Reborn in 1977

Chapter 474: A Man of the Scene

January 15th, shopping.

Boring.

Chen Fan was driving aimlessly around the streets of the provincial capital, feeling utterly bored. When he reached the Provincial Department Store, he saw people happily carrying red enamel basins, red enamel spittoons, red thermos flasks, and a large piece of red cloth, which suddenly reminded him of something.

Wasn't Zhang Wenliang and Yang Xingxiu's wedding on January 17th?

And he had meetings tomorrow and the day after, so even if he rushed back after the meetings, he would still perfectly miss it?

In the Yunhu area, in another two years, rural weddings would last for two days. In the mid-to-late 80s, they would become three days. After the new century, they would return to two days. Finally, everyone was busy, and many families would complete it in one day. Only some townships still adhered to the minimum two-day rule.

But now, like 40 years later, it's just one day.

Welcoming guests in the morning, picking up the bride in the morning, eating at noon, and dispersing in the afternoon.

So unless he rushed back tomorrow, he would most likely miss Zhang Wenliang's wedding.

Feeling a pang of regret, Chen Fan decided to make amends.

He parked the car and went into the store, and soon came out with a large piece of red cloth.

I even came to the provincial capital to buy a wedding gift, so you can't blame me for not caring, right?!

He got back in the car and set off again, using the map to find famous scenic spots to check in.

Such as the Yangtze River Hotel where Mr. Li stayed, the certain shopping mall Mr. Li visited, and some ancient buildings.

Now these ancient buildings do not require tickets, and the buildings are relatively dilapidated, looking indeed "antique."

It will be a few years, or even more than ten years, before the provincial capital will renovate these dilapidated ancient buildings or rebuild them under the guise of renovation, turning them into tourist attractions that charge fees.

At this time, it is not that there are no scenic spots that require tickets, but they are basically parks, which Chen Fan said he was not interested in. So he specifically looked for those scenes that would hardly be seen again in later generations to take pictures, fixing history in the camera.

After wandering around, it was finally noon, and Chen Fan drove to the Game Restaurant not far from the riverside.

The endless Yangtze River flows eastward. A small hill on the riverbank was leveled, and the earth and rocks were filled into the low-lying areas on the spot, making this river embankment connected to a flat ground behind it. The river embankment is the road.

There is a row of thick plane trees beside the road. When Chairman ordered Nanjing to plant French plane trees, the leaders in Jiangnan followed suit. In the old city of the provincial capital, including the area in front of the Cultural Palace Guesthouse, there are also these plane trees, but the scale is not as large as Nanjing, only limited to the administrative area and its surroundings.

The Game Restaurant is located behind a few plane trees, a red two-story building, covering a large area, about forty to fifty meters in length.

There is no problem of parking difficulties this year. Although several minibuses and cars have already parked in front of the restaurant, there is still a large parking space left for Chen Fan.

He parked the car, got out, and pushed the door open. A noisy sound immediately hit him. Looking around, the huge hall on the first floor was filled with Eight Immortals tables. It was lunchtime, and almost all the tables were full of people.

Business is so good?

Chen Fan glanced around. Most people were eating noodles, and a strong aroma filled the air. This should be the game gravy noodles that Xiao Peng emphasized.

He sniffed his nose and immediately smelled at least a dozen kinds of game in the ingredients. And although it is said to be gravy noodles, there is actually a large spoonful of topping.

No wonder other people's noodles sell for one or two mao, but his family sells for 1 yuan. It is indeed worth the price.

There are also people eating rice. For example, at the table to his left, several diners were eating with relish, holding rice bowls. There were three dishes on the table, one plate of shiny fried sparrows. There were at least a dozen or twenty sparrows in that plate. The other two plates were unclear what they were.

It is said that the Game Restaurant's dishes are only game, which may also be some kind of small animal, but since they are sold on the first floor, the price should not be expensive.

For example, that plate of fried sparrows, 20 of them would only cost 6 mao, which is very cost-effective.

Chen Fan didn't stay much. After glancing at it, he went straight to the second floor.

No one stopped him?

And there is a waiter to receive him?

A man in his thirties, wearing a Zhongshan suit, was standing at the entrance of the corridor, watching Chen Fan come up. When he stepped on the last step, he asked appropriately, "Hello, are you here for a meal or looking for someone?"

