Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 899 My Mind is Too Chaotic
Sitting in Professor Xu's office, Chen Fan drank two cups of tea, smoked three cigarettes, and even made a phone call home to inform Bian Huifang that she had something urgent to attend to and wouldn't be coming back. Only then did Chen Fan reluctantly head to the conference room next door.

Don't misunderstand, he wasn't protesting passively, but rather he was seriously considering how to carry out his work in his new position.

Isn't that how it always goes in TV dramas? When the organization talks to cadres, they always ask about their plans for carrying out their work in their new positions. He hadn't prepared at all beforehand, and only had this little bit of time to think about it; it was already very rushed, wasn't it?

Once inside the meeting room, he shook hands with the leaders, exchanged pleasantries, and flattered each other, which took two minutes.

After sitting down, I spread out a circle of cigarettes, lit one, and puffed out smoke, which took another minute.

After smoking a cigarette, the leader perked up and gave him a brief explanation of the whole story, which took a total of five minutes.

The gist of it is that Yang Kangnian proposed this matter. Because it concerns a "major reform project," the provincial leaders discussed it and simultaneously reported it to the Tourism Administration and Xiyuan. Before Xiyuan could respond, the leaders of the Tourism Administration expressed great interest and immediately took the materials to the old political commissar.

What followed was simply them following orders; they did nothing else.

Chen Fan smiled and nodded in understanding.

Reading comprehension was one of his strengths. Although he didn't understand how a film studio could become a "major reform project," he understood what they meant. It was simply that "it has nothing to do with them from beginning to end. If you have any problems, go find those people."

We must find them! We absolutely must find them!

Of course it's not revenge or anything, it's just a job transfer, it's normal... what a load of rubbish.

If you can't afford to mess with the big ones, are you sure you can't mess with the small ones?
So what if I want revenge?
He wouldn't be Teacher Chen if he didn't expose and expose the true nature of certain individuals and bureaus!

Seeing that Chen Fan remained smiling throughout, the leader was quite satisfied. His last words were, "Since it's still early, why don't we send you to the Provincial Tourism Bureau to take up your post now?"

Chen Fan snapped out of his daze, blinked, and realized the entire conversation had ended in less than ten minutes?

Isn’t it a bit too simple?
Why aren't we talking about our work goals and key tasks?
Well, the old political commissar told them to go and make things happen, so what else could they say?
"Fine, if you don't want to talk about it, then don't," Chen Fan hesitated for two seconds, then tentatively said, "How about we eat something before we go over?"

The leader glanced at his watch and said, "Wow, it's almost one o'clock? Let's grab something to eat and then I'll take you to your new post."

At that time, the custom of lavish eating and drinking had not yet formed. After several invitations, the leader firmly refused the suggestion to go to a wild game restaurant. Instead, Teacher Chen treated everyone at the school's teachers' canteen, ordering three dishes and a soup. In less than half an hour, they were full and satisfied.

After that, Chen Fan looked at the grain coupons handed to him by the leader, hesitated for two seconds, and then took them.

When hosting a dinner party, the money for the food is paid, but the food coupons are still required.

Mr. Li and Mr. Zhou even charge food coupons for inviting people to dinner, so we can't act more generous than the big leaders.

Today, the delegation includes the minister, deputy minister, and director from the provincial organization department. Their rank is quite high; even Yang Kangnian didn't receive this level of treatment.

Moreover, the key point is... Chen Fan isn't a member of the organization. Shouldn't someone like him, an outsider, be accompanied by a leader from the United Front Work Department when he takes office?

However, considering that the process of this job adjustment seemed abnormal in every aspect, he stopped worrying about it.

The three leaders rode in a Hongqi sedan, which is not a Yunhu car and does not support local products, so it deserves a bad review.

Under their slightly strange gazes, Chen Fan followed behind in his GAZ truck, and soon arrived near the provincial government compound.

The Provincial Tourism Bureau is not located within the Provincial Government compound, but rather in a four-story red brick building two bus stops away. Its original purpose was unknown until it was allocated to the Provincial Tourism Bureau in 78 as its office.

They stayed here until the new millennium, when Xinghu Lake underwent a major development project, and they moved there. Later, the cultural and tourism departments merged, the provincial bureau moved to the cultural building, and the beautiful Xinghu Tourism Building benefited the municipal tourism company.

However, this time, it probably won't follow that pattern.

