Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 604 Very reasonable

On Monday, July 10th, both Jiang sisters went to school, and Chen Fan also took Liu Lu with him.

I rode my sidecar to the Writers' Association. As soon as I entered the courtyard, I saw five Yunhu brand minivans parked on the side.

He parked his tricycle next to the van, got out, walked around, and couldn't help but grin and chuckle.

Soon we can switch from the convertible to the cabin, and we won't have to endure the wind and rain anymore.

He didn't let Liu Lu go up; he stayed there to wait. He walked quickly into the Writers' Association building by himself, waving and greeting people, and went straight to Ba Jin's office.

After knocking and entering, Ba Jin looked up and said, "Don't come to me for this kind of thing again. I've become the scapegoat for you. What does the computer have to do with the Writers' Association? If it weren't for the fact that all the members here have received your calligraphy, there would probably be a lot of people objecting."

Chen Fan pulled out a chair with a grin, took out a cigarette and offered it to him, "Who said computers have nothing to do with the Writers' Association?"

My uncle told me that the US is researching a Chinese character input method for computers. This method is much simpler and more convenient than the old mechanical typewriters. It also uses the Pinyin input method that my country has been using for many years. In other words, as long as you can speak, you can type.

Once this input method is developed, we won't need a pen to write anymore. We can just type on the computer keyboard, and the text will appear with a click. We can also directly edit and copy it on the computer.

You asked if writers would still be able to live without computers at that time?

Old Ba was holding a cigarette, about to light it, when he heard his words and stared at him in disbelief. "Are you telling the truth?"

Chen Fan nodded, took his lighter, lit it, and handed it to him to light it.

Ba Jin only quit smoking and drinking in his later years. Before that, he still smoked and drank. His nephew, Li Shu, jokingly called him "smoking and drinking without exercising." However, he smoked "coiled tobacco," meaning he didn't inhale it into his lungs, and he only drank about 2ml of alcohol, generally not much more.

Moreover, his favorite thing was actually dry tobacco, which gave Chen Fan another reason to smoke it: to learn from celebrities.

However, he didn't learn Ba Jin's outspoken personality. Someone wrote a poem and asked Ba Jin for his advice, but Ba Jin only glanced at it a few times, frowned, and gave a comment: "Damn it."

This is something Chen Fan could never learn. He kept too many secrets in his heart, always keeping some things to himself and never intentionally offending anyone, choosing to prioritize stability.

Chen Fan put the lighter in his pocket, took a drag of his cigarette, shifted his weight back a bit, and laughed, "Why would I lie to you if there's nothing wrong? In America, many families are already using computers as office tools, writing documents and creating spreadsheets, and it's becoming increasingly common."

Anyway, from what my uncle said, I estimate that they will develop a Chinese input method this year. Once we have a Chinese input method, we can translate those electronic documents and spreadsheets into Chinese, and we can use them like Americans.

Once he has the results, he will definitely send me a computer. When you receive it, I'll invite you to my house for dinner and show you how to use it for writing.

Old Ba took a deep breath, silently took a drag of his cigarette, but kept his gaze fixed on Chen Fan. After a long while, he said, "When I get back today, I'll also check if he has an uncle in America."

Chen Fan grinned and chuckled, "Having an uncle isn't enough. This uncle also needs to be rich. A computer with a Chinese input method will cost at least $1500. This kind of thing isn't cheap."

Old Ba sighed, "Forget it, I can't count on my uncle. I'll wait for your uncle to help me get my royalties back before he helps me buy one."

He made a little joke, flicked off his cigarette ash, opened a drawer, took out an envelope, and tossed it in front of Chen Fan. "See the car downstairs? It arrived just two days before you. It's the one you bought yourself. The license plate is 08-12345. It'll be driving away in a bit."

These days, license plates don't use Chinese characters; instead, they use numbers to represent the region. For example, 01 is Beijing, 02 is Hebei, 03 is Inner Mongolia, and Shanghai is 08. The license plate number is only 5 digits long.

It has to be said that the license plate number Buffett gave him was quite arrogant.

After a pause, Old Ba pointed at him again, "Leave the sidecar for me."

With cars available, who needs a sidecar motorcycle?!

The envelope wasn't sealed, and Chen Fan cheerfully tilted it down, revealing a set of keys and a driver's license.

(A vehicle registration certificate from 78, but this one is from Beijing.)

