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

Chapter 26 Searching for Tang Lei's Whereabouts

Lin Feng woke up the next day feeling refreshed.

This 22-year-old's physical recovery ability is really strong!

Lin Feng and the other three left the hotel and were driven back to the interior by Lin Xiaoqiang.

Upon arriving near Huaqiangbei, Lin Feng made an excuse to go to Yuanwang Digital City with Wu Wenjie, telling Lin Xiaoqiang and his sister to go back first.

We arrived at Wu Wenjie's stall.

Lin Feng took a thick kraft paper envelope from his bag and handed it to Wu Wenjie.

"Brother Jie, this is your share."

Wu Wenjie politely declined, but Lin Feng was adamant and stuffed the envelope directly into the other party's pocket.

The envelope was thicker than the rebates Mr. Chen had given him in the past.

"Brother Lin, you're too kind..."

"I roughly know the rules you have with Boss Chen. You took me there before because of a favor. Now that the price has been negotiated, you can't be shortchanged."

Wu Wenjie was completely convinced.

What he admired was not the money, but Lin Feng's way of doing things.

At the negotiating table, Lin Feng fought tooth and nail for every inch of ground, even down to the few dollars per unit cost and the after-sales terms, displaying the shrewdness of an old fox.

But when it comes to personal relationships, they are decisive and generous, and the money they give makes people feel incredibly comfortable.

The underlying meaning: This money is from me, Lin Feng, not from Boss Chen. I'm indebted to you for this favor.

This is hardly the skill of a college student in their early twenties. This is clearly the style of a veteran who has been in the business world for decades.

Wu Wenjie even had a new idea: if he followed Lin Feng from now on, he would definitely make a lot of money!

After leaving Wu Wenjie's stall, Lin Feng stood on the street and lit a cigarette.

The MP3 order has been finalized, with a 20-day delivery period. In the meantime, he plans to take care of another important matter.

They found Tang Lei, negotiated the ringtone copyright for "Lilac Flower," and invited him to Chengdu to participate in the digital music festival.

Finding someone is more difficult than finding a factory. There are plenty of factories in Shenzhen, and they can't be moved. It's just a matter of deciding on the configuration and negotiating the price. But finding a singer who isn't famous yet is much harder, like finding a needle in a haystack.

A post from 02 mentioned that Tang Lei was a resident performer at a bar in Luohu, Shenzhen.

Nearly a year has passed, and Lin Feng is unsure whether Tang Lei is still in Shenzhen.

Lin Feng recalled the scene after "Lilac Flower" became a hit in his previous life, during the most frenzied years of the ringtone business, and the copyright myths of those who became rich overnight. He also remembered some later reports about Tang Lei, who was introverted, loyal, but had not had an easy early life.

The opportunity is there, but the window of opportunity won't last long.

Lin Feng stubbed out his cigarette and took out his phone to call Lin Xiaoqiang.

"Brother Qiang, are you familiar with the Luohu area?"

"I know them well, my sports car goes there often. What's up, need to deliver goods?"

"No, I want to ask you to find someone. A young singer named Tang Lei. He sings at a bar in Luohu, but I don't know which one."

"Okay, I'll ask around for you."

After hanging up the phone, Lin Feng returned to the guesthouse and began waiting for news.

Several days have passed, and there is still no news from Lin Xiaoqiang.

At first, Lin Xiaoqiang asked his brothers who ran freight trucks to help him inquire, but they all said they had never heard of Tang Lei.

Later, he changed his approach and asked someone to inquire with local bar owners and staff in Luohu.

Over at the bar, singers come and go, and since singers often use stage names when performing at bars, nobody bothers to remember their real names.

Three days later, on the weekend, Lin Xiaoqiang, who didn't have a sports car and was free, drove his van to the guesthouse and planned to ask Lin Feng to take him on a trip to Luohu.

Lin Feng opened the car door and saw Lin Xiaowen sitting inside. When she saw Lin Feng, her eyes crinkled with a smile.

