Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 270 It depends on who we compare ourselves to.

Anquan followed behind Chen Fan and was about to enter the room when he saw Jiang Lili leaning on her cane, standing to the side with her head down, greeting him, "Hello, Cadre An."

"Okay, okay, hello."

An Quan responded blankly, then turned to look at Chen Fan, then at Jiang Lili, and asked, "What's wrong?"

Chen Fan pointed to Jiang Lili's foot and said, "She was on her way to work just now, planting rice seedlings in the paddy field, when she accidentally stepped on a clam shell and cut her foot with a gash about 5 centimeters long. That's all."

An Quan's expression immediately turned cold. "How could there be clam shells in a paddy field?"

After saying that, he turned and left, saying, "I can't talk to you anymore, I have to go and take a look."

From an official standpoint, he is a cadre stationed in the area, specifically in Team 6. If he affects spring planting, no matter how outstanding his achievements in animal husbandry are, he cannot avoid this stain.

Privately speaking, the people in Team 6 treated him quite well. Both Captain Yangs treated him like family. If a big problem were to occur, they would definitely not be able to get away with it.

Therefore, he naturally had to find out the situation and deal with it as soon as possible to minimize the impact.

Chen Fan quickly followed beside him and said, "It must have been a child playing with a clam shell that accidentally fell into the field. When I brought Jiang Lili back, Captain Yang was dealing with it."

Hearing this, An Quan's expression softened slightly. "Then we must investigate immediately and absolutely prevent similar incidents from happening again, especially those that could affect spring planting."

In the time it takes to exchange two sentences, they have already crossed the courtyard and arrived outside the gate.

Anquan turned around and said to Chen Fan, "I'll go check on the situation over there first. I'll look at your sample copy when I get back."

He paused for a moment, then continued, "I've already arranged for the cement and steel bars you wanted. Since you're building a house, you'll need a lot of cement, so I've arranged for 100 yuan worth for you. If you don't use it all, you can sell it to someone else, so it won't go to waste. The steel bars are more expensive; even though there aren't many, they'll still cost 50 yuan. Once you have the money ready, I'll have them delivered."

At this point, Anquan was in no mood for jokes, so Chen Fan nodded and said, "Okay, the money is ready. I'll cook lunch myself today. You can invite Captain Yang, Accountant Liu, and Warehouse Keeper Huang over for lunch later, and I'll give you the money then."

Anquan forced a smile, patted his arm, and chuckled, "You're so big, it's not even easy to pat your shoulder."

After saying that, he waved his hand, turned around, and walked quickly towards the paddy field.

Chen Fan waited until he had walked a little further away before turning around and entering the courtyard.

Back in the general office, he smiled at Jiang Lili and said, "It's alright. Brother An is going to go check out the site. He'll come back for lunch later."

Jiang Lili rolled her eyes slightly and nodded gently.

Chen Fan pointed to the chair, "Don't stand, sit down."

He sat down on the other side of the table and said with a smile, "Right now, lie down if you can, and sit if you can, and try to move around as little as possible. Wait for the wound to heal before slowly resuming your mobility. This way, you'll recover faster."

Jiang Lili wrinkled her nose, sat down while holding onto the corner of the table, and laughed, "I can't lie down. If I don't do something, I feel uncomfortable all over."

Chen Fan turned to look at her, smiled, and said, "Alright, then I'll give you a task."

Jiang Lili looked up at him, her eyes darting around, then suddenly her face lit up with joy. "You're writing a novel again?"

Chen Fan pointed at her, "You think you're so smart."

He picked up the tickets on the table again and said softly, "The second one is finished. It's still called 'On the Field of Hope.' I've prepared more than a dozen short stories, most of which are based on the ones you told me. I've combined them to create new stories."

If all goes well, it could become a series of stories. When the time is right, these dozen or so short stories could be compiled into a novel of over 500,000 words and published, allowing for another round of profit.

Hearing the first part of what she said, Jiang Lili's eyes sparkled, but when she heard the last sentence, she was speechless. "So you write novels to make money?"