Chen Fan smiled, "For a meal."

The man seemed a little surprised, "Are you alone? Or is someone coming later?"

Chen Fan, "Just me."

Then he looked at him and smiled, "Is that not allowed?"

He had specifically asked Xiao Peng that although the Game Restaurant is a foreign-related place, it does not prohibit ordinary diners, and there are no special requirements. Even because it serves foreign guests, the dining habits are a bit biased towards later generations.

It's not that you can eat first and then pay, but when dining on the second floor, you don't need to go to the service desk to order and pay. You can first sit in a private room, take the menu and look at it slowly, and when the waiter has recorded it and calculated the bill, you can pay directly.

And eating here does not require food stamps or meat coupons, but the price is higher. By the way, you can also eat in ordinary restaurants without meat coupons, but you need to use food stamps to offset the cost. If you don't have them, the price of meat dishes will increase slightly. So for a while, people who lacked meat would go to restaurants to eat meat, and then pay with food stamps or directly with cash.

The man looked at Chen Fan and quickly smiled, "No, no, it's just rare to dine alone on the second floor."

After saying this, he saw that Chen Fan did not react, and knew that this person was here to eat dishes, not just a bowl of game gravy noodles.

Looking at Chen Fan's attire, he should not be someone who cannot afford to pay the bill.

While thinking, he reached out and walked forward, "This way, please."

The waiter led Chen Fan to a small private room next to the corridor, with a small round table inside, which could also seat 10 people.

Chen Fan turned to sit in the main seat facing the door. The waiter had already taken out a menu from the sundry cabinet at the door and placed it in front of him with both hands.

Picking up the menu and opening it, Chen Fan couldn't help but sigh inwardly, it is indeed a foreign-related place, the service attitude is different.

The menu he has in his hand now is exactly the same as the one Lao Peng from the 9th team gave him before, so he didn't look at it much. After flipping through it roughly, he ordered a few dishes.

Braised Bear Paw in Brown Sauce, Skewered Roasted Argali, Roasted Roe Deer Leg, Clove Roe Deer Leg, Curried Leg of Lamb, Roasted Wild Goose, Roasted Wild Duck, Lantern Pheasant Slices, Lemon Hazel Grouse, Pepper Salt Ortolan, Stewed Stone Chicken, Roasted Wild Chicken, and Matsutake Partridge Soup.

There are a total of 27 game dishes on the menu, and he only ordered 13.

The remaining ones that he didn't order were either similar ingredients, such as Clear Soup Bear Paw and Braised Bear Paw in Brown Sauce, just different flavors, so he randomly chose one.

(Clear Soup Bear Paw)

Some of them were dishes that he had experimented with at home before, using the menu Lao Peng gave him, such as Roasted Wild Rabbit Leg, Peanut Wild Rabbit Back, Crispy Rice Chicken, Portuguese Sand Partridge, and Five-Spice Wild Pigeon, Stewed Wild Pigeon. He had made all of these.

As for whether the taste is the same as that of the chefs here, he doesn't care at all.

A thousand people have a thousand tastes. Everyone's taste is different, and the taste made by each chef is also different. And Chinese food pays attention to shape, color, taste, and aroma. As long as the method is right, the taste of the corresponding ingredients can be brought out, and the food is made delicious, nothing else is important.

Of course, learning from each other's strengths is also an attitude that every chef should have, but it doesn't necessarily have to be the same dish, other dishes are also possible.

After ordering the dishes, the waiter made a record and looked at the menu in a daze.

After a two-second pause, he looked at him in surprise, "Are you eating so much alone?"

Chen Fan coughed lightly, "I'm from out of town, and I don't have many opportunities to eat here, so I'll pack up what I can't finish and take it back."

The waiter nodded suddenly, and then began to calculate the bill. After a while, he handed the bill to Chen Fan, "Take a look, this is the price of each dish, and this is the total price."

Chen Fan looked carefully, hey, they even wrote the cost and gross profit on it?

(Guangzhou Restaurant bill in October 1978, a table of 12 people ate 320 yuan)

In fact, it doesn't matter whether the gross profit is written or not, because there is no such thing as bargaining or discounts this year. It is what it is.

For example, the bill in front of Chen Fan, which says 207, he can't discuss with people whether the 7 yuan can be wiped out. It is what it is.

