Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 955 Escort
Good news! Zhou Yali finally listened to advice and personally went to negotiate the cooperation.

The bad news is that, under the guise of offering assistance, she shamelessly took Jiang Lili away.

Feeling heartbroken, Chen Fan had no choice but to find a way to protect them.

After all, the river water is getting muddy now, and the road is no longer safe. Chen Fan is really worried about two delicate girls traveling without some protective measures.

Fortunately, he has access to a fair amount of resources.

First, while Yang Zhenlong and the others were still in the provincial capital, Chen Fan directly transferred four girls, including Yang Congling and Chen Qingqing, to the city.

Don't let their appearance fool you; they're girls, and they're not particularly tall, but they're all promising martial arts practitioners who have been training since childhood. Moreover, they come from families with a long tradition of martial arts, and their skills are all quite remarkable.

The only problem is that they lack practical experience.

To this end, Chen Fan specially spent a day giving the four of them special training, using his teaching aura to directly train them into internal strength, and also to give them a clearer understanding of "how bodyguards are trained".

In short, with each of them carrying a Black Star dart, they're good enough to be bodyguards for now.

Oh, the big black star was borrowed from the Jiangying Film Studio militia team, and it needs to be returned when it comes back.

As for their trip to Hong Kong, it's estimated that Zhou Yali will be going to four factories to discuss poaching and cooperation, which should take at most ten days to half a month. In such a short time, it's unknown whether the procedures for going to Hong Kong have been completed.

So it won't cause any delays at all.

In addition, Chen Fan also contacted Wang Jianguo in Shenzhen.

Given that they were heading to Changchun, Beijing, and Shanghai, they requested Wang Jianguo to arrange for assistance from "freight stations" in these three locations...

For some reason, when Chen Fan heard Wang Jianguo say that each place would be equipped with several vans, twelve people, and each person would be equipped with reconnaissance soldiers and combat equipment to provide them with travel and security guarantees, he always felt that this "freight station" was not very legitimate.

What kind of equipment do reconnaissance soldiers have these days?
也就是比普通士兵稍微好了那么一点点：一把56冲、配150发备用弹药，67式木柄手榴弹八枚，53式侦察匕首和62式望远镜等。

If going into the wilderness, they would also carry a Type 205 entrenching tool, a Type 78 marching backpack, a Type 65 water bottle, compressed rations, and other odds and ends.

The "enhanced" aspect means that, in addition to the above, a Type 64 folding silenced submachine gun with an effective range of 200 meters, a Black Star submachine gun, and three spare magazines are added, primarily for close-range combat.

In addition, twelve people form a shift, and each shift is equipped with a short-range mobile radio to facilitate calling for support from the "freight station" at any time.

When Chen Fan heard this configuration, he felt something was wrong. Even if it was allowed to carry weapons now, wasn't this firepower a bit too intense?
So I asked him, "Is what you're doing against the rules?"

Wang Jianguo said, "It's nothing. When we bought the old vehicles from the military, we gave them an extra two percent interest. Then we said we needed to buy some equipment to protect the vehicles and goods, and the old commander approved some decommissioned equipment. We have complete handover procedures, and anyone who comes can check it."

To prove that this equipment was "reasonable," he gave an example: "The radio we use is the 861 radio, which was only finalized and put into production last year. It hasn't been widely deployed at all. The camouflage uniforms we wear were also designed by you for the troops. Now only a very small number of units have them. If it weren't for special approval from the leadership, where would we find these retired equipment?!"

Chen Fan was still a little worried, "So fully armed, aren't you afraid something might happen?"

He knew the transportation company was armed, but he didn't know it was armed in this way.

Wang Jianguo said, "Don't worry, we usually use this kind of equipment when we go out, and nothing has ever happened. On the contrary, it has made many people with ulterior motives realize our strength. We can pass through many 'dangerous sections' without any problems."

If you think it's too conspicuous, that's fine too. You arranged four close-range protectors, right? We'll just provide remote protection. We generally won't get out of the car. We'll only act when there's danger. As long as we don't show our faces, no one will know.

"If we're really going to take action, it doesn't matter if others see us; the mission comes first."

After hearing his explanation, Chen Fan thought it made sense. After all, safety comes first, and everything else can take a backseat.

Besides, this isn't a regular army unit, it's just a freight company... well, he was having trouble making up the story.

But considering that a senior military officer was involved, those higher up must know about their situation. Since it doesn't affect their ability to do this, perhaps it's permitted?

But this is not important.

Importantly, he also had to inform the leaders of several organizations.

