Reborn in 1977

Chapter 625: Still a teenager?

After taking Liu Lu home and cooking a big meal, I finally managed to calm this little girl down.

In a corner of the dining table, three gyrfalcons huddled together in a small bamboo basket filled with dry grass, mouths wide open, vying to snatch meat from Jiang Lili and Jiang Tiantian's chopsticks.

Nearby, two raccoon cats were half-crouched on a chair, drooling as they watched the three little ones.

So small and tender, they looked so delicious!

Chen Fan glanced over and decided to take the gyrfalcons away; otherwise, if he raised them here, they might disappear.

He'd wait until the three birds grew up to see how they bullied the two cats.

Watching the three little birds eat half a pound of meat in a short while, Liu Lu couldn't help but click her tongue, "Raising these things must be expensive."

They could eat half a pound of meat in one meal; who knows how many meals they eat in a day.

Chen Fan picked up one of the little birds and put his fingertip into its beak. The little bird pecked a couple of times, then bit down and didn't move, its two small eyes looking at him in confusion.

He stroked the bird's head and said softly with a smile, "These things can fly in two months at most. With a little training, they can hunt for themselves. It really doesn't cost much."

Liu Lu thought for a moment, "Master, why don't I take them back to Lujiawan to raise? The cooked food workshop has a lot of chicken giblets every day. Just feed them casually."

Anyway, Master has a lot of animals at home; he won't miss these three.

Chen Fan shook his head gently, "These birds are different. I have to keep them by my side to raise them, otherwise, they'll easily be ruined."

Seeing him say this, Liu Lu stopped talking.

That night, in Chen Fan's room, Jiang Lili silently packed his luggage for him, even handling the computer herself, not letting him touch it.

The reluctance on her face was plain to see.

Chen Fan sat on the edge of the bed, and after she buckled the backpack, he pulled her into his arms.

Neither of them spoke, just gently hugging each other.

After a while, Chen Fan raised her chin and smiled, "Reluctant to let go?"

Jiang Lili hugged his neck tightly, her face pressed against his, and she whimpered an "Mmm."

Chen Fan patted her back, "Okay, okay, you're so old, yet you're still like a child. Here, I'll tell you some good news to cheer you up."

Jiang Lili still didn't let go, but asked curiously, "What good news?"

Chen Fan said, "In the first half of the year, one semester, I've completed all the credits. I only need to pass the thesis defense to graduate. So, the teacher no longer requires me to report to school for classes. I just need to register at the beginning of the semester and then go back once a month to report progress. At other times, I'm free to do as I please."

He touched her smooth hair and smiled, "So, I'll come to see you often in the future. Don't find it annoying then."

Hearing this, Jiang Lili's heart bloomed instantly. She sat up straight and looked at him, "Really?"

Chen Fan smiled and nodded gently, "Of course, when have I ever lied to you?"

Jiang Lili hugged him tightly again, chuckling without saying a word.

After hugging for a while, she let go and stood up, continuing to pack her luggage.

However, her mood was very different now, and she was humming a song softly.

At this moment, there was a knock on the door. Chen Fan called out to come in, and the door was pushed open. Jiang Tiantian walked in slowly, smiling, "Xiao Fan, the hot water is ready, you can go wash up."

Then she looked at her sister, "Are you done? Do you need help?"

Jiang Lili turned around and smiled, "I'm done. There weren't many things to begin with."

She patted the packaged cardboard box, "This computer is the heaviest, but it's okay, it didn't take much effort to pack it up."

Jiang Tiantian smiled and raised her eyebrows, "Okay, then get some rest early."

Then she smiled at Chen Fan and turned to leave.

Looking at her sister's back, Jiang Lili pursed her lips, then looked at Chen Fan again, her eyes sparkling, with a somewhat hesitant look, but in the end, she didn't say anything.

By the time Chen Fan turned his gaze back from the door, her face was already radiant with a charming smile, and one couldn't see the strangeness from just now.

… …

September 1st, Friday.

Chen Fan carried a backpack on his back and a small straw basket in his hand. The three little birds had just finished eating and were huddled together asleep inside.

Liu Lu dragged a suitcase and trotted behind, and soon they left the airport, got on a bus, and headed towards the provincial capital.

Although large cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou already have hundreds of taxis, which can basically meet the travel needs of the well-off, in other cities in the mainland, including most provincial capitals, taxis are not yet popular.

For example, the provincial capital of Jiangnan Province only established its first taxi company in the 1970s. The cars used were quite touching, with 15 "Jiangnan Brand" jeeps manufactured under orders from the Jiangnan Automobile Factory.

In fact, they were imitations of the Beijing 212. As for the quality of the cars, it could be compared to the vans produced by other automobile factories and the cars produced by Yunqi Factory.

