Reborn in 1977

Chapter 662 Special Supply

The next morning, Chen Fan got up, washed, and looked at the time; it wasn't even 7 a.m. yet.

He decided to grab something to eat at the breakfast shop before heading to the machinery factory to oversee the arrival of the Lujiawan transportation team, which would be picking up the 300 industrial sewing machines.

However, as soon as he locked his front door, the courtyard gate was opened… but it was stopped by the bolt inside.

Chen Fan quickly walked over and asked, "Who is it?"

A woman's voice immediately came from outside the door, "Consultant Chen, I'm here to clean."

Chen Fan pulled back the bolt, opened the courtyard gate, and saw a woman in her thirties standing there.

She had neat, short hair and wore a brimless hat, dressed in a gray work uniform.

Without asking, he knew she was from the machinery factory's logistics department.

The machinery factory's work uniforms were divided into three types: blue, worn by workshop workers and the technical department; gray, the same style as the blue uniforms but a different color, worn by the logistics department.

The administrative staff wore shirts and trousers, with a Zhongshan suit jacket in spring and autumn, and a cotton-padded coat in winter, also known as "cadre attire."

Besides these three types of clothing, there were also the security personnel, who wore military uniforms, making them easily identifiable.

The visitor wearing the gray work uniform immediately indicated she was from the logistics department.

Remembering the matter he entrusted to Factory Director Yang yesterday, Chen Fan knew why she was here.

Seeing Chen Fan open the door, the woman immediately said somewhat cautiously, "Good morning, Consultant Chen. I'm Qiao Chunxia from the machinery factory's logistics department. Our director arranged for me to come and clean."

Chen Fan immediately stepped aside and smiled, "Can I call you Sister Qiao?"

Qiao Chunxia quickly nodded, "Either is fine."

Chen Fan continued, "Sister Qiao, please come in. Let me briefly explain."

Then, he closed the courtyard gate and led her inside, "Usually, no one lives here, but if the house isn't maintained, it'll easily fall into disrepair, so I asked Factory Director Yang to find someone to come and clean every few days.

Twice or three times a week is fine; you can arrange the time yourself. The work mainly involves wiping dust and mopping the floor…"

As they walked to the main room, two cats flashed past the back, and he couldn't help but smile, continuing, "Also, I keep two cats here. Whenever you come, please give them some food."

Qiao Chunxia was stunned, looking at him in confusion, "Only feed them every two or three days?"

Chen Fan grinned, "Every two or three days is enough. Those two cats can catch mice themselves; they won't starve."

The two tabby cats hid by the back door, secretly watching, somewhat suspecting that their owner was talking about them, but they had no proof since they couldn't understand human speech.

Chen Fan led Qiao Chunxia into the backyard and briefly introduced her to the kitchen and yard work, including the kitchen's food reserves and the vegetable patch.

After he finished speaking, Qiao Chunxia immediately smiled and said, "Consultant Chen, don't worry. It's all easy work. I guarantee I'll clean it up nicely."

Chen Fan smiled, "Alright, then I'll leave it to you."

After saying that, Qiao Chunxia took out her tools from a cloth bag, ready to start working.

Chen Fan watched for a while and nodded lightly. "Hmm, she's efficient and of good quality, even better than Liu Lu and the others."

As expected of someone from a large factory's logistics department; they're indeed very professional.

He then said goodbye and turned to leave.

At the same time, he gave the two cats a look, and the cat brothers darted out.

When he reached the door, Chen Fan instructed the two cats, "Keep an eye on her; see what she does each time she comes, especially if she touches anything in the house or brings anyone here to mess around."

Even if she's someone the machinery factory arranged, Chen Fan wouldn't easily trust her without testing her, so he could only add to the burden of the two security cats, letting them also serve as surveillance cats.

Otherwise, giving them a bowl of food every two or three days, that salary wouldn't be given for nothing!

The two cats stood at attention and nodded together, indicating they understood.

Chen Fan nodded in satisfaction before getting in his car and leaving.

…

Today's moving work wasn't complicated. After Chen Fan finished breakfast and arrived at the machinery factory, they had already begun loading the trucks.

If it weren't for the crisscrossing waterways of Yunhu Lake making land transport inconvenient, Deputy Factory Director Xue would have eagerly delivered the goods to the door.

Even so, he arranged for two large trucks to transport the three hundred sewing machines to the freight wharf, where the Lujiawan transportation team's cargo ship would unload and load them upon its return.

The rest was up to the Lujiawan transportation team.

While the goods were being moved, Chen Fan stood aside and said to Zhang Wenliang, who had personally come to pick up the goods, "I won't be going back today; I have other matters.

The machinery factory's Deputy Factory Director Xue promised to help resolve the remaining machines needed by the garment factory; they should all be in place by next month at the latest.

