Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 662 Special Offer
The next morning, after Chen Fan got up and washed up, he checked the time and saw that it was not yet 7 o'clock. He decided to go to the breakfast shop to eat something first, and then go to the machinery factory to keep an eye on things while the transport team from Lujiawan came and took away the 300 industrial sewing machines.

As soon as the main gate was locked, the courtyard gate was opened... but there was a bolt inside, so it couldn't be pushed open.

Chen Fan quickly walked over and asked, "Who is it?"

A woman's voice immediately came from outside the door, "Consultant Chen, I'm here to clean."

Chen Fan unlatched the gate, opened the courtyard gate, and saw a woman in her thirties standing at the entrance.

He had short, neat hair, wore a brimless hat, and was dressed in gray overalls.

Without asking, I knew they were from the logistics department of the machinery factory.

The machinery factory has three types of work uniforms. One is blue, which is worn by workshop workers and technicians. The other is gray, which is the same style as the blue uniforms, only the color is different, and is worn by people in the logistics department.

There is another administrative rank, where the uniform consists of a shirt and trousers, with an additional Zhongshan suit jacket in spring and autumn, and a cotton-padded coat in winter, which is the so-called "cadre uniform".

Besides these three types of clothing, there are also the security personnel, who all wear military uniforms and are easily identifiable.

The person who came was wearing gray overalls, and it was obvious at a glance that he was from the logistics department.

Thinking back to the matter he had entrusted to Factory Director Yang yesterday, Chen Fan knew what she had come for.

When Chen Fan opened the door, the woman said with a slightly restrained tone, "Good morning, Consultant Chen. I am Qiao Chunxia from the logistics department of the machinery factory. Our director assigned me to come and clean."

Chen Fan immediately stepped aside and smiled, "Shall I call you Sister Qiao?"

Qiao Chunxia quickly nodded, "Anything is fine."

Chen Fan continued, "Sister Qiao, please come in. Let me explain briefly."

He then closed the gate and led her inside. “No one lives here usually, but if the house isn’t taken care of, it can easily break down, so I asked Director Yang to help me find someone to come and clean it every few days.”

You only need to come two or three times a week, you can arrange your own time, and the work is just wiping dust and mopping the floor..."

As he walked into the main room, two cats darted past behind him. He couldn't help but smile and continued, "I also have two cats here. Whenever you come, feel free to feed them a little something."

Qiao Chunxia was taken aback and looked at him in confusion, "You only feed him once every two or three days?"

Chen Fan grinned and said, "Once every two or three days is enough. Those two cats can catch mice on their own, so they won't starve."

Two raccoon dogs hid by the back door, peeking furtively. They suspected their owner was talking about them, but had no proof. After all, they couldn't understand human speech.

Chen Fan led Qiao Chunxia into the backyard and gave her a brief introduction to the work in the kitchen and yard, including the food storage in the kitchen and the vegetable garden.

After he finished speaking, Qiao Chunxia immediately smiled and said, "Consultant Chen, don't worry, it's all small work. I guarantee I'll clean it up beautifully."

Chen Fan smiled and said, "Okay, then I'll leave this place to you."

After saying that, Qiao Chunxia took out the tools she had brought from the cloth bag and prepared to get to work.

Chen Fan watched for a while, then nodded slightly. "Hmm, she's quick and efficient, and the quality is quite good, even better than Liu Lu and the others."

As expected of someone from the logistics department of a large factory, they are indeed very professional.

He then greeted them and turned to leave.

He gave the two cats a wink, and the cat brothers darted out in a flash.

When they reached the door, Chen Fan instructed the two cats, "Keep an eye on her and see what she does every time she comes over. Pay special attention to whether she touches anything in the house or brings anyone over to cause trouble."

Even if the people were sent by the machinery factory, Chen Fan wouldn't easily trust them if they hadn't been tested. He could only give the two security cats more responsibilities, making them also serve as surveillance cats.

Otherwise, if they only give you a bowl of rice every two or three days, wouldn't that be a waste of money?!

The two cats sat at attention, nodded together, and indicated that they understood.

Chen Fan nodded in satisfaction before getting into his car and leaving.

……

Today's moving work was not complicated. After Chen Fan finished breakfast, he arrived at the machinery factory, where loading had already begun.

In other words, the Yunhu waterway is inconvenient for land transportation; otherwise, Deputy Factory Director Xue would have been more than willing to deliver the goods to his door.

Nevertheless, he arranged for two large trucks to deliver three hundred sewing machines to the cargo terminal, so that they could be unloaded and loaded onto the ship after the Lujiawan transport team's cargo ship returned from delivering its goods.

Next came the matter of the Lujiawan transport team.

While the goods were being unloaded, Chen Fan stood aside and said to Zhang Wenliang, who had come to receive the goods himself, "I'm not going back today. I have other things to do. The clothing factory is still short of machines, and Deputy Director Xue of the machinery factory has promised to help resolve that. They should all be in place by next month at the latest."

