Two weeks later,
"Ah, finally discharged! No more smelling disinfectant. This period has been truly difficult!"
Fang Bai walked out of the hospital entrance with his travel backpack, taking a deep breath.
He watched the constant flow of bicycles on the road, the clattering manual tricycles, and the few motorcycles, santanas, and Fiats weaving through traffic;
Newspaper kiosks on the roadside displayed newspapers and magazines like "Zhiyin" and "Wen City Morning News," and the crowd's mainstream style was loose-fitting clothing;
Small workshops dotted the streets and alleys, hawking cries rose and fell, and the entire street was full of life...
This era felt both familiar and strange to him, and in a daze, he had an unreal feeling.
He turned around, glanced back at the simple hospital gate, then looked down at the three middle fingers of his injured right hand.
Although the inflammation was gone, he could only barely move them; the knuckles and fingertips could not bend.
He truly yearned to upgrade his Golden Finger soon so these three fingers could recover as before.
At this moment, he was wearing a brand new set of blue jeans, a white T-shirt, and a denim jacket, with 312.13 yuan still in his pocket.
Qin Shuyu bought him this new outfit when she left the hospital; she said his old clothes were stained with blood and unwearable.
Before leaving the hospital, after Fang Bai changed into his new clothes, he discovered three one-hundred-yuan banknotes in his pocket, along with a note that read, "Fang Bai, I'm back at school. Use these three hundred yuan for now. Don't worry about me, our school still has subsidies. You must work hard!
I'll write to you when I have time. Remember to reply to me, otherwise... Hmph!"
Besides the three hundred yuan Qin Shuyu gave him, Fang Bai also had ten yuan from his mother.
After completing the discharge procedures, his mother returned to Yongjia Middle School to work as a cleaner; her monthly salary was only 50 yuan, lower than the average salary of Wen City's salaried workers.
His father farmed at home, mainly to solve the family's food problem. The family's cultivated land required payment of grain tax, and in his spare time, he did odd jobs. Although the income was not much, it could slightly subsidize the family.
When Fang Bai worked as a plate shearer in the factory, his monthly intern salary was 80 yuan, with food and accommodation provided, but he hadn't received a single cent of salary yet.
In 1990, salaries were not very high; the national average salary for salaried workers was only one hundred and something yuan.
In reality, many people did not earn this average salary.
No matter the era, the word "average" is synonymous with "deception."
Even with his father-in-law's successful business, having already become a "ten thousand yuan household," a few hundred yuan was not a small sum.
For most people, a one-hundred-yuan banknote was a rarity.
Additionally, the two new sets of clothes Qin Shuyu bought him likely cost a lot of money.
This made Fang Bai feel a heavy burden; he knew that Qin Shuyu probably didn't have much money left for herself.
"This dummy!"
After leaving the hospital, Fang Bai decided to go to the factory to retrieve his clothes, bedding, and other items.
Although these items were not highly valuable, they were purchased with money earned by his parents' hard work, so they could not be wasted.
Another matter was to demand his unpaid wages and medical expenses from that hateful boss.
Based on his experience in his previous life, he didn't receive a single cent and was even ordered by the boss to be kicked out by the security guards.
Even with decades of experience, Fang Bai wasn't confident he could persuade the boss to give him money.
However, he now had a much better chance.
"Bastard, just you wait!"
Wen City includes 4 municipal districts and 5 counties, and Yongjia County is one of the 5 counties.
The urban area and Yongjia County face each other across the Oujiang River, and the area north of the Oujiang River is called "Oubei," belonging to a part of Yongjia County.
The hospital was in the urban area, and the factory was in Oubei, about a few kilometers apart.
Fang Bai didn't have a bicycle; a new bicycle cost over two hundred yuan, and even a used one cost around a hundred yuan. He didn't plan to spend money on that right now.
Taking the bus was inconvenient, so he hailed a manual tricycle on the roadside, asked about the fare, and it was about 3 mao for two kilometers, which wasn't cheap.
A moment later, he arrived at the riverside.
Crossing the river by ferry cost another 1 mao.
