Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 531 You guys are fans of celebrities too?
Chen Fan's original plan was to spend the last half-day of his trip around Beijing on the morning of March 18th, to visit the legendary Liulichang to see if there were any bargains, and then to buy some old medicines from Tongrentang to stock up.

At noon, I went to the airport to catch a flight back to Jiangnan.

Now that this situation has suddenly arisen, it's clear that there's no going back.

That very evening, he packed his bags and moved with Director Yang and the others to the Ministry of Machine Building's guesthouse.

Heaven have mercy, he's never seen anyone so anxious.

I had barely put down my luggage and hadn't even had a chance to eat, take a bath, or get some rest when the experts, who were still working hard at their units, all rushed over.

How could he still have the nerve to eat when surrounded by more than a dozen people?
There was no other way but to ask Director Yang to buy a few large meat buns, which I ate in two bites each with some tea, and then answered their questions.

Experts are experts; the questions they ask are far more advanced and profound than those of the engineers in the machine factory.

Fortunately, it wasn't out of their control, and Chen Fan patiently explained it to them.

In general, he can answer all questions within the scope of the design drawings. But for more complex questions, regardless of whether he knows them or not, he always says he doesn't know.

By 3 a.m., all the experts had reached the same conclusion.

This kid's skill level is about the same as theirs, but his strength lies in his ability to be original and create new ideas.

Chen Fan pretended not to know that they were half asking for a solution and half testing him, and finally said, "Actually, most of my ideas in car design come from the notebooks left by my father. So rather than saying that these two cars are my designs, it is more accurate to say that they are a summary of my father's hard work over half a lifetime."

An elderly expert with gray hair immediately brightened up, "Where's the notebook?"

Chen Fan smiled slightly, "At my home."

The old expert's eyes were full of hope, "Could you...?"

In his mind, it was perfectly reasonable for Chen Fan to draw inspiration from his father's notebook to complete the design. Otherwise, if a young man could design a product that surpassed their team of experts, wouldn't that make them seem incompetent?
Of course, the fact that this young man has such a deep understanding of mechanics at such a young age shows that he is exceptionally talented.

Unfortunately, the leadership had already informed him that even if he were truly a genius, it wouldn't be easy to win him over.

He is now the deputy director of the Jiangnan branch of the Writers Association and a nationally renowned young writer. In particular, he had read yesterday's Wenhui Daily, and the short poem touched his soul, leaving him deeply moved. Moreover, the author of the poem highly praised Chen Fan.

How are we supposed to poach talent now?!
It's best to keep quiet.

If we could get his father's notebook, it would be a great gain. We might be able to get inspiration from it and design more and better cars and engines. Even if we can't catch up with foreign countries, we can still further narrow the gap with advanced countries!
Chen Fan coughed twice. "I couldn't give you the notebook originally; it's my father's keepsake and should be kept as a memento. But you can copy or photograph it. I'll hand it over to Director Yang when I get back."

Factory Director Yang, who had been sitting in the corner for most of the night, suddenly shuddered and quickly stood up, saying, "Don't worry, everyone, once I get the notebook, I will process it as soon as possible and hand it over to my superiors!"

Once something has passed through his hands, it becomes a genuine achievement, a truly remarkable accomplishment.

What a stroke of luck! My nephew has been spoiled for a reason!

For Chen Fan, giving away a few laptops not only allows him to make a contribution to the country within his capacity, but also proves that he is not so great, thus eliminating the trouble of being "harassed" later, killing two birds with one stone.

Actually, the notebook wasn't the key. Although Chen Fan's father's hard work in recording the notebook had some merit, it was nothing special. When it was handed to this expert team, it was probably only worth a glance.

After all, he was just a mechanical engineer at a small third-tier factory, who had little to do with the automotive industry. How skilled could he be?
The key point is the personal touches that Chen Fan added.

As we all know, engineering notebooks tend to be densely filled with text when there are many words, and have large blank spaces when there are many diagrams. Therefore, Chen Fan had already added a lot of content to those notebooks before taking out the car design drawings.

Sometimes it's just a sentence or two, or even a word or two with a question mark, or sometimes it's just a few simple drawings, but without exception, it hits the key point.

