Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 820 I'll Give You an Empire
As the old saying goes, "When someone climbs over the wall, you remove the ladder; when someone crosses the river, you dismantle

When the newlyweds enter the bridal chamber, the matchmaker is thrown over the wall.

That's probably what it means.

With a cigarette in one hand and an enamel mug in the other, Chen Fan muttered to himself as he came out of Ba Jin's office. He turned to look at the crowd watching him and grinned, "It's nothing. I just had a pleasant chat with Ba Jin. The old gentleman had gained some insights and was in a hurry to write something, so he didn't give me a gift."

Xiao Wang from the General Affairs Department came over and reached out to take the enamel mug from his hands, suppressing a laugh as he said, "Vice Chairman Chen, it's fine if you take a cigarette, but this mug is registered and can't be taken away."

Chen Fan quickly raised his hand high, "Let me take a sip first."

After taking a big gulp, he handed the enamel mug to Xiao Wang, then waved goodbye casually, "Goodbye, everyone, see you tomorrow."

After saying that, he drifted away.

At that moment, the office door was opened, and Mr. Ba appeared in the doorway. The crowd that had been watching in the corridor quickly dispersed.

Only Xiao Wang was stopped by Ba Jin, who said, "You should inform everyone still in the editorial department to come to a meeting."

Xiao Wang paused for a moment, then quickly nodded, "Oh, okay."

Before he could react, Ba Jin turned and went into the house, slamming the door shut.

He then walked to his desk with a furrowed brow, looked at the few lines of scribbled writing on the draft paper, and muttered, "Expanding the influence of artworks through collaboration between literary and artistic works? That's somewhat interesting."

……

Chen Fan strolled downstairs, checked the time, and felt it was about time, so he drove to Fudan University, picked up Jiang Tiantian, and then went home.

Holding the steering wheel, Chen Fan looked at Jiang Tiantian and said softly, "I just went to see Mr. Ba. I didn't originally intend to talk about the magazine, but we ended up talking about it. Mr. Ba's idea is that we don't need to go to the Jiangnan Writers Association to be affiliated with it. We can directly be affiliated with the Shanghai Writers Association, and you can be the editor-in-chief of the magazine."

Hearing this, Jiang Tiantian's heart skipped a beat, and she was startled. She turned to look at him, her eyes full of trepidation, "Me? Am I capable?"

Chen Fan chuckled, reached out and grabbed her small hand, and said with a smile, "Sure, why not? Even Ba Jin said that after two years of study at the Shanghai Literature and Art and Harvest editorial department, you are already a mature literary editor who can independently review, revise, and edit magazines."

His idea was to set up a room for you in the Shanghai Writers Association office building, and find a few retired, reliable senior editors to get the basics up and running.

Then, if anything happens, it's convenient to ask them for help anytime.

Jiang Tiantian was quite happy to hear Chen Fan relay Ba Jin's evaluation, but she felt uncertain when she thought about becoming the editor-in-chief of a magazine.

She squeezed Chen Fan's hand tightly and said nervously, "You always asked me to help you look after the magazine, and I've been studying it diligently. I even felt quite confident while I was learning."

But now you suddenly tell me that we can start a magazine soon and that you want me to be the editor-in-chief, but I feel empty inside, and I have no confidence at all.

Chen Fan held the steering wheel with one hand and rubbed his small hand with the other, and said with a smile, "It's normal to feel insecure. You've never done this before. You're suddenly put in this position, and you're the editor-in-chief. It's normal to feel guilty."

However, I still believe in you.

He turned to look at Jiang Tiantian and smiled, "You should have confidence in yourself too. Let me explain. First of all, our magazine isn't a very high-end, serious literary magazine. You could even think of it as a collection of anecdotes and witty remarks used to fill out sections of a newspaper."

There's only one standard for whether an article is acceptable: is it engaging and interesting? If so, then the article can be published.

As for the section settings, you can do whatever you want; you can even change the template every issue, it doesn't matter.

Hearing this, Jiang Tiantian burst out laughing, "You're being too casual. How can you run a magazine like this?"

Chen Fan shook her hand and said with a smile, "Isn't it that simple? As long as the readers like it, our sections can be flexible."