Upon arriving in Oubei, the county town, he first found a barbershop to get a shorter, more mature haircut.
While getting his haircut, Fang Bai casually observed the simply decorated barbershop. The walls were plastered with posters of popular female celebrities of the time, like Jiang Min, a certain Yu, a certain Xun, and some sexy female stars in bikinis.
There were also a few girls in the shop, all around twenty, dressed rather "scantily."
The barbershop was partitioned into three rooms with plywood: the outermost for haircuts, the middle for shampooing, and the innermost had a hidden small room.
This clever layout made Fang Bai feel like he had entered the wrong shop.
After the haircut, he paid and prepared to leave.
As Fang Bai took out money from his pocket, the scantily clad female hairdresser accidentally caught sight of the three hundred-yuan bills, her eyes instantly turning green. Seeing his relatively high-class attire and his 176 cm slender figure looking quite handsome, she immediately squeezed out a fawning smile: "Handsome, want to relax a bit? It's very cheap."
"Haha, I have an urgent matter today. Maybe another time."
Fang Bai was momentarily stunned, watching the hairdresser point to the innermost room door. He instantly understood the meaning behind her words.
Then he thought about accidentally exposing the large bills when taking out money just now.
Damn, she was after my money!
Not my face!
He forced a smile and quickly left the barbershop; it was not advisable to linger.
At two in the afternoon, Fang Bai arrived at the factory where he used to work.
Jiangnan Province Hengli Valve Manufacturing Co., Ltd., the boss was Wang Hengli.
The factory covered an area of over ten mu, with a two-story office building, a two-story dormitory building, and two brick-concrete workshops. It employed nearly a hundred people and generated hundreds of thousands of yuan in annual profits.
In those days, machinery factory equipment and technology were backward, production efficiency was low, and coupled with low product added value, per capita output value was relatively low. Last year, the entire Wen City's GDP output value was only ten billion yuan.
Factories like Hengli Company, if they developed normally, their bosses would be worth hundreds of millions thirty years later.
However, Wang Hengli was mired in debt to his mistress, which led to a setback, and his business plummeted.
The factory's security gate was virtually nonexistent; as long as you didn't steal company property when leaving, it was fine.
The guard, seeing a familiar face, didn't stop him. Fang Bai smoothly entered the factory, went to the dormitory, and took out his key to open the dormitory door.
The narrow room was filled with 6 iron beds, bunk beds, accommodating 12 people. The room was messy and reeked of shoe odor; he truly didn't know how anyone could sleep at night.
Fang Bai saw that his bed no longer had his clothes and bedding, but someone else's things, and he immediately flared up.
"Damn you, dorm supervisor!"
He was discharged two days earlier than in his previous life, yet he still couldn't escape the fate of having his clothes and bedding thrown away by the dorm supervisor. In his previous life, he had fought with the dorm supervisor, and after the fight, his right hand injury worsened.
Damn it, this is the bottom tier bullying the bottom tier!
Fang Bai didn't directly confront the dorm supervisor. His hand injury wasn't suitable for fighting right now, otherwise he really wanted to give him a good beating. Regardless of whether he could win, fighting was too normal in those days.
Since it was a case of a dog acting fierce because of its master, it was best to let the dogs fight each other.
On the way to Wang Hengli's office, Fang Bai quickly calmed his anger.
He ran into a casual acquaintance on the way, who glanced at his right hand with a pitiful and curious look. Fang Bai was already used to such looks and attitudes from others.
Arriving on the second floor, he happened to see a short, stout man of about fifty holding a brick phone, speaking loudly in the hallway outside his office, also saying that the battery was low and he had to end the call.
Fang Bai forced out a harmless smile and walked towards him: "Mr. Wang, long time no see!"
Wang Hengli heard someone greeting him from behind, turned around, and saw it wasn't an acquaintance. He sized him up; the person was very young, with a sunny smile, carrying a backpack. He felt like he had seen him somewhere but couldn't recall who he was at the moment.
But his aura, so natural and composed, this young man was unusual. Could he be a salesperson?
Seeing the other person extend his left hand, Wang Hengli paused. Wasn't it the right hand?
