Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 818 Don't even think about starting a new book
Tomorrow is impossible, next year is more likely.

Chen Fan had come to Shanghai to reunite with his girlfriend after finishing his work, so he wasn't going to be easily persuaded to leave by a few words.

At the earliest, we'll have to wait until after New Year's Day to talk about it.

For the next few days, the two of them just stared at each other blankly.

Stay here, there's nothing to do.

Chen Fan was unwilling to leave, and Zhou Yali had no choice but to stare at each other helplessly.

Unfortunately, schools in mainland China aren't as lenient as those in the US. Zhou Yali could apply to postpone her exams and leave freely with just a sufficient reason. Jiang Tiantian and Jiang Lili, however, had to abide by school rules, attend classes obediently, and take their final exams on time.

December 25th, Tuesday, the seventh day of the eleventh lunar month, about 40 days before the final exams?
Just like the previous two days, the two sat by the fireplace, one nestled in a bearskin reading a book, the other holding a purple clay teapot, listening to the radio with his eyes half-open.

After an unknown amount of time, Zhou Yali yawned, leaned back and slumped down, saying weakly, "Tell me, what are your conditions for coming to Shenzhen with me?"

Chen Fan didn't even open his eyes. "It was already agreed that you would be in charge of the company, and I would just lend a hand. Accompanying you on the inspection last time was already an overload of work, and now I have to accompany you to the ribbon-cutting ceremony."

"So, I'll have to be there for everything from setting up the production line to shipping products and loading them onto trucks?"

Zhou Yali sat up abruptly, her eyes wide, and said, "But you can't just do nothing, can you? Besides, investing in the mainland was your idea. If it were in the US..."

Chen Fan glanced at her and interrupted her directly, "If this were in the United States, the cost would increase tenfold. Would you be willing to accept that?"

Zhou Yali took a deep breath, and two seconds later, she held up one finger, "The last time."

Chen Fan took a sip of water, closed his eyes to rest, and didn't say anything.

Zhou Yali stared at him fiercely, but after several seconds, she still didn't react.

Her brows began to furrow slightly as she pondered how to force her younger brother to comply.

Actually, it wouldn't be a problem to let her go by herself. After all, she's not really all alone. As orders from the mainland increase, Wanmu Chun Communications Company's workforce is also growing larger. Not to mention other places, there are more than a dozen workers in that small Western-style building not far from here in Shanghai.

You could easily pick two people to accompany her on this trip; there wouldn't be any problem.

But the key issue is that Miss Zhou is not willing.

It's clearly a company with two people, and everyone has the same shares. Why should I have to run around like a dog while you can just stay at home and enjoy your retirement?

Seeing my younger brother enjoying a good life is more unpleasant than suffering myself.

That's probably her current mindset.

After her eyes darted around a few times, Zhou Yali actually came up with a solution.

She coughed lightly first, and seeing that Chen Fan still hadn't reacted, she slowly said, "Oh, the other day when I was chatting with Lili, she mentioned that someone wanted to open a clothing company for her when the time was right. Is that true?"

Chen Fan glanced at her, reached out and changed the radio station, and said casually, "You don't need to worry about this. Just give her design drawings to the Lujiawan Garment Factory later, go through your father's channels, and it'll become an export product in no time. There's no difficulty at all."

Zhou Yali's eyes widened. "But Lujiawan's production capacity is limited. It's different for our Qianfan Garment Factory..."

Chen Fan quickly raised his hand, looking at her with confusion, "Wait, when did Qianfan Garment Factory come about?"

Zhou Yali pointed in a certain direction and said with an innocent look, "Now. Didn't you say before that we could invest in industries like electronics, clothing, and shoes? That's what I had Ye Yufeng and the others arrange."

He sighed after saying that. "Look at you, you don't even know your own company's business. I dragged you along and you're not happy about it. You probably don't know, but I'm planning to build a paper mill over there. Do you know why?"

Seeing Chen Fan shake his head blankly, Zhou Yali chuckled and said, "The reason is simple. Didn't you want Tiantian to start a magazine company at the right time? Almost all units in the mainland are planned production. If you start a magazine company, do you need printing? Do you need paper? I'll set up a paper mill first, and then a printing plant. I'll solve all your problems."

Brother, tell me, aren't we a loving family?!

Chen Fan blinked. He hadn't really considered the issue of printing paper before... but was he going to start a paper mill just because of this?
Thinking back to the four hundred million dollars he had picked up from the Chicago futures market, he suddenly understood Zhou Yali's arrogance.

If you don't have any, just set up a factory. It's just a matter of money, so just invest it.

He sighed, sat up, put the teapot aside, and said softly, "I'll go to Shenzhen with you after New Year's Day, but we'll only stay there for one day. After that, I'll go to Beijing. Think about it yourself, whether you want to come with me or what you want to do?"

My previous refusal was just to tease her; now that she's come knocking, there's no way I can refuse.

Zhou Yali could tell he was serious, so she frowned slightly, thought for a moment, and said, "Then I'll go with you. I've been so bored at home these past few days without you here."

