Rebirth 03: Starting a Business After Giving Up a Secure Job

Chapter 132 The Return and the New Journey

The day Lin Xiaoqiang had his cast removed was a Wednesday.

When the nurse used a small electric saw to cut open the plaster cast, he smelled a sour smell that had been lingering for more than half a month.

The skin on my left forearm was a shade lighter than the right, and the hair was all plastered to the skin, as if it had just been pulled out of the water.

The nurse wiped his fingers with an alcohol swab and reminded him that he couldn't lift heavy objects for the next month. He wiggled his fingers a few times and felt fine.

Zhao Yong and Tan Zhao had their bandages removed two days earlier than him. Zhao Yong's right hand wound required five stitches, leaving a crooked scar after the stitches were removed, extending from the base of his thumb to the inside of his wrist.

He didn't seem to care, and even compared his scar length with Tan Zhao's. Tan Zhao's brow bone scar had healed quite well, but a small bluish-yellow mark remained under his left eye; the nurse said it would fade gradually.

Wu Wenjie handled the discharge procedures. He drove over from Huaqiangbei early in the morning, stuffed three settlement slips into his bag, and stood at the entrance of the inpatient department waiting for them.

Zhao Yong was the first to come down with his luggage bag, followed by Tan Zhao, and finally Lin Xiaoqiang.

Three people dressed in casual clothes stood at the hospital entrance, squinting in the January sun of Shenzhen. After being trapped in the hospital for half a month, even the air outside smelled different.

Wu Wenjie drove his car to the entrance of the inpatient department. It was that silver-gray Jetta, with a scratch on the front right door that hadn't been repaired yet; it had been scratched by a steel pipe the night the accident happened.

When Lin Xiaoqiang opened the passenger door, he saw the scratch, said nothing, and got in.

"Let's go check out the stall first." Wu Wenjie started the car.

It only takes 15 minutes to get from the hospital to Yuanwang Digital City without traffic jams.

Wu Wenjie took three business cards out of the armrest box and handed them to Zhao Yong in the back seat. The business cards read "Certified Merchant in Area C, 3rd Floor, Huaqiangbei Yuanwang Digital City," and the back had the IOGO and website address of the local life website.

These were just printed last week; every vendor joining the local online marketplace's integrity certification system receives one. Lin Xiaoqiang examined the business card twice, flipping it over and over.

Looking out over the third floor of the digital mall, everything remained the same. As soon as the elevator doors opened, the sizzling sound of packing tape and the clamor of bargaining filled the air.

Backpackers pushing carts squeezed and jostled in the aisle, their carts piled high with cardboard boxes bearing the logos of various digital brands.

Wu Wenjie's stall has a new glass counter. He left a piece of glass on the old counter that had been splashed with red paint, and placed it in the corner behind the counter. The dark red paint stains on it have dried completely, looking like a scar.

A newly installed surveillance camera sits directly above the stall, its red indicator light flashing. A metal filing cabinet has also been added to the corner, locking away sample units and inventory.

A printed notice was posted on the cabinet door: "This store is a certified verification point of Tongcheng Life Network. For transaction disputes, please call the customer service hotline."

Xiao Zhou was squatting behind the counter unpacking a batch of newly arrived MP4 sample units. Seeing Wu Wenjie bring his men in, he stood up, called out "Brother Jie," and then nodded to Lin Xiaoqiang and the other two.

He was holding a dark blue MP4 player with a screen that was larger than an MP3 player, and the menu icons were in color.

Wu Wenjie picked up three MP4 players from the counter and handed them to Lin Xiaoqiang, Zhao Yong, and Tan Zhao respectively.

"A new MP4 player with video playback. Just a small token for the three of you."

Zhao Yong took the MP4 player and examined it closely, clearly liking it very much. Tan Zhao twirled the MP4 player in his hand a couple of times, then asked Xiao Zhou if he could help copy a few songs onto it.

Xiao Zhou agreed, took the data cable, and opened a folder called "Popular Hits 2005" on the computer.

Lin Xiao stood at the entrance of the stall, looked up at the surveillance camera above her head, and then looked down at the floor tiles.

The red paint that was splashed on earlier has been wiped clean, but there are still a few dark red lines visible in the brick seams that can't be removed with a mop.

Wu Wenjie walked over to him. The two reminisced about the events of that day and patted him on the shoulder.

The three of them stayed at the stall for a while, and then several backpackers came in to pick up their goods.

The shop owned by Ma Wangcai at stall C087, not far across the street, has been transferred, and a new owner and clerk have taken over.

Ma Wangcai was still in jail. Lin Xiaoqiang smiled. Although he was injured in this battle, he had ultimately won.

After a quick meal, Wu Wenjie drove Lin Xiaoqiang and the others back to the science park office.

It was a little after 2 p.m. when the Jetta drove into the Innovation Building of the Science and Technology Park. The sun in Shenzhen in January wasn't strong, but the light was plentiful.

