Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 934 Support Team

At dusk, in the artsy new village.

As people left work, they flooded into the residential area, making it even more lively.

The car from Jiangying Film Studio squeezed through the crowd and slowly passed through the gate.

The security guard had noticed the slightly worn car earlier, and he walked over unhurriedly, stopped the car, and asked politely, "Which unit are you from? Who are you looking for?"

There are quite a few organizations residing in the Arts and Literature Village, but they are mainly affiliated with the Federation of Literary and Art Circles, such as the Writers Association, Music Association, and Artists Association, plus people from the Department of Culture. The security department knows the cars of the leaders of these organizations by heart, but this Yunhu brand car is not one of them.

These days, those who ride in cars are usually leaders, and they're not usually so aggressive. But if it were a stranger who walked, they wouldn't be so polite.

The arts and culture unit has the most artists, and countless people want to meet them. Not to mention, there are quite a few people in the provincial capital who know that Chen Fan lives here, and almost every day people come over hoping to "bump into" him.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have specifically arranged for someone to guard the gate.

This place isn't somewhere you can just let anyone in!

As soon as he finished speaking, the car window rolled down, a face popped out, and he said with a smile, "Master Fang, it's me."

Upon seeing him, the security guard's expression immediately changed, and he said with a smile, "Oh, it's Section Chief Bian. You're off work?"

As she spoke, her eyes betrayed an uncontrollable envy.

People have different fates. I'm in my thirties and have been a security guard for almost twenty years, while this Comrade Bian Huifang graduated from university only two years ago and has already been promoted to deputy section chief because she followed the right leader.

He was promoted to deputy section chief in just two years. I've never heard of anything so outrageous in the entire provincial capital.

Oh, there is one more, and that is her boss, Chen Fan. He was promoted from deputy section chief to deputy division chief, and then to deputy director-general, rising two levels in one year. I heard that he has now become the leader in charge of a unit, which makes people not even envious.

When Bian Huifang heard him address her like that, she waved her hands repeatedly and said, "Don't call me that. I'm just a deputy section chief. It's not good if people hear that."

That's what she said, but she was actually quite happy. Is this what it feels like to be a leader?
Following her former boss's example, she took out a pack of cigarettes, handed it over, and asked with a smile, "I heard my old boss is back. Is he home now?"

The security guard took the cigarette and glanced at it. It was Peony. He couldn't help but nod to himself, and then sighed inwardly, "No wonder she's someone who's followed Vice Chairman Chen. She's so generous."

After hearing Bian Huifang's question clearly, he immediately replied, "He came back this morning, but went out again around 2 p.m. with his wife and that Miss Zhou from America. I don't know where they went, and they haven't come back yet."

out?
Bian Huifang frowned slightly, paused for two seconds, and then asked the guard, "Is Chairman He at home?"

The security guard nodded immediately, "He just got back not long ago. He came back with Secretary-General Xu and Vice Chairman Tan. He should be home by now."

Bian Huifang smiled and said, "Thank you."

He then waved, rolled up the window, patted the seat in front, and signaled the driver to move in.

Director Wu, sitting next to her, frowned slightly and asked, "Director Chen only came back early this morning, and then drove out again this afternoon with his wife and cousin. Where could they have gone?"

Bian Huifang shook her head, thought for a moment, and said, "If it was just him, the most likely thing is that he went to Professor Xu's place at Jiang University. But since he brought Sister Jiang and Miss Zhou with him, I can't guess what happened."

After a pause, she turned to Director Wu and said, "Let's go ask Chairman He first, and see if he knows where Director Chen is."

Factory Director Wu nodded. "That's the only way."

In just a few words, the driver skillfully drove the car to He Qingsheng's house and stopped in front of it.

Bian Huifang and Factory Director Wu got out of the car from their respective doors. Just as they were about to knock on the door, they saw He Qingsheng walk out of the main gate.

"What are you doing here at this time? Are you looking for Chen Fan?"

As He Qingsheng spoke, he strode out. Seeing Director Wu and Bian Huifang nodding together, he immediately said, "Then you're too late. They've already gone to Shenzhen and will probably stay there for three to five days."

"You went to Shenzhen?"

Factory Director Wu froze, even pausing his cigarette-pulling motion. After a couple of seconds, he reacted, took out a cigarette, and offered it to him, asking, "What bad luck! The film has already been developed and is just waiting for him to edit it."

He Qingsheng took the cigarette, lit it on the lighter the other person offered, exhaled a puff of smoke, and laughed, "He had no choice in the matter. His cousin forced him to go to Shenzhen. She heard there was some big thing going on there and insisted that he go and help keep things under control."

