Chapter 25: Giving a Demonstration
The next morning, Chen Fan was woken up by knocking.
Knock, knock, knock…
“Open up, Chen Fan! The sun's already high in the sky, still sleeping? Get up, quick!”
Chen Fan opened his eyes. Was that… Captain Yang?
He jolted awake, flipped over, and sat up. He hurriedly threw off the covers, grabbed his cotton coat, and ran clumsily to open the door.
He's come over before I even got out of bed, and knocking so urgently. Could Constable Zhu have arrived?
News in less than a day? Sounds too good to be true?
Using the faint light coming through the crack in the door, Chen Fan nervously unlatched the door and pulled it open. Before he could react, a palm came towards his face, scaring him into taking a step back.
Captain Yang's slap missed its mark, nearly causing him to fall forward. He quickly steadied himself by grabbing the doorframe with his other hand.
Chen Fan stared at him blankly. “What's wrong, Team Captain? What happened?”
Captain Yang stepped inside. “Look at what time it is, and you're still not up.”
As he walked in, Chen Fan saw two other people standing at the door. One was Jiang Lili, and the other was Captain Yang's daughter, the one who had carried the bamboo basket to catch soft-shelled turtles yesterday, whom he'd seen at their house.
Seeing Chen Fan look at her, Jiang Lili said softly, “Xiao Ju came looking for you early, but you weren't awake. She waited here, and waited until now, so Captain Yang came.”
Chen Fan was about to ask what was going on when Captain Yang called out from inside the room, “Don't bother with that now. Quickly wash your face and come with me. The whole team is waiting for you.”
Chen Fan looked at him, puzzled. “Waiting for me to do what?”
Captain Yang's eldest daughter, Yang Ju, stepped forward and said, “It's about skinning the soft-shelled turtles, like you said. We can't do it. We either tear them to pieces, or we can't get the skin off at all. We've already wasted two turtles, so my dad told me to come find you.”
Just for this?
Chen Fan was dumbfounded, not knowing how to react.
Making such a fuss, he thought something big had happened, but it was just about soft-shelled turtles?
Who cooks soft-shelled turtles so early in the morning?
Jiang Lili couldn't help but smile at Chen Fan's expression, but with outsiders present, she quickly lowered her head.
Captain Yang took out his pipe, lit it, took a puff, and said to Chen Fan, “Why are you still standing there? The whole team is waiting to see how you prepare the soft-shelled turtles. Hurry up and wash your face and come over. Do we have to carry you over in a sedan chair?”
The Team Captain had spoken, and since the whole team was waiting for him, Chen Fan didn't dare delay. He grabbed a washbasin and ran to the kitchen, took a bowl as a makeshift toothbrush cup, tore a small opening in the tooth powder packet, poured a little powder onto the toothbrush, and started brushing.
Surprisingly, this tooth powder was quite refreshing, even more so than some toothpastes. Why hadn't he seen this stuff in later years?
Shaking his head, he finished brushing his teeth, then washed his face, dumped the dirty water, ran back, and straightened his clothes. “Team Captain, I'm ready.”
Captain Yang nodded, stood up, and walked outside. As he passed Jiang Lili, he suddenly turned and looked at her. “You come too.”
Jiang Lili was taken aback at first, but when she realized what he meant, she nodded repeatedly. “Okay.”
She happily followed behind Chen Fan.
Chen Fan deliberately slowed down a few steps, waiting for Jiang Lili to catch up, and whispered, “What time is it?”
Jiang Lili looked up at the hazy sun. “It should be almost 8 o'clock.”
Chen Fan's eyes glazed over. So, it wasn't even 8 o'clock yet?
It's so cold, the sun probably doesn't rise until 6:30 at the earliest, maybe even 7. They came looking for him so early?
Doesn't anyone in the village sleep in when there's no farm work to do?
Jiang Lili saw his expression and couldn't help but smile slightly. She glanced at Captain Yang walking ahead with his hands behind his back, and quietly gestured for Chen Fan to hurry up and follow.
The production team didn't lock their doors during the day, and the Educated Youth Dormitory didn't have anything valuable, so Jiang Lili simply closed the door and ran to catch up with them.
Soon they reached the top of the slope, and from afar, they could see many people standing in the middle of the road chatting. Their voices were so loud that even the woods couldn't block them.
Yang Ju had already run home ahead of them, shouting loudly, “He's here, he's here!”
Goodness, the villagers who had been standing or squatting around just moments ago instantly came to life, craning their necks to look over.
Captain Yang was used to such scenes, and walked forward with his head held high and his hands behind his back.
Chen Fan was new to the area and couldn't help but feel a little awkward. Fortunately, he had worked in the corporate world for several years and had a strong mental fortitude. He kept a stiff smile on his face and nodded occasionally at some familiar faces.
Jiang Lili, on the other hand, kept her head down like a quail, closely following behind Chen Fan, not even daring to look up.
It only took a few steps to reach the entrance of Captain Yang's house.
A large pot had already been set up on the threshing ground, filled with steaming hot water, though it was a little cool now.
Next to it, two bamboo baskets were placed on the ground, filled with soft-shelled turtles. There were so many that it was hard to count them all.
On the other side, two wooden basins were placed on a makeshift table made of a door panel. The soft-shelled turtles in the basins had already been chopped into pieces, but their shells were covered in black and white patches, which must have been the failed experiments Yang Ju had mentioned.
Seeing Chen Fan arrive, Accountant Liu immediately squeezed forward, grinning. “I really couldn't tell, but you actually have this skill.”
He gave a thumbs up. “The soft-shelled turtle meat you made yesterday was really delicious, even better than chicken! Amazing!”
Keeper Huang also chimed in with a smile, “Soft-shelled turtles were just unwanted trash here before, but with you, they've immediately turned into treasure. You can be considered to have created revenue for our production team!”
Before Chen Fan could speak, an auntie shouted from the side, “What did I say yesterday? Just because he's not good at carrying water doesn't mean he doesn't have real skills.”
“Did you really say that? You clearly said that even if he goes to the fields, he won't earn 5 work points in a day.”
“Bah, you even said he was just for show.”
“…”
Well, yesterday's bashing was being rehashed again today.
Jiang Lili cautiously glanced at Chen Fan, afraid that he would be embarrassed, but to her surprise, he seemed unfazed, still smiling and exchanging pleasantries with Accountant Liu and Keeper Huang.
“I just happened to remember it, it was purely coincidental.”
Accountant Liu didn't care whether it was coincidental or not. He was more curious about something else. “I heard from the Team Captain that you said yesterday that this soft-shelled turtle is a famous dish and very nutritious?”
Chen Fan nodded. “That's right. Soft-shelled turtle is a very nourishing food. There's a saying that one turtle is equal to two chickens.”
Accountant Liu was surprised. “Oh, one turtle is equal to two chickens?”
The surrounding people also discussed excitedly, slapping their thighs in regret.
“In the past, every year when we drained the ponds, we threw away hundreds of turtles. Doesn't that mean we threw away more than a thousand chickens?”
“That's right. Our whole team has less than 300 people, so that's like three or four chickens for each person.”
“We wasted it all!”
A child heard the adults' words and immediately asked expectantly, “Mom, are we killing a chicken today?”
Someone immediately shouted from the side, “Kill a chicken! Let your mom kill all the chickens and have a good meal!”
“Huang Laojiu, are you lacking in morals? If the child cries later, I'll let him go to your house to kill your chickens.”
(End of Chapter)
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