The whole thing leaked air everywhere, but fortunately, it could barely keep out the rain on rainy days.

The provincial capital taxi company relied on these 15 cars for several years. Around 1975, they added twenty-odd Fiat small cars and several Jiefang trucks.

Well, using Jiefang trucks as taxis is also a characteristic of this era. I wonder who is using them?

With so few cars, throwing them into the provincial capital taxi market wouldn't even make a splash.

Therefore, Chen Fan directly abandoned the idea of taking a taxi and could only take a bus back to the city.

On the bus, Liu Lu asked, "Master, are you going back to Lujiawan?"

Chen Fan thought for a moment, "I wasn't planning to go back, but I'm worried about you taking the bus alone. You wait for me in the provincial capital for two days. After I've dealt with something, I'll take you back."

Liu Lu smiled carelessly, "It's okay. I heard Zhang Lianchang and the others say that I can take a boat directly at the dock, get off at Yunhu Passenger Terminal, and go to the Luwan Cooked Food Store there. Then, when our production team's cargo ship comes, I can go with the cargo ship."

Chen Fan flicked her forehead, "What I'm afraid of is the insecurity on the ship. Listen to me obediently."

Liu Lu stuck out her tongue, "Oh."

If it hadn't been for the robbery in Beijing, he would have let Liu Lu go back by herself.

However, that incident reminded him that now that educated youths are returning to the city on a large scale, whether they returned before, are returning now, or haven't gone to the countryside, some of them can't help but start muddling the waters.

And every time there is a security problem, the transportation lines are the most sensitive places.

Because places like stations, docks, and national highways are crowded with people and the situation is complicated. Moreover, there is an ancient saying that 'a poor family has a rich journey.' Usually, people who travel by car or boat carry more money with them.

Wealth moves people's hearts, and where there is a lot of money, bad people will naturally follow.

Liu Lu is just a 16-year-old girl who has never been out before, and she doesn't have any self-defense tools or means. If something really happens, there will be no place to regret it.

When they arrived in the provincial capital, they changed to a bus and got off at the Cultural Palace.

After settling Liu Lu in the Cultural Palace Hostel, Chen Fan walked to the nearby Writers Association office.

As soon as he reached the gate, Uncle Xiang walked out of the gatehouse, "Yo, Director Chen, where have you been on official business? You're finally willing to come back."

Chen Fan walked over, pulled up a chair, sat down, took out a cigarette and offered one, then started bragging, "Don't even mention it, this trip really wore me out. For over a month, I accompanied the American publisher, traveling from south to north, from east to west, covering most of China. It wasn't easy to finalize the deal for exporting our literary works to the United States."

Uncle Xiang looked at him with suspicion, "American publisher? Exporting literary works? Are you kidding me?"

Chen Fan crossed his legs, exhaled a puff of smoke, "How could I joke about that? Otherwise, if they find out there are no works being exported, wouldn't that be a slap in my face?!"

Uncle Xiang smacked his lips, moved a chair from the gatehouse and sat next to him, "So, according to you, you've made a great contribution?"

Chen Fan said, "Of course. I'm the director of the European and American division of the External Liaison Department. If I don't work hard, who will? This is my job."

He sighed softly, flicked the ash from his cigarette, "There's no other way. Who told me to worry about work? I can only run around and tire myself out."

Uncle Xiang barely suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. If Director Chen wasn't lying, exporting literary works would earn foreign exchange for the country. He could brag all he wanted.

He silently took a drag of his cigarette, the old man's eyes filled with a hint of melancholy, "The shrapnel that was just taken out of my body, I got it on the northern battlefield. Back then, we were fighting the Americans to the death. Who would have thought that only a few years later, we'd be on good terms and doing business together.

People are like that…"

He shook his head, exhaled a mouthful of smoke, turned to look at Chen Fan, "Hey, what's the American publisher like? Is she like the drawings in the newspaper, a big fat woman wearing a big hat, looking like a capitalist?"

Chen Fan smacked his lips, "Not at all. She's a pretty young woman, and a nice person. Other than being a bit talkative, she's got no other flaws."

Uncle Xiang immediately became curious, "Such a big deal, and a young woman decided it? Weren't you scammed?"

Chen Fan took the last drag of his cigarette, threw the butt on the ground, and said seriously, "Definitely not. The contract is signed. There's a penalty for breaking it."

Uncle Xiang looked at him and continued to ask, "How did you negotiate with her? Tell me, so I can praise you to others."

Chen Fan chuckled, stood up and said, "It's nothing. She's my maternal uncle's daughter. Easy to talk to."

Uncle Xiang's old face darkened, "Get lost."

