Reborn in 1977

Chapter 593 Buying a Car

Inside the office, He Qingsheng was reviewing documents when he heard a knock on the door. Without looking up, he called out, "Come in."

As the door opened, he glanced up, his first reaction being to shove the cigarettes on his desk into the drawer. At the same time, he glanced at the cabinet door, and a wave of relief washed over him when he saw the lock.

Chen Fan closed the door behind him and, seeing He Qingsheng's reaction, couldn't help but curl his lip. He walked over, pulled out a chair, and sat down, saying grumpily, "Is it really necessary to lock the cabinet and keep the desk clear? Who are you trying to protect yourself from?"

He then took out a cigarette and tossed it over. "See? This is what I call generosity."

He Qingsheng caught the cigarette and held it up. "It looks a little familiar."

Chen Fan stuck one in his mouth, took out a lighter, and passed it over. "Oh, I took it from your desk last time."

He Qingsheng rolled his eyes, leaned in to light the cigarette, and said, "Doesn't the hospital feed you? Can't you stop coming over here every noon to eat and take a nap before going back to the hospital?"

Chen Fan pursed his lips and smiled slightly, looking at him as he said, "This is a small cafeteria; the food tastes much better than the hospital's large one. If you were me, what would you choose?"

He Qingsheng shook his head speechlessly. "Who doesn't eat like this these days? You're the only one who'd rather come back and use meal tickets instead of eating for free."

He leaned back in his chair. "What's the situation today? You didn't go to rest. Do you still have the energy to treat patients this afternoon?"

Chen Fan shook his head. "I've finished treating them all; I don't need to go anymore."

He leaned forward, propped his arms on the desk, and grinned. "School's out for summer vacation. I'm going back later."

Hearing this, He Qingsheng's eyes widened. "Wait, there's so much work to do here. You're going back for summer vacation?"

Chen Fan said with a straight face, "It's not summer vacation; I'm going home to help with the farm work. It's almost time for the double抢 (qiang, harvest), and according to Comrade Li's instructions, grain production is of utmost importance. I have to go back and participate in the double抢."

He Qingsheng stared at him blankly. After a long while, he finally managed to choke out, "You little rascal, I almost believed your nonsense."

Chen Fan clicked his tongue. "How did the Changsha accent get mixed up with the Wuhan accent?"

He Qingsheng was too lazy to argue with him and asked directly, "When are you leaving?"

Chen Fan pointed out the window. "My luggage is all packed. I'll go to the guesthouse later to pack up the computer and then leave."

He Qingsheng frowned slightly. "Can you make it today?"

Chen Fan replied, "It should be fine. The last time I went back, the car got a new engine. I can drive faster if I'm alone, and maybe I can have dinner in Yunhu."

Hearing him mention the car, He Qingsheng suddenly remembered something. "I heard from Editor-in-Chief Lao Li of the Yunhu Daily that the Yunhu Automobile Factory sent them a news report saying that the two new car models that caused such a stir before are officially launching on July 1st, as a gift to the organization."

He looked directly at Chen Fan. "The sedan is out of the question, costing 98,000 yuan each, more expensive than the Hongqi and Shanghai brands. Even if it's more comfortable, it's still better to buy a Hongqi. But that multi-purpose van is good, only 18,000 yuan each, cheaper than ordinary station wagons and can seat seven people.

When you're not carrying people, you can also remove the seats and haul cargo. This car is very cost-effective.

Aren't you very familiar with the leaders of the Yunhu Automobile Factory? Help me ask how to buy this car and whether it requires approval from the Commercial Department."

The name '面包车' (mian bao che, bread car) was announced by the Yunhu Automobile Factory. Although He Qingsheng didn't understand the connection with bread, he followed along and called it that.

However, with the launch of the new car, this name should soon spread throughout the country.

Chen Fan was stunned for a moment. "Launching on July 1st? Isn't that tomorrow?"

He Qingsheng threw the cigarette butt into the ashtray, took out another pack from the drawer, and nodded. "That's right. The title of the news article is 'Our Province's Independently Developed Automobile Launches Today, as a Gift to the Organization.' Releasing it tomorrow would be perfect."

After lighting the cigarette, he continued, "Since you're going back today, you'll be there for the new car launch tomorrow. If no approval is needed, buy a few for the organization."

Chen Fan raised an eyebrow. "A few?"

He Qingsheng took a puff of smoke and said without thinking, "Two for 'Jiangnan Literature,' two for the Correspondence Center, and the Writers' Association can keep one for themselves. Distribute them, and that should be enough."

