Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 530 Another meeting?
Lin Yuanxiang took him to a place that wasn't far away, just north of Jingshan Park, in Milingku Hutong.

Today, the three elderly men came out together, each carrying a vegetable basket, but they didn't have much stuff, mainly to make sure everyone got something.

Excluding Chen Fan.

Chen Fan really wanted to put all the meat and vegetables into one basket and carry it himself, otherwise he felt very upset seeing that the three baskets were not even half full.

Upon arrival, there were no guards, no complete enclosure... in short, no special circumstances whatsoever. It was no different from many ordinary courtyard houses and alleyways, with pedestrians coming and going on the road.

The main difference is that the courtyard houses here are mostly preserved in their original state, without so many haphazard additions, making them look very clean and tidy.

Lin Yuanxiang carried the basket and knocked on the door. Soon, a young man in his twenties dressed in ordinary clothes came to open the door.

Chen Fan, who was looking around, turned around, glanced at him, and couldn't help but raise his eyebrows slightly. This guy probably couldn't withstand ten of his moves!
Don't think ten moves is a short time. If he were to fight Lin Yuanxiang again now, he would be guaranteed to win within ten moves. The fact that they are evenly matched in their usual practice is just to please the old man.

In other words, his perception of this young man was similar to that of Lin Yuanxiang and Zhang Xuansong, indicating that he was an extremely skilled master.

Unfortunately, he was still no match for him.

However, no matter how capable he is, he still has to listen to others here.

The three old men went straight in, but when they got to him, he had to search them.

This shows the difference from ordinary residential houses.

Chen Fan turned his gaze to his two masters, but neither of them helped him.

Zhang Xuansong said impatiently, "Take out all your odds and ends and put them away. You won't lose them. Just take them with you when you leave."

Lin Yuanxiang also said, "These are the rules. Just follow the rules and that's it. Hurry up."

Li Shangde added, "Don't worry, it's very safe here."

Chen Fan: Sun, stars, and moon, you're supposed to be my masters, yet you don't even speak as nicely as Old Man Li.

Okay, now he knows that the kung fu he learned from Master Lin also included some of the knowledge from Old Man Li, so Old Man Li was also a master.

He then stretched out his hands, and without any visible movement, two steel plates, each about two fingers wide, popped out of his sleeves and landed on the long table against the wall.

Is this some kind of security checkpoint?
The young man curiously picked up a steel bar, waved it around, making a whooshing sound, and asked, "What's this for?"

Chen Fan coughed lightly, "Actually, I'm a construction engineer, and this is a kind of building material..."

The young comrade looked at him expressionlessly, as if to say, "See if I believe you or not?"
Zhang Xuansong, who was not far away, had his eyelids twitching. With this kid's strength, if he used these two steel bars to unleash the "Green Snake in the Sleeve" technique, who could withstand it?

He couldn't help but ask, "Where did you get this thing? It looks like a modified tank chassis part, doesn't it?"

Chen Fan paused for two seconds, then said, "I took it from the construction company's warehouse. It was like this when I took it."

Zhang Xuansong looked up at the sky, as if to say, "See if I believe you or not?"
Chen Fan didn't care whether they believed him or not; anyway, he took it from someone else's warehouse, and Director Li had given his approval.

When he returned to Lujiawan, he forged the two steel bars into short swords, one male and one female, so that the power of the Pure Yang Sword Technique could be revealed.

He then pulled out a PPK from his waist and, seeing the young man's eyes widen in astonishment, exclaimed, "Really? You've never seen a gun like this before?"

He then pulled out his gun license, saying, "I have a license."

The young comrade took a deep breath, took the gun license, and flipped it over. "I've seen it before, I've seen it before."

If it weren't for the people brought by the three former leaders and instructors, he would have definitely blown the alarm first!

Then Chen Fan took out five more pens and placed them side by side on the table. "I am also a writer, so it is normal for me to carry pens with me."

The young man picked up a pen, removed the cap, ran his fingers along the sharp tip, nodded, and said, "It can be used as a dart."

"That's not the case. I have a gun. Why would I need darts?"

Chen Fan chuckled, then pulled out a handful of small stones. "These are for practicing your hand strength."

He then pulled out two daggers from his calves. "I am also a chef, so I carry cooking utensils with me so I can slaughter chickens and sheep at any time."

