Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 865 Return the favor

After a bumpy two-hour ride, the convoy finally returned to the Liaoning Hotel.

Chen Fan took out two packs of foreign cigarettes and handed them to the driver, then got out of the car and stretched.

With a series of crackling sounds as my bones stretched, my body returned to normal, and I felt no discomfort from sitting on the rocking horse for so long.

Just then, Zhao Wanru got out of the car, but she was a little unsteady and swayed on the spot. He quickly went over and took the sleeping little one.

It's amazing how such a small child, who does nothing but eat and sleep all day, never cries.

At this time, the other cars also returned one after another. Jiang Lili and the other two were in the jeep behind. Compared with Zhou Zhengdong and Zhao Wanru, the three of them were skilled in martial arts and looked to be in good condition.

The two sisters each held a cat, while Zhou Yali held two small monkeys, making it look like they had snatched away some kind of variety show stall.

The reason they didn't seem like monkey trainers was mainly because all three of them were good-looking and well-dressed, making it hard to associate them with monkey trainers.

Holding the baby monkey, Zhou Yali walked up to Chen Fan, her eyes full of hope. "Brother, we were talking in the car about our last hunting trip to Northeast China. Could you arrange something like that this time?"

At this moment, Sun Rui and the others also walked over one after another. They happened to hear what she said. Sun Rui's eyes lit up. Just as she was about to speak, she heard Chen Fan say, "We can't arrange anything this time. We can stay for one more day at most, buy some things to take back, and leave early the day after tomorrow."

Upon hearing this, Sun Ruihe quickly said, "Vice Chairman Chen, why are you in such a hurry to leave? Why not stay a few more days? Our leaders would like to have a longer chat with you and Mr. Zhou."

Chen Fan turned his face and explained with a smile, "The schedule is indeed very busy, so it's still time I managed to squeeze in an extra day."

My uncle and aunt have to rush back to the United States; there are many things they need to decide there. I also need to represent Chaoyang Temple in Beijing to attend the opening ceremony of Baiyun Temple on the ninth day of the first lunar month, the Jade Emperor's birthday. After that, there are many other things to do, so I really can't be in two places at once.

The main reason for staying an extra day is to repay a favor.

First of all, the 108 Taoist priests traveled north, and they sought help from the local Federation of Literary and Art Circles, Writers Association, Music Association, and Artists Association for their round-trip tickets, accommodation, meals, and transportation.

Asking these organizations for help, even though Chen Fan paid the bills, these days, getting so many things done isn't just a matter of money; it involves countless favors and connections.

Chen Fan could find someone to solve the problem on his own, but it would be incredibly troublesome, and he would still owe favors.

And for the group of people themselves, food, lodging, and transportation were one aspect, but most importantly, without the assistance of the relevant local departments, the ancestral worship ceremony could not have been completed so smoothly.

Putting everything else aside, just one "enthusiastic citizen" could ruin the ancestral worship ceremony, and they might even end up in jail for a chat.

Don't think that things will be completely different now that we've opened up. It's not like later generations, where most people only care about themselves and just watch the show until the knife falls on their own heads.

People today, especially the working class, truly see themselves as "masters of society" and dare to say no to all "unhealthy tendencies".

For example, in 76, a young girl in Shanghai saw a poster for a foreign movie and envied the beautiful clothes the movie characters wore. She then thought about narrowing her baggy pants and making them more fitted.

For such a small matter, she visited more than a dozen clothing stores and endured countless criticisms before finally finding a private tailor shop in a small alley. After the alterations were completed, she happily wore the clothes out into the street, only to be immediately surrounded and criticized by half the aunties, young wives, and other women on the street.

Why is it only half a street?

Ahem, the other half of the group consisted of men, young and old, who were too embarrassed to make a move on the young girl.

Although several years have passed, the environment has not changed much. Some people are truly devoted to listening to their superiors and following their lead.

Moreover, they always insisted that they were right, even though they were just ordinary workers or farmers, and firmly fulfilled their "supervisory" obligations.

If they discover even the slightest clue, they'll dare to poke a hole in the sky.

Such people still existed in the mid-90s, but there were far fewer than in the 80s. After all, after 92, everyone was busy making money, and no one paid attention to any minor disturbances.

Chen Fan also managed to contact the United Front Work Department in Zhou Zhengdong's name, and through the superiors, he relayed the message to the local authorities, which ensured that today's event went smoothly.

Each and every one of these is a debt of gratitude that must be repaid!

Fortunately, the more debt a person can incur, the more capable they are; otherwise, people wouldn't bother with them, let alone spend money and effort to help them.

Chen Fan was very confident about repaying his debts; otherwise, he wouldn't have dared to contact these people.

However, he didn't want to go through the Lunar New Year burdened with debt. This afternoon and tomorrow day would be a window of time for the "creditors" to consider their terms and make their demands.