Chen Fan's face darkened. "How come I, the director of this center, don't know that we're buying two vans?"

He Qingsheng chuckled. "Isn't it a good thing to have a windfall? Anyway, the car will be registered under the Correspondence Center's name, and you can use it yourself."

Chen Fan was speechless. "I have my own car, what would I use it for?"

He Qingsheng said with a smile, "If you don't need it, lend it to the Writers' Association. We'll cover the maintenance costs."

Chen Fan couldn't help but roll his eyes. "It's one thing for you to misappropriate funds from the Correspondence Center, but since we don't need it anyway, it's fine. But since you're buying the car in our name, we should keep at least one in our hands. Even if I don't use it, I won't let you use it."

He Qingsheng was overjoyed and nodded repeatedly. "No problem, no problem, it's settled then."

Chen Fan was too lazy to argue with him. The main reason was that since He Qingsheng had brought it up, it meant that this matter had definitely been finalized privately by those big shots.

For the Correspondence Center, the money they earned couldn't be used to give out too many bonuses, nor could they use it arbitrarily. So, it was better to use it to buy a car. At least it was a legitimate reason, and their department could enjoy some benefits.

Although he had his own car, it wouldn't hurt to have one in Bian Huifang's hands. You never know when it might come in handy.

As for whether they could buy it or not, there was no need to ask.

With this matter settled, He Qingsheng happily took out a cigarette and handed it over, smiling as he said, "Oh, there's one more thing I need to inform you about. The first batch of your manuscripts has already been sent out, via special express registered mail. The other side also sent a telegram back, saying that they have received it. Takahashi expressed great satisfaction and will soon be printing it. I'm just letting you know."

As early as 1972, China signed a direct postal agreement with Japan. Unlike the United States, which still needed to transit through Hong Kong, it could be directly delivered to the other party's territory by sea or direct flight, especially special express registered mail, which was faster than sending it to some parts of the country. So, it was normal to send it out and receive a reply telegram so quickly.

Chen Fan nodded to show he understood, and then asked, "I remember that when we signed the contract, it didn't include 'Yunhu Love' and 'Shanghai Spy Shadow.' Help me send a telegram to ask if he's interested."

After a pause, he added, "Of course, not too early. It's not too late to talk about this after they print the first batch of books and put them on the market."

He Qingsheng hummed in agreement, looking at him with a smile, "You little rascal, your mind is indeed impure. If the book sells well, you can take the opportunity to propose two new books. If they're interested, you might even be able to raise the price.

If the book's sales aren't ideal, you can also offload these two books as a form of compensation.

Anyway, no matter what, it won't delay the publication of the two books."

Chen Fan shook his head with a smile, "Then you've misunderstood me. I really didn't think about screwing over that little publisher. You also know that those of us engaged in literary creation are in the same boat as the publishing houses. If they can make money, our books will be worth more.

I can't guarantee that those books will sell very well, but they won't be too bad either.

As for raising the price, that's even more absurd. The royalties from that small publisher are fixed. The only thing negotiable is the royalty rate, and in that regard, the small publisher has already offered a fairly high number. There's very little room for further increases, so it's better not to even discuss it."

He Qingsheng looked at him in surprise, "Then what is your purpose?"

Chen Fan shrugged, "It's very simple, I just want to earn some royalties."

The two books together are more than 800,000 words in length. Even if I don't get as much in royalties as last time, forty or fifty thousand US dollars should still be possible. Why wouldn't I take the road that's right in front of me? Why wouldn't I want the money?

After hearing Chen Fan's words, He Qingsheng pursed his lips and thought for a moment, then nodded in deep agreement, "Yes, that's your style."

Chen Fan's mouth twitched slightly, and then he asked, "Is there anything else? If not, I'm on vacation."

He Qingsheng came back to his senses and quickly said, "Oh, there are two more things. One is the announcement of the winners of the first Lu Xun Literary Prize, which is also tomorrow, and will be publicized in the relevant magazines and newspapers under the Writers Association."

As he spoke, he pointed at Chen Fan and smiled, "You're not eligible for the first one. You're too young. It wouldn't be appropriate to award you the highest literary prize in the first session."

Chen Fan nodded with a smile, "Understood."

He truly understood. Besides being too young, it was also because the judging rules were drafted by him, and they clearly stated that "nominated works must have been completed and published no later than the previous year."