However, he quickly extended his left hand as well to shake: "Hello!"
Fang Bai saw that it was normal for Wang Hengli not to recognize him; he had worked in the workshop for less than two months and rarely interacted with the boss.
Additionally, his attire and hairstyle were a complete "makeover." Let alone Wang Hengli, even an acquaintance wouldn't have recognized him immediately.
However, none of that mattered.
The moment they shook hands, Fang Bai grasped Wang Hengli's information from the past day, as well as his current inner thoughts.
While in the hospital, Fang Bai had thoroughly studied the functions of the Golden Finger.
He only needed to shake hands once, with no time limit for the handshake and no restriction on which hand, to detect the other person's information from the past day, and simultaneously know their current inner thoughts, but it required being within a 10-meter radius of himself.
If he went beyond the 10-meter radius, he couldn't detect, but once back within range, he could detect again without needing to shake hands again.
[Who is this young man? I feel like I've seen him somewhere, but I just can't remember...]
This was Wang Hengli's thought at the moment, and Fang Bai also learned what he had done in the past day.
Last night, Wang Hengli went to the golden nest he bought for his mistress.
This morning at nine o'clock, Wang Hengli left the golden nest with an exhausted body, telling his wife he was on a business trip.
This was the scene Fang Bai could see, including what Wang Hengli said to his mistress, just like a recorded video, which could be fast-forwarded or slowed down.
Moreover, whatever information he wanted to know was automatically obtained, without needing to watch all the footage.
The functions of this Golden Finger are truly abnormal!
However, Fang Bai liked it.
Wang Hengli was relatively afraid of his wife, Chen Li, mainly for two reasons: first, his wife managed most of their assets, and second, his father-in-law used to be in the system. Without his father-in-law's support, the company would not have reached its current scale.
Of course, his father-in-law had been retired for a few years, but he still had some connections.
What Wang Hengli didn't know was that the money he gave to his mistress, Zhang Qian, was used by her to support a toy boy.
Two years later, Wang Hengli's affair with his mistress was caught red-handed by Chen Li. Chen Li hired thugs to beat Zhang Qian, and later, still angry, Chen Li splashed sulfuric acid on Zhang Qian's face, disfiguring her.
With Zhang Qian disfigured, the toy boy left her. In despair, she paid people to cripple both Chen Li and the toy boy. Wang Hengli escaped this calamity.
The toy boy initially didn't know Zhang Qian was being kept. Later, realizing he was caught in a love triangle, he wanted to bring down Wang Hengli.
This incident caused such a stir that it made local news, becoming known throughout the city. Later, none of the four had a good ending.
Both women were crazy, and the man was timid and cowardly.
If Wang Hengli hadn't been a coward, Fang Bai's debt collection would have been quite difficult.
Fang Bai knew about this incident from old masters and newspaper reports.
In this life, what happens to those four in the future has nothing to do with him. Fang Bai only wanted his things back and to incidentally trick the dorm supervisor and Wang Hengli.
Suddenly, Wang Hengli noticed the scars on the three middle fingers of Fang Bai's right hand and suddenly remembered, frowning: "Fang Bai, how is it you?!"
"Haha, it seems Mr. Wang has a good memory." Fang Bai smiled very naturally, "I thought important people were often forgetful."
Wang Hengli tightened his face and said, "What are you doing here?
You are no longer an employee of my company!"
Fang Bai, knowing the other party's thoughts, knew it was impossible to directly ask this fat bastard for wages and compensation; if he were going to give it, he would have in the previous life.
Reason with him?
Even dogs wouldn't eat that!
Useless!
As for direct threats?
Someone who can build a business to its current scale isn't to be trifled with.
Harassment, lawsuits, relentless pursuit, jumping off a building threats...
Fang Bai had considered many debt collection methods, but after deliberation, he found them all unreliable.
If debt collection were that easy, there wouldn't be so many deadbeats in later generations.
Fang Bai needed to grasp the other party's "cowardly" personality, seize their key weaknesses, and it would be best if he could make them willingly pay.
It was somewhat taken for granted, but worth a try.
