Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 897 Weird
Even after the graduation defense session ended, the professors on the evaluation panel were still eager for more.

Unfortunately, Professor Chen had classes in the afternoon, so I could only take advantage of lunch to discuss academic issues with him.

In the afternoon, the professors were still not satisfied, so they went to the auditorium and audited two classes with the students, filling up their time before dinner. Only then did they have to leave in a hurry due to their tight schedule.

Chen Fan stood with Professor Xu, Professor Xi, and Professor Liu to see them off, a scene witnessed and remembered by many observant people.

At this moment, many people understood that Jiangnan University's Chinese Department had found its next generation of leaders.

As for feelings, they naturally vary, some bittersweet.

There were plenty of people who envied them, but not many who were jealous.

Academic work relies on brains. People rise to the top based on their own abilities. If you're capable, you're capable; if you're not, you're not. If you're so capable, then you go and take the position.

Perhaps someone would be happy to give you their seat.

Everyone knows that if Professor Xu kicks someone, that person will jump up and down; if he ignores them, they might not hand in their homework for six months.

It seems that everyone is already aware of this person's academic slacker lifestyle.

……

Today was so busy that even Chen Fan was a little overwhelmed.

It wasn't physical exhaustion, but mental exhaustion. He would rather spend half a month in the jungle hunting monkeys than attend an academic conference with so many professors.

After seeing the professors off, he politely declined the invitation from several school leaders to hold a celebration party for him.

This is ridiculous! I'm a graduate student, why would I need to have a celebration party?

Moreover, I'm not familiar with them at all, and I have absolutely no desire to eat with them.

So he drove straight home, and when he got there, his assistant Bian Huifang, who had "jumped ship" with him, had already heated up the food.

Bian Huifang's work has now been transferred from Jiangnan Film Studio to Jiangying Studio, where she is mainly responsible for production work (limited to works by Boss Chen).

Her rank at the Jiangying Film Studio was only a minor deputy section chief, slightly higher than her previous section chief rank.

But this small hurdle is one that many people can't overcome in their entire lives. ...She overcame it!

From now on, she's officially part of the cadre ranks. With Boss Chen as her backer, her future is limitless.

After joining Jiangxi Film Studio, Bian Huifang did not become complacent. In her work, she humbly sought advice from her superior, Kuang Mingyi. With the experience she gained in the Writers Association in the previous two years, she quickly got into work mode. She was in charge of most of the preparation work for "Monk Comes Down the Mountain 2".

In her daily life, Bian Huifang kept in mind her aunt Xu Qizhen's teachings: never think of yourself as an official, but rather as Chen Fan's nanny, and always prioritize Chen Fan's affairs.

As long as you firmly believe in sticking to the right path and never letting go, you will eventually be carried to success.

However, when they were in Yunhu, Chen Fan's life was not her responsibility at all. The machinery factory arranged for someone to take care of the house cleaning, who could do almost everything, including sweeping, cleaning and laundry. The meals were prepared and delivered to him by the head chef of the film studio canteen.

At most, she can only occupy a small space in the office to organize documents and such.

And so, she still had to compete with the foreign manager named Ma Jiajia for work.

This is unbelievable! Is this person really from America, or from the Qing Dynasty?

In public, he's all right, putting on airs and actually acting quite respectable. But behind closed doors, he calls his boss "Young Master" and treats him like a prince. Is this the behavior of a big capitalist?

Fortunately, Chen Fan spends two days a week in the provincial capital, which is her opportunity.

While Chen Fan was returning to the provincial capital from Yunhu for classes, she also suspended her work to come over. She would follow him after she finished her work, just to make it easier to take care of her boss's life.

It's also to seize every opportunity to increase favorability.

It's a pity that Bian Huifang's cooking skills are really not up to par. She can make ordinary home-style dishes, but she can't make them as delicious as Huang Li's.

