With the surgery fee secured, Ma Dongmei smiled a lot more.
Wu Jun stayed at the hospital until just after ten. He had planned on having lunch with his mother before leaving, but she sent him packing.
"Things are just starting to look up, so you can't drop the ball now. Hurry back to your supermarket and keep an eye on things. I'm here at the hospital," Ma Dongmei said, dragging Wu Jun to the elevator door without another word.
Back in the hospital room, Wu Jun had given his mother the 20,000 in cash he had earned over the past two days, telling her to spend it freely. However, knowing his mother, he was sure she wouldn't listen to him.
"Mom, you have to eat well. Don't you dare try to save money on my account. Otherwise, I'll come here every day and eat every single meal with you," Wu Jun instructed with a serious expression.
"I know, I know! When have I ever not eaten properly? Just focus on your supermarket. There's no need to keep running over here," Ma Dongmei said as the elevator arrived. She then pushed Wu Jun inside.
He went downstairs and out onto the road in front of City First Hospital.
He had arrived with bags of all sizes, so Wu Jun had uncharacteristically taken a taxi. Now that he was empty-handed, he reverted to his principle of saving money whenever possible and boarded a bus.
He got back to the Tianyuan Community a little after eleven in the morning, just in time for the lunchtime rush.
Wu Jun opened the door for business.
A steady stream of customers came to buy rice, and he was busy until well after one in the afternoon before things started to quiet down.
After two hours of frantic work, Wu Jun tallied up the sales. Between cash and QR code payments, he had taken in a total of 6,823 yuan.
The vast majority of that came from selling rice. The revenue from the supermarket's other small goods didn't even amount to a rounding error; they had been completely reduced to a sideshow.
Adding the 6,666 from the morning, his revenue for half a day's work had already surpassed 10,000.
Wu Jun shook out his sore arms and went into the small kitchen, where he scooped some rice and set it to steam.
He took out his spare phone, opened WeChat, found the food-ordering group he was in, and ordered a serving of shredded pork in garlic sauce to go with his rice.
Shredded pork in garlic sauce and rice was a match made in heaven.
About twenty meters from the supermarket, a black Honda Accord was parked.
The window was cracked open just enough for Wang Hongliang to watch from inside, smoking a cigarette as he counted the customers going into the supermarket.
'A little over two hours, and 168 people went in. Not a single one came out empty-handed. How is business at this rundown little supermarket so good?' Wang Hongliang wondered, crushing his cigarette out in the ashtray and clicking his tongue in amazement.
He regretted it.
He regretted not taking over the supermarket at the price Wu Jun had originally offered.
'With this kind of foot traffic, even if I only made one yuan per person, that would add up to a lot over a month!'
'Why didn't I come scout it out in person sooner!'
After a moment's hesitation, Wang Hongliang saw a food delivery driver leave the supermarket. Wu Jun was now alone inside.
He could see Wu Jun eating through the window. He pushed his door open, got out, and strode toward the supermarket.
"Boss Wu, it's me. I'm back again." Upon entering, Wang Hongliang habitually reached for a cigarette, but he stopped, remembering the scene outside the hospital earlier that day.
"It's you." Wu Jun looked up at Wang Hongliang, put down his chopsticks, and said with a look of disgust, "I was wondering where that scumbag smell was coming from."
"Heh heh… Boss Wu, you're getting funnier and funnier." Wang Hongliang cut right to the chase. "After several days of careful consideration, and taking your family's difficult situation into account, I've decided to agree to the price you offered. I'll take the supermarket."
"Hold on a minute." Wu Jun gave Wang Hongliang an amused look. "Listen, Wang. You may have agreed, but I haven't."
"Boss Wu, don't be emotional," Wang Hongliang said with a chuckle. "We may have had some unpleasantness between us, but didn't things end up going your way? What, you don't need the money anymore? Is your father not having his surgery?"
"Your money is too dirty for me." Wu Jun waved his hand impatiently. "Now get out. Don't dirty my supermarket and ruin my business."
"You…!" The flesh on Wang Hongliang's cheeks quivered as he spoke with sinister viciousness. "You're surnamed Wu, right? Don't be a shameless bastard. Let me make this clear: I'm getting this supermarket. On my own turf here in Shimen, I have plenty of ways to get rid of you. You're just a dog from Ping Shan, who do you think you are, trying to act tough with me!"
"Who are you calling a dog?" Wu Jun shot up from his seat, his face darkening.
The largest group of migrants in Shimen City came from Ping Shan County; in fact, they outnumbered the local population.
Ping Shan County is a district administered by Shimen City.
