Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 560 Who Goes First and Who Goes Last
Chen Fan strolled back to his office, where a desk and two filing cabinets had been added by the window directly opposite the door.

This is the office of secretary Bian Huifang.

So even though Director Chen had just earned 20 yuan for the company, he didn't have his own private office.

Upon seeing Chen Fan enter, Bian Huifang immediately stood up and said, "Good morning, Director."

Chen Fan waved and said, "Good morning."

I walked up to her and looked at it. "Have you finished the student statistics form?"

Bian Huifang immediately picked up a stack of papers on the table, turned them upside down, and handed them to him, saying, "I just finished compiling the statistics."

After Chen Fan took it, she continued, "There are a total of 20,000 students, and more than 45% of them are from this province, according to the order of registration."

Chen Fan turned to look at her, "More than 9000 people, that many?"

Bian Huifang grinned and said, "There are 12 regions in the province. On average, each region has less than 1000 people. That's not a lot."

She paused for a moment, then added, "The largest number of students are from the provincial capital, where there are over two thousand students."

She gave a strange smile as she spoke, "However, most of them are students from various universities."

student?

Chen Fan was stunned for a moment, then realized what he meant and laughed, “It makes perfect sense. Students are the main force of literature lovers, and this is right in their own backyard. Paying 10 yuan to register is not a bad deal at all.”

Whether you can learn something or not is no longer important. There are also in-person classes once a year, right? If you attend the in-person class, you might even meet your idol author and have a conversation with them in person. It only costs 10 yuan, which is worth it even if you consider it an admission ticket.

Another point is that the provincial capital has the most colleges and universities. Even if each school only has one or two thousand students, the total number would be tens of thousands. It's convenient and inexpensive, and two thousand students is indeed not a lot.

Chen Fan glanced through the student information statistics table, which included information such as the student's permanent address, age, education, work unit, position, and length of service.

Don't think this information is useless.

By going back and categorizing this information, we can design courses specifically for a particular industry. For example, we could teach steelworkers how to write an article, which would make the students feel more involved.

Inspired by a reader's letter, Chen Fan wanted to see if there were any students with relatively high "value," such as leaders of an important unit or key factory, who would be of great value for exchange!

It's like the first few names on the form are from "Jiangnan Provincial Planning Commission". You have to ask what this unit does.

Hehe, don't ask, the answer is he can manage everything, and the key is that he doesn't take any responsibility, the responsibility is always borne by the implementing unit!

This is the kind of organization where someone holds a high position with great power but bears little responsibility!

Those who work in this kind of organization are obviously what kind of people they are.

Chen Fan's gaze swept across the information sheet, and when he got to the last line, he couldn't help but be a little surprised, "There are actually 3 students from Inner Mongolia?"

It's one thing if it's from the surrounding provinces, but if it's arranged according to the mail receiving time, it would take at least 10 days for a letter to come from Inner Mongolia. How did they manage to get it?
Bian Huifang immediately smiled and said, "Oh, these three, and a dozen or so other students from provinces that are quite far away, they all registered by telegram first, and then sent money through the post office. Because it was a telegraphic transfer, we received the registration fee very quickly, so we included it in their accounts."

(A wire transfer slip from 75. Back then, there were also fast wire transfers, but because reconciliation was required, there were a few more steps, and it took only a little longer than a telegram, about two or three days to arrive.)
Upon hearing Bian Huifang's words and glancing at the information on the form, Chen Fan couldn't help but exclaim, "What a talent!"

He couldn't even think of this method, but these people were able to give full play to their initiative. Not bad at all.

Well, we won't send such talented people to the newly opened correspondence education center in their province; it's fine to keep them and train them ourselves.

If they can be trained, they will become the face of the correspondence education center!
What if they don't come and instead register at a correspondence center in their own province?
Whatever, the tuition is non-refundable anyway!
After asking her a few key questions in the office, Chen Fan instructed her to continue monitoring the project. He then toured several assisting departments, distributed the cigarettes he had taken from He Qingsheng, and prepared to leave.

He hadn't originally planned to buy a house in the provincial capital, but now it seems he has no choice but to.

There are people staking out the dormitory every day. Whenever he goes there, there will inevitably be a disturbance. If this continues, even if he can stand it, the students living in the dormitories on the first floor will not be able to stand it.

So I think I should buy a house near the school.

I just don't know if there's a suitable one?

Fortunately, two leaders of the provincial capital's urban construction committee are also members of the provincial writers' association. If we go directly to them for help, we should be able to resolve the issue quickly.

As he walked out of the small red building, just as he was about to get into his car, he heard the old man at the gate call out to him, "Director Chen, there's a letter for you."

Chen Fan immediately turned around and walked over, saying, "Coming."

As usual, a cigarette was used as a bridge; offering a cigarette in exchange for a letter.

Chen Fan took a look at the envelope and was slightly taken aback.

He thought it was sent by Jiang Lili, and according to her mailing pattern, he should have received the letter by now.

Unexpectedly, it was a letter sent by Zhang Xuansong's master?

First, get into the car and sit down. Then, tear open the seal; inside is only a thin piece of paper.

Upon opening it, the content was even simpler.

