Reborn in 1977

Chapter 578: Preparing Early

After sending Director Ma and the others off, Zhou Zhengdong and Chen Fan returned to the tea table and sat down.

Zhou Yali carried the cups Director Ma and the others had used to the kitchen to wash, while Zhao Wanru went to the bedroom to pack her luggage, leaving only the two of them there for a while.

Zhou Zhengdong lifted the lid of his cup, held it up to the light to observe it, the lid being crystal clear and like white jade, his eyes full of admiration, "Good stuff,"

Then he chuckled, "1200 pieces, haha, to be able to collect such treasures, this trip was not in vain."

He turned to look at Chen Fan and smiled, "When do you think they will unseal the 1000 pieces of porcelain they have sealed up? How much do you think we can get?"

He never thought of swallowing this batch of porcelain himself, or even planned to take it all away; taking one set back would be enough, and the rest would be left to his nephew.

One reason was that he was afraid of damage during the ocean voyage, and the other was that he was able to buy this batch of ceramics because of his nephew's suggestion.

Originally, he had planned to give his nephew the share of the inheritance that belonged to his sister, but his nephew refused and instead gave him a huge surprise. If all goes well, when his nephew finishes writing a Western fantasy novel at the end of the year, his own publishing house will surely soar, while driving other businesses to grow simultaneously. By then, the Zhou family's wealth might double.

Having already taken such a big advantage, how could he take the lion's share in this regard?

Since his nephew likes this kind of porcelain, it would be enough for him to take a set back to collect, and the rest would be given to him to keep, which is actually allocating it to him. Although the value is not high, it is still a token of appreciation.

There are 24 categories of this porcelain, including tableware, tea sets, wine sets, fruit plates, ashtrays, pen holders, etc. Each piece is equipped with a lid, which is also a unique design in practical porcelain. A set has more than 200 pieces.

So 1200 pieces is only 5 or 6 sets.

Taking one set back is enough.

(7501 porcelain, soup bowl, even when holding boiling hot soup, it doesn't burn your hands)

Chen Fan didn't know what Zhou Zhengdong was thinking. Anyway, he would get his share of this batch of porcelain, so he sat calmly and drank tea. When he heard Zhou Zhengdong's words, he smiled and said, "It shouldn't be too long. Sooner next year, later the year after, it should be about the same. As for the quantity, if there are no accidents, we should be able to take it all."

Zhou Zhengdong was slightly stunned, "So fast?"

Wasn't it said that this batch of ceramics would be kept for supplying to the Xiyuan? Why would it be unsealed so early?

Chen Fan smiled and said, "This batch of porcelain was fired in 1975. The meaning of 7501 is the first document issued by Xiyuan in 1975. And just this year, a No. 1 document was also issued, known as the 7801 Project,"

Saying that, he raised the lid of the cup in his hand, "It is also firing porcelain, and it is specially for Xiyuan's use, so just waiting for the 7801 porcelain to be delivered, it won't be long before the 7501 porcelain can be unsealed."

Zhou Zhengdong was immediately stunned, staring blankly at him, then looking at the porcelain cup in his hand, "They can actually fire such porcelain?"

He suddenly felt a sense of realization in his heart. No wonder the public didn't offer a high price. It turned out that they had opened the kiln again!

But Chen Fan shook his head, his face melancholy, and said, "Firing porcelain is firing porcelain, but it's not this kind of porcelain."

He raised his head and looked at Zhou Zhengdong, who was full of incomprehension, and explained, "When personnel were mobilized to develop 7501 porcelain, Li Xian sheng's name was not mentioned throughout the entire process, but all the core personnel who participated in the research and development work knew that this batch of porcelain was for Li Xian sheng's use.

So all of them put in 200 percent of their effort and went all out to research and fire it, also to ensure that every piece of porcelain was flawless. They didn't allow imperfect works to be sent to Li Xian sheng, which is why there was this unprecedented and unparalleled perfect work."

After a pause, he sighed again, "Since Li Xian sheng passed away, many veteran artists have been deeply affected, and their energy and spirit are far inferior to before. Many veteran artists are absent from this 7801 Project.

So the newly fired porcelain will inevitably have some flaws. Although it is still a top-grade product, it must be far inferior to 7501 porcelain."

