Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 258 Personal Observation
After reading the announcement aloud and explaining it again, clarifying all the details, Chen Fan finally asked Zhang Cuie to turn off the broadcast.

He then handed her the document and said, "Look at this document. What's different about it compared to the notice I just read?"

Zhang Cuie took the document, quickly glanced at it, thought for a moment, and said, "This uses formal written language; the notice you just read was more conversational."

Chen Fan smiled and nodded. "Do you know why we made these changes?"

Zhang Cuie looked at him. "Is it to make things clearer for everyone?"

Chen Fan laughed and said, "You're right, but you haven't grasped the essence of things. What is the essence? The essence is the audience. Most of our members are illiterate, or semi-literate after graduating from literacy classes. They can recognize a few words, but when it comes to reading books, newspapers, or listening to documents, they are mostly completely clueless. You can read the documents aloud until your mouth is dry, and they still won't understand what it means."

He paused for a moment, then gestured for Zhang Cuie to sit down and continued, “Let me give you an example. Decades ago, some progressive people went to factories, docks and other places where poor workers gathered to spread advanced ideas. At first, they spoke passionately on the stage, but not a single worker was willing to stop and listen to them.”

They couldn't understand why no one was willing to listen to them when they were fighting for the workers' rights. They thought their speeches at school weren't like this, so there shouldn't be anything wrong with their speeches, but people just wouldn't listen, which made them feel very discouraged.

But when they encountered difficulties, they couldn't give up halfway, so they went to investigate and research, and finally discovered that the problem actually lay with themselves.

It turned out that their speech was too literary. The students could understand it, but the workers couldn't understand it at all, let alone what they were saying. Naturally, no one wanted to listen to them.

To address this issue, they removed the platform used for their speeches, changed out of their neat and tidy student uniforms and long gowns, and dressed in their simplest clothes. They sat down with the workers and chatted about meals, income, and life, empathizing with their experiences. Using the simplest language, they promoted progressive ideas to the workers, and naturally, they achieved great success.

After listening to Chen Fan's words, Zhang Cuie said thoughtfully, "So when we read the notices to the commune members now, it's the same. The things on the documents are for the cadres to see, but the commune members may not understand them. So we should learn from the revolutionary predecessors and explain them to the commune members in a way that they can understand."

Chen Fan nodded with satisfaction. "That makes sense, but we can extend it further. When you're a broadcaster in the production team, your way of speaking needs to be down-to-earth. But if one day you become a radio announcer, things will be different. That's because the audience has changed."

Another point is that announcers have their own set of standards; they must use standard Mandarin and correct pronunciation, without making a single mistake, yet the audience must be able to understand them. So what do you do then?

Zhang Cuie opened her eyes wide. What should I do?
Chen Fan laughed and said, "I've noticed that you've been studying electrical appliance repair these past few days, but you haven't been paying much attention to your broadcasting practice. Do you think that being a broadcaster is just about reading from a script and as long as you pronounce the Mandarin correctly, that's enough?"

Seeing Zhang Cuie nod with a blush, Chen Fan smiled and continued, "In a production team or a commune, of course, you need a jack-of-all-trades. Whoever knows more will naturally be more sought after and will be in high demand by many units."

But the higher you climb, the more specialized you need to be. If you have a good family background and can master either broadcasting skills or electrical repair techniques, and make some achievements here, you will definitely have the opportunity to work in a unit in the commune or even the county.

However, on a higher platform, it is not necessarily necessary to be a "jack-of-all-trades," because their units have their own announcers or repairmen. If you do two jobs, you are likely to offend your colleagues and you are not professional enough. It is far better to do one job well.

I told you all that for two reasons. First, I wanted to tell you that the technical skills required for a broadcaster are no less than those for an appliance repairman; the only difference is the career path. Second, I wanted you to think carefully about which direction you plan to pursue in the future.

If you want to be an appliance repairman, then I will focus on teaching you science, especially electronics. If you want to be a broadcaster, then you need to shift your focus to the humanities. You need to not only study Mandarin diligently, but also learn how to extract key points from a script, that is, to transform the content of the broadcast into your own words. In addition, you need to read widely to increase your knowledge base, broaden your horizons, and even learn foreign languages.

In other words, besides being a broadcaster, you also need to be able to take on the roles of narrator and commentator…

Zhang Cuie was only fourteen or fifteen years old. Although she was determined to learn, she couldn't understand much, especially since she didn't have a clear understanding of the positions of announcer and repairman.

Climb up? What would the announcer be like after climbing up? What would the repairman be like? She had no idea. She only knew that the production team's broadcaster did nothing but turn the radio on and off every day, occasionally read out announcements, and might also repair the broadcasting equipment and radios.

Oh, by the way, the radio station has been built for two months and the radio hasn't broken down yet. I wonder if my knowledge of electrical repair will be of any use.

Now that Chen Fan is asking her which path she wants to choose, how can she possibly answer?

However, although she didn't know how to choose, she had her own little tricks up her sleeve.

If you don't understand it yourself, then ask someone who does.

Teacher Chen is so capable, he must know which one is better to choose.

So she turned around, picked up the kettle, filled Chen Fan's teacup, and then held the teacup with both hands, presenting it to Chen Fan with a grin, saying, "Teacher, I'll listen to you. Whichever one you say I should choose, I'll choose."

Chen Fan took the teacup and looked at her with surprise. Hey, she's really a clever little devil.

