Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 563 Pricing
Chen Fan was quite happy today. He had long since realized that the doorman was no ordinary man. The smell of gunpowder on him was exactly the same as that of Master Xiao and the others, and it hadn't completely dissipated yet. So he deliberately stirred up trouble by saying that he wanted to bring Jiangda Hospital over, and even carefully analyzed the pros and cons. Sure enough, the old man jumped into the trap himself and got what he wanted.

Let's think of another way. Let's go to the department store area, stir things up, and talk about serving the grassroots communes. Let's build a department store next to the hospital. Then we can build a fruit and vegetable market and a food station specializing in meat and fish. Hey, that would be pretty much all the amenities for this artsy new village.

I'll be living there in the future, so the amenities need to be improved.

It's a win-win situation, isn't it?

However, the news brought by He Qingsheng dampened his spirits.

The Green Lotus Taoist? Of noble character?

Tui, do you have any paintings that cost 20 yuan each?!

Even though it's only 78000 RMB, it's still an "astronomical price".

Chen Fan, who considers himself an ordinary person, feels like he missed out on 100 million yuan.

After tidying up the design drawings, Chen Fan locked his office with a gloomy expression, greeted his colleagues listlessly, and went downstairs dejectedly.

Xu Qizhen stared at his retreating figure with a strange expression, then pushed open He Qingsheng's office door and asked curiously, "What's wrong with Xiao Fan today?"

He Qingsheng raised his head, looked at the empty corridor, and pondered for two seconds, "He's probably repenting for causing trouble for Jiang Da and Uncle Xiang!"

Xu Qizhen, “???”

……

As soon as I left the office building, opened the door, and got into my car, I drove up to the entrance, where Grandpa Xiang was already waiting with a cigarette in his mouth.

When Chen Fan drove up, he immediately lit a cigarette and handed it to him, his face beaming. "Director Chen, your idea is really good. I called several people from their departments, and they all said it was a good idea and that they would get on it right away. I think this hospital has a great chance!"

Chen Fan took a deep breath, and as if his expression had changed, he turned around with a face full of surprise. "Really? If this can really be done, the school, the local commune, and we can all benefit!"

Grandpa Xiang grinned so hard his back teeth were showing. "Such a good thing, no one loses out, who would deliberately sabotage it? I heard Jiang University is already preparing to submit an application, I think it'll definitely work!"

Chen Fan pursed his lips and nodded vigorously, "It's all thanks to you. If you hadn't called your friend, this matter would have been difficult to resolve."

Grandpa Xiang waved his hand, "Hey, I'm just reminding them. You're the one who came up with the idea, they're the ones who did the work. I'm just a messenger."

Chen Fan immediately waved his hand, "Don't say that, you deserve the most credit!"

Grandpa Xiang was about to be polite to him when a car with an unprecedented design, gleaming in the sunlight, stopped abruptly at the door, almost colliding with Chen Fan's jeep.

The old man was shocked. How dare they crash a car on my turf?
Do you know that when provincial leaders come, they have to stop here and listen to my instructions?

He immediately choked on the cigarette he hadn't finished smoking, threw it to the ground, glared at her, and strode over, asking, "You, which unit are you from?"

The front windows of the car had already been rolled down, and a head popped out from the left, offering a cigarette. "Hello, sir, is this the Writers' Association? We're from Yunhu Automobile Factory, here to see Director Chen Fan."

At the same time, another head popped out from the other side, and it turned out to be Director Yang. He waved at Chen Fan's car, "Xiao Fan, Xiao Fan."

When Grandpa Xiang saw Chen Fan waving in their direction, he knew they were acquaintances. Unable to vent his anger, he could only listlessly take the cigarette, put it in his mouth, take two steps back, and direct the two cars, "Director Chen, is it out or in now?"

Chen Fan gestured, "Get out."

Grandpa Xiang immediately got excited and started pushing the car back with all his might, shouting, "Back off, back off, back off..."

The driver could only reverse the car until Chen Fan's car came out. Seeing that Chen Fan gestured for him to follow, the driver quickly followed behind.

Chen Fan originally wanted to take half a day off and go back to the Cultural Palace Guesthouse to relax.

However, now that Director Yang and his group have come knocking, they must have something on their mind. Since they can't just lie around doing nothing, they might as well have something nice to eat and soothe their wounded hearts.

So he drove at breakneck speed all the way to the riverbank and stopped in front of the "wild game restaurant".

The driver was skilled, and with few cars on the road, the sedan came to a steady stop next to the jeep a few seconds later.

This stop is unacceptable.

It was lunchtime, and the restaurant was full of diners, with some people preparing to enter.

When they saw the car, those who were about to enter naturally followed the direction of the car. Even some people inside the restaurant leaned out of the windows to watch, and some even stopped eating and ran out to watch.

