Rebirth 1977 Great Era

Chapter 1255 Old Meng's Sense of Crisis, Fang Yan's Cunning Moves (Two Chapters Combined)
"They didn't say they were bringing the secret recipe, did they?" Fang Yan said.

Zeng Luquan said:
"Yes, I'm puzzled too. He brought a lot of secret recipes at once, and his attitude was completely different from that of Helian Zhang before." It was clear that Zeng Luquan was also concerned about this matter.

Fang Yan overheard the crucial information inside and asked:
"You mean there's more than one secret recipe?"

“Yes, each research institute brought several secret formulas with them,” Zeng Luquan replied.

Fang Yan asked him:
"Have you checked what type of secret formula it is?"

Zeng Luquan said:
"These are all secret recipes passed down by local doctors, which were collected during a previous campaign."

"It doesn't cure intractable diseases, but it has a wide range of applications."

Having heard this, Fang Yan basically understood what was going on. He said to Zeng Luquan:
"Okay, you take good care of them first, I'll be there in a bit."

Zeng Luquan agreed, and then the two hung up the phone.

Fang Yan returned to the main hall, and Meng Jimin asked her:

"what's the situation?"

The others present had also heard Fang Yan's conversation over there, and they all looked at him.

He said in dialect:

"The personnel have arrived, and they said they brought a lot of secret recipes with them. They're not only providing manpower, but also sending us secret recipes."

Meng Jimin said:
"This change in attitude is truly remarkable."

Lao Hu said:

"Is this to show their sincerity?"

Fang Yan shrugged, feeling a little unaccustomed to this sudden enthusiasm. He said:
"There's absolutely no need for that. The contracts have already been signed, and the personnel have been provided. The secret formula is practically being given away for free."

At this moment, Lao Hu suddenly raised his finger:

"Eh!"

"I've thought of a possibility."

Fang Yan looked at him:
"What's the possibility?"

Old Hu started channeling his detective instincts, analyzing the dialect at length:
"These secret recipes are all related to their local medicinal herbs. As long as we produce them, we will use a lot of their local medicinal herbs, and then we will have a continuous demand."

"This means their medicinal herbs will have a steady stream of sales channels."

Meng Jimin, who was standing to the side, also nodded:

"That makes sense! That explains it."

"This plan was most likely conceived by the local government."

Fang Yan stroked his chin and nodded, saying:

"However, not every secret formula can meet international standards, and even if it does, it may not meet the market demands..."

Old Hu, using the dialect as an example, said:
"That's why they'd like as many recipes as possible, sending over more than one, with the aim of providing us with options to choose from."

Fang Yan nodded.

Meng Jimin further stated:
"That makes sense, that makes sense! Old Hu, you're a genius!"

After being praised, Lao Hu waved his hand and said with a smile:

"From a business perspective, it's easy to understand their behavior. The person who came up with this idea is most likely someone in charge of foreign exchange."

He said in dialect:

"Okay, let's go take a look together after we finish eating."

Then everyone continued eating, but Fang Yan clearly ate much faster.

Just as he put down his chopsticks, "Ring ring..."

Fang Yan jolted awake, stood up,
"Another call?" Zhu Lin said.

Fang Yan nodded, then glanced at Jin Wubing, who was drinking soup, and said:

"I'll answer it. This time it should be Director Liao calling."

Fang Yan received a phone call very quickly.

"Hello, it's me, Fang Yan."

The voice of Director Liao came from the other end of the phone:

"Hey, Fang Yan, I just heard Gao Han say you have about twenty revolver bullets, right?"

The dialect response was:

"Yes, it was given by Jin Wubing of the China Zhi Gong Party."

Director Liao hesitated for two seconds, then said:
"Since they gave it to you, you can keep it."

Jin Wubing was surprisingly right about the dialect.

Then Director Liao reminded him:

"When you have some free time, go to the Municipal Bureau, bring your documents, register, and get a certificate."

Fang Yan was taken aback:
"Get a certificate?"