"Brother Feng."

"Xiaowen is going too?"

"She was just sitting at home doing nothing anyway, so she insisted on coming to help," Lin Xiaoqiang explained.

Lin Feng got into the car.

The van drove out of Futian and onto Shennan Avenue. By 2003, Shennan Avenue was already the face of Shenzhen, wide and straight, with high-rise buildings gradually rising on both sides.

Unlike the industrial area of ​​Longhua outside the city center, the further you go towards Luohu, the more prosperous it becomes.

"There are a lot of bars on Dongyuan Road, I've heard it's quite lively, but I haven't been there much," Lin Xiaoqiang said as he drove. "When we get there, how do we find them? Ask at each one?"

"We can only ask around one by one first." Lin Feng couldn't think of a better solution for the time being.

Dongyuan Road is one of the earliest bar districts in Shenzhen. The streets are relatively quiet during the day, with a dense array of signs stretching as far as the eye can see.

The bars include "Night Never Ends," "Base," "Old Jazz," and "Blues Room." Clothing stores, snack stalls, and barbershops are interspersed among them, creating a strong sense of local life.

In the afternoon, most bars were closed. Only a few coffee shops that also served light meals were open.

Lin Xiaoqiang parked the car on the side of the road. The three of them got out of the car and looked at the endless street in front of them, feeling a little lost.

"Let's start asking from here." Lin Feng pointed to a bar with a sign that read "Night Never Ends".

The door was ajar, and a waiter was mopping the floor inside. Lin Feng walked in and politely asked:

"Hello, do you have a resident singer named Tang Lei here? He's from Guangxi and sings original songs."

The waiter, a young man, shook his head blankly: "Tang Lei? Never heard of him. Our singers are all in bands, the same few regulars, there's no one like him here."

"Thanks."

After leaving "Night Never Ends," the next bar, "Friends," was closed.

The next "Blues Bar" was open. The owner was a middle-aged man with a braid. After listening to Lin Feng's description, he smoked and thought for a while.

"I don't remember much. There aren't many original singers around here. Go ask at 'Base' or 'True Colors' up ahead; they have big venues and they invite some outside singers."

"Thank you, boss."

I asked three or four places in a row, but they were either closed or I had never heard of Tang Lei.

Some waiters even waved their hands impatiently, saying, "I don't know, I don't know, come back and ask the singer tonight!"

The fruitless search was making people anxious. Lin Xiaowen followed behind Lin Feng, looking somewhat dejected.

Lin Xiaoqiang lit a cigarette and squatted down by the roadside: "Brother Lin, asking like this isn't the solution. There's a high turnover rate in bars; many staff members don't even know the real names of the singers in their establishments."

Lin Feng also realized the problem. For most people, the song is easier to remember than the singer.

"Let's ask a different question. Let's not ask about people, let's ask about songs."

"Song?"

"I'm looking for a song called 'Lilac Flower,' with lyrics like, 'The grave is covered in flowers, the beauty you so longed for…'"

They walked to the next bar that was open, "Deep Alley".

This time, Lin Xiaowen stepped forward and cautiously asked the young man wiping glasses at the bar, speaking in Mandarin with a Sichuan accent, "Excuse me, do you have a singer here who can sing a song called 'Lilac Flower'?"

The young man looked up at her, then glanced at Lin Feng and Lin Xiaoqiang behind him, his eyes showing some wariness.

"Who are you?"

"We especially love the song 'Lilac Flower.' A friend told us that a singer performs it on Dongyuan Road, so we came here specifically to find it," Lin Feng said, trying to dispel any doubts the other party might have.

"Lilac Flower... I vaguely remember that song title. I think there was a singer who sang it at the 'True Colors Bar' earlier. You can go ask them."

"True Colors Bar? Where exactly is it located?"

"Go out and turn left, then turn right at the intersection. The biggest sign there is it."

"Thanks!"