Rebirth: Fan Debiao rises from the Liaobei land

Looking at Officer Chen's expression, Fan Debiao couldn't guess what was going on. He immediately nodded: "Officer Chen, shall we talk inside?"

Officer Chen glanced around the lobby: "This is fine. I need to ask you some questions."

"Do you know Ma Dashuai?" Officer Chen asked.

Fan Debiao was taken aback: "Yes, I know him. He's my sister's boyfriend."

"Your partner?" the young policeman next to Officer Chen asked. "Isn't that your brother-in-law?"

"That's not right," Fan Debiao said. "My sister is already dead."

"Even if he's dead, isn't he still your brother-in-law?" the young policeman said. "By relation, he is your brother-in-law."

Fan Debiao shook his large head: "Officer Chen, what's wrong? What happened to Ma Dashuai?"

Officer Chen pulled a small notebook from his pocket and flipped through it: "Last night, we arrested a counterfeit money dealer in the train station waiting room. During the search, we accidentally arrested Ma Dashuai as well."

Fan Debiao's eyes widened: "Counterfeiting? General Ma?"

"The investigation is clear now; he has nothing to do with the counterfeit money case." Officer Chen closed his notebook. "It was just a misunderstanding. But the necessary procedures still need to be followed. Ma Dashuai said you're his brother-in-law and wants you to go to the station to complete some paperwork and bring him back."

Fan Debiao's heart skipped a beat. This plot had happened in his past life too. Commander Ma entered the city, was arrested at the train station, and Fan Debiao went to retrieve him. He never expected it to happen so soon in this life.

"Okay," Fan Debiao said, "I'll go with you."

"Let's go now." Officer Chen turned and walked out.

Fan Debiao followed. Before leaving, he told Da Liu, "I'm going out for a bit. Call me if anything happens."

The police station wasn't far, a ten-minute drive. Fan Debiao was driving Wu Derong's Mercedes-Benz.

Upon arriving at the police station, Fan Debiao followed Officer Chen inside. The room was quite noisy; people were making phone calls, being questioned, and some were crying. Ma Dashuai was squatting in the corner, wearing an old military overcoat, his hair disheveled, and his face covered in grime.

"Ma Dashuai!" Officer Chen shouted.

When Ma Dashuai looked up and saw Fan Debiao, he cried out, "Debiao!" and then buried his face in Fan Debiao's arms.

Fan Debiao quickly pushed him away: "What's wrong with you?"

"It's a misunderstanding, all a misunderstanding!" Ma Dashuai's eyes were red. "I just went to the restroom, and they pinned me down there!"

The young policeman brought over a few forms: "Sign your name and put your fingerprint on them, and you can take the person away."

Fan Debiao glanced at it; it was all standard paperwork. He signed and pressed his fingerprint. General Ma also pressed his.

Emerging from the police station, Ma Dashuai breathed a sigh of relief: "Oh my god, I'm finally out. This whole night scared me to death; I've never experienced anything like this before."

Fan Debiao opened the car door: "Get in."

Ma Dashuai climbed into the car, touched the seats, and touched the windows: "Debiao, what kind of car is this? It's so spacious."

"Benz."

"What's up?"

"Benz."

"Run for what?"

Fan Debiao turned to look at him: "Mercedes! A Mercedes!"

General Ma scratched his head: "It's from Changchun, right?"

Fan Debiao's head was throbbing with pain: "What Changchun! This is Germany, Germany!"

"From Germany," said Ma Dashuai, seemingly understanding but not quite. "That must be really expensive, right?"

"Just ride in your car, why ask so many questions?" Fan Debiao shifted gears and started the car.

When they arrived at Victoria, Fan Debiao parked the car. Ma Dashuai got out and looked up at the building: "Debiao, this is where you work? It's really impressive."

"Let's go, let's eat something first." Fan Debiao led him inside.

Fan Debiao led Ma Dashuai into the private room, arranged a few dishes, and poured each of them a glass of wine.

General Ma was truly hungry. He took a sip of wine, ate a couple of mouthfuls of rice, and asked indistinctly, "De Biao, is Xiao Cui with you?"

