Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 745 Aim Higher

After Manager Fan and his colleague left, Chen Fan turned around and looked around. On one side were writers from the Writers Association, and on the other side were cadres from the factory's Beijing office.

The two sides couldn't connect at all, and he didn't know how to start a conversation or find a suitable topic.

At this moment, Tan Hongbo looked at him with a face full of curiosity and asked, "I heard that you went to the Southwest and participated in the entire operation. Is that true?"

In terms of rank within the Writers' Association, he is one level lower than Chen Fan, and in formal settings, he should be addressed as Vice Chairman Chen.

But for scholars, matters are never judged by rank, but by age and achievements.

Unfortunately, apart from age, Comrade Tan is inferior to Chen Fan in every aspect. As a result, calling him Vice Chairman Chen seems too distant, calling him Little Chen or Little Fan is even more inappropriate, and calling him by his name directly seems disrespectful.

Old Tan had no other choice, so he simply stopped calling out and pretended to be deaf and dumb, talking about other things without mentioning titles at all.

Chen Fan didn't care. He wasn't obsessed with official positions and didn't care about titles. Besides, given Old Tan's age, it was fine for him to call him Little Chen or Little Fan, or not. It wasn't a big deal.

Setting down his teacup, Chen Fan smiled and nodded, "Pretty much, but not the whole time. I just followed the group and watched the excitement."

Tan Hongbo clasped his hands tightly, unable to help but exclaim in admiration, "Then it's true! I never imagined you were so skilled in both literature and martial arts. You've saved countless lives on the battlefield, and you even have exceptional medical skills. It's truly admirable!"

Before Chen Fan could speak, Director Shen, who was sitting opposite Lao Tan, laughed and said, "Writer Tan, you've probably forgotten that our Consultant Chen was once famous throughout the country for his book, 'First Aid Manual'!"

Upon hearing this, Old Tan suddenly realized and slapped his forehead, "I had forgotten about that."

Two years ago, a "First Aid Manual" shocked the whole country. In addition to the health system, schools, military units, factories and mines, and even most enterprises and institutions across the country were studying it. Many of the first aid methods in the manual have repeatedly proven effective in some units where accidents are particularly prone to occur.

In particular, his "respiratory tract foreign body removal method" saved many lives, and Chen Fan became famous throughout the country because of it.

However, compared to his later writings, this was overshadowed, to the point that many people overlooked it.

It now seems that the claim that he saved many people in Southwest China is true.

At this moment, Chen Fan looked around and saw that the people on both sides seemed very interested, so he knew what topics they could talk about.

Indeed, gossip is an eternal human instinct, and no one, from scholars and writers to ordinary laborers and vendors, can avoid it.

So, amidst the curious gazes of the crowd, he slowly began to talk about the events on the southwestern battlefield.

Amidst the exclamations, noon arrived before they knew it. Chen Fan invited them to the cafeteria for a Five Elements and Eight Trigrams Feast, which drew further amazement from the crowd. In particular, upon hearing that they could place orders in the future, they all expressed their intention to come again.

They stayed with the guests until one or two in the afternoon before finally seeing them off.

……

Back in the abbot's room, Zhang Xuansong, Lin Yuanxiang, Li Shangde, and Daoist Liu were all there seeking peace and quiet.

Upon seeing Chen Fan enter, Zhang Xuansong immediately said, "There are so many people burning incense and praying to the gods up ahead, why don't you go and take a look?"

Chen Fan didn't seem to care. "No one else is coming, why would I need to go out?"

The Taoist priest Liu, who had been working hard all day, nodded and smiled, "If there's nothing wrong, there's no need for the abbot to come out in person."

Chen Fan then remembered that he should thank Master Liu. He immediately stood up and made a Taoist gesture, saying, "Thank you so much for your help these past two days, Master. Otherwise, we would have been in a complete mess and lost our composure."

Master Liu rose and returned the greeting, smiling, "Master Qinglian is too kind. It was Chaoyang Temple that opened first, paving the way for other Taoist temples. All fellow Taoists admire and are grateful. What are these trivial matters?"

After exchanging a few polite words, the two sat down again.

Zhang Xuansong looked at Chen Fan, "You really aren't going to the front?"

Chen Fan grinned and said, "If you want to see the excitement, then go ahead. Why does it have to be me?"

"It's not that I wanted to see the excitement; in fact, I've been in the front yard all morning and seen everything I wanted to see."

Zhang Xuansong clicked his tongue, "I just feel that it's very rare for Chaoyang Temple to have such a thriving incense offering, but I'm afraid it will be gone in a few days."

Chen Fan smiled and said, "Then you were right. There may not be such a prosperous incense offering in the future."

Zhang Xuansong was taken aback at first, and was about to ask why, when Master Liu took the initiative to say, "Brother Zhang, the abbot is right. Previously, Taoist temples and Buddhist temples had all lost their incense offerings, but now that a Taoist temple has suddenly reopened in the capital, it will definitely attract countless people."

