Rebirth: Fan Debiao rises from the Liaobei land

At 6:30 a.m. on the first day of the Lunar New Year, Fan Debiao was awakened by the sound of firecrackers.

He stared at the ceiling for a few seconds before realizing he was in Victoria's guest room. Outside, a cacophony of firecrackers erupted, each house setting off their bonfires earlier than the last.

I pulled out my phone from under my pillow; there were two text messages.

The first message from Awei was at 2:17 AM: "Brother Biao, I'm home. I can't sleep, so I'm going to get up and make dumplings. I'll bring them to you in the morning."

The second message was also from Awei: "Brother Biao, get up quickly, I'm on my way to your place."

Fan Debiao quickly got up and put on a sweater. Just as he stepped into his slippers, there was a knock on the door.

The door opened, and Awei stood in the hallway, carrying a thermos. Her hair was tucked behind her ears, and her face was beaming with joy.

"I was afraid you were hungry." She handed the thermos to Fan Debiao.

Fan Debiao took it, his face full of gratitude, and stepped aside to let the door open.

Awei didn't come in; she stood at the doorway and said, "I'm going back. My mom is waiting for me to have breakfast."

"……OK."

"Eat dumplings while they're hot."

"Um."

Awei turned and left. Fan Debiao stood at the door with the thermos, watching the elevator doors close at the end of the corridor before closing the door and going inside.

The dumplings in the bowl were plump and white, with a few broken skins revealing their bright green filling.

He picked up a tattered one, took a bite, and slurped it up because it was so hot.

There was another knock on the door. This time it was Wu Derong, wearing a bathrobe, his hair still sticking up, leaning against the door frame and looking at him.

"Did Avi send this?"

"Um."

Wu Derong glanced at the dumplings in the basin, then at Fan Debiao, and grinned: "Wow, Debiao, where did you find this wife? She didn't sleep on New Year's Day and got up early to make dumplings for you."

Fan Debiao ignored him.

Wu Derong persisted: "Look at Awei, she's beautiful, capable, and so caring. You'd better treat her well, don't be like a block of wood all day."

"Are you done talking?"

"I haven't finished yet." Wu Derong took two steps inside. "Let me tell you, finding a wife like this these days is like your ancestors' graves emitting auspicious smoke. You might not get another chance like this, so don't—"

Fan Debiao stuffed a dumpling into his mouth.

Wu Derong chewed and swallowed: "Hmm, celery filling, not bad."

At 7:20, Fan Debiao called Gangzi.

The voice on the other end was muffled, like it was being smothered under the covers: "Feed...Brother Biao..."

"Get up and fire the cannons at the gate of Dexing Communications!"

"Huh? What time is it...?"

"It has to be set off no matter what time it is. On the first day of the Lunar New Year, even if the shops are closed, the firecrackers have to be set off."

"Alright."

He hung up the phone. Fan Debiao put on his coat and went downstairs. In the lobby, Awei stood up from the lounge sofa.

Why didn't you go home?

"I'm home now." Avi tied her scarf around her neck. "I came back after breakfast."

Fan Debiao looked at her for two seconds, then took Awei's hand, and the two walked out side by side.

At 7:50, in front of Dexing Communications, Gangzi was squatting on the curb smoking, his hair sticking up and his eyes still closed. When he saw Fan Debiao get out of the car, followed by Awei, he froze for a moment, almost dropping his cigarette.

"Happy New Year, Brother Biao! Happy New Year, Ah... Sister-in-law!"

"Let's set off firecrackers." Avi took the string of firecrackers from his hand and spread them on the sidewalk.

Gangzi glanced at Awei, then at Fan Debiao, and grinned, "Brother Biao, you—"

"Fire the cannons."

*Sizzle—* The fuse puffed smoke and exploded with a crackling sound. Red confetti flew high into the air, mingling with the smell of gunpowder. Several elderly men who were out for their early morning stroll stopped to watch. One of them exclaimed, "This shop's doing well! Setting off firecrackers so early, no wonder business is booming!"