The last notebook contained many blank pages, providing him with a stage to "make ideas" at length.

Anyway, when he got the notebooks, they looked like they hadn't been opened for a long time. He also asked Director Yang, and he learned that these notebooks were Chen Fan's father's private collection, and no one else had seen their contents.

Given his calligraphy skills, the imitation of his handwriting is indistinguishable from the original. In addition, since he uses a pencil, the writing will fade with slight erasure, as if several years have passed, so there is no risk of exposure.

Having received the answer from Chen Fan, the expert team stopped asking questions.

The veteran expert smiled and said, "Thank you, Comrade Chen, for your patient explanations. You have given us a deeper understanding of these two sets of design drawings, especially your vision for the next generation of car design, which has provided us with excellent ideas."

He paused for a moment, looked around, then looked at Chen Fan and said with a smile, "Sorry to bother you tonight. You can have a good rest tomorrow. The train leaves at 1:50 pm the day after tomorrow and arrives in Changchun at 7:04 am the day after that. We will complete the prototype test as soon as possible so as not to delay your time."

Chen Fan stood up and chuckled, "No problem, you can arrange it as you see fit."

After all the experts left, Chen Fan finally let out a long breath, turned to look at Director Yang and the other two, and couldn't help but be a little surprised, "It's already past three o'clock, how come you're still so energetic?"

Shi Tiezhu laughed and said, "This is nothing. Back when we were doing large-scale production, the machines never stopped and we never stopped. More than a hundred workers in the workshop lived and ate in the factory and worked continuously for 100 days. That was when we were really fired up. Tonight's little bit is just barely enough to get a feel for it."

After his initial excitement wore off, Factory Director Yang yawned several times, still stubbornly insisting, "That's right, it was the same when the factory was first built..."

Chen Fan interrupted him, "Alright, alright, I know you're all amazing. I'm sleepy even though you're not. Go back to your rooms and go to sleep."

Factory Director Yang was being pushed out, still lecturing him, "You can't do this. You need to exercise more. Health is the foundation of everything. Only with good health can you do better..."

Chen Fan pushed him into the room, closed the door behind him, and turned to walk towards his own room. "Yes, to work overtime even better."

……

The next day, August 3th.

Because he successfully completed his mission the previous night, Chen Fan had a day off, which allowed him to carry out his original plan.

Coincidentally, Liulichang is right next to Dashilan.

So Chen Fan came to find his masters again.

I called over three old men who were hiding at home drinking tea, and dragged them out for a stroll.

Lin Yuanxiang said helplessly, "We're all skilled in martial arts. It's fine if you suggest going to a theater, but taking us to Liulichang is like throwing a flirtatious glance at a blind man."

Li Shangde stared with one eye, "There are only cripples here, no blind people."

Zhang Xuansong was indignant. "So what if I'm lame? I can read, write, and draw even if I'm lame. Can you even see me?!"

Chen Fan quickly intervened to mediate, saying, "You're almost two hundred years old combined, so stop arguing."

He coughed lightly, "I heard that if you want to buy writing brushes, ink, paper, inkstones, calligraphy, paintings, and old books, you should come to Liulichang. But I was afraid of being ripped off, so I had to bring you guys out to keep things under control."

Zhang Xuansong's expression changed, and he grinned, "Then you're overthinking it. Every single shop on Liulichang Street is a state-owned enterprise; they wouldn't do anything to cheat people."

Lin Yuanxiang nodded in agreement and added, "What you mean by being cheated happened in the first few years after the founding of the People's Republic of China. There were still some unscrupulous bosses back then. Those people did nothing right. After the joint ventures were established, they never appeared again."

Especially at Rongbaozhai, whether it's paintings by predecessors or calligraphy by contemporaries, everything is clearly priced. If you like something, you buy it; there's no need to haggle.

Chen Fan raised an eyebrow. "Really? Then I'll have to see for myself later."

As he was speaking, Lin Yuanxiang pointed ahead and said, "Look, this is Liulichang East Street, but the locals are used to calling it East Liulichang."

Chen Fan's eyes twitched slightly. (The phrase "Eastern Depot" is a colloquial term for this place
But, are they really that close?
By this time, the roadside had changed. There were vendors selling calligraphy brushes, paper, books, and more. There were shops, but not many, and most of them were just small stores. The people coming and going were mostly tourists from other places.

