Chapter 56: Kidney-Shaped Basin
The next day, Chen Fan went out again to teach people how to butcher turtles.
He'd gone to Team 5 yesterday; today he was heading to Teams 4 and 7, then Teams 8 and 9 tomorrow to finish his task.
Work at Team 4 went smoothly, and when he was about to leave, the team leader also gave him a basket of supplies – pretty much the same as what Team 5 had given him the day before.
Rice, cured meat, cured fish, cotton, rapeseed oil, pickled vegetables, homemade soy sauce, homemade vinegar, chili sauce, pickled vegetables.
Not a single new item – Chen Fan suspected they'd all coordinated beforehand.
Even if they'd replaced one jar of chili sauce with a few lotus roots, that would have been nice.
With all that oil available, it would be a shame not to fry some lotus root sandwiches.
And there were so many other fried treats he could make – radish balls, tofu balls, sesame glutinous rice balls, sweet potato chips, crispy pork strips, fried dough twists, fried fish pieces, meatballs, egg rolls, spring rolls...
Oh man, he could almost taste them already.
No, he had to find a way to trade for some flour and glutinous rice flour in the next few days – he had to recreate all those New Year treats he'd eaten as a kid to satisfy his cravings.
After finishing up and getting ready to leave, just like at Team 5 the day before, Team 4's leader arranged for the militia squad leader to ride a mule and take him to the next stop at Team 7.
But as they passed by a house, Chen Fan saw an old man doing woodworking, with a brand-new large wooden basin sitting beside him. His heart immediately leaped with excitement, and he turned to the squad leader. "Squad Leader, is that wooden basin for sale?"
The squad leader looked from Chen Fan to the basin and smiled. "You want it, Master Chen?"
Chen Fan nodded vigorously. "Yeah, I really want it."
Then he laughed awkwardly. "I don't have any money though – but I can trade these things for it."
He meant the supplies they'd just given him. If the trade went through, it would be like he hadn't accepted any supplies from Team 4 and was just taking the big wooden basin home.
But just thinking about being able to take a proper bath made it worth giving up those supplies!
He just wasn't sure if the trade would be fair – from what he remembered, big wooden basins were quite expensive.
But the squad leader looked displeased as soon as he heard this. "You look down on us, don't you? You came all this way to work hard for us, and you're only taking a wooden basin home – that's not right!"
Without another word, he dismounted and walked straight over, calling out loudly, "Dad! Master Chen likes that wooden basin – I'm giving it to him!"
Well then, he'd walked right into this one.
The old man looked up with a smile, revealing a set of yellow teeth. "Good, good! It's an honor that Master Chen appreciates my humble craftsmanship – it's his, take it!"
He then put down his tools and stood up straight. "I also have some bamboo baskets, wicker baskets, and smaller wooden basins – I'll throw those in too."
Chen Fan quickly dismounted and went over to stop him, speaking earnestly. "No, no, no – it's not easy for you to make these things. I can't just take them for free! How about I trade..."
"Stop right there!"
The squad leader shouted, glaring at Chen Fan. "What, you really look down on us?"
Chen Fan waved his hands frantically, a wry smile on his face. "Squad Leader, how could I look down on you? It's just..."
Now he understood what people meant when they said "a scholar meets a soldier – reason goes out the window." Had buying something somehow turned into a conflict?
Luckily, the team leader heard the commotion and came over. "What's going on here?"
The squad leader pointed at the big wooden basin, his face full of grievance. "Master Chen likes this wooden basin. I said we'd give it to him, but he insists on trading those supplies for it."
Upon hearing this, the team leader also looked unhappy, his eyes wide as he said, "Master Chen, that's too much!"
Chen Fan pulled a long face – how was he being too much?
All he wanted was a bathing tub, but he had no money, so he had to trade with supplies... Wait, could it be that they were upset he was using the supplies they'd given him to trade?
Would it be better if he used the supplies from Team 5 instead?
The team leader let out a long sigh. "The brigade headquarters gave us guidelines, and we're following them strictly. To be honest, there's not much here in the countryside that we can call valuable – if there were, we'd definitely put together a gift worth twenty or thirty yuan.
"Now look at this wooden basin – it doesn't cost much to make. It just takes some wire and tung oil; the wood is cedar that grows right here in the village. We just get a permit from the brigade headquarters, deduct a few work points, cut it down and let it dry, and it's ready to use. The labor doesn't count for much either.
"Even back when markets were still allowed, this basin would only sell for two or three yuan at most – not even worth the price of a whole piece of meat.
"We know you're trying to be kind by not wanting to take the supplies and want to trade for the basin instead. But we may be poor, but we have our pride – things should be done the way they're supposed to be done. The brigade set the standard, so we'll follow it.
"Besides, the brigade also said each team can add some inexpensive items as they see fit. So I'm making the call – we'll add this wooden basin to your gift."
He then pointed at Chen Fan seriously. "Don't worry about it – we'll arrange for someone to deliver it to you with a cart."
Chen Fan's mouth hung open as he stared blankly at the team leader – was that what he'd meant?
Did they know how much a big wooden basin like this would sell for decades later?
1,200 yuan!
When the team leader saw he still wasn't speaking, his expression changed slightly. "What, you really do look down on us?"
Chen Fan snapped his mouth shut, nodded, then quickly shook his head. "I just mean we can't let Uncle lose out."
The team leader laughed heartily. "Don't worry about that – we'll count this basin as a requisition and convert it into work points for him. He won't lose out."
By this time, other team members had gathered around and were all chiming in to persuade him:
"Master Chen, just take it – it's just a wooden basin, what's the big deal?"
"We know you're being kind, but we're not short of these things. Just take it!"
Looking at the sincere faces of the villagers, Chen Fan suddenly thought of a joke from his later years.
A poor relative visits a wealthy relative and receives two sets of old clothes when they leave. Then the wealthy relative visits the poor relative, who gives them a whole pile of cured meat, cured fish, homemade rapeseed oil, and other good things you can't buy in stores – all while worrying the wealthy relative won't like the gifts.
He wasn't a wealthy relative, and they weren't poor relatives. It was true that farmers could be difficult at times, but when it came to people they considered "one of their own," they were willing to give their hearts and souls!
Thinking of this, warmth filled Chen Fan's heart. He cupped his hands in a gesture of thanks to the team leader and the surrounding villagers. "Then thank you all – thank you so much."
The team leader slapped his thigh, his face beaming with joy. "There we go! That's more like it!"
Then he called out, "San Gouzi! Hitch up the donkey cart – help Master Chen take this stuff back."
He pointed at the basket on the squad leader's mule. "Might as well take all these supplies back too – make the trip easier."
And so, Chen Fan ended up with an extra big wooden basin.
As they watched Chen Fan ride off into the distance, the villagers murmured among themselves:
"What does Master Chen want a kidney-shaped basin for?"
"Probably for butchering turtles – he's a master craftsman, handles a lot at once, so he needs a big basin to hold them."
"Could be."
"Either way, it's definitely not for bathing."
"You fool – who would bathe in a kidney-shaped basin? That'd be like bathing a pig – how much water would it take?!"
(End of Chapter)
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