Chen Fan waved the thick stack of ration coupons in his hand and laughed, "Otherwise what? Otherwise, who would give me so many ration coupons?"

Jiang Lili wrinkled her nose and said with a strange look, "I didn't mean anything by it. I just think that being a writer is quite sacred. People who can turn words into printed words are all very talented. I never thought of associating it with money."

Chen Fan separated the tickets again, glanced at her, and smiled, "Do you know how much money great writers used to make writing books?"

Jiang Lili gently shook her head, "I don't know."

Chen Fan stopped counting the tickets and smiled at her, "Then let me tell you, some big writers earn hundreds of thousands of yuan a year in royalties, do you believe it or not?"

Jiang Lili's eyes widened instantly. "No, no way!"

"hehe."

Chen Fan then started showing off some interesting anecdotes he had seen online before: "When Mr. Ba Jin published 'The Collected Works of Ba Jin,' in addition to the basic royalties, there were also print run royalties. The more books he sold, the higher his total royalties would be. One year, his royalties were more than 22 yuan. That was back in the 50s."

Similarly, Mr. Mao Dun received 19 yuan in royalties for his "Collected Works of Mao Dun," almost reaching 20 yuan. However, that was a one-time income; if his total income were included, it should have amounted to several hundred thousand yuan.

If we consider them to be great writers, then even someone slightly less prominent like Mr. Liang Bin, who received over 3 yuan in royalties for his book "The Spreading of Fire," is still quite a lot.

Mr. Liu Shaotang, a writer of "local literature," published four books 57 years ago, earning more than 18000 yuan in royalties. At that time, he spent 2500 yuan to buy a courtyard house in the capital. He described it as having "five rooms, one kitchen, one toilet, one storage room, and five jujube trees and five locust trees."

As Chen Fan spoke, he looked up at Jiang Lili and smiled, "Do you know where that courtyard house is?"

Jiang Lili shook her head blankly, "I don't know."

Chen Fan pointed to the portrait of Mr. Li on the wall behind him, "It's right next to where Mr. Li lives."

Jiang Lili looked up, her whole body numb.

These days, even the newest young workers who fight tooth and nail to get a factory job earn less than 20 yuan a month, while the older, more experienced workers only earn around 100 yuan. Meat costs a few cents a pound, and tuition is only one or two yuan a semester…

However, the writers' royalties were in the tens of thousands of yuan, which was completely beyond her imagination.

Chen Fan didn't stop there. "There was also Mr. Zhao Shuli. In the 5s, after receiving his royalties, he immediately spent 1 yuan to buy a three-courtyard house. Later, because the Writers' Association lacked office space, he donated it to the Writers' Association for office use. Then he spent another 5000 yuan to buy a slightly smaller courtyard house. Later, in 58, he left the capital and returned to his hometown, and donated that courtyard house as well."

After saying this, Chen Fan held up the vouchers in his hand and laughed, "So, after first reducing royalties and then canceling them altogether, all that was left were the benefits of vouchers. However,"

He carefully sorted the tickets and arranged them one on top of the other, spreading them out on the table in a fish-scale pattern. He chuckled softly, "Now that the person who made the decision to cancel royalties is gone, I guess the royalties system will be reinstated soon."

Jiang Lili finally came to her senses, let out a long breath, and looked at him with disbelief, "So much money?"

"uh-huh."

Chen Fan looked at her and smiled, "How about it, do you want to learn how to write articles with me? Once the royalty system is reinstated, you can earn some money too."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Lili quickly shook her head and said with an embarrassed smile, "Never mind, I can't write that."

Chen Fan said to her, "No one is born a writer. Mr. Lu Xun studied medicine before, but he later became a great writer. At his peak, his monthly royalties were several hundred silver dollars. Moreover, in order to earn more money, he deliberately wrote easy essays, which could be published in the newspaper with just a few words. On the other hand, novel writing is time-consuming and laborious, so he wrote less of those. See, even great writers find ways to make money. Don't you think they are more noble than Mr. Lu Xun and Mr. Ba Jin?"