The two cars drove up to the gate and parked directly at the bottom of the steps.

As they got out of the car and walked up the steps, several leaders from the bureau jogged out to warmly welcome the leaders from the Organization Department.

Welcome is welcome, but why do my eyes keep glancing at someone?

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Chen Fan also met the bureau's main leaders: Secretary Ming Jianfeng and Director Lan Jiahui.

other people?
Nature is not the main factor.

Moving to the conference room, the leader of the Organization Department personally introduced Chen Fan, "You should all have heard of him. He used to be the vice chairman and vice president of the Provincial Writers Association. His work in the Writers Association has been remarkably successful, and many organizations are extremely envious of him..."

First came a barrage of praise, which made Chen Fan blush slightly.

Then he added, "This time, it was the General Administration leaders who requested personnel from Xiyuan, and the old political commissar personally gave his approval, which led to Comrade Chen Fan's transfer to the Tourism Bureau. The purpose was to promote pilot reforms within the tourism system. *Sounds of 'decadent'*..."

This conversation lasted longer than his actual conversation with Chen Fan.

Chen Fan sat next to Director Lan, watching his leader speak without even breaking a sweat, and thought to himself, "This is the level of a leader's speech! But why was he so speechless when we were talking just now?"
After the meeting, Chen Fan officially became a member of the Tourism Bureau.

After seeing off the leaders from the Organization Department, Secretary Ming gathered the bureau's middle and senior-level cadres to hold a brief but grand welcoming ceremony for Chen Fan.

At least on the surface, Comrade Chen was quite impressive. Everyone applauded enthusiastically to welcome him, especially some comrades who looked at Chen Fan with the same excitement they would show him as if he were a god of wealth, which made the newly appointed Deputy Director Chen a little uneasy.

Are they all hoping to open up some avenues for their companies to make money?

It's one thing for women to have their eyes light up, but what's going on when men do the same?

Finally, Director Lan led Chen Fan to an office and said with a smile, "Deputy Director Chen, this is the office prepared for you. What do you think?"

Then a middle-aged woman in her forties was brought over. "This is Director Shen from the office. You can talk to her if you need anything."

Why Director Lan, and not Secretary Ming?

He's not part of the organization, so why would Secretary Ming talk to him?
Therefore, it must be Director Lan who comes forward.

Chen Fan glanced at the office: a yellow desk, a solid wood chair with a cushion, a globe, a telephone, a calendar, a bottle of ink, two thick notebooks, and three fountain pens in the middle.

There were two chairs in front of the table, a filing cabinet in the corner next to it, and a sofa and coffee table directly opposite. On the coffee table was a round tea tray with six ceramic cups inside.

In the corner was a washbasin stand, with an enamel washbasin and a new towel draped over it, and two red thermos flasks underneath. It was very characteristic of that era.

Chen Fan turned to look at Director Lan and smiled, "Director, I suddenly realized that I will mainly be working in Yunhu from now on, so there's no need to reserve an office here."

Director Lan immediately said, "Let's keep things separate. Although you usually work in Yunhu, you still have to go back to the provincial capital sometimes. According to regulations, you should be provided with an office. This isn't special treatment for you."

Chen Fan said "Oh," nodded, and smiled, "Okay."

Then he glanced at it again and said, "That's fine then, no need to add anything."

Director Shen smiled and said, "If you need anything, you can call me. The internal address book is in the leftmost drawer of your desk. Just open it and you'll see it."

Chen Fan smiled and nodded. "I understand. Thank you."

Director Lan gave Director Shen a wink, and Director Shen took his leave, closing the office door behind him.

Chen Fan knew from this situation that the first working meeting was about to begin.

The two sat down on the sofa. Director Lan offered a cigarette and said seriously, "Deputy Director Chen, regarding your work, we received a notice from the General Administration before, and we also held an internal meeting later."

In short, you will be in charge of Yunhu Tourism Company, and you will have the autonomy to make decisions as long as it is not a clear violation of discipline.

If there's anything that requires support from the provincial bureau, you submit a report, I'll sign it, and the bureau will do its utmost to provide support.

Chen Fan first expressed his gratitude, then said, "So, if I have work to report, should I contact you directly?"

Upon hearing this, Director Lan immediately became interested, leaned forward to look at him, and asked, "So you have a specific work plan?"

He had specifically inquired and found out that, given the person's inconsistent work ethic at the Writers' Association, he might not be willing to take on the position. Therefore, the province had not notified the person of the change in his work until the procedures were completed.

