Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 817 Maybe Tomorrow?

Chen Fan was still thinking about what the procedure for ancestor worship was.
Although he had read many books, there was nothing of this kind in the Chaoyang Temple classics passed down by Master Zhang.

The Yushan School originated from the Quanzhen School, which is more inclined towards internal alchemy. Although it is said to be a synthesis of the three teachings, it still focuses on self-cultivation, and those few classics are just for fun.

Practices such as ancestor worship and rituals are basically within the scope of the Zhengyi sect's business.

Yes, that's the kind of work Uncle Nine does.

There's a very simple way to tell whether a sect is Zhengyi or Quanzhen: just look at their head.

Those wearing the kind of hat that Uncle Jiu wore belonged to the Zhengyi Sect. Those wearing a round black headscarf with a bun showing on top were generally from the Quanzhen Sect.

Master Chen wears a headscarf; he's not familiar with rituals.

After a brief consideration, he decided that he had to ask Master Liu for help with this matter!
Uh, thinking of Master Liu, Chen Fan suddenly remembered that since Chaoyang Temple opened, Taoist temples and Buddhist temples in the capital have been planning to reopen.

Now that it's almost the end of the year, they should have finished their preparations, right?

Buddhist temples are out of the question, as they're not on the same level. However, when Chaoyang Temple opened, Taoist priests from the capital and other Taoist lineages came to support it. Now that their temple is reopening, they have to go back and return the favor.

We absolutely cannot avoid this matter, otherwise Chaoyang Temple will lose its reputation.

Just as Chen Fan was silently making plans, Jiang Tiantian looked at Zhou Yali and asked curiously, "You just said that there are two main things to do when you return to China. What is the second thing?"

Hearing the sound, Chen Fan looked up and asked, somewhat puzzled, "She's been back for two or three days now, didn't she tell you?"

Jiang Tiantian turned to look at him, gently shook her head, and smiled, "Yali didn't talk to us about work. We just played games or chatted at home."

Upon hearing this, Chen Fan couldn't help but feel a little envious. Playing games at home and chatting with girls every day—wasn't that the life he dreamed of?

I don’t know when it started, but I found myself taking on several jobs at once: making movies, teaching classes, writing books, making up stories… It was even more demanding than before I transmigrated.

This isn't the life I want!
Zhou Yali had no idea of ​​the deep-seated anguish in someone's heart.

She swallowed the food in her mouth, wiped her mouth with a handkerchief, and then said, "The second thing is Xiaofan and Lili's wedding."

Ok? ? ?
The three question marks represent three people.

The three of them turned to look at her, and the atmosphere became strangely awkward.

Seeing their expressions, Zhou Yali blinked and asked, "Is there a problem?"

As he spoke, he pointed a finger at Chen Fan, "My younger brother is handsome, successful, and about to reach the legal marriage age. Moreover, he has a stable relationship with his girlfriend, Ms. Jiang Lili."

With his other finger pointing at Jiang Lili, he said, "My sister-in-law has a beauty that could make fish sink and geese fall from the sky, and a face that could shame the moon and flowers. She is gentle, virtuous, and hardworking in managing the household. She is a perfect match for Xiao Fan."

Then he clasped his hands together and said, "You've been talking for two or three years now, it's a natural progression, why don't you just get it done already?"

Jiang Tiantian was the first to come to her senses. Her eyes sparkled as she looked at Chen Fan and her sister, and she smiled, "Yali is right. We delayed the process before because Xiao Fan wasn't old enough and we were worried about the negative impact."

The time is right; it's definitely time to consider getting our marriage certificate and officially getting married. After I go home, I'll discuss it with my parents and finalize the details.

Jiang Lili didn't dare to look at anyone at this moment. Her face was red as she lowered her head and didn't say a word.

Chen Fan then coughed lightly, looked up and smiled, "I've always remembered this. Even without your reminder, I'll follow the procedures. I'll take care of it when I go back to Yunhu for the New Year."

He paused for a moment, then squinted at Zhou Yali, his tone less than friendly, “However, this is not your business to worry about. If anyone is going to intervene, it should be your father who comes to talk to you. What kind of talk is it for you to say it here?”

Will you confess yourself, or do you want to experience the secret techniques of my Taoist sect?!

Upon hearing this, Jiang Tiantian and Jiang Lili were stunned and looked at Zhou Yali.

That's right. Even if Chen Fan has no other relatives, Zhou Yali is his cousin. But she still has her own father. How can the uncle not step in and let the cousin step in to inquire?
Zhou Yali immediately pulled up a chair and moved next to Jiang Tiantian, grinning and saying, "Oh, just kidding, why are you so excited?"

