Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 470 Taking the Initiative to Visit
It has to be said that the food at service stations has always been just as bad throughout history.

After taking a bite of each dish, Chen Fan didn't bother to care about the taste. He devoured the food in a whirlwind, cleaned up the mess, wiped his mouth, and left.

We got out of the car and continued our journey.

After consulting the map and asking around, we finally found the place after more than half an hour.

But it's only in the local area.

The location of the Jiangnan Literature and Art Magazine was, in modern terms, in the CBD area, surrounded by various provincial government units, as well as People's Square, Cultural Palace, No. 1 Department Store, Xinhua Bookstore, various restaurants, and so on.

The area where the magazine office is located is the same area where the cultural sector is situated.

Chen Fan looked at the map, circled around a dark unit, and lingered at the entrance of the Workers' Cultural Palace. Finally, he attracted the attention of a guard, who directed him to drive the car to a small alley in front of a single-story house with a parking lot.

The parking lot is still made of concrete!
That's incredibly extravagant.

This is the Cultural Palace Guesthouse, where conference participants also register.

So Chen Fan still couldn't find a magazine.

It wasn't particularly late; the iron gate to the courtyard wasn't closed yet, and the lights were on in the guesthouse lobby, but there was no one in sight.

Chen Fan got out of the car without taking any luggage and walked straight over.

From the outside, the conditions here don't seem very good. If the rooms aren't suitable either, he plans to leave and stay in the cadre room at the Health Department's guesthouse.

He certainly wouldn't treat himself unfairly.

It was also snowing in the provincial capital at this time, but the snowfall was not as heavy as in Yunhu. There were only a few scattered snowflakes, which melted almost as soon as they hit the ground, so it did not affect traffic much.

If it's snowing heavily in the area from Yunhu to the provincial capital, even if Chen Fan is a superb driver, he won't be able to go fast.

It was cold, so the guesthouse doors were naturally closed.

Chen Fan stood at the door and peered inside a few times before pushing open the glass door. ...Of course, it wasn't a pure glass door like those in later times, but a wooden door with glass inlaid in it. The lower half was pure wood, and the upper half was like a window. It was very common in the 90s, and people standing outside could see inside through the glass.

Then a woman suddenly appeared in front of him, looking at him through the glass, "What are you doing here?"

He wore a long blue cotton-padded coat, blue trousers, and black leather shoes, with a matching Liberation cap on his head—clearly a complete work uniform.

Chen Fan was taken aback and instinctively shrank his neck. "I'm here to report for duty."

"check in?"

The woman opened the door, and the light shone out, illuminating Chen Fan. Her eyes lit up, and she looked him up and down, her tone becoming much more polite. "Are you here to attend the Federation of Literary and Art Circles' work meeting?"

He then spread his hands, "Where are the letter of introduction and invitation?"

Chen Fan immediately took out his documents from his pocket and handed them over, "This is the invitation letter, this is the company introduction letter, and this is my work ID."

The woman took the invitation and looked at it first. "That's right, Jiangnan Literature and Art Magazine is also one of the organizers and is qualified to extend an invitation."

She stared at the letter for a moment, then looked up at Chen Fan with a strange expression before quickly checking his company letter of introduction and work ID.

After a quick glance, he looked up, his eyes filled with surprise, "You're Chen Fan from Luwan?"

Chen Fan blinked. "If it's Chen Fan from Lujiawan, then it's me."

The woman seemed very happy. "That's you! Isn't your work about Luwan? That's why everyone calls you Chen Fan of Luwan."

Chen Fan was a little confused. Who were all these people?
The woman extended her right hand and said generously, "Hello, Writer Chen, I am a front desk attendant at the Cultural Palace Guesthouse. You can call me Xiao Peng."

Chen Fan blinked again, then extended his hand to shake hands, saying, "Hello, Xiao Peng."

Hey waiter Peng, could you let me in first?
Xiao Peng then realized that he had shaken hands with Chen Fan through the door, and immediately blushed. He turned around and invited him in, saying, "Please come in, I'll help you with the check-in process."

When Chen Fan walked in, she jogged to the front desk, took out the registration book, and said, "The registration time for the conference is from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. During this time, the organizers will be there to greet you. If you miss the time, you can only check in here first, and the relevant person in charge will contact you tomorrow morning."

A short while later, she finished registering Chen Fan's information, returned his ID to him, and said, "However, Editor-in-Chief He from Jiangnan Literature and Art Magazine also lives here. He should still be awake at this hour. Should I notify him?"

Chen Fan shook his head without hesitation, "No need, there's nothing important anyway, let's talk about it tomorrow."

"also."

Xiao Peng took a key, came out, and said, "I'll take you to your room."

As soon as she finished speaking, she looked at Chen Fan strangely, "Didn't you bring any luggage?"

Chen Fan said "Oh," turned around and pointed outside, "The luggage is in the car, I'll go get it."

After saying that, he walked out.

Xiao Peng followed curiously behind, and when they came out of the gate, he saw Chen Fan take a backpack out of a jeep and couldn't help but widen his eyes, "You drove here yourself?"

No wonder I thought I heard a car just now. Writer Chen can actually drive?
Chen Fan returned carrying his backpack, smiling modestly. "I happened to have learned to drive, so my workplace assigned me a car."

Xiao Peng couldn't help but give a thumbs up, "Writer Chen is truly multi-talented!"

Chen Fan: "I know a little bit, I know a little bit."

Upon entering again, Xiao Peng led him further in, through another door, and behind it was a courtyard. Chen Fan suddenly realized, "No wonder the Cultural Palace Guesthouse couldn't possibly be just a small bungalow."

