Rebirth: Fan Debiao rises from the Liaobei land

The labor bureau had just given its approval when the education bureau blocked it.

Section Chief Xu, who was in his fifties and wore reading glasses, was in charge of approving applications for schools run by private entities. He flipped through the materials Fan Debiao handed over again and again: "Boss Fan, your application... the materials are incomplete."

Fan Debiao smiled ingratiatingly: "Section Chief Xu, please give me some pointers. I'll fill in whatever's missing."

Section Chief Xu pushed the materials back, tapping his fingers rhythmically on the table: "Educational qualifications are no small matter. The key... is the direction of the education. What kind of people does your training center plan to train? What can they do after they graduate? All of these must be clearly stated in the materials."

Fan Debiao understood immediately, took out an envelope and handed it over: "Section Chief Xu, this is my 'supplementary explanation.' Is this acceptable?"

Section Chief Xu took the envelope, rubbed it between his fingers, estimated the thickness of three thousand yuan inside, and then a smile appeared on his face: "Boss Fan is a sensible man. Here's what you'll do, refine your school's direction and curriculum, and resubmit it next week. I'll talk to the review experts, and there shouldn't be any problems."

As they left the Education Bureau, Awei muttered to herself, "Brother Biao, this is the third 'supplementary explanation' already."

"This is called tuition." Fan Debiao lit a cigarette. "Running a school always requires paying tuition. Besides, it's worth it to get a proper license for three thousand yuan."

A week later, Section Chief Sun from the Labor Bureau called personally, his tone urgent: "Boss Fan, it's approved! The plaque for the 'Kaiyuan City Telecommunications Technology Re-employment Training Center' has been approved for you! I have thirty-eight laid-off workers here who must be placed by the end of the year—you need to take them over immediately!"

Fan Debiao chuckled: "Section Chief Sun, you've... brought me trainees?"

"That's right!" Section Chief Sun sighed on the other end of the line. "The end of the year is approaching, and the bureau is under a lot of pressure. These people come to ask about work every few days, it's a headache. Your training center is perfect, let them learn something first, and stabilize things."

"Okay, take them all!" Fan Debiao hung up the phone and immediately made arrangements. "Gangzi, clear out the first floor and set up tables! Awei, prepare the registration forms—the Labor Bureau sent thirty-eight, we'll recruit a few more to make fifty people to start the class!"

The recruitment brochure was posted the next day. It was written in black and white, with the Labor Bureau's bright red seal at the bottom: "Kaiyuan City Telecommunications Technology Re-employment Training Center is recruiting. Free training, job placement assistance."

This stamp carries a different weight.

The door was packed with people who wanted to sign up. In addition to the thirty-eight people arranged by the Labor Bureau, more than twenty others came on their own. Fan Debiao interviewed them one by one and had a good idea of ​​what to expect—most of them had only a junior high school education and had never even touched a multimeter.

On the first day of the training, the first floor of the repair center was packed with people.

Fan Debiao stood at the front, looking at the faces below, some blank and some expectant, and cleared his throat: "Brothers and sisters, my name is Fan Debiao. Our training center doesn't do anything fancy; we teach you practical skills to make a living. But I have to say something unpleasant upfront—"

He picked up the multimeter on the table: "This thing is called a multimeter. These numbers on it are called readings. If you don't understand them, or can't learn them, don't force yourself. We'll learn them in separate classes."

Someone in the audience asked, "How are we going to divide it?"

"That's how it's divided," Fan Debiao said. "Those who can read, those who used to work as electricians in factories, and those who can read blueprints can go up to the second floor—to learn technology from engineers from Motorola and Ericsson, and become maintenance workers in the future, earning 1,500 a month."

"The rest of you can stay on the first floor—I'll teach you how to climb poles, pull cables, and lift equipment. This job doesn't require much brainpower, but it does require a lot of physical strength. But you can earn eight or nine hundred a month, which is better than staying idle at home."

That's true. A buzz of discussion arose from below.

"I climbed the utility pole, I'm staying on the first floor!"

"I used to repair machines in a textile factory, I'll go upstairs!"

The class assignments were announced, and out of fifty students, only eleven went up to the second floor. The remaining thirty-nine stayed on the first floor to learn manual labor.

Motorola engineer Li frowned as he looked at the crowd: "Boss Fan, there are... far too few people."

"Don't worry about the number." Fan Debiao offered him a cigarette. "Teach these eleven well. Once they're trained, they'll be our own technical team. As for the rest, I'll take care of them."

Engineer Li understood: "You mean... planting flowers everywhere, but focusing on cultivating the best ones?"

"That's right." Fan Debiao smiled. "We need to screen the technical talent gradually. For the rest, we should first solve their employment problems and ensure they can make a stable living. When the scale grows larger, we can then select the best candidates from among them."

And so the training began. The second floor was quiet, filled only with the sounds of lectures and the ticking of instruments. The first floor was bustling; Liu Tiezhu was demonstrating how to fasten a safety harness: "This buckle is called a pig's trotter buckle; the more you pull, the tighter it gets..."

Fan Debiao shuttled between the two sides every day. He watched the trainees on the second floor soldering circuit boards and the trainees on the first floor practicing pole climbing. He thought to himself—these thirty-nine manual laborers would be a ready-made construction team once the base station construction started in the spring.