Chen Fan stood up, looked at her and smiled slightly, "Perfect timing. After we go to the capital, I will ask Master Liu to help plan the ancestral worship ceremony. You can be of help in that too."

Zhou Yali's face stiffened slightly, so I've made trouble for myself again, haven't I?

Chen Fan waved, picked up his coat and put it on, then walked out. "I have something to do outside. I'll go pick up Tian Tian later."

Before the words were even finished, the person had already stepped outside.

Zhou Yali looked at herself, wearing a loose-fitting house dress and bare feet in cotton slippers. Then she thought of Chen Fan's casual clothes and immediately guessed that he had planned this all along. She couldn't help but grit her teeth.

But it's too late now.

……

Chen Fan left Zhou Yali, who preferred to stay at home doing nothing rather than go to Shenzhen, and drove his minivan to Ba Lao's place.

At this time, Ba Jin was engrossed in writing and paid almost no attention to anything else.

There's really nothing to ask. Everyone has their own plans, so just follow them step by step.

His main task at present is to write "Random Thoughts", and the time is not fixed. He writes a few sentences whenever he has time, or writes down whatever comes to mind. He is not usually forced to.

Chen Fan knocked and came in. Old Ba looked up, frowned, and continued writing, asking, "Coming to Shanghai at this time, has the movie finished filming?"

Chen Fan initially gave the novel to Ba Jin, intending to ask him to pass it on to Xia Jin, but Xia Jin was in seclusion writing at the time, so it was eventually given to the Shanghai Film Studio instead.

As a result, Shanghai Film Studio didn't dare to film it, which led to the later collaboration with Jiangxi Film Studio.

Because of this, Ba Jin had been paying close attention to Chen Fan's films. Besides Ba Jin, many people from the Shanghai Film Studio and the Shanghai Theatre Academy were also waiting to see what Chen Fan's directorial debut would be like. Of course, after the old political commissar's dinner invitation, no one doubted that Director Chen's work would have any problems. ...If there were problems with the work, it wouldn't be the work itself that was the problem, but rather the censors.

What kind of soldier wouldn't be interested in building a Taoist temple?

He was originally a Taoist priest, so what's wrong with him wanting to build a Taoist temple?
At the recently concluded Congress of Literary and Art Workers, the leaders also emphasized the need to emancipate the mind. Anyone who is fixated on this issue is not emancipating their mind enough.

Because of this, it's said that the leaders of Shanghai Film Studio have some regrets. If they had directly acquired the adaptation rights to the novel and taken full control of the film's production, wouldn't that have proven that they were open-minded?
Now, it's all good; everyone knows their minds aren't open-minded enough.

It is said that Xia Lao later gave them a verbal reprimand, which worried several of the older comrades so much that they couldn't sleep well for several nights.

Anyway, this movie is now officially registered in the domestic film system, and everyone is waiting to see Director Chen's masterpiece.

Chen Fan closed the door behind him and went into the office, acting as if he were at home.

He first looked at the tea cabinet, then pursed his lips slightly. "No good, Mr. Ba. Not to mention Gu Jingzhou's teapot, you should at least prepare two Yixing purple clay teapots, right? There aren't any here. Ha, just a few enamel mugs?"

Mr. Ba picked up his pen, looked at his draft, and smiled slightly. “I originally had a few porcelain cups, but I heard from Xiao Wang in the General Affairs Department a couple of days ago that you came to Shanghai, so I had them put them all away.”

As she spoke, she looked up and pointed to the enamel mug in the cabinet, her face full of smiles, "It has a large capacity and is sturdy and durable, perfect for you to use."

Chen Fan's face fell, and he couldn't help but feel heartbroken. "What happened to the trust between people? How did it become like this?... Ah, this black tea is good. Drinking black tea in winter warms the body and is good for the stomach."

When Ba Lao saw this, a hint of heartache flashed in his eyes. "You forgot to put the tea leaves away. You only deserve to drink Gao Mo."

Chen Fan carried the large enamel mug filled with tea to the desk, pulled out a chair, sat down, and asked curiously, "Do people from Shanghai drink Gao Mo tea too?"

Seeing that he couldn't continue writing, Ba Jin simply put away the draft, picked up his teacup, took a sip, and said with a smile, "Why don't you drink? You should know that big bowl tea is not a Beijing monopoly. Back in the day, you could see stalls selling big bowl tea everywhere on the streets of Shanghai."

These stalls have simple equipment, usually just a few bamboo poles and a piece of white cloth to set up a small awning. Under the awning, there is a small square table and a few small stools scattered around. Although the stalls are simple, they are very popular.

Believe it or not, many families rely on a herbal tea stall like this to support their entire household.

Chen Fan blew on the scalding hot tea and nodded repeatedly without thinking, "Yes, yes, I believe you."

Supporting a family is nothing; some people start from small bowls of tea and build large corporations.