Gangzi shouted back, "Absolutely! Dexing Communications had a fantastic start to 2003!"

Fan Debiao stood at the shop entrance and lit a cigarette.

Awei stood next to him.

Gangzi, squatting on the curb, suddenly asked, "Brother Biao, when are you two getting down to business?"

Fan Debiao kicked at Gangzi, who dodged with a smile.

After finishing his cigarette, Fan Debiao said, "Awei, after the Lantern Festival, the company will hire two more people. Don't do all the work yourself."

Awei hummed in agreement, lowered her head, and slowly curved her lips into a smile.

On the second day of the Lunar New Year, Fan Debiao drove to Ma Dashuai's house.

As soon as the car stopped in front of the small house, we saw Ma Dashuai rush out of the yard, followed by five or six children, the oldest about ten years old and the youngest about seven or eight. They tugged at each other's clothes like a string of candied hawthorns.

Ma Dashuai was wearing a slightly worn cotton-padded coat and carrying a black plastic bag. He looked up and saw Fan Debiao, paused for a moment, but didn't stop walking: "Debiao's here? I have some urgent business. Please come inside..."

"What's the matter with going out on the second day of the Lunar New Year?"

General Ma opened his mouth, but no words came out.

A little boy peeked out from behind, sniffling, and said, "Godfather's going to see Godmother!"

Fan Debiao was stunned for a moment. "What the heck? Where did this godmother come from?"

Ma Xiaocui peeked halfway out of the yard, still clutching a rag in her hand. Seeing Fan Debiao, she greeted him warmly, "Uncle, Happy New Year... You've come..."

"Xiao Cui, what's going on?"

Ma Xiaocui hesitated for two seconds, her voice thick and slurred: "It's... my dad, he took in these kids... the kids recognized him as their godfather... before the New Year, my dad got a job taking care of an old lady, and the old lady had no children... and after a while, she recognized him as her godson..."

"I got a call this morning saying the old lady is seriously ill," Ma Dashuai said anxiously. "I'll take the children to see her."

Fan Debiao looked at him, at the group of snotty-nosed children, and at the black plastic bag in Ma Dashuai's hand—a half-open canned food bottle was sticking out, with a red string tied around the mouth of the bottle.

He lowered his head, took out his wallet from his pocket, pulled out five hundred yuan, and stuffed it into the youngest child's hand.

"It's the Lunar New Year, so I'm going to visit people and buy them something decent."

Then he turned and left.

Ma Dashuai stood there, clutching the five hundred yuan in his hand, not moving for a long time.

Ma Xiaocui caught up: "Uncle...aren't you coming inside?"

"My uncle has other things to do, he can come another day."

He handed the things he had in the car to Ma Xiaocui, got in, and started the car.

In the rearview mirror, Ma Dashuai was still standing, not moving.

On the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, Fan Debiao and Awei went to see a movie.

At the Kaiyuan Cinema, a Lunar New Year film was playing, and the theater was sparsely populated with fewer than twenty people. Awei watched intently, while Fan Debiao, sitting next to her, had fallen asleep.

He woke up to find Awei staring at him.

"Where are we in the movie?"

"The male lead confessed his feelings to the female lead," Awei said.

Fan Debiao glanced at the screen; the man was embracing the woman, and the background music was very loud.

Why didn't you call me sooner?

"What do you want?" Avi turned back to stare at the screen. "You're not going to confess your feelings to anyone."

Fan Debiao chuckled twice and pulled a red box out of his pocket. "This is for you. I bought you a gold necklace before I came."

Awei punched him hard, laughing and scolding, "See? You're quite the troublemaker!"

After the show, the two walked side by side down the street. It was getting dark, and the streetlights had just come on.

"Avi".

"Um."

"We're about ten years apart in age."

Avi didn't say anything.

"You don't mind?"

Awei stared at him for several seconds.

"Brother Biao," she said, "are you stupid?"

Then he turned around and continued walking forward, and Fan Debiao quickly caught up.

The two parted ways downstairs at Awei's house. Awei said, seemingly casually, "Brother Biao, shouldn't you lay some things bare?"

