Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 537 is back again
After chatting for a while, it was already 2 PM. Chen Fan checked the time and said, "Let's set up the frame first, and at the same time, we'll continue to build the new car by hand."

As for the lack of suitable spare parts suppliers in Yunhu, I think this is another opportunity for the machinery factory.

Meeting the probing gazes of Director Yang and the other three, Chen Fan smiled and said, "I remember that the machinery factory used to manufacture axles and universal joints. Since we have a foundation, why not split up some workshops and workers to build different auto parts factories? This would make it easier to control the quality of parts."

He raised his hand and gestured, saying, "Since these two models have been publicly announced by the ministries, they will definitely be used by car factories all over the country for production. As a result, the demand for exclusive spare parts for these two models will be huge."

On the one hand, we focus on automobile production; on the other hand, we don't overlook the profits from auto parts. As long as the products are good, it's entirely possible to gradually transform Yunhu Machinery Factory into a professional automotive industry supporting company.

Director Yang's eyes lit up as he listened. "We had no ideas before, but now that you've said this, it's like the clouds have parted and the moon is shining through."

He clapped his hands and said, "Okay, I know what to do. Don't worry, I definitely won't bother you again for a while."

Chen Fan had a long face, so it would take a long time?
As they came out of the cafeteria, Huang Li and the other two were already waiting by the car. Director Qian was chatting with them, but they didn't know what they had to talk about.

Chen Fan glanced at it, then turned to Director Yang and Deputy Director Li and said, "You're about to establish a car factory, and you'll be setting up an office in Beijing, right?"

Deputy Factory Director Li nodded repeatedly, "This is definitely necessary. Whether it's for tasks or technical support, we need to contact the ministries more often. We've even held a meeting to discuss the appointment of the first director of the Beijing office. In a few days, I will personally take him to Beijing to set up the office before we come back."

After saying this, a thought suddenly struck him, and he smiled at Chen Fan, "Don't you have a good idea?"

Chen Fan shook his head. "It's not a great idea, just a practical problem."

He turned to Director Yang and said, "I've spent a bit more time in Beijing and even attended a meeting at the Writers' Association. Do you know what the offices of the Writers' Association look like now?"

Factory Director Yang recalled the scene when he went to see Chen Fan, and a strange look flashed in his eyes. "Could it be that row of wooden houses?"

Chen Fan nodded seriously, "Yes, those are the wooden huts that have no heating in winter and are unbearably hot in summer."

Factory Director Yang was speechless, his mouth agape.

He was so excited about the upcoming car factory that he didn't have time to think about what those rows of wooden houses were. He just assumed they were having a meeting there temporarily, never expecting that it was actually the Writers' Association.

Is the China Writers Association, after all, really in such difficult conditions?
At this point, Deputy Factory Director Li also understood, and said thoughtfully, "You mean, there's a severe shortage of office space in Beijing? So much so that even the Writers' Association doesn't have a stable office location?"

Chen Fan naturally wouldn't tell them about his and He Qingsheng's conjectures. He nodded resolutely and said, "It's not just work unit housing that's in short supply, but also residential housing. The return of educated youth to the city has already begun to take shape. In the next two years, it's very likely that the vast majority of educated youth will return to the city, so the shortage of urban housing is an inevitable trend."

Especially in big cities like Beijing and Shanghai, it was no longer news that families were crammed into a room of just over ten square meters. It's said that at that time, the average living space per person in Shanghai was less than four square meters, and in Beijing it was slightly better, but still only about 4.5 square meters.

At this point, Chen Fan thought of his small Western-style house on Panyu Road and his seaside villa in Beijing, and silently repented for three seconds.

Then I made a vow that when I have money in the future, I will build more houses so that everyone can have a good house to live in!
Li, the deputy factory director, didn't quite understand everything Chen Fan said, but he understood one thing: the first thing the machinery factory's office needed to solve was not communication with the Ministry of Machine Building, but how to get a barely adequate building!

He immediately asked, "Then what's the best way to find a house?"

Chen Fan smiled and said, "Actually, finding a house is quite simple. As long as you don't wait around or rely on others, there are plenty of houses available."

Deputy Factory Director Li stared intently at him. "What do you mean?"

Chen Fan said, "If you're thinking of asking the Ministry of Machine Building for help, they definitely won't help. But if you go to the local street office, it'll be easy to resolve."

Deputy Factory Director Li was taken aback for a moment, then his eyes darted around and he suddenly smiled and said, "I understand. In other words, the ministries can't help with this. We have to buy the house ourselves."