These people may not be believers; they may just be there to watch the spectacle. Since they've entered the Taoist temple, they might as well burn incense and worship the gods. After watching the excitement, they may not come back often.

"Furthermore, with Chaoyang Temple now open, it won't be long before other Taoist temples and Buddhist temples throughout the city gradually open as well..."

The rest is self-explanatory; Zhang Xuansong understood.

With more Taoist temples, believers have more choices, so naturally fewer people come here.

He couldn't help but sigh regretfully, "If only there were this many people every day."

Chen Fan's lips twitched slightly upon hearing this.

With so many people every day, you're dreaming!

In just half a day today, we sold more than 60 sets of incense sticks, generating a turnover of more than 2,000 yuan, of which 30% was cost and 70% was profit.

There are also donation boxes that haven't been opened yet. Although I don't know the exact number, it's definitely not small.

Even though they used over a hundred bundles of free incense sticks, it only added up to a little over a hundred yuan, which is negligible compared to their income.

In other words, the Taoist temple's net income today is between 1,500 and 2,000 yuan, and may even be higher.

The Taoist temple has only 12 people in total, and its daily income is more than 100 yuan.

If we go back and put the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams Banquet up for sale, we should be able to generate several hundred yuan in revenue. Each person can easily earn two hundred yuan a day.

What business in China can still make this much money now?

Such good things certainly can't happen every day.

They still want to be this popular every day? Are they trying to surpass my royalties?!
Just as Chen Fan was secretly complaining, Master Liu chuckled and said, "It's probably impossible to have this many people every day, but there are ways to keep the incense burning brightly every day."

Before Zhang Xuansong could ask, he continued, “Most of those famous Taoist temples have their own unique characteristics. For example, Baiyun Temple is the ancestral temple of the Longmen School, Longhu Mountain Tianshi Mansion is the ancestral temple of the Tianshi School, and there are also the Zhenwu ancestral temple of Wudang Mountain, the ancestral temple of Taoism of Qingcheng Mountain, and so on.”

Some of them were famous for their talismans, some practiced internal alchemy, some practiced external alchemy, some were skilled in martial arts, and some were good at healing and saving lives. Therefore, in the early years, people from all over the country would travel thousands of miles to burn incense and worship gods.

If Chaoyang Temple also possesses a particular efficacy, it will naturally attract believers from all directions.

Zhang Xuansong's eyes lit up, and he turned to look at Chen Fan, his meaning clear.

"What's our selling point?" Chen Fan picked up his teacup, took a sip, and sighed, "Actually, what Master Liu said is nothing more than two points. The first is having a special skill, such as fortune telling or being able to predict the future, but that's not the most important thing."

Zhang Xuansong quickly asked, "What's the most important thing?"

Chen Fan glanced at Master Liu, then turned and smiled, “Reputation, huh? Without reputation, no matter how effective you are, people won’t know. On the contrary, even if you don’t have any special features, as long as you make a name for yourself, people will come in droves.”

This time, including Master Liu, everyone nodded at the same time.

There are plenty of truly skilled Taoist priests, but how can an insignificant temple on an unnamed hill compare to a grand temple on a famous mountain?
The saying goes, "A mountain is not famous because of its height, but because of the immortals who dwell there." You still need to spread your fame.

So, how do we build a reputation for Chaoyang Temple?
Looking at the four faces, Chen Fan couldn't help but click his tongue. "I say, Third Master, didn't you say before that you would be satisfied if you could rebuild Chaoyang Temple? Why are you now thinking about having plenty of incense every day?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Xuansong immediately shrank back, and the next second, he said righteously, "Isn't it because the plan is going smoothly that we've raised our goals? It's just like when we were fighting the war back then. We originally only wanted to fight a guerrilla war, but once we got to the enemy's territory and saw that they had fewer people, we definitely had to take down their strongholds."

Just then, a train loaded with supplies came by, and there weren't many soldiers escorting it. Would you eat food that's been fed to you?

Then, among the supplies you looted were several cannons and two full loads of shells, just enough to blast open the city gates. Are you going to fire or not? ...

Chen Fan couldn't help but wipe away a cold sweat as he listened, and quickly called for a stop, "Master, Master, the People's Republic of China has been established for thirty years! If you keep fighting, you'll be liberating the whole world! Can't we just stop while we're ahead?"

Lin Yuanxiang, Li Shangde, and Master Liu, who were standing nearby, couldn't help but nod in agreement.

According to Lao Zhang's logic, if the fighting continues, the entire capitalist world will be crushed. We just established diplomatic relations with the US this year, and the two countries are currently enjoying a harmonious relationship. It wouldn't be appropriate to attack them now.

The more Zhang Xuansong spoke, the more convinced he became of his point. Although he was interrupted, his ideals remained unbroken. He immediately crossed his legs and said earnestly, "Young people should have dreams. Be bold and set high goals. What if you achieve them?"

Besides, didn't we agree beforehand to get a small one first, and then get a bigger one in the suburbs when the time is right? How can we get a big one if we haven't even gotten the small one ready yet?

