Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 316 Taobao (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

The car drove out of the school gate and traveled a short distance before pulling over to the side of the road.

The sidecar motorcycle had already driven off and was waiting ahead.

Chen Fan waved goodbye to the senior experts, got off the car, and got into the sidecar of a tricycle, heading north.

He only mentioned it to Yan Liyuan yesterday, and Yan Liyuan immediately called the director of the waste recycling company and gave him a letter of introduction so he could go to Taobao anytime.

Today, I was teaching at school until 2 or 3 pm. It wouldn't be enough time to go to other hospitals then, so I decided to go to the waste recycling company in advance.

In less than half an hour, the tricycle arrived at the destination.

While still on the embankment, the rider turned to Chen Fan and said, "This whole area is the factory area of ​​a waste recycling company. Let's go find their director first and see what he has to say."

Chen Fan nodded. "Okay."

His gaze remained fixed on what was below.

When Jiang Tiantian pointed it out to him yesterday, he felt like there were only two large factory buildings here. Even though Jiang Tiantian told him that the place was actually very big, he didn't get a very intuitive feeling about it.

When we got closer, we realized that this place was not just big, probably as big as two football fields. However, because it was built on a dam, it couldn't be that wide, so it became a long and narrow strip. At both ends were two super large factory-style buildings, from which the roar of machines could be heard without any attempt to hide.

Do waste recycling companies have machines?
Chen Fan felt it was a bit magical.

Other areas are divided into different zones, some of which look like office areas, some are unloading areas, and some are shipping areas. Although the entire factory area has different functions, it is not too messy and everything is in good order.

Just as he was letting his thoughts wander, the sidecar rushed down a long slope. Zhang Juemin and Zhang Wenliang, sitting behind the rider, both felt strange. "Why do we get dizzy when riding in a car downhill, but not when riding a motorcycle?"

Chen Fan casually remarked, "Because cars have a shell that covers you, but motorcycles don't."

The three of them, including the rider, all looked at him at the same time. "Really?"

Chen Fan was speechless. What was he supposed to say? That he was just making things up?

Fortunately, the slope soon came to an end.

This is a small open space. On the riverside, there is a two-story building with people constantly going in and out. When they see the tricycle coming, many people cast curious glances at it.

There are quite a few tractors and trucks coming to the scrap metal recycling company, but sidecar motorcycles are indeed rare, and it's even more unusual to see the words "Sanitation Department" painted on the sidecar.

The rider usually only cares about getting the person to their destination and doesn't care about anything else, while the driver sits comfortably on the vehicle.

Chen Fan then got out of the sidecar himself.

At this moment, Zhang Juemin chuckled and said to him, "Little Chen, why don't you go by yourself and we won't go?"

Zhang Wenliang nodded repeatedly, "It's not that we don't want to go in with you, it's just that seeing books gives us a headache."

The facial expressions were also particularly exaggerated to convey authenticity.

Chen Fan was speechless. "I'm not trying to criticize you, but learning is a lifelong endeavor. Mr. Li continued to read and study even in his later years, and he even hired a tutor to practice his English. You should learn from Mr. Li!"

The three of them widened their eyes in surprise. "Mr. Li is learning English?"

Chen Fan nodded. "That's right, didn't you read the introduction to Mr. Li's deeds?"

These words stunned the three of them, and they didn't dare to utter a sound.

Chen Fan then realized that his words were a bit heavy in this day and age, and quickly said, "Mr. Li started learning English when he was 16 or 7 years old. His first English teacher was a teacher who had returned from studying in Japan at a modern school in Xiangxiang County. The courses he taught were English and music."

Although his studies were interrupted later, he picked up English again in the 50s. Many specific English phrases were even determined or created by Mr. Li, such as the Anti-revolutionary Line and the famous Paper Tiger…

Then he saw that the three people looked completely bewildered, not understanding what he was saying at all.

Chen Fan clicked his tongue. "Anyway, that's the gist of it."

It's meaningless if people can't understand what I'm saying.

With a wave of his hand, Chen Fan walked towards the office building on his own.

As soon as I approached the corridor, someone came up to me, "Comrade, who are you looking for?"

There's no way around it; the tall, handsome guy in the sidecar is really eye-catching, it's impossible not to notice him.

Chen Fan immediately pulled out a letter of introduction. "Hello, I'm looking for your director."

The man took the letter of introduction and glanced at it. When he looked up, he was all smiles. "Ah, it's Comrade Chen from the Health Department. Hello, hello! Our director has been waiting for you for a long time. Come, come, this way please!"

Needless to say, their director must have given them instructions beforehand.

After all, opportunities to gain favor with the Health Department are rare, so one must be cautious. Chen Fan followed him upstairs, secretly marveling at the Health Department's considerable influence!
On the second floor, the director's office is located in the very center.

Upon reading the letter of introduction and hearing Chen Fan's purpose, the hospitable director immediately found a retired cadre in his fifties and said, "Old Yang, this is Comrade Chen from the Health Department. He wants to come here to find some used books. You are in charge of receiving him. All the used books in our unit are open to him. He can have any book he wants."

A strange glint flashed in Old Yang's eyes as he cautiously asked, "Director, do you mean any book will do?"

In front of the guests, the director couldn't stand his subordinate's questioning, so he immediately straightened his face and said, "Any old books from the warehouse are fine!"