Fortunately, the boss was understanding. ...Mainly, Chen Fan didn't like her cooking, so he asked her to buy takeout from a wild game restaurant, once for lunch and once for dinner, which only needed to be heated up slightly after purchase.

Seeing Chen Fan return, Bian Huifang immediately brought out the heated food from the kitchen, and while setting the table, she said, "Chairman He came by earlier, it seems he wanted to see you. Would you like to see him?"

Well, if He Qingsheng heard this, he would definitely lament how fickle people are and how once someone leaves, they're forgotten. Is the old leader no longer a leader? Should he still see him?

In the past, it was always "Chairman He has summoned you, Director, hurry up and go," okay?

Hearing her words, Chen Fan was taken aback, took the bowl and chopsticks handed to him, and asked, "Did you say something?"

Bian Huifang shook her head. "I asked, but he didn't say."

Chen Fan thought for a moment, "Go next door and tell them I'm back, and invite them for drinks."

"it is good."

Bian Huifang nodded, deftly retrieved a bottle of wine from the study, washed two glasses, and took a set of chopsticks and a bowl before turning to leave.

A moment later, He Qingsheng strode in carrying his large bowl. Before even entering the house, he grinned and laughed, "I could smell the aroma of your meat a long time ago, so I deliberately ate slowly. Sure enough, someone invited me to drink."

Chen Fan looked at him speechlessly. "It can't be that bad. I just gave you over two thousand yuan in royalties yesterday, and you can't even afford to buy yourself a meal of meat?"

His family had set up a publishing house, and based on the principle of "getting the wool from where you can," he had previously approached He Qingsheng and Tan Yong to commission manuscripts.

Yesterday, He Qingsheng finally submitted his manuscript, and Chen Fan paid him the royalties on the spot. Moreover, the royalties were based on the number of copies published, which included the print run fee.

As for whether he could sell 200,000 copies, Chen Fan didn't care at all. It was just a little over 2,000 yuan in royalties. He could make a little over 10 cents per book. Selling 30,000 copies would break even and he would still make a profit. What was there to be afraid of?
With the reputation of veteran writer He Qingsheng, surely he can't even sell 30,000 copies?

Such a great writer with such a high income, yet so stingy when it comes to meat, which Chen finds utterly distasteful.

He Qingsheng sat down opposite him without any ceremony, put down the large bowl, picked up the wine glass and took a sip, "Hmm, authentic Zhuyeqing, good wine."

She then rolled her eyes at him, "You think you can buy meat without coupons? You think everyone's like you, carrying foreign exchange certificates and buying whatever they want?"

He picked up a large piece of braised venison, clicking his tongue in delight, "Still game! So luxurious!"

She then looked up at him and said with a smile, "Let me tell you, right now my family's meat supply is focused on my two grandsons. They're at the age where they're growing, so we can't be careless. As for me, I'll just wait for you to come back every Monday so I can have a little treat here."

Chen Fan clicked his tongue, picked up his wine glass, and said, "So you've come here to rob me of my riches?"

"That's not."

He Qingsheng ate the venison, shaking his head and swallowing it. He grinned and said, "You've taken so much cigarettes and alcohol from me, what's wrong with me eating a few pieces of your meat?"

Chen Fan curled his lip. "The cigarettes and alcohol belong to the government; I was just taking advantage of the government. You're taking advantage of me, so how can you call it the same?"

He Qingsheng picked up another piece of meat, "Same, all the same."

Seeing the two leaders' expressions, Bian Huifang, who was standing nearby, felt a sense of foreboding. She hurriedly pointed outside and said, "Well, you guys eat first, I'll clean up later."

Chen Fan turned to look at her, "Have you eaten?"

Bian Huifang nodded quickly, "I ate, I ate as soon as I got back."

Chen Fan waved his hand, "Then go back and rest, you can come back to clean up tomorrow."

Bian Huifang nodded, "Okay. I'll head back now."

She ran out as if afraid of being silenced. Once she was gone, He Qingsheng's expression turned serious, and he looked at her, asking, "Hey, when did you get in touch with the tourism bureau?"

