Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 593 Buying a Car
In his office, He Qingsheng was reviewing documents when he heard a knock on the door. Without looking up, he called out, "Come in."

When the door was pushed open, he turned his head and glanced at it. His first reaction was to put the cigarettes on the table into the drawer. At the same time, he glanced at the cabinet door and saw that it was locked, so he breathed a sigh of relief.

Chen Fan closed the door behind him. Seeing his reaction, he couldn't help but purse his lips, walked over, pulled out a chair, and sat down, saying irritably, "Is it really necessary? Locking the cabinet and leaving nothing on the table, who are you trying to keep an eye on?"

He then took out a cigarette and tossed one over, saying, "Look, now that's what you call classy."

He Qingsheng took the cigarette and held it up, saying, "It looks kind of familiar."

Chen Fan put a cigarette in his mouth, took out a lighter and handed it over, "Oh, I took it from your desk last time."

He Qingsheng rolled his eyes, held the flame to the fire, and said, "Doesn't the hospital provide you with meals? Can you please stop coming over for lunch and a nap every day before going to the hospital?"

Chen Fan smiled slightly and looked at him, saying, "This is a small canteen, but the food tastes much better than the hospital's large canteen. If it were you, which would you choose?"

He Qingsheng shook his head speechlessly, "These days, who doesn't eat like this? You're the only one who would choose to eat something that costs money when there's something free to eat.

He leaned back in his chair. "What's going on today? You didn't go to rest, and you still have the energy to treat patients this afternoon?"

Chen Fan shook his head, "It's all cured, you don't need to go again."

He leaned forward, rested his arms on the table, and chuckled, "The school exams are over, summer vacation is here, I'll be going back in a bit."

Upon hearing this, He Qingsheng's eyes widened immediately. "No, with so much going on at work, you're going back home for summer vacation?"

Chen Fan said in a serious tone, "What do you mean by summer vacation? I'm going home to participate in farm work. The double harvest is about to begin, and as Mr. Li instructed, grain work is of paramount importance. I also need to go back to participate in the double harvest."

He Qingsheng stared at him blankly for a long time before finally managing to stammer out, "You idiot, I don't believe your nonsense."

Chen Fan clicked his tongue, "How come Changsha valves and Wuhan valves are put together like this?"

He Qingsheng was too lazy to argue with him and asked directly, "When are you leaving?"

Chen Fan pointed out the window, "The luggage is all packed. We'll go to the guesthouse later to pack up the computer and then leave."

He Qingsheng frowned slightly. "Can you make it today?"

Chen Fan: "It's alright. Last time I went back, they replaced the engine in my car, so I can drive faster by myself. Maybe I can even have dinner at Yunhu."

When he heard him mention cars, He Qingsheng suddenly remembered something. “I heard from Lao Li, the editor-in-chief of Yunhu Daily, that Yunhu Automobile Factory sent them a news report saying that the two new cars that had been making a lot of noise before would be officially launched on July 1st, as a gift to the organization.”

He looked directly at Chen Fan and said, "Forget about the sedan, it costs 98,000 yuan a unit, which is more expensive than the Hongqi and Shanghai brands. No matter how comfortable it is, it's not as good as buying a Hongqi. But that van that can be used for both passengers and cargo is not bad. It only costs 18,000 yuan a unit, which is cheaper than a regular station wagon, and it can seat 7 people."

When not carrying passengers, the seats can be removed to haul cargo, making this vehicle very cost-effective.

"Aren't you quite familiar with the leaders of Yunhu Automobile Factory? Could you ask them later how to buy this car and whether a permit from the Commerce Bureau is required?"

The name of the van was announced by Yunhu Automobile Factory. Although he didn't understand what it had to do with bread, He Qingsheng just went along with it.

However, with the launch of the new car, the name should soon spread throughout the country.

Chen Fan was taken aback for a moment. "Released on July 1st? Isn't that tomorrow?"

He Qingsheng threw his cigarette butt into the ashtray, then took out a pack from the drawer and nodded, saying, "That's right, the title of that news article is 'Our province's independently developed car is launched today as a gift to the organization.' If it's released tomorrow, it will be just right."

After lighting a cigarette, he continued, "It's perfect timing that you're going back today, just in time for the new car launch tomorrow. If it doesn't require a permit, buy a few for the company."

Chen Fan raised an eyebrow slightly, "How many?"

He Qingsheng took a puff of his cigarette and said without hesitation, "Five units, that'll be exactly 90,000."

