Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 892 I'll do it as soon as possible

Today, in Lujiawan, every household has a two-story house and an average bicycle bought from the prefectural committee's secondhand store. Each team has a television set donated by Zhou Zhengdong. Later, the village built a cultural center, acquired a batch of books, moved the television set inside, and set up several mahjong and chess tables, along with gongs, drums, erhu, suona, and other instruments. When not busy, the noise can be so loud that it gives people a headache all day long. The villagers' daily cultural life is very rich.

Even so, it was featured in the Yunhu Daily. That day's newspaper was framed in glass by Secretary Yang and hung together with the news report written by Teacher Chen back then, displayed in the "Lujiawan Hall of Honor".

However, due to the limited availability of industrial coupons, households were still lacking in household appliances. Apart from electric lights and flashlights, very few families even owned radios, and they could only listen to the village loudspeaker.

So when Chen Fan saw the four brigade leaders returning on motorcycles, he was quite surprised. "Wow, where did you buy them?"

Back then, when Zhang Wenliang wanted a motorcycle for his wedding, Chen Fan asked Li, the deputy director of the machinery factory at the time, to help him get a ticket for a Black Crow motorcycle. At that time, the Black Crow was actually the first motorcycle in Nanhu Commune.

Let alone private post offices, they all rely on old-fashioned bicycles for transportation. If they want to be like some post offices, equipped with the legendary "happy motorcycles" for mail delivery, let's see if Commissioner Yang can wait until he gets promoted.

Nanhu Commune was a fairly large commune with decent strength, yet it didn't even have a single motorcycle, only two secondhand jeeps that broke down every few days, which shows how difficult it was to buy a motorcycle these days.

Now, four vehicles appeared in front of Chen Fan at once, which couldn't help but surprise him.

These four cars weren't Black Crows, nor were they the more upscale Happiness models; instead, they were bright red, resembling a large rooster with bright red feathers, which looked very festive. I just don't know what brand they were.

(Jialing CJ50 Red Rooster)
As the four leaders parked their car, Chen Fan peered around curiously, wondering, "Why isn't there even a sign?"

"Why would you need to put a label on a prototype that was bought internally by Yunhu Machinery Factory?"

Xiao Liewen parked the car first, then turned to look at Chen Fan, "Why did you run back at this hour, and follow us around like a madman? What happened?"

"Wait a minute."

Chen Fan gestured, "Never mind what's going on right now, let's talk about this vehicle. Yunhu Machinery Factory is actually making motorcycles? What's going on?"

The most crucial question is, how come he didn't know?
Judging from his expression, the leaders knew what he was thinking, but before they could speak, Zhang Wenhao said, "The dishes are all on the table, let's sit down and talk."

Of all things, eating is the most important, so Chen Fan didn't dwell on it and turned to walk inside.

The brigade headquarters remained the same: the front yard housed offices and meeting rooms, the middle yard contained the kitchen and dining hall, and the back yard housed the broadcasting station, finance office, and small warehouse.

The group entered the Intermediate People's Court's dining hall. Secretary Yang took the seat of honor without hesitation, while the other three leaders sat down on either side without saying much.

Zhang Wenhao had never eaten alone with Chen Fan before. Seeing this scene, he blinked, unsure of where to sit.

Normally, shouldn't Professor Chen be seated at the head of the table? He's Vice Chairman Chen now, and a university professor. How could he not be better than those few brigade cadres who aren't even considered state officials?
But these leaders, without saying a word, took their seats in the top positions. Fine, let's just say it's out of respect for the elderly and care for the young. So where does he, the head of the security department, sit?
Before he could figure it out, Chen Fan pulled out the chair at the very bottom and plopped down in it. Just as he was about to speak, he turned to look at Zhang Wenhao, who was still standing next to him, and asked curiously, "Brother Sihu, why aren't you sitting down?"

Secretary Yang glanced at Zhang Wenhao, recalling the countless times he had hosted visiting groups from other places, and guessed what he was thinking. He immediately smiled and said, "You can sit in your usual spot, next to Old Ye."

He pointed at Chen Fan and laughed, "No matter what official position he holds outside, when he returns to Lujiawan, he's just a brigade veterinarian, and his seat is even behind Old Xiao's."

