Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 884 Changing Tracks

April 1st, Tuesday, nobody celebrates April Fool's Day.

In the morning, at the auditorium of Jiangnan University, Chen Fan finished teaching two classes on folklore, packed his things, and left to meet Yang Kangnian.

He had just stepped out of the classroom when a school janitor stopped him, then led him to a small office next door, pulled out a thick envelope, and said helplessly, "Professor Chen..."

Chen Fan immediately raised his hand to interrupt him, looking at him in surprise, "When did I become a professor?"

The school janitor was stunned for a moment, looked at him in confusion, and explained, "Didn't Professor Xu tell you? When the school invited you to come here as a visiting professor, considering your achievements and reputation in the literary world, as well as your position in the Writers Association, the school set you up with the treatment of a third-level professor and awarded you a visiting professor honorary certificate."

However, this professor's certificate is issued by our school and is only valid within our school. It is not equivalent to a formal professorship certificate, and it will have no effect on any other school.

That's what they say, but having a certificate and not having a certificate can have very different effects in the eyes of other universities.

Chen Fan was completely surprised. There was even a certificate?

Why didn’t I see it?
He said "Oh," blinked, and looked at the school janitor, asking, "So, you asked me to come here today because of something?"

The school janitor handed the envelope to him again and said with a smile, "You didn't collect your salary last semester, and it's been a month since the start of this semester. You still didn't collect it last month, so I can only deliver your salary to you on behalf of the school's finance department."

After a pause, he explained, "According to regulations, the salary of a Level 3 professor is divided into four levels, with each level differing by 6.5 yuan. The salary of the first level of a Level 3 professor is 222.5 yuan, and the highest fourth level is 241.5 yuan. Your salary is in the first level. From last September until now, today is April 1st, and you can receive your April salary, so it has been a total of 8 months."

In addition, you receive an annual teaching fee equivalent to two months' salary, and welfare subsidies such as meal allowance, transportation, and housing allowance are approximately one month's salary. Then, up to April, these two parts are calculated as two-thirds of the total.

The finance department has calculated it for you; it's a total of ten months' salary, amounting to 2225 yuan.

After saying that, he handed the envelope forward again, saying, "Please check it."

Nowadays, most companies pay salaries on the 1st of each month, so receiving your salary on the 1st is quite reasonable.

A few people also receive their next month's salary on the 25th or 28th of the month.

Upon seeing the thick envelope, Chen Fan couldn't stop smiling. He quickly took it and said with a smile, "Thank you."

The school janitor smiled and said, "You're welcome."

Then he took out a thinner envelope from his bag, handed it to him, and said with a smile, "This is your coupon subsidy, also for eight months, mainly sugar coupons, cigarette coupons, milk powder coupons, meat coupons, industrial coupons, etc."

Upon seeing this, Chen Fan could only place the lesson plan on the table next to him. He first took out the banknotes from the envelope, and without counting them carefully, he simply flipped through them with his fingers like turning the pages of a book. Then he nodded, "Hmm, the money is correct."

Then he picked up the envelope containing the tickets and dumped it all onto the table.

In less than a minute, he had counted all the dozens of tickets and stuffed them back into the shovel.

After counting, he took out the pen he had put in his shirt pocket and signed the book that the school janitor had given him to collect the items.

He then looked at the school janitor and asked, "Where is my professor's certificate?"

If I take this thing home and display it, wouldn't Da Jiang and Xiao Jiang be green with envy? It's on par with their teacher's, isn't that amazing!
The school janitor chuckled dryly twice. "This isn't under our finance department's jurisdiction. Why don't you ask Professor Xu?"

Chen Fan said "Oh," and didn't ask any more questions. He took out a pack of Zhonghua cigarettes and stuffed it into the man's pocket. After seeing him off, he stuffed his lesson plan and money into his bag, got into his car happily, and drove away.

I originally thought the teacher asked him to come to class as a voluntary service, but I didn't expect that he would actually be paid, and the salary was not low.

Tsk tsk, who says university teachers earn low incomes these days?

The highest-ranking professors, such as Professor Xu, Professor Liu, and Professor Xi, also have four salary levels, each differing by 9 yuan: 318 yuan, 327 yuan, 336 yuan, and 345 yuan respectively. Professor Xu and his colleagues naturally receive the highest-ranking salary.

This rank is comparable to that of a deputy provincial governor, and the retirement benefits are the same. The only difference is that it lacks the implicit power held by those who retire from the administrative system.

The salaries for second-level professors are 265 yuan, 272.5 yuan, 280 yuan, and 287.5 yuan, corresponding to the department level.

Level three is like Chen Fan's, which corresponds to the deputy director level, exactly equivalent to his current rank.

