My 1978 Hotel

"Aren't you hungry at all?"

Seeing that no one seemed to have much appetite, Li Feng took a bite of his meat bun and said with a smile. "Let me be frank, this is the best meal we'll have for the next two weeks. Everyone, be mentally prepared. The situation ahead will be very difficult. I hope you won't complain, but persevere and overcome the unfavorable objective conditions."

Liu Wen, Wu Jing and Chen Long were all thinking that this was the county town, but they had no idea where it was. The three of them suspected that they had been drugged. As for what crazy things Li Feng said, they didn't hear a word of it.

Only Li Muchen knew that Li Feng wasn't joking. He looked at Li Ran with some sympathy. Alas, it was a sin to have such a cruel father. "Li Ran, eat more. Don't starve."

"Oh."

Li Ran took the buns. Although he wasn't impressed by his father's words and felt a little embarrassed about wanting to deduct two houses, he was quite friendly towards Li Muchen, the rich second-generation brother. The other children, with the exception of the two chubby kids Wu Xiaotian and Zheng Guanwu, who were not picky eaters and ate heartily, were not too impressed by this simple breakfast that was even worse than what they saw at a street vendor.

Chen Jingyi took a bite of the bun and was not happy to eat it. It tasted bad. There was no way around it. The meat buns nowadays were made with pure fresh meat, so they definitely tasted worse than the meat buns made with various seasonings in some big stores in later generations.

As for fried dough sticks and porridge, Chen Zian, Chen Jingyi, Zheng Guanwen and Zhang Xiaole were not interested in them. Well, among the people at the table, only Li Feng, Li Muchen and the two little fat kids were having breakfast seriously.

"Young man, go to the intersection and ask if there's a bus going to the commune."

Li Feng thought for a moment and took out two yuan. "If the price is right, I can rent one."

"Okay, I'll go take a look."

Li Muchen took the money and the folding bike key and headed out. Li Feng wasn't idle either. He wiped his mouth and oiled it before standing up. "Everyone, pack up. We'll be leaving for the base soon."

There was actually nothing much for the children and the coach to pack. Each of them had a canvas bag, and Li Feng put a toothbrush, toothpaste, a set of clothes, a towel, and half a bar of soap in it. Li Feng did not prepare anything else.

I just asked everyone to take out their towels, especially Teacher Liu Wen.

"Teacher Liu, please wrap your hair for a while."

Liu Wen has long hair, which is not easy to wash. There is a serious water shortage in Hanjiaba now, so washing hair is too difficult. Now she has to hold on for as long as she can. It’s only ten days or half a month without taking a bath or washing her hair.

"Wrap your hair?"

Liu Wen was a little confused. She had never heard such strange words in her life.

"The roads are dusty, there's no way around it. Plus, there's a severe water shortage at the base, so washing your hair is highly unlikely for a while." Li Feng explained. "Especially for the girls. Boys are a bit better; they can just mess around with short hair."

When Liu Wen heard that she couldn't even wash her hair, she was shocked. "Boss Li, where are you taking us? If you don't tell us, we won't leave."

"Yes, Boss Li, you have to explain this to us clearly, otherwise we won't leave."

Chen Long immediately stepped forward, and Wu Jing echoed him. "Yeah, Boss Li, we're still confused. You have to tell us where this is. Otherwise, it'll be difficult for us to train without knowing."

"Okay, let's do this. I'll talk to you guys about it once we get in the car."

Li Feng agreed immediately. The three of them looked at each other and nodded. They were unfamiliar with the place, so they decided to listen to Li Feng first.

After a while, Li Muchen came back on a bicycle.

"How's it going?"

Seeing that there were no ox carts or horse carriages behind him, Li Feng asked, "Didn't you find a carriage?"

“We didn’t agree on a price.”

Li Muchen tied up his bike before speaking. "When I told them I was going to the Hanjiaba Brigade under Maya Commune, they asked for five yuan. After much persuasion, they agreed to four and a half yuan. So, I'm back."

"Four and a half dollars is too high."

"What about going to Maya Commune?"

"Three at most."

Li Muchen said helplessly. "I just asked around. Usually, vegetable farmers or other people delivering goods with empty trucks can get one and a half, or even two, dollars. But I don't have a truck right now, so I can only hire a truck for transportation around the county."

"Forget it, let's wait a bit and take the shuttle bus."

The shuttle bus costs five cents for children and ten and a half cents for adults, so five adults only cost sixty cents, plus seven children thirty-five cents, which adds up to less than a dollar. Wait a minute. Li Feng and Li Muchen were talking, and Liu Wen and the others were confused.

