Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 692 New ideas
After coming up from the basement, Chen Fan shook his head until he went to the bathroom to wash his face before he was fully awake.

Zhou Zhengdong sat at the tea table drinking tea, his briefcase lying to the side, not taking it back to his room.

Chen Fan rolled up his sleeves, walked over and sat down opposite him, asking, "Have you had dinner yet?"

Zhou Zhengdong tugged at his clothes, then looked at his daughter sitting beside him and laughed, "You reek of alcohol, you must have been eating."

Zhou Yali washed her face, sat down next to her cousin, and made a face at her father, saying, "Let's see how Mom deals with you when we get back."

The smile on Zhou Zhengdong's face vanished instantly; he had spoiled his daughter for nothing.

Chen Fan grinned and said, "It's easy to get hungry after drinking, so why don't you have some more to eat?"

Zhou Zhengdong didn't argue. After a couple of seconds of contemplation, he nodded and said, "Okay, let's make a bowl of clear soup noodles."

After a heavy meal of meat and alcohol, a bowl of clear soup noodles is indeed very comforting.

Before long, Liu Juan and Ma Lan brought the dishes to the table, naturally not forgetting Zhou Zhengdong's clear soup noodles.

Although Liu Juan and Ma Lan were already quite familiar with each other in this house, and Chen Fan didn't treat them as outsiders, the two still strictly adhered to the rules their parents had taught them. They never ate at the same table with them, and always took a bowl of rice from the kitchen and finished eating in a few bites.

So there were only three people at the table: Zhou Zhengdong, Zhou Yali, and Chen Fan.

Zhou Zhengdong held the bowl of noodles, slurped down two big mouthfuls, then took a sip of the soup, exhaled a long breath, and said, "That feels good."

Just as I was about to continue, I looked at my daughter again, and she looked listless. "What's wrong? Are you tired today?"

Zhou Yali pouted and muttered softly, "It doesn't taste good."

Chen Fan glanced at her and said, "You should starve for three days. I guarantee everything you see will taste delicious to you."

Zhou Zhengdong was speechless. He couldn't help but purse his lips. He first glanced cautiously at the kitchen, then turned to glare at his daughter. "What's wrong with you? The person who cooked is still here. How can you pick up the bowl and scold the cook?"

Zhou Yali turned to look at her father, pouting, and said, "These weren't made by Liu Juan and Ma Lan. I came back late today and didn't have time to cook, so I bought some ready-made dishes at the market. They're the kind you can just heat up and eat."

As he spoke, he poked at the food with his chopsticks, saying, "These are them."

(Pre-cooked vegetables at Dongdan Market in the 70s)

She sighed softly, then called out at the top of her lungs, "Juanzi, cook me a bowl of clear soup noodles too."

Liu Juan was eating when she immediately swallowed the food in her mouth, put down her chopsticks and steamed bun, stood up and called out, "I'll cook it right away, it'll be ready soon."

This is also one of the reasons why they don't like to eat with Chen Fan. Chen Fan likes to eat rice, while they like to eat steamed buns, so they can't share their food.

Zhou Yali said, "No rush, I'll eat some vegetables first. You eat yours, and we'll cook more when you're done."

If she hadn't said that, Liu Juan would definitely have cooked noodles for her first.

Chen Fan continued picking and choosing with his chopsticks, not even bothering to look at her.

I finished two large bowls of rice cleanly and efficiently, and also cleared out most of the vegetables. The key is that I didn't seem rushed at all, and before I knew it, I had accomplished the feat of eating all the rice.

To be honest, the pre-cooked food at the market didn't taste very good, and it was extremely oily and salty. He even suspected that it was just cooked with soy sauce. No wonder Zhou Yali couldn't eat it.

These were the vegetables that Ma Lan bought. If he had known that the vegetables in the market looked like this, he would have preferred to eat later rather than eat this.

But then again, it seems like people these days just love food with lots of oil and salt.

As he put down his chopsticks, Ma Lan brought over a bowl of clear soup noodles and placed it in front of Zhou Yali.

Then he quickly made a cup of tea for Chen Fan and Zhou Zhengdong.

At this moment, Zhou Zhengdong also finished his noodles slowly, wiped his mouth, picked up his teacup, blew on it for a while, took a sip, and then looked up at Chen Fan and said with a smile, "You guys go to Shanghai first tomorrow, I have to stay here for a few more days."

Upon hearing this, Chen Fan and Zhou Yali were taken aback at first, and then spoke in unison.

However, what they said was different.

Chen Fan asked, "Did you make any progress today?"

Zhou Yali asked, "Why?"

Zhou Zhengdong glanced at his daughter helplessly, "If it weren't for Xiaofan guiding the direction, I wouldn't dare let you start your own company."

Zhou Yali turned her head to look at Chen Fan, staring at him for a full three seconds, before muttering, "Anyway, I have my younger brother, so I'm not afraid."