He only started publishing literary works last May, and only a few serialized novels such as "On the Field of Hope" were completed this year, so naturally they didn't meet the selection criteria.

As for whether he would be eligible for the next session?

He estimated that "Shanghai Espionage" had no chance, as it was too much of a popular novel, but "Yunhu Love", "Ferryman", "Old Stories", and "Reed Catkin" might have a chance.

But that was next year's business, so he would wait until next year to talk about it.

When He Qingsheng heard his words, he looked at him carefully and found that there was no hesitation on his face, and a smile appeared on his face, "Your mentality doesn't seem like that of a young person at all."

Chen Fan laughed and said, "Young people can also be precocious."

He Qingsheng waved his hand and changed the subject, "The other thing is the distribution of 'Literary Youth' magazine. The data has just been compiled and sent to me."

He leaned back in his chair, looked at Chen Fan with a smile, and said, "Guess how many copies of this magazine were sold in a week?"

On June 16th, Tan Yong made the decision to publish the inaugural issue in a week. Under the overall planning of the Writers Association and the overtime work of employees from several units, the task was completed on time, and it was officially released on June 23rd.

Today is exactly one week.

Since this magazine had no pre-heating, even though He Qingsheng had secured the distribution channels of the post office, not many people subscribed directly by mail. It mainly relied on Xinhua Bookstore and remittance sales.

So Chen Fan didn't dare to guess too high, and gave a conservative number, "Twenty thousand?"

He Qingsheng curled his lips, "You guessed twenty thousand because you saw that the correspondence center has twenty thousand students, right?"

Before Chen Fan could speak, he grinned and made a gesture, "More than double that, 50,000, how about that?"

Chen Fan was stunned, "Why so many?"

Don't look at the fact that literary magazines now sell 200,000 or 500,000 copies at every turn, but those are all old-fashioned magazines with a reader base.

Such a preliminary version of an experimental nature, or rather, the inaugural issue, would be good to have more than 10,000 copies.

Even if there is a student base at the correspondence center, it will not exceed 30,000... This number comes from 20,000 students plus 10,000 regular sales.

If the quality of the magazine can resonate with or interest readers, there is a possibility of continued growth in the future.

But it was just released, and only a week has passed, and it has already climbed to 50,000 copies, which is indeed somewhat beyond Chen Fan's expectations.

He Qingsheng looked at him with a smile and said, "I was also shocked when I first saw this number. But after thinking about it carefully, it's also very normal. First of all, there are the 20,000 students you thought of. These people will definitely buy it. Secondly, there is the publicity from Yunhu Daily and Wenhui Daily, which can at least take down 20,000 to 30,000 sales.

Another thing is that the newspapers have publicized the content of this magazine, which is mainly based on the works of students participating in the correspondence class. In this way, in addition to the correspondence center students in our Jiangnan Province, students in other provinces will naturally also be interested.

Including some literary creation beginners, they also hope to be able to judge the level of their own articles through the articles of people who they think are about the same level as themselves."

Speaking of this, He Qingsheng spread his hands, "50,000 is not the end, it's just a stage victory. There should be a large wave of orders coming in later. We estimate that the final number may be set at around 100,000."

After listening to He Qingsheng's words, Chen Fan nodded slightly, "Yes, that makes sense."

Then he turned his head and stood up, saying, "Have you finished talking about everything? If you're done, I'm leaving."

He Qingsheng looked at him blankly, "No, such a big happy event, is that all the reaction you have?"

Chen Fan shrugged, "What other reaction do you want? Could it be that I can get an extra bonus?"

He Qingsheng, "There will definitely be a bonus."

Chen Fan's eyes lit up, "How much?"

He Qingsheng held up a finger, "For you, 100 yuan."

Chen Fan rolled his eyes, turned around and left, and waved his hand as he went out, "Let Xiao Bian collect it for me, don't cheat me out of it."

He Qingsheng grabbed the cigarette in front of him and threw it over, laughing and scolding angrily, "Didn't you look down on it? You still want it?"

Chen Fan grabbed the cigarette with his backhand and laughed, "This is not what I took, you gave it to me yourself, thanks."

After saying that, he turned around and left.

He Qingsheng, "…"

With a sound of the door, he smiled and shook his head repeatedly.

After a while, he opened the drawer and took out a form, which was impressively the recommendation form for national members of the Writers Association.

While filling out the form, He Qingsheng muttered, "When the General Council is established and his application for national membership is approved, I must make this kid treat us to a meal. He earns so much money and is so stingy, I definitely can't let him go."