Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 663 Make More Friends
Having finally figured out the meeting time, Chen Fan said the trip was worthwhile.

He handed the meeting notice back, looked up, and asked, "What's the topic of this meeting?"

The notice only stated the time and location of the meeting: December 7th, in the conference room of the Writers' Association. Since there are only a little over 100 members in the entire province, a classroom-style conference table would be sufficient for everyone.

There was nothing else besides that.

Guo Daorong shook his head and said, "More than ten years ago, before the Provincial Writers Association was shut down, there was also an annual provincial representative meeting. However, at that time, it was just about discussing the association's charter, important work arrangements, and the indispensable 'study sessions'."

This year's meeting is the first plenary session since the reconstruction, and I expect it will be different. One thing I can guess is that the council will be formally reinstated.

The Writers' Association's main body consists of a council and a secretariat, but the council is the one that is truly responsible for specific affairs.

Currently, the organization only has a secretariat and a provisional presidium. This time, convening a provincial congress to elect council members will definitely be an essential agenda item.

As for the rest, ..."

He glanced at Chen Fan, a hint of amusement in his eyes, and said, "I bet there will be a lot of international exchanges, and you'll definitely be the main person in charge of that."

Chen Fan narrowed his eyes, pursed his lips, wanting to argue, but ultimately remained silent.

They've already started working with the small country to earn foreign exchange, and on the other hand, there's an American partner (Zhou Yali) waiting to be negotiated. This is an issue that Chen Fan can't avoid.

To be honest, Chen Fan was not familiar with the working methods of the Writers Association. Who would pay attention to the Writers Association for no reason?
At most, when reading online novels, I might stumble upon some gossip about the Writers' Association, but I know nothing else.

However, Chen Fan felt that the current Writers' Association was somewhat different from the one in history, but he didn't know exactly where the difference lay, which made him a little conflicted.

After thinking for several seconds, he decided to stop worrying about it.

There are so many things I don't know. If I worry about everything, how can I live my life?

As long as the general direction is right, it's fine as long as it's close enough; the rest doesn't matter.

After chatting for a while, before saying goodbye, Chen Fan took out the ticket he bought at the door and said, "Here, reimburse me for this."

Old Guo stared at the 5-cent ticket, speechless for a long time.

Finally, with a sigh, he took out two filtered Zhonghua cigarettes and handed them to him. "I've lived this long and this is the first time I've ever seen such a stingy person. You deserve to make money. The two cigarettes are worth 7.5 cents. Keep the change."

Chen Fan only took one, frowned, and said, "Do I have to buy a ticket every time I come to see you?"

She looked him over carefully a few times as she spoke, "Could it be that you're also from some animal park?"

Old Guo rolled his eyes and said, "Get lost."

Just as Chen Fan was about to walk out, he called out again, "Come back."

After saying that, she took out two cards from the drawer and handed them to him. "These are zoo annual passes for next year. They are valid for the whole year. You can give them to someone else if you want, but don't ask me for the entrance fees later."

Chen Fan chuckled and stuffed it into his pocket. "Uncle Guo is so generous!"

Then he turned and left.

Guo Daorong watched his figure disappear through the door, and couldn't help but shake his head and chuckle, "That kid."

The Writers Association has not yet fully launched its recruitment drive. It has only extended invitations to new writers who have gained some fame during the years of hiatus, and it is important to exclude those who praise the four individuals.

After much deliberation, only Chen Fan from Jiangnan Province was qualified to join the association.

Chen Fan is probably the youngest among the writers' association members across the country, so the other members of the Jiangnan Provincial Writers' Association don't treat him as an equal. Instead, they treat him more like their own nephew or niece. They don't get angry when he jokes or acts silly; on the contrary, they find it very interesting.

Of course, Chen Fan wouldn't go too far. All his words and actions were just right, enough to make people furious but not really angry. This was also his way of interacting with people.

After finishing his cigarette, Guo Daorong pulled out the draft he had tucked at the bottom of the document and continued typing, scratching his head.

Anti-Japanese War literature, and even specially made small editions, I've never written anything like that before?
This question is a bit difficult!

……

Chen Fan strolled out and, as he passed the main entrance of the office area, even offered a cigarette to the gatekeeper.

After leaving the zoo, we got in our car and drove away.

Today is November 17th, and there are still about 20 days until the meeting, so he naturally doesn't need to rush to the provincial capital.

But he didn't plan to go back to Lujiawan immediately.

He had quite a few acquaintances in the prefectural committee, and they were all on good terms with him.

For example, Yunhu Health Center.

Fortunately, Lin Liwen and Xia Yuping went to Jiangda University to study, otherwise he wouldn't have dared to go.

