Rebirth: Fan Debiao rises from the Liaobei land

The next morning at nine o'clock, in a private room on the second floor of Victoria.

Fan Debiao sat in the main seat, with Awei to his left and Gangzi to his right. A pot of Pu'er tea was brewing on the table, its aroma wafting through the air.

At 9:10, the door to the private room opened. Three people entered. The one in the lead was a middle-aged man in his fifties, with his hair parted in a side part, wearing a dark blue suit and carrying a black leather bag. Behind him were a man and a woman, both in their early thirties, who seemed to be his assistants.

"Mr. Fan, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting." The middle-aged man smiled and extended his hand. "I'm Manager Sun from the provincial office of Bird."

Fan Debiao stood up and shook hands, his face devoid of any smile: "Manager Sun, please sit down."

Manager Sun sat down opposite him, with two assistants standing behind him. A waiter came in to pour tea and then left.

"Boss Fan, I heard about what happened yesterday." Manager Sun picked up his teacup. "I'm really sorry, it was our poor management. Old Hu is too impulsive."

Fan Debiao lit a cigarette: "Manager Sun, this isn't about acting impulsively. Your men used an iron pipe to crack open my employee's skull, requiring fourteen stitches. He's still in the hospital. This is intentional assault, a criminal offense."

Manager Sun's face stiffened slightly: "Yes, yes. That's why I came here today specifically to discuss with Boss Fan how to properly resolve this matter."

"How do we resolve this?" Fan Debiao flicked his cigarette ash. "I have four requirements."

"Please speak."

"First," Fan Debiao held up one finger, "Old Hu is withdrawing from the Kaiyuan market. From now on, the agent for Bird in Kaiyuan will be replaced."

Manager Sun frowned: "Boss Fan, this..."

"Second," Fan Debiao ignored him and raised his second finger, "publish an apology in the Kaiyuan Evening News, explaining what happened and admitting your mistake."

"this……"

"Third, bear all medical expenses, lost wages, and compensation for mental distress, totaling 100,000 yuan."

Manager Sun's face turned green: "One hundred thousand? Boss Fan, that's a bit..."

"Fourth," Fan Debiao held up his fourth finger, "Bird will allocate 20% of its display resources in all its retail stores in Kaiyuan to TCL and Amoi. This will last for one year."

"Boss Fan!" Manager Sun finally couldn't sit still any longer. "Isn't your request a bit too... too demanding?"

"Harsh?" Fan Debiao laughed. "Manager Sun, my man is still in the hospital. He had fourteen stitches in his head, and there might be long-term effects. Do you think I'm being harsh?"

Manager Sun took a deep breath: "Boss Fan, we're all in business, and harmony brings wealth. This is indeed our fault, and we'll accept the loss and punishment. But these four points of yours... especially the fourth one, involve the allocation of market resources, and I can't make that decision."

"Then call someone who can make the decision." Fan Debiao picked up his teacup. "I'll give you three days."

"Three days?"

"Yes, three days," Fan Debiao said. "If I don't see Lao Hu withdraw from Kaiyuan in three days, if I don't see a published apology, if I don't see compensation, if I don't see the display resources vacated... then don't blame me, Fan Debiao, for being ruthless."

Manager Sun's expression changed several times before he finally stood up: "Boss Fan, I need to consult with my superiors about this. I'll give you an answer in three days."

"Take care and don't bother seeing me off."

Manager Sun left with his men. The door to the private room closed, and Awei whispered, "Brother Biao, do you think they'll agree?"

"No," Fan Debiao said, stubbing out his cigarette. "So we need to add fuel to the fire."

He took out his phone and dialed a number: "Section Chief Sun, it's me, Fan Debiao. Yes, about what I told you yesterday... Is today convenient for you? Could you take some men to the waveguide warehouse?"

On the other end of the phone, Section Chief Sun readily agreed: "Sure, I'll organize the people right away. It'll be a joint inspection by the Industry and Commerce Bureau and the Tax Bureau, following proper procedures."

"Thank you, Section Chief Sun. I'll treat you to dinner another day."

After hanging up, Fan Debiao dialed again: "Director Zhao, this is Fan Debiao. How's the situation with those guys from Bird?"

"Boss Fan, Xiao Jun, and three others have been criminally detained. The case materials are being compiled and are ready to be transferred to the procuratorate. As the mastermind, Lao Hu was also subjected to coercive measures last night."

"Okay, handle it according to the law."

After making the two phone calls, Fan Debiao said to Gangzi, "Go to the hospital and tell Xiao Chen and his family that the company will definitely get justice for him. Also tell Liu Qiang to increase patrols at all stores these few days to prevent anyone from taking desperate measures."

"clear."

At noon, a joint inspection team from the Industry and Commerce Bureau and the Tax Bureau arrived at Bird's warehouse in Kaiyuan. Led by Section Chief Sun, the team consisted of seven or eight people in uniform, making quite a formidable force.

The warehouse, located in an old factory building in the old town, was quite large and piled high with cardboard boxes. Old Hu's wife—a woman in her forties—came running out in a panic: "Boss, what's going on here?"

"Routine inspection." Section Chief Sun flashed his badge. "Bring out the purchase orders, sales records, and inventory lists."

The woman, trembling, went to get the account book. The inspection team began opening the boxes and checking the goods.