However, they can't do anything about the food factory's equipment. Keep a close eye on this; if the county commerce bureau still hasn't produced any results by next month, send me a telegram, and I'll arrange it."

Zhang Wenliang looked at him in surprise, "You're not going back?"

Chen Fan clicked his tongue, "We'll see. I need to ask if the work unit has anything going on. If time is tight, I'll leave directly; if it's not busy, I might go back for a trip."

His backpack was in the car, and the most important thing—the floppy disk—was also in his bag, always carried with him.

Whether it was the provincial capital or Shanghai and Beijing, he also had luggage there. If time was of the essence, there really was no need to go back.

Zhang Wenliang looked at him and nodded in realization, "I understand."

After a pause, he couldn't help but sigh, "To do your job like this, without even knowing the situation at your work unit, is quite bizarre!"

Chen Fan glanced at him askance, "What are you saying? Explain to me, what do you mean by 'bizarre'?"

Zhang Wenliang's expression turned serious as he took out a cigarette and offered it, "I'm saying, if I need to send you a telegram, where should I send it? The provincial writers' association, your home in Shanghai, or your home in Beijing?"

Chen Fan sucked in a breath and frowned, "I'm not sure about that either.

Next month, if nothing unexpected happens, I should be in Shanghai. But the work unit might have meetings, and the school might keep me busy…"

Before he could finish, Zhang Wenliang leaned in with a gossipy look, "Why would they keep you busy?"

Chen Fan blinked, not feeling guilty at all, "Of course, it's because the capable are made to do more.

Like this time last year, if I wanted to leave, would you have let me?"

Zhang Wenliang looked at him doubtfully, "Letting you go is definitely out of the question, but is Jiangnan University really that dependent on you?"

Chen Fan's expression turned blank as he looked at him coldly.

Zhang Wenliang's expression immediately turned serious, "I understand; I'll send it to all three places.

It's just a few more cents; we're not short on money now!"

Chen Fan sighed quietly, silently finished his cigarette, threw the butt away, turned, and waved, "I'm leaving."

After saying that, he got in his car and left.

…

Half an hour later, he slowly drove to the entrance of the Yunhu Zoo, parked the car to the side, and spent 5 cents at the ticket booth to buy a ticket before following the crowd inside.

(1978 Nanjing Xuanwu Lake Zoo ticket)

Looking at the dispersing crowd, Chen Fan couldn't help but mutter, "It's not a holiday or a weekend; who are all these people coming to the zoo?"

He shook his head and walked over to the landscape map to take a look. "Lions, tigers, bears, leopards, wolves, giraffes, elks, goats, elephants... why is it all food? And not much that's new.

Oh, golden monkeys can't be eaten.

But lions, elephants, and elks are worth a try. I haven't eaten those before. I'll have to try them someday.

Huh, there's a panda enclosure here too? Old Guo is greedy. He already has one and still wants my '滚滚' (panda).

Forget it, I'll just wander around." Then he randomly chose a direction and strolled forward.

Yunhu Zoo isn't very big, only a little over a hundred acres. It's called a zoo, but Chen Fan felt there were more plants than animals. If you ignore the animals, it's basically just a park.

It's just that there's a bit of a stench drifting around.

At times like these, a sensitive sense of smell isn't an advantage, but a disadvantage.

After passing a few smelly animal enclosures and turning another corner, there was suddenly a group of elementary school students happily making noise.

Chen Fan thought about the layout of the zoo and knew this was the panda enclosure.

(Children visiting pandas in '78)

The students were all leaning on the fence, chattering and shouting at the panda, but the big guy, whether it was a brother or a sister, ignored them and calmly munched on bamboo.

Chen Fan really wanted to trick it into going back with him, but thinking about how Old Guo would react... mainly that he's getting old, and what if he got sick from anger, that wouldn't be good.

Besides, he's the station chief of Yunhu Zoo's cooperation point. You have to leave a line for people to meet again in the future... or maybe he should trick two little monkeys into coming with him later?

After wandering around aimlessly, Chen Fan finally had to get down to business.

He walked straight to the zoo's office area, which was a large enclosed courtyard. Inside, he could vaguely see a three-story office building, and behind it seemed to be three rows of bungalows, which looked like dormitories.

There was also a gatehouse at the entrance of this small courtyard. As soon as Chen Fan walked to the gate, an old man came out of the gatehouse and shouted at Chen Fan, "Comrade, this is the office area, not open to tourists."

Chen Fan stepped forward, and before he could speak, he took out a cigarette and handed it over, smiling and saying, "Uncle, is Deputy Director Guo here?"

The old man took the cigarette and looked at him. "You're here to see him? What's your name? Which unit are you from? Do you have a letter of introduction?"

Chen Fan took out his work permit, opened it, and handed it over, saying, "My name is Chen Fan, from the Provincial Writers Association, could you please..."

