Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 889 Come quickly, send money!

After finishing his meal in the canteen, it was already 8 p.m. After asking Director Wu for some things, Chen Fan didn't delay and immediately drove towards Yunhu.

Actually, the matter wasn't that urgent. He could go back tomorrow or even the day after without any problems. These days, it's common for movies to take one or two years to film. It's abnormal for him to be rushing around like this.

It was because Director Chen had high prestige, and leaders like Director Wu were completely obedient to him. Furthermore, the employees of Jiangying Film Studio were used to hardship and, seeing a glimmer of hope, they all displayed the same enthusiasm they had when the studio was first established. Also, last year Jiangying Film Studio made a lot of money, and with improved performance, Director Wu was generous, distributing substantial bonuses to everyone, which boosted morale. This is why everyone, from top to bottom, was working tirelessly alongside Director Chen.

If you let him try working at a big studio like Changchun Film Studio, Beijing Film Studio, or Shanghai Film Studio, and he dared to schedule his work so tightly, people would have already reported him to higher-ups.

There's nothing else to it. These days, actors don't get paid for their work; they get paid wages and subsidies. Wages are fixed, so there's no need to elaborate. The subsidies are usually one yuan a day, plus free room and board. If you finish filming a movie in just two or three days, aren't you reducing everyone's income?!

As for performance bonuses, that's a separate price and shouldn't be confused with subsidies.

Not only is it more tiring, but the pay is also less, so who would want to play with him?

Therefore, "slow and steady wins the race" is the norm for filmmakers today, and Chen Fan has no need to rush.

However, he felt that since he didn't have anything to do in the provincial capital, he might as well go back to Yunhu and do some preparations in advance rather than stay there for a day or two.

It's almost Qingming Festival in a couple of days. I didn't visit the graves last year, but I can't miss it again this year, since so many people are here to pay their respects.

With several things happening at once, and since no one was really bothering him, he decided to just travel at night.

The provincial highway from the provincial capital to Yunhu has virtually no streetlights, with only a few lights appearing when passing through a small town.

But it doesn't matter, there are few streetlights these days, and even fewer people drive at night.

Fortunately, Master Chen was sharp of hearing and sight, so he turned on the high beams and drove faster than during the day, speeding low into the air, and successfully returned to Yunhu city in the middle of the night.

This made Chen Fan a little disappointed.

There were three rifles on the back seat, which were borrowed from the equipment depot of the Jiangxi Film Studio before departure: two Type 56 rifles and one Type 56 rifle SKS, all in 90% new condition, and also equipped with thirty fully loaded magazines.

Honestly, Chen Fan was stunned. The SKS not only looked the same as the Type 56, but also had the same magazine capacity, with each magazine holding ten rounds. In addition to the magazine that came with the gun, it had a total of three hundred and thirty rounds.

With his marksmanship, there's virtually no chance of him missing the target, so he could wipe out an entire platoon if the enemy came.

At the time, Chen Fan emphasized that all they needed were two guns loaded with bullets, nothing else.

Director Wu immediately said, "We've already taken them, why bother returning them? Besides, the crew will be moving to Yunhu to film in a while, and these guns will be used as props. We can just return them to the crew then."

After saying that, he thought that it was dark and he wouldn't know where to shoot, so he asked the warehouse keeper of the equipment to run back and get a gun for firing flares, a box of flares, and a small bag of grenades.

Carrying these items, enough to fight a skirmish, Chen Fan actually had an urge to run into highway robbers.

Unfortunately, just as chaos was breaking out in the city, the countryside was filled with the sound of firecrackers being set off because of the departure of the educated youth. From the provincial capital to Yunhu, apart from a few county towns and a few villages, the rest of the route was all rural.

Plus, it was late at night, and he was driving incredibly fast. Even if there were some thugs lying in wait by the roadside looking to commit a crime, they wouldn't dare to make a move.

So it looks the same when it leaves and when the car returns to the courtyard of the Chen family's ancestral home.

Chen Fan regretfully opened the car door and got out, carrying two bags of props as he went inside.

He remembered that He Qingsheng had told him to call and let people know he was safe no matter how late it was, so he made a call first.

Unexpectedly, He Qingsheng actually stood by the phone, and the call was answered as soon as it connected.

However, the older man couldn't stay up all night. He was already half asleep when he learned that Chen Fan had arrived home safely. He immediately hung up the phone and went to sleep.

Chen Fan didn't bother with anything else. He first put away the props, gave them a quick rinse, and then moved out the bedding to make the bed and go to sleep.

