Rebirth: Fan Debiao rises from the Liaobei land

Chapter 70 The Zhang Family

At 10:00 AM on the 13th day of the first lunar month, at Ningbo Lishe Airport.

After checking in, Fan Debiao found a window seat. There was still over an hour before boarding, and the waiting area wasn't crowded; people were sitting in small groups, some reading newspapers, others dozing off.

He placed his briefcase on the chair next to him, crossed his hands in front of his lower abdomen, and closed his eyes.

When your mind is idle, it's easy to start thinking.

2003 years.

What was he doing this year, in his past life, or in a previous one?

Fan Debiao thought hard. Then he remembered—Old Qian had smashed a huge pit on his head with a thud, and the Shuiyifang Fishing Park had been filled in before it even dried. Right now, he was in Kaiyuan City shouting, "Time to breathe! Time to breathe!"

Back then, I had no idea about TCL, Bird, or direct supply pilot programs. All I knew was that more and more people were using mobile phones, and my Motorola had already been used to pay 100 yuan off my rent, and I even begged the landlady to give me 20 yuan back.

It's different now.

He opened his eyes and looked out at the tarmac. Planes were taking off and landing, tow trucks were running back and forth, and ground crew members in reflective vests were gesturing. The sunlight shone on the fuselage, dazzling his eyes.

2003 was a very eventful year for the outside world.

In the south, there's a company called Alibaba. Due to the changing environment, their online business took off, from B2B to C2C, and they're incredibly successful. Taobao, on the other hand, hasn't even been launched yet. In his past life, he watched too many short videos, those inspirational ones repeatedly talking about—Hangzhou's Ma and Beijing's Liu, one selling goods and the other selling appliances, both later becoming big shots.

Hangzhou Ma, they should have just received investment from SoftBank and are currently recruiting. SoftBank's Masayoshi Son invested at least 20 million US dollars, or something like that—it's a significant amount. What level is that? International capital, a global presence.

He remembered a video he'd seen in his past life, about how Hangzhou Ma had approached numerous investors in his early days, only to be rejected each time. Then SoftBank invested, and things took off. If someone had invested in him back then, he'd be...

Fan Debiao pondered for a moment. If he were to go to Ma in Hangzhou now, carrying the meager sums he had earned over the past six months, and say, "Mr. Ma, I'd like to invest some money in you"—

Will people even look at you properly?

With his meager resources, he's not even a big shot in Kaiyuan, let alone in Hangzhou.

It's not about how much money you have. It's about how insignificant you are in their eyes. A distributor from Kaiyuan, a county-level city, went to Hangzhou to see Jack Ma, wanting to invest, and the security guards there had to stop him, politely telling him, "Salespeople are strictly prohibited from entering."

Besides, who are Hangzhou Ma Na? He's met countless investors—international investment banks, Sequoia Capital, SoftBank—each of them came with tens of millions of US dollars. My little bit of money isn't even enough to fill their teeth.

He brought shame upon himself.

Forget it.

What about BJ Liu?

BJ Liu should be selling optical and magnetic products in Zhongguancun right now. CD burners, discs, hard drives, and the like. He made a fortune last year, a real tycoon. Fan Debiao, who's seen him on short videos, has a stubborn personality; he doesn't trust venture capitalists, he only believes in earning money himself. He wouldn't have accepted funding if his funding chain hadn't dried up.

Going to him now probably won't lead to anything. He's having a great time; why should he let you interfere?

Fan Debiao recalled an interview he had seen in his previous life, in which BJ Liu said that he felt back then that he should earn his own money and not touch other people's money. Later, during the 2006 financial crisis, JD.com's cash flow was almost cut off, and that's when they accepted their first round of financing.

If I were to go there now and say, "Mr. Liu, I'd like to invest some money in you, and you can let me become a shareholder," I'd probably be kicked out.

"Who are you? Do I know you? My JD.com business is doing just fine, why should I let you invest?"

This is something that BJ Liu Neng would do.

Fan Debiao leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling.

Or, how about we wait a few more years?

Wait until 2006, when BJ Liu starts raising funds, then look for opportunities. Or in 2008, during the financial crisis, when JD.com is facing a cash crunch, then we can go in, not be begging them, but offering timely help.

