Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 917 Aladdin's Lamp

Half an hour later, Chen Fan, General Manager of Yunhu Tourism Company and concurrently General Manager of Yunhu Film and Television City, successfully secured the first out-of-province client for the film and television city.

After leaving behind the local specialties they brought from Shenyang, Deng Bo and Ke Yu happily returned to the guesthouse and called the factory to report the news.

They just need to come over tomorrow morning to get the script, and then they will immediately set off back to the factory to prepare to shoot the first feature film after the factory's reform.

As for filming at Yunhu?
Those are minor matters.

Director Chen said that all we need to do is bring the main crew members. The extras and equipment are all provided, and everything from food and lodging to transportation will be arranged perfectly to ensure there are no problems.

Someone of that rank, would they really lie to me?
No problem, absolutely no problem.

After the two left, Chen Fan had nothing to do, so he carried two large sacks filled with local specialties home.

After arriving home, he tossed the local produce into the kitchen, waiting for Liu Juan and the other person to return and deal with it. Then he turned around and went upstairs to the master bedroom/study, turned on the computer, and started typing away.

After finishing, print out the script and draw storyboards in the designated areas.

As he drew, he remarked with a sense of wonder, wondering when computer image processing would become a practical application.

Although as early as 1963, Ivan Suzeran, a student at MIT who is known as the father of computer graphics and the father of virtual reality, developed the world's first three-dimensional computer painting software, Sketchpad, based on rigid two-dimensional graphics, allowing users to draw and manipulate graphics on the computer screen using a light pen.

However, due to limitations in hardware technology, Paint did not become widespread until 1985 when the first generation of Windows was released.

Thinking of this, Chen Fan suddenly had an idea, but he did not act on it immediately. Instead, he sped up and finally finished drawing the entire storyboard before dark, when Liu Juan and the others returned with food.

He then went downstairs to eat.

Sitting by the tea table, there was a three-dish meal and a soup that Liu Juan and her friends had brought back from Chaoyang Temple, as well as a pot of wine from the wine cellar in their basement.

I also gave Zhou Yali a phone call.

As expected, Zhou Yali's groggy voice came through, "Is that you, little brother? You're the only one calling at this hour."

I already listened to you and bought a pager to carry with me. Why can't you use it during the day? Why do you have to disturb my sleep at this time? Do we have a grudge against each other?

Chen Fan coughed lightly, chuckled as he ate his food, and said, "No, it's almost dawn, so I'm just reminding you that early to bed and early to rise makes you healthy."

Zhou Yali didn't even bother to roll her eyes. She kept her eyes closed and said weakly, "Little brother, can I call you 'older brother' instead? Stop messing around. You made a phone call to start a telecommunications company, and I've been running around like crazy, not getting to sleep until after 3 a.m., and you call me at 6 a.m."

"You want me to die from lack of sleep so you can inherit my fortune, don't you?"

The person on the other end of the phone was practically screaming and crying, but the person on this end didn't seem to care at all. "You can rest assured about that. Don't think that just because you're young, you're in your father's age. As long as you master the Baguazhang and Xiaozhoutiangong I teach you, I guarantee you'll be energetic even after staying up for three nights in a row."

"And my uncle flew back early this morning. You should see him in about two hours. He's going back specifically to help you. I had to go to great lengths to convince him to come back."

Zhou Yali was so angry that she burst out laughing. She couldn't help but open her eyes and said, "Help me? Whose business is this anyway? And who proposed this project?"
Forget it, they're thick-skinned, even the strongest bullets can't penetrate them. Let's not argue, it's not worth getting angry ourselves.

She looked up at the ceiling and said expressionlessly, "Just say what you want to say."

Chen Fan took a sip of wine, picked up a handkerchief to wipe his mouth, and laughed, "Look, why didn't you just get to the point? You've been rambling on about nothing."

Zhou Yali slowly closed her eyes, clenched her fists, and mentally typed out a series of characters: **&……￥#@, I will endure.

Chen Fan removed the receiver and looked inside. Hmm, has this girl's temper changed? Or is she asleep again?
He put the receiver back to his ear. "Hello, are you still listening?"

Zhou Yali took a deep breath and squeezed out two words through gritted teeth, "Listening."

Chen Fan laughed heartily, "Just listen. Here's what happened: Today I was writing a script on the computer and suddenly discovered that our computers have a pretty big flaw. The word processing software can only process text, not draw. Isn't that terrible?"

Zhou Yali's eyes widened instantly, and she sat up abruptly, unable to contain herself as she yelled, "What word processing software can draw pictures? Are you stupid?!"

Chen Fan: "Wow, so energetic. Are you awake now?"