Director Liao said:
"Yes, you are also a special talent, you can get a gun license."

Upon hearing himself categorized in this way, Fang Yan replied:
“Okay! I’m familiar with the Municipal Bureau, I’ll go there to handle it when I have time.”

Before, when there were no bullets, he wasn't required to get a certificate. Now that there are bullets, Director Liao simply made him get a certificate.

Director Liao said:
"Okay, that's it."

"Okay," Fang Yan replied.

He immediately added after saying that:

"Oh, by the way, the personnel dispatched from the three northeastern provinces have arrived. I just received a call."

The dialect is simply a way of reporting.

Upon hearing this, Director Liao immediately said:
"Okay, I'll pass on the message to Lao Li, and also ask him to ask the newly appointed director to urge the Southwest and Northwest departments to hurry up."

Fang Yan was both amused and exasperated; he hadn't been urging him.

But since the leader himself understands it this way, can't the dialect say that it doesn't mean that way?

He immediately expressed his gratitude.

"Thank you very much, Director Liao!"

Director Liao said on the phone:
"Oh, no big deal. I have to go out now, I'll hang up!"

"Okay!" Fang Yan agreed, and then hung up the phone.

After settling things here, Fang Yan prepared to go to the research institute with Meng Jimin.

There's no need to constantly monitor Wang Huiyuan's situation; Lao Tao has now taken over the project.

When Jin Wubing saw that Fang Yan and the others were about to leave, he prepared to find a place to develop the photos.

"Get me a few photos too!" Fang Yan said to Jin Wubing as he walked outside with Meng Jimin.

Kim Moo-bing agreed:
"Okay, no problem. I plan to print a large one and hang it in my house."

"..." Fang Yan was speechless. Was this something a normal person would do?

Anton had already driven over outside. Fang Yan and Meng Jimin got in the car and headed straight for the Huaxia Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, which was three kilometers away.

Fang Yan glanced at his watch as he got off the bus.

"It's still a bit early. I wonder if they've finished eating yet?" Fang Yan said to Meng Jimin. "Let's go to the office first."

Meng Jimin nodded. He was in charge of personnel, but now many things were still being handled by Zeng Luquan. Old Zhu had also spoken to him privately, saying that the responsibilities that should be shouldered now could not be passed on to others, otherwise people would gossip even if the dialect was not spoken.

Meng Jimin still felt a great sense of crisis about this.

Soon, Fang Yan and his team arrived at the research institute. At that moment, the production line was taking a midday break.

Many workers were still at the canteen and hadn't come over yet. Only a few were resting in the shade under the trees at the entrance. When they saw Fang Yan, Meng Jimin, and An Dong arrive, they immediately greeted them:

"Director Fang! Deputy Director Meng!"

"Secretary Anton!"

Fang Yan and the others nodded in response, but Anton hadn't expected that he would have a title now.

"Huang Li made them call them," Meng Jimin said to Fang Yan after entering the workshop.

"What do you think of this plum?" Fang Yan asked Meng Jimin.

Meng Jimin thought for a moment and said:

"I feel that he is really good at doing things, and there are many things I can learn from him. His management skills are very sophisticated."

Fang Yan nodded. It was already the end of August, and Lao He would be back in September. At that time, according to the agreement, Huang Li should return it to Xiehe.

"Take this time to learn their methods," Fang Yan said to Meng Jimin.

Upon hearing this dialect, Meng Jimin was slightly taken aback, then immediately replied:
"Okay, I'll ask him for guidance during this time."

Fang Yan was curious when he heard Meng Jimin's answer. He wondered if the kid had changed his ways. If it were before, he would have joked with him and then casually agreed.

"Are you traumatized?" Fang Yan asked Meng Jimin as they went upstairs.

"Huh?" Meng Jimin was still thinking about learning from Huang Li when he heard the slightly teasing tone in the dialect, and for a moment he didn't react.