Upon seeing her posture, the three of them couldn't help but roll their eyes.

Although I always knew this girl was mischievous, I didn't expect her to be this mischievous. Is this something to joke about?

Jiang Lili pouted, realizing her excitement had been misplaced. She had genuinely believed her cousin had come with this mission.

Jiang Tiantian shook her head with a wry smile, served Zhou Yali a bowl of tofu soup, and sighed, "So, what's the second thing you mentioned?"

Zhou Yali chuckled a few times before saying to Chen Fan, "The second thing is the Shenzhen Shekou Development Zone. The factory there has been completed, and we're going to attend the ribbon-cutting ceremony and inspect the progress of construction."

Chen Fan was taken aback upon hearing this, and looked at her in surprise, "It's already built?"

If the Shekou Industrial Zone were to be completed, this news would probably make the newspapers.

However, in his memory, the first phase of the Shekou Industrial Zone's infrastructure project was completed around May 1981.

But this time it was completed so early, which is very different from the past.

Seeing Chen Fan's expression, Zhou Yali guessed what he was thinking and immediately shook her head and smiled, "When I said 'completion,' I only meant the completion of our own industrial zone, not the completion of the basic construction of the Shekou Industrial Zone."

At that time, they had agreed with General Manager Yuan to set aside a separate area within the Shekou Industrial Zone for Wanmuchun Company to use as an independent industrial park.

If Shekou is a special zone within a special zone, then Wanmuchun Industrial Park is a special zone within a special zone, a kind of encirclement.

Chen Fan understood immediately. "So Shekou is still a construction site?"

The next second, he frowned. "If that's the case, our own factory buildings are completed, but their infrastructure isn't. Can we guarantee normal production at the factory?"

What's the point of building a factory? Without water and electricity, how can the production line operate?

Without roads, how can the products be transported out?
Furthermore, Shekou's biggest advantage is its port. Through port transshipment, goods can be quickly transported to Hong Kong's terminals and then distributed worldwide. Without any resources, how efficient can one be if they try to operate in isolation?

Since they had started talking about serious matters, Zhou Yali simply put down her chopsticks, wiped her mouth, and said to him, "I don't know the specifics very well, but Ye Yufeng, the general manager I appointed, will report to me regularly on the situation there, so I can get a general idea of ​​what's going on."

She paused, took a sip of water, and continued, "According to what she told me, although Shekou has not yet completed the first phase of infrastructure construction, its development is not bad."

Chen Fan raised an eyebrow, turned to face her, and asked, "What do you mean?"

As Zhou Yali recalled, she said, "At the very beginning of the construction of the Shekou Industrial Zone, before the groundbreaking ceremony we attended, they had already started their investment promotion work."

Chen Fan nodded thoughtfully. "Yes, I know that. At that time, there were many other foreign businesses besides us, and if they hadn't sought out investors in advance, they wouldn't have approached us."

Although the slogan "Time is money, efficiency is life" has not yet been put up, this idea has long been ingrained in the actions of the people of Shekou, long before the slogan appeared.

Zhou Yali smiled and continued, "On the day of the groundbreaking ceremony, they signed an investment agreement with us with a total value of one hundred million US dollars. The signing of this contract gave some foreign investors confidence and made them dare to sign contracts with Shekou."

Shortly after we signed the agreement, China Merchants Group of Hong Kong signed a joint venture agreement with Hong Kong Hung Tak Machinery & Iron Factory to operate Zhonghong Oxygen Production Co., Ltd., making Zhonghong the first Hong Kong-funded enterprise to enter the Shekou Industrial Zone.

Upon hearing this, Chen Fan's expression changed slightly.

Although he could recall many small memories, he still needed some guidance. Just now, he couldn't remember which company was the first one he entered in Shekou, but when Zhou Yali mentioned it, he immediately remembered Zhonghong Company.

However, in his memory, Zhonghong Company signed the contract with China Merchants Group in September, not after Wanmuchun Company signed the contract.

It seems the butterfly effect does indeed exist.

A tiny wing made a difference.

In fact, apart from this incident, many things related to Chen Fan have changed.

For example, the emergence of literary correspondence centers, and the earlier-than-expected overseas expansion of literature and the introduction of foreign literature, are all changes.

However, Chen Fan was in the midst of it all and didn't feel anything.

It was only when he suddenly heard that the historical events in reality differed from those in his memory that he felt as if he had been transported to another world.

