Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 594 Focus on One Thing

After returning to the guesthouse, loading the computer into the car, and saying goodbye to Xiao Peng, Chen Fan sped off towards Yunhu.

As he expected, the journey was incredibly fast, and he arrived at the Chen family's old residence before 6 p.m.

Huang Li and the others come to clean the house regularly, so it's not dirty. Chen Fan tidied up a bit, went to the kitchen, lit the coal stove, and boiled some water. After making the bed, the water was boiling. He poured himself a cup of hot tea, rested for a while, and then checked the time. It was already 6:30, so he got up and went outside.

It was fine before, but now that I've established a relationship with Jiang Lili, my first stop after returning home will definitely be the Jiang family unless there's a special reason; otherwise, it would be considered impolite.

After picking and choosing a few items, Chen Fan put them in the passenger seat of his car and drove to the cotton mill.

Jiang Heng and Shen Xueyi were overjoyed at Chen Fan's arrival and quickly welcomed him inside.

Jiang Heng handed Chen Fan a pack of cigarettes, saying, "You can smoke them yourself, don't worry about me."

He works in the textile industry and studied textile engineering in school. Because he often deals with flammable materials, he never smokes.

Chen Fan waved his hand, "I don't smoke often, I only smoke a little when I'm socializing."

There was no way around it; whether it was the production team, the machinery factory, the health department, or now the writers' association, everyone was a heavy smoker, and it was impossible not to be corrupted.

Jiang Heng smiled and nodded, "It's good to smoke less. Although you're still young, you should take care of your health."

While busy, Shen Xueyi said, "Lili called yesterday and said that they both have work to do. She has to go to the laboratory with her teacher, and Tiantian has to go to the magazine to study. They won't be coming back for summer vacation."

I was wondering if you'd come back, and here you are today.

She placed a cup of green tea in front of Chen Fan and pointed the fan at him, saying, "Sit down for a while, I'll go cook."

He then walked toward the kitchen.

Chen Fan said with a smile, "I'm just back for a visit. I'll be going to Shanghai in a couple of days."

He has nothing to do right now, so he decided to go to Shanghai to be with his girlfriend and, while he's at it, work out the outline for his Western fantasy novel.

He also has manuscripts for more than a dozen provincial literary magazines, which he plans to complete within the next two months.

He will try to reduce his contributions to magazines such as Jiangnan Literature and Art in the future, especially his novels, which will no longer be serialized in magazines.

Of course, the relationship cannot be completely severed. Every few months, I will write a short or medium-length story for each of them to maintain the connection.

He originally submitted articles to these magazines to earn money. Thanks to the generosity of the magazine, he is now quite well-off. In addition to the 38 yuan that Master Zhang has, he also has nearly 8 yuan in cash on hand, so he is not short of money at all.

Another point is that once the Western fantasy novel system is established and published in the United States through the Zhou family's publishing house, that will be the real money-maker.

Such a simple calculation is something even a kindergarten child would know how to make a choice, let alone him.

When Jiang Heng heard that Chen Fan was going to Shanghai, he knew that he was going to be with his daughters, and his face immediately lit up with a smile. "It's good to go to Shanghai. Neither of the two sisters has ever been far from home. We don't know if they will be able to get used to it. We will feel at ease with you going to be with them."

Chen Fan grinned awkwardly, feeling inexplicably guilty.

I wonder if he'll go berserk if he finds out how he takes care of Lili.

Jiang Heng took a sip of tea and changed the subject, "I heard that your uncle came back to see you last month. Why didn't he stop by Yunhu?"

Chen Fan's expression stiffened slightly, and he carefully said, "It did fall for a day."

He made a hand gesture, looking somewhat embarrassed, "Well, maybe I'm not ready yet."

Normally, since Lili and I have already gone through that, it would be proper for my uncle and the Jiang family to meet. Even if they don't discuss the marriage, it would still be a courtesy for the in-laws to meet.

However, he had been alone since childhood and was used to handling everything on his own. Subconsciously, he would forget about relatives and friends, so he didn't think of this for a moment.

Jiang Heng blinked, nodded in realization, and said with a sigh, "That's true. After all, you've never seen it before, so it's normal to find it hard to accept at first."

He looked up at Chen Fan with a hint of pity in his eyes and smiled, "It's alright, there's plenty of time. We'll treat your uncle to dinner again when he comes back to China next time."

There were no words of advice, but the sentence contained everything.

Chen Fan nodded sincerely, "Okay, I'll make the arrangements when he returns to China next time."