Old Xiao is not Xiao Liewen, but Xiao Weiguo, the principal of Lujiawan Primary School. Although he was appointed by the village itself, and in the national public service system, even a random public school teacher from Nanhu Primary School in the town was better than him, in Lujiawan, he was considered a "director" and qualified to sit at the table for a meal.

On the other hand, a veterinarian like Chen Fan wouldn't be qualified to sit at the same table with the leaders if he didn't benefit from being called "Teacher Chen." He would only be able to sit at the same table with comrades of the same rank as village school teachers, agricultural technicians, communications officers, health workers, and accountants.

Although the brigade is small, it still has its own ecosystem.

However, Secretary Yang's words seemed to have a joking tone to them.

Teacher Chen certainly wouldn't sit at another table, but if he were to sit above Xiao Liewen, wouldn't that be going against the natural order?
So whether it was Teacher Chen before he became famous, or later Section Chief Chen and Vice Chairman Chen, every time there was a meal at the brigade headquarters, Chen Fan would consciously sit at the lowest seat, and would even laugh and say that he was just a veterinarian and it was good enough that he could sit at the table.

The leaders simply laughed it off, thus avoiding putting anyone in a difficult position.

At this moment, Zhang Wenhao also noticed, so he pulled out a chair and sat down, saying with a smile, "Okay, I'll also try what it's like to sit at the head of Teacher Chen's table."

Ye Shubao looked at him from the side, "Does it smell good?"

Zhang Wenhao nodded vigorously, "It smells good."

Everyone laughed again.

Chen Fan took out a cigarette and spread it around. By the time Huang Li and her entourage finished serving the dishes, the room was already filled with smoke.

Fortunately, the doors and windows were open, and a breeze would occasionally blow in, carrying away the smoke.

Zhang Wenhao quickly found his place, taking charge of pouring wine and tea, doing the work without saying a word.

If Zhang Wenliang were here, he would definitely chat with them. Zhang Wenhao's relationship with them is still a bit shallow, so he's not as open with them.

Secretary Yang took a drag of his cigarette, a sip of his drink, and a bite of food before looking up at Chen Fan and saying, “Secretary Xue said that Yunhu Machinery Factory is such a big factory. Even if part of it is split off to form an automobile factory and another part to form a home appliance company, after the additions, it will still be a large factory with five or six thousand people and a dozen or so level-eight workers. What kind of product can’t it make?”

But look at the factory's flagship products now: incubators, electric retractable gates, industrial sewing machines, and even small telescopic batons—all were developed by you.

Is such a large machinery factory just supposed to wait to be fed by Consultant Chen and have no ideas of its own?

He pointed to the direction of the courtyard outside and chuckled, "Perfect timing. He heard that Jialing bought three motorcycles from Xiaobenzi, and after disassembling and mapping them, he successfully replicated them and produced a batch of motorcycles. Each one can sell for 1150 yuan, which is more expensive than the Black Crow brand."

Secretary Xue was immediately intrigued. If Jialing could be dismantled, why couldn't Yunhu Machinery Factory? He borrowed money from a home appliance company with ample foreign exchange reserves, bought three small motorcycles, and hired several experienced mechanics from an engine factory affiliated with an automobile factory. They quickly replicated the motorcycle engine, and the final product was almost identical to Jialing's.

Finally, he spread his hands and grinned, "That's how it is. Yunhu Machinery Factory has now set up a motorcycle production line, producing more than a dozen motorcycles a day. They are bought before they even roll off the production line, also for 1150 yuan each. Now Secretary Xue is really strutting around, and he even said he wants to set up another motorcycle factory."

These cars were sold to us voluntarily because of your reputation, and we only received 800 yuan as cost price.

We didn't buy many; just five in total, for work convenience. It's the busy farming season right now, and we need to go to various work teams to inspect their work, so riding them is really convenient.

After listening, Chen Fan couldn't help but grin and say, "I didn't expect Secretary Xue to have such high aspirations."

Has he learned to answer questions quickly?

Xiao Liewen immediately chimed in, “Secretary Xue has been engaged in revolutionary work for so many years, how could he not be ambitious?”

Chen Fan chuckled and nodded, "Very good, very good."

If I didn't already have my own Jeep, I would definitely ask him to let me get a motorcycle to ride.

After chatting for a while, Secretary Yang got back to the main point, "Why did you rush us back here?"

Chen Fan was eating when he felt it necessary to give Huang Li some extra special treatment. Her cooking skills were improving more and more slowly, not keeping up with her increasingly discerning palate.

