Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 839 The cotton-padded coat was letting in the wind.

Zhou Yali said her parents would arrive in the next couple of days, and they really did arrive in just two days.

Chen Fan had just bought a crib from the department store and placed it in the room when they arrived at the door.

Well, actually I received the call first, and then rushed to buy it, otherwise the little one would have to sleep squeezed in with the adults.

Zhou Zhengdong was wearing a thick, long down jacket and carrying a huge suitcase in both hands, while Zhao Wanru was wearing a white fur coat and holding a little one with wide eyes looking at the world.

As soon as the doorbell rang, Chen Fan quickly opened the door and welcomed them in.

He greeted everyone first, then took the two large suitcases and walked inside, while shouting to Zhou Yali, "Have you told General Manager Ye yet? The luggage factory should hurry up and make the suitcases with telescopic handles and swivel wheels."

Zhou Yali had already moved closer to her mother, taking the little brother and hugging him with a silly grin. Hearing Chen Fan's words, she said without turning her head, "I already called and told her. She said this thing isn't difficult, and she'll send you a few samples once they're ready."

The fireplace inside was burning brightly. Zhou Zhengdong felt the heat as soon as he entered the room and quickly took off his down jacket. Just then, he overheard their conversation and couldn't help but ask curiously, "What is that?"

At this moment, Jiang Lili and Jiang Tiantian came over with a tray, both smiling and chatting, "Uncle, Aunt, please have some tea."

Zhou Zhengdong and his companion quickly thanked him with smiles, then sat down on the sofa.

Zhou Yali held her younger brother and rocked him back and forth. She looked up and smiled, "Your eldest nephew thinks carrying the suitcase is too tiring, so he wants to fix the casters used on high-end office chairs to the suitcase, and then hollow out part of the bottom of the suitcase to install a telescopic rod. That way, as long as it's flat ground, he can push or pull the suitcase."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Zhengdong's eyes lit up. "This is great. Give Xiaofeng a call later and have him make a batch of samples to the highest standards. Then, hurry up and airfreight them back to the United States. Register the patent first, and then have the trading company find orders."

Zhou Yali pouted, "All you ever think about is making money, can't you take a break? Okay, I'll go make a call later."

Zhao Wanru glared at him reproachfully, "Can't you just stay quiet for a few days during the New Year? Xiao Feng and the others aren't newbies; they're very experienced. Do you really need to remind them of something like this?"

Zhou Zhengdong grinned awkwardly, "It's just a habit, purely a habit."

The main reason is that things have been going too smoothly for the past year or two. When your career enters a fast track, there are generally only two possibilities: either you get carried away and stop caring about your career, instead focusing on showing off and indulging in pleasure; or you become addicted to making money and put double the effort into your work.

Zhou Zhengdong belongs to the second type.

Previously, the Zhou family's business was developing steadily, neither too good nor too bad. He only needed to hand over the business to the manager and continue to cultivate his political career to deepen the Zhou family's foundation.

But ever since they found their eldest nephew, a bestselling book first shocked Europe and America, which also provided a great opportunity for the Zhou family to expand their business. Later, they expanded into the mainland telecommunications market, and unexpectedly, they received so many orders that they easily earned more wealth than the Zhou family's total assets before.

Furthermore, with Wanmuchun Company achieving fruitful scientific research results, he not only protected Wanmuchun Company but also helped the Zhou family expand their business in ways that Zhou Yali couldn't see.

If it weren't for the fact that the Zhou family had an heir this year, and the circumstances didn't allow for this, making it necessary to return to pay respects to our ancestors, we would probably still be at work or on our way to a banquet hosted by some powerful figure.

Chen Fan put down his suitcase, rolled up his sleeves, and walked out, asking Zhou Zhengdong, "Didn't you say you brought a lot of entourage? What are your plans for them?"

They came with quite a entourage this time, bringing a large group including secretaries, bodyguards, and medical staff—about ten people in total. I never expected to see just the three of them.

Zhou Zhengdong immediately said, "Don't worry about them, the company's Shanghai office will take care of it."

Zhao Wanru also said with a smile, "Xiao Fan, once we're back in China, we'll be on your turf. They won't need us anymore. From now on, we'll leave the rest of the itinerary to you."

Chen Fan laughed and sat down on the sofa next to him, saying, "Everything else is fine, but we're short-handed, so we have to do a lot of things ourselves, which makes things less easy."

Zhou Zhengdong waved his hand and said, "Hey, you're all home now, why put on airs? Do things yourselves, you're not helpless."

