Reborn in 1977

Chapter 465: Black, Really Black

Chen Fan had asked Jiang Tiantian to help him buy the boat ticket.

On the day he received his admission letter, after confirming the date for the college entrance banquet, An Quan asked Chen Fan to help him buy a boat ticket home.

Chen Fan first called Jiang Tiantian to ask if they had received their admission letters. At the end of the call, he asked her to help An Quan buy a boat ticket. After buying it, she was to give it directly to the people at the Luwan Delicatessen in the waiting hall, and they would bring it back when the transportation team delivered goods the next day.

Why not just ask the people at the delicatessen to help buy it?

Because there was no telephone there!

He couldn't possibly call Director Lin directly for such a small matter.

However, when Chen Fan gave the ticket to An Quan at the time, he was busy packing and contacting out-of-town educated youth to attend the college entrance banquet, so he didn't look closely and just stuffed the ticket into his pocket.

It wasn't until now that he realized it was actually a second-class ticket?!

(Second-class boat ticket. The other boat tickets are exactly the same, except that the 'two' is changed to 'three,' 'four,' or 'five,' so it's hard to tell if you don't look carefully.)

At this time, second-class boat tickets were like airplane tickets, only cadres were eligible to buy them.

This cadre wasn't a grassroots cadre like a section chief, but a deputy section-level or higher recognized by the administrative hierarchy, well, Chen Fan's current level.

That's why An Quan was so surprised. He was riding in second class?!

The layout of the Dongfanghong Yangtze River passenger ships was basically the same, usually four floors.

The crew cabins were located at the front of the fourth floor, and the passenger cabins were located in the front and rear middle of each floor.

The middle was for bathhouses, washrooms, boiler rooms, toilets, etc., and the stern was usually for the restaurant, reading room, and video room.

As for the cabin classes, they were mostly divided into second class, third class, fourth class, fifth class, and fifth class standing.

Fifth class standing was a ticket without a seat, generally for short-distance passengers. You couldn't buy it for long distances… unless there were too many empty berths and you were handsome.

Fifth-class cabins were generally on the first floor, below which was the noisy engine room, and the fare was also the cheapest. There were many beds in one cabin, all three-tiered bunks, similar to a hard sleeper car on a train, but without partitions. The beds were densely packed, like a refugee camp.

Since it was already fifth class, don't ask for anything more. It was good enough to have a place to sleep. Even luggage was like going to a bathhouse, with each person assigned a small iron locker… If the luggage didn't fit, you could carry it yourself or stuff it under the bed.

Fourth-class cabins were generally located on the second floor of the ship, but some ships also arranged them in the rear middle of the fourth floor. A cabin usually had 16 berths, upper and lower bunks, which were 8 bunk beds, and the conditions were more than a little better than fifth class.

Under normal circumstances, most people bought fifth-class tickets. The passengers in this cabin were basically visiting relatives because it was the cheapest and they paid for it themselves.

If they couldn't stand the environment of fifth class, they would buy fourth class. Even the luggage lockers were much larger, and it was also the first choice for many business travelers. The reason was obvious: they could get reimbursed.

From fifth class upwards, each upgrade in class increased the fare by about 25%, so the higher the class, the fewer people who bought it.

In third class, there were decent 6-person rooms. Three iron-framed bunk beds, the layout was similar to a university dormitory.

(Third class)

Generally, section-level and division-level cadres on business trips would buy a third-class ticket. The space was spacious, the life was comfortable, which was very good.

If it was a department-level or higher cadre, they would buy a second-class ticket.

The conditions of this cabin were comparable to a hotel.

Two people in a room, two single beds, with tables, chairs, and electric fans. In the late 1980s, air conditioning was also installed, which was definitely a "high-end" configuration.

Of course, the price and difficulty of purchasing also increased accordingly. Ordinary people couldn't buy it even with a letter of introduction.

If Chen Fan hadn't had Jiang Tiantian take his health department work permit to buy it, and the people at the passenger station had given him face, he wouldn't have been able to buy the ticket, let alone second class, even fifth class with her having no letter of introduction!

You need a letter of introduction to buy long-distance tickets!

An Quan knew that Chen Fan was very capable, so he asked him to help buy the ticket, otherwise, he would definitely have to run to the prefectural committee himself.

(Second class)

Just now I introduced fifth class standing to second class, what about first class?