Hearing Secretary Yang's words, he swallowed slowly, wiped his mouth with a handkerchief, and then said, "I have some good news for you."

He then explained the Yunhu Film and Television City plan, concluding, "This project is expected to be carried out in multiple phases. The first phase will involve an investment of around 1000 million yuan, mainly for the demolition and restoration of Zengjiabu Old Street. In addition, we will expand the wharf and build a Ming and Qing dynasty village. Specific details will be adjusted as needed."

He looked around at everyone and laughed, "The foreign investors' 49% stake will remain unchanged because, in addition to funding, they will also be responsible for the operation of the film studio in the later stages, and there are no experts in this field in China. What we can move is our 51% stake."

I've spoken with Uncle Yang; Lujiawan isn't asking for much, just two percent of the share. I've calculated it: two percent of ten million is only two hundred thousand, which Lujiawan can easily come up with. Even if they need to invest more later, the pressure won't be too great.

He turned to look at everyone and said, "Is that all? Any problems?"

The men exchanged glances. A few seconds later, Secretary Yang tossed away his cigarette butt, pulled out his pipe from his waist, and, while refilling it with tobacco, looked at Chen Fan and smiled, "First of all, spending the money is no problem. Whether it's two hundred thousand or three hundred thousand, Lujiawan will take the two percent stake." He paused, clicked his tongue, and said with a troubled expression, "But I just don't understand why you wanted to involve Lujiawan?"

Needless to say, the Zhou family and Chen Fan are in cahoots, and this project was initiated by Chen Fan, so the 49% stake can be entirely attributed to him.

As for that two percent, the number is hard not to make one's imagination run wild: forty-nine plus two equals fifty-one.

This means Chen Fan wants to control the company.

It doesn't matter. Spending hundreds of thousands to reserve a spot for Teacher Chen won't cause any problems in the brigade headquarters.

However, in Secretary Yang's view, a project in Yunhu City could be handled by machinery factories, cotton mills, home appliance companies, and automobile factories. They are nearby and convenient. Moreover, the leaders of these large factories are all high-ranking, so wouldn't it be more convenient to secure positions through them?

Regardless of whether they would agree or not, once Chen Fan speaks up, there's no possibility that they would disagree.

If someone is truly out of their mind, there are plenty of people lining up behind them, wanting to get on Chen Fan's good side.

In short, from any perspective, Lujiawan is not Chen Fan's best choice.

Chen Fan was eating when he heard what he said. He swallowed his food immediately, then smiled and said, "Yes, I can give this share to the machinery factory, the automobile factory, or the cotton mill. But such a good opportunity is definitely not as good as giving it to Lujiawan."

Secretary Yang was stunned upon hearing this, and the other leaders exchanged bewildered glances.

Is there some incredible benefit involved?

Before they could even ask any questions, Chen Fan said, "I have a lot of confidence in this project. Even if this project fails, and only one Jiangying Studio comes here to film and shoot, a film crew will have anywhere from a few dozen to two or three hundred people, and some large scenes may even require thousands of people."

He looked at Secretary Yang and the others, and chuckled softly, "These people are definitely staying in the guesthouses that are part of the film studio, but what about their meals?"

No heavy hammer is needed to play the drum.

The word "eat" was enough for Secretary Yang and the others to understand Chen Fan's meaning.

They had never imagined that a rural production team like Lujiawan could have anything to do with something as high-level as making movies.
Now they understand that no matter how advanced something is, as long as you are a human being, you still have the needs for food, clothing, shelter, and transportation.

As long as it's related to food and clothing, Lujiawan can provide products and profit from them!
Ye Shubao put down his wine glass, wiped the wine that had splashed on his hands, turned his head and laughed, "This is a great deal. Even if there are only a few hundred people living there, let alone thousands, filming a movie takes several months. As long as there are two or three movies a year, opening a restaurant there is like having a fixed customer base. The business will be absolutely stable."

Secretary Yang immediately nodded, "According to Xiao Fan, after the movie is released, there will definitely be a lot of people going to watch the excitement. There will be far more people than the movie production staff. It might even be as much as the production costs of a large company."

Captain Zhang chimed in, "Moreover, cooking vegetables well can earn you much more than selling them; the profits might even rival those of a cotton mill."

