Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 900: Small Money Doesn't Matter

After spending more than two hours at the Tourism Bureau, Deputy Director Chen could say he had worked.

He then used the excuse of going back early to prepare and then reporting to Yunhu to blatantly skip work.

Back home, Bian Huifang was studying a summary of film production materials from the Jiangxi Film Studio in the living room when she heard the car approaching. She immediately put down the book and went out to greet it.

She first took the purse from Chen Fan's hand, and then said, "I went to the Writers' Association this morning and collected all your salary. Chairman He even specially arranged for you to receive an extra month's salary and subsidies."

At this point, she looked at Chen Fan cautiously, "I heard you changed jobs?"

I went to the Jiangying Film Studio to coordinate with a powerful figure, but I didn't expect that the powerful figure would go to the Tourism Bureau. What should I do?
Just as Chen Fan was about to speak, he suddenly turned to look at the next room.

He Qingsheng came out of the house, waved to him, and walked straight over the fence.

Chen Fan waved his hand and then smiled at Bian Huifang, "Well, I changed jobs and went to the Provincial Tourism Bureau for a temporary post, but my actual work is at Yunhu Tourism Company, where I happen to be managing the film and television city project together."

He paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "Don't worry, whether I change jobs or not won't affect me, and it certainly won't affect you. I'll continue doing what I did before, nothing will change."

He achieved his current status entirely through his own efforts, not through any organization or institution behind him.

Even after leaving the Writers' Association, the Jiang Film Studio still tried to curry favor with him, all for the sake of his works, regardless of which organization he belonged to.

Upon hearing this, Bian Huifang smiled awkwardly and quickly said, "I was just asking. Since you've been transferred, I also need to adjust my work methods accordingly."

At this moment, He Qingsheng had already stepped over the fence and walked up to them, shouting, "What are you talking about? Why don't you come in?"

"Wait for you."

Chen Fan took out a cigarette and handed it to him, then gestured and walked inside with him, saying, "I worked hard for the Writers' Association for two years, and when I left, I only got an extra month's salary. It's so cold and heartless."

He Qingsheng had just lit a cigarette when he was immediately choked and coughed several times. Just then, Bian Huifang poured him a cup of tea, which he quickly took and gulped down a couple of mouthfuls.

After calming down, she said irritably, "How dare you say such a thing? Tell me, which organization these days gives travel expenses to cadres who are transferred to new positions? I even had to use the organization's slush fund to cover these two hundred yuan, otherwise the accounts wouldn't have been balanced."

Chen Fan walked to the daybed, sat down, leaned against the bedside table, picked up the teacup that Bian Huifang had brought him, took a sip, and then said, "This shows that the unit lacks humanistic care, and it needs to be changed."

He paused for a moment, then turned and asked, "Hey, Uncle He, now that I've been transferred, do I have to return my vice chairman and vice president credentials?"

He Qingsheng hummed in agreement, but turned to Bian Huifang and said, "Bian, before you get off work, go to the office again and change Vice Chairman Chen's ID."

Turning back to Chen Fan, she said, "I almost forgot about this if you hadn't mentioned it. You're no longer eligible for vice chairman; that's a position only for resident writers. However, you can still retain the vice chairman position, which is elected collectively by all writers in the province and has nothing to do with whether you're a resident writer or not."

So your relationship with the Writers' Association won't be severed. Even though you won't get a salary anymore, you'll still receive corresponding allowances and benefits.

"Anyway, you've already spent real money to buy this house. Next time you come back, I'll just give you your belongings and allowance."

Chen Fan chuckled and clicked his tongue, "That's alright."

Bian Huifang smiled and pointed outside, "I'll go to my workplace to get my ID card renewed."

Chen Fan looked at her and said, "Go to the guardhouse and ask them to send a car over there, quickly."

He then added, "You should also learn to drive, so it will be easier for you to run errands in the future."

Bian Huifang smiled and said, "I'll go ask Director Wu later to see if there are any driving lessons available this year."

Chen Fan thought for a moment and said, "Don't bother with him anymore. There aren't many people or cars at Jiangying Film Studio. They only have two or three driving school spots each year, so there's no need to take up theirs. I'll arrange it for you when we get to Yunhu."

He didn't intend to approach Xia Yuping. Since Yunhu Tourism Company had already been established, setting up a transportation fleet shouldn't be a problem, right? With a fleet, getting dozens of driving school spots would be normal, wouldn't it?

Just go back and put Bian Huifang inside, follow the normal procedures, and you won't owe anyone a favor.

Bian Huifang immediately beamed with joy and nodded repeatedly.