Arriving at the health center felt like coming home; I kept greeting people.

After asking a few people, he went to Yan Liyuan's office.

Upon seeing him arrive, Yan Liyuan immediately stood up to welcome him, saying, "Oh, you're a rare guest, please sit here."

Chen Fan shook hands with him, followed him to the sofa and sat down, and said with a smile, "I really didn't expect that you would become the director?!"

When he first came here, Yan Liyuan was the one who received him. At that time, he was just a section chief. Although he was later promoted, which was a reward for his merits, he has now become the person in charge of the health department, which really surprised Chen Fan.

Yan Liyuan handed him a cigarette and chuckled, "No matter how fast you rise, you can't rise as fast as me."

Yan Liyuan's eyes were filled with emotion as he said this.

In the latter half of last year, Chen Fan was just an ordinary member of a production team. Later, he rose to the top and became a section-level cadre in the health department. In order to make it easier for him to hide in Lujiawan, a position of health inspector was specially set up.

I thought we'd be working in the same unit from now on, but not long after, I was transferred to the provincial writers' association and promoted two levels to become the deputy director-level director of the provincial writers' association, the same level as me at the time.

Luckily, I've taken the lead now, otherwise it would be really embarrassing to be a level below him.

However, considering Chen Fan's contributions, the nationwide application of the "Yunhu First Aid Technique," and the widespread availability of the "First Aid Manual" to barefoot doctors in almost every commune and even every production team, who have saved countless lives, he felt that Chen Fan's current position was still too low.

He himself only got the position of director because of connections, while the previous leaders had already been transferred to the provincial department, so he felt that Chen Fan should have gone to the ministry.

In that case, no matter how high the rank could be, it certainly wouldn't be lower than my current rank.

Chen Fan smoked a cigarette and chatted with him with a smile, occasionally asking about the recent situation of his acquaintance.

If he knew what Yan Liyuan was thinking, he'd probably laugh. Not awkward being a year ahead? Let's wait until after the meeting next month and see who's awkward!
Having agreed to stay for dinner with Yan Liyuan, Chen Fan went to the Political Work Department to find Sister Zhou.

Sister Zhou is still working in the political work department. It's not that there aren't better positions for her, but she's used to it here and doesn't want to fill her schedule too much, as it's tiring.

However, she was not overlooked when it came time to reward those who had contributed.

He was promoted one rank and his salary increased by two ranks. Now he is at the same level as Chen Fan, and is the deputy director of the health department, in charge of the political work section.

They couldn't even be bothered to change offices; they stayed in the same old place.

When Chen Fan arrived, he found two new people in the office, who should be replacing Lin Liwen and Xia Yuping. The original Sister Yu and Sister Qin were still there.

After exchanging pleasantries with them for a while, less than a minute later, just after I finished scattering the small gifts, Sister Zhou called me into her office inside.

Sister Zhou's first words were: "Xiao Lin and Xiao Xia told me that you two are both at Jiangda University, but you've only met twice in the past year?"

Chen Fan remained calm and composed, feigning helplessness as he smiled and said, "I'm so busy. There's a ton of stuff to do with the Writers' Association. I set up a correspondence center, you know that? And later I even started a magazine called 'Literary Youth.' There's just so much to do inside and out."

Then my book was published in the small book, and coincidentally, I was in charge of the European and American branch of the external relations department. The small book was clearly the responsibility of the Asia and Africa branch, but that Director Duan was incompetent and made me do it too.

I don't even have a moment to breathe all day long, and on top of that, I still have to keep up with my studies. My teacher gave me a reading list..."

"Boo bo bo bo bo..." Zhou Jie started, and Chen Fan then launched into a long tale of the Milky Way hanging upside down, capable of flowing for three thousand miles, leaving Zhou Jie dizzy and disoriented.

Finally finding a moment of respite, Sister Zhou quickly waved her hand to interrupt him, "Alright, alright, alright, don't complain to me, it's not worth it!"

She paused for a moment, then said helplessly, "From the moment you were willing to take a temporary position here for those two sisters, I knew that Xiaolin and Xia had no chance. Now that things have come to this, I guess they've both come to their senses."

But no matter what, they helped you a lot. Of course, you gave them those two sets of self-study books and helped them get into university. In terms of personal relationships, there is no question of anyone owing anyone anything.

But these relationships can't be simply calculated by not owing favors. Even if there's no connection, there's no need to deliberately distance yourself; being ordinary friends is fine too.

What do you think? "

This time, Chen Fan didn't talk nonsense. He listened carefully to what she said, pursing his lips and nodding gently.

After she finished speaking, she looked up and smiled, "Sister Zhou, I really didn't deliberately avoid them, I was just really busy."