Xiao Liewen smiled at Chen Fan and said, "Now I understand why we had Lujiawan come forward. They hold shares, even if it's only two percent, they're still shareholders. We don't need anything else, but the food that the other shareholders can't provide should be ours, right?"

Although Zhang Wenhao didn't say anything, his eyes were full of excitement. He looked left and right, wishing the film studio could open tomorrow.

After making money, the people of Lujiawan, from top to bottom, are now filled with economic thinking and hope that the production team can find more ways to make money.

Look, here it is.

So, it still has to be Teacher Chen!

"That's not all."

Chen Fan ate a few bites of food, looked at everyone and smiled, "Eating is only one aspect. Some big-budget movies have very high requirements for costumes and props. We can't make props now, but we can make costumes. We can have the costume factory connect with the production team, and we'll produce whatever costumes they need."

Under the excited gazes of Secretary Yang and the others, Chen Fan said unhurriedly, "Just because we can't make props now doesn't mean we can't in the future. Just because we can't make all props doesn't mean we can't make some. Our village has many skilled craftspeople. If we gather them together for training, we can transform the original small-scale handmade production method into a modern industrial production method like an assembly line. Then, we can produce things like bamboo weaving, raincoats, and straw hats—props commonly seen in movies."

Besides providing costumes and props, could our commune members also go to the film studio to shoot movies during the off-season?

Upon hearing this, Zhang Wenhao couldn't hold back any longer. His eyes lit up as he stared straight at Chen Fan. "Our commune members can make movies too?"

Secretary Yang and the others stared intently at Chen Fan, their hearts pounding in their throats, waiting for his answer.

Movies? What kind of high-class stuff are those? How could farmers like us make them?

Chen Fan immediately laughed and said, "Sure, of course."

He paused for a moment, then continued, "Although I can't play the lead role, I can play supporting roles or extras. You know, the people around the main character in the movie. You see them standing on the sidelines shouting slogans or just watching the fun. Playing these kinds of roles shouldn't be difficult, right?"

"It's not difficult, not difficult at all."

Secretary Yang was smoking his pipe, his eyes crinkling with laughter. Before anything was even started, he was already fantasizing about what his movie would be like.
Seeing the leaders who were completely overjoyed, Chen Fan smiled slightly, picked up his wine glass, and took a sip.

After he finished eating two bowls of rice, Secretary Yang and the others finally snapped out of their euphoria.

Then Secretary Yang coughed and said to Chen Fan, "The investment is easy to arrange. I'll have the accountant get the money for you later. If you need anyone to come over..."

His gaze swept over the faces of Captain Zhang, Xiao Liewen, and Ye Shubao, finally settling on Captain Zhang's face. "Then let Lao Zhang take the team's official seal and accompany you on this trip."

He then looked at Zhang Wenhao and said, "You take charge of security with your men."

Without hesitation, Captain Zhang nodded immediately, "I'm fine with anything."

Zhang Wenhao quickly replied, "Understood. I guarantee a safe journey there and a safe return."

Chen Fan smiled and nodded, "You don't need to give me the money now. Uncle Zhang, you can just take it with you when you sign the contract."

After a two-second pause, Secretary Yang coughed twice and looked at Chen Fan with a smile, "Well, is there anything else you want?"

Chen Fan thought for a moment, "There doesn't seem to be anything else."

As soon as he finished speaking, he looked up and said, "Oh, right. I think this courtyard is well-preserved and quite original. If needed, we might come here to film scenes. Please tell them later that this courtyard, and the entire area of ​​houses that originally belonged to the Lu family in the Fifth Team, should not be modified arbitrarily."

If the house is old and dilapidated, it's best to find another place to build a new one, without altering the original layout.

He had previously thought that the Lu family's old mansion complex was quite unique, and that it wouldn't need much renovation to film a period drama. Now that he thought about it, he just mentioned it casually.

But Secretary Yang and the others were stunned, looking at him in surprise, "You can even film movies here?"

Chen Fan laughed and said, "I was just saying it's possible. If the setting of the play is suitable, this place is quite good."

Xiao Liewen suddenly slammed his hand on the table, looked at Chen Fan with a serious expression, and said, "I only have one question."

Chen Fan blinked. "Huh?"

Xiao Liewen: "When can we start filming? Can we film tomorrow?"

Chen Fan: "...Uh, I'll do it as soon as possible."

(End of this chapter)