The decision to appoint him as a Level 3 professor was likely made with this in mind.

This wage standard was set in the 1950s and 60s, and at the time it was considered an astronomical figure. It will be further increased during the wage reform in 1981.

(Salary Standard Table for University Teachers)
The claim that professors' salaries are low stems from the failure of price reforms and the subsequent 90s, when wage increases failed to keep pace with inflation. Furthermore, the comparison with the wage standards of foreign-invested and private enterprises makes the salaries of state-owned enterprises and public institutions appear too low.

Now, it's definitely a high-paying job.

Chen Fan drove off, not immediately going to Professor Xu to inquire about the honorary professor certificate, but instead leaving the school and heading towards the city. Before long, he arrived at the organization's training school.

It's an inconspicuous place with an unassuming gate, but the gatekeeper here isn't an old man, but a young soldier carrying a gun.

Chen Fan registered obediently and watched the young comrade make a phone call inside. After a while, Yang Kangnian walked out wearing a dark blue cadre uniform, head held high and full of vigor.

Looking at the energetic Yang Kangnian, Chen Fan smiled and said, "You're in high spirits because of a happy occasion; you look more than ten years younger."

Yang Kangnian waved his hand dismissively, "Go away, go away, you even make fun of me."

Then he waved to him and pointed to the other side of the street, saying, "There's a restaurant over there. I heard it was opened by the former head chef of the training school's cafeteria. He had been retired for five or six years, but these past two years, people have been encouraging people to start their own businesses. The newspapers have been making a big fuss about it. Plus, his youngest son is getting married soon and needs a lot of money, so he came back to the business and opened this restaurant across the street. Many of my classmates often go there to patronize it."

He patted Chen Fan on the shoulder and laughed, "I've already booked a private room for you to eat. Try his cooking and see if it's as amazing as the other classmates say."

Chen Fan followed him across the street and said, "Sure. But if it's not as good as Yunhu Wangjiang Tower, you'll have to make it up to me with a meal later."

Yang Kangnian: "No problem. No matter how good his skills are, I'll take you to Wangjiang Tower next time we go back to Yunhu."

The two chatted and laughed as they walked to the entrance of the restaurant across the street.

The restaurant was small and didn't even have a sign. You could tell it was a restaurant just by looking at the tables and chairs. It was lunchtime, and there were quite a few people eating inside.

The area is only two storefronts, totaling about thirty square meters.

The houses along the street here are all old houses, built using traditional dimensions. For example, a typical room is one zhang wide and one zhang and five chi deep.

Converted to metric units, that's 3.33 meters wide and 5 meters deep, so the area of ​​one room would be 16.65 square meters.

This place is so small, yet it has two private rooms partitioned off, which shows how tiny these private rooms must be.

Yang Kangnian was probably here before. He greeted a woman in her fifties with practiced ease, exchanged a few pleasantries with a few acquaintances, and then led Chen Fan to the private room inside.

Just like outside, the private room also had a square table with benches, but they didn't even bother to provide a chair with a backrest.

Chen Fan silently grumbled as he pulled out a stool and sat down.

Since Yang Kangnian was hosting, he naturally sat in the main seat. After the aunt brought in a pot of tea and two cups, she went out and closed the door. Then she said to Chen Fan, "See? Only private restaurants serve tea with meals. If you go to a state-run restaurant, let alone serving you tea and water, some places even have you to go to the kitchen counter to get your own food."

Chen Fan poured two cups of tea and said with a smile, "Not all of them. Well, the service at the Guangzhou Oriental Hotel, the Beijing Hotel, and the Shanghai Jinjiang Hotel is quite good."

Yang Kangnian couldn't help but roll his eyes. "You're talking about places that cater to foreigners. Why don't you mention the wild game restaurants in the provincial capital? If you go there to eat on the second floor, there are waiters waiting at the door to serve you."

He picked up his teacup, took a sip, and was about to speak when there was a knock on the door.

Then they pushed the tray aside, and the auntie carrying a tray began to serve the dishes.

Chen Fan craned his neck to take a look and saw that it was just a ceramic boiler.

First, place a small charcoal stove filled with glowing red charcoal on the table, then place an earthenware pot on top, filled with chicken pieces, and soon you'll hear a bubbling sound.

After the aunt went out, she brought back a bottle of wine and two wine glasses, greeted Yang Kangnian, and then went out and closed the door.

Chen Fan took off his coat, tossed it onto the bench next to him, rolled up his sleeves, and looked at Yang Kangnian, saying, "It's already April, and you're still eating this?"

The best time to eat this kind of earthenware pot is in winter, especially when it snows heavily. Listening to the howling north wind outside and watching the snowflakes falling, you can take a piece of meat from the steaming pot and eat it while it's still piping hot – that's the real treat.