If you have old comrades around you who have taken the Dongfanghong passenger ship, you can ask them if they have ever bought a first-class ticket!

Sorry, first class is not for sale!

Those who can afford to live there don't need to buy it, they just buy a ticket on the ship, and those who need to buy a ticket can't afford to live there!

That is a real large single room, a king-size bed, an invincible river view…

Okay, I haven't seen it either.

…

When the Dongfanghong passenger ship docked, Brother Xu opened the narrow iron door, and the disembarking passengers immediately swarmed out, like ants leaving their nest, going up the steep steps.

Chen Fan stood aside, feeling like he was picking someone up from prison.

About five or six minutes later, all the disembarking passengers left. Brother Xu and Brother Zhao were finally free. They stood aside with several crew members chatting and waiting for the waiting hall to open the gate. Chen Fan immediately walked over and took out Yu Lan cigarettes with filter tips, passing them around.

It's amazing that two packs of Yu Lan cigarettes hadn't been smoked yet.

What scenes hadn't the crew seen? A mere Yu Lan cigarette with a filter tip was only worth a second glance.

Unless it was Zhonghua cigarettes with filter tips, that would be almost the same, but Chen Fan was reluctant to part with them.

It wasn't for his own boat ride, but to help An Quan, so it was enough.

However, when Brother Xu introduced that this was Chen Fan, the famous writer who had risen to prominence this year (lunar year), everyone was in awe, and even a crew member ran back to the ship.

Another crew member politely explained that the captain was a fan of his books and had also been a grassroots cadre back then. He had a personal and intimate understanding of his novel "On the Field of Hope." If he knew he was here, he would definitely be very happy, and so on.

Chen Fan was also very happy. This was the ship's boss!

People who haven't stayed in a state-owned enterprise in this era may find it difficult to understand the meaning of the word "system."

In short, if you have a relative who works in the railway, as long as he makes a phone call, or even doesn't need to make a phone call, just reports his name, saying that my family member is working in which railway bureau doing what, preferably with a bit of a position, then the national railway network will provide appropriate convenience.

The water transport system is the same. If Chen Fan can make friends with this captain, in the future, when he arrives at any passenger terminal along the Yangtze River, and mentions that the captain of the Dongfanghong No. X is my brother… he might even be able to get a second-class cabin!

When the captain came down, sure enough.

A middle-aged cadre in his forties or fifties grabbed Chen Fan's hand, and he was so friendly, "I wrote you a letter, why didn't you reply?" and so on.

Chen Fan said that he received so many letters, he didn't know you were the captain!

However, the captain didn't mind and casually directed two people to help carry the luggage and send An Quan to the cabin.

An Quan held the second-class ticket in his hand, his head was sweating in the cold weather, and he followed the two enthusiastic crew members onto the ship in a daze.

At the moment he stepped on the ship's side, he looked back.

The long, empty staircase, there was no one on it.

The other passengers were still waiting in the waiting hall.

It was already evening. The passenger ship would dock at Yunhu Wharf for an hour, and the captain tried his best to invite Chen Fan to have a simple meal on the ship.

Chen Fan also tried his best to decline, "Time is too tight, leave me an address, and I will send you some specialties from our Lujiawan."

The captain said, "Is that the Luwan Village in "On the Field of Hope"?

Chen Fan chuckled, "That's right."

The captain said, "Then there's no need. I've bought all the specialties from your Lujiawan. It's in the Luwan Delicatessen in the waiting hall above. Oh, let me tell you, ever since your article gradually improved, more and more people know about it. As far as I know, many passengers read your article, and when they arrive in Yunhu, they will make a special trip ashore to buy products from the Luwan Delicatessen.

For example, the smoked fish and dried sauce fish that you just launched not long ago, I have bought them, and the rice ball is really delicious! It's a pity that there are too few of them, and they are often not available."

Chen Fan, "…???"

He knew about the smoked fish and dried sauce fish, which were added to the delicatessen's products later at the request of the Bailang Lake Production Brigade.

But when did the delicatessen have rice balls? Why didn't I know?

However, he understood. No wonder all the Luwan Delicatessens sold out every day. It turned out that his articles had played the role of advertising.

Could this be the earliest form of advertorial?

Seeing that Chen Fan didn't speak, the captain pulled him towards the ship, "It's meal time in the cafeteria right now, we have 50 minutes, let's have a drink!"

Chen Fan wanted to decline, but several crew members surrounded him and pushed him inside, and before he knew it, he was on the 4th floor.