On the sixth day of the Lunar New Year, Fan Debiao drove to Guiying Flavor Restaurant.

The shop door was open, and Guiying was leaning over the counter doing accounts, the calculator clicking away loudly. Hearing the curtain rustle, she looked up.

"Oh, Boss Fan is here." She glanced behind him. "Did he come alone?"

"Um."

"Here to pick up pig's trotters?"

Fan Debiao remained silent.

Guiying stared at him for two seconds, then chuckled: "Just kidding, would I really save any for you? They're all gone. The people who ordered food took them all on the 30th."

She pulled a plastic bag from behind the counter and placed it on the counter: "The pork knuckle is still here."

Fan Debiao looked at the bag of pork knuckles but didn't reach for it.

Guiying didn't urge him, she just stared at him.

"What's up? I heard you snagged Avi?"

Fan Debiao did not deny it.

Guiying nodded, then nodded again.

Then she laughed, but it was different from usual; her mouth was wide open, but her eyes weren't really smiling.

"You bastard! Trying to seduce a young girl like an old cow," she said. "Don't let her down."

Fan Debiao looked at her.

Guiying waved her hand: "Get out of here, get out of here. It's the New Year, don't get in the way."

Fan Debiao picked up the bag of pork knuckles and turned to walk out.

The moment the curtain fell, he heard a very soft sound behind him.

It's not an insult.

It's sniffing.

On the morning of the seventh day of the Lunar New Year, Fan Debiao was woken up by his mobile phone.

Wu Derong called: "Debiao, your flight is at 5 pm today, right? Come over to my place this morning for some tea, let's chat for a bit, and after we have dumplings for lunch, I'll have Gangzi drive my car to take you to the airport."

Fan Debiao got up, grabbed the suitcase that Awei had packed, and headed straight for Victoria.

Wu Derong on the third floor had already prepared tea and was waiting for him.

The two sat down and Wu Derong got straight to the point: "Debiao, there's a TCL order meeting tomorrow and a Bird order meeting on the tenth. You'll be flying from Guangzhou to Ningbo, which must be quite a tiring trip. Do you want to book another ticket and have Awei go with you?"

Fan Debiao laughed and said, "Forget it, that would be a paid vacation. Besides, the store is opening tomorrow, and she and Gangzi have a lot of things to do."

"Hmm, that's true. By the way, Debiao, what are your thoughts on this order fair? How many machines do you want to order?"

Fan Debiao held up his hand and made a six.

Wu Derong was taken aback. "Sixty percent more than last year?"

"No," Fan Debiao waved his hand, "We're ordering 60% of the current average monthly sales for the first half of the year."

"Hmm? So little?"

"Yes, although TCL, Bird, and Amoi have all called to say they'd lower the price for us this year, those unscrupulous merchants won't lower it for us so easily. With sales so booming in the last six months, they'll definitely raise the order threshold and use order volume and final sales to hold us by the throat."

"Furthermore, given the current production capacity of manufacturers, it would be good enough if they could ensure the supply to first- and second-tier cities. The supply to our small city certainly cannot be too high."

"So I decided to increase the total volume by 30%, but split the orders into smaller ones so as not to compete with them for market share. I will order less in the first half of the year and more in the second half to boost volume."

Wu Derong sipped his tea, his fingers tapping lightly on the table. After a long pause, he said, "Debiao, we've been brothers for so many years, tell me the truth, what's the real reason you're ordering less?"

Fan Debiao pursed his lips, pondered for a long time before speaking, "President Wu, was the economic climate not good in the first half of this year?"

Wu Derong nearly spat out his tea. "The environment is bad, so what? Are you the one affecting the environment?"

Fan Debiao said seriously, "President Wu, I'm serious. Believe me, the economic climate in the first half of the year was definitely not good. Do you think I would miss out on such a long period?"

Wu Derong took a deep breath, slammed his fist on the table, and said, "Alright, Debiao, I trust you. You handle it! Let's go eat dumplings. Dumplings on the way, noodles on the way back. Have a safe journey!"