Chen Fan said, "Alright."

Then he took out a pack of cigarettes from his bag, left it behind, and scurried into the office building.

As he entered the building, he handed out cigarettes and greeted people, "Brought back some stuff, mountain goods from Changbai Mountain. Give it all to the kitchen, let's have a better meal later."

Voices immediately came from various offices.

"Director Chen is generous."

"Mountain goods from Changbai Mountain? Those are good stuff."

"Director Chen is back from gathering material, he has to publish three articles in a row. How about publishing in Jiangnan Literature?"

"I think Jiangnan Daily is also good. You have to wait another month, but publishing in the daily can be done tomorrow."

Chen Fan listened to their nonsense with a smile, gave the things to the kitchen, and then slowly returned to his office.

In the office, Bian Huifang was working diligently. Hearing the office door being pushed open, she immediately looked up, a smile instantly appearing on her face. She stood up and called out, "Director, you're back."

Chen Fan took out a gift from his bag, "A souvenir for you."

Bian Huifang took it with both hands, smiling from ear to ear.

Chen Fan returned to his desk, casually swiped his finger across the surface, nodded in satisfaction, then plopped down, leaned back in his chair, and looked at her, asking, "In these two months, were there any accidents?"

Bian Huifang immediately walked up and said, "No, the correspondence course and the Literary Youth magazine are both going smoothly. All departments are also cooperating with me. There were no accidents."

Chen Fan nodded slightly, "That's good."

Regarding everyone's welfare, he believed that no one would dare to mess around with that.

At this time, a figure appeared at the office door, gently knocked, and He Qingsheng said with a dark face, "What's this? You come back, and I have to personally invite you."

Chen Fan quickly stood up and walked out, "Oh, it's Chairman He, I'm sorry, how could I let you invite me? I was just about to report my work to you."

Seeing him like this, He Qingsheng couldn't keep his dark face up any longer, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but widen, "Why do I feel like you're becoming less and less serious?"

Chen Fan pushed him out, "My subordinate is still here, can you leave me some face?"

In just a few steps, they entered He Qingsheng's office.

Unsurprisingly, Xu Qizhen was also there.

Chen Fan immediately said, "Sister Xu, did you snitch on me?"

Xu Qizhen sat steadily on the sofa, looked at him with a smile, "What, not convinced?"

Chen Fan immediately clasped his hands together, "I wouldn't dare."

Sitting down on the sofa, Chen Fan poured himself a cup of tea, while looking at the two of them and asking, "Why did you call me over so urgently? Is there something important?"

He Qingsheng sat opposite him, first threw him a cigarette, and hearing his words, he immediately smiled so hard that he couldn't close his mouth, "The sales figures for your first novel from the Japanese side have come back. Guess how much it sold in less than two months?"

Chen Fan raised his eyebrows slightly, lit a cigarette and exhaled smoke, smiled and said, "Seeing you smile so happily, it should be more than 10,000 copies. Hmm, let me conservatively estimate, 30,000?"

10,000 copies was the initial print run. The contract signed was for 10,000. If there were subsequent reprints, there would be royalties to be earned.

He Qingsheng stood up, pulled out a folder from the pile of documents on the corner of the table, walked over and handed it to him, "See for yourself."

Chen Fan opened the folder, inside was a reprint contract.

Seeing the numbers on the contract clearly, he couldn't help but look up in astonishment, "Reprint 50,000?"

The first novel wasn't very long, only over 200,000 words, priced at 900 yen. Reprinting 50,000 copies would be a total of 45 million yen. The royalty rate he signed was 14%, which would be 6.3 million yen.

According to the current exchange rate, so, another royalty of more than 30,000 US dollars would be coming in?

He Qingsheng returned to his seat and sat down, smiled at him, "When this book was launched on the market, Takahashi Publishing used the title of 'China's Genius Young Writer', which immediately aroused readers' interest.

Later, after reading it, readers generally believed that the storyline and literary quality were very good. This word-of-mouth spread promoted a large increase in sales. In just over a week, the first batch of 10,000 copies were all sold out."

He took a sip of tea and continued, "At that time, President Takahashi contacted us urgently, requesting a reprint, but you were outside at the time and couldn't be contacted for a while, so a few of us held a meeting and temporarily authorized it in the name of the unit, waiting for you to come back and sign the contract."

He pointed to the contract in Chen Fan's hand, crossed his legs and said, "You wouldn't refuse money that's handed to you, would you?!"

These were all conditions that had been negotiated in advance. This reprint contract was just a supplement to the previous contract, and there really wasn't anything to discuss.

Chen Fan picked up a pen and quickly signed his name, but complained, "What a lousy idea, genius young man? I'm almost 18, am I still young?"