The captain was still introducing him, "This is the reading room, that's the medical room, hey, this is the cafeteria, luckily we came early, there's no one here yet."

Chen Fan: It's only 4:30 in the afternoon, of course there's no one!

There was no way around it, it got dark early in winter, especially on a snowy day, so it did seem a bit late, and it was reasonable to have dinner.

When they arrived at the cafeteria on the 4th floor, the staff was already preparing the dishes.

(Dongfanghong Passenger Ship Cafeteria)

The staff brought the food from the kitchen to the serving counter, waiting for passengers to buy meal tickets and come to collect their food.

The cafeteria on the passenger ship, in addition to the hall, also had several small private rooms.

Since the captain was treating, they naturally went to a small private room.

By the time An Quan was brought over by a crew member, the cafeteria staff had already placed the food on the table.

The captain was very generous, picking up six bottles of baijiu with both hands and placing them on the table, making Chen Fan suspect that he was from Northeast China.

Then he carefully asked for confirmation.

Oh, he was from Zhuji.

That also made sense.

People from Zhuji, Zhejiang are known as "Southerners with Northern Faces", possessing both the delicate appearance of people from the Jiangnan region and the bold and forthright style of people from the North.

Moreover, Zhuji people are known for their "two big" qualities, one being their great courage and the other being their great capacity for alcohol.

After the reform and opening up, Zhuji people created the world's largest jewelry market, the world's largest sock production base, and the world's largest automotive and refrigeration parts production base.

By the way, Xi Shi, who dared to go undercover beside King Fuchai of Wu, was also from Zhuji.

Many generals, daring to fight and take risks, this is the courage of the Zhuji people.

As for their large capacity for alcohol.

There is a section in "Blossoms Shanghai" that says Zhuji people are courageous, but their alcohol tolerance is not good, which is nonsense.

As everyone knows, Shaoxing rice wine is famous all over the world, and even people who can't drink alcohol can drink half a kilogram of that rice wine.

Zhuji belongs to Shaoxing, but it's different there, they rarely drink rice wine, they mainly drink baijiu, especially 60-proof Tongshan Shao. Especially the aged wine that has been aged for more than ten years, with a little honey added to it, the taste is similar to that of 20-proof wine, so it has the reputation of "gentleman among wines".

The local old drunks drink more than half a kilogram in one go, is that a poor alcohol tolerance?

So Chen Fan looked at the six bottles of sorghum wine on the table, staring blankly for several seconds, then suddenly raised his head, "The color of this wine is slightly red, is it Zhuji Tongshan Shao?"

The captain was very surprised, and also a little delighted, "Writer Chen also knows Tongshan Shao?"

Chen Fan looked longing, "I've heard of it for a long time, but I haven't drunk it. I've always heard that Tongshan Shao is as red as jade, tastes smooth and sweet, and is as strong as a knife when it enters the stomach, it's very unique, but unfortunately I haven't had a taste of it."

As soon as the captain heard this, he immediately wanted to unscrew the bottle cap, I'll let you taste it today!

Chen Fan quickly grabbed his hand, staring straight at the captain, "I have a request!"

The captain was very forthright, "Speak."

Chen Fan, "Can you give me these bottles of wine? I want to keep them and drink them slowly when I go back."

Mainly to save my life!

The captain waved his hand without thinking, "It's rare that Writer Chen likes it, I'll give them all to you!"

Chen Fan was immediately grateful, "I also tried to brew a few jars of wine myself, I'll put a jar in the Luwan Delicatessen later, next time you come over, just go to the Luwan Delicatessen to get it!"

The captain was surprised again, "Oh, Writer Chen can also brew wine? Then I must taste it!"

Then he waved to the outside, "Get a case of Yunhu Daqu over here!"

Chen Fan was so scared that he almost fell under the table, and quickly stopped him, "Why don't we drink Shaoxing rice wine, I still have something to do later, and the time is too short, baijiu can't be enjoyed to the fullest, rice wine is just right."

The captain tilted his head and thought for a while, "That's fine too."

In this way, Chen Fan finally escaped a disaster.

After three rounds of wine and five flavors of dishes, the staff urged them two or three times, and this meal finally ended ten minutes after the departure time.

Chen Fan, carrying six tightly bundled bottles of Tongshan Shao, stood on the dock and said to An Quan earnestly, "In the next few days, you must act according to the circumstances, don't be greedy for alcohol!"