"No no."

Jiang Lili quickly shook her head in denial, then smiled and said, "I never thought I could write articles."

Chen Fan smiled and said, "Then think it over carefully, and tell me when you've made up your mind."

Jiang Lili nodded gently, "Okay."

After a pause, she asked curiously, "Where did you learn all this?"

Chen Fan pursed his lips, lying came out of his mouth as soon as he said, "I saw it in an old newspaper, I forgot which year it was, it criticized writers for having too high incomes, and the data listed in it led to the abolition of the royalty system."

Jiang Lili nodded in realization, completely believing his words. She wrinkled her nose and said, "Actually, I think it's a bit exaggerated that a big writer can earn so much in royalties, but it's not unacceptable."

Chen Fan leaned back in his chair, looked at her, and smiled, "Oh, really?"

Jiang Lili nodded and said seriously, "This is what I think. Literary works are also spiritual nourishment. They can improve readers' spiritual cultivation and enrich people's cultural life. If they are well-written, it is only right that they receive more royalties. Because their royalties are not paid by one person. It's just like a factory producing products. Because the product quality is good, more people like it, and naturally more people will buy it, and then the profits will be higher. It's all the same principle."

Chen Fan smiled at her, offering no further explanation. The quality of a literary work and the amount of royalties are not necessarily related; rather, they are related to market preferences. He couldn't explain this to her clearly, and if he continued, she probably wouldn't dare listen, even if he dared to.

He paused for two seconds, then looked at Jiang Lili and smiled, "Did you come up with these yourself?"

Jiang Lili blushed slightly and shook her head gently. "No, it was something my sister told me before. At that time, the cotton mill proposed to reward workers who produced more products by issuing bonuses based on the production volume. There was a lot of debate in the factory, and my sister also discussed this matter at home. That's what she said at the time, and I just thought the situation was similar, so I said it too."

Chen Fan was somewhat surprised, not expecting Jiang Tiantian to have such insight.

This concept might seem self-evident to people in later generations, but it was groundbreaking in this era. Because all production had to follow a "plan," the factory's task was to complete the production tasks assigned by superiors. As for voluntarily exceeding the tasks, it did happen, but it was extremely rare. If such people could endure it, they would basically become prominent figures after a few years, with unlimited potential.

Bringing himself back to reality, Chen Fan said to Jiang Lili, "Remember, don't tell anyone else these things."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Lili's face immediately lit up with a bright smile, and she chuckled softly, "I'm not that stupid. Don't say such things, I won't tell anyone else a single word of what you just told me."

She pursed her lips, a hint of melancholy in her eyes. "In other people's eyes, I'm a latecomer, someone who needs help. If I dare to say anything related to money, they'll think I'm thinking about getting rich."

She looked up at Chen Fan and said, "So, there are many things I'll only tell you, and I won't tell anyone else."

Chen Fan raised an eyebrow and gave her a thumbs up. "Smart."

In fact, this is why he dared to say these things to Jiang Lili. A person who is not accepted by others will not listen to anything she says; they will only judge her based on their own preconceived notions.

Perfect timing! Chen Fan, who had many secrets on his mind, became quite uninhibited when chatting with Jiang Lili, daring to say things he wouldn't tell anyone else. Jiang Lili thoroughly enjoyed this feeling of being trusted and naturally regarded him as a confidant.

Faced with Chen Fan's praise, Jiang Lili smiled shyly and said, "This is something my sister taught me: don't say these kinds of things to anyone else, it's best not to say anything at all."

Chen Fan's eyebrows immediately shot up. "So I'm not human?"

Jiang Lili blushed slightly and looked up at Chen Fan, "No way."

She paused for a moment, then grinned and said, "You believe me, that's why you're saying these things to me. So I believe you too, that's why I'm saying these things to you."

Chen Fan pursed his lips and smiled, nodded slightly, then exhaled a long breath, pointed to the tickets and certificates on the table, and said with a smile, "Guess what's here?"

