Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 647 Advertisement
Office of the Party Secretary and Factory Director at Yunhu Automobile Factory.

Chen Fan leaned back on the sofa, still smelling of alcohol, holding a cup of green tea. He turned his head to look around, then pouted and said, "Uncle Yang, you've changed offices, but the layout is still the same as before. The size is the same, the desks and chairs are the same, even this washbasin stand is the same."

Yang Kangnian washed his face, draped the towel over the washbasin stand, waved for his secretary to leave, turned around and said irritably, "These things were all moved from the old office, it would be strange if they changed."

He grabbed a cigarette from the desk, walked over and tossed one to Chen Fan, then took one out and put it in his mouth. He pulled up his trousers, sat down, lit another cigarette, and with a puff of smoke, exhaled a long breath before saying, "Although this car factory has received assistance from FAW, Dongfeng, and the provincial factory, and has also received funding from the province, the funds are still limited. We have to save money wherever we can."

He turned to Chen Fan and chuckled, "If you save a little here and a little there, and piece things together, you can put together another set of equipment, right?"

Chen Fan put down his teacup, lit a cigarette, and looked at him. "Is Yunqi Factory still short of money? I heard that many companies have paid for the cars in advance, even if they have to wait for six months or a year. Moreover, this time the prices are all above the cost price, leaving room for profit. They should be making a profit on every car they sell. How can they still be short of money?"

Yang Kangnian chuckled, “Of course we’re short of them! We currently have two car production lines and five van production lines. I want to expand production further, increasing the car lines to 10 and the van lines to 20. If we want to improve our lives, we’ll have to wait until these production lines are fully expanded before we can even think about it.”

Upon hearing this, Chen Fan frowned slightly. "Such an increase? Don't let it lead to overproduction."

Yang Kangnian just shook his head as he listened, "We already have nearly a thousand orders, and there are still a steady stream of companies wanting to buy cars. Although we have many production lines, each sedan assembly line can only produce 3 to 4 cars a day, and even though we can produce a little more vans, it doesn't exceed 8."

Even if all production lines are in place on schedule, the daily output of cars will only be 30 to 40 vehicles, and the daily output of vans will be 160 vehicles. After deducting rest days, the total annual output will be just over 60000 vehicles, which is roughly the same as FAW's output in 71.

This number is only possible because our product range is relatively limited. If we had as many products as FAW, including cars, jeeps, light trucks, heavy trucks, etc., we probably wouldn't even be able to reach half of that number.

However, 60000 cars are completely insignificant compared to the national demand for automobiles.

He took a drag of his cigarette and chuckled, "So, unless one day every company in the country has more than two cars and doesn't have to worry about not having a car, there's no need to worry about overproduction."

Besides, the design drawings came from our factory, and our products are the best among all car manufacturers. Even FAW's cars are only similar to ours. No matter how well other factories do, they are still not as good as us.

And since the price is the same, I'm not afraid of not being able to outsell other factories at all.

After hearing his words, Chen Fan blinked and dared not utter a sound.

He had just had a few drinks and almost forgot that it was still the 70s, not the future.

For example, BYD's four final assembly lines in its Xi'an plant produce more than 4000 vehicles per day and more than one million vehicles per year.

In comparison, today's car assembly lines are really no different from small workshops.

Technology urgently needs development!

However, Chen Fan didn't say much, just smiled and said, "It's enough that you know what I mean."

Yang Kangnian nodded with high spirits, "Don't worry about that, your uncle knows what he's doing and will never repeat the mistake of 'running forward' back then."

He paused for a moment, then turned to look at Chen Fan and asked curiously, "You specially brought Director Huang and the others to the factory for dinner today, and even asked our factory to provide them with several cars for free. Is there some special purpose behind this?"

Although this film was made by Chen Fan himself, Chen Fan clearly didn't take it seriously and didn't pay much attention to the filming process, at most answering some questions from Director Huang.

On the contrary, he was very concerned about the use of the car, and repeatedly suggested in which scenarios the car could be used for filming, and how the camera should be used.

They also indicated that the car manufacturer would provide the gasoline so they could conduct more tests.

Nowadays, filmmaking is very economical. The ratio of film used to film is generally 1.1 to 1, and at most 1.2. That is, if a movie is cut to be 100 minutes long, then the film that can be used is only between 110 and 120 minutes.