In later generations, it is not common to watch a crowd, especially a car, because it is considered ignorant and most people are afraid of being laughed at.

However, nowadays, watching others is a very common social phenomenon.

Since none of us are knowledgeable, no one should laugh at anyone else.

(People watching cars from the roadside)
As soon as Director Yang got out of the car, he was stopped by a middle-aged man dressed like an official and asked, "Comrade, which unit are you from? Which car factory makes this car? How much did you buy it for? Is it easy to drive?"

Someone nearby immediately said, "It's probably about whether it's stable or not, since you can't drive!"

The man immediately nodded, "Yes, yes, is it safe?"

Factory Director Yang didn't mince words. He turned around, shoved his briefcase into the driver's hand, and then, with one hand raised high and the other on his hip as if afraid that others wouldn't hear him, he said loudly with a radiant face, "Hello everyone, we are from Yunhu Automobile Factory. This car is a product of our Yunhu Automobile Factory. It is a state-of-the-art sedan that we designed and produced ourselves."

What do you think of this car? Haha…”

He laughed like a comedian, shaking his head and saying, "Then I definitely have to say yes!"

A voice immediately rang out from behind the crowd, "It's like an old woman selling her melons!"

The onlookers immediately burst into good-natured laughter.

Regardless, Yunhu Automobile Factory is a unit within the province, and it designed and manufactured such a beautiful car. It should be proud of itself, and no one would laugh at it.

Compared to other cars of this era, whether imported or domestically produced, this car can indeed be described as "beautiful".

The streamlined body is clean and crisp, and the body is wider and more substantial than that of ordinary sedans, giving it a stable and imposing appearance. Assembled under strict quality control processes, the body has almost no noticeable gaps…

Regardless of the quality, its appearance alone is enough to "dominate the whole country".

At this moment, in everyone's eyes, even the renowned "two peerless heroes" of the domestic car industry, Hongqi and Shanghai, no longer seemed appealing, and even imported cars seemed to be inferior.
The middle-aged cadre looked at the car for a while, then suddenly looked up at Director Yang, extended his right hand and said, "Comrade, let me introduce myself. I am Qiu Changyang, the deputy director of the provincial steel plant. What is your name?"

Director Yang's eyes lit up. "Hello, Deputy Director Qiu. I am Yang Kangnian, Director, Secretary and Factory Director of Yunhu Machinery Factory and Secretary of Yunhu Automobile Factory." Although the provincial steel plant is not as big as steel giants like Ansteel, Baosteel, Shougang and Wuhan Steel, it is still a large unit in the steel industry, far superior to the small Yunhu Steel Plant.

Yunhu Automobile Factory will need a large amount of special steel in the future. If we can build a good relationship with the leaders of the provincial steel company, many things will be much easier.

When Deputy Factory Director Qiu heard that it was actually the head of Yunhu Automobile Factory, he was quite surprised, but then his eyes lit up and he felt even better. He immediately smiled and said, "So it's Director Yang. Hello, hello."

He paused for a moment, then smiled slightly embarrassedly, "Director Yang, I have a favor to ask."

He turned to look at the car. "Well, our factory is planning to purchase a few cars for reception purposes. I think your car is quite nice. Would it be convenient for you to sit in it for a few minutes?"

Upon hearing this, Factory Director Yang was overjoyed. "Great! Of course it'll work!"

He immediately opened the back door for him, saying, "Deputy Factory Director Qiu, please, please, let's sit down and experience it now."

Although the higher-ups assigned Yunhu Automobile Factory a production quota of 200 vehicles, such a large automobile factory can't just rely on production quotas to survive like Jiangnan Automobile Factory!
They had to find some business themselves, and as the leading steel plant in the province, a few vehicles were just a small matter.

Once we secure this major client, orders will come in one after another, whether through repeat purchases or referrals.

With his mind racing, he invited Deputy Factory Director Qiu and his two companions into the car, then moved to the passenger seat himself. As he fastened his seatbelt, he said, "Let me tell you, this car just arrived in the provincial capital. We set off from Yunhu early this morning, and the journey has been incredibly comfortable..."

As he boasted, the driver honked the horn twice, and the crowd automatically dispersed, watching the car slowly drive away.

Chen Fan leaned against the car door, silently took out a cigarette and put it in his mouth, watching the car drive away, a question lingering in his mind.

What did they want from me?

After finishing his cigarette, and with the car still not back, he got impatient and went straight upstairs to order a table full of dishes.

We ordered almost everything we hadn't tried at the wild game restaurant last time, and also ordered two bottles of Moutai.

That being said, many people believe that Moutai was the wine served at the founding ceremony banquet, but that was actually a later fabrication by Moutai.