It wasn't until yesterday morning that the leaders of the Organization Department allowed Chairman He of the Writers Association to go home after get off work and give him a heads-up.

So, it's been less than 24 hours since Chen Fan learned he was going to be transferred.

Excluding sleep time, it's only half a day. Could he already have a concrete idea?

Not likely.

Chen Fan smiled and said, "I have some ideas, but I haven't thought them through completely yet, and it also involves other units, so it's hard to say right now."

Director Lan immediately said, "It's alright, you can talk about it first, and we can discuss any incomplete parts together. If we need cooperation from other units, we can also ask the province to coordinate, and we can always find a solution."

Chen Fan clicked his tongue, flicked off his cigarette ash, and laughed, "I'm afraid the province can't coordinate this."

Upon hearing this, Director Lan's eyes widened instantly. "Is it a major project? Does it require the involvement of the General Administration or Xiyuan?"

Chen Fan immediately waved his hand, "The General Administration is fine, Xiyuan is not that bad."

After a pause, seeing that Director Lan was persistently pressing him for answers, he stopped keeping him in suspense and said with a smile, "The higher-ups' expectations for the tourism industry are to first find ways to attract more overseas tourists to come and spend money domestically, thereby increasing our foreign exchange tourism revenue, right?"

Director Lan immediately nodded, "Yes, this is also the biggest problem we are currently facing."

He frowned, took a puff of his cigarette, and sighed, "For various reasons, our tourism industry has not been able to develop, especially when strong winds come, many countries have questioned our tourism environment."

"If it weren't for some friendly countries, we probably wouldn't even be able to maintain the previous annual tourist volume of three or four thousand people."

He paused for a moment, then looked up at Chen Fan. "Fortunately, since 78, our tourism industry has developed significantly, and the number of inbound tourists has continued to increase."

However, despite the increase in tourists, many problems remain. For example, accommodation conditions are not ideal; many tourists visit the area but have to sleep in another city, which causes them great inconvenience.

There are also transportation problems. Only the provincial capital has an airport, and the train network can only cover a few lines. Land and water transportation capacity is seriously insufficient.

These are all challenges we face in developing our tourism industry.

After he finished speaking, Chen Fan nodded slightly and said, "You're right, these problems do exist. But we are also trying to find ways to improve them. For example, our superiors are actively contacting Hong Kong businessmen and overseas Chinese to jointly build hotels, which is one of the solutions."

The Ministry of Transport has also formulated numerous development plans to actively improve traffic conditions.

Once these conditions are improved, I believe the tourist experience will be greatly enhanced.

After pausing for two seconds, Chen Fan looked at Director Lan and said seriously, "Therefore, these problems are not the real obstacles to the development of our country's tourism industry."

Director Lan raised an eyebrow and looked at him, asking, "Then what is the real obstacle?"

Chen Fan: "As you just mentioned, many countries have doubts about our tourism environment. To put it another way, many foreign tourists do not consider our country as a tourist destination. This is the biggest obstacle to the slow development of our tourism foreign exchange earnings."

Listening to Chen Fan's words, Director Lan nodded slowly and sighed, "This problem does exist, and it's quite serious. Take Jiangnan Province for example. Apart from a very small number of foreign friends who are interested in our culture, even foreign tourists who come to visit mostly only stay in a few cities such as Beijing and Shanghai."

Once, I learned that a tour group was resting in Nanjing, so I made a special trip there to invite them to visit Jiangnan. The China International Travel Service headquarters agreed, but in the end, the trip didn't happen because the tourists had some concerns.

After a brief silence, he looked up at Chen Fan, his eyes full of curiosity. "Do you have a way to get them to put aside their concerns and come to Jiangnan for sightseeing?"

Chen Fan smiled and said, "Actually, the solution is very simple. All prejudices stem from a lack of understanding. As long as we let more foreigners know that we have beautiful scenery, a splendid culture, and a stable social environment, attracting them to come and travel is not a difficult task."

Director Lan immediately asked, "Then, how can we let them know?"

Chen Fan laughed and said, "Of course it's for publicity. We'll make a promotional video and broadcast it on foreign TV stations, that way more foreign tourists will know about it."

Director Lan was speechless upon hearing this.

Shoot a promotional video? And broadcast it on foreign TV stations?

Why is his mind so confused?
(End of this chapter)