"Section Chief Sun, look at this." A young staff member brought over a box of mobile phones. "The outer packaging has a Liaoning region code, but the serial numbers of the phones inside are from Guangdong."

Section Chief Sun picked up one of the machines and looked at the label on the back: "This is a parallel import. It's smuggled from Guangdong to Liaoning to avoid regional price differences."

Someone else exclaimed, "There's something wrong with this box! The screws show signs of being tightened, and the screen has obvious color differences; it looks like a refurbished unit!"

Section Chief Sun walked over and examined the goods carefully: "Take photos and register them. Seize this entire shipment."

The woman panicked: "Boss! These are all goods sourced through legitimate channels!"

"Legitimate channels?" Section Chief Sun sneered. "Selling illegally is against regulations, and refurbished units are illegal. How much is this batch of your goods worth?"

"This...this must cost hundreds of thousands..."

"Seize everything." Section Chief Sun waved his hand. "The warehouse will be temporarily sealed off pending further investigation. You, come back with us to cooperate with the investigation."

The woman's legs gave way, and she collapsed to the ground.

The news spread like wildfire. By 2 p.m., all the shop owners in the Kaiyuan mobile phone market knew—the Bird warehouse had been seized, all the goods had been confiscated, and Lao Hu and his wife had been taken away.

Sister Li from Chengxin Communications slapped her thigh and said, "Serves him right! Old Hu was so cocky! He's really messed with us this time!"

Old Zhang, with a cigarette dangling from his mouth, said, "That kid Fan Debiao is really ruthless. He doesn't make a move unless he's absolutely sure of killing you."

Other brand distributors—Kejian, Panda, and Dongxin—were all feeling uneasy. Some even started secretly calling Fan Debiao.

"Boss Fan, this is Lao Wang from Kejian. Are you free tonight? Let's have dinner together?"

"Mr. Fan, this is Li from Panda. We had a bit of a misunderstanding before. When would be a convenient time for me to come and apologize in person?"

Fan Debiao always replied, "I'm busy lately, let's talk about it later."

On the morning of the third day, Manager Sun came again. This time he was alone, and his face looked even worse than before.

"Boss Fan," Manager Sun sat down, took out a handkerchief to wipe his sweat, "Those four points you raised... our leaders have considered them. We can agree to the first three: Lao Hu withdraws from Kaiyuan, publishes an apology, and pays 100,000 yuan in compensation. But the fourth point... giving up 20% of the display resources, that's really impossible. This isn't just a matter for us at Bird, it also involves the interests of retail store owners, we can't force them to do it."

Fan Debiao sipped his tea leisurely: "Can't do it?"

"It's really impossible," Manager Sun said with a wry smile. "Boss Fan, you're also an agent, so you know how difficult it is. Retail store owners aren't our employees; we have no right to tell them how to display their goods."

"Alright then." Fan Debiao put down his teacup. "Then let's not talk about it anymore."

Manager Sun grew anxious: "Boss Fan! Let's discuss this again? How about this, we'll give you a separate compensation of 50,000 yuan, is that alright?"

"Manager Sun," Fan Debiao looked at him, "do you think I'm short of this 50,000 yuan?"

"No, no, that's not what I meant..."

"My man is still in the hospital," Fan Debiao said. "He had fourteen stitches in his head, and he may suffer long-term effects. This isn't about money; it's about justice."

Manager Sun opened his mouth, but couldn't say a word.

"Go back now." Fan Debiao stood up. "Tell your superiors that none of my conditions will be waived. If you haven't seen a result by the three-day deadline, then we'll see you in court. Intentional injury, plus the charge of selling counterfeit and substandard products—those refurbished machines in your warehouse are enough to get you several years in prison."

Manager Sun's face turned ashen, and he staggered away.

Awei asked softly, "Brother Biao, are we really going to take legal action?"

"Let's go," Fan Debiao said. "If we don't go, they won't learn their lesson."

In the afternoon, Fan Debiao went to the hospital. Xiao Chen was recovering well and was already able to walk. His parents came from the countryside, and when they saw Fan Debiao, they almost knelt down.

"No, you mustn't!" Fan Debiao quickly helped him up. "Uncle, Aunt, don't worry, I will definitely get justice for Xiao Chen."

Tears streamed down Xiao Chen's father's face as he said, "Boss Fan, thank you... thank you..."

Leaving the hospital, Fan Debiao felt somewhat heavy-hearted. Having been reborn, he thought he could change many things, but some things were still unavoidable—competition, conflict, and hurt.

My phone rang. It was an unfamiliar number, with an area code from the provincial capital.

"Feed?"

"Is this Mr. Fan Debiao?" A deep male voice came from the other end of the phone. "I'm Zhou, the vice president of Bird's provincial branch in charge of distribution channels. I'd like to discuss the Kaiyuan matter with you in person. I'll be in Kaiyuan tomorrow; is that convenient for you?"

Fan Debiao narrowed his eyes: "How would you like to discuss this, Mr. Zhou?"

"Let's talk face to face," said General Manager Zhou. "There are some misunderstandings that can't be cleared up over the phone. General Manager Fan, please give me the honor of meeting in person."

Fan Debiao thought for a moment: "Okay. Tomorrow morning, Victoria."

"Okay, see you tomorrow."

After hanging up the phone, Fan Debiao lit a cigarette. The provincial company's deputy general manager personally intervened?

It seems this matter has become quite a big deal.