Reborn in 2005, starting with repairing mobile phones

Lin Dong stopped and nervously adjusted his glasses: "I... I'm a student from Miancheng No. 2 Middle School, here for a social practice interview. I'm looking for Master Zhao Dashan."

"An interview?"

The bald man looked him up and down. "What kind of interview?"

"Our school needs to write an investigative report on the old industrial base." Lin Dong took out his student ID from his bag. "I heard that Master Zhao is a model worker at the cannery, and the teacher asked us to interview him."

The student ID is real, and Lin Dong looks very young in the photo.

The tall, thin guy leaned over, glanced at it, and sneered, "So what if it's social practice? Hurry up, don't take too long."

"Just, just half an hour," Lin Dong said hurriedly.

"Half an hour."

The bald man waved his hand. "Come out when it's time, you hear me?"

"Okay, okay."

Lin Dong breathed a sigh of relief and walked into the courtyard.

Number 17 was at the very back, the door closed. He knocked, and a cautious voice came from inside: "Who is it?"

"Is Mr. Zhao home? I'm a student from No. 2 Middle School, here for a social practice interview."

The door opened a crack, revealing Zhao Dashan's aged and haggard face.

He relaxed slightly upon seeing it was a student, but his eyes remained wary: "An interview?"

"Yes, our school needs to write a report on the old industrial base, and my teacher recommended that I come to you."

Lin Dong's voice was sincere, "Just half an hour, is that alright?"

Zhao Dashan hesitated for a moment, then glanced at the courtyard gate, where the two henchmen were staring in their direction.

He probably felt that letting the students in would be safer, as having outsiders around would prevent the two people from causing trouble.

"Come in."

The house was small, but it was kept very clean.

Several yellowed certificates of merit hung on the wall, along with a family photo in which Zhao Dashan looked young, with his wife and son beside him.

"Master Zhao, what year did you join the factory?" Lin Dong sat down on the old sofa and opened his laptop.

"1975."

Zhao Dashan sat awkwardly across from me. "Back then, they were recruiting workers, and I passed the exam."

"I heard from your teacher that you were a model worker in production back then?"

Speaking of this, Zhao Dashan's eyes lit up: "Yes, for five consecutive years. The canned soybeans produced in our workshop are of the best quality; we've never had a problem..."

Lin Dong took careful notes, occasionally asking about details. Outside, the sky was darkening, and the room was dimly lit as the lights were off.

About twenty minutes later, Lin Dong closed his notebook. "Thank you, Master Zhao. You explained it very well." He paused, then lowered his voice, "Master Zhao, those two men outside the door, are they Chen Xiong's men?"

Zhao Dashan froze, his face turning deathly pale.

"Don't be nervous."

Lin Dong said softly, "My family was also pressured by Chen Xiong for debts. I can help you."

Zhao Dashan suddenly looked up, staring at the student in disbelief.

"What...what did you say?"

I said, "I can help you."

Lin Dong took a small recorder out of his bag and placed it on the coffee table. "Take this."

Zhao Dashan's hands began to tremble as he looked at the small black machine.

"I know they want you to sign a letter of intent to transfer the property. Next time they come to pressure you to sign a contract, open this beforehand and hide it under the sofa cushion or in your pocket."

Lin Dong taught him how to press buttons, "to record every word they say, especially their threats to force you to sign documents, take your house, and threaten you and your family."

"But...but..."

Zhao Dashan's voice trembled, "What's the use of recording it? Chen Xiong is involved..."

"If it's just you alone, it might not be useful," Lin Dong said, looking directly into his eyes. "But what if it's not just you alone?"

Zhao Dashan was taken aback: "Who else?"

"Aunt Liu from the tailor shop on West Street, and Uncle Sun from the old cotton mill," Lin Dong said in a low voice, "they were also pressured by Chen Xiong using the same methods. I've already contacted them."

Before coming to the Zhao family, he had already visited both families under the same student identity.