Fan Debiao stopped eating: "Yes, she's here. She went to school."

"Go to school?" Ma Dashuai looked up. "What school? I told her to get married, but she secretly ran away. I thought I had to come here to find her."

"I made sure she went to school," Fan Debiao said. "Xiao Cui is only eighteen; what else can she do if she doesn't go to school?"

"Get married!" said Ma Dashuai. "I've already received a dowry from the Yu family, 30,000 yuan! If I don't marry, I'll be in a bind. How am I supposed to live in the village after this?"

Fan Debiao put down his chopsticks: "General, I'll find a way to pay back that 30,000 yuan. Xiao Cui can't marry Yu Decai."

"You think you can just say you won't marry her and then she's not going to?" Ma Dashuai's voice rose. "I'm her father!"

Fan Debiao waved his hand and said, "Keep your voice down. This is a restaurant."

General Ma didn't care about any of that: "De Biao, let me tell you, Xiao Cui is my daughter, and I'm in charge. Hand her over right now, and I'll take her home."

"Impossible," Fan Debiao said. "Xiao Cui is studying accounting here with me. She'll have a bright future. I won't let you take her back to marry that good-for-nothing."

"Eggplant buns?" Ma Dashuai's eyes widened. "What about Yu Decai? He's the village chief's son!"

"What's wrong with the village chief's son?" Fan Debiao retorted angrily. "Don't you know what kind of person Yu Decai is? Xiao Cui's life will be ruined if she marries him!"

"You know nothing!" Ma Dashuai slammed his fist on the table. "I've received the 30,000 yuan dowry, and I've spent it all on building a house. Now they can't find anyone to help with the wedding, and the village chief is forcing me to come and look for them. If Xiaocui doesn't go back to get married, how am I supposed to explain this to everyone?!"

Fan Debiao stood up: "You sold your daughter to repair the house? General Ma, are you even human?"

General Ma's face flushed red: "Fan Debiao, who are you insulting?"

"I'm cursing you!" Fan Debiao pointed at Ma Dashuai's nose. "For 30,000 yuan, you're pushing your own daughter into a fire pit. Do you even deserve to be a father?"

Ma Dashuai also stood up: "I'm not worthy? You are? You, Fan Debiao, have been a bachelor your whole life, what do you know about living a good life? I'm marrying off my daughter, not selling her!"

"Marrying off your daughter?" Fan Debiao sneered. "Everyone in the surrounding villages knows Yu Decai's character. Do you think Xiao Cui will have a good life after marrying him? Don't you know?"

"That's still better than following you!" said Ma Dashuai. "You've been in the city for so many years, what have you accomplished? You're still just a security guard!"

These words struck a nerve with Fan Debiao. He stared at Commander Ma, his eyes wide open.

Hearing the commotion, the waiter came in from outside the private room: "Brother Biao, what's wrong?"

Fan Debiao waved his hand, signaling the waiters to leave. He sat down again and lit a cigarette.

General Ma was still standing, panting heavily.

Fan Debiao took a drag of his cigarette and slowly said, "General Ma, what did you say when my sister left? You said you'd take good care of Xiao Cui. Is this how you took care of her?"

General Ma remained silent.

"Don't worry about the 30,000 yuan, I'll pay it back," Fan Debiao said. "But Xiao Cui can't go back and get married. If you insist on taking her away, we'll settle this right here today."

Commander Ma looked at Fan Debiao for a long while, then slowly sat down. He lowered his head and rubbed his face with both hands.

After a long pause, Ma Dashuai looked up, his eyes a little red: "Debiao, you really came up with 30,000?"

"able."

Ma Dashuai took a deep breath: "Alright, I'll trust you this time. I'll talk to the village chief and get him to annul the engagement, but you really need to come up with the money, otherwise I'll be in a bind!"

"Don't worry." Fan Debiao rolled his eyes at him. "I'll definitely raise the money."

Ma Dashuai picked up his chopsticks and continued eating, while Fan Debiao stopped and called in a waiter: "After he finishes eating, arrange for him to take a shower, and put all the expenses on my tab!"