Local residents strolled around in twos and threes on the streets, while some sat chatting by the roadside in front of their homes.

It was far from the bustling scene Chen Fan had imagined, let alone compared to Dashilan.

(Liulichang Street in the 70s)
Chen Fan and his group naturally became the focus of everyone's attention when they arrived.

It's a bit amazing that the three masters are actually celebrities here?

Elderly men and women would wave and greet you from time to time.

"Out shopping?"

"Old Lin, Old Zhang, you two actually left together today and haven't even made a move yet. That's rare!"

"Old Li, why did you decide to leave the 'embroidered tower' today?"

Li Shangde was so angry that he jumped up and down and cursed, "Get out of here! Your He family is the real brothel, and you are just the old maid in the brothel, serving your ancestors every day."

The person who was scolded wasn't angry. "Hey, you're right. I serve my eldest granddaughter every day, isn't that what I call the boudoir?"

Li Shangde was at a loss and could only use his apprentice as a substitute. He immediately pointed at Chen Fan and said, "See this? My apprentice is practically a son too. Hey, his children will be my grandchildren in the future. How about it, are you envious?!"

Suddenly, Chen Fan was surrounded by a group of elderly men and women.

"What a handsome young man! Hey, what's your name? Are you really Old Li's apprentice?"

Chen Fan chuckled dryly, "You can just call me Xiao Chen. These three are my masters."

"Wow, I've only ever heard of a master taking on several disciples. Today I've really seen something amazing. One disciple has several masters. You three are quite something, taking on disciples all at once."

Lin Yuanxiang laughed heartily, "There's no other way, my apprentice is too smart, one person can't teach him enough, so I have to share the workload."

Zhang Xuansong: "That's right, I taught him to write, Lao Li taught him to draw, and Lao Lin was in charge of teaching him to eat..."

Lin Yuanxiang kicked him, saying, "Go to hell."

Zhang Xuansong quickly jumped away, and a burst of laughter immediately erupted around him.

Seeing that they were still walking forward, an old man asked, "Where are you going?"

Zhang Xuansong pointed ahead and laughed, "Didn't I just say that I teach calligraphy and Old Li teaches painting? We need to buy some brushes, ink, paper and inkstones, so I'll take him to see what's up ahead."

The old man raised his chin and said, "What are you still looking at? Come on, I'll take you to Rongbaozhai."

He was about to lead the way when Lin Yuanxiang quickly stopped him, saying, "Why are you leading? It's not like this is our first time going. You should rest."

It took a lot of persuasion to stop him.

Li Shangde explained softly to Chen Fan, "This old man's surname is Na. He used to work at Rongbaozhai. Later, he passed the job on to his son, who is now also working as a waiter at Rongbaozhai. We know that man. We can't negotiate the price, but we can discuss the quality of the goods. With us here, you won't be taken advantage of."

Chen Fan chuckled, "How about I bring you guys along?"

Zhang Xuansong glanced at him from the side, "Hmph, I'm afraid it's not that simple!"

Li Shangde asked curiously, "What, is there another reason?"

Zhang Xuansong pointed at Chen Fan, "Don't you remember? This brat bought a yard and built a house, he's done all that work. The ten thousand I gave him was for building a Taoist temple, he definitely wouldn't dare spend it. So why did you drag us over here now?"

Li Shangde looked at Chen Fan, somewhat amused and exasperated, "It can't be that bad, can it?"

Lin Yuanxiang patted his pocket and said, "I brought all my money with me, what do you think?"

Chen Fan's lips twitched slightly. "It's not that bad, it really isn't that bad."

Lin Yuanxiang turned to look at him, "You still have money?"

Chen Fan chuckled twice. "I just submitted a manuscript, over 360,000 words, at 7 yuan per thousand words, for a total of over 2,000 yuan in royalties. I'll receive it when I get back. I also have another manuscript of 500,000 words. Once Mr. Ba Jin returns to Shanghai and reviews it, if there are no problems, he'll receive 3500 yuan in royalties as well."

Lin Yuanxiang clicked his tongue, "You certainly know how to make money."