Friday night, in Victoria's largest private room.

General Manager Zhang, Wu Derong, Fan Debiao, and Gangzi, four people, eight dishes, four bottles of Wuliangye liquor.

General Manager Zhang seemed visibly relaxed today, his voice tinged with a smile: "Xiao Fan, you did a fantastic job with the first base station. The provincial company is very satisfied, and General Manager Wang even praised you at the meeting, saying that the Kaiyuan site can be used as a model for wider application."

"It's all thanks to General Manager Zhang's excellent leadership." Fan Debiao stood up to offer a toast, "I'll drink this, please feel free to drink as you like."

"Whatever, let's do it together!" Mr. Zhang was very accommodating and downed his drink in one gulp.

After a few rounds of drinks, the atmosphere became lively. Wu Derong talked about how Victoria's year-end banquet was fully booked, and General Manager Zhang talked about Netcom's plans for next year. As the conversation went on, it turned to casual conversation.

Mr. Zhang sighed, "My biggest worry right now is my son. He's in high school in Tieling, more than 30 kilometers from home. My wife has to take a taxi to and from school every day, getting up at five in the morning and not getting back until ten at night. It's so tough for her in the dead of winter."

Fan Debiao's heart skipped a beat, but he remained outwardly calm: "Your wife has had a tough time. Mr. Zhang, why don't you arrange a car for her?"

"Arrange a car?" General Manager Zhang waved his hand. "I'll use the company car service, but my wife and kids will use a government vehicle? That would be giving others a handle against me."

Wu Derong chimed in, "That's right, it has a bad influence."

Fan Debiao seemed to suddenly remember something: "Mr. Zhang, now that you mention it, I do remember something. I have a used Jetta, silver, bought last year, driven less than 20,000 kilometers. It's just sitting in the garage, about to go bad if it's not driven soon. How about... your wife drives it for now? It'll be convenient for picking up and dropping off the kids."

Mr. Zhang was stunned: "This...this won't do!"

"What's wrong with that?" Fan Debiao said as if it were a serious matter. "Cars aren't afraid of being driven, they're afraid of being left idle. If they're left idle for too long, the battery will drain, the tires will deform, and it'll just be a waste. My sister-in-law can drive it for now, consider it helping me maintain the car. She can pay for the gas herself, is that alright?"

Wu Derong chimed in, "Mr. Zhang, Biaozi is right. Cars need to be driven often. If you feel bad about it, your wife can just pay the rent monthly."

Mr. Zhang pondered for a moment, poking around in the dish with his chopsticks without saying a word.

Fan Debiao knew the time was right, so he stopped bringing up the matter and instead talked about the training center: "General Manager Zhang, our training center has fifty people in the first phase, divided into two groups. One group learns technical skills so they can do maintenance in the future; the other group trains their physical strength so they can be used for base station construction in the spring."

"That's a good idea," General Manager Zhang nodded. "Tailored teaching, practical approach. Once your training center is up and running, Netcom can cooperate on targeted training programs next year."

"That's wonderful!" Fan Debiao raised his glass. "I'd like to toast General Manager Zhang!"

As the event ended, General Manager Zhang shook Fan Debiao's hand vigorously, saying, "Xiao Fan, you're a capable person. Keep up the good work, you have a bright future ahead of you."

After seeing Mr. Zhang off, Gangzi scratched his head and asked, "Brother Biao, where can we find a used Jetta?"

"Not now, but you'll have some tomorrow," Fan Debiao said. "Tomorrow, go to the used car market and pick out a silver Jetta, almost new, original paint. You can decide the price."

"A nearly new Jetta!" Gangzi glared. "Brother Biao, you're already giving it away, why didn't you give us a better one?!"

"That's exactly what I wanted," Fan Debiao said. "What kind of taxis are you seeing all over the provincial capital? They're all Jettas. This car isn't flashy, it's sturdy, and it's cheap to maintain. When Boss Zhang's wife drives it to pick up and drop off the kids, everyone just thinks it's an ordinary car and no one will think much of it."

Wu Derong nodded in agreement: "Biaozi's thinking is very thoughtful. When it comes to gift-giving, it's all about subtlety. If you give a nice car, the leader won't dare to drive it. Giving a used Jetta is just right."

The next afternoon, Gangzi drove back in a silver Jetta, which was sparkling clean after a wash. Fan Debiao inspected the car, quite satisfied, and put the car keys in an envelope, asking Awei to deliver it to General Manager Zhang's office.

"Just say it's my personal, unused vehicle, and I'm lending it to my sister-in-law temporarily. Don't say anything else."

That evening, Mr. Zhang called, his tone noticeably warmer: "Xiao Fan, my wife test drove the car, it's quite easy to drive. Thank you."

"Don't mention it, Mr. Zhang. The car's just sitting around anyway," Fan Debiao said. "By the way, Mr. Zhang, there are still base stations to be built after spring. I've looked at a few sites. When are you free so I can give you a report?"

"The remaining base stations..." Mr. Zhang paused, "Next Monday, come to my office. There are some things I need to discuss with you first."