Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 841 Party Invitation

Everyone's here, but it's not time yet.

Jiang Tiantian and Jiang Lili need to continue studying and wait for the final exams. They can only leave after the results are released.

Just then, Zhou Zhengdong also wanted to take this opportunity to listen to the work report from the mainland office, prepare for next year's work, and give out some bonuses and give employees a Spring Festival holiday. So he and Zhao Wanru were busy with their work, and they also took Zhou Jincheng, who couldn't be separated from them for a moment, with them.

So, only Chen Fan and Zhou Yali were left at home again, along with two gyrfalcons that would run outside and frolic whenever they saw snow and never come back.

"So what are we supposed to do these next few days?"

Having learned her lesson from last time, Zhou Yali was all dressed up and ready to go today. Her clothes were neat and she even had socks on, so she could leave at any moment.

Chen Fan checked the time and then looked at the weather outside. The snow had stopped, and the sun was shining brightly, so it shouldn't affect his outing. He said, "How about we go out for a walk?"

Zhou Yali's eyes lit up. "Are we going to buy New Year's goods?"

Chen Fan proudly raised his head and gave a cold smile, "I, Chen, never buy New Year's goods myself."

Call Yangmei's family in Lujiawan and tell them the approximate time of your return. They will then have someone prepare the New Year's goods for you.

Cured meat, fish, chicken, and duck; dried fruits, candied fruits, rice, flour, sugar, and oil; white wine, yellow wine, tea, and snacks; Spring Festival couplets, "Fu" characters, lanterns, and window decorations... everything is guaranteed to be available.

Moreover, it was not limited to the family home in Lujiawan, but also included the old Chen family residence in the prefectural committee.

Do we still have to prepare our own New Year's goods?

Then his titles of Teacher Chen and Consultant Chen were just for show, weren't they?

Zhou Yali couldn't stand someone's arrogant attitude; he was even more cocky than her, which made her angry.

He immediately changed into someone's handmade deerskin boots, stomped hard on the floor, and strode out the door.

Today is the twelfth day of the twelfth lunar month. Jiang Tiantian's birthday on the ninth day of the twelfth lunar month just passed a few days ago, and Jiang Lili's birthday on the seventeenth day of the twelfth lunar month has not yet arrived.

That's not the key point. The important thing is that the Chinese New Year is getting closer and closer, so the streets of Shanghai are bustling with people shopping.

Chen Fan drove onto Huaihai Road and saw the crowds walking openly on the street. He couldn't help but feel a headache. It turned out that people in big cities didn't like to follow traffic rules either.

The current traffic rules are still the "Road Traffic Rules" promulgated in 1960. I wonder if there is a provision in them that prohibits pedestrians from occupying the motor vehicle lane?

If so, what about a bicycle?
Anyway, there are far more bicycles than motor vehicles on the road.

Of course, they will also give way when the car slowly approaches.

However, the hot noodles and pastries on the street and the goods on the stalls made it hard for many people to leave, thus creating "nodes" on the road.

Compared to last year, the streets are still dominated by the three main colors of blue, black, and gray, but the scene on the streets is much more colorful.

A middle-aged teacher wearing only an undershirt led a group of elementary school students out of a side road, across Huaihai Road, into another side road, and around a group of elderly people practicing Tai Chi that occupied a section of the street, gradually heading into the distance.

As Chen Fan drove by, he couldn't help but marvel. "Wow, people are exercising in the middle of the road at this hour?"

(Early 80s, Shanghai: Elderly people exercising on the street)
Seeing that the crowd on the road was growing, Chen Fan drove his car into a side street.

Just as they turned onto an unnamed road, Zhou Yali suddenly slapped his arm and exclaimed in surprise, "Oh, look, look! Someone is taking wedding photos!"

Taking wedding photos in 80?
Chen Fan turned his head and looked in the direction she was pointing. He saw several young couples dressed in suits and wedding dresses waiting for the photographer to take pictures in a state-run photo studio.

Outside the photo studio, a crowd of onlookers, seemingly unconcerned about the spectacle, crowded around the entrance.

A staff member dressed in a white coat-like uniform was holding up a sign with several wedding photos printed on it and loudly promoting it to them, "These are the most popular wedding photos abroad. The older folks all know that Shanghai also had wedding photos in the old days."

A person only gets married once, so taking wedding photos to commemorate the occasion is a very memorable thing...

(Early 80s, Shanghai: Couples waiting to have their wedding photos taken)
Zhou Yali craned her neck to look around and said, "No wonder you consider Shanghai an international metropolis. I don't think I've ever seen anything like this in Beijing. I didn't expect Shanghai to have it first."

Then she turned to Chen Fan and said with a smile, "Hey, when you and Lili get married, come here and take some wedding photos, okay?"

Chen Fan pursed his lips, "Taking wedding photos is fine, but coming here is out of the question."

Zhou Yali sat up straight, looked at him curiously, and asked, "So where do you plan to film?"