Zhang Xuansong was a little envious, "You can earn several thousand yuan just by writing a book. Ten of your books would be more than my life savings!"

Chen Fan: "No, writing a book is also very painful... Why don't you try writing one? It doesn't have to be long, just 5000 words will do!"

Zhang Xuansong shook his head and said, "Come on, all I can do is write my name."

The group chatted as they walked, and soon arrived at the entrance of an alley.

Lin Yuanxiang pointed inside, "This is the Haiwangcun China Bookstore. It was established in 52 by integrating more than 100 secondhand book stalls on Liulichang Street. It specializes in secondhand books. Since you're interested in secondhand books, you can go in and take a look."

Chen Fan looked inside, but couldn't make out anything.

Zhang Xuansong, leaning on his cane, walked over there and said, "This used bookstore isn't open for business; it's only open for business inside. You have to go inside to find out what's inside."

While we were talking, we entered the store. There wasn't a single customer inside, only a few employees who were busy organizing old books.

Lin Yuanxiang was the first to enter, without even looking at anyone, he shouted, "Xiao Zhang!"

A man in his thirties turned around, saw what was happening, and quickly ran over, "Uncle Lin, Uncle Zhang, Uncle Li, what brings you here?"

As she spoke, she glanced at Chen Fan, seemingly with some curiosity.

These three old men have never had anyone else with them before, so why is there a young man suddenly appearing today?

Chen Fan was looking around the bookstore's interior. Well, it really didn't look like a bookstore; it looked more like a library.

The room is surrounded by bookshelves, piled high with old books, and there are a few tables and chairs in the middle so that customers can sit down and browse after selecting a book.

(Interior view of the China Bookstore in Liulichang in the 50s)
Lin Yuanxiang waved his hand and pointed to Chen Fan, "This is my apprentice, you can just call him Xiao Chen. If you want to buy some used books, take him to see them."

Xiao Zhang nodded enthusiastically, "Okay, please have a seat here, I'll take him to see it."

Please have the three gentlemen sit down. Xiao Zhang walked up to Chen Fan and asked with a smile, "Comrade Chen, what kind of used books would you like to buy?"

Chen Fan smiled and said, "I didn't have a specific goal, I was just browsing around."

Xiao Zhang nodded. "Understood. I'll give you a quick tour and show you around, then you can find it yourself."

Chen Fan smiled and nodded, "Thank you."

An hour later, the group walked out of the bookstore empty-handed.

It wasn't that they didn't buy anything, but rather that they bought too much and couldn't carry it all. So Xiao Zhang volunteered to pack it up and deliver it to their homes.

When he left, Chen Fan was still a little worried, afraid that it would be damaged.

He picked out a Song Dynasty edition of "Feng Sao," which is a combination of "Chu Ci" and "Shi Jing." According to Xiao Zhang, he had only heard that the Beijing Library had a set of these, and the content was slightly different from this one, making it extremely precious.

Guess how much this original Song Dynasty edition of "Fengsao" costs?

Just one hammer price, 80!

In addition, there is a handwritten copy of "Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio," which contains four stories that were never seen before the 1960s: "The Smoker's Repentance," "The Mischievous Gang," "The Story of the East Wall," and "The Story of Plants and Trees."

Get it for 60!

There were also dozens of similar books, enough to fill two large wooden crates, and the total cost was only a little over 800 yuan.

Yes, it was Master Lin who gave me the money.

Even so, Zhang Xuansong was still nagging, "There are clearly cheaper printed editions, a book only costs a few cents, but you don't buy the cheaper ones, and you insist on buying these old books that are almost tattered and expensive. Do you think there's something wrong with your brain?!"

(Chinese bookstore workers printing ancient books in the 60s)

Chen Fan didn't even turn his head. "Those scriptures under your bed, there are printed copies for sale right here. Do you think they're the same?"

Zhang Xuansong retorted, "Can a few shabby stories compare to scriptures? Those are the foundation of our Taoist temple, its heritage, its history—how can new stuff compare?!"

Chen Fan: "That's right, what I'm buying is history and cultural heritage. If I were just buying knowledge, I could just go to Xinhua Bookstore. Who would come here?"