It was a populous but poor county, and it was Wu Jun's hometown. He was a Ping Shan native through and through.
Jobs were scarce and wages were low in the county, so most people from Ping Shan came to the city to make a living.
People from Ping Shan were known for being hardworking and resilient, which made them popular with employers.
Furthermore, a few years prior, before Shimen City's housing prices had skyrocketed, many people from Ping Shan had bought homes in the urban area and settled down.
Many Shimen City locals weren't doing as well as the newcomers from Ping Shan.
In their minds, the people from Ping Shan had stolen their jobs.
It was the people from Ping Shan who had flooded the city to buy property, driving up prices and making it impossible for locals to afford a home.
In private, these locals called people from Ping Shan "Ping Shan dogs."
Hearing this derogatory slur, Wu Jun was furious.
'People from Ping Shan live their lives with integrity and earn their money honestly! What the hell does that have to do with you locals!'
"Yeah, I'm calling you a dog! So what? Ptooey!" Wang Hongliang puckered his lips and spat a thick wad of phlegm right into Wu Jun's bowl of rice.
CRACK!
Having reached his limit, Wu Jun swung a fist straight into Wang Hongliang's left eye.
Wang Hongliang's eye immediately began to swell.
"Ow! You bastard Wu, you dare hit me! I'll kill you!" Wang Hongliang roared, clutching his left eye and swinging back wildly.
Wu Jun darted out from behind the counter and the two men began to grapple. CRASH! CLATTER! They knocked over several displays of merchandise.
Wu Jun might have gotten out of shape from minding the supermarket these past few years, but he was still in his prime—much younger and more agile than Wang Hongliang.
Wu Jun had the upper hand throughout the fight. Wang Hongliang could only yelp in pain as he frantically tried to block the blows, completely unable to counter-attack.
A few customers who had been heading for the entrance saw the fight and quickly scurried away.
"Oh my god, what's going on!"
"Why are they fighting in broad daylight!"
Xu Minli was not at work today.
As she came downstairs, she saw a crowd of onlookers gathered at the entrance of Wu Jun's supermarket, pointing and murmuring. The sounds of a fight echoed from inside.
"Excuse me, please let me through." Xu Minli pushed her way through the crowd to the entrance, her face etched with anxiety.
When she reached the doorway, Xu Minli was startled to see Wu Jun straddling a bald man, raining down punches on his face with desperate fury.
"Oh my goodness, what's happening? Don't fight! You can talk things out!"
"Little Wu, stop! Get up!"
Snapping out of her shock, Xu Minli rushed forward to break up the fight.
'If someone got seriously hurt, the compensation would be the least of his worries; he could even be detained for a few days.' Xu Minli was so anxious she broke out in a sweat, using all her strength to grab one of Wu Jun's arms.
"Don't get involved, ma'am! I have to teach this animal a lesson today!" Wu Jun was in a blind rage. He thought of how Wang Hongliang had upset Xu Xiulan at the hospital, and he let out all that pent-up anger for her as well.
Wang Hongliang's mouth was busted from Wu Jun's punches and his speech was slurred, but he was still defiant. "Go on, Wu! If you've got the balls, kill me!" he taunted. "You'll get locked up, and that good-for-nothing father of yours in the hospital won't survive! One of me for the two of you—worth it!"
The mention of his father made Wu Jun instantly sober up.
'If I get locked up for a few days over a fight, Dad's surgery money will be in trouble.'
'If we miss the best window for treatment, it won't matter if I have 800,000 or even 8,000,000; it'll be too late to cure him.'
Wu Jun stopped punching. He got off Wang Hongliang, then turned and spat on him. "I'm letting you off today. If you ever dare show your face in this supermarket again, I'll give you the same treatment."
Wang Hongliang scrambled to his feet. Seeing the circle of gawkers outside, he felt utterly humiliated. He swung an arm and roared, "What are you looking at! Get lost, all of you!"
Not wanting to get involved, the onlookers quickly dispersed.
"I'll remember you, Wu! This isn't over! Just you wait!" By now, Wang Hongliang had sized Wu Jun up and knew he was no match for him. He spat out one last threat before limping out of the supermarket.
He didn't even forget to pull out a cigarette and light it on his way out the door.
After Wang Hongliang left, Xu Minli said worriedly, "Little Wu, what on earth happened? Why did you get into a fight? How are you going to live in peace after provoking someone like that?"
Wu Jun replied, "Don't worry, ma'am. We live in a society with laws. He's all talk. He won't dare do anything to me."
"Just be careful from now on, anyway," Xu Minli sighed, then started helping Wu Jun tidy up the trashed supermarket.