Tech startup: I really do make mobile phones!

Chapter 107 Zhao Tiezhu Returns

The smell of hospital disinfectant mixed with a faint scent of acrylic paint filled the ward.

Old Zhao lay unconscious in his hospital bed. The young woman in the next bed held Zhao Tiezhu's orange, her thumb twirling the Angry Birds on the screen, trying to find the right angle to eliminate the pesky little green pigs.
Eighteen-year-old Zhao Jincheng lay sprawled on a white lacquered wooden bench in the hospital, his drawing paper stained with paint.
Outside the door, Zhao Tiezhu had just returned after delivering cement to Uncle Limpy with his men.

"The surgery was a success!"

"Are you really alright? You won't need any more surgery?"

"Okay! Just take your medicine on time."

The doctor in the white coat's words made Zhao Tiezhu's face glow, and the doctor pushed the red envelope he had taken out back to him.

"Keep it to buy nutritional supplements for the elderly!"

The moment Zhao Tiezhu pushed open the door and returned to the ward, the warmth that had just surfaced in his eyes suddenly froze.

"Zhao Jincheng!" The thunderous roar startled the younger sister, causing her phone to fall onto the bed.

The nearly 1.8-meter-tall, chubby boy was grabbed by the back of his collar and lifted up by Zhao Tiezhu, the "skinny little monkey." The chubby boy swayed as he gripped the bed frame next to him.

Zhao Tiezhu slapped him on the back of the head with a whooshing sound: "Did I pay for your education so you could draw this crap?"

The boy's ears burned with excitement, and he shouted defiantly, "I have the freedom to pursue art! My art teacher says I have talent and even wants to recommend me for the provincial competition."

"Freedom my ass!" Zhao Tiezhu's second slap sent the paint box flying through the air, cobalt blue and ochre spreading across the pure white floor tiles, much like a boy's shattered dream: "You're spending my hard-earned money, what right do you have to talk about freedom?"

The boy swallowed back the words that were on the tip of his tongue—he had wanted to argue that the money to buy art supplies was earned by sketching tourists at scenic spots.

But Zhao Tiezhu's index finger was already pointing at his brow, with cement dust still embedded in his fingernail.

"I'm telling you this: I've even smashed up the principal's office. If you dare to go down the path of an art student, I'll throw feces into your art teachers' homes every day!"

If other people's children said they wanted to study art before the college entrance exam, Zhao Tiezhu would always praise them, saying they were talented and could be the next Bi Jiasuo. But his own younger brother... no way!

Knowing what his younger brother cared about, Zhao Tiezhu had a thousand ways to manipulate him, a thousand ways...
"what!"

Zhao Jincheng suddenly picked up the paint box and shoved his skinny older brother aside, rushing out of the ward. The paint he stepped on left a long trail of rainbow-colored footprints down the corridor.

The hospital's cleaning lady, holding her mop, watched as the hallway she had just cleaned was once again ransacked.
"."

Cleaning lady: Speak up, speak up for me!
in the ward

Zhao Tiezhu turned around, panting heavily. His younger sister was already standing at attention obediently: "Big brother! You know I don't like drawing!"

Seeing that her older brother didn't react, the little girl's eyes darted around, and she muttered softly, "Well... if you beat up my second brother, you can't beat up me, right?"

Zhao Tiezhu's tense lips finally relaxed, and he laughed out loud: "Hahaha~"

He ruffled the blonde girl's hair: "Silly girl! You can sing and dance as you please. Your second brother and I will back you up in the future!"

Zhao Tiezhu suddenly became serious again, and his rough fingers tapped her forehead: "Just one thing. If you dare to learn from those bad women to smoke, drink, get tattoos, and go to bars, I'll break your legs!"

The little girl nodded frantically, then picked up her phone and jumped back onto the bed.

The little bird on the screen "whooshed" and crashed into the pig-head fortress.

A rustling sound came from the hospital bed.

Old Zhao, who had already been woken up by the two brothers, tried to sit up by gripping the bed railing with his withered hands, but his son pressed him back onto the pillow.

"Father! What are you saying? You can talk while lying down!"

The old man's sunken eyes welled with tears, and his cracked lips trembled as he said, "Tiezhu, I'm so sorry. When you were born prematurely, the incubator cost five thousand a day. I gritted my teeth and let you stay there for three days. It was really... really..."

He didn't say it aloud, but Zhao Tiezhu had heard his mother talk about it since he was a child, saying that his father was heartless and that they could have borrowed more money back then.