In later generations, due to the high price of 7501 porcelain, even if it is not on auction, the price of a small bowl is at least 100,000, and 200,000 to 300,000 is not uncommon. If it is a complete set of wine utensils or tea sets, there is no transaction below one million. If it is auctioned, it may be tens of millions, so it has become a disaster area for porcelain counterfeiting.

Among all the fakes, the most difficult to distinguish is 7801 porcelain.

Although they are all works from the same unit, whether from a single piece or as a whole, 7801 porcelain is far inferior to 7501 porcelain, and the price is even vastly different. Even the reputation is overshadowed, and very few people know about 7801.

Actually, it's no wonder that the best kaolin clay has been used on 7501 porcelain, and later there was no such soil. The material is one grade worse, and then there is the painting and firing process. Although ceramic art masters are still in charge, how can it be compared with the concerted efforts of more than 40 masters?

It is only natural that the quality is one or two notches worse.

On the contrary, after the development of industrial technology in later generations, some fakes can even be made with better "quality" than the real thing, but the blank pressing is not handmade after all, and the patterns on the ceramics are not as vivid and lifelike as those hand-painted by art masters. Both the utensils and the patterns are rigid and clumsy, and the heat insulation effect is far inferior to the real thing. Except for being thinner, it is completely incomparable to the real thing.

After listening to Chen Fan's explanation, Zhou Zhengdong's eyes showed a bit more anticipation, "Good, so to speak, the day we collect this batch of porcelain is not far away."

Although he has decided to give this batch of porcelain to his nephew, it is still "his own family", isn't it? He can see it whenever he wants, so naturally he wants to buy it as soon as possible.

At this time, Zhou Yali came back after washing the cups, carefully put the wiped cups into the tea cabinet, walked to the tea table and sat down, watching her father and cousin talk.

Zhou Zhengdong put the lid on, looked at the teacup in front of him, and a few thoughts appeared in his eyes.

Chen Fan and Zhou Yali didn't say anything, sitting quietly, enjoying the rare moment of leisure.

After a while, Zhao Wanru also came down holding the railing, and couldn't help but ask when she saw him like this, "What are you thinking about?"

Zhou Zhengdong came back to his senses, "Oh, I was thinking, the country is already so masterful in traditional skills, then besides porcelain, are there such advances in other traditional technologies?"

He raised his head to look at Chen Fan, thinking and saying, "Xiao Fan, do you think it is possible for me to cooperate with relevant domestic units in the form of investment and equity participation to sell this kind of traditional technology products overseas and achieve win-win cooperation?"

He said, picking up the teacup lid again, and said, "Taking Jingdezhen Ceramic Factory as an example, even if their ordinary products are not as good as this 7501 porcelain, the quality should not be bad, right?"

Many things in China belong to "exclusive secret recipes". As long as he can master the product, he can open up sales channels.

This is a super big deal!

Before Chen Fan could speak, Zhou Yali said, "But, Daddy, there is already a Canton Fair in China, and there are also specialized foreign trade companies responsible for the export sales of these traditional handicrafts. If we want to cooperate, we can only place orders in the form of purchasing from domestic foreign trade companies. After purchasing products in batches, we can use our channels to sell them, which is no different from other trading companies."

Zhou Zhengdong was a little surprised, "When did you learn about these things?"

Zhou Yali proudly raised her head, grinned and smiled, "Don't underestimate people. Although I don't have much international trade experience, I am also a student majoring in international trade at New York University. Our major is also one of the best in the United States."

After a pause, she smiled again, "And after coming here, I also inquired about the domestic foreign trade model from the accompanying cadres. The foreign trade here is very simple, that is, organizing goods through foreign trade companies at all levels, and then mainly looking for customers by participating in the Canton Fair. It's not complicated at all, and it's very easy to understand."

Zhou Zhengdong smiled, exhaled a long breath, and said, "But, the cooperation I want is not just selling products. There are two core points here…"

Before he could finish speaking, Chen Fan raised his head and uttered a few words with a serious face, "Craftsmanship, and patents."

Zhou Zhengdong suddenly clapped his hands and asked Chen Fan with a hopeful face, "Xiao Fan, why don't you go to the United States with me? I can give you all of Zhou's family's industries to manage, and Yali will be your deputy, how about it?!"

