Rebirth: Fan Debiao rises from the Liaobei land

The next morning, Fan Debiao opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling for a while. Guiying's rosy cheeks and Awei's ambiguous smile kept replaying in his mind. Anyone with Awei's looks could tell that she was interested in him.

Oh dear, who can resist A-Wei!

He pulled out a cigarette, lit it, took two puffs, and cursed, "That's pure bullshit."

But that little flame in my heart did indeed flicker a few times.

When I arrived at the store at 7:30, there were already about twenty people lined up at the door. There were migrant workers carrying woven bags and old men and women wearing cotton-padded coats. They were all stamping their feet from the cold, but their eyes were fixed on the roller shutter door.

"Open the door! Open the door! It's freezing!" someone shouted.

Xiao Juan and Xiao Ling quickly pulled up the curtain, and the crowd surged in, instantly forming a tight group in front of the counter.

"I want to deposit 100! That TCL 2188!"

"How can we do a group order? All five of us in my workplace want to buy it!"

Fan Debiao rolled up his sleeves and personally took charge, collecting money and issuing invoices, working up a sweat. Awei came from the company to help, and as soon as she entered, she was surrounded by three or four older women: "Girl, can this phone really store 100 yuan and charge it as 158 yuan?"

It was past ten o'clock when things quieted down a bit. Fan Debiao lit a cigarette and took a breath, then asked Awei, "Have the four newly hired sales promoters all gone to the store yet?"

"I'm off." Awei wiped her sweat. "Liu Qiang took two people to the mobile phone street, and Wang Fang took two people to the west side of the city. Mainly to help the retail stores organize their displays and train the staff on how to introduce the machines."

Before he could finish speaking, Fan Debiao's phone rang. Liu Qiang yelled into the phone, "Brother Biao! A fight's broken out! Xiao Chen got his head cracked open by the Bird's men!"

Fan Debiao's heart skipped a beat: "Take it slow! Where are you? Who's with whom?"

"At Old Zhang's shop! Old Hu from Bird came over with four men, saying they wanted to discuss display space and asked Xiao Chen to move the TCL display counter to the back! Xiao Chen refused, and they just started hitting him! They smashed his head with iron pipes! It was covered in blood!"

Did you call the police? Did you call an ambulance?

"We've called! We've all called! Brother Biao, come quick!"

Fan Debiao hung up the phone, his face as black as the bottom of a pot. Seeing this, Awei quickly asked, "What's wrong, Brother Biao?"

"The people from Bird beat up our sales promoters with iron pipes." Fan Debiao grabbed his coat. "I'm going to the scene. You watch the store."

"I'll go with you!"

"Watch the shop!" Fan Debiao shouted, pushing open the door and rushing out.

Driving towards the mobile phone street, Fan Debiao's mind raced—Bird was desperate. Unable to compete for business, they were resorting to underhanded tactics. He recalled 2003 in his previous life, when the mobile phone market was in complete chaos, with salespeople fighting and vandalizing shops being commonplace. He never expected to encounter something like this so soon in this life.

The area in front of Lao Zhang's shop on Mobile Phone Street was already surrounded by layers of people. The red and blue lights of the police cars were dazzling, and an ambulance was parked to the side, with paramedics carrying a stretcher to the vehicle.

Fan Debiao pushed his way through the crowd and went inside; the store was a complete mess.

The TCL display case was smashed and tilted, glass shattered all over the floor, and display models, posters, and brochures were scattered everywhere. There was blood on the floor, in pools that hadn't dried yet.

Liu Qiang squatted in the corner, his clothes torn and his face scratched. Wang Fang was supporting a young man—it was Xiao Chen, the newly hired sales promoter. Xiao Chen's head and face were covered in blood, with a large gash on his left temple, the flesh torn open, blood streaming down his cheek, staining half of his clothes red. His eyes were half-open, and he was groaning incoherently.

Old Zhang stood to the side, trembling with rage: "Outrageous! Utterly outrageous!"

In the middle of the store, three policemen were holding down four men. The four men were all in their early twenties, wearing blue overalls from Bird. One of them had an iron pipe under his hand and foot—the kind of display stand used to hang posters—one end of which was bent and stained with blood.