Of the triplets, the eldest died young, the second was frail, and only the youngest was a full-term, chubby boy.

Originally, his name should have included "gold" or "silver," but because his mother couldn't afford an incubator, she placed him in a cradle next to the stove and fed him with rice porridge. Fearing that his name might sound too noble, she changed it to "iron."

Seeing that the old man was about to shed tears, Zhao Tiezhu suddenly laughed and said, "Why are you saying that? I'm living a good life now!" He unscrewed the thermos and poured out chicken soup, the steam blurring his vision.

When the chicken soup was handed to Old Zhao's lips, Zhao Tiezhu sneered with red eyes: "I've asked Uncle Limpy to build the new tile-roofed house, and I'll leave you 100,000 yuan as a last resort."

He wiped his face, his expression serious: "Dad! Keep a close eye on the second son, don't let him cause any trouble!"

Outside the inpatient department window, Zhao Jincheng's figure was curled up in the shade of a tree.

The drawing paper lay open on his lap, on which was an unfinished drawing of Zhao Tiezhu.
The boy who used to be a reckless troublemaker now appears exceptionally "upright" in his younger brother's drawings, even the angles of his face carry a kind of "resolute" sharpness.

After settling things at home, Zhao Tiezhu flew back to Shenzhen.
When he barged into Orange Technology carrying a snakeskin bag, he looked just like a poor relative visiting the city.

"Hey, hey, hey! Sir!" Xiao Zhou, the receptionist, hurriedly threw the bag of potato chips behind the counter, took a few quick steps in her high heels, and spread her arms to block Zhao Tiezhu, who was carrying a snakeskin bag: "You can't bring that snakeskin bag into the office area!"

Zhao Tiezhu glanced at her sideways, slammed the snakeskin bag on the ground, took out an apple and shoved it into her hand: "Little Zhou! You don't even recognize me anymore!"

"Oh! Brother Tiezhu! It's you!" Xiao Zhou exclaimed with delight, holding the apple and curiously examining the marketing manager who had "disappeared" for almost a week.

"Yes! These are genuine Luochuan apples from our hometown. Let me show you the taste of home!"

Xiao Zhou nodded: "Thank you, Brother Tiezhu!" and let him into the company.

In the Orange Treasure Studio group chat, He Jian and Wang Teng blankly accepted the apples still covered in morning dew.

"Dude! We talked on the phone, let's try it!" Zhao Tiezhu slapped Wang Teng's shoulder hard, making the young man, who was half a head taller than him, stumble.

"Ahem. Thank you, Brother Zhao!" Wang Teng followed the way the others in the work area addressed this supervisor, who looked almost a full twelve years older than him, as Brother Zhao.

Turning his head, Zhao Tiezhu stuffed the two reddest ones into He Jian's hand, who was squinting at him.

"You're too kind, Manager Zhao." He Jian ran his fingertips along the smooth skin of the apple.

Zhao Tiezhu raised an eyebrow: "Hey! What's two fruits! Manager He, don't worry about it. Once we're at Orange, we're all family!"

After distributing the apples he had brought from home to everyone in the office area, he knocked on the logistics supervisor's office.

"Come in~"

"Sister Gong! Crystal cakes! From the time-honored Demaogong shop on Muslim Street!"

Gong Yun's fingertips traced the oil paper package. Her eyelashes trembled as she lowered her eyes, then she looked up and chuckled softly, "Thanks!"

When Chen Mo's office door was flung open, he was frowning as he held a financial statement.
"Brother Chen! I, Zhao Tiezhu, am back!"

"I heard you!" Chen Mo couldn't help but chuckle, pretending to pick at his ear. "I'm not deaf! Couldn't you have been a little quieter when you came in? That door is solid wood!"

Originally, Chen Mo wasn't a stingy person, but the tight cash flow a week ago forced him to start paying attention to these minor issues. From now on, he would never blindly expand again and would become the cash king of Shenzhen.

"That's perfect! I'll help you check the quality, Brother Chen!"

Zhao Tiezhu dragged over a genuine leather swivel chair and sat down opposite Chen Mo with an imposing air, the chair creaking under his weight.

"Brother Chen! My dad can get out of bed now!" The kid grinned, revealing his big white teeth, and slapped the IOU on the financial statement: "Fifty thousand yuan spent completely, not a penny left!"

That brat really spends all his money. By the end of the month, he doesn't even have a penny left in his pocket, let alone borrowing from me.