Zhou Yali helplessly grabbed a couple of handfuls of her hair. "Little brother, what are you trying to do now?"

Chen Fan: "It's very simple. Just ask the colleagues in the company's technical department to work harder and develop a word processing software that can draw diagrams. That shouldn't be too difficult, right?"

Zhou Yali was speechless with anger. "Isn't this difficult?"

Chen Fan pondered for two seconds, "Or we could develop a drawing software that is compatible with word processing."

Zhou Yali scratched her head. "Brother, do you think I'm Aladdin's lamp? You can just wish for anything you want, why don't you ask me to build you a robot?"

Chen Fan pretended to think seriously, "Hmm, that's a good idea. You could include the robotics project in the company's long-term plan, perhaps..."

"You just wait." *Slap*

Chen Fan blinked, calmly put down the receiver, and muttered, "Looks like I really can't call her while she's sleeping anymore, she's too grumpy when she wakes up."

After saying that, he drank the wine in his glass in one gulp, picked up his rice bowl, and prepared to eat.

Just then, Liu Juan and Ma Lan came running over. When they got there, Liu Juan pointed to the kitchen and asked, "Brother Chen, what should we do with the things in those two bags?"

Ma Lan gestured with her hands, "Everything else is fine, but there's such a big tiger skin and a bag of tiger bones. We don't know what to do with them."

Chen Fan sniffed and laughed, "What's so difficult about that? The tiger skin is tanned, right? Just wipe it with some light salt water, let it dry, and send it to Lili. She can make a tiger skin coat."

I'll keep the tiger bones in the medicine cabinet; I'll use them to make medicinal wine when I have time.

Although he hadn't opened the bag, he could tell what was inside just by smelling it. Besides tiger skin and tiger bones, there were also plenty of delicacies such as black fungus, hazel mushrooms, matsutake mushrooms, ginseng, and deer antlers, as well as marinated grouse and other wild game.

He buys several bags of local specialties from the Liaoning Provincial Hunting Team every year, sending some to Shanghai, some to Jiangnan, and even to his three masters in Beijing, who are very familiar with the smell of these local specialties.

It's estimated that Liaoning Film Studio heard about this and specially prepared these two bags of local specialties for him.

Surprisingly, he quite liked it. And while the other items were fine, tiger skins and tiger bones are something you can only buy for a few more years.

The main reason is that in the next few years, hunting teams in various provinces have increased their "task load" in order to generate more foreign exchange.

This is an inevitable trend, and he can't stop it even if he wants to.

What followed was even more egregious; from the time the Wildlife Protection Law was enacted until its formal implementation, the hunting volume became even more outrageous.

The situation only calmed down after the Wildlife Protection Law was officially implemented.

Before this, at most, writer Chen would write a few articles advising against exhausting resources, as a form of persuasion.

However, he could fully foresee that its effect would at most be to comfort himself, to give himself an explanation, and to show that he had not stood idly by.

As for any other practical effects... well, let's just wash up and go to sleep.

Those who are not from this era cannot understand that urgent desire for development.

In seven or eight years, they'll have even sold off their entire express delivery system—that's a major national asset. Compared to that, what are mere wild animals?!

Watching Liu Juan and the other woman go to the kitchen in a daze, Chen Fan shook his head and sighed softly, then continued eating with his bowl in hand.

With a gust of wind, he devoured the food, leaving the bowls and chopsticks in their original places. He picked up the teacup he had already brewed, took a sip of tea, glanced at the clock on the table, and then picked up the phone receiver and dialed a number.

……

"This is a small step in the development of Yunhu tourism, but a giant leap for Yunhu Film and Television City."

Holding the receiver, Chen Fan's face was full of high spirits. "Once there's a first, there will be a second, and then millions more. The future is promising!"

On the other end of the phone, Jiang Tiantian smiled so hard her eyes curved into two crescent moons, "Yeah, General Manager Chen is the best. He can command a huge following with just a call."

"Ahem, keep it low-key, keep it low-key. Saying that there are so many people responding is a bit of an exaggeration. Besides, the film studio is not yet fully developed, and we can't handle too many people coming."

Chen Fan leaned back in his chair, lit a cigarette, and grinned, "I've calculated it. We'll build and film at the same time. By the time I finish this film, the first phase of the film studio will be almost complete. After a little finishing touches, it'll be ready to welcome the Liaoning Film Studio's crew."

Then, the factory expansion project in the Yunhu area should come to an end by then. We can bring back all the state-owned construction teams and work with the production team construction team led by Lujiawan to complete the second phase of the project in a short time.

By then, it should be the second half of next year. After two phases of construction, the film and television city will be quite well-established and should be able to accommodate three or four film crews shooting at the same time.