(Here, Secretary Yang, Zhang Wenliang, Bian Huifang, He Qingsheng, Xu Qizhen, and others unanimously express their deepest contempt.)
Hearing him say that, Sister Zhou opened her mouth to speak, but then she heard him continue, "But speaking of which, it really has been a long time since we last met. I'm going back to school in a few days to hand in my homework, so I'll treat them to a meal and explain."

Hearing this, Sister Zhou nodded in satisfaction, "That's right."

After discussing that, she asked about Chen Fan's recent situation.

Chen Fan picked out everything he could say and said it all.

As for what I can't say, it's probably that I bought several houses, wrote a Western fantasy novel, and made a lot of money, right?
Feeling that he couldn't reveal too much about his private affairs, Chen Fan focused on talking about various "insider information" from the Writers' Association, leaving Sister Zhou completely bewildered.

That evening, we ate at the guesthouse next door, with Yan Liyuan and Sister Zhou in attendance, along with several newly promoted leaders. It was a lively affair, and everyone enjoyed themselves.

The next day at noon, Zhou Jie and Zuo Qiuping from the Education Department, along with Chen Fan, treated everyone to a simple meal at Wangjiang Tower.

Afterwards, I visited the correspondence center of Jiangnan University, the health school, the First Hospital, and other places, visiting all the people I knew before, which can be considered as maintaining these interpersonal relationships.

Although with his current position and achievements, he no longer needs to do this, many of them are people who have helped him in the past. Regardless of whether he owes them favors, as long as it doesn't interfere with his work or life, it's not a big deal to keep in touch appropriately.

Sister Zhou is right. Sometimes you don't need to be so calculating. Judging people's character and making more friends can be a joy in itself.

The people Chen Fan contacted these past few days have all been pretty good. He's quite happy to chat and have a drink with them, which is also a way of making friends.

After several days of eating and drinking, he finally returned to Lujiawan.

He originally planned to go directly to the provincial capital, but after thinking it over, he realized that there was something he had forgotten to bring.

On the threshing floor in front of his house, Chen Fan whistled. The sound wasn't loud, but it was extremely penetrating and carried very far.

Soon, several small black dots appeared on the horizon. As the dots approached, cries soon followed.

"Chirp..."

Within seconds, the small black dots became clear that they were four rather large birds: a Eurasian Hobby and three Gyrfalcons.

Before the birds could fly back, Chen Fan took out a relatively stiff pigskin bag and placed it on the table. He called out to the gyrfalcon twice, and the three little guys immediately swooped down, then flapped their wings to slow down and landed in the bag one after another.

Chen Fan closed the bag's lid, which had three small holes. A bird popped out of each hole, its head sticking out, chirping incessantly at Chen Fan.

Chen Fan patted the heads of the three birds and responded with a few chirps, and the birds quieted down.

Unlike the Eurasian Hobby, the gyrfalcon is extremely wild. If they are separated for a long time, although Chen Fan can still call them back with his skills, it will definitely affect their level of understanding. Therefore, he can only carry it with him at all times.

For at least the next year or two, this is the only way to raise them.

Liu Lu and the other two rushed back to help him pack his luggage, and then stood obediently in a row next to him.

Chen Fan sat down in a chair and said to the three of them, "I'm going away for a while. If nothing unexpected happens, I should be back before the Chinese New Year."

He didn't want to travel frequently; going out these days is quite tiring. This time, he would probably stay in the provincial capital until the middle or late part of the month before going to Shanghai. He estimated that he would have to wait until Jiang Lili and the others started their winter vacation, or even until Zhou Yali returned to China before returning.

I'm just coming back for the Chinese New Year.

Liu Lu and the other two remained silent, waiting for their master to continue.

Chen Fan said, "This period of time is neither short nor long. You all need to work hard. However, I will assign you a task."

Like her sister, Yang Mei was impatient and immediately asked, "What kind of task is it?"

I can't do anything too difficult!

Huang Li and Liu Lu also watched eagerly.

Chen Fan smiled and said, "Liu Lu is in charge of the garment factory now. The first batch of industrial sewing machines has been delivered. You need to teach everyone as soon as possible, and we can't delay the arrival of the next batch of equipment. Just do this job well, and you don't need to worry about anything else."

Then he looked at Yangmei and Huangli and said, “You two are currently in charge of the winery and the canteen, which seems like a small scope of work. However, Lujiawan is going to develop in the direction of industrialization in the future, so you should think carefully about how to transform what you have learned into something that is industrialized.”

This is your task.

Yangmei and Huangli looked at each other in bewilderment. Yangmei was alright, as the distillery could be turned into a winery, but Huangli was completely dumbfounded. What was she going to do with her canteen?
(End of this chapter)