13 dishes cost more than 200, no wonder Xiao Peng never comes to the second floor to eat, it is indeed expensive.

Chen Fan took out his wallet and paid the money without a penny short. The waiter simply wrote a receipt in the blank space below the menu, tore it off and placed it on the table, and then walked out.

Then the dishes were served continuously.

A meal took nearly an hour, and exactly half of the dishes on the table were left. When the waiter was helping him pack the food in a lunch box, his eyes were filled with unstoppable surprise.

This is a meat dish, he ate half of 13 dishes by himself?

Chen Fan took out the money for the lunch box, and walked out of the restaurant carrying a set of 6 lunch boxes, the smile on his face showed that he was in a good mood at this time.

I have to say, it is indeed a well-known game restaurant at home and abroad. The chef's skills are even better than the chef of Wangjiang Restaurant in Yunhu, especially in the handling of game. Even Chen Fan is ashamed of himself.

Of course, that was before eating. After eating this meal, he already knew the chef of the Game Restaurant's secret sauce and cooking methods like the back of his hand, and he even had ideas for those dishes that he hadn't eaten.

This wave directly increased his cooking skills by a large margin.

Unfortunately, still at LV5.

He found out that this skill panel must be produced by Pinduoduo. It looks easy to upgrade in the early stage. He was still thinking about when he could become Superman, but when he got to the later stage, the upgrade experience bar was so slow that he wanted to kill someone.

Forget it, let's just use it.

After getting in the car, Chen Fan drove out for a while, but stopped again, took the still hot lunch box over, opened the lid and ate slowly.

People who practice martial arts naturally have a large appetite. Not to mention others, just Xiao Liewen and Zhang Wenliang, their appetite is two or three times that of ordinary people.

And at this time, the appetite of ordinary people is more than two or three times that of ordinary people in later generations. A huge sea bowl, any strong laborer can finish two or three bowls.

But since Chen Fan practiced the qigong taught by Master Lin, his appetite is even bigger than Zhang Wenliang and the others, but he usually eats "less" and more meals, and the food he eats is also full of oil, so outsiders can't see it.

This is also one of the reasons why he is unwilling to work in the city. If he goes to the city, he has to eat a fixed amount. Where can he find so much fixed amount?

It's different in Lujiawan. The big river is next to the house, and the whole village is engaged in breeding. In addition, there is no shortage of various game flying in the sky and running on the ground. Just get some to fill your stomach, which is much better than in the city!

Now that there are no outsiders present, he goes all out.

Before long, 3 of the 6 lunch boxes were empty.

Looking at the remaining 3 lunch boxes, Chen Fan rubbed his stomach and decided to finish them all in one go, otherwise he would have to explain to others if he took them back to the guest house.

He took a deep breath, and the rhythm of his breathing immediately changed, his stomach rising and falling with the rhythm.

At the same time, he wondered what kind of expression Master Lin would have if he knew that he was using Great Toad Qi to aid digestion?

… …

Chen Fan didn't continue to wander around. At two o'clock in the afternoon, he returned to the Cultural Palace Guest House.

As soon as he parked the car, He Qingsheng ran out, looking at him with surprise in his eyes, "Xiao Peng told me this morning that you went out, and you drove out yourself. Your unit is really good to you, even providing you with a car! Does the Yunhu Health Department have so many cars?"

Chen Fan opened the door and got out of the car, closing the door casually, and chuckled, "This is not the Health Department's car, it's Yunhu Machinery Factory's. They knew I was coming to the provincial capital for a meeting, so they lent it to me for a while."

He Qingsheng nodded in realization and smiled, "That's very good too."

As he spoke, he gestured, leading Chen Fan inside, "Our magazine only has one old car, which is 20 years old. The Provincial Propaganda Department only allocated it to us when the magazine was relaunched last year. It has to be said that the factory has better benefits. Administrative units really can't compare."

Chen Fan echoed with a smile, "Production comes first."

When passing through the front hall, he turned his head to look at the front desk. Xiao Peng was no longer there, replaced by a round-faced girl.

He didn't greet her, just smiled and nodded, then followed He Qingsheng, answering his words, "I didn't wander around much, just went to a few places Mr. Li had been to, and then went to Yewei Restaurant to eat something before coming back."

