Chapter 0021 Fastest Delivery in All of Thailand
Frank Fang squinted at me and said, "My foot injury is almost healed. If you have business, it's best to come to me. Don't let Uncle Xie's surface enthusiasm and low prices fool you. He will push you into a pit sooner or later, and I don't want you to come crying to me after a big fall."
I quickly agreed and asked what he knew about Uncle Xie and what the conflict was between them. Frank Fang snorted. "That guy and I used to work together, years ago. We initially arranged to procure fifty amulets from a Luang Por at a temple in Chiang Mai and deliver them to a major client who ran an amulet shop in Guangdong. When the goods arrived, the client told me they weren't genuine. Some still had wet clay. It turned out that bastard Uncle Xie had hired people to make them overnight. That deal cost me at least 30,000 RMB. I confronted him, but he wouldn't admit it and insisted they were real amulets."
Hearing this, I didn't know whether to laugh or cry, feeling a sense of shared misery with Frank Fang. He leaned on his crutch and got up to go to the restroom. Just then, the waiter served a plate of baked crab and a plate of large conch. As I was about to start eating, the restaurant door opened, and Uncle Xie's short, plump figure squeezed in.
When he saw me, his face immediately lit up with a smile. He sat down in Frank Fang's seat, looked at the dishes on the table, and said cheerfully, "Brother Tian, you're too kind, ordering so many dishes for me."
I quickly said this wasn't his seat. Uncle Xie saw a used plate in front of him and realized there was someone else. He was about to ask me when Frank Fang came to the table on his crutch, staring directly at Uncle Xie.
Uncle Xie looked up, saw Frank Fang, and an awkward expression appeared on his face. He slowly stood up, his smile very unnatural. Frank Fang was expressionless. "Please sit down, won't you? I can stand."
"Y-You sit, please. Brother Tian didn't tell me you were here, hehehe!" Uncle Xie managed a placating smile. To ease the tension, I moved inward, and Uncle Xie quickly sat in the seat next to me.
Frank Fang sat down brazenly, lit a cigar, and asked, pouting, "Mr. Xie, you've been doing well these past couple of years, haven't you? How many more people have you conned?"
Uncle Xie put on his signature sincere smile. "Mr. Fang loves to joke. I, Uncle Xie, am a genuine businessman. I treat every customer as if I want to give them my heart. If you don't believe me, ask Brother Tian, right?"
Frank Fang sneered, "You mean you're eager to dig out the heart of every customer! I heard from Tian Chi recently that your methods for screwing over partners are still the same old tricks. No improvement."
Uncle Xie cleared his throat awkwardly. "That was a misunderstanding. I didn't notice the back of that amulet."
Frank Fang snorted. "I don't care if you noticed or not. You can cheat others, but if you mess with Tian Chi, I, Frank Fang, am not finished with you."
Uncle Xie showed his kind smile again. "How could I? I already said I'd give Brother Tian a 50% discount on the next two deals. Mr. Fang, don't always look at people through biased glasses. You need to keep up with the times."
Frank Fang scoffed. "Keeping up with the times means making fake amulets yourself and selling them as consecrated by Luang Por monks?"
Uncle Xie chuckled. "That was a misunderstanding! You look at problems too narrowly."
"Cut the crap! I haven't settled the matter of those fifty fake amulets with you yet!" Frank Fang slammed the table and shouted.
Uncle Xie retorted, "Can you blame me? You needed fifty Luang Por monk amulets in three days. Only I, Uncle Xie, could deliver the goods that quickly in all of Thailand. Why else did you come to me?"
Frank Fang raged, "You're justifying it! Do you think I need you to make fake amulets? Can't I do it myself?"
"Yours wouldn't be as good as mine. They'd look fake immediately," Uncle Xie continued to defend himself.
Frank Fang was furious. He stood up and grabbed Uncle Xie's collar. I rushed up to pull him away. Frank Fang kept cursing while clutching the collar. "You fat nine-headed bird! You dared to cheat even me, Frank Fang! I shouldn't have let you out of that restroom back then. I should have blocked you in for seven days and seven nights, forcing you to eat sh*t to survive!"
Uncle Xie struggled fiercely. "I didn't report you to the police for illegal confinement back then! It was out of consideration that we're both Chinese, both descendants of the Yan and Huang Emperors..."