What car, three yuan, five yuan, what are you talking about, and commune, brigade, why don't you understand what they are saying, it's strange. The three of them still didn't dare to think about going back to the past, what an international joke.

"Everyone, pack up and we'll set off soon."

Li Feng checked the time. The earliest bus was still an hour away, so he decided to talk to Liu Wen, Wu Jing, and Chen Long about what was happening. They had time, and when the three of them heard they had arrived forty-five years ago, they were all delighted.

"Boss Li, this joke of yours is a bit too much."

"Yeah, Boss Li, stop joking." Chen Long was speechless. Why don't you say you are a god? Your last name is Li, why don't you say you are Nezha? This is easier to accept. Across time and space, I saw it in the movie.

Do you really think we are stupid fools? Liu Wen was even more angry. "Boss Li, don't make such a stupid joke."

"joke."

Li Feng simply sent the system information to the three people. They paused for a moment as a lot of information flooded their minds. Soon, they understood. "Boss Li, are you sure we are in 1978 now?"

"Yes."

Li Feng smiled. "To be precise, it's 1978 in a mountainous county town in southern Anhui. Now we're heading back to the impoverished brigade in the impoverished commune below the county town—what I call the secret base. Everyone, be prepared for the day and be prepared to eat only coarse food."

After the three of them heard it, they knew the information in their minds was not false, and this teaching would be unforgettable for a lifetime. No wonder Li Feng, the owner of the B&B, has always been full of confidence. Losing weight and changing the picky eating habits, apart from anything else, is probably no problem.

According to Li Feng, this is one of the poorest places in the country. People cannot even reach the level of food and clothing. They have to eat coarse grains and vegetables, which are pickles and wild vegetables, or even weeds.

"Tell me, are we hypnotized?"

Liu Wen thought of a possibility. She would rather believe that she was hypnotized and drugged than believe such nonsense as traveling through time and space.

"Maybe it's possible."

Chen Long nodded. This was feasible. After all, it was more in line with real-world logic. Crossing time and space was too incredible. "Wait, let's see. Sigh, maybe I'm hypnotized. I can't even say those two words." Help! That's right, this is about the system's secrets. The system won't give you a chance to speak now.

"Let's take one step at a time."

Wu Jing actually felt that Liu Wen was overthinking it a bit. You know, Boss Li had already secured hundreds of millions of dollars in investment, so there was no need to mess with them.

"Let's go, everyone. The bus will leave in ten or twenty minutes."

When the group arrived at the place, there were already some people in the cart in groups of three or four. Fortunately, it was a large cart pulled by two horses, so it was not a big deal to seat more than ten or twenty people.

"Wow, a carriage."

The little kids didn't know what they were going to face next, so they were quite happy and were running around the big carriage.

"Brother, buy a ticket."

Li Feng gave Li Muchen some instructions before calling the other children over. "We're going to the secret base by car later. It might take a while, so you can play some games or read some comic books."

Li Feng had some picture books in his canvas bag. The journey was quite long, and these little kids definitely needed to do something. "Cousin, cousin, stop watching and tell the kids to get in the car."

Liu Wen, Chen Long and Wu Jing were stunned for a moment before they remembered what Li Feng had just told them. They were here to play as Li Feng's cousins. As for this group of children, they were from the compound, picky eaters, and obese. They were not brought here to experience life in the countryside.

This disguised "going to the countryside" program, with one's own money and food, seemed a bit ridiculous to Liu Wen and the others, but it actually made sense now, especially with letters of introduction from official channels. After all, if there were more than a dozen young people, it might cause some unnecessary trouble.

But a few children are not a big problem. Besides, they can bring some benefits to the society. Even the county and the commune will not care. Maybe they even hope that Li Feng will find more children from the city to come to the countryside to experience life and pay for their living expenses.

"coming."

The three of them had no choice but to get on the carriage. The carriage set off slowly, leaving the county town and heading towards Maya Commune. The road was relatively flat, with occasional potholes and bumps, but Li Feng and Li Muchen were already used to it.

The other kids were very excited. The scenery here was completely different from what they had seen before. The ox carts, donkey carts, and especially the most common wheelbarrows and carts on the road were so interesting. As for the dust and bumps on the road, they didn't care at all for these excited children.

"Li Ran, your dad is so amazing. He can take us to such an interesting place with just a wave of his hand. He's just like Sun Wukong." Wu Xiaotian looked around. What an interesting unicycle, so fun. And that girl with big braids sitting on the cart... Hey, she was peeking at him.