Chen Fan was stunned and looked at him in confusion. "Tourism Bureau? What Tourism Bureau?"

"Pretend, still pretend."

He Qingsheng curled his lip, looking at him with disdain, "The organization has come to me, wanting to transfer you to the Provincial Tourism Bureau as deputy director, how could you not know?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Fan's eyes widened in disbelief. "Really? Don't try to fool me."

At this moment, he suddenly thought of the general manager position that Yunhu Tourism Company had not yet been filled. Could it be that Yang Kangnian wanted to transfer him there?
But that's not right.

He Qingsheng was referring to the deputy director of the provincial bureau, but over there... oh, could it be that he's just holding the title of deputy director and going to Yunhu to take on a major role?

Chen Fan frowned, thinking that such a possibility was not out of the question.

After all, his current workplace is a highly sought-after public institution, second only to major factories—the Writers' Association. It offers good benefits, high status, and is respected by the public. Even if Yunhu Tourism Company is a deputy provincial-level unit, transferring him there would be considered "unjust." He would at least need to be given the title of deputy director of a provincial bureau to justify the situation.

As for a promotion, that's impossible. Like I said, he's too inexperienced and too young. Now is the time for veterans to make a comeback, and we won't make an exception for him.

It would be quite good if I could be transferred there and become a deputy director with real power.

Seeing Chen Fan deep in thought, He Qingsheng's eyes widened. He stopped eating his meat, leaned forward, and asked, "You really don't know?"

Chen Fan snapped out of his daze and spread his hands. "I'll listen to what you said. No one has ever told me about this before."

He Qingsheng frowned, "This is really strange."

Chen Fan tapped the table and asked, "Tell me in detail what exactly happened?"

He Qingsheng said seriously, "Actually, in early last month, the Organization Department contacted me to inquire about your situation. I thought you had entered the organization's scope of consideration, and I praised you a lot, saying that you..."

Chen Fan raised his right hand. "Thank you, but you don't need to say anything more about praising me. And please don't praise me again if anyone asks in the future."

He Qingsheng's long speech was immediately choked back. After a long pause, he finally picked up his train of thought, "Fine, if you don't want to praise me, then don't."

He picked up his glass, took a sip, and continued, "After the first visit, more than a week later, he came to the office again. This time, he came to understand the implementation and follow-up effects of the things you did, and also asked a few people for their opinions of you."

After a pause, He Qingsheng shrugged. "I won't go into the specifics, it's all praise anyway."

Chen Fan was gnawing on a roe deer leg when he looked up at him. "Am I that popular?"

He thought that intellectuals were jealous of each other, and that someone would secretly speak ill of him.

He Qingsheng snorted twice, "You haven't been to the writers' associations in other provinces. Apart from Beijing and Shanghai, which organization has a better life than us? And I don't think Beijing and Shanghai can compare to us."

Do you really think everyone has no sense of right and wrong? If people talk badly about you, who could stay at work?

Chen Fan chuckled dryly twice. "And then?"

He Qingsheng snatched a piece of roe deer leg from the bowl of vegetables, saying, "Leave some for me."

Chen Fan's lips twitched slightly. He had just said that everyone had their own standards, and this was how he repaid him?

He Qingsheng took a delicious bite before continuing, "After the second investigation, they didn't say anything. Until this morning, as soon as I arrived at work, a high-ranking leader from the Organization Department came to my office and asked me if I would have any objections if I were transferred to another unit?"

He glanced up at Chen Fan and snorted, "What's wrong with me? You don't do anything else at work besides getting paid. The worst part is..."

At this point, he suddenly sighed deeply, "You haven't received your salary in a long time. Although I know you don't care about this little bit of money, don't you think you're taking money for granted?"

Chen Fan blinked. "Wasn't my salary used to offset the cost of this house?"

