Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 870: Use small things to make big things happen
The topic of foreign exchange certificates lasted for quite a while, mainly because this thing is indeed quite important to Chen Fan.

It turns out that he had reached an agreement with his employer that of all the overseas royalties he received from overseas, which were paid to him by Takahashi Publishing House, 5% would be given to him directly in foreign currency, while the remaining 95% would be converted into local currency at the official exchange rate.

In addition, he should be given about 30% in remittance certificates.

Once foreign exchange certificates are officially issued, their role will undoubtedly be completely replaced.

Before long, except in a very few regions, remittance certificates will disappear. No new remittance certificates will be printed; they will simply be used up from the existing stock and then completely disappear from the market.

At this point, Chen Fan had a disagreement with someone at his workplace.

Previously, it was foreign currency plus remittance certificates, which meant he could use 35% of the foreign currency for consumption.

What if the remittance certificates for overseas Chinese are no longer valid, and they are only given 5% of the foreign currency? That won't be enough.
Some might say, "After Saint Seiya was published, you would receive hundreds of thousands of dollars in royalties. Even if it's only five percent, that's still tens of thousands of dollars, which would be hundreds of thousands of dollars in foreign exchange certificates. How could that not be enough?"

Chen Fan stated that whether or not it is enough is his own business, and his convertible foreign currency rights cannot be arbitrarily reduced just because he has enough.

What if one day I really don't have enough?
Does he have any chance to increase his foreign currency acquisition limit?

Hehe, not only do they exist, but they're huge.

After the issuance of foreign exchange certificates, the issue should be viewed from two perspectives.

First, from the national perspective, all foreign currency will be subject to taxation in the future, eliminating the need for Chen Fan to retain 5% of foreign exchange. Even the additional 35% foreign exchange retention allocated to the company is now subject to the regulations of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange.

Therefore, in terms of actual foreign exchange usage, the government's quota being fully utilized is naturally very beneficial to them.

From Chen Fan's perspective, exchanging US dollars for foreign exchange certificates has no impact on him; he can still use them after exchanging them back to foreign exchange certificates. What is affected is the amount of remittance certificates he originally received.

So his current demand is to replenish the quota of remittance certificates. ...He might even ask for an even higher percentage of convertible certificates.

In any case, what he got were just foreign exchange certificates issued by the Bank of China, not foreign exchange. There's a lot of room for maneuver here!

If the negotiations go well, achieving a mutually satisfactory outcome shouldn't be difficult.

As for their employer, the Jiangnan Writers Association, this matter doesn't really concern them.

Because the foreign exchange reserves they receive are still under the management of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, and cannot be used domestically under normal circumstances, they can only obtain the corresponding amount of foreign exchange when traveling on official business. ...As long as it does not exceed the foreign exchange quota in their accounts, they do not need to apply separately when using it; they can simply submit a report to obtain the foreign exchange. This is the benefit of having foreign exchange reserves.

Therefore, this foreign exchange certificate has little to do with the employer.

In Chen Fan's mind, the ideal situation would be to make up the proportion of remittance certificates, that is, to give him 35% of the overseas royalties in the form of foreign exchange certificates, and it would be fine to give him the rest in local currency.

After talking with Chen Fan for a while and figuring out his thoughts, Zhou Zhengdong was speechless. "You're not short of money, so why do you insist on this percentage?"

Chen Fan tugged at his scarf, pursed his lips, and said, "I can't refuse what's mine. You haven't experienced the hardship of not having ration coupons. When you have money but can't buy anything, you'll know how important foreign exchange certificates are."

Zhou Zhengdong's lips twitched slightly. "The situation you described, I probably will never experience in my life."

I'm not tied up here and can't leave. Once I'm out of customs, where can't I buy things with my money? I can buy things back in China with US dollars.

Chen Fan: "...Uncle, let's continue our conversation from where we were before."

I hate people from Versailles the most, and I will never allow anyone more vulgar than me to appear!

Zhou Zhengdong, "What were we talking about just now?"

Chen Fan said, "Uncle, you're so rich now, and you're always traveling around. Haven't you ever thought about buying a private jet? It would be so much more convenient for you to travel back and forth."

Zhou Yali had previously considered buying a private jet, but she stayed here and refused to go back, so the matter was dropped.

What? Let someone else buy it?

This is about buying an airplane, not a model. It's worth tens of millions of dollars, so I have to see it for myself.

Zhou Zhengdong was taken aback by his words, "How did you know I wanted to buy a private jet?"

Chen Fan turned to look at him, his eyes widening in surprise. "What? You really want to buy a plane?"

I haven't even used my full strength yet, and you're already giving in?