He Qingsheng looked back at him and laughed, "Xiao Peng recommended it, right? Did you eat the wild game braised noodles there? It tastes good, right!"

Chen Fan blinked and nodded repeatedly, "Yes, it's really good. There are more than a dozen kinds of wild game such as sparrows, rock partridges, hazel grouse, and pheasants. After careful matching, these flavors blend together, and the umami is integrated into the soup. On the contrary, the meat is not as good as the braised soup."

He Qingsheng gave a thumbs up, "Yes, you are a gourmet. You have figured out all their secrets."

Chen Fan chuckled. He didn't taste it at all, he smelled it all, and he was very confident that he could recreate this wild game braised noodle dish.

Thanks to LV5 cooking skills.

At this time, he was a little curious, what magical effect would there be when he reached LV6?

Could he make fried rice that glows?

Walking to the front of the residential building, Chen Fan had already taken out his key to open the door, but He Qingsheng waved to him, "Come on, come up with me, I'll take you to meet some people."

Chen Fan put the key back in his pocket and followed him upstairs, asking curiously, "What kind of people?"

He Qingsheng smiled, "There are a few leaders from the Propaganda Department and the Provincial Department of Culture. I'll introduce you to them, and then there are the writer representatives from various regions who have already reported."

Chen Fan said "Oh" and didn't speak.

Frankly speaking, he wasn't too interested in leaders, but was more willing to deal with factories.

Just like in Lujiawan for a year, he never thought about meeting and chatting with Secretary Qian of the commune, and even deliberately avoided him twice when Secretary Qian came to the team to inspect the work.

Because even if they met, there was nothing to talk about, just some polite words. Even the sideline business of Lujiawan could not provide much help.

In Chen Fan's view, these were all ineffective social interactions, and it was best to avoid them if possible.

Besides, weren't there Secretary Yang and the others? It was very appropriate to leave these social matters to them.

The factory was different. The factory had production resources, as well as a network of brother units, etc. In terms of energy, it was even greater than administrative units of the same level. Building a good relationship with them would be of great benefit to both Chen Fan and Lujiawan.

Another thing was that he had already avoided the leaders of the administrative unit, and it would not be appropriate to avoid the factory's, so he had to rely on one side or the other.

Unfortunately, there was no way to avoid it now.

He Qingsheng led the way, and soon walked to the end of the second floor, knocked on the door, and a "Please come in" sound came from inside immediately.

From the moment Chen Fan entered the door, he turned on the after-sales supervisor mode that had been hidden for a long time, transformed into a social butterfly, and exchanged greetings with the 4 leaders inside.

Two men and two women, two from the Propaganda Department and two from the Department of Culture, were all deputy leaders, and their levels were quite high.

However, in terms of level, Editor He was at the same level as them, and everyone was about the same.

Only Chen Fan was a small fry at the deputy section level.

The content of their chat was nothing new, all of which He Qingsheng had said in Chen Fan's room last night.

However, the same words spoken from their mouths inevitably carried a bit of officialdom.

Editor He treated Chen Fan as an equal based on his literary achievements. And these few people were talking to a small cadre at the deputy section level as leaders, so the tone was naturally different.

So this was one of the reasons why Chen Fan was reluctant to meet with leaders.

Fortunately, Chen Fan was a social butterfly. Compared to the days when he worked in a company before time-traveling, this could only be considered a small scene. Moreover, although these people were a bit pretentious, they showed "kindness" and "approachability" on the surface. Overall, the atmosphere was still good.

After finally finishing the chat, He Qingsheng took Chen Fan out, looked at his face, nodded slightly and smiled, "Not bad, neither humble nor overbearing, with some literati's spirit."

Without waiting for Chen Fan to speak, he gestured, walking forward while saying, "This reconstruction meeting includes you, a total of 23 representatives. When the Provincial Writers Association branch is established, I will serve as the chairman…"

Hearing this, Chen Fan didn't find it strange. Although the chairman of the Writers Association was elected by the representatives of various regions, at the beginning of the reconstruction, a respected person was definitely needed to lead. In this case, the leadership department generally designated the candidate.

Only after the initial stage was over and all the work was on track would a vote be held to elect the chairman.

However, even at that time, as long as He Qingsheng didn't make any big mistakes and was still willing to be in this position, he would still be elected as chairman.