The two chatted about some trivial matters. When Jiang Heng heard Chen Fan say that he had completed all the exams, he was extremely surprised and could only shake his head and sigh, "I heard from Lili and the others that you had been helping them preview the university courses a long time ago. Having talent is not terrible, the key is to work harder than others. No wonder you have achieved what you have today."

At this moment, Shen Xueyi came out of the kitchen carrying dishes and called out with a smile, "Dinner's ready!"

Jiang Heng stood up, gestured to Chen Fan in invitation, and said with a smile, "Your aunt and I have already had dinner. I'll have a couple of drinks with you."

Chen Fan didn't stand on ceremony, walked over and sat down, picked up the wine bottle and poured two glasses of wine.

Shen Xueyi took off her apron and sat down beside her.

Jiang Heng raised his glass in a gesture, took a sip of wine, and said, "Last time you mentioned the down jacket fabric production line to me, the report has been sent to the Light Industry Department, but it is a very important matter, and the department still needs to conduct extensive research and careful study, so it is estimated that it will be difficult to get results in a short period of time."

Chen Fan took a bite of food and said seriously, "My suggestion to open a down jacket fabric production line is also related to Lujiawan. Now the poultry farming industry in Lujiawan is growing bigger and bigger. In addition to itself, it has also driven the other four production teams in Nanhu Commune. If the five production teams work together, the volume will be huge."

So I thought Lujiawan would take the lead in setting up a collective enterprise in Nanhu to clean down feathers, and this work has already begun.

Once this factory is up and running, we'll have a large quantity of ready-made down available. Although we can make money selling down directly, it's still not as good as starting our own down jacket factory.

Lujiawan is unlike ordinary production teams; its daily net profit is tens of thousands, and its total annual profit is conservatively estimated to be over ten million…

Shen Xueyi, standing nearby, couldn't help but exclaim, "So many?"

Jiang Heng was also very surprised. Although the cotton mill had nearly 10,000 employees and more than a dozen branch factories, its total annual profit was actually less than that of Lujiawan.

That's a bit outrageous.

Chen Fan turned his head and smiled, "It is a lot, but the brigade headquarters doesn't control all of it. They also have to distribute profits to the smaller teams and production members. In the end, there will probably only be two or three million left."

Jiang Heng sighed, "That's still quite remarkable."

He was no stranger to the production teams. Whether in the past or after his reinstatement, he had often visited the production teams near the prefectural committee.

Even though the Jiangnan region is known as a land of fish and rice, with bumper rice harvests every year, the dividends distributed to commune members amounted to only one or two hundred yuan a year, barely equivalent to that of an ordinary formal worker in the city. Those who grew cotton or rapeseed received slightly more, but still only a small amount.

It's unheard of for a place like Lujiawan to be able to offer 6 or 7 million in dividends.

Lujiawan has a total population of just under 4,000. After deducting the income allocated to the production teams and including the elderly, women, and children, a strong laborer can earn at least 3,000 to 4,000 yuan, which is ten to twenty times more than other production teams.

Not to mention, compared to places with harsh natural conditions, those places are lucky to get a few dozen yuan a year, and it's not uncommon for them to be in debt for food every year.

Therefore, Lujiawan can indeed be considered a relatively powerful unit.

In other words, the time frame was relatively short. If the time frame had been longer, barring any unforeseen circumstances, Lujiawan might have become even stronger than several of the major factories under the prefectural committee.

Just as he was pondering, Chen Fan continued, "Therefore, Lujiawan is fully capable of setting up a factory of considerable size."

However, Lujiawan has nothing in terms of technology and equipment except for money. That's why I thought it would be best if the cotton mill could also join in. You could set up a down jacket fabric production plant, and after producing the fabric, you could sell it directly to the garment factory in Lujiawan. With down and fabric, you could produce down jackets.

I've asked around, and down jackets are currently very popular in some parts of southern China. Many people there don't wear cotton-padded coats in winter; instead, they buy down jackets.

As for the northern market, it's currently a blank slate. However, down jackets are actually more suitable for the north, so we're facing a very large untapped market.

At this moment, Shen Xueyi said from the side, "After you mentioned it last time, I also went to ask around and check the information. There are still a few down jacket factories in China. Why don't they sell their down jackets to the north?"

Chen Fan turned around and smiled, "Because they are responsible for generating foreign exchange, almost all of their down jackets are exported. Only a very small number enter the market through department stores, and even then, the supply is always insufficient."

Shen Xueyi nodded thoughtfully and said nothing more.

