Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 586 Go Your Own Way

After returning, Chen Fan resumed his regular life.

On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings, I go to school to attend classes. At other times, I either revise manuscripts at the Writers' Association or follow up on the work progress of the correspondence center.

Every afternoon, he would spend some time at the provincial military hospital giving acupuncture to patients.

These patients are all similar to Grandpa Xiang. They barely survived the battlefield, but because of their injuries, they were unable to work normally, so they were assigned some simple jobs to support themselves.

For example, there are gatekeepers who only need to sit, neighborhood patrolmen who occasionally go out for a stroll, as well as forest rangers, cemetery guardians, and so on. But the most common are gatekeepers.

Of the 33 patients, 23 were security guards.

Unfortunately, most people are not in the provincial capital; otherwise, Chen Fan would be able to enter and exit most units in the provincial capital without needing identification, simply by scanning his face.

Even so, Chen Fan, or rather, Cultural New Village, still reaped considerable benefits.

At this time, the Cultural New Village has completed all the approval procedures and is about to enter the construction phase.

In the planning of this area, a hospital and a two-story building will be built on the side of the road right next to the Cultural New Village.

This is the result of the efforts of comrades from all sides. The hospital was jointly funded by Jiangnan University and the Health Department, with a small contribution from the Culture Department.

The other building will be funded by the Writers Association and, once completed, will be "transferred" to various entities, including supply and marketing cooperatives, vegetable market companies, food companies, tobacco and alcohol companies, hardware and chemical companies, electronics companies, fabric stores, and Xinhua Bookstore.

These companies would set up supply and marketing cooperative branches, state-run restaurants, grocery stores, hardware stores, electronics stores, fabric stores, bookstores, and so on here.

The number of apartments will be determined by the number of work units. The apartments will have an internal staircase layout, with two floors forming one apartment. Each work unit will purchase one apartment to ensure fairness and reasonableness.

However, in exchange, these units will have priority in purchasing any extra new homes available in the Cultural Village.

In a business-to-business transaction, no one can find fault with it.

Once everything is planned, based on the current construction progress, residents can move in by the end of the year at the latest.

Then Chen Fan won't need to stay in a guesthouse anymore.

He woke up early that morning in his room at the guesthouse, silently calculating when he would receive the computer, thinking it should be within the next day or two.

Afterwards, he put the revised stack of manuscripts into his backpack, had some breakfast at the guesthouse canteen, and waved goodbye to Xiao Peng, the receptionist at the front desk.

I didn't pay anything from beginning to end; all the expenses were recorded in the Writers' Association's account, and all I had to do was sign my name.

It's not that he likes to take advantage of others, it's just that everyone does it these days.

In this very guesthouse, at least five people who had been called in by the magazine to revise their manuscripts were staying, and Xu Qizhen was also a regular visitor.

As the saying goes, "Public servants have the spirit of the public." Those who work for a company are superior to others. Not only do they eat and live on public property, but they are also supported by the public after retirement, and even have their funerals held by the public after death.

Otherwise, why would so many people still be desperate to get a job at a company in the 90s?

Staying at a guesthouse and having a meal are trivial matters. If you insist on acting high and mighty, people will probably be calling you stupid behind your back.

I drove out, and soon turned into the Writers' Association compound, got out of the car and went upstairs.

The young man was still the one guarding the gate. Grandpa Xiang had just undergone surgery near his heart a couple of days ago to remove the last piece of shrapnel. He wouldn't be back at work for a few more days.

Waving and greeting everyone along the way, Chen Fan went upstairs to He Qingsheng's office, knocked on the door, and took out the manuscript from his bag and placed it on the desk. "Hey, this is the last batch, all revised."

He Qingsheng picked up the manuscript and looked at it, his brows furrowing slightly. "Can't you be a little more diligent and rewrite it?"

Chen Fan yawned listlessly, reached for the cigarettes on the table, lit one, and stuffed the rest into his pocket. He said with a bitter face,
"We need to race against time. The sooner we finish revising, the sooner we can send it out and publish it. If the editors really like this kind of novel, then all of us other members will also have a chance to be selected and export it to earn foreign exchange. Think about it, doesn't that make sense?"

He Qingsheng flipped through it a few times, then looked up and said, "Alright, I'll arrange for someone to send it later."

Then I went to get my cigarettes, but when I turned around, I realized, "Hey, where are my cigarettes?"

He glanced at Chen Fan. "Did you see my cigarette?"

Chen Fan exhaled a puff of smoke. "No."

He Qingsheng looked at the cigarette in his mouth, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Hiss... this cigarette of yours?"

Chen Fan took it down and looked at it. "Oh, I took it from you. You forgot?"

He Qingsheng looked blank and muttered, "Did I remember wrong?"

He then opened the drawer, took out a pack of cigarettes, thought for a moment, and then took out another pack and threw it to Chen Fan, saying, "Young man, smoke less, it's bad for your health."