Seeing that Chen Fan had set such low standards, Jiang Tiantian's tension finally eased a little, and she smiled and said, "Magazines usually have a theme, otherwise they are easy to fall apart and become bizarre and incongruous, and readers will be at a loss."

Only by collecting articles and editing and distributing sections around this theme can we ensure that the magazine's core theme remains unchanged and attract a group of loyal readers.

If a magazine is simply arranged arbitrarily according to readers' preferences, it won't last long.

Chen Fan raised an eyebrow, rubbed his fingers together, and turned to her with a smile, "See? Aren't you very professional? You're definitely the only one qualified to be the editor-in-chief of this magazine."

Jiang Tiantian wrinkled her nose, pondered for a few seconds, and then said, "I can do it too. And if we're going to do it, we should start now. There's still more than a month until the Spring Festival. If we can make good use of this time, we should be able to collect some manuscripts."

Then we need to contact Xinhua Bookstore, post office and other organizations to discuss the distribution.

There are also negotiations regarding magazine page thickness, pricing, and distribution fees, among other things.

If we finish all these things, the first issue will probably be out no earlier than March of next year.

Chen Fan laughed and said, "March is fine, April is also okay if it doesn't work out. We can take things slowly. As long as we have a good start, we can gradually get things going."

Looking at the street scene outside the car window, he couldn't help but feel a little emotional.

Back then, writing books, submitting articles, compiling notes on calligraphy, and wanting to start a magazine were all ways to earn a living in this era and secure a better future for myself.

Unexpectedly, Hideo Takahashi appeared out of nowhere, and a huge royalties of over ten thousand US dollars made him financially free in this era.

Then came his wealthy uncle from the United States, who brought his Western fantasy works to publication in Europe and America, and he inadvertently amassed a fortune of hundreds of millions.

From a financial perspective, Chen Fan could live a life of ease, doing nothing and still becoming incredibly wealthy.

However, while his life's ideals were realized, the people around him still had their own ideals.

The most outrageous thing is that the ideals of the people around him were established under his inspiration.

Jiang Lili's biggest dream used to be to live happily with her family. Later, after he sent her to university, she suddenly rediscovered her childhood dream: to become a world-renowned fashion designer.

Jiang Tiantian was the same. Chen Fan gave her the opportunity to pursue her literary dream and also gave her a literary dream in her heart. In the end, he even forced her to do a task: to start a magazine.

The two sisters are now full of hope and ambition, and Boss Chen naturally wouldn't dampen their spirits. Since they're idle anyway, he'll let each of them start their own business and see how far they can go.

As for Chen Fan himself, he always felt that things that required too much mental and physical exertion were not suitable for him, so he planned to be a quiet and handsome man in the future. Then he would oversee things from the rear, keep an eye on the overall direction, or occasionally step in to help them solve problems and ensure that his business did not go astray.

These kinds of days are pretty good.

Therefore, establishing a magazine is the first step in his career!
what?
Zhou Yali's company?

Chen Fan, who had falsified his records, always felt uneasy about this relative, so he never included the two companies there in his calculations.

His idea is to let things take their course, wait a few years until the environment is more relaxed, go abroad, separate out his portion of funds, set up a separate company to operate, and make some arrangements for equity.

That way, even if something goes wrong in the future, it won't affect my interests.

Just as Chen Fan was lost in thought, Jiang Tiantian suddenly said, "Xiao Fan, I want to put the magazine's address in another place."

Chen Fan turned to look at her, "Huh?"

He paused for a moment, then asked, puzzled, "Wouldn't it be better to just put it inside the Writers' Association? They have everything there, and it's convenient to get things done."

Jiang Tiantian smiled helplessly and said, "I only dare to tell you this. I always feel that the atmosphere at work isn't very good..."

At this point, she frowned and thought for a moment, "It's not that the atmosphere is bad, it's just that I don't really like the work habits and management style."

Chen Fan blinked, then nodded in realization. "I understand. You think that if the magazine's office is located there, it will be affected by the rigid and inflexible atmosphere of government agencies, so it's better to find another place to work and start from scratch."

Seeing that Chen Fan understood her words as soon as she spoke, Jiang Tiantian felt a sweet sense of connection. She smiled and said, "Yes, I had thought about it before. What would the working atmosphere be like if our magazine were to be established?"