Seeing Wang Hengli's stern face, Fang Bai simply said, "Of course, I'm here to help you. I wonder what your wife Chen Li would do if she knew about Zhang Qian?"
"What did you say?"
Wang Hengli suddenly heard the name "Zhang Qian," his heart rate quickened, his palms sweated, and he stared at Fang Bai, curious how this guy knew his private matters.
He felt he had been discreet enough; the two had never appeared together in public, precisely because he feared his wife would find out.
If his wife accused him of marital infidelity, he might end up with nothing.
This was definitely unacceptable to him; as long as he had money, he could find another mistress.
"Mr. Wang, saying that is pointless. 156 Changxin Road."
"You're following me?"
"You're overthinking it, I just happened to run into it."
"What exactly do you want?"
Wang Hengli's heart sank when he heard the address; it was precisely the house he bought for his mistress.
He looked at Fang Bai's calm face, as if all his secrets were in his hands.
"Mr. Wang, won't you invite me into your office for a seat?"
"Please."
Wang Hengli said coldly, then closed the door to prevent passing employees from hearing, and sat opposite Fang Bai with an unhappy expression.
Fang Bai calmly sat opposite him and said flatly, "Mr. Wang, I really don't understand why you told Zhang Qian about your tax evasion!
But you don't know that Zhang Qian is using your money to support a toy boy!
Being held hostage by a woman and a toy boy, what do you plan to do?"
What Fang Bai said contained too much information for Wang Hengli.
Zhang Qian used his money to support a toy boy?!
The toy boy was planning to target him?
He had indeed severely evaded taxes and boasted about it to Zhang Qian. He urgently asked:
"How do you know?"
"Don't you think it's funny?
You know what you've done and who you've told, don't you? Am I hiding under your bed listening in?
Mr. Wang, you need to understand, I'm here to help you!
If it weren't for the favor of you letting me into the factory back then, I wouldn't care what happened!"
Hearing Fang Bai say this, Wang Hengli basically confirmed that Zhang Qian had leaked it, probably to that toy boy, and then the toy boy told others.
Otherwise, how would Fang Bai know?
Recalling Zhang Qian's attitude towards him recently, it had been too perfunctory, and he had felt something was off. Prompted by Fang Bai, he immediately realized.
Damn!
What kind of woman did I raise? She's even keeping a toy boy!
However, he was still somewhat suspicious.
Fang Bai grasped his doubt and continued, "Don't ask me how I know about your messed-up affairs.
I don't have time to fool you. Just send someone to investigate Zhang Qian, and you'll know.
Don't really think you can still rely on your father-in-law, who retired a few years ago. If they really want to get you, they'll surely investigate your affairs and background thoroughly.
Moreover, with your father-in-law being a retired deputy county-level official, that's simply not enough for the people in Wen City!
Think about it yourself, does what I'm saying make sense?"
Wang Hengli saw Fang Bai's sharp eyes and oppressive aura. Every syllable he spoke was full of tension, like a sharp blade, piercing the silent air and shaking his soul.
He suddenly realized that Fang Bai knew too much of his private information, and probably many others knew too.
If his wife found out about the mistress, he would definitely be finished.
As for tax evasion, if reported, he would also suffer huge losses.
These were all things Wang Hengli least wanted!
Looking at Fang Bai's eyes again, they were no different from a desperado's. He clearly understood that such people would risk their lives when fighting.
He might get himself into trouble. Besides, the person said he was here to help him, so he shouldn't harm him.
Damn it
The more Wang Hengli thought about it, the angrier he got, wanting to confront Zhang Qian immediately.
Fang Bai couldn't help but smile: "What, you want to go confront Zhang Qian right now? You really don't understand the situation!"
Wang Hengli paused, then sat down, feeling that in his anger, his mind had become somewhat muddled. Fang Bai's words immediately reminded him.
Fang Bai told him about Zhang Qian keeping a toy boy and planning to blackmail him together; he should be grateful to him.
Looking at Fang Bai again, he felt more approachable.
"Then what do you suggest we do?"
Although Wang Hengli was angry and uneasy, he also knew that being anxious now was useless.