Zhou Zhengdong sighed slightly and said in a low voice, "The last time we were on a plane, all the passengers rushed towards you, making the plane unstable. It really scared me, uh, your aunt and cousin."

Chen Fan looked at him expressionlessly. Mentioning his aunt was one thing, but using a child was a bit inappropriate.
Zhou Zhengdong's expression remained unchanged as he continued, "After we checked into the hotel that day, your aunt discussed this matter with me. I considered it carefully and also felt it was necessary to buy a private jet."

After pausing for two seconds, he continued, "Actually, in the United States, many middle-class people can afford private jets. Cheap ones, like some small fixed-wing aircraft with a range of 800 to 1,000 kilometers, only cost tens of thousands of dollars. Many people buy these kinds of planes, keep them at home, get a pilot's license, and go out for a spin whenever they feel like it."

Of course, that kind of thing definitely doesn't meet my requirements.

However, purchasing a small business jet with a range of around 10000 kilometers can also cover the distance from the United States to domestic flights, requiring only a refueling stop in Tokyo.

These planes aren't expensive; there are several models to choose from for two or three million US dollars. I'll go check them out and place an order when I get back to the US in a couple of days.

Chen Fan pursed his lips, "Too small."

Zhou Zhengdong raised an eyebrow slightly, "It's not small, is it? This kind of plane can still accommodate 10 to 12 people after removing the cabin crew..."

Before he could finish speaking, Chen Fan interrupted, "I mean, you're narrow-minded. Who are you? The big boss of the Zhou family, one of the most prominent billionaires in America today. So many eyes are on you, and all you do is buy a small plane?"
Wouldn't that make us a laughingstock?!

Zhou Zhengdong narrowed his eyes slightly, "It's alright, I'm not afraid of being laughed at."

Chen Fan said, “But I’m afraid. What if your daughter buys a big airplane and then brags about it to me every day, saying things like, ‘Look at your uncle, he only bought a small plane, which isn’t even enough for people to fly back in.’ You’d feel bad, but I would.”

Zhou Zhengdong's face fell. "You two are putting on a show for me, aren't you?"

Chen Fan was somewhat surprised, "Hey, you even know about double act?"

Zhou Zhengdong, "Nonsense, Chinatown also has... ugh, who told you about the double act? Well,..."

He turned and sat sideways, looking at Chen Fan and asking in a low voice, "Really buying a big one?"

Chen Fan nodded slightly. "I strongly suggest getting a Boeing 747 VIP. It's big and spacious enough. Then, decorate it nicely and make it a three-bedroom, two-living-room apartment. It'll probably be two or three years before the plane is delivered, right?"

Zhou Zhengdong thought for a moment, "More or less." Chen Fan smiled and said, "That's it then. When the plane is delivered, I might go to the United States, and I can fly with you, saving on airfare."

Zhou Zhengdong was both amused and exasperated, and said with a laugh, "You made me spend twenty or thirty million US dollars just to save you money on airfare? You're quite the shrewd shrew."

Chen Fan: "It's alright, nothing special. Um, if you feel you're overpaying, you can buy one of those small business jets you mentioned, and I'll put the money in my account, is that alright?"

Zhou Zhengdong, "You're really something, managing to win big with a small investment!"

That kid's really clever. He'll use his money to buy a small plane first, and once his own big plane is delivered, he'll definitely want the big one—no doubt about it!

He really doesn't try to hide his tricks from his uncle.

Chen Fan: "It's alright, this is my forte. Just like when I married, it's about getting something for nothing, and Lili is older than me."

Zhou Zhengdong, “…???”

……

The distance from Shenyang to Beijing is not far; the plane landed at the airport in less than two hours.

As usual, Chen Fan and his group got off the plane first, landed on the ground, waited for Jin Boyuan to get off, said goodbye to him, and then left the airport carrying a bag of urea in one hand and a birdcage in the other.

First, they released the two gyrfalcons. Then, Chen Fan bought two taxi tickets, and the group took two Buicks from Shouqi Company back to their home by Houhai Lake.

As usual, no one was there.

Even Liu Juan's dog, Xiao Hei, went to the Taoist temple with her.

Chen Fan wasn't the kind of person who couldn't survive without someone to take care of him. He quickly ran to the boiler room in the south building, lit the boiler, and soon the house was warm.

Afterwards, the group took turns washing up. Jiang Lili and Jiang Tiantian even took the time to prepare lunch. After lunch, it was past one o'clock in the afternoon.

The two sisters cleaned up the dishes and went to the kitchen to get busy. Chen Fan took out his Kung Fu tea set and brewed a pot of tea.