"But they can't do anything about the food factory's equipment. You keep a close eye on things here. If the county commerce bureau hasn't made any progress by next month, send me a telegram, and I'll arrange things."

Zhang Wenliang looked at him in surprise, "So you're not going back?"

Chen Fan clicked his tongue. "We'll see. I need to ask if there's anything at work. If I'm in a rush, I'll just leave. If I'm not busy, I might go back."

His backpack was in the car, and his most important item, a floppy disk, was also in his bag. He had luggage in the provincial capital, as well as in Shanghai and Beijing. If time was of the essence, there was really no need to go back.

Zhang Wenliang looked at him and nodded in realization, "I understand."

After a pause, he couldn't help but exclaim, "You're quite the oddball, doing your job like this and not even understanding what's going on in your workplace!"

Chen Fan glanced at him sideways, "How dare you talk like that? Explain to me what 'weirdo' means?"

Zhang Wenliang's expression turned serious. He took out a cigarette and offered it to Zhang. "I mean, if I were to send you a telegram, where would I send it? To the provincial writers' association, to my home in Shanghai, or to my home in Beijing?"

Chen Fan hissed, frowned, and said, "I'm not sure about that either. Next month, if nothing unexpected happens, I should be in Shanghai. But there might be meetings at work, and I might be getting pressured by my teachers at school..."

Before he could finish speaking, Zhang Wenliang leaned in with a gossipy look on his face, "Why are you so persistent?"

Chen Fan blinked, feeling completely confident. "Of course, the capable should do more. Just like this time last year, if I wanted to leave, would you have let me go?"

Zhang Wenliang looked at him suspiciously. "We definitely can't let you go, but is Jiangnan University really that dependent on you?"

Chen Fan became expressionless and just stared at him coldly.

Zhang Wenliang's expression immediately turned serious. "I understand. I'll film in all three locations. It's just a few extra cents; we're not short of money right now!"

Chen Fan sighed softly, silently finished his cigarette, tossed the butt aside, turned around, and waved, "I'm leaving."

After saying that, he got into the car and left.

……

Half an hour later, he slowly drove to the entrance of Yunhu Zoo, parked his car on the side, bought a ticket for 5 cents at the ticket office, and followed the crowd inside.

(Nanjing Xuanwu Lake Zoo ticket, 78)
Looking at the scattered crowd, Chen Fan couldn't help but wonder, "It's not a holiday or a weekend, so who are these people visiting the zoo?"

He shook his head, walked to the landscape map and looked at it. "Lions, tigers, bears, leopards, wolves, giraffes, elk, goats, elephants... why are they all food? There aren't many new things."

Oh, you can't eat golden monkeys.

However, I can try lions, elephants, and elk. I haven't tried them yet, but I'll give them a try sometime.

"Hey, there's a panda enclosure here too? Old Guo's being unfair; he already has one, and he still wants mine. Oh well, I'll just take my time browsing."

Then I randomly picked a direction and strolled forward.

Yunhu Zoo is not very big, only a little over 100 acres. Although it is called a zoo, Chen Fan felt that there were more plants than animals. If you don't go to see the animals, it is actually just a park.

There's a slightly unpleasant smell that wafts around.

At this point, a keen sense of smell is no longer an advantage, but rather a disadvantage.

After passing several smelly animal dens and turning a corner, a group of elementary school students were suddenly seen making a lot of noise and playing happily.

Chen Fan thought about the layout of the zoo and realized that this was the panda enclosure.

(Children visiting pandas in 78)

The children were all perched on the fence, chattering and shouting at the panda, but the big guy, whether it was an older brother or sister, ignored them completely and calmly munched on bamboo.

Chen Fan really wanted to trick him into giving it back, but then he thought about how Guo was about to lose his temper, and more importantly, how old he was. He didn't want Guo to get seriously injured from anger.

Besides, I'm the station manager of the cooperative point at Yunhu Zoo. It's better to leave some room for maneuver so we can meet again in the future... Or maybe I should trick a couple of little monkeys into taking me away later?

After wandering around aimlessly for a while, Chen Fan finally got down to business.

I walked straight to the zoo's office area, which was a large enclosed courtyard. Inside, I could vaguely see a three-story office building, and behind it, there seemed to be three rows of flat houses, which looked like a dormitory area.

There was a gatehouse at the entrance of the courtyard. As soon as Chen Fan walked to the gate, an old man came out of the gatehouse and called out to Chen Fan, "Young comrade, this is the office area. We do not receive tourists."

Chen Fan stepped forward, and before he could speak, he took out a cigarette and offered it to him, saying with a smile, "Sir, is Vice Director Guo here?"

The old man took the cigarette, looked him over, and asked, "Are you here to see him? What's his name? Which organization do you work for? Do you have a letter of introduction?"