Chen Fan's lips twitched slightly. "I don't smoke unless I'm at work."

You old smokers, how dare you try to persuade me?
He Qingsheng pretended not to hear, took out a cigarette, lit it, and said, "I showed the translators the revised manuscript you made. They said they understand what you mean and will translate according to your revised style in the future."

Chen Fan nodded slightly, "That's best, it saves trouble and is more efficient."

He paused for a moment, then smiled at He Qingsheng and said, “I suggest that when you send the manuscript, you also write a letter to Takahashi and ask him to find a few currently popular literary books for small magazines and send them along with the sample copies. In the letter, just say that we want to understand what kind of writing style is most popular for small magazines right now. It’s like listening to Mr. Li and doing our research before taking any action.”

Upon hearing this, He Qingsheng was somewhat tempted, but he still had some concerns. "Do we still need to give him money to buy books? I heard that the books from the small notebook brand are not cheap."

A book costs about 800 to 1200 yen, which is about 5 US dollars. You can't just buy a few of these books. If you buy dozens of them, that's several hundred US dollars gone. But the foreign exchange quota in the unit's account is already low. It would be a bit painful to spend more.

Chen Fan chuckled and said, "It's alright. Just tell him in the letter that the money for buying the book will be deducted from my future royalties."

He Qingsheng was taken aback. "Haven't you already paid all your royalties?"

Chen Fan laughed and said, "What if it sells well and gets reprinted? Then we'll get royalties again."

He Qingsheng frowned slightly. "What if it doesn't sell well?"

Chen Fan looked at him expressionlessly, "Then you'll submit a report to apply for foreign exchange funding?"

He Qingsheng immediately made a decision, "We'll do it your way."

Chen Fan threw his cigarette butt into the ashtray, stood up and was about to leave when He Qingsheng called out, "I'm going to class." "Hey, it's in the auditorium at Jiangnan University this afternoon, don't forget."

This is the third session of the correspondence center's interview class. Chen Fan wasn't there for the first session; he was traveling around with Zhou Zhengdong's family. When he returned, it happened to be the second session, and He Qingsheng asked him to give a lecture to the students as a way to motivate them. He declined, citing revisions as the reason.

So they arranged for him to be in the third phase.

As one of the leading figures in the Jiangnan literary scene, He Qingsheng and several other writers have already made their mark, so it's about time for him to get his turn.

Chen Fan sighed, turned around and said, "Knowing that many people are looking for me at school, they still arranged for me to give a lecture at Jiang University. Who decided on this place?"

He Qingsheng raised his forehead slightly, "You decided on it, didn't you? What about the Cultural Palace and the University Auditorium? They were all your suggestions."

Chen Fan stood there for two seconds, then turned around, waved, and left without looking back.

As I left the Writers' Association, the stirring music of "Athletes' March" drifted from a nearby primary school, signaling that a flag-raising ceremony was about to take place.

Chen Fan slowed down and drove past the campus. A few seconds later, the familiar yet unfamiliar national anthem began to play.

The song is familiar, but the lyrics are unfamiliar.

"Forward, heroic people of all nationalities! The great... Party leads us on the Long March! With one heart and one mind, we march toward... a future of socialism! The heroic struggle to build and defend our motherland! Forward! Forward! Forward! For generations to come, we will hold high the banner of... and march forward! Hold high the banner of... and march forward, march forward, march forward!"

The lyrics for this song were changed in March of this year.

Why not use the original one?
Since Mr. Tian was knocked to the ground, his works could no longer be used.

So I wrote this new one.

Later, Mr. Tian's reputation was restored, so at the meeting at the end of 82, the original lyrics were restored.

If you do the math, this song will be sung for another four years or so.

After the car left the elementary school, accompanied by loud music, Chen Fan floored the accelerator and soon arrived at the school.

He was Professor Xu's only student and always studied in Professor Xu's office. As for the other required public courses, Professor Xu helped him apply for the exams, and he had already passed them all. Therefore, he never went to the classroom and always studied in the office.

Arriving at the same time as usual, Professor Xu sat quietly behind his desk reading a book, holding a fountain pen in his hand, occasionally writing a few strokes on the page.

Chen Fan walked in, took off his backpack, took out an oil paper package from it and handed it over, saying with a smile, "Teacher, have a meat bun."

Professor Xu looked up and smiled helplessly, "I already told you not to bring any for me."

Chen Fan placed the steamed bun directly in front of him, "Then bring eggs next time."

He simply copied Zhang Cuie's methods. Back then, he took Zhang Cuie as a student only to repay a favor to the Zhang family. After all, Zhang Wenliang had taken good care of him when he first arrived in Lujiawan. Moreover, he wouldn't continue working as a broadcaster forever, so it would be convenient to train Zhang Cuie to make it easier for him to get away.

As a result, Zhang Cuie corrupted her with eggs and sweet potatoes, eventually taking her on as an apprentice and even sending her to Peking University.