Chen Fan nodded. "There are still many old houses in Beijing that have been in disrepair for many years. Especially after the earthquake two years ago, some houses were destroyed and had not been repaired in time. They were also vacated and treated as dangerous buildings until they were repaired."

You can buy these houses and renovate them yourself, or simply buy an empty courtyard near Sanlihe and build your own dormitories, offices, canteens, reception halls, etc. You can plan them however you want, and it will be convenient to do anything.

Who knows, some ministries might need to borrow your space for business in the future. Wouldn't that make everything much easier?!

Deputy Factory Director Li and Factory Director Yang exchanged a glance and both smiled.

Then Factory Director Yang patted Chen Fan's arm and said, "I understand."

He then gestured towards the car, "Alright, you can go back now. Be careful on the road."

Chen Fan waved to the crowd, turned around and beckoned to Huang Li and the other two, then opened the door, got into the car, and drove away.

Let's go back to the old house first.

As expected, there was a lot of extra stuff in the car's trunk.

Rice cookers, electric heaters, juicers, soy milk makers, electric ovens... these are all small household appliances that Chen Fan suggested the factory director Yang and his team develop before the Chinese New Year. They are cheap and affordable, but it's unclear when they will be available in stores.

After unloading all these things, loading the large boxes he had brought back into the car, and giving a piece of meat to the two neglected raccoon dogs, telling them to guard the house well, Chen Fan led Huang Li and the other two back to Lujiawan.

On the way, Huang Li clung to the front seat and said to Chen Fan, "Teacher Chen, last month, Director Zuo from the Education Department left a letter at the dockside deli. It was for you. The transport team took it back to you, and I put it on your desk in your study."

Chen Fan said "Oh," then thought for a moment and asked, "Did Director Zuo say anything?"

"said."

Yang Mei quickly said, "She said it was an admission letter from Jiangnan University."

Liu Lu asked curiously, "Professor Chen, is this your graduate school admission letter?"

Chen Fan laughed heartily, "Probably."

Yang Mei's eyes were full of curiosity. "Teacher Chen, didn't you not take the exam? How did you still get the admission notice?"

Chen Fan smiled and said, "Although there was no exam, according to the regulations, the school can admit outstanding students without examination, but the proportion is very low. I was admitted without examination."

However, we still don't know who the mentor is; Chairman He is really tight-lipped.

Oh right, I need to register at school on April 16th, I can't forget that.

"Admission without examination?!"

The three little girls looked at each other, bewildered but impressed.

Chen Fan glanced at the rearview mirror. "How's your study progress?"

Upon hearing this question, all three instinctively shrank back. This had nothing to do with academic performance; it was purely a matter of natural self-consciousness.

Yang Mei was the first to muster up her courage. "Now everyone says that the rice wine I brew is delicious. I also tried brewing two vats of baijiu and two vats of huangjiu, but I haven't had enough time to open them yet, so I don't know how they will turn out."

Chen Fan nodded slightly, "That's good. It's good to be able to brew rice wine well. When you're just learning to brew wine, don't worry too much about the quality of the wine. The key is to reflect on whether you made any mistakes during the brewing process and whether you can do better next time. That's how you can improve."

Yang Mei quickly nodded, "Yes, I understand."

Then he turned his attention to the oriole.

Huang Li swallowed hard and said nervously, "I cut potatoes, sweet potatoes, and carrots every day..."

Chen Fan couldn't help but glance at the rearview mirror.

The little girl in the mirror shrank back in fright, becoming even more nervous. "And, and also, I cut all the vegetables and cooked all the meals at home. They all say they're delicious, and even Liu Jujiang says they're delicious."

Chen Fan shook his head and chuckled, saying, "Don't be nervous. Of the three of you, you're the one who should be least nervous. Think about it, you're either holding a kitchen knife or a big ladle. If you get nervous, you might cut your finger or smash the pot, neither of which is appropriate."

Upon hearing this, all three girls couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Huang Li blushed and said, "No, I'll be careful."

Chen Fan said, "Bold and meticulous, these four words can be applied to any industry. Besides, I'm not going to scold you or hit you, so why are you nervous?"

Secondly, don't compare your progress with Yang Mei and Liu Lu. They're in different industries, so how can you compare? To learn to be a chef, knife skills are fundamental. It takes anywhere from six months to two or three years to master knife skills before you can start cooking.

I'll be teaching you a mixed bag approach, covering knife skills, plating, and cooking all at once. It won't have a huge impact, but it will require a higher level of concentration from you. You'll need to be able to focus and concentrate to develop truly excellent culinary skills.

He looked at the three girls in the rearview mirror who were listening attentively and said with a smile, "There's so much to learn about cooking, from red dishes to white dishes, the eight major cuisines, snacks from the north and south, and flavors from the east and west. If you're in a hurry, you won't be able to learn it."