Chen Fan blinked, staring intently at him. "Five cars all at once? Does the company have that much spare money?"

He Qingsheng stared at him blankly, his lips curving into a wide grin as he chuckled, “Two stations will go to Jiangnan Literature and Art, two to the Correspondence Center, and the Writers Association will keep only one for itself. It’s enough to divide them up.”

Chen Fan's face darkened. "How come I, the center director, didn't know that we needed to purchase two vans?"

He Qingsheng chuckled, "Isn't it great that a pie fell from the sky? Anyway, the car will be registered under the correspondence center's name, so you can use it yourself."

Chen Fan was speechless. "I have my own car, why would I need it?"

He Qingsheng said with a smile, "You don't need it, so lend it to the Writers' Association. We'll cover the maintenance costs."

Chen Fan couldn't help but roll his eyes. "It's fine if you embezzled the funds from the correspondence center, we don't need them anyway. But since you bought a car in our name, at least keep one for us. I don't need it, and I won't let you use it either."

He Qingsheng was overjoyed and nodded repeatedly, "No problem, no problem, it's settled then."

Chen Fan didn't bother arguing with him. The main point was that since He Qingsheng had brought it up, it meant that the plan had definitely been privately agreed upon by the big shots.

For the correspondence center, the money earned cannot be used to pay out too many bonuses, nor can it be used at will. It might as well be used to buy a car, which would at least provide an excuse for their own department to enjoy the benefits.

Although he owns a car, he can leave one with Bian Huifang in case she needs it someday.

As for whether or not it's possible to buy it, there's no need to ask.

Having finalized the matter, He Qingsheng cheerfully took out a cigarette and handed it over, saying with a smile, "By the way, there's something else I need to tell you. The first batch of your manuscripts has been sent out via express registered mail, and they've replied with a telegram saying they've received them. Takahashi is very satisfied and they'll be printing soon. I just wanted to let you know about this."

As early as 72, my country signed a direct mail agreement with Japan. Unlike the United States, where it was necessary to transit through Hong Kong, Japan could send mail directly to Japan by sea or direct air. In particular, express registered mail was faster than mail to some parts of China. It was quite normal to be able to send mail and receive a reply telegram so quickly.

Chen Fan nodded to indicate that he understood, and then asked, "I remember that when we signed the contract, it didn't include 'Yunhu Love' and 'Shanghai Spy Shadow'. Could you send a telegram to him later to ask if he's interested?"

He paused for a moment, then added, "Of course, we shouldn't rush into it. We can discuss this after they've printed the first batch of books and put them on the market."

He Qingsheng hummed in agreement, looked at him and smiled, "You really are up to no good. If the book sells well, you can take the opportunity to propose two new books. If they are interested, you might even be able to raise the price."

If the books don't sell well, we can sell them off as a form of compensation.

Anyway, it won't delay the publication of either book.

Chen Fan smiled and shook his head, "Then you've misunderstood me. I really never intended to cheat that little book. You know, we literary creators and publishers are in the same boat. If they can make money, our books will be valuable."

Regarding the sales of those books, I can't guarantee they'll be great, but they won't be bad either. As for the talk of raising prices, that's utter nonsense. The royalties for these books are fixed; the only thing negotiable is the royalty rate. In this regard, we've already offered a fairly high figure, leaving very little room for further increases, so it's better not to discuss it at all.

He Qingsheng looked at him in surprise, "Then what is your purpose?"

Chen Fan shrugged. "It's simple, I just want to earn some royalties."

The two books together total more than 800,000 words. Even if the royalties aren't as high as last time, they should still be around 40,000 to 50,000 US dollars. Why not take the path that's right in front of you? Isn't money more appealing?

After listening to Chen Fan's words, He Qingsheng pursed his lips and thought for a moment, then nodded in deep agreement, "Yes, that's your style."

Chen Fan's lips twitched slightly, and then he asked, "Is there anything else? If not, I'm on vacation."

He Qingsheng snapped out of his daze and quickly said, "Oh, there are two more. One is the announcement of the winners of the first Lu Xun Literary Prize, which will also take place tomorrow and will be publicized in relevant magazines and newspapers under the Writers Association."

He pointed at Chen Fan and laughed, "You weren't selected for the first edition. You're too young. It wouldn't be appropriate to award you the first highest literary prize."

Chen Fan smiled and nodded gently, "I understand."

He truly understands, not only because he is too young, but also because he drafted the judging rules himself, which clearly stated the condition that "the nominated works must be completed and published no later than the previous year".