Otherwise, he would have packed his things and run away right now, instead of waiting for so long.

Although Chen Fan didn't say it explicitly, Sun Ruihe, Ye Yanshan, and the others were all seasoned veterans and immediately understood what Chen Fan meant. After exchanging a few simple pleasantries, they hurriedly left.

Watching them leave, Zhou Zhengdong, supporting his aching back, walked over, twisting his waist as he did so, and whispered, "Whatever happens here, I don't care anymore."

She looked at her daughter and then at her eldest nephew, saying, "I've made a decision. Once the program-controlled switches stop selling, the domestic market will be handed over to you. And for now, I'll only sell program-controlled switches; I won't get involved in anything else. You two can have your fun."

After saying that, he took his youngest son from his eldest nephew's arms, coaxed him with a smile, and went into the hotel.

Zhao Wanru smiled and said, "Don't be surprised. We made this decision together. Good luck!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he drifted away.

Zhou Yali was a little confused and wanted to scratch her head, but her hands were both busy, so she stretched her head out in front of the little monkey and said, "Scratch my head."

Then he looked at Chen Fan and asked, "Brother, what do they mean?"

Chen Fan said expressionlessly, "Their meaning is that they will not care about the negotiations with the local authorities or repaying favors to the Federation of Literary and Art Circles and other organizations."

Zhou Yali's eyes widened instantly. "They won't take care of it? Then who will?"

Chen Fan smiled slightly, gave her a look that said "understand for yourself," gestured to Jiang Lili and Jiang Tiantian, and then went into the hotel.

Zhou Yali stood there stunned for a long while before suddenly letting out a wail, "You're not going to make me, the chairman, handle this, are you?"

He rushed inside, saying, "Brother, explain yourself clearly. Should we talk to them again?"

……

Regardless of Zhou Zhengdong and his wife, when Chen Fan used to take these three women out, he would usually book three rooms: one for himself, one for the two sisters, and one for Zhou Yali.

Now that he had his marriage certificate and a letter of introduction from Lujiawan, he was a legally married couple and could rightfully share a room. So Zhou Yali squeezed into Jiang Tiantian's room, claiming it saved her the cost of one room.

Although it did save the cost of a room, is Mr. Chen someone who is short of money?

Why force people to live together when each person has their own room? It's much more spacious.
So when Chen Fan knocked on the door and saw Zhou Yali opening it, he found it hard to give her a smile and said expressionlessly, "Several leaders from the provincial department and the city will come over later and come with me to talk."

Zhou Yali's face fell. "Little brother, can't we skip it?" Jiang Tiantian had just finished showering and came out of the bathroom wrapped in a bathrobe, her hair wrapped in a towel. ...Here's a side note: many people think pajamas and bathrobes are modern inventions, but they've existed for a long time. How long?

In the 16th century in the West and during the Han Dynasty in China, "pajamas" became relatively common, but they were popular among the aristocratic and official classes.

It wasn't too late for pajamas to become a common item. Around the time of World War I, pajamas had become a common item in the West, and in China, they were mostly accepted by the political and business elites of the Republic of China.

Ordinary people can forget about it; they simply don't have the means.

Strictly speaking, pajamas and bathrobes predate thermal underwear by a lot.

Mr. Li has a pajama set with many patches, which is still on display in the exhibition hall.

As for popularizing pajamas among ordinary people in China?

Sorry, it hasn't become widespread yet. Most people only know that this thing exists. It's a little better for girls, but very few men can accept it.

This may be why people have the misconception that pajamas are something that appeared much later.

For a top-tier hotel like the Liaoning Hotel, which was a premier establishment during the Republic of China era, bathrobes and pajamas were essential room amenities, just as normal as towels and bath towels.

However, influenced by Chen Fan, Jiang Tiantian didn't like using public items, so she brought her own bathrobe.

The style was rather conservative, like a trench coat, covering her up completely. Apart from her swan-like neck, nothing else could be seen, which disappointed someone.

Jiang Tiantian didn't notice the disappointed look in someone's eyes. When she came out, she happened to hear Zhou Yali's words and said, "If it's a literary federation or writers' association visiting, you don't need to show up. Xiao Fan will be fine."

The local government is definitely after foreign investment. In this situation, Xiao Fan is not suitable to take the lead, so you must step in and be the one in charge.

Unable to see anything, Chen Fan turned his gaze back to Zhou Yali's face. "Did you hear that?"

Zhou Yali's lips twitched, and after a long sigh, she said, "I need to change my clothes."

Then he slammed the door shut.

Chen Fan leaned against the door frame and gently knocked on the door.

Zhou Yali's voice came from inside, "Is there anything else?"

Chen Fan: "Have Tian Tian change her clothes too, let's go together."

Zhou Yali flung open the door and looked at him with a puzzled expression. "Where is Tian Tian going?"

