Rebirth: Fan Debiao rises from the Liaobei land

The next evening at 6 p.m., in the large private room on the second floor of Victoria.

The large round table, seating twenty, was almost full, laden with both cold and hot dishes. Sixteen or seventeen mobile phone vendors from Kaiyuan Street had arrived, crowding the private room to capacity. The room was filled with smoke and a cacophony of voices.

Fan Debiao sat in the main seat, with Awei on his left and Gangzi on his right. Liu Qiang and Wang Fang were busy pouring drinks and lighting cigarettes for the bosses.

"Come on, everyone's here." Fan Debiao picked up his wine glass and stood up. "With the New Year just around the corner, I invited all the bosses here for a get-together. It's nothing special, just to chat and relax."

Old Zhang from the mobile phone street took a puff of his cigarette: "Boss Fan, you can't just drink this wine for free, can you? Speak your mind, we're both straightforward people."

Old Zhang has worked in the mobile phone street for over ten years, and he's always been very straightforward.

Fan Debiao smiled and said, "Uncle Zhang, you're a senior, so I'll be frank. My shop recently had some promotions, which may have upset you all. Today's meal is twofold: first, to apologize, and second, to get things straight."

Li Jie, the owner of Chengxin Communications, curled her lip and said, "Debiao, I'm not trying to be mean, but your promotion is just too outrageous! Deposit 100 and get 158 ​​off—everyone's flocking to your store. We barely get any customers!"

These words caused an uproar among the other business owners:

"Exactly! Our little shop already had few customers, and now it's even worse!"

"Your group-buying deal is even better, five people get a 100 yuan discount, who can resist such a low price?"

"Our purchase price is the same as yours, and we have to sell at the same price. How are we supposed to make any money?"

Fan Debiao waited until they finished shouting before putting down his wine glass: "Gentlemen, gentlemen, let me finish."

The private room gradually quieted down.

"First of all, I have to be frank with you all," Fan Debiao said. "When I was an agent, the manufacturer had conditions—the best-selling models had to be stocked together with regular models. I won't lie to you, all those regular models in my inventory were acquired in this way."

He counted on his fingers: "If we buy ten TCL 3188s, we need to buy three regular models. If we buy ten Xiaxin A8s, we need to buy two. If I don't do any promotions, who will I sell these regular models to? I need to recoup my investment!"

Old Zhang nodded: "That makes sense. That's just how manufacturers are; they pair the easy-to-sell items with the hard-to-sell ones."

"That's right!" Fan Debiao slapped his thigh. "That's why my promotions are only for these regular models. The TCL 3188 and Xiaxin A8, these two best-selling models, I won't lower the price, have any promotions, or promote them. The price is exactly the same as yours, not a penny different."

A young shop owner asked, "So, do you still display your best-selling items in your store?"

"I'll put it there, but just as decoration," Fan Debiao said. "Think about it, when ordinary people come into my store and see that the popular items are priced the same as yours, what will they think? They'll definitely buy the one that's closest to them. Who would bother to make a second trip? If I actually sold it to them, wouldn't that be stealing your business? I, Fan Debiao, can't do something like that."

Sister Li was still a little worried: "But your shop is so popular, you've taken all the customers away, where are we going to find customers?"

"Sister Li, I need to talk to you about this." Fan Debiao leaned forward. "What are those people who come to my shop after? They come for the cheap prices! They deposit 100 yuan and get 158 ​​yuan off, or they get 100 yuan off when they buy in bulk. These people are not your target customers in the first place."

He looked around and asked, "Bosses, would your regular customers come all the way here to queue up for a discount of a hundred or two dollars? Would they throw away a sale for a rice cooker?"

The bosses looked at each other, and some shook their heads.

Fan Debiao continued, "We each serve our own customers. Those who want cheap, usable items or are looking for deals will naturally go to me. Those who want high-quality, prestigious items or trendy items will know that every store in the city has the same price, so they'll definitely buy from the nearest store or from someone they know."

He looked at Old Zhang and said, "Uncle Zhang, you've been working in the mobile phone market for over ten years. You have tons of regular customers. When they buy a phone, do they buy it because they care about you as a person, or because they want a discount of a hundred or two?"

Old Zhang took a puff of his cigarette: "They must really trust me. My regular customers never haggle when buying phones."

"That's right!" Fan Debiao picked up his glass. "This is how we each make our own money. You make money from regular customers and stable profits, while I make money from high-volume sales and clearing out inventory. We keep to ourselves."

Sister Li thought for a moment: "Then what about your event materials...?"

"That's my second point." Fan Debiao winked at Awei.

Awei stood up and took out several design drawings from her bag: "Bosses, eighty sets of TCL's promotional materials will arrive tomorrow. We won't keep any for ourselves; we'll distribute them all to you."

She passed the design down: "Look everyone, the main title of the poster reads, 'TCL 3188/Xiaxin A8 Spring Festival Special Offer, Unified Price Citywide.' The smaller print says, 'Available at all outlets, genuine product guaranteed, unified after-sales service.'"

"In our store," Avi pointed to the design, "we only put up promotional posters for regular models, and only a small section for best-selling items, so they don't grab attention. In your stores, put best-selling posters on the storefront, display racks at the entrance, and price tags in the most prominent position on the counter. So that as soon as customers walk in, all they see are best-selling items."