Zhou Yali's sudden visit will surely make anyone who knows her think of her. If they don't know her... given the high profile of Jiangying Film Studio these days, as the "equipment sponsor," the owner of Qianfan Company should be someone that no competitor is unaware of, right?

Since it would involve him, it would be both reasonable and ethical for him to inform the relevant organizations in advance.

In a society based on personal relationships, it's normal to be a little worldly-wise.

While making the call, Chen Fan casually sounded out their intentions, and the result was surprisingly positive.

Several film studios were quite interested in the collaboration. After all, Jiangxi Film Studio had just achieved a remarkable feat, generating $300,000 to $400,000 in foreign exchange, which was comparable to, or even slightly exceeded, the total foreign exchange earnings of the national film industry since the founding of the People's Republic of China.

Once Qianfan Company arranges for the film to be released in Western countries, there is still considerable room for increase in this amount.

As fellow film studios, who wouldn't want to connect with Qianfan Company?
Now that Boss Zhou has come to their door, how could they possibly turn him away?!
As for cooperation, anything is negotiable if both sides are willing to work together.

We can provide technical and training services to meet any type of talent needs. If you need people, it's hard to say about those on the payroll, but retired seniors would probably be happy to contribute their remaining energy.

It just so happens that behind the scenes of a film production, the more experienced and skilled the people are, the better. Some older colleagues choose to retire in their fifties to make way for their children. Given their physical condition, I dare not say for more than ten or twenty years, but they can still work for another year or two.

In their fifties, they are at the prime of their lives, and they would probably be happy to go to Hong Kong to start a second career, and perhaps even pave the way for their children.

In this way, it wouldn't affect the operation of the various film studios, it would increase the popularity of Qianfan Hong Kong Company, and it would also help the company generate foreign exchange. ...The situation now is different from later generations. Even if you retire, as long as you still have a formal position, you are still considered a member of the "company".

The evidence is that the retired comrades' pensions are still being paid by their original work units as usual, so it's like they're all part of the same family, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that.

So when these veteran comrades go overseas to earn foreign exchange and send their earnings back, it will definitely be attributed to their work unit. As for how to calculate the foreign exchange retention for "service trade," whether it's similar to the practice of the Jiangnan Provincial Writers Association, where 40% is retained, that's a matter of wrangling between them and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, and has nothing to do with this cooperation.

In conclusion, if a cooperation can be reached, it would be a win-win situation for everyone.

The only condition proposed by the film studios was also within Chen Fan's expectations: if possible, they hoped that the technical cooperation could be carried out in the form of co-production of films.

Practice makes perfect.

As for co-productions generating foreign exchange, and perhaps even going a step further by exporting the films, isn't that all perfectly logical?

After finding out the intentions of several companies, Chen Fan briefly discussed a plan with Zhou Yali and then had her depart on a small plane. After seeing off the reluctant Jiang Lili onto the plane, Chen Fan drove back to the Jiangying Film Studio. Since his wife wasn't home, he decided not to go home at all and worked day and night at the factory, which greatly increased his work efficiency.

A week later, the film editing was completed, and then the processes of soundtrack, dubbing, and subtitles began.

With so much work to do, he couldn't possibly have done it all by himself; he got the entire post-production department at the Jiangxi Film Studio up and running.

Before we knew it, it was late July.

……

July 25th, Friday.

Thirteen days after my wife was abducted.

As dawn broke, Chen Fan stepped out of the screening room, stretched, and took a breath of the fresh morning air, instantly feeling much more refreshed.

The next second, five or six people filed out, yawning.

Factory Director Wu turned to look at Chen Fan, "Oh... you only sleep three or four hours a day, and you've been working non-stop for over ten days. How come you're still so energetic?"

Chen Fan took out a cigarette, tossed one into his mouth, and said, "You don't understand the spirit of young people."

"It's like you're saying that everyone has to work hard when they're young."

Kuang Mingyi stretched and raised his hands high, so high that he couldn't put them down. If he were on the battlefield, he would definitely survive.

After a long while, he suddenly put his hands down, and his whole body instantly became loose and slouching, but his tone was very tough. "Back in the Great Leap Forward, I didn't sleep for three days and three nights, while you at least slept for three or four hours. So never look down on the elderly. They might be even braver than you back then."

Chen Fan smiled slightly and offered no comment.

You think I'm risking my life by staying up all night, but how can you know the amazing effects of the Deep Sleep Technique of the Hidden Dragon Sleeping Elixir? Sleeping for three or four hours? That includes my daily practice time!

Lao Jianhua patted Kuang Mingyi on the shoulder, handed him a cigarette, and laughed, "A hero doesn't dwell on past glories. If you're so capable, try pulling an all-nighter now."