She was about to leave, but then turned back and pointed to a pile of cardboard boxes in the corner, saying, "By the way, Director, these are gifts from several film studios. What do you think we should do with them?"

Chen Fan glanced at it and said, "Okay, I understand."

Bian Huifang then ran out.

Watching her figure disappear into the road outside, He Qingsheng flicked off his cigarette ash, got up, walked to the corner of the wall, and rummaged through it. "Heh, there are cigarettes, alcohol, and quite a few local specialties."

He turned to look at Chen Fan, "You're quite popular, aren't you?"

Chen Fan sighed and shook his head, saying, "Didn't I go to Shenyang during the first month of the lunar calendar to accompany my uncle back to his hometown to pay respects to our ancestors? At that time, I asked the Federation of Literary and Art Circles and the Writers Association in Shenyang for a few favors, so I owed them some. Later, I promised to repay them with a script and a collaborative film."

This incident reached the ears of other film studios, some of whom saw it as an opportunity and started calling, writing letters, and even sending gifts.

He pointed to the pile of things as he spoke, "I had all the things that were sent over sent back. These were just thrown into the guard room by the guard. He didn't even leave a name on them, as if he wasn't afraid I wouldn't take responsibility."

He Qingsheng walked back and laughed, "Of course I'm not afraid. When we meet again, all I have to do is ask you if that wine was good or if something else was delicious, and you'll know it was him who sent it."
If you say it's delicious, he'll send you a few more jars. If you say it's not good, he'll say he'll send you something else.

My nephew works in purchasing, and he used this method to gradually pry open the door to the sales department of the supplier. Otherwise, if you just go there with the goods, they won't even accept them.

Chen Fan chuckled twice. "They're treating me like a supplier."

He Qingsheng tossed away his cigarette butt, picked up his teacup, took a sip, and said to him, "Isn't this all your own fault? If Liaoning Film Studio wanted scripts, you could have just given them one or two, why did you even agree to co-produce a movie?"

Chen Fan shrugged and said, "If it were Changchun Film Studio, I would have given them the script directly. But Liaoning Film Studio, like Jiangxi Film Studio, has never made a proper film before. What if they make a bad film after I give them the script? Wouldn't that ruin my reputation? So what I'm thinking is to give them a more ordinary script first, so they can practice. But this kind of script isn't really suitable to repay a favor. After all, the train tickets, food, and lodging for over a hundred people isn't a small amount, and I can't just do it half-heartedly."

Then, since I'll be going to Shenyang with my uncle and his family again sometime, I was thinking that next time I go, I'll use their factory's equipment and employees to make a movie. That way, I can repay the favor.

He Qingsheng nodded in agreement. "You're right. The hardest debt to repay is a favor. Someone has done you such a big favor, you really can't just brush them off."

He paused for a moment, then pointed to the pile of cardboard boxes and asked, "What if these people come looking for us?"

Chen Fan chuckled, "Whatever. Do you really think my favors are so cheap? Giving me a few things and I'll give you a script? Don't even think about it. Anyway, they gave me the things themselves, not that I asked for them, so I won't be held responsible. And my script isn't so easy to get either."

He Qingsheng nodded, then asked, "So, what kind of movie are you planning to make with Liaoning Film Studio?"

Chen Fan chuckled and said, "Originally, I wanted to shoot a film about the lives of ordinary people in Northeast China before I went to Shenyang. But now, I've changed my mind."

He Qingsheng was taken aback, then asked curiously, "What idea are you changing?"

Chen Fan laughed and said, "At the time, I only agreed to co-produce one movie, but I didn't say what kind of movie it was, let alone where it would be filmed!"

Upon hearing this, He Qingsheng first frowned slightly, somewhat puzzled. Then, a sudden thought flashed through his mind, and he blurted out, "You want them to come to Yunhu to film?"

Chen Fan, with a cigarette butt in his mouth, clapped his hands and laughed, "Great minds think alike! That's exactly what I was thinking."

He Qingsheng couldn't help but laugh and scold, "Aren't you shameless? People are doing just fine in the Northeast, why can't they make movies here? Why do they have to come to your Yunhu Film and Television City? The travel expenses alone could make a movie!"

Chen Fan immediately corrected him righteously, "You can't say that. How can you call something artistic immoral? I just provided them with a suitable script and suggested the most suitable filming locations."

As for travel expenses, they weren't much. First of all, Yunhu Film City doesn't charge film crews, so they only need to pay a small amount for accommodation and meals. Does that mean they wouldn't have these expenses if they were filming in Shenyang?
It's just an extra expense on transportation. But how much does transportation cost?

Filming locally might require renting houses and streets, so it might actually be cheaper to film in Yunhu. I'm doing this for their benefit!