As you know, many organizations still have reservations when dealing with foreign parties. They always think, "This won't do," or "That won't do," and tend to submit reports to higher-ups, waiting for the leaders to make a decision.

"If Chen Fan were here, things would be different. Our Vice Chairman Chen has connections everywhere and is willing to take responsibility. For most things, it's just a matter of a few phone calls, saving us so much time and effort."

As he spoke, he took a drag of his cigarette, and his expression suddenly became a little strange. "For example, today, her cousin's private jet flew from the provincial capital to Guangzhou. Normally, for foreign planes like this to fly in China, they have to apply for the route at least three to five days in advance, and sometimes it can take ten days to half a month."

But Chen Fan made a phone call at noon, and the plane took off at 3 p.m., which was incredibly fast.

As soon as he finished speaking, he looked up and saw that Director Wu and Bian Huifang were dumbfounded, standing there at a loss for what to do.

He Qingsheng coughed lightly, pretending not to know anything, and looked at the two of them with a puzzled expression, "What's wrong with you two?"

Factory Director Wu was startled and snapped back to reality, but his eyes were still full of disbelief. After several seconds, he asked hesitantly, "Chairman He, you just said a private jet? What is a private jet?"

Seeing the two men's stunned expressions, He Qingsheng chuckled contentedly, feigning ignorance, and said softly, "Hey, what kind of private jet could it be? It's just a privately owned plane, just like our private bicycles."

At that moment, he completely forgot how thunderstruck he had been when he first heard the news.

At the same time, Director Wu and Bian Huifang asked in unison the same question he had asked earlier: "Can private individuals buy airplanes?"

He Qingsheng took a drag of his cigarette and calmly waved his hand. "Isn't that how capitalist society is? As long as you have money, you can buy anything, not just airplanes, but fighter jets. Airplanes are nothing."

After pausing for two seconds, he looked at Director Wu and said with a smile, "Before Chen Fan left, he called you, but you probably weren't in the office at the time, so no one answered the phone."

Factory Director Wu snapped out of his daze and nodded unconsciously. "Ah, I spent the whole day in the screening room with Director Kuang and the others watching the footage. There was no one in the office."

"That's it."

He Qingsheng laughed and said, "Director Chen is still thinking about the film production, so he called me specifically to tell you that he will be back in three to five days, or at most a week. You can go about your business first and don't wait for him."

As he said this, he couldn't help but recall the situation at the time.

Chen Fan called to say he was flying to Guangzhou in the afternoon, so I naturally had to ask, since there's only one flight to Guangzhou in the morning, how could he fly in the afternoon?
If I'm going to take the train, I might as well wait until tomorrow morning and take a plane; that will get me there much faster.

Then Chen Fan told him that the plane they were on wasn't a scheduled flight, but a private jet that Zhou Yali had brought from the United States. He was so shocked that he blushed like a country bumpkin who had never seen the world before. After hanging up the phone, he went to find Xu Qizhen and Tan Yong to "sincerely" ask them about the issue of private jets flying in China.

Unexpectedly, those two were also short-sighted, knowing nothing when asked, and having no knowledge whatsoever.

Finally, they had to call the airport management to find out what was going on. ...Actually, the airport management was also a bit confused. The flight application had just been submitted, and the air traffic control bureau had immediately approved and released the flight. The efficiency was unbelievable.

He Qingsheng snapped out of his thoughts, casually flicked off his cigarette ash, and thought to himself, "These two in front of me, tsk tsk, neither of them are very good."

This person really needs to broaden his horizons, otherwise he wouldn't even know about private jets... Damn, private individuals can actually buy airplanes? Aren't they afraid that someone might be crazy and crash their plane around?

……

Just as He Qingsheng was showing off his knowledge to Director Wu and Bian Huifang, the Qianfan No. 1 business jet successfully arrived at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport.

After getting off the plane, the people who came to pick me up were already waiting here.

Chen Fan walked down the gangway and saw three Mercedes-Benz cars drive up quickly and stop a short distance in front of him.

The car door opened, and several people got out. Chen Fan couldn't help but laugh when he saw them. "Oh my, isn't this General Manager Wang, and also Vice President Li and Manager Kong? They're all very busy people. Why did you personally come to pick them up from the airport?"

Wang Jianguo jogged over, grinning憨厚ly, "Advisor Chen, please don't laugh at us. What are we managers in front of you?"

He then took the luggage from the three of them and turned to the side, saying, "We have arranged three cars. You can choose whichever one you like."

Li Nan and Kong Wanshan, who were following behind him, greeted him with smiles.

Chen Fan tilted his head and looked at the people who hadn't come over. "Oh, it's still a two-person configuration in one car?"