"I'll beat you to death, you descendant of Yan and Huang!" Frank Fang's face turned red with anger. He raised his single crutch to hit Uncle Xie. I quickly grabbed the crutch tightly, afraid he would seriously injure Uncle Xie in his rage, forcing me to take him to the hospital. After successfully wrestling the crutch away, Frank Fang's anger was still simmering. He cursed, "Listen to me, Uncle Xie, stop playing games with me. Brother Tian is my friend. If you dare to set him up, I'll make you walk on this crutch for the rest of your life!"
Sweat beaded on Uncle Xie's forehead. He nervously adjusted his clothes, continuously muttering things like, "How can this person be like this? Just starts hitting people." Frank Fang sat down and continued drinking his juice as if nothing happened, though his eyes were still spitting fire. Seeing the bad situation, I quickly urged Uncle Xie to leave first. Uncle Xie stood up and took his leave awkwardly. As he walked away, he added, "Brother Tian, I have some things to attend to. I need to go find an Arjan master to procure some Guman Thong. I... I have to go now..." He rushed toward the restaurant entrance. Frank Fang watched Uncle Xie's figure leave, his face filled with contempt.
After Uncle Xie left, Frank Fang scolded me again, mostly out of fear that I would be deceived and exploited. He said Uncle Xie was more cunning than a fox, the kind of person who could pick three cents off a corpse. I thought, You were the same way when I first met you. Business is business. You've earned money from me every time, so what right do you have to criticize others?
In fact, I still didn't understand Frank Fang. He was a person who was both complex and simple, or perhaps I was looking at the problem too simply or too complexly. Frank Fang had weathered many storms and had a detached view of human relationships. It's safe to say that no one could cheat him, and he wouldn't trust anyone too much. After nearly two years of partnership, Frank Fang actually regarded me as his good friend. At the time, I didn't understand the meaning of that statement, thinking he was merely trying to compete with Uncle Xie or was saying something exaggerated out of fear that I would be exploited.
Years later, when I lost all my money to save my life and returned to my hometown in the Northeast, I recalled my initial thoughts and felt I was very selfish. I also understood the meaning of Frank Fang's words. In his eyes, I was a trustworthy person worth befriending. Throughout our long partnership, I had never falsely reported business earnings to him, which he found hard to believe. Frank Fang felt it was rare to find a straightforward person like me. At first, he thought it was the kind of naiveté typical of Northeasterners, but later he realized that I treated him as a true friend and comrade in arms, not just a business partner.
The reason I regarded Frank Fang as a friend was my deep admiration for him. It was genuinely heartfelt. The way he approached problems was as precise as a surgeon's knife. He was decisive and never procrastinated. He was never afraid of trouble but also never sought unnecessary conflict. On that point alone, I couldn't even compare to him.
Back in Rayong that evening, I called Uncle Xie. He complained to me, asking why I hadn't told him Frank Fang was present. I said I had sent him a text message. Uncle Xie sighed. "My phone is too old, and the signal is bad. I often don't receive messages, and sometimes it shuts down automatically. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been scolded by that guy."
I was puzzled. A shrewd businessman like Uncle Xie, who had been in the amulet business in Thailand for several years, must have made a lot of money. Why wouldn't he replace his old phone with a better one? More importantly, a poor signal and missed messages would definitely affect business. Which was more important? I didn't understand it then, but I later learned that Uncle Xie had his own unspoken difficulties, but that's a story for another time.
I said, "You didn't play any tricks on me this time, so that's good. I'll contact you if there's suitable business in the future, but remember not to deceive me again, or we'll never do business again."
Uncle Xie chuckled. "Look at you talking. I truly made a mistake that time. I, Uncle Xie, am not that kind of person! Enough said, I'll see you in future dealings!" I snorted and didn't reply.
As the amulet business grew, I traveled frequently between China and Thailand, visiting Thailand every few months, for periods ranging from half a month to two months. Thailand had become my second home.
Around that time, I had just returned to Shenyang from Thailand. One day, I was having a feast with my classmates at a barbecue restaurant when I received a phone call. The screen showed the caller ID as "Wang Jiao." Seeing that name made me grimace, but I answered the phone anyway.