Two more bread trucks have appeared in the ground parking spaces downstairs at the Innovation Building. The words "Tongcheng Life Network" and an orange website address are printed on the trucks. Wei Zejun just arranged for someone to spray them on last week.

Wu Wenjie parked the Jetta next to the bread truck.

Lin Xiaoqiang pushed open the car door and looked up at the third floor. During the two weeks he had been hospitalized, the people inside the window had been busy every day.

Zhang Ming, along with his sales team, expanded the number of secondhand goods inspection points from 41 to over 60; Wei Zejun extended his partnerships to all areas and districts of Shenzhen; and Li Ying's graduation season feature became a top-rated post of the year on the Shenzhen University BBS.

He had heard Lin Xiaowen recount these things in bits and pieces from his hospital bed, but now, standing downstairs, he felt more at ease than if he had heard it a hundred times.

The three people followed Wu Wenjie into the building.

Old Zhou, the security guard at the entrance, was writing visitor registrations on the desk when he saw Lin Xiaoqiang come in. He stood up straight and saluted them.

When the elevator doors opened, Zhao Yong was the first to step in and press the button for the third floor. Tan Zhao followed and leaned against the elevator wall, while Lin Xiaoqiang stood at the doorway. The elevator doors slowly closed.

Sunlight streamed obliquely into the third-floor corridor through the windows at the far end. They could hear rustling sounds from inside, even a dozen steps away from the office area entrance.

As they approached the office area entrance, a wad of red paper scraps exploded from above the door frame, landing on Lin Xiaoqiang and his colleagues' shoulders.

The crackling sound of firecrackers echoed in the corridor.

Two long strings of red firecrackers hung down from both sides of the door frame, sparks flying everywhere, and blue smoke billowed up and down the corridor ceiling, filling the entire third floor with the smell of gunpowder.

Two young men newly recruited by the security department each held a bamboo pole with firecrackers hanging from the top. After one string of firecrackers was set off, they would pull out another string from behind them and set it off again.

Employees wearing orange T-shirts from the local life website crowded at the entrance of the office area, clapping enthusiastically and whistling passionately.

Lin Xiaoqiang was stunned by what he saw. He had been a soldier and had seen all kinds of situations, but he had not expected this scene.

After the smoke cleared, he could see the banner at the front desk: red background with yellow lettering, welcoming Lin Xiaoqiang, Zhao Yong, and Tan Zhao back to the team.

Lin Feng stepped out from the crowd. He was wearing a dark gray thin sweater with the sleeves rolled up to his forearms, and he was holding three red envelopes. Lin Xiaowen and two other female employees stood to his side and behind him, each holding a bouquet of flowers, a mix of sunflowers and baby's breath.

Everyone shouted in unison, "Welcome back to the team, Lin Xiaoqiang, Tan Zhao, and Zhao Yong!"

Three female employees stepped forward to present flowers, and enthusiastic applause rang out again. Dozens of eyes were fixed on the three people at the company entrance.

Lin Feng praised loudly, "The three of you are heroes of the company. When the company was attacked by criminals, you did not back down in the face of danger. You protected your colleagues and the reputation of Tongcheng Life Network with your bodies. Every injury you sustained is a work-related injury. The company will always remember you!"

After saying that, Lin Feng took a step forward and handed the three red envelopes to Lin Xiaoqiang, Tan Zhao, and Zhao Yong respectively.

"This is a bonus! The company won't forget you!"

Subsequently, Lin Feng formally announced in front of the entire company:

Lin Xiaoqiang was promoted to manager of the company's field promotion department, responsible for the construction and management of all field promotion teams in SZ City.

Tan Zhao was promoted to manager of the company's administration department, in charge of administration and logistics.

Zhao Yong was promoted to head of the ground promotion department, assisting Lin Xiaoqiang in charge of ground promotion business in the Shenzhen area.

A third round of applause erupted in the office area. Everyone stood up straight and applauded enthusiastically.

Zhou Zhongcheng, from the Human Resources Department, who was standing next to the front desk, gave the three of them a thumbs up and took out his camera to take a picture.

Lin Xiaoqiang looked down at the red envelope in his hand, basking in the applause from the entire company. He placed the red envelope and flowers aside, straightened his back, and gave a military salute to Lin Feng and his colleagues.

Zhao Yong held a bouquet of flowers, the golden sunflowers brushing against the scar on his right hand that hadn't completely healed, and he grinned from ear to ear.

Tan Zhao was so excited he couldn't speak, and bowed to his boss and colleagues.

At that moment, a warm sense of belonging ignited in the hearts of Lin Xiaoqiang, Zhao Yong, Tan Zhao, and all the other employees present.

Shortly after the welcoming ceremony, Lin Feng summoned several core members to a meeting in the conference room.

Wu Wenjie, Zhou Bin, Lin Xiaoqiang, Wei Zejun, Li Ying, Xie Xiaodong, Zhang Ming, Zhao Yong, Zhou Zhongcheng, and Tan Zhao each pulled out a chair and sat down.