"Alright! Here's the IOU."

Chen Mo pushed the IOU back, but Zhao Tiezhu held his hand down.

"Brother Chen! Even close brothers keep clear accounts! You're going to be the richest man in the world, so you need to keep your personal and business matters separate!"

Chen Mo couldn't help but chuckle: "You little rascal, this is still far from settled, and you're already trying to get me a loan to become the richest man!"

"What's the difference between a person without dreams and a salted fish!" Zhao Tiezhu's rough fingers poked at the date on the IOU: "Let's calculate it at the normal bank interest rate!" Watching Chen Mo put the IOU into his leather notebook, Zhao Tiezhu magically produced two bottles of wine.

The bronze goblet-shaped bottle is engraved with the seal script character "西风" (West Wind), and the wine inside the glass bottle gleams with an amber light.

"Brother Chen! Five thousand eight! Let's go out for a big meal tonight!" He flicked the bottle cap with his thumb, and a hint of aged aroma instantly wafted over Chen Mo's nose. This wine was indeed quite good.

Chen Mo had anticipated the high-class dining experience of Zhao Tiezhu, as seen under the neon signs of the food stalls on the vast grassland.

But Zhao Tiezhu piled the grilled kidneys all over his plate.
"Hey kid, what are you trying to do?"

"It's about remembering the bitter past to appreciate the sweet present! Back then, Brother Chen, you made those grand pronouncements here."

"Don't change the subject. Why did you order so many grilled kidneys? Didn't you break up with that Sister Tian? Are you trying to fertilize the air?"

"Hey! My ex-girlfriend is back!" Zhao Tiezhu suddenly lowered his voice.

"Huh?" Chen Mo's roasted chives fell onto the table with a "thud": "That gold digger ran off with 80,000 of yours a few years ago."

Zhao Tiezhu doesn't seem like the kind of person who can't think straight!

Do you...do you know her?

Zhao Tiezhu interrupted him with a smile: "Brother Chen! I understand what you mean!"

"So you're still hanging around with her? Why don't you break it off cleanly now? A good horse doesn't turn back to eat the grass it already grazed, you know that?"

Chen Mo pushed the kidneys back, the golden fat sloshing around at the bottom of the plate.

“She has nowhere to go right now, and if she comes back, she'll just think I'm a sucker!” Zhao Tiezhu grinned, showing his white teeth. “I’m just killing time anyway, so I’ll make up with her for a couple of days first, until she finds out I still owe 500,000 yuan in debt.”

"If she can hold out this time and not run away, I'll marry her with great ceremony!"

It seems Zhao Tiezhu was certain she would run away, so he might as well stir up a hornet's nest he hadn't prepared.

"You're really something." Chen Mo was speechless, not knowing what to say to him: "Can't you be serious for once? You can't live without a woman, can you?"

His ex-girlfriend was definitely not a good person, and this guy... well, he's not exactly a good man either. They're both scheming.

"Brother Chen!" Zhao Tiezhu pointed the iron skewer at the night sky: "I'm just an ordinary person, my life goal is just two words."

The grilled kidneys splattered with oil in his hands: "Make money! Get women!" After finishing the last bite, he slammed the metal skewer into the empty plate.

Okay! Two words it is.

"I can't care about your trivial matters!"

Chen Mo didn't say anything more; he couldn't control this brat anyway.

Ultimately, this is his private matter. A few words of advice are enough; saying more will only annoy him and tire me out.

"Mr. Zhao!"

"Mr. Chen!"

"You guys come and have some barbecue too!"

"Judging from what you're saying, it's obvious that President Chen and President Zhao are here to experience the everyday life of ordinary people!"

"."

Chen Mo, the owner of Orange Mobile, and Zhao Tiezhu, the wholesaler, were at a food stall when wholesalers from nearby barbecue stalls took turns toasting them.

Ever since Zhao Tiezhu took the gossipy Lao Zhang on a tour of Orange Technology's new office, the wholesalers in the major wholesale markets of North China all know that Orange Technology is now completely different from what it used to be; it has truly risen to prominence.

An entire floor of office space, over 1700 square meters, where even the cats live in luxurious single rooms—it's outrageously extravagant!

A portly stall owner is holding up an orange-themed phone, and the three of them are taking a photo together.

"Thank you for your patronage! I'll make a fortune following you two!"

Amidst the flattery of the wholesale vendors, Chen Mo caught a glimpse of Zhao Tiezhu secretly slipping the bill into his pocket.