He Qingsheng said irritably, "Your house cost a thousand yuan, but the furniture inside cost more than two thousand yuan, so it's a total of three thousand yuan. After more than a year, it's all gone."

You still have a few hundred yuan in wages left to collect. While you're still here tomorrow, have Xiao Bian take your seal and collect all your wages. Don't wait until you're about to leave and haven't finished collecting your paycheck.

Chen Fan nodded without thinking, "Yes, yes, I'll have Xiao Bian collect my salary for me tomorrow."

Then he pointed at him and said, "Let's get down to business. How did we end up bringing up the tourism bureau again?"

He Qingsheng said, "The leader said he wanted to transfer you, and I said I had no objection. But of course I had to ask, which unit are you going to be transferred to?"

Then he said he might transfer you to the Tourism Bureau, where they were short of a deputy director. He didn't say what the specific job would be, but the leader made it clear that the transfer was to take charge of the reform work. Although you were only a deputy director, you had the right to make all the decisions within your authority, and even the director and the first secretary could not interfere at will.

Of course, the necessary reports still need to be submitted, and discipline still needs to be emphasized.

He put down his chopsticks and frowned as he looked at Chen Fan. "I thought you had arranged things in advance, and the Organization Department would come to go through the procedures. But even you didn't know, which is not right."

"The systems are completely different, so why would they think of transferring you from an arts and culture unit to a tourism unit?"

With the booming development of cultural tourism in later generations, many people think that culture and tourism are one and the same. In fact, the two have only been combined for a few years.

The earliest instance was in 1964 when the "China Travel and Tourism Administration" was established, which was directly managed by Xiyuan and was mainly responsible for receiving foreign tourists.

Yes, back then, the tourism sector was entirely focused on foreign trade; the concept of domestic tourism didn't exist yet. The main responsibility of the tourism administration was to generate foreign exchange.

How to attract more foreign tourists to enter the country and spend more money in the country is the question they need to consider.

When the company was first established, the CEO set a target for them: to increase their foreign exchange earnings several times over in a year and by a certain amount over several years.

It went very well at first, but before it could even take off, a strong gust of wind blew in, and the plan was aborted.

If it weren't for the necessary reception duties, which result in an annual inbound tourist volume of three to four thousand people, tourism revenue would likely be completely wiped out.

In 78, Xiyuan began to pay attention to the development of tourism, and upgraded the "China Travel and Tourism Administration Bureau" to the "General Administration".

Yes, they just added one word to the Administration Bureau, making it the General Administration Bureau.

This signifies a promotion; I'm going to pay more attention to you now!
Then in 1982, this administration was renamed the "National Tourism Administration". It basically stabilized there. After several ministerial reforms, the name of the National Tourism Administration was successfully retained and its powers were continuously expanded.

It wasn't until March 2018 that the tourism bureau merged with the Ministry of Culture and was renamed the "Ministry of Culture and Tourism," which led to the various local cultural and tourism bureaus that started to operate in different ways.

Therefore, local tourism bureaus and tourism companies are now under the management of the "China Travel and Tourism Administration," which has absolutely no connection with the cultural system.

Normally, Chen Fan belongs to the cultural and propaganda system. It wouldn't be a problem to transfer him directly to the Department of Culture, the Propaganda Department, the Federation of Literary and Art Circles, or even the Broadcasting Bureau or Xinhua News Agency. But what about transferring him across systems?

Unless he has established connections beforehand and both systems and higher-ups agree, the process will not begin. Alternatively, the organization may consult him first and reach an agreement before proceeding with the process.

More than two years ago, He Qingsheng transferred him from the health system to the provincial writers' association; this was the same operation.

Now the process is more than halfway through, and the person involved still doesn't know?

No wonder He Qingsheng said it was strange.

This is not normal at all.

……

[My arthritis has flared up these past few days, so my hands are clumsy and updates have been slow. Sorry! I'll definitely catch up once I'm better o(╥﹏╥)o]

(End of this chapter)