The young man hesitated for two seconds, then said, "It's okay, there are knives in the kitchen, and we don't have any sheep today."

Chen Fan looked at him with a smile, thinking, "Wow, not bad mental fortitude."

At this moment, the three elderly comrades, including Lin Yuanxiang, also fell silent.

This reason is really a bit outrageous.

He then pulled out a cloth bag, which contained dozens of silver needles. Chen Fan looked at the young comrade and asked, "Ahem, do you have to hand over these needles too?"

Looking at the dense array of silver needles, the young man felt a chill run down his spine and frowned, asking, "Are you a doctor?"

Chen Fan took out his medical license. "Would you like me to examine you?"

The young comrade's eyes widened in disbelief. It really was true?

After pausing for two seconds, he said, "Please put the needle here, I'll watch it for you."

Chen Fan's lips twitched slightly. He carefully put away his documents, and finally pulled a steel wire from his belt. "Ahem, don't lose this thing, it'll be hard to find."

This was made when he was working at the machine factory. He used his position to ask an eighth-grade craftsman to forge it for him. It was made with special materials, and it could even saw steel bars without any problems. The difficult part was that kind of special steel; if this piece were gone, he wouldn't know where to find the material again.

The young comrade no longer wanted to look at him, and turned to look at the three older comrades, as if asking, "Who are the people you brought?"
Lin Yuanxiang and the other two dared not utter a sound. Seeing that Chen Fan was not taking anything out, they signaled to the comrade to search him.

Chen Fan waited awkwardly until the master finished touching his body, hoping to learn the unknown technique, before quickly following his masters inside.

This is a very ordinary three-courtyard siheyuan. Passing through the front courtyard and the hanging flower gate, you enter a neat middle courtyard.

Just then, an old man was taking a walk in the courtyard. The moment Lin Yuanxiang stepped through the door, the old man laughed loudly, "You've brought the chef?"

Lin Yuanxiang laughed heartily, “Of course! Yesterday, I heard from Xiao Xu that you wanted to eat your hometown food. Luckily, our apprentice here has some pretty good cooking skills, so we asked him to come over and cook you a meal.”

The old man grinned and laughed heartily, "Then I'm in for a treat!"

From the moment Chen Fan entered and saw the old man's face clearly, he was so frightened that he shrank back like a quail. In his heart, he was cursing his masters for being so unkind, for bringing him here without giving him any prior notice. Weren't they just trying to scare him?
Is this old man someone I can even meet?!

Although the old man wore glasses, he was blind and could not see anything. He turned to the group and made a listening gesture. "Young man, where are you? Come here and let me see you."

Lin Yuanxiang quickly waved, "Come here and call him Grandpa Liu."

Chen Fan quickly jogged over, bent down and bowed, "Hello, Grandpa Liu."

The old man patted his shoulder and laughed, "Good, good, you're in good health, a fine young man. Your two masters have praised you to the skies. You've had a hard day."

Chen Fan laughed and said, "It's just cooking a meal, it's not hard work at all."

He was called over by Master Lin just now, who only asked him to cook a meal for an elder. He didn't think much of it and went along. Little did he know it was this person!
Let alone a meal, I'd be willing to provide for the elderly until their death.

Unfortunately, we don't need him.

Without saying much, he took the vegetable basket from the three masters and turned to go into the kitchen.

The three of them then chatted with the old man in the courtyard.

Chen Fan was busy in the kitchen, glancing back every now and then, a smile on his face, but a tightness in his chest.

There were four people in the courtyard. The old man was blind. Of the remaining three, one had lost his left arm and right eye, another had lost his right leg, and the last one, Lin Yuanxiang, who looked perfectly fine, was diagnosed by Chen Fan with numerous hidden injuries, even to the point of losing the ability to have children. It was probably for this reason that he never married and only kept his old comrades-in-arms company.

They're all people who crawled out of piles of corpses.

Chen Fan worked quickly and efficiently, preparing the ingredients and starting the fire to cook them.

Soon, a rich aroma wafted from the kitchen.

The old man immediately turned around, sniffed the direction of the kitchen, and blurted out in his local accent, "It smells so good!"

Lin Yuanxiang ran to the kitchen doorway to take a look, then quickly came back to report, "There are Sichuan peppercorns and chili peppers. Is this Sichuan cuisine authentic?"

The old man grinned and laughed heartily, "Good, good, it smells delicious."