Despite going to bed late at night, he still got up at six o'clock sharp the next morning, just like always.

In April, Yunhu was still a bit chilly in the morning. After washing up, Chen Fan put on a coat, thought for a moment, then put on a hat and covered his face with a mask. Without driving, he walked out.

It was a little past six o'clock, just as the sun was rising. Bathed in the warm morning sun, the roadsides were lined with early risers.

Unlike the hurried footsteps of modern-day migrant workers rushing to work, everyone, young and old, strolled around leisurely.

The difference is that the elderly usually carry shopping baskets; they come out to buy groceries, and some will also take some breakfast back with them.

Some people, however, swing their arms and head straight for the breakfast shops where steam is billowing out.

Although many people in Beijing and Shanghai have registered as self-employed individuals, and even in the provincial capital, many people are setting up stalls, at this point in time, the spring breeze of reform and opening up has not yet reached Yunhu.

At that time, Yunhu didn't have a single officially registered individual business, but there was no shortage of scattered street vendors.

For example, at the cargo dock where Chen Fan docked his ship, there were actually several regular vendors. They weren't registered; they just had letters of introduction from the village and sold steamed buns, roasted sweet potatoes, and the like at the dock.

Moreover, they didn't just appear after the reform and opening up; even on windy days, as long as there isn't a sudden downpour, they will set up their stalls here.

The dock managers not only do not drive them away, but also take good care of them.

The reason is simple. Just like the blacksmiths who specialized in making horseshoes mentioned earlier, the dockworkers did have this need. And because there was too much dust on the docks, the food companies were only willing to open the nearest restaurants on the inner slope of the dike. For some workers, it was a long way to go to buy food, so these small vendors made it convenient for them.

Making things convenient for others is making things convenient for yourself, and this has been embodied in this small dock.

However, those who run these small businesses are mostly from rural areas, and only in a few special places, such as docks, farmers' markets, and worker dormitories with large populations.

It will take some time before street vendors are truly allowed to set up stalls on the main streets.

As Chen Fan walked down the street, looking at the shops that were almost exactly the same as they were two years ago, he suddenly understood why the higher-ups had singled out Yang Kangnian and entrusted him with an important task, appointing him as the commissioner of the Yunhu Special District.

As the saying goes, when all hope is lost, change is the only solution.

But what if they weren't poor? Would ordinary people still actively seek change?
Yunhu is a place that is not poor, but without pressure from above, social changes would probably take several years to materialize.

In fact, the changes in Yunhu are relatively late compared to other parts of the country.

The first individual business owner appeared in 81, and it wasn't until 83 that leaders visited individual businesses. As for the first foreign-invested enterprise, that didn't happen until after 85.

The exact origin of the first private enterprise is unknown, but it certainly wasn't too early.

While the southern regions are booming and even inland areas like Inner Mongolia are trying to increase their utilization of foreign investment, Yunhu City, a traditional land of fish and rice and a strong industrial and commercial city, has been left behind by more and more of its neighboring cities.

Almost simultaneously, the public sector economy of Jiangnan Province, which originally had some heritage, was gradually eliminated in the wave of market competition, leaving only a few state-controlled companies to maintain appearances.

It wasn't until the mid-1990s that Jiangnan Province finally woke up from its dream and started thinking about developing its economy and catching up.

But what's the point of chasing after them now?

While you're chasing, others are running even faster, and eventually, unsurprisingly, you'll fade into obscurity.

Chen Fan strolled around the streets, thinking to himself that there was no Yunhu Automobile Factory in the world before he transmigrated. Although he didn't know if Yang Kangnian was the leader of Yunhu Machinery Factory, he certainly didn't become the mayor of Yunhu.

This time, things changed. Yang Kangnian, the pioneer of reform, was no longer at the factory. He was going to lead the Yunhu area in reform and would also inject some resources into Yunhu.

I wonder what Yunhu will look like in the future?
As he was thinking, he casually walked into a breakfast shop, bought a ticket, waited for his number to be called, and when it was his turn, he quickly went to the food counter to hand in his ticket and collect his food. Because he acted quickly, he successfully avoided a scolding.

I found an empty seat with my breakfast in my hand, pushed my mask up a bit, grabbed a pair of chopsticks, and prepared to start eating.

At that moment, a middle-aged man across from him stared intently at him, "You don't even take off your mask while eating?"

Chen Fan cleared his throat and said in a slightly hoarse voice, "Ah, to save trouble."