I flipped through it and saw that the organization section listed it as the Shanghai Writers Association, along with the association's phone number and other information. The next page was the inspection page, which contained general data about the vehicle. The following sections were the inspection records and change records, but they were all blank at the moment, with no information filled in.

Chen Fan put the driver's license and keys into his bag, and asked in a low voice, "No one's been gossiping, has anyone?"

Old Ba looked at him with a half-smile, "That's really something. You dared to buy a villa, install a home phone, and now you even have a car to drive, yet you're still afraid of people gossiping behind your back?"

Chen Fan patted his heart, "I also need to be mindful of the impact, of course I'm scared."

Old Ba rolled his eyes at him, "Your words don't match your actions."

Chen Fan chuckled and said, "You can't say that. What I do is mainly to improve the quality of life without violating principles. Apart from that, I'm still quite low-key."

Mr. Ba nodded slightly, "Yes, yes, low-key. You contribute to more than a dozen magazines at the same time, totaling nearly 300,000 words. You write 10,000 words a day. You are the most low-key."

Chen Fan pursed his lips and blinked, "Does everyone know about this?"

Old Ba looked up at him, a slight smile playing on his lips. "What do you think?"

Chen Fan's lips twitched helplessly. Sure enough, the disguise was unreliable. In less than a year, it had all been exposed.

He then coughed lightly and laughed, "Uh, I also feel that contributing to so many magazines at the same time is a bit tiring, so I think starting this month, I should reduce the number of magazines I contribute to, and try to keep it to 3 to 5 in the future, so that it won't seem too exaggerated."

Upon hearing this, Mr. Ba was taken aback, then frowned slightly, "Such a large reduction all at once? Which ones do you want to keep?"

Chen Fan understood what he meant and smiled, "Jiangnan Literature and Art and Shanghai Literature and Art are definitely needed. People's Literature will also be submitted more frequently, but not every month. As for other magazines, we'll take turns submitting to them."

Ba Jin's brows relaxed, and he nodded slightly. "It's time to slow down a bit."

He paused for a moment, then added, "But you also need to explain things clearly to the relevant magazines and organizations, so as not to damage the relationship. You're still young; having more friends means having more options, and having more rivals means having more obstacles. If necessary, you can come to me; I still have some influence, and I can explain things to you."

Chen Fan smiled and cupped his hands in thanks, "Then I'll thank you in advance."

Mr. Ba smiled and then said, "You can use this car without worry. Everyone in the company knows that you paid for it yourself. It's just registered under the company's name, and you have to pay for the gasoline yourself every month."

He looked up at Chen Fan and smiled. "Aside from a few older colleagues calling you a spendthrift, no one else has been gossiping. Anyway, with your royalties, an 18,000 yuan car isn't much. No one will go behind your back and badmouth you; otherwise, your colleagues wouldn't let them off the hook." It wasn't that his colleagues were particularly protective of Chen Fan; it was just that this behavior was somewhat against the rules.

The stormy weather has just passed, and after two years of painstaking patching up and plugging up some of the old holes, who would want to have them ripped open again?

It's not like there's another major upheaval; who would be foolish enough to do something that doesn't bring them any benefit?!
Old Ba continued, "Besides, who doesn't praise those four cars you helped buy? They can carry more people and cargo, and their quality is comparable to that of a sedan. People who ride in these cars are grateful to you."

Chen Fan smiled so hard his eyes narrowed into slits, but he waved his hands repeatedly, saying, "It's not that bad."

Old Ba took another puff of his cigarette, threw the butt into the ashtray, and said softly, "There are two units in the city that bought this kind of car from other places a couple of days ago. The price is the same, but the quality is much worse. They said that when people sit in the car with the doors and windows closed, they can clearly feel the draft."

It's just that it hasn't rained in Shanghai these past few days; otherwise, I would probably have experienced the feeling of being rained on inside a Jeep.

Even so, this car was still hard to buy; you had to search everywhere for manufacturers that produced it. The hardest to find was Yunhu Automobile Factory, since their quality was the best.

At this point, he looked up at Chen Fan and smiled, "Don't you think the company should be grateful to you?"

These days, there are only a few types of cars, and they're not easy to buy. So when a small car that can carry seven people finally appears, it's naturally sought after by various organizations.

Even if it's not for the leaders, it can be used by other cadres in the unit. It's better than not having a car at all.

After hearing what Mr. Ba said, Chen Fan was quite surprised. "The blueprints for the minivan were in the Ministry of Machinery Industry. Didn't Shanghai Automobile Factory go to get them to produce it?"

