Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 626 International Students

Handing the folder back, Chen Fan took a drag of his cigarette and chuckled at the two men, "I remember the first one was a story about the War of Resistance Against Japan. So, Little Ben really likes stories about fighting Little Ben?"

He Qingsheng was about to speak when he heard this, and he couldn't help but choke on a puff of smoke. He ran to the side and coughed a dozen times in a row. He quickly drank two mouthfuls of tea before panting and laughing and scolding, "Although the logic is correct, can you put it more nicely?"

Xu Qizhen was also overjoyed, laughing non-stop.

Chen Fan hesitated for two seconds, then said seriously, "How about an anti-war story?"

He Qingsheng waved his hand, returned to his seat, and after catching his breath, said, "Anyway, that's the situation. It may be rough, but the point is valid. Stories about the War of Resistance Against Japan are indeed quite popular in pamphlets, which is something we never expected."

Chen Fan smiled but didn't say anything.

From the 70s to the mid-80s, the two countries were indeed in a honeymoon period, with continuous cultural and economic exchanges, both officially and among the general public.

While the official statement from the government was not explicit, self-reflection was frequently observed in grassroots exchanges.

It's not surprising that novels about the War of Resistance Against Japan can be bestsellers in small booklets.

However, the honeymoon period only lasted a few years. After that, the Plaza Accord was signed, the purchasing power of the yen soared, which also boosted Japan's confidence.

If we talk about self-reflection and repentance then, apart from a very few reasonable people, the rest, to borrow Prime Minister Cao's words, will find it "impossible, absolutely impossible."

At this moment, He Qingsheng glanced at Chen Fan, tossed him another cigarette, then coughed twice, lowered his head and blinked, "Well, there's something I want to tell you."

Chen Fan looked at him and asked, "Why are you still being so coy? Did you sell me to the little devils?"

He Qingsheng was immediately speechless with anger, "What nonsense is this?"

He coughed again, turned to look at Xu Qizhen beside him, then turned back to her, gesturing and smiling as he said, "Here's what happened. Some comrades in the association heard that your work is selling quite well in the bookstores, and that these kinds of anti-Japanese war stories are quite popular. So, they asked us to contact them to see if we still need such works."

Then, I called Hideo Takahashi and we discussed this issue.

"It just so happens that the other party also had this idea. After all, although you have quite a few works, they are not all of this type. There are also rural and realist works, etc. Just those few works about the War of Resistance Against Japan are not enough, right..."

Hearing this, Chen Fan understood his meaning and nodded in realization. He looked at him and said, "So, you reached a cooperation agreement with Hideo Takahashi in the name of your organization, with our writers providing his works for publication in the small book publishing company?"

He Qingsheng chuckled and rubbed his hands together. "Here's the situation: this matter is being handled by Lao Duan from your department's Asia-Africa division. He's been incredibly busy these past few days, reviewing suitable works, arranging for translations, and then sending them over there."

Don't worry, they're all listed after your work; no one will cut in line. After all, it's first-come, first-served, right?

Chen Fan, smoking a cigarette, nodded slightly, his expression quite serious. "Yes, I understand."

She then looked up at him and asked seriously, "I only have one question."

He Qingsheng's expression turned serious, and he pointed at him, "You say it."

Chen Fan frowned. "The 'some comrades in the association' you mentioned, are you referring to yourself?"

He Qingsheng's face darkened. "Am I that kind of person?"

Xu Qizhen quickly chimed in, "We know you met Takahashi first..."

Chen Fan suddenly burst into laughter, "Oh my, I was wondering what the big deal was. You guys were making such a fuss, and after all that it's just this?"

Xu Qizhen was taken aback, turned to look at He Qingsheng, then turned back to him, "You have no objections?"

Chen Fan chuckled and said, "What objection do I have? Takahashi Hideo's publishing house isn't for me; anyone can work with him."

Moreover, it's a great thing for our works to go global. Not only can it generate foreign exchange, but more importantly, it allows more people in Japan to learn about that period of history and understand our views and attitudes towards it. I think this is even more important.

He Qingsheng breathed a long sigh of relief, clapped his hands, pointed at Chen Fan, and turned to Xu Qizhen, saying, "See, see, I told you Comrade Chen was sensible, I wasn't wrong."

Xu Qizhen nodded earnestly, "I've always believed that."

They were worried that Chen Fan would object, since Takahashi Publishing House's capabilities were limited. If others followed suit, Chen Fan would likely receive far fewer publishing resources in the future.