In the future, Wu Xiaotian would be at most a little fatter and fairer, but now, he is so plump, fleshy, and fair-skinned that no one can help but take a few glances at him. You can never normally see such a lucky doll made of clay.

"Don't look blindly."

Li Feng patted Wu Xiaotian. "My father is going to be angry." Wu Xiaotian was really clueless. Didn't he see that the man pushing the wheelbarrow was carrying a hunting rifle? He was obviously a hunter, and he was taking a woman to visit the county town.

Maybe he was preparing some kind of dowry for his daughter. The little girl looked like she was about fifteen or sixteen years old. In today's age of malnutrition, she might be one or two years older. It was the right age to get married and have children.

Wu Xiaotian, the little fat boy, although Li Feng calls him little fat, is actually not small at all. He is about 1.78 meters tall and weighs more than 200 pounds. If he says he is twelve or thirteen years old, this guy doesn't know, and people will believe him if he says he is seventeen, eighteen or twenty years old.

Just look at you, an adult, staring at a little girl and making faces at her. If someone with a bad temper could hit you with a shotgun, you wouldn't have any way to complain.

"Oh."

Wu Xiaotian didn't quite understand why her father was angry, but since Uncle Li had said so, he didn't think it would be a good thing. He now admired Uncle Li very much, as he could take them to a strange place with just a wave of his hand.

This is incredible, just as powerful as Sun Wukong. Li Ran was speechless when he saw Wu Xiaotian obeying his father so much. He was also quite puzzled as to why his father brought them here. This place was obviously not Chicheng. Where on earth was this?

Li Ran racked his brains but couldn't figure out how his dad did it. No wonder Xiaopang thought it was magical.

"Okay, sit down."

Li Feng said seriously. "Did you all remember what I told you before we left?" The children definitely needed some instructions, and Li Ran had to be told not to call him dad. Li Ran didn't mind that.

The other children were also given some instructions and precautions. Fortunately, the time travel secrets were kept confidential under a confidentiality agreement, but they did need to change some of their habits. "Once we get to the secret base, I'll take you all to your homes for temporary accommodation."

"When the time comes, you will eat, drink and work in your respective homes."

Li Feng said with a smile. "I'll arrange for a young master to guide you and teach you some knowledge about cultivating fields and planting crops. Whoever learns well will receive a reward."

"Of course there will be punishment if you don't study well."

The kids nodded in unison, treating it like they were experiencing a farm. Little did they know, the lessons they were about to learn weren't going to be easy. Liu Wen and the other two were even more bewildered. Everything they'd seen along the way had completely overturned their perspectives.

"I'm afraid this isn't an actor?"

There are at least three to five hundred people along the way, not to mention a thousand. If they were all actors, the cost would be too high. Besides, as for the scenery, who has ever seen a scenery that is dozens of miles long? How much would it cost to cheat them? Do they deserve it?
"Could it be true that we have traveled through time and space to over forty years ago?"

At this moment, even Liu Wen, who had always believed that she was hypnotized, was a little shaken. How could this be possible? If this was true, then Boss Li must be a god. Apart from a god, who else could lead so many people across time and space?

This is simply a miracle. Liu Wen looked at Li Feng who was talking to the children. Is this possible? Then she looked at Li Muchen who was sitting quietly next to her and didn't seem surprised at all. Could it be that he knew it all along?

It seems so. If all this is true, it is not difficult to explain why Li Muchen, a rich second-generation, respects Li Feng so much.

After a while, the carriage arrived at Ma Ya. Li Feng asked everyone to get off quickly because the carriage was going to the next stop, Meijie, Jiuhua and other places.

"Everyone, take your backpacks with you and don't leave anything behind."

Li Feng jumped out of the car first and took the folding bicycle. "Everyone, follow me closely and watch out for cars on the road." Although there were few cars on the road, there were still some horse-drawn carriages, ox-drawn carts, bicycles, unicycles, and carts.

These little kids who are curious about everything love to get in front of other people's cars. If they are not careful and bump into them, it will be troublesome.

"Is this the commune?"

"Yes, see. Develop the economy and ensure supply. That's the commune's supply and marketing cooperative, the only one in the entire commune. Members usually buy their salt, soy sauce and other daily necessities here."

"Oh, that's the post office. I make phone calls and send letters and parcels over there."

"There's a food station in front. All the food and other things are here."

Then there's the breakfast shop. Actually, the commune isn't that big; it's just one street. "Come on, I'll show you around later. Now let's go to the Maya Commune compound and see if there's any oxcarts or anything. Otherwise, we'll have to walk back to Hanjiaba." (End of this chapter)