The man frowned slightly. "You have a cold?"

Chen Fan: "Mm."

The next second, the three people at the table immediately picked up their bowls and left, leaving the table empty.

Chen Fan raised his eyebrows, adjusted his hat, and happily ate his meal.

After eating a bowl of beef rice noodles and a fried dough stick, I took a walk home to digest my food.

Looking at the time, it was already past 7 o'clock. Chen Fan thought to himself, "They should be up by now, right?"
I went into the study, sat down at the table, picked up the phone, and dialed a number.

Out of respect for Chen Fan, a program-controlled exchange was also installed in the Yunhu area, so the call was connected very quickly.

A groggy voice rang out, "Hello, who is it?"

Chen Fan was taken aback. "Still not up at this hour?"

Ye Yufeng, who was far away in Shenzhen, instantly woke up and asked with wide eyes, "Young Master?"

Chen Fan: "Uh, it's me. But you don't need to call me that, just call me Chen Fan."

Ye Yufeng took a deep breath. "Uh, then I'll just call you consultant, since you're already holding the title of consultant at the company anyway."

He threw back the covers, propped himself up on the bed, scratched his messy hair, and turned to look at the alarm clock on the bedside table. "Young Master, it's only 7 o'clock and you're calling? Is something urgent?"

Chen Fan blinked, giving up on correcting her form of address, and said, "I thought you were already up."

Ye Yufeng wiped his face, yawned, and said, "No, I've been very busy with work. I'm usually busy until midnight every night, so I usually don't get up until eight in the morning. I start work at eight-thirty, so it doesn't take up much time."

After saying a few words, she finally came to her full senses and asked again, "Young Master, what's the matter that you're calling so early?"

Chen Fan: "Oh, I see. My hometown is Yunhu, and an elder of mine is about to become the Yunhu Administrative Commissioner, which is equivalent to a county executive in the US. He came to see me yesterday and we talked about it..."

After briefly explaining the background, Chen Fan said, "My idea is to take advantage of Yunhu's location to build a film and television city that integrates film shooting, post-production, hotels, restaurants, and so on."

Hearing this, Ye Yufeng couldn't help but let out a wail, "But Young Master, we already have so many projects here, we simply can't keep up!"

Chen Fan chuckled and said, "I understand. What I mean is, you can come and take a look first. If you think this project is good, you can sign an investment agreement with the region, invest in the project, transfer some money, and arrange for someone to come and be stationed here, mainly for a supervisory role. I can handle the rest."

Ye Yufeng's eyes darted around twice, and he quickly grasped the key point. "So, Young Master, all I need to do is go over and sign a document, then transfer some money, and the rest is none of my business, right?"

As for someone saying something like "if you think this project is good," she couldn't be bothered to listen to that. Whether a project is good or not is ultimately up to your boss!
What decisions could she, a servant born into the Zhou family and the eldest daughter of the Zhou family, possibly make?
If she could make the decision, her opinion would be to hire a management team, visit occasionally, and then fly back to the United States to reunite with her family. She would rather not be a general manager or CEO here.

Chen Fan clicked his tongue, feeling that her words were a bit strange, like she was trying to get money from him.

But after thinking about it, it made sense, so he nodded and said, "Pretty much. But we still need to send a supervisor. Without a single foreign representative, some people might try to sabotage us, and it wouldn't look good if something bad happened."

Ye Yufeng immediately replied, "Understood. In that case, I'll go to Guangzhou today, take a direct flight to the provincial capital of Jiangnan, and arrive at Yunhu by tomorrow at the latest."

Chen Fan blinked repeatedly as he listened, wondering if the efficiency was really that high.

He paused for a moment, then added, "No need to rush, arriving in the next couple of days is fine. By the way, have Jianguo arrange for two people to accompany you. The journey might not be very safe, so please don't be careless."

Ye Yufeng chuckled and said, "Young Master, don't worry. I've already made all the arrangements. Even if you hadn't called me today, I was still going to Yunhu anyway. I bought my plane ticket in advance. When I arrived at the airport in Jiangnan Province, Jianguo arranged for someone to pick me up. He sent a team of people to protect me, so I guarantee there won't be any problems."

Chen Fan was stunned. "What are you doing at Yunhu?"

Ye Yufeng smiled and said, "I was afraid you wouldn't have time to go back, so the master specifically instructed me to go to Yunhu to sweep Miss's grave during Qingming Festival."

(End of this chapter)