Jiang Lili peeked inside and exclaimed, "Wow, so many industrial coupons, and even grain and oil coupons?"

陈凡点了点头，指着票证说道，“20张工业券、100斤全国粮票、10斤油票，20尺布票、1斤糖票、5两茶叶票、10盒烟票。就这些。”

Jiang Lili's eyes widened. "So many?"

Chen Fan took a deep breath, thought for a moment, and said, "It's not a lot. If we follow the old royalty system, it's 4 to 15 yuan per thousand words. My novel has more than 38,000 words. At the minimum standard, it should be 152 yuan. If we take the middle value of 10 yuan, then it's more than 300 yuan."

He looked up and smiled, "Compared to these ration coupons, do you think there are too many or too few?"

Jiang Lili was speechless.

A pound of grain coupons is worth only 4 cents. Grain coupons nationwide are half as expensive, so 100 pounds is only 6 yuan. Industrial coupons are not particularly scarce now, and you can buy one for about 1 yuan, which is only 20 yuan. Although other coupons are all good things, their value is still far less than that of royalties.

However, it depends on who you're comparing it to.

Compared to ordinary workers, these coupons might take a long time to accumulate, let alone production team members who only have one chance to obtain coupons per year.

Chen Fan, however, obtained so many tickets with just one article.

She didn't know what to say.

If Chen Fan's examples of those great writers had only had a spiritual impact on her earlier, now she was experiencing it firsthand.

Chen Fan suddenly put away the tickets and chuckled, "This is my secret stash. Don't tell anyone, especially since there are so many tickets. If anyone asks, just say you don't know anything."

Jiang Lili smiled at him and said, "Okay."

She rarely spoke to anyone else, except for Huang Ying and the others. Just from Chen Fan's words, she knew that she was closer to him.

Thinking of this, her face flushed slightly again.

Chen Fan carefully put away the small envelope and then went to get the magazine.

Jiang Lili quickly said, "I haven't seen it yet."

Chen Fan said, "Alright, you can take one, but don't damage it. This is the sample copy that published my first novel. The brigade headquarters has already taken one copy, so we can't give you any less."

Jiang Lili looked at him and chuckled, saying, "But you clearly still have two more books."

Chen Fan stared wide-eyed. "What do you mean? You don't want a copy, do you?"

Jiang Lili just smiled and looked at him without saying anything.

Chen Fan looked at her, then at the sample magazine she was holding in her arms. After thinking for several seconds, he gritted his teeth and said, "Fine, fine, take it."

Jiang Lili nodded immediately, "Thank you."

She then stood up, leaning on her crutches, and walked happily towards her room. She was afraid that someone else would come and block her way, demanding a sample copy from Chen Fan, and she might lose her copy.

Chen Fan watched her from behind with a smile, "Slow down, no one's going to take it from you."

Jiang Lili, however, used her crutch to fly on one leg and returned to her room in no time.

Chen Fan packed his things away, took them to his room, and then went to prepare lunch.

Since Huang Ying and the others moved in, Chen Fan has cooked much less often, which has seriously affected his culinary skills. If it weren't for the occasional tofu grinder or braised dish he makes, his culinary experience points probably wouldn't have increased at all. The culinary experience points he gained in the past two months were earned by being hired to cook for others; it's like a hero with no opportunity to use his skills.

As the saying goes, whatever you fear will come.

As soon as he entered the kitchen, Jiang Lili came over, leaning on her crutches. "I only injured my foot, not my hand. How can I let you cook? I'll do it."

Chen Fan looked at her with a helpless expression, "Now I believe what you just said."

Jiang Lili's eyes were full of confusion. "Which sentence?"

Chen Fan said, "I feel uneasy if I don't do some work."

Jiang Lili smiled and was about to speak when she saw Chen Fan wave his hand and say, "I just told Brother An that I'm treating him, Captain Yang, Warehouse Keeper Huang, and Accountant Liu to lunch today. I really have to cook this meal."