Chen Fan smiled proudly, "You're too kind. I'm a professional photographer myself, and I know all kinds of cameras, TV cameras, and movie cameras. Taking a few sets of wedding photos is a piece of cake."

Zhou Yali's eyes widened at first, and she wondered to herself, "Is this even possible?"
Then he gritted his teeth, thinking, "How despicable! He fooled me again!"

Chen Fan drove his car through a maze of turns, when suddenly his eyes lit up. He slammed on the brakes and stopped in front of a man squatting by the roadside smoking.

He then rolled down the car window, leaned out, and laughed, "Hey, whose kid is this? Why are you all alone, squatting by the roadside smoking?"

Anquan had just finished his safety inspection when a car and a face appeared in front of him. He immediately laughed speechlessly for a while, then threw away his cigarette butt, got up, opened the car door, and plopped in. He waved to Zhou Yali first, "Hello, my name is Anquan, Xiaofan's buddy. What's your name?"

Zhou Yali turned around, waved, and grinned, "Hello, my name is Zhou Yali, Xiao Fan's friend. It's nice to meet you."

Anquan looked at her with a puzzled expression, then at Chen Fan, "Girl?"

Chen Fan made a gesture, "Cousin, it's from my own family."

Anquan suddenly realized, "Your American relative? I get it."

He was just wondering to himself, why did Xiao Fan bring a pretty girl he'd never seen before out? Wasn't he afraid Xiao Jiang would get jealous?
Since she's my cousin, then it's alright.

Chen Fan turned to look at him and asked, "It's Tuesday today. Why aren't you in school? What are you doing here?"

Anquan shrugged and sighed, "Inspecting the work, huh? I only managed to come out during my lunch break to check on things."

He turned to look outside. "It's almost Chinese New Year, and all the shops are packed. Even those of us without shops here are doing ridiculously well. Before, one shipment would last us two or three days, but now? I have to supervise the distribution of goods four or five times a day. Business is just too good."

Looking at his pained face, Chen Fan really wanted to slap him flat.

I shouldn't have braked in the first place, and he still managed to catch me off guard!
Anquan glanced at Chen Fan, feeling quite smug, but his face still looked pained. "The better the results, the less I can let my guard down. I have to keep an eye on everything, from the quality of the goods to the accounts, the transportation, and so on."

Although there are designated people in charge, power without oversight is prone to corruption; it's impossible to leave it unchecked..."

Chen Fan picked his nose, and after finally waiting for him to finish speaking, he decisively changed the subject, "So, has Tian Tian contacted you yet?"

Upon hearing this, Anquan's face immediately fell. "What were you thinking? Da Jiang hasn't even graduated yet; she's still in school, and you've already arranged for her to manage a magazine and even had her come to me to be in charge of the magazine's advertising business?"
Is magazine advertising really that easy to do? Others may not know, but you do? There's practically no advertising market right now…”

He was talking non-stop, while Zhou Yali looked on with a puzzled expression. Didn't Lili say that Anquan was Xiaofan's good friend? Is that all?

Before Anquan could finish speaking, Chen Fan suddenly interrupted him, "I suddenly remembered that the New Year is coming soon, and I'm going back to Jiangnan in a few days, but I haven't gone to say goodbye to Mr. Ba yet. If you're busy, go ahead and do your thing. I'll go to the Shanghai Writers Association and tell Mr. Ba."

Anquan's expression immediately changed, and he said sincerely, "I'm not busy. Leave the magazine advertising to me. I can't guarantee more, but I can easily earn ten or twenty thousand yuan a month in advertising fees."

"And another thing, I'm not trying to criticize you, but you didn't bring anything. You went to visit Mr. Buffett empty-handed? That's unacceptable."

He then rolled down the car window and waved to a young man who was busy in a roadside house, "Xiao Ning, come here."

The man quickly ran over, "Brother An, what's wrong?"

"Safety first. Take two bottles of good wine, two cartons of cigarettes, two packs of milk candy, and a box of tea. Put it on my tab, and hurry up."

Zhou Yali looked behind her, then at Chen Fan's ambiguous smile, and confirmed in her heart, "Yes, he really is Xiao Fan's good friend. Lili didn't lie to me."

Xiao Ning responded, turned around and ran back, quickly carrying the things over and putting them into two large cloth bags.

Anquan hugged the things to his chest, shifted his position, and calmly looked up to indicate, "Okay, let's go."

Chen Fan smiled slightly, shifted gears, stepped on the gas, and drove towards the Shanghai Writers Association headquarters.

Anquan watched the street scene recede into the distance, feeling slightly uneasy. "Sigh, what should I say when I see Ba ​​Jin later? What's his temperament like? There's a literature enthusiast at our school who sent him a letter asking him to take a look at his manuscript, but the old gentleman only replied with a few words, 'Nonsense.' I wonder if he's difficult to get along with?"

Chen Fan glanced at the rearview mirror and chuckled, "So you're still going to follow? Should we pull over and drop you off?"

"That's not necessary."

An Quan chuckled awkwardly, "Isn't it because of you? You're the vice chairman of the Jiangnan Writers Association, after all. For your sake, the old man won't kick us out, will he?"