Chen Fan remained expressionless, merely glancing at her. He wondered to himself, "Am I being forced into this?"

Zhou Zhengdong sighed deeply, secretly resolving that he must take on more responsibility for his daughter after returning to the United States; things couldn't continue like this.

He took out two cigarettes, handed one to Chen Fan, and put the other in his mouth. After lighting it, he exhaled a puff of smoke, looked up at Chen Fan, and smiled, "I went out for a drive today. First, I went to the Beijing Liaison Office. They're busy preparing for the embassy's establishment these days, but Mr. Woodcock still managed to take some time to chat with me for over half an hour."

Frankly speaking, the White House didn't have high expectations of him; as long as diplomatic relations could be established smoothly, he would consider the mission accomplished.

However, Mr. Woodcock has his own goals. I spoke with him and found that we share similar ideas. That is, it is not advisable to take any major actions at the moment, especially at the official level; it is sufficient to maintain smooth communication.

At present, everything is in need of rebuilding, and almost all work has to start from scratch. However, there are quite a few points of disagreement between the two sides, and the situation is very complicated. If we act rashly, it may cause misunderstandings and create obstacles.

We discussed it and agreed that there are two key areas for breakthroughs in our work. One is people-to-people exchanges. Due to historical reasons, there has been very little exchange between the government and the public. Woodcock hopes to mobilize as many resources as possible to make this possible.

At this point, he pointed to himself, then to Chen Fan, and smiled meaningfully, "He hopes that the two of us can play an important role, and he will provide as much convenience as possible."

Chen Fan raised an eyebrow slightly. "Understood."

One of them is an American of Chinese descent, and the Zhou family has a certain influence in the New York Chinese community, which can promote exchanges between overseas Chinese and the mainland, such as visiting relatives and tourism.

The other is a well-known domestic author whose works have also become bestsellers in the United States, topping the New York Times bestseller list for a long time.

Chen Fan's pseudonym "Versailles Augustus" won't be able to stay hidden for long.

If you're just an ordinary author, you could hide your work your whole life and no one would know. But how can you hide a work that's so incredibly popular and unique, especially a groundbreaking fantasy masterpiece?!
Therefore, it won't be long before Chen Fan becomes a well-known writer in both China and the United States.

In international people-to-people exchanges, cultural exchange has always occupied a central position. Therefore, the conclusion is obvious: Zhou Zhengdong's wife, Zhao Wanru, from the Zhao family of San Francisco, is a highly influential Chinese family, just like the Zhou family. She owns a publishing company and has considerable influence in the New York Chinese community… or perhaps we should also add San Francisco to the mix.

With their combined power and Chen Fan's influence, Woodcock had every reason to believe that, as long as the officials on both sides didn't hold them back, they could definitely pull off a major operation.

Chen Fan silently smoked his cigarette. After a couple of seconds of contemplation, he looked at Zhou Zhengdong and smiled, “When I came to Beijing this time, my superiors hoped that I could have a good discussion with you and that the Zhou family’s publishing company could select some works by writers from our province and publish them in the United States.”

Before Zhou Zhengdong could react, Zhou Yali, who was eating noodles next to him, suddenly coughed.

She covered her mouth with a handkerchief, coughed a few times, then grabbed Chen Fan's teacup and took two gulps.

Chen Fan, sitting next to him, couldn't bear to watch. "If you're coughing, why don't you drink some noodle soup?"

Zhou Yali finally caught her breath and glared at me, saying, "You should talk to me about this, why are you talking to my dad?"

Chen Fan didn't even want to look at her, and said with a pout, "Then I'll talk to you, do you agree?"

Zhou Yali took a deep breath. "You are the largest shareholder of the company. You not only own shares but are also a core writer. You have more say than me. Since it was your suggestion, I agree."

Chen Fan gave a fake smile, "Thank you, Mr. Zhou."

Zhou Yali waved her hand dismissively, "No need to be polite."

Chen Fan flicked his cigarette ash, turned to look at Zhou Zhengdong, and continued, "This matter was originally just a small business cooperation, and the Jiangnan Provincial Writers Association had already reached a cooperation agreement with Takahashi Publishing House of Xiaobenzi half a year ago, and had already published several novels. Now, adding another American publisher is really nothing."

However, given the context of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, there is much to be done in looking at this cooperation.

Once the cooperation is finalized and results are achieved, my position will be secure, and many others will benefit.

He picked up the teacup, took a sip, and was about to put it down when he remembered that Zhou Yali had just drunk from it. He shook his head helplessly and called out, "Juanzi, pour your cousin a cup of tea. I'll change mine too."

After finishing the last bite of noodles, Zhou Yali wiped her mouth with a handkerchief. Hearing this, she couldn't help but glance at her cousin and say, "Tch, you're looking down on me now."

Chen Fan ignored her and asked Zhou Zhengdong, "I can benefit from this, but what about you, Uncle?"

