Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 682 Guests are coming
Calligraphy and paintings need to be mounted. As a leading time-honored brand of calligraphy and paintings in the country, Rongbaozhai has the best mounting skills in the world. So, it was only natural that the calligraphy and painting was left here to be mounted, and it would be picked up in a few days.

After leaving the store, Chen Fan drove off in his minivan with Mr. Huo.

Mr. Huo sat in the passenger seat, looking at the car with great curiosity. "Is this a car made in our country?"

He didn't see any English or Russian markings on the car, only the words "Yunhu" on the center console and steering wheel, which made him a little curious.

Chen Fan didn't mention that he designed it himself, but just smiled and said, "Yes, it was produced by Yunhu Automobile Factory in my hometown, Jiangnan Province. Currently, the automobile factory has two products. In addition to this van, there is also a sedan."

He paused for a moment, then explained, "I am an advisor to Yunhu Automobile Factory. This car was borrowed from their Beijing office. I'm just using it for a while, and I have to return it afterwards."

Mr. Huo shifted his position, took a look, and said in surprise, "This car is of good quality. The power output is even, and it drives very smoothly, just like the Hongqi cars I usually ride in on the mainland."

Generally speaking, minivans are dual-purpose vehicles for both passenger and cargo use, and they certainly cannot compare with sedans in terms of stability and comfort. However, this vehicle did not have a noticeable bumpy ride, and the feeling of sitting in it was just like that of a sedan, which shows that the structure of this vehicle must be quite advanced.

It's not that this minivan is so great, but rather that current sedans are truly disappointing. Otherwise, Cadillac wouldn't have been able to maintain its position at the top of the luxury car rankings for so many years, thanks to its smooth and comfortable ride.

Chen Fan smiled and said, "It still can't compare to the Hongqi, but the other sedan is comparable."

The Hongqi he was referring to wasn't an ordinary Hongqi sedan, but a specially made vehicle for VIPs, the kind exclusively for Xiyuan. The current Yunhu sedan can indeed rival that specially made Hongqi.

However, no one would have thought of replacing the Hongqi with the Yunhu sedan, not even Director Yang.

In modern terms, the two brands are not even in the same league and are not comparable at all.

Moreover, FAW is a large and powerful company with 3 employees in its factories alone. It also has close ties with the Ministry of Machinery Industry and has become almost a representative of the domestic automobile industry.

Instead of letting Yunhu Auto replace Hongqi, it would be more feasible for FAW to directly use Yunhu Auto's technology to produce Hongqi cars.

In fact, that's exactly what's being done now.

The latest Hongqi car uses the same frame as the Yunhu sedan, with identical exterior and interior design. The only difference is the brand name and the addition of a Hongqi logo on the front.

Therefore, unless Mr. Li is still alive and directly specifies the use of Yunhu sedan, there is no possibility of alternatives.

This is also why Chen Fan never considered pushing Yunhu Autos to enter Beijing.

It's fine as it is now. As long as we don't compete for that honor, Yunhu Auto will remain a unique and rising star in the domestic automotive industry.

After taking a while longer to experience the car, Mr. Huo felt that it was indeed quite good, and then considered whether he should purchase a batch to take back.

Before investing in the White Swan Hotel, he had spent a lot of money in China. However, the domestic industrial base was weak at the time, and there was not enough material for the country itself, let alone for export.

Moreover, it doesn't have any advantage in terms of quality.

As for other things, he doesn't need them either.

So all I could do was buy some collectibles to take back and spend some money to leave them here, just to do my bit.

There are quite a few such items. In 86, he presented the Queen of England with a snuff bottle containing her portrait. He commissioned two renowned Chinese masters of inside-painted snuff bottles, Wang Xisan and Liu Shouben, to create it at a high price.

In 1972, his daughter was invited to visit the Shanghai Museum and saw a thousand-year-old kesi tapestry of "Lotus Pond and Ducklings". She liked it very much and hoped to have a copy made for her father. She then went to the Wuxian Kesi Factory in Suzhou, spent a lot of money, and spent a year to successfully make a copy.

Actually, he wasn't particularly fond of collecting, nor was he a major collector. However, buying artworks in China as gifts and buying antiques abroad to send back to China were things he did frequently.

It was a rare opportunity to run into Chen Fan today and ride in this car, so the thought of buying it came to mind. Turning to look at Chen Fan, she asked softly, "Is this car exported?"

Chen Fan turned to look at him and smiled, "You're not thinking of buying this kind of car, are you?"

Mr. Huo smiled and said, "When the leader talked to me, he said something like, 'If you need something, you can buy it domestically. If you don't need it, don't waste your money.'"

So, I genuinely thought this car was great, which is why I considered buying it. I wasn't trying to give away money for free, and it wasn't because you're a consultant for the car manufacturer that I was trying to do you a favor.