Yang Kangnian gave him an annoyed look. "When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Do you think your Uncle Yang is easy to bully and are deliberately picking on me?"

He picked up the bottle, unscrewed it, and placed it in front of him, saying, "You pour it."

Chen Fan grinned, picked up the bottle, and poured the wine, saying, "I'll do it, I'll do it."

Placing a wine glass the size of a teacup in front of him, Chen Fan poured himself a drink and said, "If you want a promotion, just get a promotion. Why did you have to say you were being dismissed? It gave me quite a fright."

When he received the call yesterday, he thought Yang Kangnian had gotten into some trouble, but it turned out that he had come to the provincial capital for further studies.

This looks like a promotion is imminent, and it could involve a change of system or location.

Only in these two situations would it be necessary to first remove one from their original position so that they can be ready to take up a new post at any time.

He poured just enough wine for two glasses, put the bottle aside, and looked at Yang Kangnian, asking, "Have you decided on the next step?"

Yang Kangnian picked up his wine jar, clinked it against his, took a sip, and then grinned, saying, "It's settled."

He put down his wine glass, looked at Chen Fan and smiled, "Actually, I've been at the training school for a month, but the final result wasn't available yet, so it wasn't convenient to disclose it. It wasn't until yesterday, when the organization leaders talked to me, that it was officially finalized."

He pointed in a certain direction and grinned from ear to ear, "Still in Yunhu, my position is Commissioner of the Administrative Office."

That would be equivalent to the mayor of a city.

Yang Kangnian used to work at Yunqi Factory, where he was both the Party Secretary and the Factory Director, holding the same rank as Chen Fan. In this day and age, the enterprise system is much more desirable than the administrative system. Therefore, in many places, if someone is transferred from an administrative position to an enterprise, it's usually a lateral transfer, or even a demotion, and many people are happy to accept it.

A transfer from a corporate to an administrative position is considered a demotion even if it's a lateral move; only a promotion indicates that the employee is being "used with special importance."

Now that Yang Kangnian has been transferred from Yunqi Factory to Yunhu Local Administrative Office, only a commissioner is worthy of him.

If one has more seniority and stronger connections, becoming a first secretary is not without its opportunities.

Chen Fan raised an eyebrow, looking at him in surprise, "You've decided so early? Have you thought it through? What about Yunqi Factory?"

He had previously hinted to Yang Kangnian whether he wanted to develop his career in the corporate system long-term or find a suitable opportunity to transfer to the administrative system.

At the time, Yang Kangnian seemed determined to live, die, and fight to the death for the factory, and Chen Fan thought he would stay in the corporate system forever.

Or even if I were to switch to administration, that would be many years from now.

Unexpectedly, in just two short years, they've completely changed tracks?
Yang Kangnian didn't answer immediately, but pointed to the pot, "Eat. I ordered the food in advance, and it's been stewing for two hours. It's just the right amount of tenderness."

He first picked up a piece of chicken and put it in his bowl. After it cooled down a little, he ate it while blowing on it.

After eating two pieces of chicken and drinking a few sips of wine, he exhaled a long breath and said with a melancholy expression, "Before the Spring Festival, when the leader approached me, I thought about it for a long time."

As he spoke, he put down his chopsticks, turned to look at Chen Fan, and smiled, "Only we know best how Yunqi Factory started and how it grew step by step. At that time, I was still at the machinery factory, just resuming work, busy restoring production while thinking about how to develop the machinery factory."

Then I suddenly received news that they had found my old friend Chen's son, so I rushed over to find you... Hahaha, I was originally planning to take care of you, but I never expected that you would give me and the machinery factory a—no, countless—huge surprises.

Chen Fan smiled, silently drank and ate his food, without saying a word.

He's expressing his emotions right now, so let him talk and don't interrupt.

Yang Kangnian occasionally ate a bite of food and took a sip of wine, rambling on for a long time. Finally, he exhaled a long breath, paused for two or three seconds, and said with emotion, "If Yunqi Factory were in my hands, this is probably what it would look like. Complete all the factory construction, build the new production line, and then operate at full capacity, ensuring quality and quantity, and bringing glory to the Yunhu brand automobiles."

He then looked at Chen Fan with a serious expression, "If possible, I can continue working at Yunqi Factory until I retire, and I might even be rehired to continue contributing to Yunqi Factory."

But at that moment, the organization spoke with me and gave me another chance. It was a chance for me to give it my all again at the age of fifty.

I considered it for three days without consulting anyone, and finally decided to accept the opportunity, leave the factory, and be transferred to another location to see if I could start a business again.

(End of this chapter)