Uh... this reckless kid wouldn't have gone "corrupt" already, would he?
You're kidding me, you think you can get corrupted by just one meal!
Now Zhao Tiezhu is the marketing director of Orange Technology, holding great power over the supply chain's "procurement" and "market distribution." Wholesalers who want to get goods in advance really have to curry favor with him.

If the water is too clear, there will be no fish.

Chen Mo was all smiles and pleasantries with the wholesalers at each stall, unlike last time when he started spouting nonsense after drinking half a bottle of beer, which made everyone somewhat hostile towards him.

When the crowd dispersed, Zhao Tiezhu had downed half a bottle of Xifeng liquor, while Chen Mo hadn't even taken a sip.

Zhao Tiezhu suddenly gripped the wine bottle, a glint of light flashing in his eyes.

"Brother Chen! The Orange 1 sold a million units in a month, everything's going really smoothly, isn't it?"

Chen Mo looked at him curiously, put down the skewers in her hand, and wanted to hear what he had to say.

"You acquired the battery factory and then took in the Chengbao team. Sister Gong said that the light in your office has been on the whole time these past few days when she passed by the company on her way home from get off work." Zhao Tiezhu's Adam's apple bobbed. "You haven't stopped for a moment since May. Are you trying to work yourself to death?"

The oil droplets from the owner's barbecue grill exploded into blue flame particles on the charcoal fire.

As Chen Mo gazed at the surging crowds at the night market, the image of Old Wang smashing the orange shop's signboard when the business went bankrupt in his previous life flashed through his mind.

What makes it so hard to stop?
Perhaps it's the resentment from a past life, or... suppliers want more supply, employees are waiting for wages, and wholesalers are urging for delivery.
He took a big gulp of the West Wind liquor, his face immediately turning bright red from choking: "Cough cough~"

Then, Chen Mo stroked the rim of his wine glass, muttering absentmindedly, "I've thought about taking a break. I have, but everyone is pushing me forward, and I can't stop!"

Zhao Tiezhu's rough hand suddenly pressed on his shoulder: "Brother Chen! Tomorrow, Sister Gong and I will keep an eye on the company for you. Why don't you go home for a while? Haven't you been back for a long time?"

"Home!"

Chen Mo was stunned, then burst out laughing.

"Alright, Mr. Zhao!" He suddenly kicked the other man with his toe: "You go find the boss first and get back the bill that was in my name last time!"

...

The shopkeeper pointed to the receipt with Chen Mo's name on it, which Zhao Tiezhu had hung on the freezer: "This is a testament to Mr. Chen's down-on-his-luck days! If he ever becomes rich again," he thought, "he still wants to keep it to attract customers!"
"Change to this one!" Zhao Tiezhu suddenly hugged his boss and took a selfie, the movement startling a fly nearby. "When I become the group president, this photo will be enough for you to brag about for ten years!"

On the taxi ride home, Chen Mo rubbed his aching stomach from laughing: "You really dare to brag!"

"So, Brother Chen, you'd better work hard!" Zhao Tiezhu raised an eyebrow, spread his hands, and said with a smile, "I'm actually waiting for you to make me the president of a group!"

Chen Mo smiled without saying a word. He had only drunk half a glass of baijiu today, and his thinking was already a little sluggish.

He leaned back in the back seat, his face flushed, and exhaled a long breath reeking of alcohol.

"You're a smart guy, give me your opinion, what do you think of He Jian and his group?"

"Today I overheard someone surnamed He comparing himself to Qiu Bojun at the sink!" Zhao Tiezhu sneered. "He's making that kid Wang Teng think he's the next Lei Jun!"

Chen Mo remained silent, his face expressionless: "Keep these words to yourself, especially don't let anyone in the company know."

If He Jian and Wang Teng suddenly have a conflict, the incubating Orange Baby will die prematurely.

"Brother Chen! Do you think I'm stupid?" Zhao Tiezhu slapped the chair and laughed, "Besides, that kid Wang Teng, he—" His words trailed off.

Chen Mo had already closed his eyes and fallen asleep leaning against the back seat.

In the reflection of the car window, Zhao Tiezhu was supporting the already sleeping Chen Mo. He leaned over the passenger window and said, "Driver! Wait for me for two minutes, I'll be right down!"

With his ex-girlfriend back for the past two days, Zhao Tiezhu wanted to let her know that she had run off with 80,000 yuan of his money, and that it wasn't something that could be easily forgotten.

(End of this chapter)