……

In the corridor outside the broadcasting room, Lin Yuanxiang waved lightly to Xiao Liewen, then turned and left. Xiao Liewen glanced at the broadcasting room door, then turned back to look at the old company commander's back with a strange expression, pursed his lips, and followed him. Neither of them uttered a sound throughout. After descending the small building and leaving the backyard, Xiao Liewen looked back and whispered, "Brother, didn't you say you wanted to check on Xiao Chen's work performance? Why didn't you check?"

Lin Yuanxiang chuckled twice, his hands behind his back, "Haven't I already finished watching it?"

Xiao Liewen pursed his lips, "That's all so mysterious."

Lin Yuanxiang ignored him and asked, "That little girl, is she the niece of the brigade leader you just mentioned?"

Xiao Liewen: "Yes, my little niece, she's the youngest of this generation."

He paused for a moment, then laughed and said, "I know what you mean. You think it's wrong to let a girl learn a skill instead of arranging for a man."

Let me tell you, although Gufeng County is just a small county, it has been a civilized place since ancient times due to its reliance on the Yangtze River for water transport. The phenomenon of valuing sons over daughters does exist here, but it is not very serious. Except when leaving an inheritance or dividing the family property, daughters are not given a share. Otherwise, the treatment of sons and daughters is not too different. Even if there are those who are still hoping to have a son, they will not mistreat their daughters.

Xiao Chen took Zhang Cuie as his student for two reasons. Firstly, Zhang Cuie was indeed a promising student. Secondly, the production team had recently selected veterinary students and had taken her spot, so he felt somewhat indebted to her. Therefore, when Xiao Chen offered to take her on again, Zhang's family naturally wouldn't take away her opportunity.

On the other hand, Zhang Cuie was still a member of the Zhang family. Once she learned her skills, not only would the Zhang family be obligated to help her, but if the other families in the brigade asked her to take on apprentices, she would have no reason to refuse. Therefore, from beginning to end, no one objected. Moreover, both the Zhang family and the brigade had to remember Xiao Chen's favor.

Lin Yuanxiang suddenly stopped, pursed his lips and nodded, "Letting a girl become an apprentice, and to learn the skills of being a broadcaster and an appliance repairman, that would be absolutely impossible back home. Here, one dares to take her in and the other dares to let her go, which is much better than back home."

Xiao Liewen grinned awkwardly. What could he say when the old company commander complained about the customs and habits of his hometown?

The mentality of Chinese people has always been "only allowing themselves to criticize, only allowing others to praise." I can smear my hometown to death, but try to find out if someone else says a bad word about it? I'll smash their head in!

Since he couldn't say, he simply changed the subject, "You asked me to show you Xiao Chen's work situation, and now you've seen it, what do you have to say?"

Lin Yuanxiang put his hands behind his back, raised his head and thought for a moment, then said, "I just arrived here and met this Xiao Chen. It's fate."

He turned to look at Xiao Liewen and chuckled softly, "When I came over just now, he helped me with my luggage, and I deliberately didn't refuse, but he didn't even mention inviting me to ride a horse. Isn't that interesting?"

Xiao Liewen's face darkened. "You wouldn't refuse to teach him just because he didn't ask you to ride a horse, would you? Let me tell you..."

Before Xiao Liewen could finish speaking, Lin Yuanxiang waved his hand and said, "That's not what I meant. His not inviting me to ride a horse is not a negative point, but rather a positive one."

Xiao Liewen looked at him in surprise, completely not understanding what he meant.

Lin Yuanxiang laughed and said, "He offered to help me carry my luggage, which shows he has a kind heart, but he didn't offer me a ride on his horse, which shows that even kindness has its limits and he's not a pushover. You only know that we martial artists would never teach a truly wicked person, but you don't know that we can't teach a pushover either."

Xiao Liewen asked, puzzled, "Why is that?"

Lin Yuanxiang snorted, "Because good-natured people are most likely to meddle in other people's business and fight for justice. Meddling in other people's business means they are prone to getting into trouble. If they get into too much trouble, even if they don't want to, others will force them to fight to the death. Such people will either kill others or be killed by others in the end. Teaching them is a waste of time and may even harm them. It's better not to teach them in the first place to avoid them losing their lives and possibly bringing disaster to their families."

Xiao Liewen nodded in realization, "That makes some sense."

Lin Yuanxiang added, "Just now, watching him teach that girl, he seemed quite like a master. He taught her both 'skills' and 'principles,' letting the girl know how to walk her path in the future. From this, it seems he has an excellent character."

He turned to look at Xiao Liewen and smiled, "However, these are all minor details. My killer move is not something that just anyone can learn. Minor details are commendable, but a greater sense of righteousness is even more important. Don't tell him who I am or what I'm here for yet, and don't give him any hints. I need to observe him personally during this time to see if he is a good man."

Xiao Liewen snorted twice, "What did you say before? Good apprentices are hard to find, and you asked all the brothers to keep an eye out for them. Now that you've found one, you're acting all high and mighty."

He then put his hands behind his back and strode forward, saying, "Let's see how you try to cause trouble."

Lin Yuanxiang turned around and looked at his back, and couldn't help but glare at him coldly. Hey, this guy still dares to fight back?

But no one noticed that Xiao Liewen was all smiles, almost humming a tune from "Surprise Attack on the White Tiger Regiment".

(End of this chapter)