Lin Yuanxiang and Li Shangde followed behind, watching the commotion, while secretly memorizing how their young apprentice argued with Old Zhang, knowing it would come in handy later!
Not long after leaving the bookstore, we finally arrived at the place I most wanted to visit today: Rongbaozhai.

(Rongbaozhai in the 70s)

Compared to the unremarkable China Bookstore, Rongbaozhai is much more impressive.

Moreover, this place is very welcoming, accommodating visitors from all over the world, including many foreigners.

Lin Yuanxiang stepped forward and walked to Chen Fan's side, explaining in a low voice, "This place has been responsible for receiving foreign guests since the founding of the People's Republic of my country. Whenever foreign guests visit, as long as they bring their families, their families are arranged to visit here. On the one hand, it is to showcase our culture, and on the other hand, it is also to generate foreign exchange."

Chen Fan nodded slightly and joined the crowd to enter Rongbaozhai.

But as soon as he entered the room, before he could even look at the dazzling array of calligraphy and paintings on the walls, he saw Mr. Ba Jin waving at him, "Come here quickly, come here quickly."

Chen Fan paused for a moment, then looked back at his three masters and said, "That's Mr. Ba Jin. Let's go say hello."

Upon hearing this, Lin Yuanxiang and the other two's eyes lit up, and they quickly walked over.

Carefully avoiding the crowd, Chen Fan walked up to Ba Lao and introduced them, "These three are my masters, all retired veterans from the Long March period. This is Master Lin, this is Master Zhang, and this is Master Li."

Upon hearing this, Ba Jin immediately became respectful and extended both hands, saying, "Greetings, my three old brothers."

Lin Yuanxiang shook hands first, beaming with joy, and said, "Hello, hello! I've long admired you. Your novel 'Reunion' is truly excellent; it captures the lives of us soldiers. Your other works are also very good; I like them all very much."

Ba Jin smiled and said, "Thank you, thank you."

Before he could finish speaking, Zhang Xuansong snatched his hands away.

Zhang Xuansong pushed Lin Yuanxiang aside, grinning like a flower, "Oh my, oh my, I never expected to have the chance to meet such a great writer in this lifetime. I am so fortunate."

Chen Fan watched the expressions on his three masters' faces and couldn't help but twitch at the corner of his eye.

Wow, so you guys are fans of celebrities too?!
Mr. Ba quickly shook his head and said with a serious face, "No, no, it is my great honor to meet the three of you."

He gripped Zhang Xuansong's hands tightly, then looked at the two men beside him and said with emotion, "I've been to the battlefield, but the places I've been are nothing compared to what you three have done. You are the true heroes..."

After exchanging compliments, Master Ba shook hands with Li Shangde before smiling at Chen Fan and asking, "You and your three masters came here to look at calligraphy and paintings?"

Chen Fan naturally couldn't say that he came to pick up bargains, so he chuckled and said, "Yes, yes, I mainly wanted to see the works of senior calligraphers and painters and see if I could improve myself."

Ba Jin laughed heartily, then turned to Lin Yuanxiang and the other two and said, "Your three disciples have an extraordinary level of calligraphy. If they improve any further, I think they will be invincible."

Lin Yuanxiang and the other two looked at each other in surprise and doubt. Was this kid really that good?

Chen Fan winked at them and chuckled softly, "Treating calligraphy like swordsmanship is actually quite simple."

The three of them nodded in unison, realizing that swordsmanship was indeed quite simple.

At this moment, Ba Jin smiled and said, "It's better to arrive at the right time than to arrive early. There are several calligraphers exchanging ideas in the inner hall right now. Why don't you join them?"

(Rongbaozhai Inner Hall, Home of Calligraphers and Painters)

He then took Lin Yuanxiang and Zhang Xuansong's hands, saying, "Come, come, I'll take you to meet them. They'll be very happy to see you."

After saying that, he pulled the two of them inside.

Chen Fan stayed by Li Shangde's side as they walked inside together.

The Rongbaozhai shop assistants only breathed a sigh of relief after they left.

It's only because Mr. Ba has a lot of influence that he's so influential. Otherwise, if a few people were chatting together, it would attract a crowd, and more importantly, with foreign guests present, it might damage their image.

(End of this chapter)