Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 703 Performance Repertoire
On the living room sofa, Chen Fan held a phone in one hand and a cigarette between the other, but forgot to smoke it.

His brows furrowed, his face full of confusion. "Mr. Ba, I'm from the Jiangnan Writers Association. You want me to perform at the Shanghai Writers Association's arts festival? Isn't that absurd?"

Ba Jin's voice came through the microphone, "From your point of view, it is indeed a bit far-fetched. However, at the National Writers Association office meeting that just ended a few days ago, a new batch of national members was approved. It was unanimously decided to accept Comrade Chen Fan, a member of the Jiangnan Writers Association, recommended by Comrade He Qingsheng, as a national member. Congratulations."

Chen Fan blinked rapidly, "Huh?"

So I'm a member nationwide now?
Recommended by Uncle He?

When did this happen?
Old Ba grunted twice, "Originally, the work of approving and accepting new members was scheduled to be carried out at the plenary meeting in March. But now you are the vice chairman and vice president of the Jiangnan Writers Association, yet you don't even have the status of a national member, which is very inappropriate, so this item was added to the agenda at the last minute."

"You're in Shanghai now, so the General Association assigned this notification task to me. I also brought your national membership card back from Beijing. It's late today, so come to my house to pick it up tomorrow, Sunday."

Chen Fan was still pondering the connection Ba Jin had made, and when he finished speaking, he instinctively said "Oh," and then asked, "How many people are in this batch?"

Mr. Buffett said, "I already said it's a special case, so of course it's just you."

Chen Fan snapped out of his daze, his lips twitching slightly. "So you said it was a batch?"
Only one per batch?
However, he was still quite happy to become a national member.

But thinking about the question that Ba Jin had just raised, she became unhappy again: "Even if I become a national member, I don't have to perform at the Shanghai literary and art circles' gala, do I?"

Ba Jin coughed twice, "I heard from Xiao He that you're good at the harmonica and accordion. I've participated in a few literary and art galas at the Writers' Association before, but we writers don't have any talent shows, so we could only sit there and eat sunflower seeds..."

Chen Fan: ...I'm so envious.

As Mr. Ba continued speaking, “If it were before, we could only continue drinking tea and eating melon seeds down there, just like before, without any sense of participation.”

"Since you're here this time, even though you're not a Shanghai member, you're a national member. Representing our Writers' Association on stage is no problem at all; it's perfectly acceptable. So, this task can only be entrusted to you."

Chen Fan glanced at the nearly burnt-out cigarette, quickly brought it to his lips, took a puff, and then threw it into the ashtray. He then pulled out another cigarette, lit it with a lighter, and said with a bitter face, "From what you're saying, we can't not go?"

Mr. Buffett said, "...If you insist on understanding it that way, then so be it."

Chen Fan clicked his tongue and sighed deeply, "I shouldn't have been so bored that I played the harmonica at home."

Mr. Ba said, "Even if you don't play in the dormitory of the Jiangnan Writers Association, it's written in your file. I remember quite a few, like erhu, flute, violin, and piano. I think you're qualified to join the Musicians Association."

Chen Fan frowned deeply. "File? Who wrote my file?"

Honestly, my little talent just can't be hidden anymore?

Old Ba laughed heartily a few times, "The files were all filled out by the work unit. I won't talk about your old files, but the later files were filled out by several leaders from the Lujiawan Brigade Headquarters. They had a very high opinion of you."

"She's quick-witted, learns fast, can apply what she learns to new situations, and is selfless, willing to teach others, and has excellent teaching skills—all the praise is positive."

Hearing these words, Chen Fan couldn't help but feel heartbroken. "How could Secretary Yang and the others do this? They wrote such good things about me. Aren't they afraid that I'll be transferred to another unit?"

Mr. Ba, “Uh, I saw the evaluation date above, it seems to be the one you filled out when you were transferred to Yunhu Health Department?”

Chen Fan, ...that's all.

Mr. Ba felt he had said enough, and concluded with a sentence, "Since you have no objections, then think carefully about the program you want to perform. When you come to pick up your membership card tomorrow, tell me the program so I can have it submitted."

"The performance is the day after tomorrow, so we need to hurry and take it seriously. That's all."

After saying that, he slammed the phone down.

Chen Fan let out a long breath, listlessly put down the phone, and silently took a drag of his cigarette.

Jiang Tiantian brought over a teacup, gently placed it in front of him, looked at his expression, and whispered, "Lili said the food is ready. Shall we eat now, or later?"