Zhao Wanru glanced at Jiang Lili and Jiang Tiantian, who were standing to the side looking somewhat at a loss, and waved her hand, "You two come and sit down too, you're not outsiders."

Zhou Yali went straight to her own throne and sat down cross-legged on the rocking chair. She swayed back and forth and laughed at the two sisters, "Lili, this is your home. We are the guests. Why are you acting like you're visiting someone else's house?"

Chen Fan also gestured to the two of them and said, "Relax, your uncle and aunt are not outsiders, and it's not like this is the first time we've met."

After saying that, he winked at Jiang Lili, "There's something you forgot, isn't there?"

Jiang Tiantian pulled her younger sister to sit on another single sofa. Although it was called a single sofa, it was nearly a meter wide, and there was still some room for the two of them.

These classic European royal-style sofas all feature this design, emphasizing a large, bold look.

Hearing Chen Fan's words, she looked at her younger sister curiously. What was it that she needed to do?

Jiang Lili stood there, stunned, staring blankly at Chen Fan, wanting to ask, "What's going on?"
Before she could react, Zhou Yali laughed and said, "You're so silly, it's been so long, don't you want a gift?"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Zhengdong couldn't help but shake his head with a smile, then looked at his wife sitting beside him.

Zhao Wanru also said with a smile, "You two are truly siblings, you're so in sync. You even ask for gifts with such confidence. Lili didn't even think of that."

Jiang Lili then understood what Chen Fan meant. She wanted to be polite, but Zhao Wanru took her handbag, took out two small gift boxes, stood up, walked over, and handed them to the two sisters, saying, "Here, have some."

The two sisters quickly stood up, both looking somewhat at a loss.

Chen Fan leaned back on the sofa armrest and laughed, "Hurry up and accept the gift."

The two then accepted the gifts somewhat sheepishly, saying at the same time, "Thank you, Auntie."

Jiang Tiantian quietly poked her younger sister in the back, then turned to face Zhou Zhengdong.

Jiang Lili reacted instantly and said almost simultaneously with her sister, "Thank you, Uncle."

Zhou Zhengdong smiled and waved his hand without saying a word.

After they all sat down, Chen Fan said again, "Really? There won't be one for me, will there?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Wanru glared at him irritably and said, "You still want a gift? You wish!"

Zhou Zhengdong nodded repeatedly with a serious expression, "That's right."

Chen Fan's eyes widened. "Why should I be able to dream on?"

Zhou Zhengdong said with a sneer, "Good heavens, I didn't even bring your aunt into the company, but you're already ordering your cousin around and making your aunt work for you."

"Now you're her boss, and she's your employee. What kind of employee gives their boss a gift? It's the other way around, right?" Upon hearing this, Chen Fan immediately replied seriously, "First of all, I'm not the boss, I'm just one of the shareholders. The boss is Ya Li. Secondly, even if we don't count my aunt's side, what about you? We're not in the same company, are we?"

Zhou Yali, holding her younger brother, snapped her fingers and exclaimed, "Beautiful!"

Zhou Zhengdong glared at his daughter, annoyed. "You're siding with outsiders, aren't you? Your cotton-padded coat is letting in the wind."

Despite saying that, he still took out two small gift boxes from his pocket and handed them to Jiang Lili and Jiang Tiantian, saying with a smile, "You both thanked your uncle just now, so you must accept your uncle's kindness."

Once is never enough; this time, the two sisters relaxed, stood up, smiled, and accepted the gift, thanking the gift again in unison.

Chen Fan watched from the side, wondering to himself why Master Lu and his uncle were giving gifts in pairs.

Did they discover something?
It shouldn't be.

My acting is so good, the Oscars are short an Oscar for me, who could tell?
At least the three masters, who had seen countless people, couldn't tell.

It's a coincidence, it must be a coincidence!

Just as he was lost in thought, Zhao Wanru turned to him and Zhou Yali and said, "Bosses, I've been in this position for almost a month now. Let me give you a brief report on my work."

Chen Fan snapped out of his daze and said with a smile, "What's there to report? You can make the decision."

Then he looked at the two sisters and asked, "Is the food ready?"

Jiang Tiantian and Jiang Lili immediately nodded and stood up. Jiang Lili said, "It's been ready for a while. Shall we eat now?"

"When in Rome, do as the Romans do," Chen Fan said with a clap of his hands, "there's no need to ask Zhou Zhengdong's opinion on this matter. Let's eat and chat at the same time."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Wanru shook her head and chuckled, while Zhou Yali rolled her eyes.

