Reborn at 80: From Village Scoundrel to Billionaire

"Brother Bei, it really is you! That's great! Quick, quick..."

Fan Ha'er burst out of the side alley, panting heavily, his forehead covered in sweat.

"Huh? Why are you still in town? Have you sold all the fish?" Liu Bei asked, somewhat puzzled.

"Don't even mention it. Not only did we not sell a single fish, but my dad... he was surrounded by people from the Industry and Commerce Bureau!"

"What? What happened? Don't rush, tell me slowly!"

"My son and I brought the fish to town, but before we even set up our stall, several inspectors from the local industry and commerce bureau rushed over, saying someone had reported us for speculation!"

"Not only are they confiscating our fish, but they're also threatening to fine us and send us to a labor camp! My dad is trying to negotiate with them, and he's almost at his breaking point!"

"Brother Bei, you're smarter than me, hurry up and think of a solution! What should we do? If we're any later, my dad will be arrested!"

"Telling a story? Speculation and profiteering?"

Liu Bei frowned.

Speculation and profiteering.

These four words were no joke in 1981.

At best, they will be fined; at worst, they will be sentenced to prison or labor camp.

His mind raced, and he pieced together the timeline.

In July of this year, the government introduced a new policy that allows first- and second-class aquatic products that have completed their purchase quotas to be sold through negotiation.

Grass carp, common carp, crucian carp, and snakehead all belong to categories one and two.

In other words, you have to hand over a portion of the fish to the government for distribution before you can sell the rest yourself.

They definitely crossed the line by setting up a stall directly in town.

"Are you sure they're talking about someone reporting them?" Liu Bei asked.

"Yes! The people at the Industry and Commerce Bureau said that two people went to report it!"

Two people?

Liu Bei raised an eyebrow and pondered for a while.

He leaned close to Fan Ha'er's ear and whispered, "Go back to Uncle Shuanzhu's place first. When you get there, tell the people at the Industry and Commerce Bureau this... Got it?"

"Got it. I'll be right back!"

Fan Ha'er nodded and took off running towards the market.

Liu Bei, carrying three children and dragging two human traffickers, strode into the police station.

With a "bang," Liu Bei threw the two people, who were tied up, onto the ground.

"Comrade, I caught two human traffickers, a habitual child trafficker and an accomplice. My three children were almost sold by them."

At that moment, two police officers on duty at the police station were drinking tea.

"Child trafficking?"

Upon hearing this, the two police officers immediately put down their teacups and came over.

"Old Wang, why does this fat guy look so familiar? Like I've seen him somewhere before, but I can't quite place him!"

"Quick, quick, find the wanted poster and see if it's the wanted criminal!"

"good!"

Soon, a police officer pulled out the wanted poster and compared it with the photo.

"This... isn't this fat man Zhang Decai, the one wanted nationwide?"

"Holy crap! It really is! The case's been hanging for two years!"

The two exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with excitement.

This is a truly solid achievement.

The statement was completed in twenty minutes.

Police station chief Zhou Jianguo came out from the inner room.

Zhou Jianguo was in his early forties, not very tall, but he stood very straight and had bright eyes.

He flipped through the transcript, glanced at the human traffickers being held in the corner, and walked up to Liu Bei:

"Comrade Liu Bei, you've been a great help to us. Please don't hesitate to ask if you need anything."

"Director Zhou, I do have something I'd like to ask you for a favor."

"you say."

"I was originally going to go to the supply and marketing cooperative to complete the purchase of the fish I caught today. But then the child was kidnapped, and I went to chase after the traffickers. The villagers brought the fish to town first. Before I even had a chance to go to the supply and marketing cooperative, I was arrested by the industrial and commercial bureau for speculation."

"We're really not speculating or profiteering; we've just been delayed because we're trying to save our child. We'd like to ask you to come over and help us act as a guarantor."

Zhou Jianguo looked at him, pondered for two seconds, and then nodded.

"Okay, I'll go with you."

……

East end of the market.

Six market inspectors from the local industrial and commercial bureau, dressed in blue uniforms, surrounded Fan Shuanzhu and Fan Ha'er.

Fan Shuanzhu's two buckets of fish were blocked behind him, and he spread his arms to protect his face, which turned bright red.

"Comrade, we're really not engaging in speculation! The fish were just caught from Zhangjiahu Lake; we were originally going to go to the supply and marketing cooperative to complete the purchase order first..."

"You said you were going to the supply and marketing cooperative, do you have any proof? Do you have a purchase order?" The head inspector asked sternly, holding a notebook.

"No, but—"

"That's correct. Selling Class I and II aquatic products without a purchase order is speculation and profiteering. According to regulations, all goods will be confiscated, and the person involved will be handed over to the public security authorities for processing."

"Comrade! Let me finish speaking—"

"Nothing much to say, we'll take the fish with us."

An inspector reached out to pick up the bucket.

"Don't move!"

Fan Ha'er suddenly jumped out from the side, grabbed the patrolman's arm, and held on tightly.

"I said it wasn't speculation, so it wasn't! My brother Bei went to rescue the children! What right do you have to confiscate it!"