Therefore, every shot needs to be rehearsed repeatedly before it can be officially filmed.

Therefore, cameras with car lenses will definitely consume more fuel.

Only when the Yunqi factory supplies the gasoline did Director Huang and his team dare to proceed with rehearsals.

Chen Fan flicked off his cigarette ash, leaned forward, rested his arms on his knees, turned to look at Yang Kangnian, and smiled, "Uncle Yang, you're right. I didn't suggest giving them cars because this play is my work, but because of Yunqi Factory."

Yang Kangnian was slightly taken aback. "What do you mean?"

Chen Fan laughed and said, "Think about it, when this movie is released, if a million people across the country go to see it, a million people will be able to see what the cars from Yunqi Factory look like through the movie. Do you understand now?!"

Yang Kangnian suddenly realized, "You're trying to advertise our cars?!"

Chen Fan laughed and then fell silent.

Yang Kangnian scratched his head and laughed, "Your mind is really sharp; you even came up with this idea."

He also lived through the Republic of China era, so of course he knows what advertising is.

In the 20s, my country had its first professional advertising company, and at that time, advertisements all over the country were incredibly diverse.

Cars, bicycles, airlines, clothing and shoes, beauty and skincare products, radios, records... From clothing, food, housing, and transportation to household chemicals, it has everything.

Moreover, its scope is extremely wide, extending from Harbin in the north to Guangzhou in the south, and from Kunming and Chengdu in the west. As for the east, Shanghai is the largest city, covering almost all major cities.

However, since the mid-50s, advertising has disappeared from society without us realizing it. Good products are only passed down by word of mouth among ordinary people, and different manufacturers can only win by word of mouth.

Actually, it doesn't matter whether we win or lose. Anyway, the factory produces according to plan. As long as the products are qualified, we don't have to worry about not being able to sell them. Over time, advertising has become completely isolated from the general public. Many newcomers born under the red flag don't even know that such a thing exists.

This is why, after the advertisements were rebroadcast in 79, many people still thought it was a television program, that the TV station was promoting the products being advertised, and they rushed to buy them.

While on set, Chen Fan overheard Director Huang mentioning several scenes that would involve cars. He immediately had a brilliant idea: could he try to include Yunhu Auto in the movie as a product placement?

When Director Huang heard that there were free cars available, he immediately agreed, fearing that Yunqi Factory might not agree.

Yang Kangnian agreed to this "small request" from his car designer and nephew without even thinking about it.

Unexpectedly, this "favor" turned out to be a great gift.

It's not that we can sell more cars, but mainly that his previous proposal to increase the production line has not yet been approved by the higher authorities.

If the movie is released and generates a certain social response, then the production line issue will be practically guaranteed.

Naturally, this makes one happy.

At this moment, Chen Fan said, "Uncle Yang, actually, besides cars, other factories in Yunhu can also send some products over."

Yang Kangnian snapped out of his excitement and turned to look at him. "Let them do advertising too?"

Chen Fan smiled and said, "For example, the food factory's 'Yunhu Specialty Products,' the cotton mill's fine fabrics, and Yunhu Department Store—these things can all be included in the movie without seeming out of place at all."

When you get back, mention it to your close friends and explain the key points clearly. Most of the leaders in those organizations will be very happy to help.

Yang Kangnian slapped his thigh and laughed, "You're giving me a chance to do you a favor."

He paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "Okay, consider this a favor I owe you. Well, the previous ones don't count, those are from my workplace, this one is from me personally."

Chen Fan waved his hand, "You're being too polite. I didn't even know you before, and you took my house back and renovated it, restoring everything to its original state as much as possible."

If we absolutely must clarify this, then how should this favor be calculated?!

Yang Kangnian's smile quickly faded, and he looked at him with a face full of emotion, "Given my relationship with your father, what is this little thing? Besides, he was implicated because of me."

After a brief silence, Yang Kangnian patted his thigh and smiled at Chen Fan, "Alright, since that's the case, let's be family and not stand on ceremony."

You haven't been here in a while. The factory's welfare items for you are still here. Why don't you come today...?

"Not today!"