When I last met Professor Ba, he praised Professor Xu highly. So I'd like to try this approach and see if I can come up with some good stuff.

Professor Xu had no choice but to put the two large meat buns wrapped in oil paper into the drawer. However, he had a smile on his face as he looked at the busy Chen Fan. After a while, he said softly, "You have a pretty good foundation now. You can learn something more advanced."

There was a washbasin stand in the corner of the office, with two basins, one for Professor Xu and the other for him. He took out the basin, poured hot water to wash his face, and made a cup of tea. Just then, he heard Professor Xu's words, so he picked up his teacup, walked over, sat down opposite him, and asked with a smile, "What do you want to learn?"

Professor Xu leaned back in his chair and said softly, "In ancient times, scholars began their studies with the 'Three Hundred Classics' and the 'Thousand Character Classic,' and then entered the basic learning stage, where they needed to study the 'Classic of Filial Piety' and the 'Four Books,' namely the 'Great Learning,' the 'Doctrine of the Mean,' the 'Mencius,' and the 'Analects.'"

This stage focuses on learning the basics of the scriptures. Without learning these, one cannot understand the scriptures. It is also a stage that emphasizes self-cultivation and moral development.

After achieving some success, one can study the Five Classics. Generally speaking, even if one studies them all for a lifetime, it is not possible to master all five core Confucian classics: the Book of Poetry, the Book of Documents, the Book of Changes, the Book of Rites, and the Spring and Autumn Annals.

Therefore, in most cases, students will choose one classic as their 'fundamental text', and only need to have a basic understanding of the other four.

After fully mastering this classic text, one can be considered a great Confucian scholar. At this point, it is necessary to study more specialized books, such as the *Records of the Grand Historian* and the *Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government*. This stage is equivalent to what we now call a graduate student.

Chen Fan blinked as he listened, "Me?"

Professor Xu chuckled. "It's just an analogy; they're not really comparable. Unless you can give up everything else and focus on studying traditional Chinese culture, even if you're exceptionally intelligent, you might not be able to surpass the ancients in their understanding of the classics."

You need to understand that studying the scriptures is not just about reading and memorizing; it's about understanding the principles behind them and putting them into practice, applying them to your daily life. If you're capable of governing a region, you should also be able to skillfully apply the principles within the scriptures to establish virtue and achieve merit—that's what it means.”

Chen Fan chuckled dryly twice, not daring to utter a sound.

Professor Xu didn't mind and continued, "If we're just talking about reading, the reading list I gave you last time already included more than a dozen ancient books, from enlightenment to classics. You can not only recite them fluently, but you can also stand on the shoulders of predecessors to explain the principles in them. That's very good. If this were ancient times, even if you didn't become the top scholar, you would still be a 'Jinshi' (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examination), and you would naturally be qualified to start the next stage of your studies."

Chen Fan's eyes lit up as he listened. So, if I were to travel back to ancient times now, I could also become "Little Chen the Third Scholar"?
The term "进士及第" refers to the outstanding candidates who pass the final palace examination, the culmination of the ancient imperial examination system.

The imperial examination was divided into three grades, with the top three being the Zhuangyuan (状元), Bangyan (榜眼), and Tanhua (探花). They were bestowed the title of "Jinshi Jidi" (进士及第) by the emperor and paraded through the streets in great style, enjoying unparalleled prestige.

Those in the second tier below were qualified and were awarded the title of "Jinshi Chushen" (进士出身), which was not bad.

As for the third-ranked candidates, they are given the title of "successful candidate in the imperial examination," which means that although you did not do very well in the exam, I can see that you have some merits, such as good handwriting, good flattery skills, or a good reputation, and your writing is also acceptable. So I will consider you as having passed the exam.

Professor Xu couldn't help but chuckle when he saw Chen Fan's expression. "There are no imperial examinations for you now, let alone the title of Jinshi. You'd better just focus on your studies."

She then took a piece of paper from the drawer and handed it to him, saying, "This is the second reading list, covering deeper and broader knowledge."

As Chen Fan looked at the book list, he said to Chen Fan, "When I was young, I was living through a period of great change that was unprecedented in a thousand years. I also thought about seeking ways to save the country and the people from books. I learned a lot of things here and there, but it wasn't until middle age that I was able to settle down and study."

It is understood that regardless of one's profession, occupation, or social status, as long as one works diligently and makes contributions to the country and society, it is the way to love one's country, love one's people, and love oneself.

Since then, I have devoted myself to the campus, and based on my own strengths, I have devoted myself to the study of traditional Chinese culture in order to pass on our Chinese civilization and prevent it from being eroded by Western learning. After decades of this, I have finally gained some insights and have lived up to my years of extensive reading.

But this is just my path, it may not be suitable for you.

As I told you when we first met, I hope you can find your own path in the book and put it into practice.

Chen Fan nodded slightly and said seriously, "Understood."

(End of this chapter)