Only Zhou Zhengdong stood up with a hearty laugh and said to his daughter, "See? That's what you call thick-skinned. But thick-skinnedness is also an essential quality for doing business. You should learn more from your brother."

Zhou Yali looked down at her younger brother and sighed, "Yes, I need to learn more from you, how to pretend not to hear."

Afterwards, the two sisters went upstairs to put away the gifts. Zhou Zhengdong and Zhou Yali washed up briefly. Zhou Yali was still holding the baby. Chen Fan served the dishes by himself, carrying five or six bowls and plates on a tray, serving all the dishes at once.

When the two sisters came downstairs, everyone was already seated, and Chen Fan was pouring wine for Zhou Zhengdong.

Zhou Yali politely declined Jiang Lili's offer to take the baby, as having only one hand wouldn't hinder her from picking up food and drinking soup.

After her father started eating, she picked up a lion's head meatball and put it in her bowl, while asking her mother, "Mother, you've been in office for almost a month now, have you made any progress?"

"There are so many things to figure out."

Zhao Wanru took a few sips of soup before slowly saying, "Overall, your plans for Qianfan Company are quite good. On the one hand, you're expanding into film, television, and music production, while on the basis of publishing, focusing on creating popular works."

On the other hand, it entered the media business, acquiring newspapers, television stations, radio stations, advertising companies, and other businesses.

In this way, with a factory on one side and a platform on the other, the two support each other, and there is a good chance that within a few years, they will be able to achieve a considerable scale and eventually form a powerful entertainment media group.

Zhou Yali felt it was a compliment and immediately chuckled, "Is this plan good?"

Then he pointed to Chen Fan, "It was my idea, little brother."

Zhao Wanru smiled and nodded gently, saying, "Xiao Fan is indeed very good. He has a flexible way of thinking and a great sense of the big picture. In management terms, he is a high-level talent with strategic vision, which is very rare."

Chen Fan smiled and said, "Even the most visionary ideas need highly capable people to put them into practice. In your opinion, achieving this strategic goal must be no easy feat."

Zhao Wanru smiled and said, "Of course it's not simple. Otherwise, there are hundreds of small and medium-sized companies in the United States, but only a handful can grow into giants."

Although we adopted an acquisition strategy, which significantly reduced the difficulty of development, it also dramatically increased the challenges in another area: assimilating and integrating the acquired companies, expanding our business footprint, gaining market share, and stabilizing our business operations.

Chen Fan thought for a moment and said, "You should have a solution by now, right?"

Zhao Wanru looked at him with a face full of surprise, "Why do you think that?"

Zhou Zhengdong was also a little curious, "How did you figure that out?"

Chen Fan smiled and said, "It's very simple. If I didn't have any ideas, my aunt wouldn't be in such a relaxed mood, and she wouldn't even bring up this topic with us. She would only bring it up after she had a definite plan."

He turned to Zhao Wanru and said, "This is the most basic quality of a senior manager: to raise questions with a solution in mind, rather than raising questions and looking for solutions."

Zhou Zhengdong pursed his lips and nodded repeatedly, giving Chen Fan a thumbs up, "Excellent."

Then he looked at his daughter.

Zhou Yali said expressionlessly, "I know, I'll learn from you, little brother."

Then he lowered his head and kissed his younger brother, gritting his teeth as he said, "I will definitely study hard!"

Seeing that his daughter could answer questions quickly, Zhou Zhengdong stopped talking.

Zhao Wanru's eyes were full of appreciation as she smiled and said, "That's right, my idea is to create a series of super popular TV dramas around your work in the film and entertainment industry."

Given the popularity of your work, we don't need to advertise at all. All relevant media outlets will come to us on their own. We can even leverage the popularity of your work to influence the distributors and thus gain some control over distribution channels.

In other aspects, if a production company is established, it will no longer be allowed to control the theaters. This is the "Paramount Act" enacted in 1948 based on antitrust laws.

This law directly disrupted the vertical integration model of Hollywood giants and was not repealed until 2019.

That's why Zhao Wanru said she wanted to gain some control over distribution channels, rather than directly establishing her own cinema chain.

Zhao Wanru said, "Currently, the content we are capable of producing is mainly TV series. Movies require higher special effects and more capable directors, which requires cooperation with Hollywood giants."

As for music, there isn't a very good entry point yet, so I plan to acquire one or two small to medium-sized music companies first, and then expand them when the time is right.

(End of this chapter)