Chen Fan quickly interrupted him, saying seriously, "I have two computers in the trunk of my car. I'll be taking a boat later, so it's really inconvenient to carry them. I'll have the people from Lujiawan deliver them tomorrow, and they can help me take them back." Yang Kangnian nodded, "That's fine."

After saying that, he tossed Chen Fan a cigarette and asked curiously, "I heard that computers can be used for office work nowadays. Can you tell me about those computers? Can a factory like ours use them?"

Chen Fan: “Sure, even I can use it, so why can’t you? Besides, my uncle’s company just successfully developed a Chinese character card, which allows computers to directly use Chinese characters. With the Chinese character card, you can type on the computer without having to learn it. If you know pinyin, you can type. It’s very convenient.”

In addition, computers can create spreadsheets and perform automatic calculations, making them useful in administration, finance, and technology departments alike.

Yang Kangnian hissed, his brows furrowing deeply. "If that's the case, then computers are a good thing."

Then she looked at Chen Fan and asked, "Is that thing expensive? Is it easy to buy?"

Chen Fan smiled and said, "The computer will probably cost between $1000 and $1500. As for the Chinese character card, it hasn't been priced yet, but it will definitely be much cheaper than the computer. It's easy to buy. If your company has foreign exchange, you can just place an order with an import and export company. You don't need to go to the United States; you can buy it in Hong Kong or elsewhere."

Oh, by the way, the Chinese character card will have to wait a while longer, but not too long. It should be in mass production and available for sale before the end of the year.

Yang Kangnian nodded slightly upon hearing this, then smiled and said, "In that case, I'll just wait until the end of the year to talk about it."

Chen Fan was quite surprised, "You have foreign exchange? And you don't need to submit a report?"

Yang Kangnian chuckled, "If you're talking about hundreds of thousands or millions of US dollars, then I really can't do anything about it and can only ask my superiors for help. But for something worth a few thousand US dollars, I can still make the decision."

He then lowered his voice mysteriously and said, "Many companies are begging us to buy cars. I'll talk to the import and export company and deliver the cars to them ahead of schedule. A few computers can be used to offset the car price. It'll be easy to make up for it."

Chen Fan suddenly realized that this was the advantage of welfare units today.

Once the organization thrives, there are plenty of ways to exchange resources with other organizations, and a small amount of foreign exchange is really nothing.

Thinking back to April when he first earned foreign exchange, even a few thousand US dollars made Uncle Yang extremely excited.

Wow, things really do change drastically, sometimes in the east and sometimes in the west!

Sitting there smoking and drinking tea, before I knew it, it was around 3 p.m.

Chen Fan glanced at his watch. "Uncle Yang, I have to go. I need to go to the cotton mill later, or I'll have to travel in the dark."

Yang Kangnian was a little unhappy. "You kid, you always come and go in a hurry and never stay here for more than a few days. Your aunt wants to see you."

Chen Fan gave an awkward laugh, "Next time, next time for sure."

I could still talk to Yang Kangnian about work, but what would I talk about when I met his family?
Let's avoid it if possible.

As he was about to get up, Chen Fan remembered something else and said in a low voice, "Uncle Yang, I know you're now holding both the positions of Party Secretary and Factory Director, which is to make it easier for Yunqi Factory to get on the right track. But we'll definitely have to separate in the future."

You need to plan ahead and decide which path you want to take. If you want to enter a government agency, you'll have to relinquish your factory director position, or else you'll have to give up your party secretary position. You need to think this through carefully.

Yang Kangnian smiled and patted him on the shoulder with satisfaction, "I didn't expect you to think of that. Not bad, not bad."

He then patted it twice more, saying, "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."

Seeing that he said that, Chen Fan said no more and got up to take his leave.

After lunch, Director Huang and the others went back to the Yunhu Hotel to discuss the next steps of filming, so Chen Fan didn't need to say goodbye to them and just got in the car and left.

Turn right after exiting the gate, and soon you arrive at the cotton mill. Jiang Heng is in the workshop arranging the work on the down jacket fabric production line. When he sees Chen Fan coming over, he originally wanted to let the deputy director of production continue and take him back to his office.

Chen Fan quickly waved his hand, "Uncle Jiang, there's no need to go to so much trouble, I'll be leaving in a bit."

Jiang Heng was taken aback, then looked at him and asked, "So rushed? When did you get back?"