When Moutai advertised, it inadvertently targeted two types of liquor. One was Fenjiu, which was served at the state banquet during the founding ceremony of the People's Republic of China. According to the staff member in charge of serving liquor at the Beijing Hotel at the time, there were four types of liquor at the banquet: Fenjiu, Zhuyeqing liquor, Shaoxing rice wine, and Tonghua red wine. Moutai was not among them.

It just so happens that Fenjiu ruined itself and its reputation became terrible, so Moutai took the opportunity to rise to the top and squeezed out Fenjiu's position by making up stories.

Another example is Lao Baigan, which won an award in Panama. Lao Baigan is a strong-aroma baijiu, and its aroma is immediately apparent upon opening the jar, which is where sauce-aroma baijiu falls slightly short. However, since Lao Baigan didn't advertise at the time, the award was taken by Moutai.

That being said, it doesn’t mean that Moutai is no good. On the contrary, Moutai had a glorious century of history and opened a specialty store in Hong Kong a long time ago.

However, at the time of the founding ceremony, Moutai was still in the hands of the Kuomintang. Where could they have transported Moutai?
Moreover, it was during the worst period for Moutai, with only three distilleries still brewing wine, producing very little, and unable to supply such a large-scale banquet.

But it was on the basis of these three small distilleries that they were reorganized and merged, which led to the later state-owned Maotai Distillery, and then a fresh start.

However, it still has a strong foundation, and within a few years, Moutai surpassed Fenjiu.

Want proof? Hehe, "Gujingting" 65 degrees, one of the "Eight Great Fenjiu", is exported and retails for 3.3 yuan.

Moutai? 8 yuan!
Yes, that's why Chen Fan ordered Moutai.

Instead of choosing the right one, they choose the expensive one!

Although I don't like the soy sauce flavor, I'll order it just because it's the most expensive!

After the food and drinks were served, Director Yang and his team finally returned.

Following the waiter's directions, Director Yang entered the room, wiped the sweat from his brow, and grinned broadly. "Oh my, what great luck I've had today! I ran into a benefactor as soon as I stepped out the door. Let me tell you..."

They were talking when he suddenly stopped, pointed to the dozen or so dishes on the table, his fingers trembling slightly, and asked, "Xiao Fan, are there any other people coming?"

Chen Fan looked at him, then at the doorway, "Isn't the important person you met coming?"

Factory Director Yang pursed his lips, pulled out a chair with a sigh, and sat down. "They're here for a business dinner, how can they all eat at the same table? They'll sit downstairs..."

He paused for a moment, then asked, puzzled, "Hey, there are private rooms upstairs, why don't they come up?"

Upon hearing that no guests were coming, Chen Fan immediately picked up the wine bottle, unscrewed the cap, and poured the wine while saying, "Oh, because it's expensive upstairs."

"expensive?"

Factory Director Yang glanced at the dishes on the table; they did indeed look quite tempting—bear paws, pheasants, pigeons… a variety of dishes. He couldn't help but swallow hard and asked in a low voice, "How expensive are they?"

Without turning his head, Chen Fan said, "This table, it'll cost a little over two hundred."

The driver, who was helping to pour the wine, suddenly looked up, his hand holding the bottle trembled for a moment, and he quickly held it with both hands.

Turning back to look at the dishes on the table, I exclaimed, "My goodness! This meal is worth three months' salary?!"

Even Factory Director Yang's legs suddenly felt weak, and his gaze swept over the dishes, "Can...can we still get a refund?"

Chen Fan immediately said seriously, "Of course not. How can you return dishes that have already been served? Besides, this is a restaurant catering to foreign guests. If I hadn't seen you chatting so happily with that Deputy Factory Director Qiu, I wouldn't have dared to come up and order."

He then sighed regretfully, "It's a pity they didn't come."

Secretly, he was delighted; this was a good excuse, otherwise he could have easily taken advantage of the situation.

Naturally, Director Yang had to pay for the meal. They had clearly come to him for a favor, so they deserved a good meal.

Besides, I've made a lot of contributions to the machinery factory, and all I've received are some benefits. It's not unreasonable for me to have a big meal.

Seeing that things had come to this point, Director Yang could only wave his hand and say, "Alright, that's settled then."

Chen Fan filled the glass in front of him and chuckled, "That's right, now that we're at the table, we should eat and drink."

After sitting down, I wiped my hands with a towel, raised my glass to toast him, and asked, "Is there something important you need to do here today?"

Factory Director Yang took a sip of his drink and nodded slightly. "We've come here mainly for two reasons. One is that the car factory is already taking shape and needs a large number of workers, technicians, and engineers. We've come to ask for their help."

Another issue is that both models have already rolled off the production line, but the factory price hasn't been finalized yet. We need to come and discuss this with our superiors and hear their opinions; the price still needs their approval.

He paused for a moment, then looked at Chen Fan and asked with a smile, "Xiao Fan, you're quite knowledgeable, do you have any suggestions?"

(End of this chapter)