Chen Fan smiled slightly, "Not only is Tian Tian going, but Lili is going too."

Zhou Yali suddenly realized, "I get it, it's just to make a scene!"

He nodded and said, "It'll be ready soon."

Then, with a bang, the door was slammed shut again.

Chen Fan returned to his room and cuddled with Lili for a while, without even messing up his clothes, when there was a knock on the door.

The two got up and went out, opening the door. They saw Zhou Yali and Jiang Tiantian both dressed in formal attire with fur coats on the outside, looking like elegant ladies from a northern city.

Jiang Lili glanced around, then decisively ran back, changed her cotton-padded coat into a fur coat, and when she came out again, only Chen Fan, the country bumpkin, was left.

Fortunately, Mr. Chen is handsome. Even though he was only wearing a Zhongshan suit without any accessories, he still looked better than the group of middle-aged and elderly people sitting opposite him.

Zhou Yali sat in the main seat, and Chen Fan sat in the secondary seat. He first explained to the leader with slicked-back hair, "I'm sorry, my uncle is feeling a little unwell because he's been traveling a lot today. My aunt is taking care of him in the room."

Then, pointing to Zhou Yali, he smiled and said, "Today's meeting will be conducted by my cousin in place of my uncle. But please rest assured, leaders, although my cousin is in charge of the talks, her words are equivalent to my uncle's words."

Furthermore, my cousin is currently the chairperson of two large American companies. Her investment in Shenzhen was a decision she made independently, and it's a project solely under her company's name. In terms of capital strength, she's not only on par with my uncle, but perhaps even surpasses him.

Although it sounded a bit awkward and a bit Versailles-esque, the leader on the other end understood Chen Fan's meaning and was not displeased at all. Instead, he smiled and said, "I have long heard of Ms. Zhou's illustrious name."

American Thousand Sails has repeatedly published works that are very popular with readers, and in just over a year, the company has grown to a scale of hundreds of millions of dollars.

Wanmuchun Company places great emphasis on technological research and development, and invented the Chinese character card technology, which pioneered the input of Chinese characters on computers. Later, it even invented the Chinese computer, which greatly enhanced the reputation of Chinese people in the world. Compared with Wang An, who is also known as the "Pride of Chinese in the Technology Community", I think Ms. Zhou is more deserving of this title.

I feel very reassured that Ms. Zhou is handling the negotiations.

Zhou Yali sat down at the conference table, as if she had become a different person, completely unlike her usual crazy self.

She sat upright with her hands folded in front of her, her gaze fixed ahead, and said with a light smile, "Thank you for your kindness, leader. However, I still have much to learn and dare not compare myself to Senior Wang An. Especially seniors like you, leader, have many admirable qualities that I should learn from."

After exchanging pleasantries for a while, Chen Fan, still concerned about not having eaten dinner, cut straight to the point: "Sir, my uncle reached an investment agreement with the province for 20 million US dollars, but the specific projects haven't been finalized yet. I wonder if you have any projects to recommend, or if we can discuss them another time?"

The implication was clear: if we don't get down to business now, we're not going to talk about anything today.

Chen Fan's words didn't bother the leader.

He couldn't care less. First of all, the systems were different. The only entities that could influence Chen Fan were the Writers' Association and the Federation of Literary and Art Circles. The literary and art circles were relatively closed off, and it was actually difficult for outsiders to get involved. Otherwise, things wouldn't have been so bad a few years ago.

Secondly, this Vice Chairman Chen has quite a background. Although his three mentors have retired, their connections in the military are still strong. Most importantly, those three worked under the old marshal and the old political commissar back then.

At the closing ceremony of last year's literary and art congress, the old political commissar did not shy away from asking him to stay behind, which proves that their relationship has not only not become distant, but has become even closer.

With such a background, even though this leader held a high position and wielded considerable power, he still dared not show any disrespect to Chen Fan.

Moreover, he had finished his pleasantries and was ready to get down to business.

As soon as Chen Fan finished speaking, he immediately opened his notebook, glanced at it, and then looked up at Zhou Yali, smiling as he said, "I am also familiar with the projects that Chairman Zhou has invested in in Shenzhen. Whether it is clothing, shoes, bags, or electronic products, we actually have a fairly complete industrial base here."

I think that selecting one project and engaging in in-depth cooperation would be a very good direction.

Once the formal negotiation phase began, Chen Fan gracefully withdrew, sitting silently and leaving the actual negotiations to Zhou Yali.

She immediately recalled her father's demeanor during the negotiations, her expression changed, she leaned forward slightly, her eyes sharpened, and she said seriously, "I strongly agree with the leader's proposal. However, Shenzhen allows us to operate as a sole proprietorship, with independent foreign trade rights for all products, and we can also sell them within the mainland."

What can we gain from cooperating with you?

(End of this chapter)