Hearing this, Jiang Lili regretfully gave up, saying, "Alright then."

Then he added, "However, I'll be cooking for you these next few days, so you can't take the meals from me again."

Chen Fan shrugged and said, "Fine, I won't steal it."

Once Jiang Lili left, he began to act.

He definitely needed to have a set of cured pork, cured fish, and cured sausage on hand. These four girls were reluctant to put too much meat in their cooking, only putting in a few slices each time, and most of it ended up in his bowl. So far, he's only eaten less than half of his stock.

Taking advantage of their absence, Chen Fan naturally gave them a good beating.

Then, in the large fish tank in the shed behind the kitchen, I scooped out a grass carp, which is enough to make two more dishes.

Then, in the backyard, I picked some of the newly planted vegetables, and that was pretty much it.

While he was busy in the yard, Jiang Lili quietly ran out again and took the vegetables to wash.

Chen Fan saw this but didn't stop her. He just told her not to splash water on her injured foot, otherwise she would have to change the dressing.

Then the two of them went about their own business in the yard.

Jiang Lili worked quickly and soon finished washing all the vegetables. She put them in several baskets on a shelf to the side, then walked to the eaves with her cane. Looking at Chen Fan slicing fish and the chickens running around in the yard, she felt a sense of satisfaction and warmth, just like when her father was still alive and well, and the four of them were happy together.

Then, the warmth shattered.

Chen Fan turned to look at her and said irritably, "I told you to stand less, but you insisted on standing. You won't listen to me."

Jiang Lili pouted, turned around and walked to a chair to sit down. Then she glanced at the yard and asked, "Where are Duoduo and Qiuqiu?"

Chen Fan pointed in the direction of the brigade headquarters, "They stayed with Captain Xiao. It's the same old brother of his, Uncle Lin, who loves playing with dogs. Duoduo and Qiuqiu are playing with him."

The dog training methods Lin Yuanxiang mentioned were insignificant in Chen Fan's eyes. Wasn't it just about teaching dogs how to understand commands? Did they even need training? Wasn't it enough to just talk to them?

However, the methods he mentioned for training warhorses, which could improve the horse's running speed and endurance, were indeed effective when Chen Fan tried them on a mare. However, given the mare's intelligence, she learned them in just two days, so there was nothing left for Lin Yuanxiang to take away.

Chen Fan felt that he was not as skilled as Lao Peng, at least he had learned archery, throwing stones and setting traps from Lao Peng.

Jiang Lili didn't know any old man Lin, but she knew he was Captain Xiao's old friend. Hearing that Duoduo and Qiuqiu were with them, she felt relieved and quietly watched Chen Fan busy himself.

Time was of the essence, and all the dishes were prepared just before the end of the workday. As usual, there were two tables, one in the common room and the other in the kitchen.

The table had just been set and the food served when the sounds of friends calling to each other could be heard outside the courtyard.

Someone even shouted from outside the courtyard wall, "Teacher Chen, you must have cooked today!"

"Only Teacher Chen's cooking is so delicious; even the head chefs at the commune restaurant can't compare."

"Teacher Chen, when are you going to host another feast?"

Chen Fan didn't stand on ceremony and shouted, "Sure, hurry up and find a wife. I'll throw you a wedding banquet."

A burst of laughter erupted from outside, "Yang Weiguo, aren't you going to find your wife? When will you get to eat Teacher Chen's cooking if you don't find your wife?!"

Yang Weiguo quickly begged for mercy, "I can't afford it, I can't afford it..."

Chen Fan walked slowly towards the courtyard gate. He breathed a sigh of relief. The villagers were all in good spirits, so it seemed that Captain Yang and An Quan had already handled the matter from this morning.

Amidst the laughter, a safe voice came from inside, "Teacher Chen, we're back! Is the food and drinks ready?"

Chen Fan happened to be walking to the door and laughed, "The food and wine are ready, we're just waiting for you to arrive."

(End of this chapter)