He Qingsheng gave a thumbs up with a serious face, "You're so shameless to cheat people like this, I admire your shamelessness."

Chen Fan narrowed his eyes slightly, "Please immediately cease your defamatory and slanderous behavior, otherwise we will not rule out taking retaliatory measures."

He Qingsheng's expression remained unchanged as he looked at him and said, "How does it feel to report for duty today? Is there anything the Writers' Association can help you with? If so, please don't hesitate to ask. You're the vice chairman of the provincial Writers' Association, after all. We're all family, so just let us know if you need anything."

Chen Fan couldn't help but fall into deep thought. Was it true that one becomes like those one associates with, or that birds of a feather flock together?
After a two-second pause, he looked up and said, "You know what, there really is."

He Qingsheng's expression finally changed. He took out a cigarette and handed it to him, chuckling, "Are you kidding me? You're now the deputy director of the provincial tourism bureau and also in charge of the specific work of Yunhu Tourism Company. You have a lot of power. The Yunhu Special Zone and the province have both said they will give you their full support."

"Our Writers' Association is just a small organization; at most, we can only use our writing skills. How can we possibly help your travel company?"

Chen Fan laughed and said, "What we need is to use our pens. The Writers' Association is a big organization. It controls two magazines, 'Jiangnan Literature and Art' and 'Literary Youth,' and it has a good relationship with 'Jiangnan Daily.' It would be good to write a few articles about Yunhu in your newspapers and magazines to promote it."

He Qingsheng's eyes widened. "Are you serious?"

Chen Fan hummed twice, "Why not do it for real? Anyway, the Writers' Association often organizes writers to go out for field trips and holds writers' gatherings, so why don't you organize a trip to Yunhu?"

Anyway, Guo from the Yunhu Writers Association has invited you several times. He's very enthusiastic, so why don't you just fulfill his wish and go?

Then they asked each participating writer to submit several travelogues. See? They combined the conference, field trips, and writing into one trip, and you ended up with a batch of articles that could be published—isn't that great?

He Qingsheng, his face dark, said irritably, "Is Lao Guo being overly enthusiastic? Which regional branch leader isn't overly enthusiastic? They're just being polite, okay? If they really want to go somewhere, I'll decide on the location today, and their funding report will be on my desk tomorrow."

Also, thanks to you, most of the writers in the provincial writers' association are now writing novels about the War of Resistance against Japan, all wanting to make money from small publications. Where do they find the time to go to Yunhu for research?

After a pause, he changed the subject and said earnestly, "And another thing, you want writers to help you promote Yunhu and attract more people to visit Yunhu. Isn't that just putting on a show for the blind?"

Given the current situation, how many people can afford to travel long distances to other places for tourism? They're lucky if they can even visit a park locally. If someone really wants to go out and see the world, it's to famous mountains and rivers like Huangshan or the Five Sacred Mountains.

You've made a mistake.

Chen Fan hummed twice more, "I think you just don't want to help. You said that no one wants to go on vacation, and if they do, it's to famous mountains and rivers, that's true, but the provincial capital isn't just for us ordinary people, there are foreigners here too."

He Qingsheng was slightly taken aback, then turned to look at him, "You wouldn't be eyeing those international students, would you?"

Chen Fan chuckled and said, "Do you think they're broke, or that they're not interested in the tourist attractions described by writers?!"

He Qingsheng pointed at him and said with admiration, "When it comes to scheming, you're the one!"

He then said, "Okay, I'll bring it up when I get back. Forget about writers going to Yunhu for inspiration or meetings, let's just talk about the international students' literary association and see if they're interested in going..."

Before he could finish speaking, Chen Fan threw his head back and burst into laughter, "Oh my, you actually believed that."

He Qingsheng stared at him in astonishment. "Huh? What do you mean? You're lying to me?"

He then patted his forehead, "Wait a minute, these international students do have money, and they like to travel. Organizing a trip to Yunhu for them can definitely generate revenue for you, right?"

Chen Fan chuckled for a while before saying, "Uncle He, it's true that they can generate revenue, but I don't care about such a small amount of money."

Don't worry, I already have a complete plan. We might really need the Writers' Association's help at that time. But now isn't the right time. When the time is right, I'll present a complete plan, and then you'll see."

He Qingsheng stared at him blankly for a while before saying irritably, "You little rascal, you're joking with me. And you're keeping me in suspense? If you can't tell me now, when can you?"

Chen Fan squinted at the calendar hanging on the wall and smiled, "We can talk about it after 'The Silk Road' is broadcast in the TV series."

(End of this chapter)