Outside the supermarket, inside a Honda Accord that had been spray-painted all over.
"That bastard Wu, you just wait. You want to play, is that it? Fine, I'll play with you to the very end! This time, let's play for keeps!"
Wang Hongliang snorted. His hand trembled with rage as he pulled out his phone. Lighting a cigarette, he stuck it in his mouth, found his wife Hu Yanmei's number, and called.
"What is it, honey? I'm in the middle of getting my hair done," Hu Yanmei's voice came from the other end of the line.
Wang Hongliang asked, "Honey, are your brothers, Hu Qiang and Hu Guo, done with their college entrance exams?"
Hu Yanmei replied irritably, "What date do you think it is? They finished a long time ago. Their acceptance letters have already come in!"
Wang Hongliang said, "Alright, I get it. I don't have their numbers on my new phone. Send them to me. I need to talk to them about something."
"What for?" Hu Yanmei asked, confused.
"Just don't worry about it. Send me their numbers. I'm hanging up." Wang Hongliang hung up and lit another cigarette.
He had just finished his cigarette when a text from Hu Yanmei came through. It contained the phone numbers for her brothers, Hu Guo and Hu Qiang.
Wang Hongliang copied the number and dialed Hu Guo's phone.
The voice on the other end asked, "What's up, brother-in-law? My brother and I are eating chicken."
"Stop eating it. Haven't you heard about the bird flu? Listen, I need you to do something for me. If you help me out, I'll treat you both to grilled fish..." Wang Hongliang spoke in hushed tones with his two brothers-in-law for over half an hour before finally driving away from the Tianyuan Community.
Just as Wang Hongliang's car drove off, the small supermarket began to fill up with people, and foot traffic surged.
Wu Jun was busy with customers and quickly put the incident with Wang Hongliang out of his mind, immersing himself in the repetitive work of weighing rice and collecting money.
During a lull in the afternoon, Wu Jun called his old classmate, Huang Zili, and asked him to come over and install a security system.
The incident with the spray paint made him realize just how necessary it was to have security cameras.
If he'd installed cameras earlier, he would have had proof of Wang Hongliang spray-painting the wall. Then he wouldn't have had to take the law into his own hands and get his own revenge just to let off some steam.
'Spray-painting the car had felt good, but at the end of the day, it wasn't a proper, reasonable, or legal way to handle things.'
At three in the afternoon, Huang Zili arrived at Wu Jun's small supermarket carrying a toolbox.
As he came through the door, he saw the poster outside. A section had been torn off, revealing spray paint underneath, and he instantly understood why Wu Jun wanted to install security cameras.
"Wu Jun, you know which son of a bitch did this? Let's get the bastard," Huang Zili said angrily as he stepped into the supermarket.
"Let's not talk about that. Did you bring everything?" Wu Jun got up, came out from behind the counter, and clapped Huang Zili on the shoulder with a smile. "Huang Zi, you're a married man with a kid now, but your temper is just as explosive as it was in school. You should learn to rein it in."
"Damn scumbag," Huang Zili grunted, hoisting his toolbox. "I brought everything. I told you I'd install a set for you for free, but you wouldn't listen. See? Now you know how important they are."
Wu Jun said, "I would've installed them a long time ago if you hadn't offered to do it for free."
Huang Zili waved his hand dismissively, a look of exasperation on his face. "What's the big deal? It's just a few cheap gadgets. Why are you still so formal with me? That's the one thing about you I can't stand."
Wu Jun and Huang Zili had been bunkmates in the same dorm for three years of college. Of all their roommates, the two of them were the closest.
They also lived in the same city. And while they rarely saw each other after graduation, both busy making a living, they often shot the breeze in their old class's WeChat group. Their friendship was even stronger now than it had been in school.
After a bit of small talk, Huang Zili got to work, with Wu Jun helping him out.
Wu Jun asked, "Hey, Huang Zi, can you install them somewhere discreet? The kind of setup no one would notice."
Huang Zili said while sorting through some cables, "Now you're talking like an amateur. These things are supposed to be obvious, right out in the open. Even if a camera breaks, just having it visible acts as a deterrent."
"Nah," Wu Jun said. "I don't care about the deterrent effect. I prefer the sneaky approach."
"Your way it is, then," Huang Zili readily agreed. "I guarantee you can stand right here and watch me install them, and you still won't be able to spot them when I'm done."
An hour or so later, the security system was installed. Clearly, Huang Zi had been exaggerating.
You wouldn't notice the cameras without looking closely, but they were still discoverable upon careful inspection. Still, the degree of concealment was good enough for Wu Jun's purposes.
Wu Jun asked, "How much does this system cost? It's not like your equipment grows on trees. You've been working here for hours; you should at least break even. I don't want your wife making you kneel on a washboard when you get home."
Huang Zili looked exasperated again. "Don't talk to me about money. Bringing up money ruins a friendship."
"Do I look like I need a handout from you? Cut the crap and name your price," Wu Jun said. "I'm a single guy. You've got a family to feed. How can you compare to me? Just consider it formula money for my niece."
Huang Zili laughed. "My daughter came with her own food supply, and her cafeteria is huge. She doesn't drink formula. You should save that money to find yourself a wife."
Wu Jun knew Huang Zili's personality. 'You probably couldn't get the price out of him even at knifepoint.'
Wu Jun pulled out his phone, opened his Alipay app, and, not bothering to ask again, sent a transfer directly to Huang Zili.
DING! "Alipay transaction received: two thousand yuan."
"Wu Jun, you..."
Before Huang Zili could finish, Wu Jun cursed good-naturedly, "Cut the crap. Say one more word and you can get out. How the hell did I get so unlucky to end up with a friend like you?"
"Fine, I'll take it." Seeing how insistent Wu Jun was, Huang Zili didn't refuse again. The cost of the equipment was 2,100 yuan.
He had put in the labor and provided the materials without making a single cent off Wu Jun, so he could accept the money with a clear conscience.
RING RING RING~
Huang Zili's phone rang. He stepped aside to answer it. From the conversation, Wu Jun gathered that his friend had another job.
"Wu Jun, another job just came up, so I've got to run. We'll get together properly some other time." Huang Zili hung up and walked back, crouching down to pack up his toolbox.
"I won't keep you for dinner, then. Take this, and try to smoke a little less." As Huang Zili was closing his toolbox, Wu Jun tossed a carton of Yuxi cigarettes through the gap.
Huang Zili said good-naturedly, "You punk. I've been working here for hours, and you didn't offer me a single cigarette. But you're suddenly generous now that I'm about to leave."
Wu Jun pointed to the no-smoking sign on the wall. "No smoking in the supermarket."
"You dummy. So many years and you still haven't changed." Huang Zili shook his head with a smile and walked out of the supermarket.
Back when they shared a dorm, Wu Jun had been the dorm leader and had banned smoking in their room. This drew the ire of the other smokers, who all had a big problem with his leadership.
At the time, Huang Zili, who had been the heaviest smoker of them all, had staunchly supported Wu Jun. He set an example for the others and nearly quit smoking entirely, which left the other complainers with nothing to say.
It seemed that after graduation, Huang Zili had picked up the habit again.
Not long after Huang Zili left, customers started coming into the small supermarket.
"Boss, I need ten kilos of rice."
"You got it. Just a moment."
Wu Jun took the money and turned to weigh the rice in the back.
It was as if by some unspoken agreement; once the first customer came in for rice, a whole stream of them followed.
The small supermarket started to fill up.