“My dear disciple: I have received the money. I am very pleased that you can earn foreign exchange. So, shall we start building Chaoyang Temple? I heard from the experienced builders at the Beijing construction company that your house design is very good. I will give you the design drawings for the temple. Let’s hurry up and build this small one first. We can build a bigger one later when we have a larger courtyard to buy.”

Chen Fan shook his head and chuckled twice, then folded the letter neatly and stuffed it back into the envelope. Master Zhang really couldn't wait.

But then again, are religious activities allowed to be held publicly now?

Chen Fan thought for a moment, then started the car and drove off.

Who cares? Anyway, Master Zhang is always there to protect him, and he has the old marshal and the old political commissar as his backers. As long as he doesn't make any major mistakes that violate principles, he'll basically be fine.

It's just a Taoist temple design plan, it's too simple. You can find this in almost every large library across the country. The key is the deity to be worshipped and the architectural style.

Once I find some more information and confirm that the regulations are accurate, I can design it.

……

Meanwhile, in Shanghai.

Jiang Lili took the parcel slip she had just received and retrieved a large wooden box from the post office.

Looking at the wooden box, which was comparable to a suitcase, she wondered what Xiao Fan had sent that required such a large box.

I picked it up and tried to lift it up; it wasn't too heavy, not even as heavy as two handfuls of rice seedlings.

With a cold face, Jiang Lili rejected the two young men who wanted to curry favor with her, and amidst the surprised gazes of the crowd, she picked up her suitcase and walked out of the post office.

He tied the box to the back of the bicycle, pedaled a few times while holding onto the handlebars, then climbed on from the front and rode away.

Half a cat jogged along the roadside for a while, then leaped into the air and landed lightly on the large wooden box. It then lay down and dozed off with its eyes half-closed.

A short while later, Jiang Lili returned to the courtyard, unlocked the door, carried the box into the house, found some tools, and pried open the wooden box lid.

Upon opening the lid, one sees a box full of high-end food.

Hershey's chocolate, coffee, cheese, and various high-end canned goods...

Jiang Lili sat on the ground and glanced at these rare items that money couldn't buy before her eyes were drawn to the envelope on top.

She quickly picked up the envelope and saw the words "To be opened by Lili" on it, and the corners of her mouth turned up.

The envelope was unsealed. Gently lift the paper cover and bring it close to your eyes to look inside. A heart-shaped origami immediately catches your eye.

In an instant, Jiang Lili felt her heart suddenly race, pounding wildly.

After a while, she gently poured out the origami, casually placed the envelope on top of the pile of food, and held the origami in both hands as if it were a precious treasure, not even daring to blink.

Just as she was about to unpack the origami, she heard the sound of the door being unlocked. She turned around and saw her sister walking in carrying a bag.

Jiang Tiantian casually placed her bag on the shoe cabinet, closed the front door, and leaned against the doorframe to change her shoes, but her gaze fell on her younger sister. "No classes this morning?"

Jiang Lili stood up, supporting herself on the ground, and laughed, "Yes, but I've already learned it all. Xiao Fan just sent a package, so I took leave to pick it up."

She looked at her sister curiously, "I remember you had class this morning?"

Jiang Tiantian said, "Isn't today Youth Day? There are activities at school and no classes, so I just came back to check on things."

She walked to the other side of the box, looked down, and asked, "What did Xiaofan send you?"

Jiang Lili covered the origami to her chest and laughed, "I don't know where he bought the imported food; it filled a whole box."

Then he held the origami in his palm and showed it to her, saying, "There's also a letter."

Jiang Tiantian looked at the letter in her hand, then at the box full of food, and her eyes suddenly dimmed, as if she was thinking of something.

But she quickly composed herself, and when she looked up, she was back to normal, laughing, "Sending you so many things, be careful not to raise a little pig!"

Although her emotional change was brief, it was all noticed by Jiang Lili, who was watching her.

Jiang Lili's smile faded slightly, and she looked thoughtful.

Upon hearing her sister's words, she quickly looked up and laughed, "How could that be? Besides, you're here too, it's not like I'm eating alone."

Jiang Tiantian wrinkled her nose, reached out and gently stroked her sister's face, and laughed, "Silly girl, if he had given me a portion, I would have been too embarrassed to accept it. Since he didn't, it means this whole bunch of things is for you. How can you just give away things that your man specially gave you? You should keep them and enjoy them slowly."

After saying that, he turned around, rolled up his sleeves, and walked towards the kitchen. "I'll cook dinner. Let's eat early today. I still need to go to the newspaper office later."

Looking at her sister's back, and then looking down at the gifts in the box, Jiang Lili's eyes revealed a hint of understanding.

Seeing her sister's eyes and hearing her words, she finally realized that when Xiao Fan gave her gifts in the past, her sister always received one – a watch, clothes, and even a wild goose.

Until this time, the letter was his own, and the gift was not separated.

Jiang Lili clutched the origami to her heart again, her earlier joy now tinged with a bittersweet feeling.

So, did Xiao Fan also have feelings for his older sister?

Is he not sending it now because he suspects his sister has someone else in her heart?
At this moment, she really wanted to know: who went first and who went last?
(End of this chapter)