He only started publishing literary works in May of last year, with only a few serialized novels such as "On the Field of Hope," the earliest of which was completed this year, so he does not meet the selection criteria.

As for whether he will be included in the next session?
He estimated that "Shanghai Spy Shadow" was out of the question, as it was too popular fiction, but "Love in the Cloud Lake," "The Ferryman," "Old Stories," and "Reed Marsh" might have a chance.

But that's all for next year, so let's wait until next year to talk about it.

Hearing his words, He Qingsheng looked at him carefully and found that he was not displeased at all, and a smile appeared on his face. "Your mentality is not like that of a young person at all."

Chen Fan laughed and said, "Young people can be mature beyond their years too."

He Qingsheng waved his hand and changed the subject, "The other one is the distribution of the magazine 'Literary Youth'. The data has just been compiled and sent to me."

He leaned back in his chair, looked at Chen Fan, and smiled, "Guess how many copies of this magazine sold in a week?"

On June 16, Tan Yong made the decision to publish the inaugural issue within a week. With the coordination of the Writers Association and the hard work of staff from several units working overtime, the task was completed on time and officially released on June 23.

Today marks exactly one week.

Because the magazine wasn't promoted beforehand, even though He Qingsheng had secured distribution channels through the post office, not many people subscribed directly by mail. Sales mainly relied on Xinhua Bookstore and bank transfers.

Therefore, Chen Fan didn't dare to guess too high and gave a conservative figure, "Twenty thousand?"

He Qingsheng curled his lips, "You guessed 20,000 because you saw that the correspondence center has 20,000 students, right?"

Before Chen Fan could speak, he grinned and gestured, "More than double, 5, how about it?"

Chen Fan was stunned. "Why are there so many?"

Don't be fooled by the 20 or 50 copies sold by literary magazines these days; those are all from established publishing houses with a readership base.

This experimental, preliminary edition, especially the inaugural issue, would be lucky to get tens of thousands of copies.

Even with the existing student base from the correspondence center, the number wouldn't exceed 30,000... This figure is derived from 20,000 students plus 10,000 regular sales.

If the magazine's quality can resonate with or interest readers, there is a possibility that it will continue to rise in the future.

But the fact that it sold 5 copies in just one week after its release was indeed somewhat beyond Chen Fan's expectations.

He Qingsheng looked at him and smiled, "I was also shocked when I first saw this number. But thinking about it carefully, it's quite normal. First of all, there are the 20,000 students you mentioned, these people will definitely buy it. Secondly, the publicity from Yunhu Daily and Wenhui Daily will at least bring in 20,000 to 30,000 in sales."

Furthermore, the newspaper advertised the magazine's content, which mainly featured the works of students enrolled in the correspondence course. As a result, students from other provinces, in addition to those in our correspondence center in Jiangnan Province, would naturally be interested.

Even some novice writers hope to judge the quality of their own writing by comparing it to the works of those they consider to be at a similar level.

At this point, He Qingsheng spread his hands and said, "5 is not the end, but only a stage victory. We should receive a large number of orders later. We estimate that the final number may be around 10."

After listening to He Qingsheng's words, Chen Fan nodded slightly, "Yes, that makes sense."

Then, turning his head, he stood up and said, "Is that all? If you're done, I'm leaving."

He Qingsheng stared at him blankly. "No, this is all you're going to do for such a joyous occasion?"

Chen Fan shrugged. "What kind of reaction do you expect? Do you think I'll give you an extra bonus?"

He Qingsheng: "There will definitely be a bonus."

Chen Fan's eyes lit up. "How much?"

He Qingsheng held up one finger, "For you, it's 100 yuan."

Chen Fan rolled his eyes, turned around and left, waving his hand as he went out, "Have Xiao Bian collect it for me, don't let me embezzle it."

He Qingsheng grabbed the cigarette in front of him and threw it at him, laughing and cursing, "Didn't you say you didn't like it? You still want it?"

Chen Fan grabbed the cigarette with his other hand and chuckled, "I didn't take this, you gave it to me yourself, thanks."

After saying that, he turned around and left.

He Qingsheng, "..."

With a bang of the door, he shook his head with a smile.

After a long while, he opened the drawer and took out a form, which turned out to be a recommendation form for national members of the Writers Association.

As He Qingsheng filled out the form, he muttered to himself, "Once the General Association's council is established and his application for national membership is approved, I'll definitely make that kid treat me to a meal. He earns so much money but is still so stingy; I can't let him get away with it."

(End of this chapter)