"Let go! You're obstructing official business!"

"I won't let go! Hit me then! I'd rather die than let go!"

Fan Ha'er stiffened his neck and struck a pose as if he were about to die.

Several patrolmen shoved him, and Fan Shuanzhu rushed over to pull his son away, causing chaos in the scene.

"Stop it, all of you!"

Suddenly, a loud and clear command came from behind the crowd.

The patrolmen turned around and saw that the person who came was wearing a police uniform with a badge of the station chief on his chest. Behind him was a tall young man holding three children's hands.

"Director Zhou?" The head inspector was taken aback.

Zhou Jianguo stepped forward and briefly explained the situation.

"This Comrade Liu Bei just helped us catch a human trafficker who had been wanted nationwide for two years. His child was abducted this morning, and he went to chase after the trafficker to rescue the child. The fish were brought over by villagers first, and he hadn't had time to go to the supply and marketing cooperative to complete the purchase yet. I can vouch for him in this matter."

The patrolmen looked at each other.

The police station chief personally acted as guarantor; this is no small matter.

The lead inspector put away his notebook, glanced at Liu Bei a few times, and seemed to be memorizing his face.

"Since Director Zhou has vouched for us, we'll let this matter drop today. However, this is a one-time exception. The assigned purchase quota must be completed first; only the remainder can be sold internally. Rules are rules, and they cannot be broken!"

"Understood. Thank you, comrades." Liu Bei nodded.

The patrolmen left quickly, and Fan Ha'er finally let go, plopped down on the ground, and was covered in sweat.

Liu Bei suddenly remembered something, took a few steps and asked the leading inspector, "Comrade, may I ask what the person who reported us looks like?"

The inspector turned around and thought for a moment: "Two men. One had a long, thin face and came to report it early this morning. The other was shorter and seemed to have an extra finger on his right hand."

Long, thin face.

He has an extra finger on his right hand.

Two names popped into Liu Bei's mind at the same time.

Fan Xibei and Zhao Liuzhi.

"Damn it—" Fan Ha'er opened his mouth to curse, but Liu Bei grabbed his arm and gave him a wink.

Fan Ha'er had no choice but to swallow back the profanity immediately.

"Comrade Liu Bei!"

Zhou Jianguo took out a piece of paper from his pocket, wrote down a phone number, and handed it to Liu Bei.

"This is my phone number. If you need anything in the future, just call me here."

"Thanks, Director Zhou."

Zhou Jianguo patted him on the shoulder and went back to the police station.

"Brother Bei, why did you stop me just now?" Fan Ha'er asked, puzzled.

"The police station chief is here. You're causing trouble; do you want to go to jail?"

"I--"

"Alright, I know what I'm doing. Let's talk about it when we get back to the village!"

"OK!"

"Clang!"

Fan Shuanzhu's legs suddenly went weak, and he almost sat down on the ground.

"Xiao Bei, if it weren't for you today, Ha'er and I would be finished. How come you're so smart? You let Ha'er calm things down first, and then you ran to the police station to get reinforcements. You solved the problem in one fell swoop."

"Uncle Shuanzhu, don't be so polite. Let's prepare the fish first."

Liu Bei picked out a few black carp, a few crucian carp, and two turtles from the bucket and put them into a separate cloth bag.

For the rest, he led Fan Shuanzhu and his son to the supply and marketing cooperative, where they delivered the first and second-class aquatic products to the designated purchaser at the agreed price. After completing the formalities, they finally received the purchase receipt.

After leaving the supply and marketing cooperative, they went to Chen Shunzi's place, where they had bought fish last time, and sold all the remaining fish.

Finally, they counted the money; it came to a total of 120 yuan.

"Uncle Shuanzhu, we agreed to split it in half. Sixty percent is yours."

But Fan Shuanzhu pushed the money back.

"Xiao Bei, sixty is too much. Forty will be enough for us."

"Uncle, what's wrong—"

"Xiao Bei, listen to me. If it weren't for you today, Ha'er and I would be in jail. That's a labor camp, you know. Forty yuan is a lot, I know that."

Looking at Fan Shuanzhu's stubborn face, Liu Bei knew that if he pushed this honest man any further, he would get anxious.

"Okay. I'll do as you say."

Liu Bei put away the eighty yuan and glanced down at the three children standing quietly beside him.

Panpan held Nian Nian's hand.

Liu Bao stood beside him, her little hands gripping his trouser leg.

Just as he was about to say he was going home, a voice called out from behind him.

"Brother Liu Bei!"

Liu Bei looked back and saw Li Dazhuang striding towards him from the other end of the market.

There was a person following behind him.

He was in his forties, wearing a faded green military uniform, his back straight, with a pen clipped to his left breast pocket.

He had a dignified appearance, and beneath his thick eyebrows, a pair of shrewd eyes were scrutinizing Liu Bei.

Li Dazhuang walked closer, his face beaming with excitement:

"Brother, this is Director Fan, the head of the Da Liu Shan Forest Farm. He's here specifically to see you!"

Why would the head of a forest farm take the initiative to approach a small villager like me?

Why?