This is different from China. In China, manuscript fees are fixed, but in this book, there are royalties. The number of publications is directly linked to the royalties. ... They only learned about these royalties after seeing the contract Chen Fan signed with the other party. They realized that foreign authors could actually share the royalties.

It is precisely because of this royalty that some writers are eager to seize this opportunity.

Even if I have to pay a management fee to my employer, it's still much better than the royalties I get in China.

Chen Fan watched the two perform with a smile on his face, but felt a little emotional inside.

You've met a good person!

If you encounter something bad, don't even try to explain; they'll just demand that you hand over all the resources you have.

You won't give it to me? I'll put a hat on your head, then let's see if you'll still give it to me.

Those with a conscience might leave a sip of soup, but the worst ones will just take it all and kick you aside.

The fact that He Qingsheng negotiated so politely only shows that he has a good character, plus Chen Fan has a strong background. If either of these factors were missing, Comrade Chen would have had to suffer in silence.

These days, when it comes to publishing works overseas, apart from the requirement to review the content, there are no other restrictions or requirements. Even the content review isn't specifically targeted at Chen Fan's situation; it's just an internal regulation of the Foreign Languages ​​Press.

Since there was no prior need for this, there was naturally no precedent for privately collaborating with overseas publishers.

Therefore, how these resources should be handled is entirely up to "people".

This is when you can see a person's true character.

Chen Fan had long anticipated the confiscation of resources, and was even a little surprised that they hadn't mentioned it for half a year. He wondered if they were secretly contacting each other or if they simply hadn't intended to do it.

Little did they know, they were actually waiting for the results of their work being published.

Now that the results are in, the situation looks great, and they've even made tens of thousands of dollars more. Naturally, those people can't sit still.

As for sharing the channels, he really doesn't care.

First of all, there is more than one publisher, Takahashi Publishing, for small books. As long as you can make a name for yourself there, many publishers will take the initiative to come to you for cooperation.

Another point is that Europe and America are now his main focus for creative work.

They earn US dollars over there.

The European and American book market is dozens of times the size of a small book. A single Western fantasy novel can make someone a millionaire. What is this little bit of money?!

Moreover, the Western fantasy is his own exclusive work. Just ask me, how many people in China today can write Western fantasy novels? Let's not even talk about serious literary writers. Just look at the popular novelists these days. Even if they were given the opportunity to write, they might not be very good at it.

If literary creation were so easy to plagiarize, then after the rise of online novels, some traditional writers wouldn't have been both envious and frantically belittling them.

Wouldn't it be great to join and make money?!

Having settled the matter, He Qingsheng had nothing more to say.

Only then did Chen Fan slowly take out the manuscript paper with the outline written on it and hand it to him, "Uncle He, please take care of this for me."

He Qingsheng took it, looked at it, and then looked at him. "What is this? Your new book?"

Chen Fan lit a new cigarette and laughed, "My uncle's company has a publishing house. He asked me to write something and publish it through this publishing house so I could earn some pocket money, so I wrote this."

He Qingsheng opened his mouth wide and stared blankly for several seconds before exclaiming in astonishment, "So that's why you're so generous! You've found a way to earn US dollars!"

Chen Fan's face darkened. "What kind of talk is that? Should I send a telegram to Takahashi saying I disagree?"

He Qingsheng was speechless and simply ignored him.

He then glanced at the outline in his hand and asked, "When do you need it?"

Chen Fan said, "Ideally today, or at the latest tomorrow morning. I've finished writing my book, and I'm just waiting for this to go to print."

He Qingsheng's gaze lingered on the manuscript for a few seconds, then he nodded slightly, "Okay, I'll run errands for you later..."

She paused for a moment, then looked up at him. "Do you live at the school or in a guesthouse?"

Chen Fan said, "I can't stay at the school anymore, there's never a moment of peace. It's much quieter at the guesthouse."

He Qingsheng: "Okay, I'll have someone deliver it to you after it's done."

Chen Fan flicked his cigarette ash and turned to Xu Qizhen, "Sister Xu, when will our unit's dormitory be completed? I'm still waiting to be assigned a room."

Xu Qizhen smiled and said, "Construction has already started. The buildings will be built first, and the small courtyards on the island will be built last. If you choose a building, it will be in November, when it should be topped out. As for the small courtyards, it will probably have to wait until the Spring Festival."

Chen Fan: "I definitely want a small courtyard, a detached house would be so nice. Oh, and could you please tell the construction company that they want an extra waterfront platform built outside my courtyard? I want to fish there."

