After Xu Minli left, Wu Jun was idle again.
Lately, he had been out and about a lot, and he was finding it harder and harder to stay cooped up in his little supermarket.
He felt like a donkey tethered to a post, stuck pacing back and forth in its own little world. It was just too stifling.
After a long and boring wait, the time finally crept past four in the afternoon.
Customers started trickling into the supermarket.
"Young Wu, twenty pounds of rice, please." An old man said as he entered the store, placing a hundred-yuan bill on the counter.
"You got it." Wu Jun took the money and got up to weigh the rice in the back.
He had just finished weighing the rice for the old man and hadn't even stepped away when another customer arrived.
"Boss, forty pounds of rice."
"Coming right up."
It was that time of day. The rice customers were starting to pour in.
Once things got busy, Wu Jun had no time for idle thoughts, and the hours flew by.
Take the money, weigh the rice, see the customer out. The process repeated itself over and over.
In the middle of it all, a salesman from the Feitian Carton Factory stopped by with a sample of the finished packaging bags. After Wu Jun gave his approval, the salesman took it back to schedule the production run.
It had been dark outside for a while, and customers had dwindled to a trickle. Wu Jun glanced at the clock on the wall. It was half past nine.
He shook out his sore arms, walked to the entrance, and locked the door. Business was over for the day.
After washing up, he made a quick meal for himself with some bread and ham from the store's shelves. He then tallied the day's earnings: over 28,000 yuan in total.
Lately, the store's daily revenue had been hovering around 30,000 yuan. It fluctuated a little, but not by much.
After locking the cash in the small safe in his bedroom, Wu Jun finally went to bed.
The 3,000-yuan bed was certainly comfortable. He fell asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow.
The next morning, Wu Jun was up and washing his face at the stroke of five.
He was in the middle of brushing his teeth when he heard someone calling from outside the door.
"Young Wu, are you up yet?" From the voice, he knew it was Big Sister Xu from upstairs.
"I'm up, I'm up! Coming!" Wu Jun quickly took a few GULPS of water, spat out the toothpaste foam, wiped his mouth, and walked to the door.
"Big Sister, what time is it? You're certainly up early today," Wu Jun said, pulling open the supermarket door with a CLICK.
Xu Minli was standing at the door with a smile. Next to her was a girl about the same height.
The girl was slender, dressed in a simple white T-shirt and blue jeans. Her features were delicate, her jet-black hair was tied back in a ponytail, and her big eyes stared at Wu Jun with open curiosity.
'Last night, Auntie told me she'd found a job for me. She praised this new boss of mine to the high heavens. I'd never heard her praise anyone like that before.'
"Big Sister, this is...?" Wu Jun asked Xu Minli, giving the girl a quick look.
"My niece, Xu Fei. Feifei, this is Wu Jun," Xu Minli said, introducing them.
"Hello, Boss Wu," Xu Fei said with a polite nod.
Wu Jun smiled. "You can call me Wu Jun, or Brother Wu. Considering I know your aunt, there's no need to be so formal."
"Brother... Wu. Hello," Xu Fei corrected herself, but it felt awkward.
'He calls my aunt 'Big Sister,' and I'm supposed to call him 'Brother Wu.' This is a little confusing.'
Xu Minli chuckled. "Young Wu, Feifei just graduated from college, so she doesn't have much work experience. If there's anything she's not doing right, just let her know, and I'm sure she'll fix it."
Wu Jun waved his hand dismissively. "Don't worry, Big Sister. It's not so formal here."
Wu Jun's job posting had stated that the workday started at five.
Xu Minli gave Xu Fei a few last-minute instructions. Seeing that customers were starting to arrive, she didn't linger and quickly left.
Customers started coming in at ten past five, and they were busy straight through until nine o'clock, when the morning rush finally subsided.
With Xu Fei there to help, Wu Jun felt the burden lighten considerably.
Despite her slender arms and legs, Xu Fei was a surprisingly quick and efficient worker. She wasn't afraid of dirt or hard work and got into the groove of things right away. She was every bit as capable as a grown man like Wu Jun.
After just one morning, Wu Jun already felt her 5,000-yuan salary was money well spent.