However, it seems that the security team has such a tea service team under its command. With the backing of the school and the city government, they occupy popular locations such as schools, markets, and traffic intersections. It is said that the profit from selling individual goods is higher than that from selling tea. I wonder if they can turn it into a group company in the future?
Ba Jin glanced at him and, seeing his absent-minded look, guessed that he hadn't listened. He immediately said, "Kid, don't disbelieve me. In Shanghai, back then, it was a place where north and south merged and east and west converged. People from the south and north, from the east and west, or from within the country and abroad, could almost all be found in this place."

Chen Fan snapped out of his daze, blinked, and once he understood what Ba Jin meant, he nodded repeatedly, "I believe it, I really believe it. Otherwise, why would Shanghai have been known as the Paris of the East and the Adventure Island of the Far East back then?"

Ba Jin didn't seem like a literary giant anymore; he was more like an old man chatting on the street, his face full of the satisfaction of being praised and recognized. Holding a large tea mug, he chuckled and said, "You wrote a book, didn't you, kid? Something called 'Small Town People,' right? The social background of that story is Yunhu, isn't it?"

Chen Fan nodded. "Yes, it's Yunhu. The family background is designed as a worker's family in a machinery factory, and it tells a story from the founding of the People's Republic of China to the reform period."

Ba Jin nodded slightly, "Using the small to illustrate the big, this is a common literary technique. However, your background design is still too small..."

He pointed out the window and laughed, "If you set the story in Shanghai and start from the Republican era, then the story would be much more interesting."

Upon hearing this, Chen Fan's face immediately fell. "If you want to write, then write it yourself. Don't expect me to start a new book."

When Ba Jin saw that he wasn't going to listen, his face fell. "Don't you see that I'm already in my fifties? You still want to write? I'm afraid I won't be able to finish it."

Chen Fan immediately laughed and said, "That's not true. If you ask me, only someone like you, who has personally lived in Shanghai from the Republic of China to the founding of the People's Republic, from great storms to reform, can write the most interesting stories."

Ba Jin glanced at him, sighed, and shook his head. "If it were before the stormy days, I might have had some enthusiasm to write a book like this, but now? No way."

As he spoke, he pointed to his chest and made a gesture, "My spirit is gone."

He then picked up his own draft of "Random Thoughts," saying, "Now I can only write this kind of thing, reflecting on myself three times a day."

Chen Fan glanced at the draft, thought for a moment, and said, "Then you can write both. Write this when you're reflecting, and write that when you're recalling. You won't miss either one."

Old Ba waved his hand, as if he wanted to say something, but the next second he suddenly realized what he was doing, pointed at him and laughed and scolded, "You little rascal, you're really a clever one. I'm talking to you, why are you dragging me into this?"

He then lay back and took out his pipe to fill it with tobacco.

Chen Fan quickly took out his own cigarettes and handed them over, "You can take a break from those. Smoking doesn't go into your lungs, and you don't even know what you're smoking. If you really want to satisfy your craving, this is fine, it's simple."

He wasn't encouraging smoking, of course. It's just that Ba Jin's habit of not inhaling deeply while smoking has become a running joke among his friends, who say he's wasting money on cigarettes. Now it's just a joke.

Moreover, Ba Jin gave up this "fake smoking" in his later years.

Ba Jin didn't mind him teasing him. He put his pipe aside, lit a cigarette, and looked at him, saying, "Last time you said that you estimated you would finish writing 'Small Town People' in September or October. It's almost the end of the year now, it should be published by now, right?"

Chen Fan nodded slightly, "I submitted it to the teacher as soon as school started in September. After the teacher read it, she didn't offer any comments and just handed it over to the school press. The school press then spent two months proofreading and typesetting it. I'm not sure what the current situation is, but it should be published next month."

This book was submitted as an assignment and could only be published by Jiangnan University Press. Even the Jiangnan Writers Association couldn't get a share.

Ba Jin exhaled a puff of smoke, looked at him, and said, "You've had quite a lot of output this year, but only this one is serious literature. After this one is published, what about the next one? When do you plan to write it?"

Chen Fan smiled and shook his head, "There's something wrong with what you're saying."

Old Ba raised an eyebrow slightly. "What's the problem?"

Chen Fan said in a serious tone, "Look at other writers, some write a book every three to five years, some every ten to eight years, and some only write one book in their entire lives. Why is it that I have to write one book after another?"

Old Ba snorted twice, looking at him with a half-smile, "Why? Of course, it's because you can write. Goodness, this year you published three volumes of 'Legend of the Dragon Knight' in one go, plus another 'Saint Seiya,' and in addition, you've contributed more than a dozen short and medium-length articles to several magazines."

Finally, he also published a serious literary work called "Small Town People".

Since you're such a prolific writer, I'd love for you to write more.

only,"

As he spoke, he leaned forward, looked at Chen Fan, and sighed, "When you're writing books, can you put more effort into serious literature? Judging from your writing style, I'm afraid you'll only care about making money in the future and neglect literature itself."

(End of this chapter)