Zhou Zhengdong smiled upon hearing this, lit another cigarette, and looked at him, saying, "This is the second point I wanted to make. In addition to people-to-people exchanges, we also need to promote bilateral economic and trade development. This is where my interests lie, and it is also the reason why I cannot go to Shanghai with you for the time being."

He flicked off the ash from his cigarette, his face already flushed, and gestured as he said, "These past few days I've been thinking about what else I can do besides providing consulting services when trade and investment are severely restricted."

During my conversation with Woodcock today, I unexpectedly discovered something very important. If we use this as a starting point, I believe the mainland authorities will definitely cooperate, and might even welcome it very much.

Chen Fan raised an eyebrow slightly. "What is it?"

Zhou Zhengdong held a cigarette in one hand, made a gesture with the other, gently placed it to his ear, and grinned from ear to ear. "Communication!"

Chen Fan immediately raised an eyebrow. "What do you plan to do?"

This doesn't even need explanation; a three-day international call would drive anyone crazy.

Zhou Zhengdong grinned and said, "This is just a preliminary idea, so I need time to do research. It won't take too long. I just need to bring up this topic and then negotiate with the authorities. It can be done in a few days."

Chen Fan took a deep breath, thought for a moment, and said, "What about Batumi?"

Zhou Zhengdong waved his hand, "COCOM manages the export of technology and production equipment, which mainly includes three categories: military weapons and equipment, cutting-edge technology products, and rare materials."

I'm a lawyer, and I know very well what falls within these three categories and what doesn't.

He pointed to the telephone in the distance, "Take the program-controlled telephone exchange, which is essential for telephone communication, as an example. A 10,000-line program-controlled telephone exchange can actually be exported here!"

Chen Fan's eyes widened. "Really?"

Zhou Zhengdong nodded. "I've looked up information on this. As long as it's not the most advanced or cutting-edge technology product, it can be exempt from COCOM's jurisdiction. For example, supercomputers are restricted, but personal computers are completely unrestricted."

The factors restricting the import of 10,000-line program-controlled telephone exchanges, besides the fact that foreign companies lacked a precise understanding of this line, making none of them dared to sell first, were primarily due to insufficient foreign exchange reserves in mainland China, leaving postal and telecommunications units across the country without the funds for procurement.

He held up two fingers as he spoke, “So I need to solve two problems: one is the agency rights for communication equipment, and the other is providing foreign exchange loans to mainland entities. Only then can this business be done!”

Chen Fan nodded slowly, his eyes thoughtful.

It must be said that Zhou Zhengdong's approach is highly feasible.

The first 10,000-line program-controlled telephone exchange imported into my country was introduced in Fuzhou in 1982. The equipment came from Fujitsu and was model F-150 10,000-line program-controlled exchange.

The major telecommunications companies that currently manufacture telephone switches in the world include Fujitsu and NEC (Japan), BTM (Belgium), Lucent (USA), Siemens (Germany), Ericsson (Sweden), Nortel (Canada), and Alcatel (France).

So many companies, facing a blank market, even if this market may be poor and have little money, it is big enough.

Once the market is large and the base is large, you will be able to find a few wealthy clients. Wouldn't they be tempted?
Moreover, the world's attention is now focused here. China and the United States have broken down barriers and begun to cooperate, and the ongoing meeting has made the world aware that this place is about to shift its focus and concentrate its main efforts on development.

If all goes well, it is almost foreseeable that this will become a very large market in the future.

Yes, investing here at this time will be risky, but what business is risk-free? The higher the risk, the greater the potential return.

If Zhou Zhengdong can truly manage to connect with foreign telecommunications giants on one hand and maintain good relations with mainland China on the other, then this business deal is indeed successful.

After a moment, he looked up and smiled, “This idea is indeed highly feasible. However, if you want to do this business, I think we can perhaps go a little deeper.”

Zhou Zhengdong was slightly taken aback upon hearing this, staring intently at him, and asked, "What do you mean?"

Chen Fan smiled and gestured as he said, "Look, this is actually the most basic agency model. One side acts as an agent for the product and then sells it to the other side's customers."

From an industry perspective, we haven't participated in other aspects like R&D, production, and after-sales maintenance. R&D aside, production and maintenance are certainly worth a try.

As he spoke, he suddenly turned and pointed at Zhou Yali, "Isn't this a coincidence? Yali happens to own a technology company. Although network communication and telephone communication are different, a company will naturally grow as you work on it."

Zhou Yali looked at him, then at her father, and after a few seconds of stunned silence, she suddenly realized what was happening.

She immediately sat up straight, pointed to herself with both fingers, and said with a serious face, "Dad, Dad, I...I...I want to cooperate with you. No technical skills? No problem. I can hire people. Let's join forces, start from scratch, grow big and strong, and create new glories!"

(End of this chapter)