He Qingsheng didn't notice Chen Fan one step behind him, and continued, "The Secretary-General is also designated by the higher authorities, it is Xu Qizhen from the Propaganda Department that you just met."

Chen Fan nodded lightly.

It is said that the Writers Association was originally a member unit of the Federation of Literary and Art Circles, and the superior competent department should also be the Federation of Literary and Art Circles, but it was not.

Because the Writers Association and the Federation of Literary and Art Circles were at the same level, and even many leaders of the Writers Association often jumped back and forth between the Federation of Literary and Art Circles and the Writers Association. Today they might be the Secretary-General of the Writers Association, and tomorrow they might become the leaders of the Federation of Literary and Art Circles, as if they were at their own home.

Other literary and art units, such as the Dance Association, the Music Association, etc., could only be envious.

Therefore, the Writers Association and the Federation of Literary and Art Circles were both directly managed by the organization.

In the vast majority of the past, the Writers Association was responsible for coordinating and coordinating by the Propaganda Department… It could only be said that it was coordinating and coordinating, meaning that it represented the organization to carry out work arrangements.

Later, for a certain period of time, this management right was handed over to the cultural department, but later it returned to the hands of the Propaganda Department.

In this way, the Writers Association had deep ties with both departments, which was why the propaganda and cultural systems had to participate in the reconstruction of the Writers Association.

In this case, it was easy to understand why the leader of the Provincial Propaganda Department served as the Secretary-General of the Writers Association.

Well, it was as normal as a bunch of people from the Writers Association entering the Ministry of Culture.

He Qingsheng continued, "The Vice Chairman and Executive Vice Chairman will be produced from the representatives of various regions."

After speaking, he looked back at Chen Fan and smiled, "How about it, do you want to consider my words from yesterday again? As long as you are willing to come, I will guarantee you a position as Vice Chairman in the next election."

Chen Fan chuckled dryly, and quickly shook his head and waved his hands, "I can't do it, I can't do it."

He Qingsheng was not angry either, turned around and went up the stairs, and said, "It doesn't matter, you are not too old, there will always be opportunities in the future."

The corners of Chen Fan's mouth twitched slightly. The meaning of these words was that he was still not giving up.

However, he didn't take it to heart. It didn't matter if he didn't give up today. He should give up in a few years.

Going up to the third floor, He Qingsheng didn't look for any room to knock on, but walked and shouted, "Is there anyone still holed up in the room, come to the meeting room for tea."

As soon as the voice fell, after waiting a few seconds, one room door after another was pulled open.

A dozen middle-aged people in their forties and fifties came out of the room, including 4 women.

An uncle shouted with his throat, "What's the point of just drinking tea? You should get some melon seeds to crack."

The words were said to He Qingsheng, but his eyes were looking at Chen Fan. He seamlessly connected and said, "What an energetic young man, you are Chen Fan, right? Sure enough, you are extraordinary."

He Qingsheng looked back, reached out and pushed open the door of the conference room at the end of the corridor, "Lao Xu, you have to work harder, if you don't work hard, Xiao Chen will leave you far behind, you can't catch up even on horseback."

Without waiting for Lao Xu to speak, someone next to him laughed, "That's too much of a compliment to Lao Xu, he's just a cattle herder, how can he ride a horse, so he can't catch up in this life."

As he spoke, he walked to Chen Fan's side, looked him up and down, and nodded approvingly, "My surname is Guo, I'm a few years older than you, and I'm also from Yunhu. You can call me Lao Guo."

At this time, Lao Xu came over and interjected, "I'm a cattle herder, then you're a livestock raiser, let's not talk about who's better than whom, neither of us is better off."

Then he turned to Chen Fan and smiled, "Do you know what he does?"

Chen Fan blinked and carefully looked at the fellow villager a few times.

At this time, the others didn't enter the door either, and looked at him with smiles on their faces, but their eyes were full of teasing.

The fellow villager didn't speak either, and let Chen Fan observe himself with a smile.

Seeing this scene, He Qingsheng didn't urge anyone to come in either, and grinned non-stop, took out two large cloth bags from the cabinet by himself, and poured them on the table, which was a pile of melon seeds and a pile of peanuts.

After waiting for a few seconds, Chen Fan said thoughtfully, "Are you from the zoo?"