“You weren’t like this before. Now that I’ve said this, shouldn’t you say something else to change the subject?” Fang Yan said to Meng Jimin.

“Oh dear, there are more and more people now, what you said is true. If I, as the deputy director, can’t even manage personnel well, then it’s a waste that you value me so much,” Meng Jimin said to Fang Yan.

Fang Yan gave him a thumbs up:

"Not bad, Lao Meng, you've really come to your senses! You're starting to act more and more like my deputy director now."

Hearing the teasing in the dialect, Meng Jimin said:

"Go away, I am who I am!"

The dialect interruption immediately put Meng Jimin at ease. Although his master had said that they were now in a superior-subordinate relationship, they were still more like friends for now.

As long as he does his job well for Fang Yan and nothing goes wrong, their relationship can actually be maintained, at least it won't become just a simple superior-subordinate relationship.

He'd actually seen this kind of thing quite often. Friends who used to be good friends would find their relationship less comfortable after they became superior and subordinate at work.

In this respect, only his master has done a pretty good job. The people he recruited are still friends with him, and the hierarchy is not so clear.

Meng Jimin realized a principle from this: one must be capable enough to complete tasks well, so that the relationship between superiors and subordinates is not so clear.

Fang Yan actually does a very good job in this regard. Because of his excellent abilities, his superiors know that he is reliable, and he is indeed capable of completing tasks very well. Therefore, in many cases, Fang Yan and his superiors get along more like friends.

Therefore, Meng Jimin now needs to improve his abilities so that he can do the things assigned by Fang Yan well; this is his goal.

When Fang Yan and his group arrived at the office, there was indeed no one there.

"Looks like I guessed right, they're still eating out. Let's wait a bit!" Fang Yan said, gesturing for everyone to sit down while pouring water from the kettle.

“Master, let me do it!” Anton was very much like an assistant secretary, and immediately took the water bottle from Fang Yan’s hand and poured a glass for him and Meng Jimin.

He himself had no intention of drinking, so Fang Yan asked him:

"You don't want to drink?"

“I’m not thirsty,” Anton said, shaking his head.

Fang Yan ignored him and started drinking on his own, while reading the newspaper on the table.

The banner headline reads "Accelerating the selection of young and middle-aged cadres is a major strategic task," and provides a detailed interpretation of the spirit of the three batches of reporting meetings. It also emphasizes that all provinces and cities must complete the list of the first batch of young cadres by the end of the year.

Fang Yan also saw the clause that "the proportion of science and technology professionals should not be less than 30%".

He composed himself and asked Old Meng:

"Old Meng, look at this news... What do you think of the selection of this young and middle-aged cadre?"

Meng Jimin was taken aback and said:

"Aren't we one?"

“Look at this research institute, we have the most young people here.”

"I heard from the leaders at breakfast this morning that the higher-ups praised our research institute, specifically mentioning our institute."

"Is that so?!" Fang Yan was stunned.

Can't these historical events still have their own influence?

Old Meng said:

"Of course, our place was chosen as a typical example. The conference said that we should learn from our research institute's spirit of daring to use new people."

"Their foreign exchange earnings have been praised extensively. Not only the research institute, but also Peking Union Medical College and the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council have all received praise for using your services."

Fang Yan was speechless. So he was the only one who didn't know?
Continuing down the page, I came across the economic news on page two, which included a report on the pilot program for foreign trade system reform, titled "Pilot Program in Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai to Expand Enterprises' Autonomy in Foreign Trade" (the pilot program was launched in April 1978).

Fang Yan noticed the clause that "pilot enterprises can directly apply for export earnings projects," which seems to relate to the export business of joint ventures.

Upon closer inspection, their company name was also visible.

Good guy!
Is this still related to me?
Wait a minute! This newspaper seems to have been specially selected.

Fang Yan continued flipping through the pages and found a insert in the medical and health section of the "Health News".

The article inside is about the start of the national survey of Chinese medicinal resources. The headline is "Launch of the largest survey of Chinese medicinal resources in New China," which lists 20 key areas such as Changbai Mountain and the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau.

