Rebirth: Fan Debiao rises from the Liaobei land

On the seventh day of the twelfth lunar month, the first batch of two hundred Bird devices arrived.

As Liu Qiang and his men were unloading the goods, Old Zhang happened to come to the company to check the accounts. When he saw the mountain of cardboard boxes piled up in the warehouse, his eyes widened: "My goodness, Debiao, you've really gone all out! Two hundred units? There are still about twenty days until the New Year, will they be able to sell them all?"

Fan Debiao, a cigarette dangling from his lips, directed the workers as they stacked the goods: "Uncle Zhang, this is nothing. We'll have to restock after the Lunar New Year."

"More supplies?" Old Zhang counted on his fingers, "Two hundred waveguides, plus the inventory from TCL and Amoi... that's close to a thousand!"

"What's there to be afraid of? Let's sell them." Fan Debiao flicked his cigarette ash. "This afternoon I'll invite all the retail store owners over for a meeting. We'll discuss Bird's policies."

At 2 PM, the conference room of Dexing Communications was packed. More than twenty retail store owners, along with their own employees, filled the room with smoke.

Fan Debiao stood at the front, tapping a blackboard eraser in his hand: "Everyone, enough with the small talk. I've secured the agency for Waveguide, and I have three things to say today."

"First, the supply price." He posted the price list on the blackboard. "TCL 3188, still the same price for everyone. Xiaxin A8, also unchanged. All Bird models, three points lower than when Lao Hu was here."

There was a buzzing sound from below.

Sister Li raised her hand: "De Biao, really three points lower?"

"It's written in black and white." Fan Debiao tapped the blackboard. "Starting tomorrow, we'll ship at this price. But there's one condition—the Bird counter must be placed in the most prominent spot. TCL, Amoi, and Bird, the three of them side by side, none of them overshadowing the others."

Old Zhang asked, "How is the rebate calculated?"

"The second thing is the rebate," Fan Debiao said. "TCL and Amoi are still following the old rules. Bird's new policy is—for monthly sales of 20 units or more, the rebate is increased by one point; for 50 units or more, it's increased by two points; for 100 units or more, it's increased by three points. There is no upper limit."

The pot exploded underneath.

"This policy is tough!"

"DeBiao, now other brands have no chance of survival!"

Fan Debiao waved his hand: "Thirdly, from now until the New Year, our three companies will work together. TCL will focus on fashion, Xiaxin on high-end, and Bird on cost-effectiveness. When customers come, you should tailor your approach accordingly, instead of just promoting one brand."

He looked around and said, "In short, this year for the Spring Festival, we want the people of Kaiyuan to only buy mobile phones from our three companies. Let Kejian, Panda, and Dongxin go cool off somewhere else."

After the meeting, the bosses surrounded Fan Debiao, bombarding him with questions. Old Zhang pulled him aside and said, "Debiao, you pulled off that brilliant move. But the bigger the tree, the more the wind will blow against it; be careful."

"I know Uncle Zhang." Fan Debiao handed him a cigarette. "I know what I'm doing."

That evening, Fan Debiao went to Victoria to find Wu Derong. Pushing open the office door, he found Wu Derong standing in front of a large desk, writing calligraphy.

"Mr. Wu, are you practicing calligraphy?" Fan Debiao leaned over to take a look.

The ink on the four large characters on the rice paper was still wet. Wu Derong put down his brush and asked with a smile, "Debiao, what do you think of my calligraphy?"

Fan Debiao squinted at it and chuckled: "President Wu, this is well written! It describes... ironclad unity without true harmony?"

Wu Derong laughed heartily: "What do you mean by 'iron but not united'? This is called perseverance! Debiao, you're really something else, aren't you? Trying to fool me!"

"Oh dear, I misread it." Fan Debiao laughed. "I knew it. President Wu's handwriting must be something special. He can't write such sloppy words."

The two sat down on the sofa, and Wu Derong poured him tea: "You've secured the Bird agency? Well done, Debiao! It's only been a few months, and you've already got the Kaiyuan mobile phone market figured out. Now we should call you Boss Fan!"

"Mr. Wu, please don't flatter me. I'm just lucky, it's all luck," Fan Debiao said. "Mr. Wu, before the New Year, I'd like to invite a few guests to your place. I need to make some connections with the leaders from the Industry and Commerce Bureau, the Tax Bureau, and the Public Security Bureau."

"Of course," Wu Derong nodded. "I'll reserve the largest private room for you, and the food and drinks will be at the highest standard. Put the bill on my tab."

"That won't do, it should cost the exact amount."

"Don't be so polite with me. Don't forget I'm also a shareholder of Dexing Communications. I haven't done much work for you, but I've benefited from your influence. I should treat you to a few meals." Wu Derong waved his hand. "Debiao, to be honest, I've met a lot of people in Kaiyuan over the years. But someone like you, who went from security minister to agent for three major brands in just a few months, is the first of their kind. I admire you."

Fan Debiao picked up his teacup: "Mr. Wu, I'm embarrassed by what you said."

"There's nothing to be embarrassed about." Wu Derong patted him on the shoulder. "Do a good job. If you need anything, just ask."

Starting the next day, Fan Debiao began his career as a "guest host".

I treated Section Chief Sun and his entourage from the Industry and Commerce Bureau to lunch at Victoria's "Rich Hall." We had eight dishes and a soup, and two bottles of Moutai.

Section Chief Sun, his face flushed and neck thick with drink, said, "Boss Fan, don't worry! In Kaiyuan, as long as you're operating legally, come to me if you need anything!"

"Thank you, Section Chief Sun!" Fan Debiao stood up to offer a toast. "I'll drink this in one go, please feel free to drink as you like!"

