take care of it here."

Yang Ju could only pout, raising her hands as she was pushed out.

Chen Fan busied himself in the kitchen with a flurry of activity, and before long, breakfast was ready.

Calling it rice balls was really just a pot of Yangzhou fried rice with added cured meat. Chen Fan added the cured meat later. You could squeeze it into rice balls or just eat it as fried rice.

And then a large bowl of egg drop soup.

After gulping it down, Jiang Lili and the others regained their energy, grabbing their sickles and preparing to head out.

Chen Fan didn't idle either. He took his drawing board, slung it over his shoulder, and pulled out the rarely used kerosene lamp and flashlight. "Take these for light."

It wasn't dawn yet, and even the faint starlight had faded. This was the darkness before dawn. Walking might be okay, but this little light wouldn't be enough for working in the fields.

Jiang Lili quickly said, "You can't bring the kerosene lamp. It has an open flame and kerosene. If it breaks, it'll cause a disaster."

Although the kerosene lamp was safe, it was still an open flame. Better safe than sorry. At this time, any potential hazards must be eliminated.

Yang Ju added, "And the light will attract mosquitoes."

Huang Ying said, "By the time we walk from here to the fields and the team leader finishes giving instructions, it'll be light enough to see when we officially start working."

Liu Dan looked left and right, then nodded vigorously. "Mhm, mhm!"

Chen Fan curled his lip slightly and put the kerosene lamp back, only taking the flashlight. "Then let's go."

The five of them left the educated youth院 together. At this time, people were already trickling down from the village ahead, heading towards the fields in the west.

In the end, Chen Fan's flashlight was useless because no one else had brought a light. If he turned on the flashlight, it would affect their vision and make it difficult to see the road.

Chen Fan was tall, and someone recognized him at a glance, immediately calling out loudly, "Teacher Chen, are you going to work in the fields too?"

He turned to look, unable to see who it was, and called out with his eyes closed, "I'm going to paint a few pictures."

Someone over there immediately shouted, "Teacher Chen, you're working hard. You're probably the only one in the entire brigade who gets up this early to go to the fields."

Chen Fan laughed. "That's not true. Secretary Yang and the others in the brigade office definitely get up earlier. They're probably already in the fields."

"Secretary Yang, Team Leader Zhang, and the others are in charge of production, and they're cadres, so it's definitely different. Other coordinators don't need to worry about that. They just need to do their jobs well."

He was referring to the storekeeper, accountant, health worker (barefoot doctor), civilian teacher, veterinarian, pig farmer, and duck farmer.

The production team nominally wouldn't require them to work in the fields, but some people would help out voluntarily. However, on the one hand, there would be no mandatory requirements, and on the other hand, even if they actively helped, the amount of time and intensity of labor would definitely not be comparable to other commune members. This could be considered one of the hidden benefits of being a coordinator.

Chen Fan laughed heartily. "I'm the team's correspondent. Going to the fields to write reports is also my job."

"Nonsense. You're the correspondent and you don't get work points. And when can't you write reports? Why do you have to do it now? I say, the team should give you an extra share of work points. The correspondent and the archivist are doing it for nothing. Not to mention getting two shares, combining them to get one share isn't too much, right?"

Other people echoed from over there, "Not too much, not too much, definitely not too much."

Chen Fan listened to their nonsense and said with a smile, "If I were to get three shares of work points and you didn't think it was too much, I myself would think it was too much. I say, instead of getting an extra share of work points, it's better to increase the value of each work point.

The newspapers have written that in some places, one work point is worth 30 cents, and one work day is worth 3 yuan. The year-end dividends are two or three hundred. Apart from not having the workers' ration coupons and welfare benefits, the income is higher than that of the workers.

Let's do a good job in production and strive to get work points worth 30 cents, surpassing the workers in town!"

As soon as these words came out, everyone shouted in unison.

The sound came from all directions, adding a bit of noise to the cold dawn.

Arriving at the fields before long, hundreds of people were scattered standing on the ridges, as if the entire team had come, just waiting for Team Leader Yang to announce the start of the double抢.

In fact, even if not everyone had come, it was close enough.

During the double抢 season, everyone in the team, counting one by one, except for the elderly who were unable to move and children under the age of 10, all men, women, and children had to be mobilized, so in addition to adults, there were many half-grown children.