Behind this courtyard, there is a three-story building with a layout similar to a school dormitory building in later times. There is a staircase in the middle, and corridors at both ends along the outer walls, with rooms next to the corridors.

At this time, most of the rooms were dark, with only a few rooms having lights on.

Xiao Peng didn't go upstairs. Instead, he led him directly to a room on the first floor and whispered, "The first floor is the most convenient. There are no mosquitoes in winter. This building is a new building that was completed in half a year. The leaders required high standards, so we referenced the rooms in the Foreign Affairs Hotel and built a bathroom with hot water."

As they were talking, she opened the door and went inside, turning on the light as she went. Chen Fan then saw the furnishings inside.

It's definitely up to high standards. The bathroom is right outside the door, the floor is mahogany wood, and inside the room, besides the bed, there's a desk, sofa, coffee table, and a large wardrobe.

Chen Fan would be even more satisfied if one of the beds were removed and the double room converted into a single room.

Xiao Peng handed the key to Chen Fan and said with a smile, "Writer Chen, I won't disturb your rest any longer. The cafeteria will serve breakfast at 7 a.m. tomorrow and will close at 9 a.m. Don't be too late, or you'll miss your meal."

Chen Fan smiled and nodded, "Thank you, thank you for your trouble."

"You're welcome."

Xiao Peng waved goodbye and left reluctantly.

Chen Fan saw her to the door, locked the door, and then went to the bathroom to wash up.

After taking a shower, I wrapped myself in a cotton coat and lay listlessly on the bed. I checked the time; it was only a little past 7 p.m.

They wouldn't be going to bed this early, would they?
But apart from a telephone, there wasn't even a radio in the room, and he hadn't brought any books, so he had nothing to do for entertainment.

Huh, a telephone?
Chen Fan jumped out of bed, walked behind his desk and sat down. He leaned over to look at the telephone and saw a small card next to it.

Oh, it's an internal phone line. It can only call rooms within the guesthouse, not outgoing lines. If you want to make an outside call, you have to apply to the guesthouse.

He was thinking of calling the Jiang family, but it seems that's not going to work out.

I yawned regretfully. Oh well, I'll just go to sleep.

Just as he was about to get up, the phone on the table suddenly rang.

Chen Fan was startled and stared blankly at the telephone. Who would be calling at this hour?
Could it be that Xiao Peng couldn't sleep and wanted to have a late-night chat with him?
Shaking his head, Chen Fan picked up the microphone, "Hello, how can I speak to you?"

A middle-aged man's voice came through the receiver, "Excuse me, is this Comrade Chen Fan?"

Chen Fan's eyes darted around, and after hesitating for two seconds, he said, "Yes, I am Chen Fan."

A hearty laugh suddenly came from the other end of the line. "Hello, Comrade Chen. I am He Qingsheng, the editor-in-chief of Jiangnan Literature and Art Magazine."

Chen Fan raised an eyebrow slightly. "So it's Editor-in-Chief He. Hello, hello."

He Qingsheng laughed and said, "Hello, hello, I'm sorry to bother you so late. I was just looking for Xiao Peng to talk to, and when I heard you were here, I thought I'd like to chat with you. Is it convenient for you?"

Chen Fan chuckled dryly, "Sure, sure. I just couldn't sleep. Which room are you in? I'll come over and visit you."

Jiangnan Literature and Art Magazine is a provincial-level newspaper and periodical. Its president is a department-level cadre, and its editor-in-chief or chief editor is a deputy department-level cadre, which is the same level as the deputy director of Yunhu District.

His position as a mere deputy section chief was three levels above others, a difference that was significant.

Moreover, as the editor-in-chief of Jiangnan Literature and Art, he can almost be regarded as the leading figure, or at least one of the leading figures, of the writers in Jiangnan Province. How could Chen Fan dare to say "inconvenient" to such a person?
Don't say it's convenient; even if it's really inconvenient, you should still say it's convenient.

And it's best to visit him yourself, rather than having him come to you.

Fortunately, the editor-in-chief was very approachable. Upon hearing Chen Fan's words, he immediately smiled and said, "No need, no need. I'm in the front hall, it'll be convenient for me to come find you."

He paused for a moment, then said, "I'm coming now."

Before Chen Fan could speak, he slammed the phone down.

Chen Fan put down the microphone, patted his head, looked around, took two cups from the coffee table next to him to make tea, and then went to the door and opened it.

As soon as I opened the door, I saw a middle-aged man in his fifties stride up the steps. Before he even reached the door, he stretched out his right hand, seemingly to knock.

Without needing an introduction, Chen Fan guessed that this person was He Qingsheng. He immediately took two steps forward and extended his right hand from a distance, saying, "Hello, Editor-in-Chief He, I am Chen Fan."

He Qingyun quickly stepped forward, grabbed Chen Fan's hand, shook it vigorously twice, and looked at Chen Fan with a surprised expression, saying, "Hello, hello. Although I know you're not very old, judging from your appearance, you should be under twenty, right?"

He and Chen Fan had always communicated in writing, mainly discussing manuscripts, and he didn't know much about Chen Fan's situation.

Just now in the lobby, I heard Xiao Peng say that Writer Chen is a very young person.

Despite being mentally prepared, I was still quite surprised when I saw Chen Fan's appearance.

At the same time, I couldn't help but wonder if those skillfully written articles were really written by this young man.
Seeing that Editor-in-Chief He was being so direct, Chen Fan smiled and said, "You're 18 this year, so you're definitely not 20 yet."

Yes, he never lies, he goes from 17 to 18.

He then let go of her hand, stepped aside to clear the doorway, and said, "Editor-in-Chief He, please come inside."

(End of this chapter)