These words prompted the Taoist priest Liu, who was standing nearby, to utter the incantation, "May the Heavenly Venerable grant boundless blessings."

Unexpectedly, rebuilding Chaoyang Temple was not enough; they even wanted to build a larger one.

Could it be that the Yushan Sect has a problem with the Longmen Sect and insists on competing with them, making Chaoyang Temple larger than Baiyun Temple before they're satisfied?
Chen Fan had no idea that Master Zhang had aroused a sense of crisis in Master Liu. He looked at Master Zhang, who was going further and further off track, scratched his head, and asked, "Then, Third Master, what do you suggest we do?"

Zhang Xuansong stared at him with wide eyes, "Make Chaoyang Temple famous, preferably so that people all over the country know about it, just like Baiyun Temple and Tianshi Mansion. That way, the temple will definitely be very popular."

Chen Fan helplessly spread his hands, "We're just a small temple with only a few people, how are we supposed to build a reputation?"

At this moment, Lin Yuanxiang asked curiously, "Your previous work, 'Love of Yunhu,' made Yunhu famous throughout the country. Could you write 'Chaoyang Temple' and make it a hit as well?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Xuansong immediately turned around and patted him on the shoulder, "Old Lin, although you're usually a bit silly, you can still be useful in a critical moment. This idea is great, great."

Lin Yuanxiang's face immediately darkened. "Get lost, you're the stupid one."

Li Shangde didn't even bother looking at the two of them, and turned directly to Chen Fan, asking, "Can this be written?"

Chen Fan blinked. "Sure."

He was thinking of writing a novel about Taoist priests yesterday, hoping to compete with Buddhism for incense offerings, but unexpectedly, Master Lin made this suggestion today.

It's quite a coincidence, actually.

Seeing that his two masters had stopped arguing, Chen Fan smiled and said, "Actually, the third master's experience is quite interesting. I'll write a book about the story of more than a dozen Taoist priests from Chaoyang Temple going down the mountain to fight against the Japanese. It will probably be a hit."

Hearing this, Zhang Xuansong blushed slightly, feeling a little embarrassed. "Um, is it only appropriate to write about my experiences?"

Lin Yuanxiang, standing next to him, looked at him with disdain. "Ugh... your back teeth are showing. Stop with all this fuss. If you want to laugh, just laugh. Stop pretending."

Zhang Xuansong was in a good mood at the moment, and just rolled his eyes, saying, "I won't stoop to your level."

He then pulled up a chair and sat down next to Chen Fan, saying, "Let me tell you, if you're going to write my story, then I have to make things clear to you..."

Chen Fan rested his chin on his hand on the table, listening expressionlessly as his third master recounted for the 101st time how he descended the mountain, how he encountered the large group, and so on.

The main issue is that the content is repetitive and lacks originality.

But I can't say it directly yet.

……

Time passed day by day, and a week had gone by in the blink of an eye.

However, the incense offerings at Chaoyang Temple showed no signs of diminishing.

First came the elderly men and women exercising in Beihai Park, then the tourists, and then tourists from all over Beijing...

The small Chaoyang Temple is bustling with people from morning till night, attracting countless believers and tourists.

Faced with the sudden popularity of a Taoist temple, there are naturally all sorts of opinions.

But things are different now.

On the contrary, the CPPCC took the opportunity to publicly express its support for freedom of religion, and the reconstruction process of the Religious Affairs Bureau has entered a fast track, with it expected to officially resume operations in another month or two.

The opening of Chaoyang Temple and its flourishing incense offerings not only caused a sensation in Beijing, but its fame also spread rapidly throughout the country through people who came to Beijing for business or leisure.

In addition, many foreign news organizations came to interview them.

This year, my country has been the focus of global attention, with everyone eager to see how it will implement reforms. As a result, almost every change in the past two years has attracted international attention, especially since foreigners are particularly sensitive to these issues.

So from the third day onwards, almost every day you could see foreigners carrying cameras and filming in the park.

At this time, even in Beijing, where there are the most foreigners, it's rare to encounter ordinary people. Pierre Cardin visited China at this time, walking down the street surrounded by countless onlookers. Clearly, for ordinary people, foreigners were a rare and novel phenomenon.

(Many people have probably seen this picture before.)
As a result, the news that there were foreigners at Chaoyang Temple, and that they were foreign journalists, spread quickly, attracting even more people to the area.

Seeing so many people coming to burn incense and worship gods every day, and even reporters actively promoting it, Chen Fan wondered if he should continue with the publicity.
After considering it carefully for three seconds, Chen Fan, the abbot of Qinglian Temple and writer, decided to proceed with the original plan.

In light of the success of Chaoyang Temple, other Taoist temples and Buddhist monasteries have also decided to open on a chosen date.

With more competitors, advertising is still very necessary.

……

I've caught another cold, and this time the symptoms are like Alzheimer's. It took me three days to write this chapter. -_-||

(End of this chapter)