Chen Fan nodded and smiled, "Exporting products is something that every factory in China probably wants to do. If possible, Yunhu Automobile Factory would certainly be willing to export products as well."

However, the production capacity of Yunqi Factory is currently severely insufficient, and they are still expanding their production lines, so delivery may be a little later.

Furthermore, China operates under a foreign trade monopoly system. If you want to buy a car, going directly to Yunnan Automobile Factory won't help; you'll have to go through an import/export company and place the order with Yunnan Automobile Factory through them.

At this point, Chen Fan added with a smile, "Mr. Huo, I'm not trying to flatter Yunqi Factory. If you really want to buy a car, when you place an order with the import and export company, you must specify that it's a car from Yunqi Factory."

Because so far, of all the factories producing this type of car, only Yunqi Factory produces the highest quality vehicles.

Upon hearing this, a thoughtful look flashed in Mr. Huo's eyes, but he didn't ask any further questions. He simply nodded slightly and said, "I understand."

Although he didn't come to the capital often, he spent a lot of time in Panyu, spending several months there every year. So he wasn't completely ignorant about the situation in the interior.

Hearing Chen Fan say this, they understood what was going on.

Moreover, this kind of thing is easy to investigate. If you really want to buy a car, you can find someone to investigate and find out the truth.

Chen Fan drove his car, turning left and right, but instead of going home immediately, he went to the vegetable market.

There are generally two peak periods at the wet market: one is around 7 a.m. and the other is around 4 p.m. At this time, it is a little before 4 p.m., which is the perfect time when all the goods are stocked and the customers have not yet arrived.

Chen Fan parked the car and smiled at Mr. Huo, "Wait a few minutes, I'll be right back."

Mr. Huo turned to look at the market, then back at him, his eyes full of surprise, "Buying groceries and cooking?"

Chen Fan chuckled and said, "That's right, I'm cooking today myself. Isn't that surprising?"

Mr. Huo came to his senses and laughed, "It was indeed a bit of a surprise. I thought a great writer and calligrapher like you would never lift a finger."

Chen Fan shook his head smugly and laughed, "Then you wait and see, I'll let you taste my cooking in a bit."

He then pushed open the door and got out of the car.

As a result, Mr. Huo also came down, walked up to him, looked at the entrance of the vegetable market, and sighed softly, "Back in the day, I also often bought vegetables and cooked. Especially when I was a child, my family was poor, and I even picked up vegetable scraps."

Later, I got busy with my career and never came to a place like that again.

As he spoke, he pointed and said, "Today, thanks to you, I'll take another stroll through the market and see how it differs from those in Hong Kong."

Chen Fan stepped inside, saying, "There are many different places there, enough for you to see something new."

Mr. Huo enjoyed chatting with Chen Fan. Although there was a significant age difference between them, there was no barrier between them, and they chatted easily. Upon hearing this, he couldn't help but laugh and say, "Have you perhaps seen a wet market in Hong Kong before?"

Chen Fan shrugged. "Even if you haven't eaten pork, you've always seen pigs run. Hong Kong is by the sea, so it definitely has a lot of seafood. And most of its vegetables are supplied by Shenzhen, so it mainly consists of leafy greens."

"Beijing is in the north, and there aren't that many leafy greens there, especially now that it's winter. I doubt this market can even have ten kinds of vegetables."

The two talked as they entered the market. (The market in 78 had distinctive slogans.)

A large house with a high ceiling, well-heated and cozy inside, making you want to take off your coat.

Chen Fan acted quickly, buying a large shopping basket as he went, and began his shopping.

Yellow River carp caught in Henan, ribbonfish shipped from Tianjin, sea cucumbers from Dalian, pork from Changping, chickens from Fangshan...

As for vegetables, ten kinds would be too many.

Besides potatoes, cabbage, and radishes, Chen Fan only saw scallions from Shandong.

If there isn't enough variety, they make up for it with quantity. Each stall sells only one type of vegetable, and they managed to occupy four stalls with just four different kinds of vegetables. That's quite a bold move.

Mr. Huo followed behind, watching the spectacle. When they came out of the market, he couldn't help but clap his hands and exclaim, "It's definitely different from the markets in Hong Kong!"

I bought the groceries and went home.

Uh, it wasn't his own home, but the home of his three masters.

There was no one in the house.

The courtyard gate was wide open, and the house doors were also not closed. With the recent poor security, weren't they afraid of being robbed? There were even paintings and calligraphy works hanging on the walls of their bedrooms.

There was nothing else I could do but leave the shopping basket in the kitchen, invite Mr. Huo to sit in the living room, make him a cup of tea, and say with a smile, "Please wait a moment, I'll go and find them."