After downing a glass of baijiu, Fan Debiao's expression remained unchanged.

In the afternoon, as Fan Debiao saw Section Chief Sun off, he handed him a tote bag: "Section Chief Sun, this is a small token of my appreciation. It contains homemade preserved meats by Victoria; please take it home and try it."

The bag looked like it contained cooked food, with an envelope underneath. Section Chief Sun accepted it without saying a word, saying, "Boss Fan, you're too kind."

I treated the tax bureau tonight. Same private room, same dishes, same drinks.

"Mr. Fan, Dexing Communications has paid a considerable amount of taxes this year!" said Old Chen from the tax bureau. "Keep up the good work next year!"

"Definitely, definitely!" Fan Debiao downed another glass.

After seeing Old Chen off, there was another shopping bag.

The next day at noon, we invited Chief Zhao from the local police station. That evening, we invited General Manager Zhang and Director Zhao from China Netcom.

On the third day at noon, we invited Brother Liu. Brother Liu brought three friends, all of whom were prominent figures in Kaiyuan.

"De Biao, you've really made something of yourself now." Brother Liu patted him on the shoulder. "But remember what I said: the bigger the business, the more cautious you need to be."

"I'll remember that, Brother Liu." Fan Debiao toasted.

For three consecutive days, Fan Debiao drank seven times. Every night when he returned to his rented room, he vomited violently.

Awei couldn't stand it anymore, so on the fourth night she went to Victoria with him. Fan Debiao was toasting in the private room, while she waited in the lobby outside.

Around 10 o'clock, Fan Debiao staggered out, and Awei quickly helped him up.

"Brother Biao, please stop drinking like this," Awei said with concern. "You'll ruin your stomach if you keep drinking."

Fan Debiao leaned against the wall, panting heavily, and said with a wry smile, "I've been keeping you company at every meal, and now I've finally developed a prolapsed stomach... Ah Wei, what can I do if you don't drink? My foundation is weak, and if I don't keep you company, how will I do business next year?"

"You can't drink like that," Avi handed him a bottle of water. "Look at you, you've lost so much weight in the last few days."

Fan Debiao took the water and gulped down half the bottle: "Awei, you don't understand. In Kaiyuan, relationships are business. If you have good relationships, everything is easy. If you don't, you can't get anywhere."

Awei stopped talking and helped him walk outside.

After getting into the car, Fan Debiao leaned back in his seat with his eyes closed. Awei sat in the driver's seat, not in a hurry to start the engine.

"Brother Biao," she said softly, "I know you've had a tough time. But your body is your own, you have to take care of it."

Fan Debiao opened his eyes and looked at Awei's profile. The light shone softly on her face.

"Avi," he said, "thank you."

"No need to thank me." Avi blushed slightly. "Sit still, I'll take you home."

The car pulled up to the building, and Awei helped Fan Debiao upstairs. Once inside, they turned on the lights, and Fan Debiao collapsed onto the sofa.

Awei went to the kitchen to boil water and found some hangover medicine: "Brother Biao, take the medicine."

Fan Debiao took the medicine and drank it with hot water. He watched Awei busy herself in the house—tidying up the table, mopping the floor, and throwing dirty clothes into the washing machine.

"Awei," he suddenly said, "the company will give you a raise after the New Year."

Awei turned around and smiled: "Brother Biao, I'm not doing this for the salary."

"Why?"

Awei didn't answer, turning back to continue wiping the table. After a while, she said, "Brother Biao, you can rest now. I'm leaving."

"I'll see you off."

"No need, you can lie down."

Awei closed the door and left. Fan Debiao lay on the sofa, staring at the ceiling.

He understood what the girl was thinking. But right now, he really didn't have the mind to think about it.

On the fifteenth day of the twelfth lunar month, pre-holiday sales reached their peak. At Dexing Communications mobile phone store, queues formed in front of all three brand counters.

Xiao Juan's voice was hoarse from shouting: "Line up! Line up! We still have Bird V10s in stock! Color screen polyphonic ringtones, only 1380!"

Liu Qiang and Wang Fang inspected the various stores and reported back to Fan Debiao: "Brother Biao, today the three stores combined sold over 150 units. At this rate, we'll definitely sell out 200 Bird units by the New Year."

Fan Debiao nodded: "Tell the staff to hang in there. I'll treat everyone to dinner tonight."

In the afternoon, Gangzi came to the store, looking a bit strange.

"Brother Biao, something's up." Gangzi pulled Fan Debiao aside. "I heard that... Commander Ma is doing some work outside now."

Fan Debiao was taken aback: "What kind of work?"

Gangzi lowered his voice: "It's all for nothing. Leading a few teenagers, we do funeral wailing and carry coffins. We earn thirty or fifty yuan a day."

Fan Debiao fell silent and lit a cigarette.

"I heard Yufen tried to persuade him several times, but he wouldn't listen," Gangzi sighed. "He insisted on coming here and making things difficult for himself."

Fan Debiao took two puffs of his cigarette, then stubbed it out: "Whatever. I can't control it, and I don't care anymore."

That's what I said, but the awkward feeling in my heart lingered for a long time.

On the 20th day of the twelfth lunar month, the festive atmosphere on the streets grew stronger. Red lanterns were hung in front of every shop, and stalls selling Spring Festival couplets and the character "福" (good fortune) lined up in a row.

Fan Debiao had just left the company and was about to go to Victoria to arrange the dinner party that evening when his phone rang.

It's Xiao Cui.

Fan Debiao answered the phone: "Xiao Cui, what's wrong?"

On the other end of the phone, Xiao Cui's voice was trembling with tears: "Uncle... Aunt Yu Fen was beaten by Niu Er... She's in the hospital..."