He took a sip from his small teacup, then asked without looking up, "Uncle, when are you going back to America?"

Zhou Zhengdong took a sip of tea and said without hesitation, "I'll leave next Monday."

Chen Fan looked at him. "You also want to see the Jade Emperor's Birthday Ceremony at Baiyun Temple?"

The Jade Emperor's birthday celebration is on the ninth day of the first lunar month, which is this Sunday. Today is only Friday. They've delayed for two days. Surely they don't want to rest here.

To be honest, although the schedule has been quite tight these past few days, I wouldn't say I'm exhausted.

Wherever I go, I get picked up and dropped off by car, and for long distances I take a plane. How tiring could it be?
Zhou Zhengdong replied irritably, "What? My chartered plane won't arrive until next Monday, otherwise I would have preferred to go back today."

He came by chartered plane, and he'll naturally return by chartered plane too; he's not short of money anyway.

Unexpectedly, the procedures for flights entering and leaving the mainland were too complicated, and with the Spring Festival approaching and most leaders having gone home for the holidays, we were still a few days late despite rushing.

If it weren't for the fact that there are only two flights a week between Beijing and Tokyo, with the next flight scheduled for next Monday, he would have preferred to just take a flight back directly.

Hearing his words, Zhou Yali suddenly said from the side, "Dad, can I go back a few days later?"

Zhao Wanru looked at her, her brows furrowing slightly. "You'll graduate in a year and a half. Tell me, how many days off have you taken in the last two years?!"

Zhou Yali pouted and muttered, "I've learned almost all the courses in school, and I'm not interested in anything else, so what's the point of staying in school?"

Zhou Zhengdong turned to look at her and said helplessly, "Do you think that university is just about learning knowledge? If you were studying technology, I wouldn't say anything, but you are studying economics and trade, just like law and business majors. You need to pay attention to social practice and the development of interpersonal relationships."

University is a microcosm of society. Back when I was in school, it was through meeting the son of my former boss that I had the opportunity to enter one of the top law firms in New York, and then gradually get to where I am today.

You should do the same; making friends with classmates from high society backgrounds at school will only benefit your future development.

Hearing his words, Zhou Yali was quite dismissive. She glanced at Chen Fan and said with great enthusiasm, "But the current situation is that those congressmen, governors, or children of certain old families are all trying to get close to me."

Zhou Zhengdong was slightly taken aback, then realized what she meant and looked at her, asking, "Are they here for Xiao Fan?"

Zhou Yali smiled and said, "That's part of the reason. On the other hand, the development potential of Qianfan and Wanmuchun companies has attracted many people. Some want to cooperate, and some even want to obtain an investment share. So..."

She turned to look at Chen Fan and said, "Compared to what you said about befriending powerful people, Dad, I agree more with my younger brother's idea: as long as you are strong enough, you don't have to worry about being ignored."

Zhou Zhengdong frowned, about to speak.

At this moment, Chen Fan coughed and said to her, "That's the gist of it, but it doesn't contradict my uncle's suggestion. Being strong is one thing, but you can't be arrogant at the same time."

In Mr. Li's words, it means making as many friends as possible and as few enemies as possible. Being strong yourself is the foundation for making friends, so you won't be looked down upon. At the same time, you also need a humble attitude and flexible methods to make more genuine friends.

No sooner had he finished speaking than Zhou Zhengdong pointed at him and said to Zhou Yali, "Look, look, what your cousin said is more comprehensive and correct. You should learn more from him."

Zhou Yali pouted, "I wasn't arrogant. I often attended their gatherings back in school, okay?"

She pouted as she spoke, "But you know how those parties in America are, they're often not very serious, and I really can't fit in."

Zhou Zhengdong blinked, said "Oh", thought for a moment and said, "If that's the case, there's no need to force it. You just need to figure out the right balance yourself."

Zhao Wanru thought for a moment and said, "Okay, you can participate in club activities, but don't go to off-campus gatherings."

Zhou Yali nodded immediately, "That's what I think too."

At this moment, Jiang Lili and Jiang Tiantian returned after finishing their work and sat down next to Chen Fan. I couldn't quite understand what they were talking about.

Chen Fan didn't explain much. Anyway, they weren't going abroad, so there was no need for them to know so much about certain things.

The group chatted for a while longer, but didn't discuss whether Yali should come back with them next week.

Zhou Zhengdong waved to Chen Fan, "I know you're going to Chaoyang Temple now that you're here. You go ahead with your business, we can just rest at home."

Chen Fan didn't stand on ceremony with him. He told Jiang Lili and Jiang Tiantian to stay at home, took the car keys, and drove the van towards Chaoyang Temple.

(End of this chapter)