Aunt Liu's hands trembled uncontrollably when she heard this, and tears streamed down Uncle Sun's wrinkled face.

Now, the three families driven to the brink by Chen Xiong have finally been brought together.

Zhao Dashan's eyes widened slightly.

"At 3 PM on the fifteenth of the first lunar month, Chen Xiong will be waiting for me at his teahouse. I will go there to repay the last debt."

Lin Dong said calmly, "And the three of you need to make three calls to the police at 3 p.m. sharp."

"Three...phone calls?"

"right."

Lin Dong pulled out a piece of paper from his notebook, on which were written three different emergency numbers and brief statements: "Call the Economic Crime Investigation Division of the Municipal Public Security Bureau and say, 'Chen Xiong is coercing people to sign a fake contract on the second floor of Xinglong Teahouse.'"

"Aunt Liu called 110 and said that 'Chen Xiong's men were threatening people with knives in the teahouse.'"

"Uncle Sun called the police station and said, 'I saw Chen Xiong lead people into the teahouse to force repayment of debts.'"

Zhao Dashan's breathing quickened upon hearing this.

"Three phone calls, from three different places, simultaneously reporting the same location and the same group of people."

Lin Dong looked him in the eyes. "The police will be dispatched immediately. Once they get to the teahouse, they'll catch you red-handed. The recording on you will be irrefutable evidence."

"But..." Zhao Dashan's voice trembled, "What if Chen Xiong knew we were the ones who called the police..."

"So he has to go in."

Lin Dong's voice was very soft, "Armed coercion, contract fraud, organized crime—these three charges combined are enough to keep him in there for more than ten years. By the time he gets out, nobody will remember who he is."

Zhao Dashan took the note and ran his fingers along the rough surface of the paper.

"Young man,"

His voice was hoarse, "Why are you helping me? Aren't you afraid Chen Xiong will find out?"

Lin Dong looked at the family photo on the wall: "My dad's back is ruined from working so hard to pay off their debts."

"Today at the hospital, I saw an old man who had been stabbed by loan sharks and couldn't be saved. His family was crying their hearts out."

He turned back to look at Zhao Dashan, "Master Zhao, I don't want to see you one day."

Zhao Dashan's eyes suddenly reddened.

The old worker, crushed by life's hardships, his hunched back heaved violently.

"They...they said if I don't pay back the money, they'll make sure my wife can't stay in the hospital anymore..."

He choked up, "My wife has uremia and needs dialysis every week. She'll die if she stops taking the medication..."

"So you can't sign that."

Lin Dong's tone was firm: "If you sign, you'll lose the house, and your wife might not even stay. If you don't sign, we still have a chance to bring them down."

Zhao Dashan remained silent for a long time, his fingers repeatedly stroking the tape recorder.

"Young man," he raised his cloudy eyes, "what if... what if I hadn't made that call?"

Lin Dong stood up and looked out the window at the darkening sky.

"Master Zhao," he said, "after the Lantern Festival, you can go to the hospital to be with your wife and tell her: you don't have to worry about anyone coming to collect debts anymore."

He opened the door and looked back one last time.

"This call is to yourself."

The door closed.

Zhao Dashan sat in the dimly lit room, clutching a tape recorder and a piece of paper with a number written on it.

Outside the courtyard, two henchmen were still lying in wait.

But this time, Zhao Dashan's eyes shone with a different light.

"Are you done with the interview?" the bald man asked at the gate of the courtyard.

"Yes, thank you, Uncle."

Lin Dong said politely, "Master Zhao's presentation was excellent; we're sure to get a high score on our report."

"Let's hurry up and go, it's getting dark."

As Lin Dong walked out of the alley, he heard the bald man's impatient voice behind him: "Old Zhao, have you made up your mind? Brother Xiong doesn't have that much patience!"

Lin Dong walked steadily on his way home.

Seven days left.

Chen Xiong, it's time to pay back the debts you owe.