What should it be like when we strive towards a goal? What should it be like when disagreements and arguments arise? If I were faced with such a situation, what methods would I use to resolve it?

She lowered her head shyly as she spoke, "Although my method may not be correct, I always want to give it a try."

Chen Fan immediately nodded in agreement and smiled, "Yes, it's good to have ideas. Our magazine doesn't have a fixed formula. Since you want to do it, then go for it."

He laughed and said, "Anyway, it's impossible to lose money running a magazine. Even if there aren't many subscriptions, the cost isn't much, we can afford to lose money."

But if you're talking about building this magazine into a unique and benchmark institution nationwide, that's a different story. Who knows, maybe in the future, the senior editors of *Shanghai Literature* will even come to you for advice.

Jiang Tiantian blushed immediately, "I wouldn't dare to think about that."

Her eyes sparkled as she stared intently at Chen Fan, her gaze filled with admiration. "If I could achieve even a tenth of your results, I would be completely satisfied."

Chen Fan looked at her, a hint of confusion in his eyes, "I've never run a magazine before, how can I compare?"

Jiang Tiantian smiled and said, "But you've published articles in magazines. The highest record was the issue published in Shanghai Literature and Art, which sold 680,000 copies. In addition, each of your books has a circulation of over 500,000 copies. I would be satisfied if each issue of the magazine could sell 50,000 or 60,000 copies."

Upon hearing this, Chen Fan couldn't help but laugh and say, "That's not the case. I'm still waiting for you to break the national magazine's hairstyle record."

The two chatted and laughed, and soon arrived home.

Jiang Lili had already arrived home and was busy preparing dinner in the kitchen.

Zhou Yali, who had been "abandoned halfway," was still nestled in her recliner, rubbing her stomach angrily.

Upon seeing Chen Fan enter, she forcefully turned her head away and scoffed.

Chen Fan walked up to them and suddenly exclaimed, "Ha!"

Zhou Yali looked at him blankly, "What are you doing?"

Chen Fan pointed at her, then at himself, "You hum and I ha, we're the two generals, hum and ha."

Zhou Yali stared at him blankly, a hint of fear flashing in her eyes. "What a boring, lame joke."

Jiang Tiantian looked at the two of them, smiled and shook her head, then took off her coat, rolled up her sleeves and walked towards the kitchen, saying, "Lili, let me help you."

Chen Fan hung his coat on the hanger, shuffled over in his slippers, and plopped down on the sofa.

He lit a cigarette first, then looked at Zhou Yali and said, "I just went to see Mr. Ba, and we're planning to get affiliated with the Shanghai Writers Association and start a magazine."

"But the office isn't finalized yet, so please use your manor villa for now."

Zhou Yali stared at him wide-eyed, puzzled. "How big of a magazine are you planning to run that you need a villa of over 5000 square meters for your office?"

That large estate next to Yan'an Road has a land area of ​​20 mu, with the main villa covering an area of ​​nearly 2,000 square meters and a usable area of ​​over 5000 square meters. She and her father had previously considered whether to place their Shanghai company there, but after deliberation, they decided against it.

There's no other reason than that the current scale is too small, so using that space would be a waste.

Chen Fan crossed his legs and chuckled softly, "Although it's just a magazine now, in my plans, it will become my own media group in the future. Publishing, news, distribution, advertising, film and television production, event planning, and so on and so forth. I'm worried that a big villa won't be enough."

Most people in China wouldn't understand what he was saying, including Jiang Tiantian, but it went very smoothly when she talked to Zhou Yali about it.

Sometimes Chen Fan particularly enjoys chatting with Zhou Yali, as it feels like being in a later era, with almost no sense of distance between them.

Zhou Yali understood everything Chen Fan said, but her attitude didn't seem very good.

She immediately curled her lip, her eyes full of disdain, "Ha, what a big mouth you have. Have you even figured out how to run a magazine? You want to start a media group? Besides, given the conditions in China, do you even think you can run a media group?"

As she spoke, her eyes darted around, and she immediately sat up, earnestly saying, "Little brother, you have talent, why waste it in China? Why not come abroad with me? I'll take you, and you can take Tian Tian and Li Li. We'll go to America, and I'll build you a media empire, how about that?!"

(End of this chapter)