The bosses passed around the design drawings and whispered among themselves.

Fan Debiao pressed on, saying, "There's a third point: we need to fix the prices. The TCL 3188 and the Xiaxin A8 will have the same price across the city. No one is allowed to lower the price or run any promotions. This is our livelihood; we can't afford to destroy it ourselves."

He raised his glass: "I'm putting this out there—from now on, the best-selling items are your exclusive profit zone. If I, Fan Debiao, ever take orders from your acquaintances, or lower prices to steal your business, I'll never work in Kaiyuan again!"

These words were quite harsh, and the bosses' expressions all changed.

Old Zhang was the first to raise his glass: "De Biao, we're relieved to hear you say that! Come on, let's have a drink!"

The two downed their drinks. The other bosses also raised their glasses.

After a few rounds of drinks, the atmosphere became lively. The bosses started toasting each other, chatting and boasting.

Halfway through their drink, Old Zhang pulled Fan Debiao to the window and whispered, "Debiao, there's something I need to remind you of."

"Uncle Zhang, please speak."

"People from Bird have been contacting us lately," Old Zhang said. "They've promised higher profits and more freebies. I reckon they're planning something big after the New Year. Keep that in mind."

Fan Debiao's heart tightened, but his face remained calm: "Thank you for the reminder, Uncle Zhang. How much profit do they offer?"

"I heard the rebate can be raised to three or four percent," Old Zhang said. "And someone even said they'd try to poach your employees."

Fan Debiao nodded: "I understand. Uncle Zhang, don't worry, I, Fan Debiao, am not a stingy person. They offer a high price, and if you want to cooperate with them, I won't stop you. In business, it's all about ability."

Old Zhang patted him on the shoulder: "You're a generous fellow! But don't worry, I, Old Zhang, am not the kind of person who would betray principles for personal gain. You're honest with us, and we'll be honest with you too."

The drinking party ended after 9 p.m. The bosses, their faces flushed from drinking, walked out arm in arm.

"De Biao, work hard during the New Year!"

"Say something if you need any help!"

After seeing everyone off, Fan Debiao finally breathed a sigh of relief. Awei handed him a cup of hot water: "Brother Biao, you've passed this hurdle today."

"That's good." Fan Debiao took the water glass. "But the waveguide... is a problem."

Gangzi said, "Brother Biao, how about I ask around?"

"No need for now," Fan Debiao waved his hand. "The New Year is just around the corner, let's make money first. We can talk about things after the New Year."

The next morning, as soon as Fan Debiao arrived at the mobile phone store, he saw Guiying standing at the door. Today she was wearing a dark blue down jacket, her hair was neatly combed, and her face was clean.

"Guiying?" Fan Debiao walked over. "What brings you here?"

Guiying was a little embarrassed: "Well... I drank too much yesterday and said some nonsense. Don't take it to heart."

"It's alright, I know you've had too much to drink," Fan Debiao said. "Want to come inside and sit down?"

"I'm not sitting here," Guiying said. "I'm really here to buy a phone today. Several people in our restaurant's kitchen and among the servers want to get new phones, and I heard you have a group-buying promotion, so I brought them here."

Just then, five or six people came over from the restaurant, including a chubby chef and a young waiter.

When Awei came out of the shop and saw Guiying, she was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "Sister Guiying, you've arrived."

Guiying was a little embarrassed when she saw Awei, but she still said, "Miss, a few of us want to pool our money to buy a phone. What price can you offer?"

Awei checked the number of people: "There are six of you. If you have five or more people, you can split the cost and each person will get a 100 yuan discount. Which one do you like?"

Guiying said, "Six of those TCL 2188 models."

Awei quickly calculated the price, collected the money, and issued the receipt. After issuing the receipt, she took six phone cases from the counter: "Sister Guiying, here are six phone cases for you."

Guiying took the phone case and looked at Awei: "Thank you, young lady."

"Of course," Avi said.

Guiying hesitated for a moment, then looked at Fan Debiao and said in a low voice, "Yesterday... I really drank too much. Don't take what I said seriously."

Fan Debiao laughed: "I know. Do you think I don't know what kind of person you are?"

Guiying blushed and left with her entourage.

As Awei watched Guiying's retreating figure, she whispered, "Brother Biao, I think Sister Guiying has a bit of a crush on you."

Fan Debiao was taken aback: "What do you mean?"

"That's the gist of it," Avi said with a half-smile. "She said it all yesterday when she was drunk, and now she's come here specifically to apologize, even bringing people to patronize her business. Isn't it obvious?"

Fan Debiao coughed lightly: "Don't talk nonsense. Guiying is an honest person, she doesn't have that many tricks up her sleeve."

"I'm not making this up." Awei turned and walked into the shop, but turned back at the door. "Brother Biao, if you're interested, you'd better hurry. Someone like Sister Guiying will never have trouble finding a partner."

Fan Debiao stood at the door, watching Awei's retreating figure, then glancing in the direction Guiying had gone. "Can I, Fan Debiao, really be destined for romantic entanglements?"

This is completely irrelevant.