Huang Li nodded earnestly, "I understand, Teacher Chen. I will try my best."

The other two nodded in agreement, "I'll try my best too."

Then Liu Lu grinned and said, "Teacher Chen, I can sew a single garment now. The single garment I sew is even prettier and sturdier than the ones my mom makes."

Chen Fan laughed and nodded, "Good, that's progress, but don't be complacent. I hope that by the end of the year, you can use the duck and goose down from the team to make a down jacket for each of us."

With such good conditions for poultry farming in Lujiawan, Chen Fan naturally wouldn't waste the chicken feathers, duck down, and goose down. After processing, the chicken, duck, and goose feathers were quite valuable. Although they were negligible compared to the income from the cooked food shop, they were still a decent side business.

He was planning to establish a professional down factory after the breeding industry grew, and then work with a cotton mill to create a down garment factory.

The group chatted as they traveled, first disembarking at the industrial dock to change boats. Then, Chen Fan drove his long-unused small yacht, bouncing back to Lujiawan on the water.

With a roar, the small yacht docked. Chen Fan jumped off the boat, tied the mooring rope to the mooring post, spread his arms, and roared to the sky, "I, Hu Hansan, am back!"

A stone stirred up a thousand waves.

In the sky, a hawk flew over quickly, chirping merrily incessantly.

The myna bird followed closely behind, its mouth agape as it shouted, "Little Chen is back! Little Chen is back again!"

As soon as the Eurasian Hobby landed on Chen Fan's shoulder, the Myna bird circled once and flew back towards the village, calling out, "Little Chen is back! Little Chen is back again!"

Three black lines appeared on Chen Fan's forehead. He resisted the urge to dig out the pebbles, grabbed the falcon in his hand, and grinned, "Let me tell you, you have a relative of yours in the Northeast named Haidongqing. He's much more handsome than you. It's a pity there aren't any baby Haidongqings where I went. I'll go back in the fall and bring one back to play with you."

The falcon lay in my hand, held by my grasp, blinking blankly. What is a gyrfalcon?
Just then, two dogs appeared on the embankment, wagging their tails and swooping down, barking.

Chen Fan tossed the falcon into the air, then bent down and hugged the two dogs. "Haha, Duoduo and Qiuqiu, are you dating? I am."

Duo Duo and Qiu Qiu blinked repeatedly as he hugged them. What is dating?
Before they could even bark, two horses appeared on the embankment, neighing incessantly.

Chen Fan's face immediately changed color. He quickly threw the two dogs aside and unleashed a devastating barrage of punches, shouting, "Don't come any closer!"

Upon hearing this, the mare and foal immediately stopped, slipped on the embankment, and almost fell. After regaining their balance, they looked at Chen Fan in confusion.

What do you mean?
Chen Fan ran over, grabbed the two horses' heads, and laughed, "You're so heavy, you'll wash me into the river!"

The two horses immediately understood and continued to burrow into his arms, but without exerting force.

Huang Li, Yang Mei, and Liu Lu struggled to carry the suitcase Chen Fan brought back off the boat, panting heavily, their eyes filled with speechlessness as they looked at Teacher Chen.

Is this raising livestock or raising a son?
It's strange, why do these animals like Teacher Chen so much?
Just as Chen Fan released the two horses, another group of people appeared on the embankment.

Team leader Yang, accountant Liu, and custodian Huang led the way, followed by more than a dozen burly men.

Mixed in were two sheep that had just reached maturity, bleating incessantly.

Aside from the heartless chickens, ducks, geese, and big spotted pigs, almost all the animals in the house were present, except for the panda family.

As they got closer, Captain Yang laughed and said, "It sounded like someone was shouting that Hu Hansan is back. Was that you?"

Chen Fanyi righteously denied it, saying, "No, I was shouting 'Down with Hu Hansan!'"

Captain Yang didn't bother to expose him, and simply waved his hand, "Go and carry the boxes."

A group of strong men rushed over. At first, some wanted to carry one by themselves, but after trying it, they decided to cooperate with others, and the two of them carried one box uphill.

Accountant Liu looked at them curiously, "They're so heavy, what are they?"

Chen Fan laughed heartily, "Good stuff."

He then rubbed his hands together. To his left were Captain Yang and his group, and to his right were Huang Li and the other two with the animals. Two birds were flying overhead. They walked together toward the embankment and said, “Don’t leave later. Have dinner at my house and try Huang Li’s cooking.”

The oriole raised its head in confusion. Why me?
I haven't even finished my apprenticeship yet!

(End of this chapter)