The next moment, the Taoist experience points on the skill board suddenly surged. It was like Zhuangzi dreaming of a butterfly, or a butterfly dreaming of Zhuangzi. The changes in things are so magical.

Zhou Yali had no idea that his momentary lapse in concentration could increase his cultivation level, and she continued, "Besides the companies in Hong Kong, China Merchants Group is also in contact with many companies in other countries."

For example, the Swiss firm D.C. decided to cooperate with China Merchants Group to establish Sino-Swiss Machinery Co., Ltd., with its headquarters in Hong Kong and its branch offices and main factory in Shekou Industrial Zone.

In addition, entrepreneurs and diplomats from countries such as France, Brazil, Italy, the United States, Australia, Indonesia, Mauritius, and Afghanistan have also proactively traveled to Shekou to discuss setting up factories.

Hearing the names of these countries, nothing else seemed amiss, but when he heard Afghanistan, Chen Fan's expression turned somewhat strange. "People from Afghanistan are also talking about setting up factories?"

Seeing his expression, Zhou Yali couldn't help but feel a little strange. "What's wrong with Afghanistan? Can't Afghanistan set up factories in Shekou? Although Afghanistan has been somewhat chaotic in recent years, it has a foundation built over the past few decades, so its economic strength is not bad."

Chen Fan hummed twice, raised his glass with a half-smile, and took a sip.

Indeed, Zahir Shah ruled for 40 years, transforming Afghanistan into a modern country known as the "Little Switzerland of the Middle East," and its national strength was quite good.

However, after Zahir went to the United States for medical treatment in 73 and Daoud launched a coup to take power, life there became increasingly difficult, getting worse year by year. Finally, last year, Daoud was also eliminated.

But none of these are the key points.

The key point is that just a few days later, Asu abandoned all martial ethics and bullied the weak, launching the Christmas Eve battle, and from then on, the area became a quagmire.

To be honest, Chen Fan really didn't expect that an Afghan company would invest in Shekou.
That was quite surprising.

The pleasure of being a prophet is something Zhou Yali could never understand.

Seeing that Chen Fan was silent, she assumed that her younger brother had suddenly gone crazy, so she let it go and continued, "If you ask me, President Yuan really has to treat us to a good meal. It's because Wan Muchun Company dared to be the first and signed a contract with them that so many companies have been actively seeking them out since then."

As she spoke, she counted on her fingers, “Container factories, steel rolling mills, aluminum factories, marine paint factories, oxygen plants, yacht factories, shipbreaking yards, flour mills, biscuit factories, beverage factories… I heard that they have already signed more than a dozen projects with them, with a total contract value of over HK$5 million.”

She paused for a moment, then muttered softly, "How come they don't have as many as our family?"

Wan Muchun's company signed a $100 million contract, while so many other companies only signed a HK$500 million contract?
That's quite a difference.

Chen Fan finished the wine in his glass in one gulp and put it aside. Jiang Lili immediately served him a bowl of rice and placed it in front of him.

He picked up his rice bowl, poured two spoonfuls of yellow croaker tofu over it, and said while mixing the rice, "Miss, don't you even look at what kind of projects these are? Apart from the steel rolling mill and aluminum plant, which are somewhat promising, the rest are small factories that can be started with a few hundred thousand. How much investment do you expect to attract? Let's take it slow."

Zhou Yali shook her head and laughed, "I was just thinking, with such a big investment, isn't it a waste not to ask for more preferential policies?"

Chen Fan took a couple of bites of rice, pursed his lips, and said, "The preferential policies have already been given to the fullest extent. How much more can they be given? Instead of thinking about these irrelevant things, I have no confidence in Shekou's industrial planning."

Zhou Yali blinked. "How so?"

Chen Fan looked at her and said, "Think about it yourself, what kind of companies were you talking about just now?"

Zhou Yali's eyes darted around slightly. "Containers, steel rolling, aluminum, paint, oxygen production, ship dismantling, flour... uh."

At this point, she suddenly chuckled awkwardly, "It does feel a bit strange to put ship-related businesses and food factories together, huh?"

Chen Fan shrugged and said, "The rest is fine, but paint, oxygen production, and aluminum materials have the potential to cause environmental pollution. However, placing flour and biscuit factories next to them can easily lead to safety hazards."

He paused for a moment, then shook his head and said, "Although I can understand, it would be better to talk to President Yuan next time I see him."

Zhou Yali immediately laughed and said, "No need to wait until next time. Didn't I just say that Wanmuchun Park is completed and we're going to cut the ribbon? How about tomorrow?"

(End of this chapter)