Chapter 47: The Loudspeaker
Chen Fan followed their example, placing his teacup on the ground beside his feet. He held the cigarette in his hand without smoking it, and smiled as he spoke. "I did go. The butcher who came today was Master Zhu from the food station."
Zhang Changjiang nodded. "Master Zhu is an old hand at this. He started learning to butcher pigs with his master when he was just a teenager, worked on his own for a few years after finishing his apprenticeship, then went to the food station to specialize in butchering once the public-private partnership was established. That makes it nearly twenty years now."
Chen Fan did a quick calculation – that would make him around 45 years old, right?
But thinking back to what Master Zhu had looked like earlier, he seemed younger than his actual age. In contrast, some villagers who were younger than him looked much more weathered.
Ye Shubao chuckled from the side. "And the one who made the pork feast was Liu the Cook from your Team 5?"
Before Chen Fan could answer, Xiao Liewen grinned and said, "Who else could it be? He handles all the weddings and funerals for several teams around there, and he's been making the pork feast all these years – why would they switch to someone else?"
Meeting the curious gazes of the men, Chen Fan nodded. "Yes, that's Master Liu."
Xiao Liewen let out a couple of hearty laughs, as if celebrating his own clever deduction.
Then he turned to look at Chen Fan, asking with slight curiosity, "He just made a pot of pork feast – didn't you make a pot of turtle meat?"
Chen Fan turned to face him directly. "I didn't make turtle meat, but I did make blood sausage – that's also part of the pork feast, though it's from Northeast China. I also made stir-fried pork liver and twice-cooked pork."
Zhang Changjiang was slightly surprised. "Oh? You can make Northeast-style pork feast dishes too?"
Before Chen Fan could respond, Xiao Liewen's face lit up with excitement. "You can make blood sausage?"
Chen Fan looked at him. "Ah, yes, I can."
Xiao Liewen looked at him with eager eyes. "Then when I butcher my pig at home next time, could you help me make blood sausage?"
He then turned to Zhang Changjiang and the others. "Let's see – it's been over twenty years since I last had that stuff. I'd almost forgotten what it tasted like, but now that he's mentioned it, my mind's full of thoughts about blood sausage – I'm so craving it."
Chen Fan nodded without hesitation. "Of course – it'd be my honor."
Being able to do something for a combat hero was an opportunity many people would beg for – why would he hesitate?
"Great, great, great!"
Xiao Liewen was beaming from ear to ear. "Oh my, how many years has it been since I've had a taste of that? I've really missed it."
Pausing for a moment, he looked at Chen Fan with even more anticipation. "Then can you make the full Northeast-style pork feast?"
Chen Fan chuckled. "Yes, I can. Actually, the Northeast pork feast isn't all that different from ours here – the main thing is that it uses pickled cabbage as the base..."
Before he could finish, Xiao Liewen slapped his thigh and laughed. "Right, right! It's the pickled cabbage – their pickled cabbage has such a strong, authentic flavor... Oh, my..."
Xiao Liewen suddenly let out a sigh. "It's been so many years since I've had those dishes. Back in the day, when our unit pulled back to Dandong, the first meal we had was pork feast. After we ate, we disbanded – and that was over twenty years ago. So I've been thinking about that taste for twenty years now."
After a two-second pause, he suddenly stood up. "No, I have to send someone to get Master Zhu over here. We'll butcher my pig tomorrow – I can't wait any longer."
Chen Fan was both amused and touched by this. He quickly stood up and pulled him back, smiling as he said, "Captain Xiao, if you're craving blood sausage right now, Captain Yang still has three links at his place – just send someone to buy one from him. Keep your pig for later, and I'll make you a vat of pickled cabbage. Then we can make a whole pot of Northeast pork feast, and you can have a few people learn how to do it with me. That way you'll have pickled cabbage to eat every year from now on – no need to rush it."
Xiao Liewen looked at him in surprise. "You're willing to teach us?"
Chen Fan smiled. "Why wouldn't I be? Today, I taught them all the dishes I made at Captain Yang's place too."
A hint of regret crossed his face as he spoke. "It's a shame we don't have fresh pig organs right now – otherwise I could teach you those dishes as well."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Changjiang immediately stood up and called down to Zhang Wenliang, who was busy arranging things below. "Sanhu! Sanhu!"
Zhang Wenliang looked up, then ran over quickly. "Uncle, what's the matter?"
Zhang Changjiang said, "Go to the communications room right now and call Officer Zhu. Ask him to help check if the food station has any fresh pig offal, buy a full set, and invite him for a drink when he brings it over."
"Got it!"
Without asking any questions, Zhang Wenliang turned and ran into the courtyard.
Chen Fan watched his retreating figure, then turned back to look at Zhang Changjiang, thoroughly confused. "Communications room?"
What era was this anyway? Did production brigades have telephones now?
Zhang Changjiang leaned back in his chair, saw Chen Fan's expression, picked up his teacup and took a sip before speaking slowly with a smile. "Our brigade has two lines – one east, one west – both running directly to the commune police station. They're communication lines laid before liberation, though they can only make one-way calls.
"Later, when we were building up the militia divisions, our militia regiment's communications squad modified these two lines. Every team now has a simple telephone, which can be used to contact the police station. In emergencies, a team can call the police station, and then the station can get in touch with all the other teams directly, spreading the message to the whole brigade in the shortest time possible."
As soon as he finished speaking, Ye Shubao added, "But we won't need to go through all that trouble much longer. Secretary Yang went to the commune meeting this time because they're going to set up a broadcasting station here at the brigade. Every team will get a loudspeaker installed – from now on, whenever we have something to announce, we just make an announcement through the loudspeaker at the brigade, and everyone in the whole brigade will know. That'll be much more convenient."
Chen Fan looked blank. He knew what broadcasting stations were – there'd be a utility pole with a metal loudspeaker mounted on it. Every morning at six o'clock, the broadcasts would start blaring out. It was a very vivid memory from his childhood.
But what kind of technical principle was behind a one-way telephone? Could it only call one specific number and no one else?
And why was it connected to the police station instead of having the brigade headquarters as the central hub that connected to the station?
He couldn't make sense of it.
But now he also understood why Officer Zhu had arrived so quickly when Captain Yang called out after he woke up the day before yesterday – they'd contacted him by phone.
One call, and then he'd ride over on his bicycle – that was indeed fast.
Meanwhile, now that Ye Shubao had brought up the topic of loudspeakers, the others immediately shifted their focus to it. Even Xiao Liewen forgot about the Northeast pork feast for the moment, as they eagerly discussed who would operate the loudspeaker in the future and who would keep the keys.
After quite a while, Zhang Wenliang came back out of the courtyard. "Uncle, Officer Zhu's out on rural patrol – he's not at the station. Officer Zeng answered the phone instead. He sent someone to the food station, and it just so happens Master Zhu is butchering a pig there – they have a full set of fresh offal, which they've reserved for us. But everyone at the station is busy and can't get away, so I have to go pick it up myself."
Zhang Changjiang waved his hand. "Take the horse and go quickly – Master Chen's going to make that pork feast for Captain Xiao."
Zhang Wenliang nodded. "Got it – I'm off then."
(End of Chapter)
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