Half an hour later, the four dishes and soup were ready, along with a bowl of rice. Chen Fan carried the bowl on a tray and made two trips to deliver it to the main room, saying, "Grandpa Liu, please have your meal."

The old man sat at the head of the table, with Li Shangde and Zhang Xuansong on one side and Lin Yuanxiang on the other. Not bad, they even left a seat for Chen Fan.

Before he could even settle into his seat, a Sichuan accent came from the courtyard gate: "Better to arrive at the right time than to arrive early. Bring an extra set of chopsticks and a cup."

Chen Fan turned his head and stared blankly for a second before quickly getting up and stepping aside.

Why is this big shot here too?
Even if you two are close, you could at least come at another time. You're making my heart pound.

Lin Yuanxiang and the other two quickly stood up and saluted, saying, "Hello."

The old man stood up and laughed, "Why are you here instead of doing something important?"

Zhang Xuansong nudged Chen Fan with his elbow, "Hurry up and call someone, call him grandpa."

Chen Fan quickly bowed and saluted, "Hello, Grandpa."

He waved his hand, "Alright, alright. You all sit down. I'm just here to freeload, why are you all standing up?"

Lin Yuanxiang was about to squeeze in with Chen Fan, but Chen Fan pulled him down to sit with him, saying, "Let's squeeze in."

Then he turned to Old Liu and said, "I came to see how you were doing, but you hid away eating delicious food without even calling me. That's not fair."

As a result, Old Liu pointed at Lin Yuanxiang and said, "Today is Lin and his friends' treat, so don't cause me any trouble."

Lin Yuanxiang's face darkened. "Old leader, that's not fair of you."

Amidst laughter and conversation, Chen Fan sat down, hunching his shoulders, and poured drinks for the bigwigs. The meal was rather uninteresting. However, he did overhear quite a bit of gossip, and as time went on, he forgot his nervousness.

Before long, the table was already a mess of cups and plates.

Grandpa put down his chopsticks, took out two grain coupons and placed them on the table, then turned to Chen Fan and said, "On the way here, I heard some of what you've done. The First Aid Manual is a great contribution; it has saved many people, which is excellent. It's also very commendable that you've been able to dedicate yourself to making contributions in rural areas."

However, you should broaden your horizons. You are very capable, so don't confine yourself to one production team. You should have a bigger stage.

Some people speculate that you're holding back because of your parents, but that era is over, it's a thing of the past, so don't feel burdened. Just relax and unleash your full potential.

The two cars you designed for the machinery factory were excellent. The comrades from the Ministry of Machinery Industry evaluated your design drawings and built a prototype. They were superior to our current similar products. The van even filled the gap in small transport vehicles. This was no easy feat and fulfilled your father's wish to build cars.

Regarding your elders and relatives, someone has also investigated. It is true that you have no relatives left in China, but your mother has an older brother in the United States. I have already asked someone to inquire about his details.

Of course, whether you want to contact him or not is up to you; no one else will interfere. But if he comes looking for you, we can't stop him.

Chen Fan sat respectfully and nodded, "Thank you, Grandpa."

The old man smiled and turned to look at Zhang Xuansong. "When you were still in the army, you were focused on saving money to rebuild the Taoist temple. Back then, we all knew there was a Taoist soldier named Zhang Xuansong. Over the years, apart from helping the families of your fallen comrades, you've saved all your money and never used it. You only used it once to buy a house when you got married."

Well, this time I've spent it all.

If you want to build a Taoist temple, then go ahead and build it openly. We are currently discussing religious issues, and we will have a result soon.

But you're ultimately part of the organization. You can handle the temple's construction yourself, but it's not appropriate to directly intervene after it opens. You can hand it over to Xiao Chen then. At that point, you'll also be able to give your master and fellow disciples an explanation.”

Zhang Xuansong jumped to his feet, raised his hand in salute, and said, "Yes, I understand."

With the old political commissar's words, he could finally "go into battle unburdened".

Lin Yuanxiang and Li Shangde were also all smiles, genuinely happy for their old friend.

After the old man finished speaking, he left in a hurry without even saying goodbye to Mr. Liu.

Old Liu ignored him, finished the last piece of boiled fish slice, put down his chopsticks, waved his hand and said, "Go get the money for the food from Xiao Xu, leave your food coupons, and get out of here."