Seeing this dialect makes it clear that these newspapers were indeed selected and kept here.

"Who's making all these newspapers?" Fang Yan asked Meng Jimin.

"It's Su Yue, she does odd jobs here when she has nothing else to do," Meng Jimin said.

Fang Yan suddenly realized what was going on and continued reading, where he saw a film review of "Once Upon a Time in China" and the release of "Several Measures to Facilitate Investment and Construction by Overseas Chinese," which mentioned that "returning overseas Chinese can apply for foreign exchange accounts."

Of course, there are also some municipal matters, such as the Municipal Bureau's announcement "Centralized Rectification of Illegal Armed Activities" (historical fact: the nationwide public security rectification campaign in August 1978).

The dialect reminded me of Director Liao's urging for the issuance of gun licenses.

Wow, Su Yue is a real talent...

I underestimated her a bit before. She was a student selected by Professor Wang Yuchuan, so she should have some talent.

Fang Yan reflected on his actions and wondered if he should adjust Su Yue's position and let her do some suitable work.

Just then, footsteps sounded at the office door. Zeng Luquan pushed the door open and came in, holding a notebook in his hand. Su Yue was behind him.

Upon seeing Fang Yan here, Zeng Luquan quickly greeted him:
"Director Fang, how long have you been waiting?"

He said in dialect:

"They've only been here a short while! Where are the experts from Northeast China?"

Zeng Luquan said:
"They went downstairs for a visit. I thought you weren't here... I'll go get them right away."

“I’ll go!” Su Yue said.

Zeng Luquan nodded and told Su Yue to hurry up and go.

After Su Yue left, Fang Yan said to Zeng Luquan:
"What about the secret recipe they brought?"

Zeng Luquan quickly walked to the filing cabinet next to him:
"Here, here, I locked it in the cabinet."

As he spoke, he unlocked the cabinet, took out three file folders, and handed them to Fang Yan:

"These are three file folders containing collectibles from three research institutes in Shenyang, Harbin, and Changchun. Please take a look..."

Fang Yan noticed that the book was quite thick, so he opened it and started reading.

Just as Zeng Luquan said before, these are all practical prescriptions for common ailments. The secret formulas here are specifically for those ailments.

What Lao Hu said before has indeed been proven true; he was indeed aiming to combine medicinal herbs.

There must be a master guiding them!

After a cursory glance, it seems that the three provinces have basically come up with the same idea.

The only difference is the focus. I guess they were afraid of repeating what other places had used, so they chose their own local medicinal herbs for their secret recipes.

It's clear that some thought was put into it.

I actually like a few dialects.

The formula provided by the Shenyang Research Institute, Black Hair and Beard Elixir, is designed for young and middle-aged people experiencing premature graying and hair loss.

There is also the Qubi Ling plaster, a formula contributed by the Changchun Research Institute, which is suitable for wind-cold-dampness arthritis, also known as arthritis or chronic leg pain.

Finally, there's the Yimu Tiaojing Drink, a formula contributed by the Harbin Research Institute, which is designed to regulate irregular menstruation in women. Later products have proven to be very profitable in this area.

Fang Yan was watching when Su Yue arrived with her people.

"Director Fang, the new comrades have arrived," Su Yue greeted Fang Yan.

Upon hearing the sound, Fang Yan put down what she was holding and looked at the nine people who walked in from outside the door. The oldest of these people was over fifty years old, and the youngest looked to be in their early forties.

As Fang Yan sized them up, they were also looking at Fang Yan.

These people didn't seem too surprised, probably because they already knew Fang Yan was a young man or had seen his photos.

Fang Yan's gaze lingered on the oldest person, who must be Helian Zhang's master.

The apprentice was driven away by the master, but now the master has arrived.

Last time I chatted with the leaders of the research institute in Shenyang... I remember that the man in front of me was surnamed Zhou, and he was quite capable.