Or perhaps in 2011, during the e-commerce bubble, or in 2012, when stock prices plummeted...

As Fan Debiao pondered this, he chuckled to himself.

That's quite far ahead of you.

The question is, when will that be? 2006, three years. 2008, five years. 2011, eight years. 2022, nineteen years.

Nineteen years later, even though I'll always be 29, I'll still be considered an old man. Back then, I had money, so I invested it, waited a few years for it to double, waited a few years for it to double again, waited a few years for it to double again—and then what?

We have the money, but where are the people?

Where are Awei? Where is Gangzi? Where is Wu Derong? Where is Ma Dashuai? Where is Xiaocui?

What's the state of everything now?

He recalled that New Year's Eve when he was sixty-two years old in his previous life, when he was alone in a low-rent apartment, listening to firecrackers outside, drinking cheap liquor, and eating frozen dumplings.

What use would it have been if we had given him ten million or a hundred million back then?

no one.

Fan Debiao rubbed his eyes.

Forget it.

Thinking about these things is pointless. Those like Hangzhou Ma and Beijing Liu, that's their fate. Being reborn is already a gift from heaven. How can I expect to have all the good things in the world?

Wouldn't that be considered insatiable greed?

Besides, there are plenty of ways to make money, why fixate on just those two? We still have so much to do right now.

The contracts with TCL and Bird are signed, for 3780 units each, totaling over 7,000 units. Kaiyuan is such a small place, with only 400,000 to 500,000 people. These 7,000+ phones have to be sold one by one.

There's also the telecommunications city project. Wu Derong is working on getting a loan, the street director has made arrangements, the land needs to be acquired, renovations need to be done, business development needs to be pursued, manufacturers need to be negotiated, and telecom operators need to be brought in. A whole host of things to do.

There's also the construction team. Fifty base stations, construction will begin in the spring. Steel prices have gone up, we need to find a solution. We need to worry about whether Liu Tiezhu has enough manpower, and whether Gangzi can keep a close eye on things.

And there's Avi.

Fan Debiao recalled the text message from last night: "Okay. I'll come pick you up."

It was just five words. But he read it several times.

What's the point of living this life?

For money? For fame? For power?

All of this is for the sake of having someone remember you. But in the end, what you really want is for someone to care about you.

In his past life, no one cared about him, and no one even knew he died.

Someone will remember me in this lifetime.

enough.

The loudspeaker came on.

"Attention passengers traveling to Shenyang, boarding has begun."

Fan Debiao stood up, picked up his briefcase, and walked towards the boarding gate.

After taking a couple of steps, he stopped, took a small box out of his bag, and looked at it.

I bought it yesterday at Tianyi Square in Ningbo. It's a Cartier bracelet, thin and engraved with patterns. I didn't think much about it when I bought it; I just thought it would look good on Awei.

He put the box back in his bag and continued walking.

4:20 PM, Shenyang Taoxian Airport.

As soon as Fan Debiao exited the terminal, he spotted Awei.

She stood out in the crowd, wearing that red sweater. Her hair was a little longer than before she left, and it was draped over her shoulders. Her face was slightly red from the airport's heating.

Awei saw him too, and a surge of happiness welled up from the bottom of her heart. He didn't care about his image and ran to hug Awei tightly.

Awei struggled but couldn't break free, then laughed and scolded, "Stop fooling around, silly girl, there are so many people here!"

Fan Debiao said, "What's there to be afraid of in a crowd? It's only natural to hug your own wife!"

"Shameless! Who's your wife?!" Awei punched Fan Debiao. "Brother Biao, you used to be so honest, you even stuttered a little. How come you're so glib now?!"

"Hey, that's the power of love!"

"Get lost!" Awei took the briefcase from his hand. "You don't like the food in Guangzhou, do you?"

"good."

"What about Ningbo?"

"It's alright."

Fan Debiao took the small box out of his pocket and handed it over.

"I brought this for you."

Awei paused for a moment, then took it and opened it.

The bracelet lay on the red velvet cloth, delicate and shiny.

Awei stared at it for several seconds.

"What's wrong?" she said. "You went to the South and learned this trick?"

Fan Debiao chuckled sheepishly, "Do you like it?"