He then grinned at Chen Fan and said, "No need for that, little guy. I'll pay for the food stamps. Consider it payment for your hard work cooking."

Chen Fan turned to look at his three masters, and seeing that they all nodded silently, he smiled and said, "Then thank you, Grandpa Liu."

He didn't need to clear the plates on the table; the attendants would take care of that. Chen Fan then followed his three masters and left.

When you pass through the doorway, gather all your belongings back.

The young comrade looked up at the sky with displeasure when he saw that the instructor was still checking everything one by one. As a result, he was kicked by Instructor Lin, and he quickly corrected his attitude and dared not say a word.

After leaving the courtyard and walking a short distance, Chen Fan finally let out a long breath.

Lin Yuanxiang looked at him amusedly, "You actually get nervous sometimes?"

Chen Fan said irritably, "What are you talking about? Why can't I be nervous?"

He paused for a moment, then asked curiously, "Does Old Liu live here all by himself?"

Zhang Xuansong, leaning on his cane, shook his head and said, "The old lady is with us, but she's out today. Besides the two of them, there's only the guard and the orderly."

He turned to look at Chen Fan, "Once the Liu family's children come of age and start working, they will be kicked out by the old leader and not allowed to go home unless there is a special reason."

Chen Fan nodded in realization and remained silent.

He then silently pondered what the old man meant.
How did the car design drawings I drew end up in the hands of the First Ministry of Machine Building?

What about Yunhu Machinery Factory?
……

For the next two days, Chen Fan attended the Writers' Association meetings without incident, listening to their detailed discussions.

The general direction has already been determined, but the specific work processes and the authority of each level of branch need to be reviewed one by one.

Chen Fan sat in the corner, listening so intently that he felt sleepy.

Young people should have the awareness of being juniors. He Qingsheng said that he was invited over to represent young writers to offer opinions and suggestions. Now, there are no opinions, and the only suggestion is to set up an award, which has already been adopted by the Writers Association. He really has nothing to do with what happens after that.

I don't want to mention it.

However, there was another incident that brought him back into the limelight.

That was when Wenhui Daily published Jiang Tiantian's debut short poem, "A Generation." Well, this name was also suggested by Chen Fan, who simply used it.

On the same page as this poem, there is also an explanation of Jiang Tiantian's creative process for writing the poem, as well as comments from Ba Jin and several other well-known writers.

Both the author and his predecessors praised Chen Fan highly, implying that without Chen Fan, there would be no poem.

The only difference is that Jiang Tiantian only praised him, while Ba Lao and the others affirmed Jiang Tiantian's creative inspiration, calling her a very talented newcomer.

With the publication of Wenhui Daily, Jiang Tiantian rose to fame almost overnight, becoming the most famous poet of the new generation.

Chen Fan has risen from a young writer to a "literary senior" who is happy to mentor newcomers. Although this seniority is only relative to newcomers, it has greatly elevated his status in the literary world.

Unfortunately, in the Writers' Association's meeting room, he could only sit in the corner, and his ranking remained unchanged.

……

November 3th, 17:5.

The door to the Writers' Association office opened, and a cloud of smoke billowed out. Amidst the swirling smoke, a group of people filed out, walking with trails of smoke, each one looking like a god.

Chen Fan was the last to arrive. As soon as he stepped out the door, a chill swept over him, instantly sobering him up.

He Qingsheng and Xu Qizhen waited for him a couple of steps ahead. When he approached, He Qingsheng said, "We'll be staying here for a few more days to discuss the selection criteria for the first Lu Xun Literary Prize. When are you leaving?"

The name of the first authoritative literary prize has been decided: the "Lu Xun Literary Prize," and no one has any objections.

Many of them graduated from the Lu Xun Academy of Arts. Naming them after Lu Xun is not only an affirmation of his achievements, but also a continuation and inheritance of the past.

Chen Fan yawned. "I won't participate in this. If there's nothing else, I'll head back tomorrow."

No sooner had he finished speaking than someone ran over from a short distance away, waving and shouting, "Xiao Fan, Xiao Fan!"

Chen Fan turned his head and his eyes widened instantly. "Uncle Yang, Director Shi, Master Ding?"

The visitors turned out to be Yang Kangnian, the Revolutionary Committee Director, Secretary and Factory Director of Yunhu Machinery Factory, Shi Tiezhu, the former Director of the Precision Workshop, and Master Ding Guangsheng, the Foreman of the Auto Repair Team.