He Qingsheng's eyes lit up immediately. "Hey, that's a great idea!"

He immediately turned to Xu Qizhen and said, "Add mine too."

Xu Qizhen couldn't help but shake her head, "You guys are being too extravagant by building a special waterfront platform for fishing."

He Qingsheng waved his hand repeatedly, "Hey, you don't understand the joy of fishing. What you need is to have complete equipment and show off your skills."

Pointing at Chen Fan, she said, "Just imagine, he'll be sitting on the platform fishing while I'm standing in the haystack. How awkward would that be!"

Xu Qizhen covered her forehead. "You, Lao Tan, and several department heads—you all chose the small courtyard. Could it be just so you can fish there?"

Chen Fan coughed lightly, "No, it's just that the courtyard is comfortable to live in. Of course, it would be even better if there was a fishing platform there."

Xu Qizhen said, "Okay, then let's build a boardwalk around the lake and let whoever wants to use it use it."

Chen Fan and He Qingsheng exchanged a glance and nodded in unison, "That works too."

……

After leaving the office, Chen Fan first went back to say hello to Bian Huifang, then drove his little Jeep slowly out of the government compound.

Looking at the time, it was already close to evening. He realized he couldn't go to school today, so he returned to the guesthouse, grabbed Liu Lu, and went to a wild game restaurant for a big meal.

This time, we didn't go to the private room upstairs. We stayed downstairs and ordered two bowls of wild game noodles and a plate of fried sparrows. The total cost was just over two yuan.

Back at the guesthouse, everyone went to their rooms to sleep, and nothing was said that night.

The next morning, Chen Fan drove back to school.

First, bring your documents to register, and then report to Professor Xu's office.

At this time, Xu Zurui was preparing his lessons. In addition to supervising Chen Fan, a graduate student, he also served as a lecturer in the Chinese Department, teaching two classes every day without fail.

Moreover, the lecture notes used are frequently revised and are always up-to-date. Even if it is the same class, you can still hear something new when you listen to it at different times.

Upon seeing Chen Fan enter, Xu Zurui smiled knowingly.

But the next second, he deliberately put on a stern face and said in a deep voice, "School starts on the 1st, and you're only coming to register on the 2nd. What, you've finally decided to come back?"

Chen Fan took out a gift from his bag and placed it on the table, chuckling, "Teacher, this is something I got from the old forests of Changbai Mountain a few days ago. It's all top-quality mountain produce. Please take it back and have a taste with your wife."

Xu Zurui snorted twice, "Heh, so you've even learned how to give gifts."

He patted the oil paper package, looked up at Chen Fan, and asked, "What are you going to Changbai Mountain for?"

Before Chen Fan could speak, he waved his hand and said, "I don't care what you're going to do. Since you're going there, you can't leave empty-handed. Write an article about Changbai Mountain, any style you like, and hand it in to me next time you come."

Chen Fan's face fell. Why was he assigning homework before he even said anything?
Just as Liu Lu dared not refuse his homework, he also dared not push the teacher's homework away, so he reluctantly said "Oh".

Seeing his distressed face, Professor Xu felt refreshed. He leaned back in his chair and looked at him, saying, "I have received news that the public announcement will be released in the next two days. On September 15th, the Ministry of Education will publicly select qualified foreign language students in major cities such as Beijing, Tianjin, Harbin, Shenyang, Changchun, Shanghai, Nanjing, Hangzhou, Wuhan, Chongqing, Xi'an, and Guangzhou."

The selection quota is 3000, and all those who pass the exam will have the opportunity to be selected for overseas study.

He stared intently at Chen Fan. "This is another major initiative in the education sector since the resumption of the college entrance examination and postgraduate studies in our country. Although you studied Chinese, you are not without the opportunity to be selected for overseas study, after all, culture needs exchange."

And I've heard your English is very good; if you participate in the selection process, you'll likely be chosen. What are your thoughts? Do you want to study abroad?

Upon hearing this news, Chen Fan was quite surprised.

After the storm, wasn't the first batch of international students only 52 in total, and all of them were sent to the United States? How did it become 3000? And there are no restrictions on majors?
After thinking for a few seconds, Chen Fan quickly realized what was going on.

The 3000 should be the total number of places for the first batch of international students. Such a large number of people will definitely not be sent out all at once. Only a small number of people can be sent out first to explore the way. At the same time, we need to contact the relevant countries to restore the interrupted international student system. Large-scale selection will be carried out later.

I never expected that I would have the chance to run into one myself.

(End of this chapter)