The lead policeman, Fan Debiao, recognized him; his surname was Zhao, and he was the deputy director. They had dealt with each other when they handled Old Scar's case.

"Director Zhao." Fan Debiao walked over.

Director Zhao turned around and saw Fan Debiao, nodding: "Boss Fan, you're here. Your man is seriously injured and needs to be taken to the hospital immediately."

"Who did this?" Fan Debiao stared at the four people from Waveguide.

Director Zhao pointed to the one holding the iron pipe: "His name is Xiao Jun. And those three, they all got involved." He then pointed to a fat man in a leather jacket in the corner, "That's Lao Hu, the agent for Waveguide, he brought him."

Old Hu stood there, his face pale, trying to shrink back behind others.

Fan Debiao walked up to Xiao Chen and squatted down: "Xiao Chen, can you hear me?"

Xiao Chen barely opened his eyes: "Brother Biao...they...threw at me..."

"Stop talking, let's go to the hospital first." Fan Debiao stood up and said to the medical staff, "Please use the best medicine and do all the necessary tests. I'll cover all the costs."

He then said to Liu Qiang, "Go with me to the hospital and stay by my side. Call me anytime if anything happens."

The ambulance drove off with its siren blaring. Fan Debiao turned around and looked at Lao Hu.

Old Hu felt uneasy under his gaze and forced himself to say, "Boss Fan, this is a misunderstanding..."

"A misunderstanding?" Fan Debiao pointed to the blood on the ground. "Smashing someone's head with an iron pipe, and that's a misunderstanding?"

"That was just Xiao Jun acting on impulse..."

"A moment of impulse?" Fan Debiao laughed, a laugh that sent chills down Lao Hu's spine. "Four people beating one person, using iron weapons, beating him to death. That's intentional assault, a criminal offense."

He turned to Chief Zhao: "Chief Zhao, you saw it all. The witnesses and evidence are all there, and there's CCTV footage in the shop, right, Old Zhang?"

Old Zhang quickly replied, "Yes! There are security cameras! They recorded it all!"

Director Zhao nodded: "We'll retrieve the surveillance footage. These people," he pointed to Xiao Jun and the other three, "are all suspected of intentional assault and need to be taken back to the station. Lao Hu, you also need to come back with us to cooperate with the investigation."

Old Hu panicked: "Chief Zhao, this is just a fight..."

"Fighting?" Chief Zhao frowned. "The man's head was split open; he'd need at least ten stitches. That's enough for a minor injury. This is a criminal case."

Old Hu's face turned even paler.

Fan Debiao took out his phone, walked outside the store, and dialed a number.

"Director Li, this is Fan Debiao. Yes, I need to trouble you with something... Bird's people beat up my sales promoter with an iron pipe, cracked his head open, and sent him to the hospital... Yes, at Old Zhang's place on Mobile Phone Street... Okay, thank you, Director Li."

After hanging up, he dialed another number.

"Section Chief Sun, this is Fan from Dexing Communications... Oh yes, there's this matter. Do you know Lao Hu, the distributor for Bird?... That's good. His men beat up my employee, quite seriously... I wanted to ask, are all the paperwork for Bird's goods in Kaiyuan complete? Is there any cross-regional sales or refurbished goods?... Okay, then please help me check."

After making the two phone calls, Fan Debiao returned to the shop. Old Hu was trying to appease Director Zhao: "Director Zhao, can we settle this privately? We'll cover all the medical expenses, and even offer some compensation..."

Director Zhao shook his head: "Old Hu, this isn't about money. The injuries are severe enough to warrant a case. Come back to the station with me."

Just then, Director Zhao's phone rang. He answered, "Huh?... Director Li... Yes, this is the situation... The person is seriously injured... I understand, I understand, I will definitely handle it according to the law."

After hanging up the phone, Director Zhao's gaze towards Lao Hu changed: "Lao Hu, let's go. Those four men under you are suspected of intentional assault and have been criminally detained. As the person in charge, you also need to go back and explain things clearly."