Mr. Huo had no objection and sat comfortably drinking tea.

As Chen Fan stepped out of the courtyard, intending to ask around, he heard a commotion coming from the neighboring courtyard, where he could hear the voices of his three masters.

Upon entering, I found three masters performing with monkeys.

Two baby golden monkeys were being passed around like precious treasures among a group of elderly people, while children were secretly reaching out to pet them out of curiosity.

Chen Fan stood speechless at the entrance of the Intermediate People's Court.

How old are you? Why do you still act like a child, always thinking about showing off?
Today, the establishment of diplomatic relations was announced. As a veteran who once beat up the US, don't I feel a mix of emotions?

He could only walk over and pat Master Zhang on the shoulder, saying, "Third Master, we have a guest."

Zhang Xuansong turned around, blinked, and asked, "Who do you think you are, guest?"

After saying that, he waved his hand and said, "Go back and stay there. We'll go back later."

Master Lin and Master Li, standing nearby, remained completely still.

Chen Fan was quite helpless, so he leaned close to his ear and whispered, "There really is a guest, sitting in the living room. He also participated in the Northern War."

Zhang Xuansong turned his head. "Are there really guests?"

Master Lin and Master Li also came over.

Lin Yuanxiang, "also participated in the Northern War?"

Li Shangde: "What's their background?"

Chen Fan lowered his voice again, so that only a few of them could hear, "We just met today, a guest from Hong Kong. Back then, while you were fighting on the front lines, they were transporting supplies from the rear. Iron sheets, rubber, gasoline, and diesel were all transported here by sea in trip after trip."

Hearing this, Zhang Xuansong stopped asking questions, stood up, and waved, "I have something to do at home, let's play again next time."

The neighbors didn't hesitate and immediately brought over the monkeys. Master Zhang and Master Lin each took one and left.

Back home, Chen Fan made a brief introduction, and the four of them immediately hit it off, chatting around the octagonal table as if they had known each other for ages.

No one paid any attention to him, so Chen Fan went to the kitchen to make dinner.

Mr. Huo wanted to be polite, but before he could even turn around and say anything, Zhang Xuansong stopped him, "Ignore him, let him cook. Hey, Brother Huo, you just said the British sent troops to block the waterways, hasn't that bald guy made any move?"

Upon hearing this, Mr. Huo disregarded Chen Fan and immediately turned to say, "Yes, of course! The situation was dangerous back then. Not only were the waterways sealed off, but there were also bombs being delivered..."

However, we have a lot of people and great strength, and many overseas Chinese contributed money and effort.

Just like Huang Yifei from Sumatra, Indonesia, who was nicknamed "Iron-Blooded" and led many overseas Chinese brothers to open up several secret transportation channels to send supplies back to China.

And then there's Li Yintong, the general manager of Singapore's Nan Yi Company. He's truly extraordinary in his courage. We transport rubber, but do you know what he transports? Rubber trees!
It was thanks to the rubber trees he provided that we were able to successfully plant rubber plantations in Hainan, thus achieving self-sufficiency in rubber production…

……

Chen Fan was arranging various ingredients in the kitchen, listening intently as Mr. Huo told the three masters their stories from back then, his expression changing with the unfolding tales.

Of course, not all of it was Mr. Huo who said it.

His curiosity about the northern battlefield was no less than that of his three mentors about the logistical struggles behind the lines of war.

So after each story, he would ask about the situation on the battlefield back then.

All three masters had experienced the battlefield, so their accounts were as if they were there themselves. Mr. Huo listened in a daze, his mouth never closing.

Whenever he heard how harsh the conditions were back then, how many soldiers lacked warm clothes and food and water during battles, he couldn't help but burst into tears.

He also heard that back then, many unscrupulous merchants sold inferior products as superior ones, or even deliberately used substandard products to manufacture medical supplies, causing many soldiers to die in the rear rather than on the battlefield. He couldn't help but curse them.

As Chen Fan listened in the kitchen, he wondered when he could write two novels like this so that more people could know what happened back then.
……

After a flurry of activity, dinner was served.

The four sat in different places, with Chen Fan and his third master sharing a bench and sitting obediently in the corner.

At the dinner table, the four continued their previous conversation, clinking glasses and chatting animatedly.

He had a slight doubt that if he weren't in charge of pouring the wine, he would have been assigned to sit on the couch and share a table with two monkeys.

The meal lasted until 7 p.m., and the car that was supposed to pick up Mr. Huo waited outside for more than an hour before finally picking him up and rushing back.

As for the three masters, they naturally enjoyed their drinks to the fullest.

Chen Fan made them a bowl of hangover soup, then sent them back to their rooms to lie down. Only then did he put the sleeping monkey in a basket, call out to Xiao Hei, and drive home.

(End of this chapter)