Before he could finish speaking, the old man glanced at the official seal and his name and said, "Oh, so you're a writer from the province."

Just as he said this, he hissed in surprise again, "Hey, so you're Chen Fan?"

He immediately sized him up carefully. "Not bad, not bad, a spirited young man."

Chen Fan laughed dryly without changing his expression.

If Zhang Wenliang dared to say this to him, he would definitely let him know who the spirited young man was.

But the smell of gunpowder on this old man hadn't dissipated yet, and he didn't dare to act wildly.

It wasn't that he was afraid of not being able to beat him, but that he had to have the most basic respect for these veterans.

The old man praised him a few times, then turned and pointed to the office building. "Go up to the third floor, the third office from the end, Xiao Guo is there, you can find him when you go up."

After Chen Fan waved his hand to thank him, he walked straight in.

Going up to the third floor and walking further in, he soon arrived at the door of Guo Daorong's office. He poked his head in and saw that Comrade Old Guo was writing furiously at his desk, not knowing whether he was writing an article or a document.

Chen Fan knocked lightly on the door, without saying a word.

Old Guo didn't even raise his head, just saying, "Come in."

Chen Fan walked in silently, pulled out the chair in front of his desk, and sat down, still not saying a word.

After waiting for a long time, Old Guo didn't hear any movement, so he inadvertently raised his head.

Then he was startled. "When did you get here?"

Chen Fan took out a cigarette and placed it in front of him, laughing and saying, "When I knocked on the door."

Then he looked at the draft in front of him. "Are you creating something? What kind of article is it?"

Guo Daorong smiled sheepishly. "Just writing something casually."

Saying that, he put away the draft paper and pressed it under a pile of documents.

Chen Fan smacked his lips and leaned back, "You're actually hiding it?"

Guo Daorong quickly said, "It's not that I can't show it to you, it's just that this thing is a follow-up work, written just to earn a few bucks, it's really embarrassing to show it."

To earn money?

Chen Fan's eyes rolled slightly, and he asked curiously, "It can't be anti-Japanese literature specially supplied to the little devils, right?"

Guo Daorong chuckled twice, picked up a cigarette and lit it, then smiled, "Since you've guessed it, then don't ask."

Ever since Chen Fan's book became a bestseller in the little devils' country, He Qingsheng and the others took the initiative to contact Takahashi Hideo, expressing that there were many other writers who also wrote anti-war literature, thus reaching a cooperation with Takahashi Publishing House, and supplying manuscripts to them according to the little devils' payment method.

He was also thinking of earning more money, so he followed the trend and wrote this kind of story, but he didn't expect to be caught by the person himself.

It's really ghostly, this kid has never come before, why did he come today?

Seeing that he was a little embarrassed, Chen Fan couldn't help laughing, "Earning money is not shameful, what can't be seen by people."

Guo Daorong took a puff of cigarette, "It's all stuff to fool the little devils, so don't read it."

If you don't want to see it, then don't see it.

Chen Fan then changed the subject and asked, "Has the Provincial Writers Association said whether or not to hold a general membership meeting?"

Guo Daorong looked at him and asked curiously, "The meeting notice was sent out last week, didn't you receive it?"

Chen Fan was a little surprised, "There's really a meeting? I wasn't notified."

Guo Daorong frowned slightly, pondered for a few seconds, and then looked at him carefully, hesitatingly saying, "It shouldn't be, could it be that Old He and the others want to expel you?"

Chen Fan's eyes lit up instantly, "There's such a good thing?!"

Guo Daorong was speechless. "Old He also said that you were dragged into office as the director, I didn't believe it, but today I see that it's true."

After a pause, he shook his head helplessly and said, "The Provincial Writers Association notices are usually delivered by mail. Your notice definitely wouldn't be missed. Do you have too many letters and didn't pay attention to it?"

Chen Fan "uh"ed, his face a little embarrassed. "I still have a dozen bags of letters that I haven't read. Maybe it's hidden in one of the bags."

The readers these days are really enthusiastic. The letters sent to him have been constant. Liu Lu and the others used to help him open and read the letters, but in recent months they went to work in the brigade headquarters, and Chen Fan was busy inspecting the village every day and writing at night, so these letters were squeezed there.

To say that the Writers Association is really true, they won't be flexible, can't they make a phone call, or even send a telegram, they have to send a letter.

Chen Fan curled his lips, raised his head and asked, "What date is the meeting?"

Guo Daorong rummaged through the corner of the table, and soon pulled out a letter, "Yes, it's this letter."

Then he handed it to him, "See for yourself."

Chen Fan took out the letter paper inside, which was a mimeographed paper. He unfolded it and looked at it, "December 7th? Who chose the date, isn't that the day of heavy snow?"