Chen Fan flicked the ash from his cigarette with one hand and waved with the other, "Let's eat."

After finishing his cigarette and drinking a couple of sips of tea, he waited until the two sisters had set out the food before going over.

As soon as he sat down in the main seat, Jiang Lili poured him a warm bowl of rice wine, while Jiang Tiantian served him two bowls of rice.

They would only drink with Chen Fan during holidays and festivals; they wouldn't dare touch alcohol on other days.

The main problem is that it's easy to get drunk, and it's not very elegant if you accidentally get drunk.

Chen Fan took a sip of the old wine and frowned slightly.

Jiang Lili immediately said, "I've finished the wine you brewed yourself. This is a Daughter's Red wine I bought from a foreign-related store."

Chen Fan nodded slightly, "It's alright."

Jiang Tiantian picked up her chopsticks, but instead of eating, she looked at him and asked, "Was something wrong just now?"

Chen Fan looked at her and smiled, "It was Mr. Ba who called and told me two things. One is that he went to Beijing for a meeting the day before yesterday, and at that meeting, Uncle He recommended that my application to join the National Writers Association be approved."

The two sisters' eyes lit up immediately, and they exclaimed in unison, "You've become a national member?"

Chen Fan looked at the two of them and laughed, "You two are quite in sync, you even speak the same way."

Jiang Lili glanced at her sister, her smile widening. "We're sisters, of course we're on the same wavelength."

Then she looked at him again, "Once you become a national member, you can be called a great writer, right?"

Chen Fan has long been known as Writer Chen, but no one has called him a "great writer" because he has not joined the China Writers Association.

Although becoming a member of the National Writers Association does not necessarily make one a great writer, a great writer is certainly a member of the National Writers Association.

There are two main criteria for judging a great writer: one is having at least one work that can be passed down through the ages, and the other is being a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

The former is the recognition from readers and peers, while the latter is official recognition.

With Chen Fan's fame and works, he has already met the first criterion. Putting aside everything else, his three novels, "The Ferryman," "Love in the Cloud Lake," and "Shanghai Spy Shadow," have sold as well as the works of literary figures such as Mao Dun and Ba Jin. They were even favored by Xia Yan, who bought the adaptation rights through the Shanghai Film Studio. If this doesn't count as a timeless classic, then what does?

Now that he has been accepted as a national member, which fulfills another condition, Jiang Lili naturally called him a great writer immediately.

Chen Fan waved his hand calmly, "It's just an empty reputation, not worth mentioning." Seeing his feigned composure but rather smug look in his eyes, the two sisters exchanged a glance and couldn't help but chuckle.

Jiang Lili placed a slice of braised pork in his bowl and asked, "So, what's the second thing?"

Chen Fan immediately pursed his lips, picked up the braised pork and took a big bite. With a gentle sip, the smooth fat and tender lean meat immediately melted together and went down his throat.

He took a sip of his old wine to clear his mouth before sighing and saying, "The day after tomorrow is New Year's Day, and the Shanghai literary and art circles are holding a cultural gala. Mr. Ba asked me to perform because I am a national member and can participate in Shanghai's cultural and art activities."

She let out another long sigh, "I haven't even participated in any activities organized by the Jiangnan Writers Association, and now I have to participate in this one..."

He suddenly looked up at the two sisters and said with a serious face, "Believe it or not, when we get back to Jiangnan, if the Jiangnan arts and culture community organizes a Spring Festival Gala, Uncle He and the others will definitely not let me off the hook!"

Upon hearing this, the two sisters exchanged bewildered glances.

That's highly likely.

Given the situation this year, it's highly unlikely there will be no Spring Festival celebrations. But if you have to attend the Federation of Literary and Art Circles' Spring Festival Gala, how can you celebrate the New Year?

Chen Fan picked up a meatball and put it in his mouth. He didn't hear them talking for a moment, so he looked up.

Then I noticed that the two sisters didn't seem so happy, and I immediately understood what they were thinking. I couldn't help but laugh and say, "It's okay, things will work out in the end. Besides, the Spring Festival is different from New Year's Day. Who doesn't go home for the Spring Festival? Even if there is a celebration, it may not be on New Year's Eve or New Year's Day. It might be a few days earlier or a few days later."

Hearing this, the two sisters thought it made sense. They had seen many of the parties in the newspaper before, which were all in December, and those in January were after the fifth day of the first lunar month. With that thought in mind, they felt relieved and continued eating.