The corners of Chen Fan's mouth twitched slightly, and he glanced at Zhou Yali, who was actually eager to try, "Forget it, I don't plan to go abroad."

Isn't this girl afraid that I will take away the family property that belongs to her? There should be a lot of such things in the United States.

But when Zhou Yali heard his words, her face collapsed and she seemed quite disappointed.

She didn't care whether she was the main assistant or the deputy, she just wanted to trick her cousin to the United States.

My cousin is handsome, capable, and very interesting. Taking him out to meet my friends would definitely give me face.

Moreover, with him managing the company, I can relax and be more at ease. My own cousin is more trustworthy than those professional managers, right?

Chen Fan had no idea what she was thinking. At this moment, he was speaking to Zhou Zhengdong with a serious expression, "Craftsmanship is the core, and patents are the protective wall. However, almost all domestic entities lack awareness of patents, especially the lack of protection awareness. This is a very serious problem."

After a two-second pause, he continued, "Judging from the domestic situation in the past two years, opening the country's doors to the world should be an inevitable trend. Now, it's just a matter of discussing how to open them.

If there are no special changes, when the day of opening up arrives, our country's traditional crafts will definitely become a fat piece of meat in the eyes of many capitalists. If there are not enough protective measures, the core craftsmanship will inevitably be taken away."

Many people in later generations know that many of China's traditional product crafts were stolen by foreign countries, from Japan to Europe and the United States. There are countless examples of this.

Cloisonné, Xuan paper, special silk weaving techniques, ... even ordinary brewing of wine, vinegar, soy sauce, etc., etc., etc.

From the 1980s to the early 1990s, as long as foreigners came over and asked to visit, many leaders of domestic factories would open the door for convenience, even showing them the most core craft workshops. The most outrageous thing was that they even taught others hand-in-hand, and these leaders still looked deeply honored, feeling that their unit's products could actually be learned by foreigners, which was a remarkable thing.

As a result, our own products were copied by foreign countries, and then replaced by improved and more exquisite products. A large amount of market share was taken away, and the losses were immeasurable. Even the inheritance of many traditional crafts was cut off.

If it weren't for the purchase of 7501 porcelain today, which gave Zhou Zhengdong the idea of cooperating with domestic companies, Chen Fan wouldn't have thought of this for the time being.

Because when he grew up, intellectual property rights and patents had almost become common knowledge. Who would have thought that there was such an ignorant page in history?

Zhou Zhengdong's expression gradually became serious after listening to Chen Fan's words.

He thought for a while and said, "Originally, I was thinking about win-win cooperation, but now you have reminded me that this problem is indeed very serious.

However, I don't quite understand the current situation of domestic intellectual property rights, as well as the share and evaluation of domestic crafts in the international market. I don't have a suitable response plan for the time being."

He looked up at Chen Fan, "What are your thoughts?"

Chen Fan said without hesitation, "Since you don't understand, then investigate first."

He took a deep breath and continued, "Didn't you already ask your assistant to collect information from the US Liaison Office in China? But that's from the American side. Even if they collect domestic information, it's mostly superficial.

For the domestic side, you definitely need to conduct in-depth investigations, so why not start with the economy?

Now that the window period hasn't arrived yet, you can start from abroad, to understand which domestic products are more popular in the international market, and what are the foreign competing products."

He suddenly thought of something, "Starting this year, the Canton Fair will be divided into spring and autumn sessions, held twice a year. This year's spring Canton Fair has already ended. Why don't you sign up to participate in the autumn Canton Fair in October and conduct an on-the-spot investigation of the commodity situation?

The Canton Fair is China's earliest and largest economic window to the outside world. Participating in this trade fair will definitely provide a lot of first-hand information, which can indirectly help you understand domestic product information.

After completing the preliminary investigation, I think some things should be able to be determined. At that time, we will decide what kind of method to intervene in according to the actual situation."

Zhou Zhengdong nodded slowly, "Investigate first, then decide, is sage advice."

He looked up and smiled, "Then let's do that."

Although Chen Fan didn't give him any surprising advice, as a young man who is not yet 20 years old, especially in the closed economic environment of the mainland, he was already very satisfied that he could have this kind of knowledge.

It's a pity that this kid is stubbornly unwilling to go to the United States. Otherwise, letting him take charge of the family business would save him the trouble of cultivating his daughter.