Soon, Fang Yan stood up and greeted everyone with a smile:
Welcome to our company!

The nine people present, being researchers, were surprisingly silent for a moment.

Until Zeng Luquan took over the conversation and introduced the person to the others:
"This is Director Fang, who speaks dialects! He's the head of our Secret Recipe Research Institute."

Upon hearing this, everyone seemed to snap out of their daze.

One by one, they greeted Fangyan with their Northeastern accents. Fangyan had read their profiles; some of them weren't from Northeast China, but the Northeastern accent is something you can definitely pick up if there's even one person from Northeast China around you.

"Director Fang, I've heard so much about you! I'm Zhou Shouchang from the Shenyang Research Institute, here to report for duty!" Helian Zhang's master introduced himself to Fang Yan.

Fang Yan smiled and nodded in agreement, then said:
"Welcome, welcome! I've been waiting for you here for so long."

Of course, Fang Yan also extended a warm welcome to everyone else, and no one was left out.

After getting to know each other, they became familiar with each other. There were nine of them, from three different places.

Their technologies and research directions are also quite different, but it is clear that they have all been carefully selected and are all people who are good at developing traditional Chinese medicine. There is no one like Lao Tao who specializes in difficult and complicated diseases.

In short, all the skill points these people have are for earning foreign exchange.

"First of all, welcome to our Secret Recipe Research Institute. From now on, we will be colleagues who work together day and night. If you have any difficulties in life or work, you can come to me for help."

"I hope that any grudges or grievances you may have had in your previous workplaces can be put aside here. I hope everyone can get back into work mode as soon as possible..." Fang Yan's voice was gentle yet carried a steady strength. His gaze swept over each expert present, and when it finally landed on Zhou Shouchang, he deliberately paused for two extra seconds.

He said this to Zhou Shouchang, implying a desire to resolve the misunderstanding caused by the "Helian Zhang incident".

Of course, if the people here really have some kind of grudge, it wouldn't be surprising if they spoke in dialect.

It's perfectly normal for colleagues to have some friction.

"Let's skip the formalities," Fang Yan said as he walked to his desk and laid out the three lists of secret formulas he had just selected on the table. He then tapped on the titles of the formulas in turn: "Black Hair and Beard Pill," "Rheumatism Relief Plaster," and "Mother-Nourishing and Menstrual-Regulating Drink."

He said:
"Before you all came here, you must have heard that the core goal of our institute is to turn traditional Chinese medicine formulas into products that can go global... They must meet international standards and be recognized by foreigners. I just glanced through the formulas you brought, and these three have the most potential, which are also the ones we will focus on working on next."

Upon hearing the dialect, everyone moved closer.

Zhou Shouchang's tortoiseshell glasses slipped down to the tip of his nose. He raised his hand to push them up and pointed to the formula for "Black Hair and Beard Elixir" and asked, "Director Fang, I know this formula. It's one of our Shenyang Research Institute's best-kept secrets. It uses Polygonum multiflorum from Benxi, Liaoning, and Ligustrum lucidum from Jilin. It's just that the processing method is a bit complicated. Do you have anyone here who can do it?"

"That's why I invited you here," Fang Yan replied with a smile, then changed the subject and looked at everyone, "I plan to divide the nine of us into three groups, each responsible for the research and development of a formula, but there is one requirement: the people in the group cannot all be from the original research institute where the formula was developed."

Fang Yan's words stunned the people present.

At this moment, Fang Yan ignored their reactions and said directly:
“For example, the comrades in Shenyang can’t just study ‘Black Hair and Dark Beard Pill’; they have to be involved in other groups. The same goes for those in Changchun and Harbin. This isn’t because we don’t trust everyone; it’s because we want you to learn from each other’s strengths. After all, each research institute has different processing methods and experience in identifying medicinal materials. More exchanges will help us refine the formula to be more perfect.”

PS: The basic chapter of 6000 words has been updated.

There will be an extra chapter later.
(End of this chapter)