Chen Fan finished his drink in a few gulps, took the rice bowl from Jiang Tiantian, ate a couple of bites, and asked, "Does your school have any events?"

Jiang Lili suddenly realized what was happening and quickly said, "I almost forgot to tell you, I have to go to school for rehearsal tomorrow afternoon to perform a chorus with my classmates. We have a performance the night after tomorrow."

Chen Fan frowned slightly. "No holiday for New Year's Day?"

These days there are already so few holidays, and to take up another day like that is just unreasonable.

Jiang Lili smiled and said, "The New Year's Day performance was originally scheduled for tonight, but some students suggested that performing during study time would affect their studies, so we suggested that it be held on New Year's Day."

Anyway, all the students live on campus, and those who don't live on campus live locally, so holding the event on New Year's Day won't have any impact.

Moreover, tomorrow is Sunday, which is consecutive with New Year's Day, making it convenient for students to rehearse and perform on stage in full force. It's a win-win situation.

Jiang Tiantian nodded repeatedly, "Yes, we're about the same."

Chen Fan pursed his lips. Okay, he had forgotten that people think differently these days.

What people in later generations hate most is organizing activities during holidays, especially company gatherings and training sessions. These are blatant ways to take up rest time, and those activities are also very annoying. They don't build team cohesion, but they do accumulate a lot of resentment.

However, nowadays, people are very willing to participate in these activities, and they are afraid of affecting their studies and production. Most of them are carried out at night or on weekends, which can be regarded as a difference of the times.

Of course, this refers to the normal situation. There are people who are just as annoying as in later generations, and quite a few at that, but no one dares to say it openly, unlike in later generations where it is completely one-sided.

After Chen Fan understood, he looked at the two of them again and became curious about their performance. "You're both going to perform? What kind of performance are you going to give?"

The two sisters exchanged a glance, both feeling a little embarrassed.

Jiang Tiantian said with her head down, "Our class also sang a chorus, and the song was 'The Song of the Motherland'."

"The Song of the Motherland" was created this year and no one has sung it since, but it's quite popular now.

The first sentence is, "Braving the flames and facing the storm, the Chinese nation has stood up."

It's a very popular song.

Chen Fan nodded and then looked at Jiang Lili.

Jiang Lili smiled and said, "We're singing an old song, the Yellow River Cantata."

Chen Fan chuckled and said, "You grew up by the Yangtze River, yet you're singing about the Yellow River. That's a bit out of place."

Jiang Lili pouted, "What? This is a song that was decided after discussion among classmates."

She glanced at Chen Fan and said with a playful smile, "Besides, we didn't sing any songs about the Yangtze River."

Chen Fan blinked. Oh, "Song of the Yangtze River" hasn't been released yet. Of course not.

At this moment, Jiang Tiantian asked again, "Xiao Fan, Master Ba asked you to participate in a performance. What kind of program are you going to perform?"

Chen Fan snapped out of his thoughts and shook his head. "I haven't decided yet."

After saying that, he continued eating.

The temperature outside is very low, and even if there is a fireplace burning inside, the food will easily get cold, so it's best to eat it while it's hot.

Jiang Lili wasn't in a hurry to eat. Instead, she stared intently at him and whispered, "How about you perform a segment from 'Castle in the Sky'?"

Jiang Tiantian immediately turned to look at her and asked curiously, "Castle in the Sky? What's that?"

Speaking of this, Jiang Lili's eyes lit up. "It was during the National Day celebrations held in Lujiawan last year. Xiao Fan casually played an accordion tune. It sounded incredibly beautiful. It felt like floating in the sky, a feeling I had never experienced before."

Jiang Tiantian's curiosity grew even stronger, and she turned to look at Chen Fan, "How come I've never heard you play this before?"

Chen Fan grunted and didn't say anything. That thing hadn't been created yet, so why would he play it?

I was just joking around with Anquan at the time, and I played a short piece. I never expected that Jiang Lili would take it to heart.

Jiang Lili continued to stare at him, her eyes full of hope, "Xiao Fan, can you play it for us later?"

In the past, she wouldn't have dared to make such a request, not because she was afraid Chen Fan wouldn't agree, but because this style of music didn't fit well with the traditional instruments used today.

In rural areas, few people understand music, so they just listen and that's it. But if someone in the city hears it and it causes trouble, that would be terrible.

(End of this chapter)