As the saying goes, a fly flies only a few steps, but if it attaches itself to the tail of a fine horse, it can soar thousands of miles.

When the time comes, he can just throw his daughter next to him, hey, easy and comfortable, how great!

Why is this kid so obtuse?

Chen Fan was also thinking silently, hoping that this loss would not be too tragic.

It is impossible to completely eliminate it, because there are always some smart people who think they are "bringing glory to the country."

Now, he only hopes to prepare early and set up patent barriers for some more important things, such as the Zhejiang Xuan paper and Beijing cloisonné stolen by Japan, to protect them as a priority and minimize losses as much as possible.

Moreover, if the cooperation can be carried out smoothly, the Zhou family can also obtain very generous profits, especially by establishing a relationship with the upper echelons, which will be of great benefit to future development.

...

Since he had to leave early the next morning, Chen Fan seized the time to finalize the design drawings of the Taoist temple. Then, he let his uncle's family stay at home to rest, while he went to his master's house to deliver the goods.

In the reception hall of the small courtyard, the table on the Arhat bed was moved away. Chen Fan spread the drawings on the bed and explained them to Master Zhang one by one.

Finally, he said, "It has not yet been officially determined to resume religious activities, so it is not suitable to publicly build a Taoist temple. Therefore, I designed the Taoist temple in the layout of a courtyard house."

He never mentioned that he only realized the layout was a bit like a courtyard house after completing the overall drawing, and instead turned it into his own brilliant decision.

Then, pointing to the design drawing, he said, "Look, now we can tear down all the original houses, throw away what should be thrown away, keep what should be kept, and then build the main body of the house. Leave the murals, altars, sacrificial platforms, and those kiss beasts on the eaves untouched, and build it like a new house.

When the time is right, we will add those things again, and we can quickly build a Taoist temple for use."

Zhang Xuansong looked at the drawings and nodded gently after listening to Chen Fan's explanation.

After he finished speaking, he grinned and smiled, "Good, good, good, this Taoist temple looks good, even better than the Chaoyang Temple in Shandong."

After a pause, he smacked his lips again, "It's just a little small."

The corners of Chen Fan's mouth twitched slightly. He rolled up the drawings and said, "Just make do with it for now. Many things are being restored little by little. Maybe one day, we can apply for land to build a Taoist temple, or we can simply buy land directly. Then we will buy a big one in the suburbs."

This suburb is not a suburb like Huairou or Miyun, but refers to places outside the Fourth Ring Road, which are now Chaoyang or Haidian.

(Farmland next to Kunming Lake in the 1970s)

Zhang Xuansong put one hand on his hip and the other on his crutch, his eyes full of reverie, and laughed, "Actually, this Taoist temple is very good now. I originally thought it would be nice to have a Taoist temple like a one-entrance courtyard house, just to have a token. I never thought I would get such a large three-entrance half-courtyard now."

Then he laughed again, "Of course, it would be even better if we could buy a large piece of land and build a more magnificent one. Look at how big the courtyard where Ancestor Qiu lived is. Our Ancestor Wang can't be too bad, right?"

Lin Yuanxiang snorted twice and deliberately said, "Didn't you say that Taoists pay attention to fate? Why are you comparing them?"

Zhang Xuansong sat down, leaning on his crutch, and smiled, "What do you know? We don't compare with outsiders, we just compare ourselves behind closed doors. This is not called fighting, it's called healthy competition. This is the same as when we were on the battlefield comparing who killed more enemies, who contributed more to military industry, and whose troops suffered fewer casualties."

Lin Yuanxiang couldn't help rolling his eyes, "You can really talk nonsense, a Taoist temple, and you even brought up the army."

Li Shangde sat aside and laughed, "Don't you know, this person, even if he turns to ashes, his mouth is still hard."

Zhang Xuansong didn't feel embarrassed at all. Instead, he had a flash of inspiration and smiled at the two of them, "Hey, when the Taoist temple is built, although we can't open it to the public, the house is solid. You have also been to that place, and it is much more spacious than here. Why don't you both move over with me?"

Lin Yuanxiang, "Move over to do what?"

Li Shangde, "To be an old Taoist?"

Zhang Xuansong immediately laughed, "Anyway, you two old bachelors have no family or mouth. It's not bad to be a Taoist with me."

The two rolled their eyes in unison, "Get lost."