Chen Fan laughed and said, "I arrived in Yunhu yesterday. I visited the film crew of 'Yunhu Love' in the morning and had lunch at Yunqi Factory."

He then mentioned the free car loan from Yunqi Factory, and said, "Uncle Jiang, the car appearing in the movie is like advertising. Our cotton mill has fabrics, clothing, and even a shoe factory. We could talk to Director Huang and ask him to sponsor some things for us."

It's not as natural as a car, but we can still talk about it.

They're staying at the Yunhu Hotel. If you're interested, you can mention my name when you visit him. If he finds it difficult, you might consider sponsoring them some film reels; they'd definitely be happy to do so.

Film must be very precious these days, otherwise the film consumption ratio wouldn't be limited to 1.2. 1.2 is just the minimum, and the acceptable ratio is 1.1, which shows how rare film is.

However, it's not impossible to buy it.

Back when we were moving forward at breakneck speed, the arts and culture sector also wanted to "launch satellites" along with the rest of the country.

How do we launch it?
For example, the Ministry of Truth at the time made demands on many places and many key figures in the arts, such as "surpassing Lu Xun in two years," "each county must produce a Guo Mou Ruo," and "writing 60 scripts in one night," etc.

Even Xia Yan set requirements for himself, setting six months to "write one multi-act play and two one-act plays; write at least one short essay and one commentary every month; complete the first draft of 'Miscellaneous Recollections of the May Fourth Movement'; revisit and carefully study 'On Contradiction' and 'On Practice', and take study notes..."

As for the film industry, naturally more film studios were built. It was around that time that almost every province built its own film studio.

Whether or not we can film is one thing, but the equipment and personnel must be in place.

Well... this staffing is just that—staffing. Whether they can actually do the work is another matter entirely.

However, in the eyes of the higher-ups, having a film studio meant they had to accept the tasks assigned to them.

Not only are there tasks, but they must also "exceed the target".

Therefore, Jiangnan Province also has its own "Jiangnan Film Studio". Well, it's not the Jiangnan Film Studio in Shanghai. If there is a coincidence, it's purely a coincidence.

However, this Jiangnan Film Studio was just a makeshift operation. Apart from two people who had made a few episodes of documentaries serving as directors, they also borrowed two cameramen from the TV station to work as cinematographers... Well, actually, they were just borrowing the name; they were still working at the TV station.

Apart from a handful of people who could barely be considered "professional," everyone else was just there to make up the numbers, and they considered it their job to film a few model plays each year.

However, the amount of film allocated by the higher authorities was quite large, because in that same year, the film factory in Baoding officially started production. Although the output was not high that year, it was expanded twice later, which basically met the requirements of the higher authorities.

This included supplying film to film studios across the country.

As a result, while film studios such as Beijing Film Studio, Changchun Film Studio, and Shanghai Film Studio were short of film stock due to their prolific creative output, film studios in other provinces actually had surplus film stock lying dormant in their warehouses.

The cotton mill's fabrics and clothing were also good stuff. It would be perfectly reasonable to take some "defective products" to the provincial capital, find the leaders of the Jiangnan Film Studio, and exchange them for some "scrap" film.

With film as a paving stone, Director Huang would definitely agree as long as the cotton mill's demands weren't too unreasonable.

The two chatted for a while, and Shen Xueyi also rushed over after hearing the news.

Compared to Jiang Heng, who only cares about work, she is more attentive to her daughters, asking about the two sisters' situation in Shanghai as soon as she arrives.

Chen Fan naturally only reported good news and not bad news... as if there was nothing bad to report.

Hearing that their two daughters were doing well in Shanghai and had even started their own careers, Shen Xueyi and Jiang Heng were overjoyed.

Chen Fan didn't stay there long. Seeing that it was almost time, he was about to say goodbye and leave.

Jiang Heng and the other man both knew that he was a very busy man and that he might have something important to do back in Lujiawan, so they didn't linger and saw him off outside the workshop, watching the car drive out of the factory gate.

Chen Fan drove his car and soon arrived at the cargo terminal. He familiarly gave the manager two packs of cigarettes, parked the car next to him, lifted the tarpaulin off the small yacht, and roared off into the rolling river.

(End of this chapter)