He then gestured to the person standing next to the car in the middle, "Hey kid, go to another car, your spot has been taken."

The man smiled, and seeing Wang Jianguo nod slightly, he quickly ran to the car behind.

Chen Fan then led Jiang Lili and Zhou Yali into the middle car.

Wang Jianguo quickly shoved the luggage into Li Nan's hands, and under their resentful gazes, he straightened his head and got into the car to become Chen's driver.

Kong Wanshan got into the first car and drove towards the airport exit. Wang Jianguo followed closely behind in his car, while Li Nan, in the last car, picked up the car radio and pressed the call button. "The convoy is setting off. Be on guard."

Chen Fan sat in the passenger seat, looked at the embedded car radio, and asked, "When was this installed?"

Wang Jianguo turned to look at him, gripped the steering wheel and slowly accelerated, saying with a smile, "It was only installed not long ago. I heard from General Manager Ye that Mr. Zhou reached a cooperation agreement with some telecommunications company in the United States, and then bought a batch of equipment and sent it over for us to try out."

Before Chen Fan could ask a question, he continued, "After using it, I feel it's pretty good. This kind of communication radio is much smaller than the domestic ones, and the communication range is very wide, generally covering 20 kilometers. If you build a few relay stations, it can cover even further."

Chen Fan looked at it carefully, then suddenly turned to Zhou Yali sitting in the back row and asked, "How big is the smallest Motorola walkie-talkie now?"

Zhou Yali blinked repeatedly, and after two or three seconds, she said, "What are you going to do?"

Chen Fan pursed his lips. "So you didn't know?"

Zhou Yali stared at her, and said matter-of-factly, "Should I know?"

Alright, I can't afford to mess with them.

Chen Fan turned around and sat down, saying softly, "This thing is also a type of mobile communication device, and the technology is relatively simple, but its application range is quite wide. If we want to make communication devices, we might as well start with this type of device."

Zhou Yali pouted and muttered, "You're so impulsive, I really owe you one."

The two bosses were arguing, which immediately frightened Wang Jianguo so much that he sat up straight, gripping the steering wheel, and didn't dare to utter a sound.

Chen Fan glanced at him and laughed, "It's okay, you can drive, it won't affect anything."

Wang Jianguo smiled awkwardly and remained silent.

But in my heart I was thinking, "So this won't stop you guys from arguing?"

Chen Fan glanced back at her and said, "I'm too tired today. Tomorrow, I'll cook you a big meal myself."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yali immediately perked up and waved her fist, saying, "Don't worry, brother, your instructions are orders. As soon as we get to Shenzhen, I'll call the US and tell them to hurry up and develop a vehicle radio."

Upon seeing this, Wang Jianguo blinked repeatedly.

So my boss is a foodie?

Chen Fan smiled calmly and said, "I need the car radio and the walkie-talkie I carry with me. I remember that walkie-talkies these days don't have an external headphone jack, right?"

Zhou Yali laughed and said, "Brother, I remember saying earlier that I don't know anything about this kind of thing, so it's pointless for you to ask."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Lili, who was standing next to her, burst into laughter so hard she couldn't stand up straight.

Wang Jianguo couldn't help but tremble slightly, almost disrupting the convoy's formation.

Only Chen Fan remained calm. "What I mean is, when you contact the American company, you can make an extra request: add a hidden earpiece to the walkie-talkie, preferably one with call functionality. That should be very useful."

As long as there's good food, Miss Zhou is very easy to talk to, and immediately nodded and said, "No problem."

The convoy moved slowly forward. It must be said that although the Mercedes-Benz had many minor problems, its performance was still far superior to that of domestic cars, especially those passenger vehicles converted from Jiefang trucks, as well as minibuses and touring cars.

Whether on the cement roads in the city or the uneven dirt roads outside the city, the convoy of three Mercedes-Benz vehicles steadily overtook one car after another, heading rapidly towards Shenzhen.

As darkness fell, Chen Fan suddenly noticed a banner hanging on the outer side of a Jiefang brand van ahead, which read "Hunan Support Team for Shenzhen Construction".

Chen Fan watched as the car was overtaken, and after a while, he turned back to Wang Jianguo and asked, "Are many of the workers now sent from other places?"

Wang Jianguo turned to look at him, then turned back to face him and said, "That's right, especially in the factories in Shekou Industrial Park, most of the workers are brought in by truckload."

He paused for a moment, then laughed and said, "The only exception is our Shunfeng Transportation Company. Every single person in our company is a comrade-in-arms, without exception."

As I just mentioned, most of the workers were brought in this way, and a small portion were family members of our comrades. They knew there was a labor shortage here, so they called their relatives and friends over; quite a few of them came.”

(End of this chapter)