Chen Fan took out his work ID, opened it, and handed it over, saying, "My name is Chen Fan, from the Provincial Writers Association. Excuse me..."

Before he could finish speaking, the old man spotted the official seal and his name and exclaimed, "Oh, so you're a writer from the province!"

He had just finished speaking when he hissed again, "Hey, so you're Chen Fan?"

He immediately took a closer look and said, "Not bad, not bad, he's a spirited young man."

Chen Fan chuckled without changing his expression.

If Zhang Wenliang dared to say that to him, he would definitely let him know who the real "spirited young man" is.

But the smell of gunpowder still lingered on the old man, so he dared not cause any trouble.

It's not that we're afraid of losing, but we must have the most basic respect for these valiant warriors on the battlefield.

The old man praised him a couple of times, then turned and pointed to the office building, "Go up to the third floor, the third office from the bottom, Xiao Guo is there, you can find him as soon as you go up."

After waving his thanks, Chen Fan went straight inside.

Go up to the third floor and walk further in, and soon you will arrive at the door of Guo Daorong's office. Peek inside, and you will see Comrade Guo hunched over his desk, writing furiously. It is unclear whether he is writing an article or a document.

Chen Fan knocked gently on the door without saying a word.

Old Guo didn't even look up, simply saying, "Come in."

Chen Fan walked in silently, pulled out a chair in front of his desk and sat down, still without saying a word.

After waiting for a while and hearing no sound, Lao Guo casually looked up.

Then she was startled, "When did you get here?"

Chen Fan took out a cigarette and placed it in front of him, laughing heartily, "When you knock on the door, that's when..."

She then glanced at the draft in front of him. "Are you creating something? What kind of article is it?"

Guo Daorong chuckled awkwardly, "Just writing something."

He then carefully put away the draft paper and placed it at the bottom of a pile of documents.

Chen Fan clicked his tongue and leaned back. "They actually hid it?"

Guo Daorong quickly said, "It's not that I can't show it to you, it's just that this is a copycat work, written just to make some money, and it's really not presentable."

In order to make money?

Chen Fan's eyes darted around, and he asked curiously, "Could it be some kind of anti-Japanese war literature specially made for notebooks?"

Guo Daorong chuckled twice, lit a cigarette, and then said with a smile, "Since you've already guessed it, then don't ask anymore."

Since Chen Fan's book became a bestseller on Xiaobenzi, He Qingsheng and his colleagues took the initiative to contact Takahashi Hideo, expressing that many other writers had also written anti-war literature. As a result, they reached a cooperation agreement with Takahashi Publishing House to provide manuscripts to them in accordance with Xiaobenzi's payment method.

He was just trying to make more money, so he started writing these kinds of stories, but he never expected that the person in question would run into him.

This is unbelievable! This kid has never been here before, so why is he here today?

Seeing that he was a little embarrassed, Chen Fan couldn't help but laugh and say, "Making money is nothing shameful, what's there to be ashamed of?"

Guo Daorong took a puff of his cigarette. "It's all just cheap stuff to fool people. Don't bother looking at it."

If you don't want to watch it, then don't.

Chen Fan then changed the subject, asking, "Has the Provincial Writers Association said whether or not to hold a general meeting of all members?"

Guo Daorong looked at him and asked curiously, "The meeting notice was sent out last week, didn't you receive it?"

Chen Fan was a little surprised, "There really is a meeting? I wasn't notified."

Guo Daorong frowned slightly, pondered for a few seconds, then looked him over carefully and said hesitantly, "That shouldn't be the case. Could it be that Lao He and the others are going to fire you?"

Chen Fan's eyes lit up immediately. "Such a good thing?!"

Guo Daorong was speechless. "Old He said that he had forced you to take the position of director, and I didn't believe it. But after seeing it today, it's actually true."

He paused for a moment, then shook his head helplessly and said, "The provincial writers' association usually sends notices by mail. Your notice is definitely not missing. Are you just receiving too many letters and haven't noticed?"

Chen Fan made an "uh" sound, looking a little embarrassed. "I still have more than a dozen bags of letters that I haven't checked. They might be hidden in one of them."

These days, readers are really enthusiastic. The letters they send him keep coming in. In the past, Liu Lu and the others would help him open and read the letters, but in the last few months, they went to work at the brigade headquarters. Chen Fan is busy patrolling the village every day and writing at night, so these letters have been piling up there.

Honestly, the Writers' Association is really something. They can't even be flexible. Why not just make a phone call or send a telegram? Why do they have to send a letter?

Chen Fan pursed his lips, looked up and asked, "When is the meeting?"

Guo Daorong rummaged through the corner of the table, and after a while, pulled out a letter. "Yes, this is it."

Then he handed it to him, saying, "See for yourself."

Chen Fan took out the letter inside, which was a sheet of mimeographed paper. He unfolded it and looked at it. "December 7th? Who chose that date? Wasn't it snowing heavily that day?"

(End of this chapter)