He then looked at Chen Fan and said, "I'm an office director. It would be crazy for me to insist on coming here to watch the finished film with you right away."

Chen Fan exhaled a puff of smoke and said calmly, "What you're concerned about isn't the movie itself, but how well it compares to the first one, whether it can achieve the same high box office overseas as the last one, and have more foreign exchange to distribute as benefits to the staff."

Lao Jianhua showed no shame or indignation at having his thoughts exposed. He shook his head calmly and said, "This is the trouble of happiness. I really envy people in other film studios. They don't have this problem."

The others saw the group chatting by the pillars, greeted them, and dispersed, leaving only the four of them smoking.

Director Wu took a puff of his cigarette and said with a smile, "You think we're the only ones with this good fortune? Once Miss Zhou returns, will Changchun Film Studio, Beijing Film Studio, Shanghai Film Studio, and August First Film Studio let this opportunity slip by?"

He glanced at Chen Fan as he spoke, "Just wait and see, they might be making a big move over there too."

Chen Fan wiped the windowsill, checked that there was no dust, then hopped up and sat on it, before laughing, "That's not necessarily true."

Upon hearing this, Director Wu and the other two exchanged glances, then immediately surrounded him, craning their necks to ask, "What do you mean?"

Chen Fan looked down at them and laughed, "Do you think every movie can be exported? That overseas audiences will like it? You're dreaming!"
Although my film also tells the story of fighting in a notebook, its core message is consistent with that of popular commercial films overseas.

The plot is fast-paced, never preaching moral lessons but leaving the audience to understand them themselves. The characters are vividly portrayed without being stereotypical, the fight scenes are exciting and engaging, and there are comedic elements to elicit laughter, as well as tragic elements to bring tears to the eyes…

He took a drag of his cigarette and said seriously, "I'll say it again: Hong Kong and Western countries are capitalist societies. Even relatives won't give money for no reason. Or rather, if they wanted to give money, they would just write a check and that would be it. They wouldn't give money in the way of doing business."

My cousin agreed to spend a lot of money to buy this movie, it must be because she thinks she can make a lot of money from it.

So even if she actively approached several film studios to collaborate, it doesn't necessarily mean she would buy their films.

The three nodded in unison and murmured, "I see."

Looking at Chen Fan again, before they could speak, they suddenly felt uncomfortable looking up at him like that, so the three of them took a few steps back and leaned against the railing to look at him.

Yes, it's definitely much better to be further away.

Kuang Mingyi flicked his cigarette ash, looked at him and said, "Director Chen, the post-production of this movie is finished. What are your plans now? Are you going to go to Shanghai to shoot that scenery film right away? Or are you going to rest here for a few days first?"

Chen Fan: "There's no time to rest. My cousin's plane will be coming to the provincial capital to pick me up today, and we'll go directly to Shanghai to meet up with them and then move on to the next phase of our work."

Upon hearing this, Director Wu couldn't help but click his tongue and say, "You really go all out with your work style."

Kuang Mingyi seemed somewhat disappointed, "I was planning to ask you for advice again."

Chen Fan laughed and said, "You're filming a TV series, so you're using videotapes. You can just film it a few more times. It's a good opportunity to practice. Is there anything else you need to ask me?"

After a pause, he continued, "We've collaborated on three films together, and you've also directed one on your own. With that experience, I think that's enough."

Putting everything else aside, wasn't the TV series "The Hero of Tianjin" pretty well-made? Once my aunt finishes acquiring the television station in Hong Kong, maybe she can buy it to broadcast there too; that would be some foreign exchange, wouldn't it?"

Acquiring a television station?
The three looked at each other, feeling that Director Chen's words were a bit too much.

But thinking about it, it seems he had mentioned before that American companies were acquiring and creating television stations, so acquiring another one in Hong Kong doesn't seem so unacceptable.
Shaking his head, Kuang Mingyi looked up at Chen Fan and smiled, "Well then, Director Chen, this time I'll be bold again and direct a movie myself. Don't laugh at me if it doesn't turn out well."

Chen Fan laughed and said, "As long as you dare to shoot boldly, regardless of how the result is, it can already be considered a success."

I wish you a smooth start to filming and that you become a great director soon.

Kuang Mingyi laughed heartily and said, "Then I'll take your good wishes."

Factory Director Wu chuckled and said, "Since you're leaving later, why don't we have a meal at the factory as a farewell feast?"

Chen Fan waved his hand, jumped down from the windowsill, patted his bottom and laughed, "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go."

(End of this chapter)