Lin Feng got straight to the point: "The Shenzhen branch of Tongcheng Life Network has grown from scratch to where it is now, with all four sections fully operational and already taking shape. Its market share in several internet platforms is among the top."

But our goal is not limited to Shenzhen alone; our next task is to build a nationwide local life information platform.

Zhou Zhongcheng had prepared a map of China beforehand and pasted it on the whiteboard.

Lin Feng walked over, picked up a marker, and circled five cities in the east, west, south, north, and center: Beijing, Shanghai, Huizhou, Chengdu, and Wuhan.

These cities are all economically developed first- and second-tier cities with a high concentration of universities. Lin Feng had previously established an MP3 sales network in these cities, so he had some foundation.

"We will use the Shenzhen model as a template to expand nationwide, and these five cities are our focus for the next stage."

Then, Lin Feng began to assign tasks: "Wu Wenjie will be in charge of the daily management of the Shenzhen battle and will begin preparations for the construction of the Huicheng battle."

"Zhou Bin's technical development department remained in Shenzhen to work on the website and backend system, and also began developing the new city website channel features."

"The ground sales department has four major business segments: housing rental, talent recruitment, second-hand goods, and housekeeping services. Key personnel from each segment will be selected to train new employees in newly expanded cities."

"The online marketing department has compiled various copywriting materials, scripts, and channels for promoting the website in Shenzhen into an operation manual, which is then shared with the marketing managers of newly entered cities."

"Human Resources Department, immediately launch talent recruitment in the five target cities."

"Administration Department, initiate the search for office space and logistical support in the five target cities."

Lin Feng assigned tasks one by one.

After the meeting, Zhou Bin said that the backend interface for the Chengdu station had been reserved and technical support could be provided remotely.

Lin Xiaoqiang, Zhang Ming, Wei Zejun, and Xie Xiaodong held an internal meeting to discuss which key personnel should be selected to be in charge of the upcoming training work. Lin Feng's requirement for them was that if there were no suitable candidates, the person in charge would have to personally conduct the training.

Li Ying compiled the copywriting templates and forum promotion scripts for the graduation season theme into an operation manual and sent it to Su Wan, who was in charge of promotion in Chengdu.

This marks the official launch of the nationwide expansion of Tongcheng Life Network!

After learning that Lin Feng was going back to Chengdu, Lin Xiaowen went to Lin Feng's dormitory at the research institute that evening to help him pack his luggage.

Chengdu has everything, so there's not much luggage to carry. Lin Xiaowen helped him fold a few changes of clothes and put them in his suitcase, and then packed his laptop into his backpack.

She folded the last coat and put it inside, stopping halfway through zipping it up.

"It's colder in Chengdu than in Shenzhen in winter, what you brought isn't enough." She stood up, opened his wardrobe, rummaged through it again, found a thick sweater and stuffed it into the suitcase, then folded the scarf and pressed it on top of the sweater.

After doing all that, she didn't close the box; she just squatted in front of it, staring blankly at the neatly arranged clothes inside.

Lin Feng reached out and pulled her up. She stood up with his help, took a step forward, and rested her forehead on his chin.

"Come visit me during the Spring Festival holiday," she said, looking up at him. "My mom has been saying she wants to meet you."

Lin Feng was somewhat surprised when Lin Xiaowen suddenly invited him to her home to meet her parents. He felt that things hadn't reached the point where he should meet the parents yet.

But he knew that if he refused, he would definitely hurt Lin Xiaowen's feelings.

He reached out and touched the other person's face, then nodded in agreement.

Lin Xiaowen immediately beamed with joy. She stood on tiptoe, wrapped her arms around Lin Feng's neck, and kissed him.

Lin Feng reached out and hugged her tightly, responding to her passionate kiss.

The two kissed for a long time before Lin Xiaowen finally parted ways.

The next morning, Lin Xiaoqiang drove the company's newly provided black Santana to take Lin Feng to the airport, and Lin Xiaowen also went to see him off.

She wore the champagne-colored dress that Lin Feng had bought for her, with a short white down jacket over it, making her look incredibly charming.

Upon arriving at Shenzhen Airport, Lin Xiaoqiang offered to help Lin Feng with his boarding pass.

Lin Xiaowen walked up to Lin Feng and said goodbye. Before Lin Feng could speak, tears streamed down her cheeks. She raised the back of her hand to wipe them away, but the more she wiped, the more tears flowed.

Lin Feng reached out and pulled her into his arms.

She buried her face in Lin Feng's chest. Lin Feng didn't say anything, but tightened his arms and kissed the top of her head.

Lin Xiaowen stood on tiptoe and kissed him hard on the lips, then took two steps back and wiped away her tears with the back of her hand.

"Call me when you get there," she said.

Lin Feng nodded, took the boarding pass from Lin Xiaoqiang, and turned to walk towards the security checkpoint.

Lin Xiaowen stood there until Lin Feng's figure disappeared around the corner of the security checkpoint.

Lin Xiaoqiang walked over and put his arm around her shoulder. She buried her face in her brother's shoulder, just like when she was a child and had been wronged.