Jiang Heng picked up his wine glass, took a sip, and put it down before saying to Chen Fan, "I know what I'm doing. Once I've settled things at the factory, I'll go to the provincial capital another day to handle this personally."

He suddenly chuckled, "I might need to borrow your name sometime."

Chen Fan was stunned for a moment, "Me?"

What does this have to do with me?

Shen Xueyi laughed from the side, "You don't know yet, do you? Your name is very useful. Which unit or system in Jiangnan Province hasn't heard of you? First, you invented a new first aid method. You are very familiar with medical skills. Later, based on your father's draft, you designed two cars."

Some people describe you as an omnipotent genius, saying you can do everything.

Chen Fan feigned embarrassment and wiped away non-existent cold sweat. "That would be too unfair to me. Uh, are you going to drag me out for research?"

Jiang Heng chuckled and shook his head, saying, "Don't take it too seriously. Nobody believes there's an omnipotent genius, but your reputation is still trustworthy. Whenever you voluntarily get involved in a field, you're always purposeful and not just making things up."

Using your name to pave the way is no joke; at least the leaders of the Light Industry Bureau will pay more attention to this proposal, which adds a few more weight to its argument.

After speaking, Jiang Heng hesitated for two seconds before saying, "Xiao Fan, we're practically family now. Uncle wants to tell you something from the bottom of his heart."

Chen Fan put down his chopsticks, turned around to face him, and said, "Please speak."

Jiang Heng looked at him and smiled, "You are very smart and talented, but you've ventured into a wide range of industries. If you could focus on one particular field, you would definitely achieve even greater success."

Shen Xueyi couldn't help but nod gently.

Chen Fan's story is not hard to find out; people will even willingly listen to it.

He was proficient in electromechanical engineering, capable of designing two types of cars, and received recognition and praise from experts at the Ministry of Machinery Industry.

Unfortunately, he designed it based on his father's notebook, and the credit still goes to his father.

He is indeed capable, but not irreplaceable.

This is also the main reason why the Ministry of Machine Building did not insist on transferring him there.

Now that they've got Chen Fan's father's notebook, he's not that important anymore.

Medicine is another example.

It created a new first aid method and saved countless lives, but that was all.

He is a good doctor, but he is only at the intermediate level and cannot advance further. What great use can an intermediate doctor be?
It's only because of that first-aid method that the health system has always treated him like one of their own; otherwise, no one would even give him a second glance. (Qin Zhongxian and Fang Yuanshou from Fudan Medical School: Who said that?)
Therefore, in the eyes of many people, Chen Fan is talented and proficient in many skills, but that's all; he is far from being irreplaceable.

This is the main reason why Chen Fan can wander from one unit to another without anyone trying to stop him.

Faced with Jiang Heng's concern, Chen Fan naturally wouldn't reveal his true identity. He immediately adopted a humble and obedient demeanor, saying, "Yes, yes, that's why I'm currently focusing on literature and not paying much attention to other things."

Secretly, he was overjoyed, having successfully concealed his true abilities. Thank goodness he had succeeded; otherwise, he would have been drafted and used to the point of exhaustion.

Jiang Heng didn't care whether it was literature or mechanics, since Chen Fan didn't understand textiles, so it had nothing to do with him.

Seeing that Chen Fan was so obedient, he nodded with satisfaction, "Good, good. No matter what industry we are in, as long as we can do it well and deeply, we are people who contribute to society."

Chen Fan picked up his glass. "Okay, I got it. Uncle, let's have a drink."

……

The next morning, Chen Fan got up, stretched in the yard, and considered that he had completed his morning exercise.

A few days ago, he discovered that his daily morning exercise seemed to be having no effect; it made no difference whether he exercised or not.

You can achieve the effect of morning exercise by simply stretching your muscles at any time, which is similar to Master Zhang's concept of "returning to simplicity" and "using nourishment as a form of exercise".

But isn't that a stage only for older martial artists? I'm still so young, how can I retire already?
He shook his head, stood in the yard, took a deep breath, exhaled a breath of stale air, and then whistled.

In just a few seconds, two raccoon dogs descended from the sky and sat obediently in front of him.

Chen Fan took stock of the team, saying, "There are no rats in the house, and you've done a very good job. Today, you'll get an extra two dried fish as a reward. Go and get them yourself."

The two raccoons immediately beamed with joy and rushed to the kitchen.

Chen Fan then opened the door and got into the car, preparing to go to the machinery factory—no, it should be Yunhu Automobile Factory—to buy a car.

(End of this chapter)