They held their mothers' hands, most of them still dozing off. But when the double抢 started, they also had to get involved in the intense labor.

They didn't need to harvest. Instead, when the adults harvested, the adults led the children, and the older children led the younger children, responsible for carrying the harvested rice ears together. Those with strength had to tie them up, and those without strength waited for the adults to tie them.

After the harvest, they had to pick up the rice ears left in the field, ensuring that "every grain was returned to the granary."

Moreover, at this time, not only half-grown children but even many 4- and 5-year-old children had to participate, carrying a basket to pick up rice ears behind.

This wasn't playing but real labor. It could be said that every bit of labor in the production team was utilized.

Team Leader Yang stood on a relatively high mound, holding a sickle and shouting, "The work assignments are all as we discussed yesterday. Is there anything that's not clear?"

Everyone looked around, and no one spoke.

Team Leader Yang didn't waste any time. "Okay, I announce that the 6th Team of the Lujiawan Production Brigade, the summer double抢 officially begins."

Then he roared, "Raise the flags for me."

As soon as he finished speaking, several red flags were immediately raised high, heading in different directions.

Different words were written on them, including "Lujiawan 6th Team," "6th Team Militia Platoon," "Advanced Women's Group," and "Labor Activist Detachment."

Even with only Jiang Lili left in the educated youth院, there was a flag of "Lujiawan Educated Youth" planted in the educated youth field.

In short, there weren't many people, but there were a lot of names.

Chen Fan and the others were standing on the ridge of the educated youth field. After Team Leader Yang finished speaking, Huang Ying turned to look at Chen Fan. "Teacher Chen, we're going to the fields."

He looked at the four of them and nodded lightly. "Be careful, don't hurt yourselves."

Hearing this, Jiang Lili couldn't help but blush. She thought of the last time she cut her foot while transplanting rice and felt that Chen Fan was talking about her.

Yang Ju said nonchalantly with a big smile, "It's okay, it's not our first time going to the fields. We're used to it."

Having said that, he picked up his sickle and walked down the field ridge, bending over to begin harvesting.

Jiang Lili, Huang Ying, Liu Dan, and she lined up side by side, about a meter or so apart, advancing in unison towards the other end of the rice paddy.

As the rice field was disturbed, some small flying insects took to the air, some fluttering away, while others landed on people, their stings causing a sharp pain.

Chen Fan waved away a few insects, glanced at their backs, then looked up at the sky. The darkest time had passed, and a sliver of light was faintly appearing on the horizon, giving the world a bit of color. The people in the rice paddy were no longer as indistinct as before.

He wasn't in a hurry to go anywhere else, so he opened his art bag on the field ridge, took out his easel, placed the canvas on it, and began to paint.

At 6:30, the production team's loudspeaker started broadcasting half an hour earlier than usual.

Zhang Cuie's voice echoed over Lujiawan, "Comrades, comrades, good morning! It's that time of year again for the Double Rush season. Every summer, it's time to rush to harvest the early rice and rush to plant the late rice…"

Chen Fan looked up towards the direction of the loudspeaker, his eyes filled with unconcealed amusement.

This article was written by Zhang Cuie herself, and he didn't modify it much, just let her broadcast it directly.

Although there were still some flaws, taking the first step towards success and building self-confidence always involves letting go and walking on your own. He believed that after today, Zhang Cuie's courage and confidence would be greater.

Then he could relax more!

From the dimness to the dawn, from sunrise to midday, the commune members labored in the rice paddies, and the voice of the loudspeaker above Lujiawan never stopped.

After the county radio station's news broadcast ended, Zhang Cuie played songs for everyone, or read aloud a report of advanced deeds from the newspaper, to cheer everyone on.

Someone harvesting near Chen Fan laughed loudly, "Teacher Chen, you've trained this apprentice well."

Chen Fan turned to look, smiling as he said, "There's a saying that goes, 'The master leads the way, the cultivation is up to the individual.' You say I teach well, but I say she has good comprehension. Besides learning well, the most important thing is that she has the heart for it. Today's broadcast wasn't arranged by me, it was her own idea."

The people around him nodded in agreement.

"That's true. Yesterday, Bailang Lake started the Double Rush, but their broadcast was silent. I guess this time, our Lujiawan's broadcast is going to be in the limelight again."

As soon as these words were spoken, bursts of laughter erupted around them.