"You probably didn't have breakfast before you came down, did you? I'll order some takeout," Wu Jun said to Xu Fei after seeing off the last customer.
"Brother Wu, don't you have a kitchen here? I saw it's fully equipped. Why don't we just make something? Takeout is expensive and not very sanitary," Xu Fei suggested. Having worked for a morning, she was already familiar with the store's layout.
"We've been working all morning. You should rest, don't go to the trouble." 'Even a grown man like me is a little tired, let alone a young woman like her,' Wu Jun thought as he pulled out his phone to order.
"Brother Wu, if you're tired, you should rest. I'm not tired at all. I'll go cook," Xu Fei said, already turning toward the kitchen.
Seeing her determination, Wu Jun gave up on the idea. He had been getting sick of takeout lately anyway, and it had been a long time since he'd had porridge made with the rice from his own shop.
Xu Fei skillfully washed the rice and started making porridge. Before long, the distinct, fragrant aroma of cooked rice wafted out from the kitchen. The porridge was ready.
Wu Jun grabbed a couple of small bread rolls and two packets of pickled vegetables from the shelves, then joined Xu Fei in the kitchen to eat.
"Brother Wu, this rice smells amazing! No wonder so many people were lining up to buy it this morning." Xu Fei commented, looking at the grains in her bowl and inhaling the aroma. The question that had been nagging her all morning was finally answered.
They had made several thousand yuan just from selling rice, and though Xu Fei hadn't said anything, she'd been wondering about it all morning.
Wu Jun asked, "So, after one morning, what do you think? Are you tired?"
Xu Fei smiled. "Not at all. I'm not tired in the slightest."
"If you get tired, just say so," Wu Jun said. "There aren't a lot of rules here. Plus, we're from the same hometown and you were introduced by Big Sister Xu, so there's no need to be a stranger."
"I know, Brother Wu," Xu Fei said. "Let's eat before it gets cold."
Based on his observations that morning, Wu Jun couldn't find a single fault with Xu Fei. He was extremely satisfied with his first-ever employee. 'Five stars,' he thought.
When they finished their meal, Xu Fei insisted on washing the bowls.
Wu Jun had just stepped out of the kitchen when Chen Xingyang and Duan Xiangyan walked in.
Wu Jun had arranged to go look at some equipment with them yesterday. It was now half past nine, exactly the time they had agreed on.
Wu Jun gave Xu Fei a few instructions, then headed out with his cousin and cousin-in-law.
The three of them left the apartment complex, and Wu Jun hailed a taxi. Chen Xingyang gave the driver the address.
"Jun, who was that girl? She's very pretty. I think she'd be a good match for you."
Duan Xiangyan said to Wu Jun in the taxi.
She and Chen Xingyang had both seen Xu Fei in the supermarket just now and were quite taken with the polite and charming girl.
Chen Xingyang chimed in, "Jun, you really should start thinking about getting married. Third Aunt and Uncle have been wanting a grandchild for ages."
"I'm not planning on it right now. Maybe in a couple of years," Wu Jun said with a smile. "Even Ma Simai isn't in a hurry to get married, so why should I be?"
Chen Xingyang gave an awkward laugh. "You're comparing yourself to our Fourth Aunt? With her personality, there aren't many men who could handle her."
"We'll see. I just haven't met the right person," Wu Jun said, eager to change the subject. "Brother, did you get in touch with the seller? How did it go?"
"I spoke with him on the phone yesterday," Chen Xingyang said. "It's a like-new, high-speed, semi-automatic three-side-seal bag-making machine. He's asking 40,000 yuan, which isn't a bad price. We'll test it out today, see what kind of shape it's in. If there are no issues, we'll take it."
Chen Xingyang had worked in a packaging factory for over eight years; he was an expert when it came to the equipment, so Wu Jun didn't press the matter.
Twenty minutes later, the taxi pulled up to an industrial park on the South Third Ring Road. Wu Jun paid the fare, and the three of them got out and headed toward their meeting point.
Chen Xingyang and his wife led the way, with Wu Jun following behind. After a five- or six-minute walk, they arrived outside a factory building.
When Wu Jun saw the sign hanging above the factory entrance, a strange expression crossed his face.
'What a coincidence!'