He paused for a moment, then, realizing his attitude was too subservient, added, "Afterwards, we'll settle the account according to the price of waste paper. After all, we need to handle this officially, understand?"

Anyway, Section Chief Yan said yesterday that it was a "purchase", so collecting some waste paper money is only to be expected.

Surely Comrade Chen wouldn't refuse to pay even a penny for a pound of waste paper?!
Old Yang nodded slowly, "I understand!"

He then turned to Chen Fan and said with a smile, "Comrade Chen, just take out whatever book you like, and we can settle the bill later?"

Chen Fan sensed the hesitation in his voice. If he could be more assertive, he might be able to get a freebie. Or, to be more tactful, he could just put the bill on the health department's tab; that's what everyone does, and he doubted they'd dare to go to the health department to collect the debt.

However, Chen Fan believed that he had principles and could not do something like taking advantage of someone else for free.
He immediately took out the filtered Magnolia cigarettes he had swiped from the section chief that morning, handed one to each of them, and said with a smile, "No problem, no problem, thank you for your trouble, leader."

The director took the cigarette, his gaze immediately freezing. He then glanced at Chen Fan discreetly, coughed lightly, and turned to Old Yang, saying, "Since Comrade Chen paid for it, we absolutely must not sell him those 'rotten papers,' understand?"

He kept giving Old Yang meaningful glances and kept looking at the cigarette, hoping he would understand.

Goodness, even he couldn't get his hands on a filtered cigarette, yet this young man managed to pull one out and offer it to him. Considering that Section Chief Yan personally called, what else is there to guess?

This person must be someone important.
Inspired by the director's gaze, Old Yang suddenly understood and immediately nodded, saying, "I understand. Any rotten paper is useless and we definitely can't accept money from it."

Then Lao Yang muttered to himself, "Will it be half rotten or eighty percent rotten? The leader hasn't given any clear instructions."
Chen Fan stood to the side, deep in thought. Could it be that many of the books in the warehouse were rotten?
With a few questions in mind, he said goodbye to the director and followed Lao Yang outside.

Old Yang didn't walk in front either, but walked alongside him, appearing to lag behind by a few centimeters due to the height difference.

He then chuckled softly, "Has Comrade Chen been here before?"

Adhering to the belief that too much talk leads to mistakes, Chen Fan smiled and gently shook his head, "No."

Old Yang laughed heartily, thinking to himself that it was easy to talk since he hadn't been here before.

He then smiled and said, "Shall I introduce you?"

Chen Fan: "I couldn't be happier."

Old Yang calmly pointed to the factory building behind him, "That's where we process scrap iron. We've introduced advanced machinery, and all the scrap iron will be pressed into iron blocks before being sent to the steel mill as raw materials. We also have cleaning equipment, sorting equipment, and all sorts of scrap processing machines. We have them all in this factory building."

Then he pointed to the factory building in front, "This is the warehouse. All the processed waste will be brought here and then shipped out."

The rest of the area was mostly related to production and construction, plus offices for various departments. You see that building belongs to the trade union, next to it is the workers' cultural palace, and over there is a bathhouse.

Upon hearing this, Chen Fan couldn't help but ask curiously, "There's a bathhouse too?"

Bathhouses are quite common in the north, but rare in the south.

Old Yang laughed and said, "It's because of the nature of the work. The workers in our unit do a lot of physical labor, and most of the waste is dirty. After finishing the work, they can't wash off the dust. So we specially built a bathhouse for the workers to take a bath and wash themselves clean before going home."

After hearing this, Chen Fan could only marvel at the good benefits offered by this company.

How much would it cost to build a workers' bathhouse that doesn't generate any profit?
Soon they arrived at the warehouse area. Chen Fan looked at the busy workers going in and out, and followed Lao Yang inside.

Old Yang pointed to the innermost corner and said, "The old books are all in the innermost corner. Although this is a warehouse, a place to store and process items, it is still inevitably dusty. In order not to affect the lifespan of the books, we usually find the cleanest place to put them."

Chen Fan nodded as he followed him inside.

The area in front of this warehouse is filled with large iron blocks.

These iron blocks are made up of scattered scrap iron, which has been pressed into a square shape by some kind of machine, making them very convenient to load and transport.

Further inside, there were broken enamelware, glass, plastic... As Chen Fan walked in, he found that there weren't many types of waste here, far less than what would be found in a garbage disposal station decades later. He couldn't even find a piece of cloth.

That's true, who would throw away old clothes these days?
Even if clothes are too worn out, those without money can cut and patch them themselves, while those with money can give away their unwanted old clothes to poor relatives or acquaintances. And even if some spendthrift dared to throw away a single garment, the cleaners would immediately take it away, ensuring it never reaches this area.

Just as Chen Fan was secretly lamenting that there was nothing good here, a pile of broken electrical appliances suddenly appeared in front of him?
These appliances were mainly radios, with a few record players, but no higher-end televisions or three-in-one stereos were seen.

Seeing Chen Fan looking at the pile of things, Old Yang couldn't help but laugh and said, "These have all been dismantled by an appliance repair shop. They're basically just empty shells, almost useless. Otherwise, we wouldn't be here. We didn't break them up because we're going to send them to an appliance factory to be refurbished."

Chen Fan smiled and nodded without saying anything.

Further ahead, you'll reach the used book section.

(End of this chapter)