Old Ba smiled, his eyes holding a profound meaning, but he remained silent.

Chen Fan saw the look in his eyes and suddenly understood.

I understand, I can't let go of my pride.

If FAW hadn't been involved, SAIC might have been the first to request the blueprints and begin production. But with FAW involved, it would seem to others that SAIC was taking advantage of FAW.

Nowadays, Shanghai Automotive is not much worse than Hongqi. Except for not being selected as a ceremonial vehicle, the number of Shanghai-branded cars in southern China may be higher than that of Hongqi cars. It is understandable that they have some self-esteem.

Alternatively, they might want to wait and see.

Anyway, it has nothing to do with Chen Fan; he'll forget about it as soon as he hears it.

Only then did he get down to business, "Mr. Ba, do you know any of the old Shanghai Red Gang tailors? Could you please introduce me?"

Old Ba was startled again, staring intently at him. "What do you want with the Red Gang tailors?"

As she spoke, she looked him up and down twice, "Could it be that you're planning to have a suit made in old Shanghai style? Or make two cheongsams for those two girls?"

"Let me tell you, other things are one thing, since the phone is at home and no one knows, and no one will ask if it's yours when you drive, but you can't wear these clothes out. It'll cause trouble. Those were worn by officials and celebrities in old Shanghai. If you wear them out, the old Shanghainese will know immediately!"

Chen Fan quickly waved his hand and explained, "No, it's like this, I have an apprentice in the production team, she learned tailoring from me..."

Before he could finish speaking, Old Man Ba ​​jumped up, looking at him with a face full of surprise, "Learn what? Tailoring?"

Chen Fan tilted his head back, blinked, and paused for several seconds before weakly saying, "It's reasonable for a small-time writer who designs cars to know a little tailoring, right?!"

Buffett scoffed, speechless. "Reasonable my foot!"

However, when he thought that Chen Fan was famous for his medical skills and his calligraphy and painting were amazing, he felt that knowing a little tailoring skills was nothing special.

He picked up a cigarette, lit it, and sat down again. Then he said to Chen Fan, "I know the people, and I can introduce you. But since you know about the Red Gang tailors, you should know a little about them. They've always used the old master-apprentice system."

If you bring an ordinary person to become an apprentice, you might have a chance, but if you bring a disciple and try to learn their cooking skills, that's much more difficult..."

Before he finished speaking, Chen Fan already knew exactly what was going on.

He nodded immediately. "I understand. Whether it succeeds or not, I will not have any complaints about the master craftsman."

Mr. Ba nodded gently, "Yes, it's good that you know it."

He then grabbed a stack of papers, wrote down an address and a name, tore off half a sheet, and handed it to Chen Fan. "Go and try to find him. He comes from Rong Changxiang, who was famous in Shanghai in his early years. Many of the Red Gang tailors later branched out from Rong Changxiang, making him the most orthodox lineage of the Red Gang tailors."

This man's surname is Wang, and he's also from the Rongchangxiang family. Many celebrities commissioned him to make suits in his early years; that's how I met him. When you go there, mention my name to him and see if that gives you a better chance.”

Chen Fan glanced at the note, then smiled at Ba Lao and said, "Alright, I'm off then."

He then stood up and prepared to leave.

Old Ba quickly called out again, "Remember to bring a gift. If you don't have one, take two bottles of wine from me. Be polite to people, don't act like you're disrespectful to me."

Chen Fan made a gesture, then his expression changed, and he bowed slightly to Elder Ba in a serious manner, "Elder Ba, you are busy, so I will take my leave first. I will come to visit and listen to your teachings again when you have time next time."

Old Ba laughed and waved his hand, "Get lost."

Chen Fan quickly rolled out, his steps light as he left the building. He waved to Liu Lu, who was standing next to the sidecar, and said, "Get on this way."

Liu Lu quickly ran over and looked at the van in surprise. Had the teacher upgraded from a slingshot to a cannon?

Chen Fan inserted the key, opened the door, and got into the car. Seeing that Liu Lu didn't move, he opened the passenger door from the inside and waved to her, "Don't just stand there like an idiot, get in the car quickly, let's go find your master."

Liu Lu quickly climbed inside and sat down, still feeling somewhat restless.

This car seems even better than Secretary Qian's jeep from the commune? Won't I have to pay for it if I break it?

Chen Fan didn't care what she was thinking. He told her to fasten her seatbelt and then started the car and sped away.

(End of this chapter)