Old Hu's legs went weak.

Fan Debiao walked over and whispered to Lao Hu, "Boss Hu, you've only been in Kaiyuan for three years, right? There are some rules you need to know."

Old Hu looked up at him, his eyes filled with panic. He then remembered—Fan Debiao had helped the police solve cases and investigated parallel imports with the industry and commerce bureau in Kaiyuan; he was already a local bigwig. How could he, an outsider, possibly fight him with such a paltry sum?

"Boss Fan..." Old Hu's voice trembled, "Could you... possibly turn a blind eye to this?"

"Show leniency?" Fan Debiao laughed. "My man is in the hospital right now, stitches in his head. You expect me to show leniency?"

He leaned closer, lowering his voice even further: "Let me tell you, Lao Hu, this isn't over. Your men are definitely going to be detained, and you, as their agent, can forget about working in Kaiyuan anymore."

Old Hu's face turned deathly pale.

The police took the person away. The crowd gradually dispersed, and people began to discuss the matter.

"Waveguide is finished now. Of all people to mess with, they had to mess with Fan Debiao."

"That's right, what connections does Fan Debiao have in Kaiyuan? He knows everyone at the police station and the industry and commerce bureau."

"Serves you right. If you're going to do business, just do business. Why hit someone?"

Old Zhang started cleaning up the shop, cursing as he did so: "These bastards, they smashed my shop like this!"

Fan Debiao patted him on the shoulder: "Uncle Zhang, I'll cover all the losses. I'll replace the counter with a new one, and I'll make up for the demo unit."

"No need for that..." Old Zhang sighed, "It's because of this that we can't do business anymore."

"Don't worry, business will continue as usual," Fan Debiao said. "Starting tomorrow, I'll send two people to keep watch over you. Let's see who dares to cause trouble then."

After leaving the mobile phone street, Fan Debiao drove to the hospital. On the way, Gangzi called.

"Brother Biao, I've found out. Old Hu is from a neighboring county and doesn't have any connections in Kaiyuan. That Xiao Jun is his nephew; he used to work at a sports school and he's ruthless. The others are just temporary sales promoters."

"Okay," Fan Debiao said. "Gangzi, find two people to keep watch at the hospital. I'm afraid the Waveguides might do something desperate."

"clear."

When they arrived at the hospital, Xiao Chen had already finished getting his stitches and was lying on the bed with his head wrapped up like a mummy. Liu Qiang was by his side.

"Brother Biao." Xiao Chen saw Fan Debiao and tried to sit up.

"Lie down." Fan Debiao walked over. "What did the doctor say?"

"I needed fourteen stitches," Liu Qiang said. "I have a mild concussion and need to be hospitalized for observation for a week. The doctor said... there might be long-term effects."

Fan Debiao nodded, took an envelope from his bag, and stuffed it under Xiao Chen's pillow: "Here's five thousand yuan. Take it. The company will cover all medical expenses, and you'll still get paid. You'll even get double pay during your hospital stay. Even if there are any aftereffects, the company will treat them for you later."

Xiao Chen's eyes reddened: "Brother Biao... thank you, Brother Biao..."

"Don't thank me. You're my employee. It's my fault for not protecting you properly when this happened," Fan Debiao said. "Don't worry, the company will definitely get justice for you."

After leaving the ward, Fan Debiao lit a cigarette in the corridor. The sky outside the window was overcast, as if it were about to snow.

My phone rang; it was an unfamiliar number.

"Feed?"

"Is this Mr. Fan? This is Manager Sun from the provincial office of Bird." The voice on the other end of the phone was that of a middle-aged man, very polite. "I'd like to discuss today's matter with you in person. Is that convenient for you?"

Fan Debiao exhaled a puff of smoke: "Manager Sun, your men beat my employee so badly he had to be hospitalized and needed fourteen stitches. What's there to discuss now?"

"Mr. Fan, this is due to our mismanagement, and I apologize on behalf of the company. Can we meet and talk it over? Some misunderstandings can be cleared up."

Fan Debiao was silent for a few seconds: "Okay. Tomorrow morning, Victoria, I'll be waiting for you."