Moreover, my promotional video should be finished by the end of the year. If I broadcast it on a TV station in the United States, it will definitely attract a group of tourists. It's a perfect match.

This is what we call taking a step-by-step approach and developing steadily!

Jiang Tiantian: "Yes, yes, yes, steady development. So, General Manager Chen, will you be able to come to Shanghai this summer?"

Chen Fan's face stiffened slightly. He put the cigarette butt in his mouth, scratched his head, and then, still holding the cigarette, said with a wry smile, "I can come, but it definitely won't be long. It's already late May. Even if I speed things up and go back to continue filming, it will still take a month or two."

After that, we'll do post-production. I estimate that by the time the entire film is finished, summer vacation will be almost over. If I go to Shanghai then, I probably won't be able to stay for more than a few days.

Hearing this, Jiang Tiantian pouted regretfully, but smiled and said, "It's okay. Since you don't have time, let Lili go back and keep you company."

She let out a long sigh of helplessness and said with a smile, "I can't do it. The magazine's inaugural issue is being released this month, and I'm just as busy as you. Although we've already prepared content for three or four issues, we can't relax, so my entire summer vacation will be wasted. I have to stay here and keep an eye on things."

Upon hearing this, Chen Fan also became serious and said softly, "If you're too busy, go to Mr. Ba and ask him to recommend a few more editors. Although you're talking about building a career, you can't let it ruin your life. What's the point of achieving success if you do that?"

Hearing his concern for her, Jiang Tiantian immediately smiled happily and said, "Don't worry, it's actually not bad. Aunt Xie and Uncle Yu are both very capable. They do most of the work. I've learned a lot from them."

After catching her breath, she smiled and said, "The main problem is that I can't neglect my studies either. There's a slight conflict between the two, but once I get used to it and sort things out, everything will be fine."

Chen Fan clicked his tongue and said, "I was a little too hasty. We should have started this publishing house after you officially graduated."

Jiang Tiantian smiled and said, "I think it's good to do it now. Mr. Li said that ten thousand years is too long, and we should seize the day. Although I'm a bit busy now, learning and practicing at the same time has actually helped me to grasp the knowledge I learned at school more deeply."

Moreover, learning while doing has another advantage: if you encounter difficulties, you can ask your teacher for help at any time. But if you want to ask your teacher for help after graduation, it won't be so easy.

Hearing this, Chen Fan couldn't help but laugh and said, "You're good at comforting yourself. Even if you graduate, it's not hard to go back to school and find your teachers."

He paused for a moment, then changed the subject, saying, "Things have come to this point, so we can only keep going. But, Sweetie, you know we're not short of money. Let's hire more people and find some to help you share the burden, so you don't overwork yourself."

Jiang Tiantian grinned and nodded gently, "I know."

She turned to look at the hallway outside the door. Her younger sister was still in the bathroom and hadn't come out yet, so she continued, "Let me tell you about the publishing house."

Chen Fan tossed away his cigarette butt, lit another one, and nodded with a smile. "Alright, let me hear how our chief editor is doing with the publishing house."

Jiang Tiantian held the receiver with both hands and said with a smile, "You've done so much preparation in advance, how could I possibly do a bad job? Of course it's extraordinary."

First of all, we have finalized four novels, and one has been officially published. The remaining three will be published one every two weeks. After these four are published, we expect the rest will also be finalized.

With the dozen or so novel outlines you provided, and the dozen or so young writers discussing and carefully writing together, the publishing house will not lack books to publish in the next year. Moreover, they will write new books, and they have all said that they will give us priority in submitting their manuscripts.

As for the magazine, thanks to Mr. Ba's recommendation, we contacted the directors in charge of distribution at Xinhua bookstores in several provinces of East China. The inaugural issue will first be distributed in five provinces and one municipality: Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Jiangxi, and Jiangsu. If the results are satisfactory, it will then be distributed nationwide…”

Chen Fan listened quietly to her story, occasionally asking a question or two, his smile never fading.

While he did handle some tasks at the publishing house and magazine, Jiang Tiantian did most of the work. The fact that he has achieved what he has today only proves that he made the right choice in choosing him.

After a while, when she finished speaking and they chatted for a bit more, just as Jiang Tiantian handed the phone to Jiang Lili, Chen Fan suddenly asked, "By the way, what's the name of our magazine again?"

The voice on the phone had changed to Jiang Lili's. Her clear voice rang in my ears, "You don't even know the name of your own magazine? You deserve three drinks as punishment. Listen carefully, our magazine is called 'New Journey,' don't get it wrong."

(End of this chapter)