It had never been so lively during the Double Rush before. Although there were no loudspeakers back then, the commune had them, but they weren't so lively.

So, in the end, it was still Lujiawan's broadcasting station that was doing a good job!

The sun climbed higher and higher, scorching people's skin. The temperature also rose, and even the occasional breeze couldn't dry the sweat on people's bodies.

Chen Fan carried his drawing board, moving from one flag to another, creating sketch after sketch.

The people who had been full of energy in the morning were now somewhat exhausted. Even the strong laborers in their twenties and thirties were panting heavily as they walked.

Those carrying loads on shoulder poles?

Oh, they were holding their breath and encouraging themselves!

Chen Fan looked up at the sun, estimating that it was already 11 a.m., and packed up his art bag to head back.

If it were normal times, people would definitely greet him and talk to him, but now, even if they met face to face, they would only smile and continue on their way, carrying the rice ears without stopping.

The main force for harvesting rice was women and a small number of men. The children, big and small, were responsible for collecting the scattered rice ears and packing and tying them up. Carrying the loads on shoulder poles was entirely the men's job. They had to carry these rice ears to the threshing grounds of each household, where elderly grandfathers would untie the bundles of rice stalks and use a nail rake to scatter them on the ground to dry.

As for the grandmothers, they should be busy in front of the stove at this time, preparing lunch for their families working in the fields.

Normally, they could only eat two meals while working, but during the Double Rush, they had to eat three meals, and they had to try to eat well, otherwise their bodies would definitely not be able to handle it.

It would be terrible if there were no elderly people at home. The women would have to return from the fields and frantically cook in front of the stove, preparing water for the afternoon.

Chen Fan was now going to play the role of "grandmother."

He had no intention of going down to the fields to suffer this torment, especially after watching the labor for a morning. His greatest feeling was that if he were to do it, he probably really couldn't.

Not that his body couldn't handle it, but that he couldn't endure the hardship.

Toiling under the scorching sun, bending over in the rice paddy, bending over for a whole morning, without even time to straighten your back to rest, because everyone was rushing to harvest, and straightening your back a few more times might delay the harvest of one less row of land.

If the subsequent rushing to plant and rush to dry were delayed because of harvesting one less row, and then there was a sudden rainstorm, the loss would be great!

Under such circumstances, everyone was actually enduring double the physical and mental suffering, which was really too torturous.

Anyway, Chen Fan admitted that he couldn't endure this hardship.

However, he had no problem with doing logistics.

He quickly returned to the educated youth compound, put his art bag in the room, kicked away the two dogs, and then picked up a vegetable basket to wander around the vegetable garden behind the house.

When people are too tired, they must not eat a lot of meat, otherwise they are prone to indigestion, and when they are too tired, they have no appetite, and they can't even eat fish and meat.

Therefore, the dishes made at this time should be as light as possible, easy to eat quickly, and easy to digest. However, because they have to bear high-intensity labor, they can't be without nutrition. They must be able to withstand consumption and not be easily hungry, which is a test of cooking skills.

He looked around the vegetable garden and had an idea in his mind.

First, he picked some cucumbers, eggplants, cowpeas, and grabbed a few peppers. He cleaned and chopped them in the kitchen, cut some preserved meat from the room, took a few eggs, scooped a large bowl of pickled pepper paste that Yang Ju had brought from home from the kitchen, and scooped some small fish fry raised in the fish tank.

Preserved meat with cucumber, eggplant, and cowpeas, scrambled eggs with peppers, and finally a bowl of pickled pepper paste with small fish fry.

This was Chen Fan's first "Double Rush recipe" for them.

The pickled pepper should be mushy, and the small fish fry should be soft. The two mixed together are both appetizing and nutritious, and the other dishes are light and delicious, but they are not lacking in oil, so they are guaranteed to be resistant to hunger.

Soup is not needed. Just cook a pot of porridge and steam a basket of rice. First, eat porridge to open your appetite, and then eat dry rice to fill you up.

It's just that steaming buns and steamed buns requires kneading the dough, and there is no time to do it today, but it can be done tomorrow, otherwise, it would be nice to eat buns and steamed buns with porridge and dishes.

After the food was cooked, Chen Fan added two more handfuls of firewood to the stove and boiled a large pot of hot water.

Then he moved the table to the threshing ground outside.

The weather was hot, and it was more comfortable to eat outside.