Chen Fan said, "That depends on how much advertising revenue you can generate. If it's a lot, it's definitely not a problem, but if it's a little, it might be a different story."

Upon hearing this, Anquan made a face and said, "Brother, can I call you brother? Who would want to do advertising these days? This is really difficult..."

Before he could elaborate further, Chen Fan said, "Let me tell you, this magazine has been listed as a key target by Buffett and is tasked with reforming publishing units. If you can bring in enough advertising business for the magazine, you might actually catch Buffett's eye and earn his respect."

Anquan was slightly taken aback. "Are you serious?"

Chen Fan smiled and said, "Although... but have I ever lied to you?"

Anquan frowned, racking his brains for a moment, "It seems not."

Chen Fan's face fell. What happened to trust between people? What does "seems like" even mean?

Seeing his expression change, Anquan quickly said, "Don't worry, brother, leave this to me. It's just a little advertising fee. I'll make your magazine the one with the highest advertising fees in Shanghai. If you can't do that, you do it for me!"

Zhou Yali blinked curiously and looked at Chen Fan, asking in a low voice, "Didn't you say last time that TV stations, radio stations, newspapers, and magazines haven't received any new advertisements?"

Chen Fan said expressionlessly, "So he has already met the standard."

Zhou Yali turned around and saw Anquan raise his right fist, "I am number one!"

At that moment, she suddenly understood why the man she had picked up on the roadside was Xiao Fan's good friend.

Birds of a feather flock together!

Soon they arrived at the Writers Association compound. Chen Fan waved and greeted the people familiarly. After parking the car, he got out and led the two inside.

Anquan carefully followed behind, carrying two large bags.

Chen Fan glanced back at him and said irritably, "You've seen the world, haven't you? The stall you run usually has a lot of contact with city leaders, so how come it's turned out like this?"

Anquan glared at him and whispered, "What do you know? So what if the city leaders and factory cadres are powerful? It's not that they are powerful, it's just that they hold positions of power. Once they leave those positions, they are nothing."

"Can Ba ​​Jin be compared to them? Ba Jin is a literary master; wherever he goes, he's a master, revered by thousands. Of course, he deserves our utmost respect."

Chen Fan pondered for two seconds and said, "Master Ba, Master Mao, and Master Xia all say that I am a minor master in the literary world, with a versatile writing style and sharp writing, so why don't you show me any respect?"

Upon hearing this, An Quan stared at him in astonishment, his mouth agape, speechless.

How thick-skinned is this person?

After a while, when they were almost up to the second floor, he whispered, "Is it possible that it was Elder Ba, Elder Mao, Elder Xia, and the others who comforted you? They are seniors, so it's normal for them to say a few polite words to a lovely junior."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yali burst out laughing.

Chen Fan, his face dark with anger, waved his hands repeatedly, "Old Ba doesn't treat outsiders well. Leave your things here and get out of here."

Anquan clutched the bag tightly to his chest, his face resolute, displaying a fearless spirit.

Now that he was already here, Chen Fan naturally wouldn't really kick him out. He could only grimac in disdain as he knocked on the door of Ba Lao's office.

When he heard someone say "Come in" from inside, he pushed the door open and entered.

Old Ba was writing on his desk when Chen Fan walked up to him, at which point he looked up.

Upon seeing him, Ba Jin laughed and said, "Perfect timing. I've already made three calls, from Jiangnan to Beijing, and then to your house in Shanghai. No one answered the last call, and I was planning to call again tonight. You really know how to run around."

Chen Fan was about to explain about safety when he heard this and was slightly taken aback. "Why did you call me here?"

But instead of explaining immediately, Ba looked at Anquan, who was holding a cloth bag and had a big smile on his face, and asked, "And who is this?"

Chen Fan pointed and laughed, "Your fans heard I was coming to see you and insisted on coming along."

As she spoke, she pointed to the cloth bag in Anquan's arms, "Two packs of cigarettes, two bottles of wine, two packs of milk candy, and a box of tea, a gift for you. I've been holding it the whole time, so I haven't had a chance to pluck a single feather from it."

Upon hearing this, Ba Lao couldn't help but laugh heartily, giving An Quan a thumbs-up and saying, "Well done."

Upon being praised by Buffett, An Quan was overjoyed and laughed heartily, regardless of why Buffett had praised him in the first place.

Mr. Ba stood up and casually gestured for them to sit down on the sofa.

Chen Fan was very informal, taking a few teacups and sitting down to make tea. Zhou Yali quickly sat down next to him, while Anquan could only sit on the other side with the gifts in his arms.

Mr. Ba himself brought over his teacup, and after settling down, he said to Chen Fan, "CCTV and Shanghai TV are collaborating on a gala, with the main performers being people from Shanghai Film Studio. Mr. Xia suddenly had the idea to invite you to participate, but he was too lazy to contact you, so this task fell to me."

"How about it? Going over to sing a song, is that alright?"

(End of this chapter)