An Quan was speechless, "If I hadn't met your reader, would I have this kind of crisis?"

Chen Fan was unhappy when he heard this, "Who said about going to Shanghai Jiaotong University? I didn't say it! The captain thinks you are a prospective college student from a key university, that's why he looks at you differently, don't push it on me."

An Quan, "..., if it weren't for you, I wouldn't know the captain!"

Chen Fan, "You're crossing the river and demolishing the bridge, drawing the ladder after climbing the wall, ungrateful, unrighteous... Hey hey, where are you going?"

An Quan waved his hand without looking back, "Didn't you hear that the ship is about to leave?"

When he stepped onto the ship's side, turned around and held the railing, he waved his right hand vigorously, "I'll wait for you in Shanghai!"

Chen Fan turned a dark face, "I'm going to Shanghai to see rabbits after the New Year, but can you not make it seem like we're parting forever?!"

An Quan wanted to say something, but the ship's whistle sounded again, and the ship slowly left the shore, so he waved gently and left with the ship.

Chen Fan casually made a gesture, turned around and climbed up.

He didn't dare to look down at the 45-degree steep slope. Fortunately, he didn't drink baijiu just now, otherwise, he would have fallen and been done for.

When he got to the top, he found the Luwan Delicatessen, and the shopkeeper waved to him as soon as he saw him, "Teacher Chen, you have a letter."

Saying that, he took out a small envelope from under the counter.

Chen Fan walked over, first put the wine on the counter, took the letter in his hand and looked at it. It turned out that it was sent by the Jiangnan Literature and Art Publishing House, and he was immediately a little strange. It was the middle of the month now, and it wasn't the time to send sample copies, why send him a letter?

While he was opening the letter, taking out two sheets of letter paper and spreading them out, he casually asked, "I heard that the store is selling rice balls?"

After waiting for a few seconds, he didn't hear an answer, so he raised his head, but saw several shop assistants looking at each other, their faces quite strange, and couldn't help asking, "What's wrong?"

Could there be a problem with the rice balls?

The shopkeeper held back his laughter and said embarrassedly, "We didn't sell rice balls at first, it was just one day, we put the rice balls we brought on the counter, and then some customers came to buy them. We said they were for ourselves, but they still wanted to buy them, so we sold them. Later, we tried to make some to sell every day, but not many."

Could it be like this?

Chen Fan blinked, "How much is one?"

The shopkeeper carefully raised two fingers, "Two mao."

Chen Fan's eyes started to blink wildly. After waiting for several seconds, he sighed, "You are even more ruthless than me!"

The shopkeeper was still a little worried, but when he heard Chen Fan say this, he immediately burst out laughing, and quickly covered his mouth when he realized it was inappropriate.

Chen Fan shook his head, "A rice ball is at most 100 grams of rice, plus vegetables and a little bit of chopped braised food, the cost is no more than 4 fen, but you sell it for two mao, ruthless, really ruthless, even more ruthless than me!"

Now one kilogram of rice is 1 mao and 4 fen, and 100 grams of rice is only 2 fen and 8 li, plus other costs, 4 fen is the most.

A 5-fold profit, if it's not ruthless, what is it?!

The shopkeeper was feeling uneasy, thinking about how to quibble, but saw Chen Fan raise his head and give a thumbs up, "Make more in the future, and give it a nice name, such as Luwan Secret Chicken Rice Ball or something. If the sales are high, let Secretary Yang give you a bonus."

As soon as they heard this, several employees in the store cheered and couldn't help clapping their hands.

Chen Fan laughed and waved to them, "Keep up the good work."

Then he left, carrying the wine in one hand and the letter in the other.

But he felt puzzled in his heart.

The Jiangnan Literature and Art Publishing House specifically wrote a letter this time, inviting him to the provincial capital, saying that there was something important to discuss.

There are quite a few publishing houses that have invited him to meet in person, but they are basically for participating in literary seminars. Chen Fan is not interested in this kind of thing, so he politely declined the previous invitations when submitting manuscripts.

But this time it's different. The Jiangnan Magazine wants to invite him to the provincial capital to discuss the restoration of the Writers Association and recommend him to join the Provincial Writers Association.

When the Writers Associations at all levels below the provincial level have not yet been restored or established, the Provincial Writers Association is the backbone of the local Writers Associations and the only way to join the National Writers Association.

Should he go or not?