When he thought back to what the old man had said about the Ministry of Machine Building the day before yesterday, he immediately had a guess in his mind.

The members of the Writers' Association who hadn't gone far turned around to look. When they saw that the person was looking for Chen Fan, they didn't say much, but just smiled kindly and left.

When He Qingsheng saw that someone was looking for him, he didn't say anything more. After saying goodbye to Chen Fan, he returned to the guesthouse with Xu Qizhen.

When Director Yang and the others approached, Chen Fan asked, "Uncle Yang, what brings you here?"

Factory Director Yang laughed and said, "You must have come to Beijing for something. Let me tell you, we have already built prototypes of the two cars you designed. During the reporting process, they were noticed by the Provincial Department of Industry and the First Ministry of Machine Building. They copied the blueprints for testing and also built prototypes that met the quality standards."

"My trip to Beijing is at the invitation of the First Ministry of Machine Building to attend a product production meeting for two models."

Chen Fan blinked, his mind racing, and quickly realized, "You mean, these two models have been requisitioned?"

"It's not called levy either."

Factory Director Yang explained with a smile, "All factories across the country operate as one, especially in the automotive industry, where there has long been unified coordination and overall planning."

For example, the Dongfeng trucks of the Second Automobile Works were built with the assistance of the First Automobile Works. Similarly, the 130 light trucks of Beijing Automobile Works were also built by making the blueprints public to automobile manufacturers across the country. With a letter of introduction from the First Ministry of Machinery Industry, one could obtain a set.

"Your designs for the light passenger/cargo van and the luxury sedan, submitted under the name of Yunhu Machinery Factory, received widespread attention from higher authorities, which led to these arrangements."

Chen Fan nodded in realization, "I see."

He had been involved in the literary world all this time and had no contact with the machinery industry. Since he was not in Yunhu, Director Yang and the others naturally had no way of informing him, which is why he was completely unaware.

After a two-second pause, Director Yang looked at him and said, "We arrived in Beijing the day before yesterday and have been having meetings at the First Ministry of Machinery Industry for the past two days. Since you are the designer of two different models, the First Ministry of Machinery Industry hopes that you can participate in product discussions and prototype evaluations."

I asked Director Jiang of the cotton mill and Company Commander Zhang of Lujiawan about you, and learned that you are in Beijing now. You finished your meeting this afternoon, so I came to wait for you.”

Another meeting?
Chen Fan hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Do I absolutely have to participate?"

Ding Guangsheng, standing nearby, said, “I can handle the usual questions. We’ve even made a few prototypes ourselves. I have no problem with the processes. But the engineers from the First Ministry of Machinery always like to ask about principles and production lines, which is completely beyond my knowledge.”

Director Yang continued, "Actually, they have already figured out most of the problems. The main question is about the engines. The ministry leaders hope that we can absorb and digest the technology of these two engines and make it part of the automotive industry. This would also help our automotive industry move forward."

Chen Fan's lips twitched slightly. He had found those two engines from his memories of browsing the internet before he time-traveled. They were both technologies from the 90s, which were much more advanced than now, but not unattainable. They were quite in line with the current level of industrial technology.

Perhaps that's why it was chosen by the Ministry of Machine Building.

The problem is, I don't want to be an engineer.

He hesitated for a moment, then looked at Director Yang and asked, "Those principles are already reflected in the design drawings. My abilities only go this far. A lot of the things on them are actually copied from my father's notebook. So, is it alright if I don't go?"

The smile on Director Yang's face gradually faded, and he said seriously, "I understand your concerns, mainly that the Ministry of Machine Building will force you to stay."

I can assure you of this. Before coming to see you, I made it very clear to them that you are a member of the Lujiawan production team, a well-known writer, and occasionally seconded to the health system. You never intended to settle down in the machinery industry, and they absolutely cannot transfer you. The leaders have already assured me of this.

Seeing that Chen Fan was still hesitant, he continued, "This time it won't take you too long, about a week in total. It just requires you to go to the FAW factory, where the equipment is the best. You just need to accompany them to produce a prototype car. In addition, this period of time will be considered a business trip, and the ministry, FAW factory, and our machinery factory will all provide appropriate welfare compensation."

Chen Fan wiped his face, and seeing that he had already said so much, he could only force a smile and say, "Well, okay then."

(End of this chapter)