The morning was bustling with customers.
He sold over a ton of rice, earning more than 10,000 yuan. Business was even better than the past two days; the rice was becoming more and more popular around the Tianyuan District.
He was busy from just after five until past nine.
After 9:30, the number of customers buying rice began to dwindle.
Only a sparse few customers remained, buying other daily necessities.
All morning, while Wu Jun's hands were busy weighing rice and taking money, his mind was occupied with thoughts of Wang Hongliang.
He wasn't the type to suffer a loss and stay silent.
Since Wang Hongliang had been so insulting, he naturally had to find a way to get back at him.
It was called 'tit for tat'.
If he didn't say anything, didn't make his stance clear...
That bastard Wang had insulted him once, and he would do it again.
He wasn't going to go looking for a fight with Wang Hongliang again.
Last time, his temper had gotten the better of him, and he'd seen red.
After calming down, he felt a little regretful.
Win a fight and you go to jail; lose a fight and you go to the hospital. No matter who was right or wrong, fighting was never a good thing.
If Wang Hongliang had refused to let it go yesterday and made a big deal out of the fight...
...he might not have ended up in jail, but it definitely would have cost him a lot of business.
The small supermarket was now bringing in twenty to thirty thousand a day. It wasn't worth losing that over some stupid nonsense.
Seeing that there were hardly any customers, he figured he wouldn't even make a few dozen yuan between nine and eleven.
Right now, Wu Jun couldn't be bothered with that kind of small change.
He gathered up another pile of snacks.
Chicken legs, ham, dried fruits, canned goods... Wu Jun wished he could move the entire supermarket to his mom.
He divided the snacks into two large bags.
One bag for his mom, and one for Auntie Xu Xiulan.
After hanging the small "Closed for business, will return later" sign on the door, Wu Jun locked up and left.
When he arrived at the hospital room carrying the two large bags of snacks...
...Wu Jun found his mom and Auntie Xu sitting on the edge of the bed, wiping away tears again.
Ma Dongmei and Xu Xiulan were only a few years apart in age.
They also got along very well, sharing a feeling of having met too late in life.
After Xu Xiulan finished her cleaning duties, she would come find Ma Dongmei to chat, comfort her, and help her pass the time.
Her own life story was also quite tragic: her husband had died, and she had been kicked out of her home by her stepson.
The two poured out their hearts to each other, finding mutual comfort, and had become like sisters who could talk about anything.
Seeing Wu Jun enter, the two of them stopped talking and pretended like nothing was wrong.
"Mom, Auntie Xu, you two are becoming a pair of tragic heroines. Every time I come, you're wiping away tears."
Wu Jun put down the two large bags in his hands and teased them to liven up the atmosphere.
"Oh, get out of here. How can you talk like that, you brat?" Ma Dongmei finished wiping her eyes with a tissue, then looked up and shot Wu Jun a glare. "Didn't I tell you not to keep running over here when you don't have to? You were just here yesterday. Why are you back again today?"
"Young Jun is here! What a filial child," Xu Xiulan said, coming to Wu Jun's defense. "Dongmei, Young Jun is so devoted and always thinking of you and your husband. You should be content."
"See, Auntie Xu knows how to say the right thing," Wu Jun said with a smile, pointing at the two bags. "Auntie Xu, when you leave later, please take one of these bags with you. This one is for you."
Xu Xiulan quickly replied, "Oh, Young Jun, didn't I tell you last time? I don't need anything at all. You should take this back to the supermarket and sell it."
Wu Jun tried to persuade her, "Auntie Xu, please don't be so formal with me. It's just a few little things, and they're cheap at wholesale price. This will save you the trouble of buying them outside for more."
"Big Sis, the boy is just being filial, so don't refuse," Ma Dongmei said. "This kid got lucky and met a benefactor. He's not short on snacks these days."
Hearing the word "filial," Xu Xiulan's eyes reddened.
Once people get older, even if they don't say it, who wouldn't want to be remembered and occasionally honored by the younger generation?
It wasn't about the amount of money; the thought was more important than anything.
Even if a junior family member showed up with a gift worth only a few dozen yuan, the elders would be beaming from ear to ear as they prepared a huge feast.
Xu Xiulan had no children with her first husband, but she did gain a stepson when she remarried.
However...
It was a story full of tears.
"Alright, I'll accept it. You're too thoughtful, Young Jun. Getting to know you and your mother has truly been the happiest thing in my life." Xu Xiulan stopped refusing. To decline again would seem too distant, so she graciously accepted Wu Jun's gift.
Wu Jun pulled up a stool and sat down, and the three of them began to chat idly.
Wu Jun deliberately steered the conversation toward the current housing prices in Shimen City, then asked casually, as if it were an afterthought, "Auntie Xu, which residential district was your old house in? I'm wondering if I can help you get it back through a lawsuit."
"No, no, that's not necessary. As long as I have a place to live, that's enough for me. I'm not even used to living in such a big house anymore," Xu Xiulan sighed. "Besides, Old Wang has a grandson. Even if it's just for the grandson's sake, I won't fight them for the house."
"Auntie Xu, you're just too kind-hearted." Seeing her reaction, Wu Jun didn't press her any further.
After a bit more small talk, Wu Jun finally got the name of the district where Wang Hongliang lived.
Alliance Road District.
That day downstairs at the hospital, Wu Jun had only seen that Wang Hongliang drove a Honda.
He hadn't gotten a clear look at the specific model or the license plate number.
He tried to ask indirectly about what kind of car Wang Hongliang drove and its license plate number.
Xu Xiulan was completely clueless about cars, and she only remembered "JA" from the license plate.
Asking had been the same as not asking. Ninety-nine percent of the local cars in Shimen City started with "JA".
Wu Jun felt that he couldn't get any more useful information out of Xu Xiulan.
He checked the time. It was already past ten. Without waiting for Ma Dongmei to shoo him away, he took his leave.
He returned to his small supermarket and opened for business.
Around noon, the crowd picked up again.
Wu Jun threw himself back into the work of weighing rice and taking money.
Watching the colorful bills pile up and listening to the payment notifications—a hundred yuan here, fifty yuan there—Wu Jun was tireless and full of glee.
From eleven in the morning to one-thirty in the afternoon, in just over two hours, he took in another 6,000-plus yuan.
Wu Jun couldn't be bothered to cook, so he decided to splurge a little.
He spent over thirty yuan ordering food from a delivery app.
He finished eating right at two o'clock.
At this time of day, he could go ten or twenty minutes without a single customer. It was very quiet.
Wu Jun was still thinking about getting revenge on Wang Hongliang.
His questions to Xu Xiulan about the address and license plate were because he had set his sights on Wang Hongliang's car.
'You spray-paint my wall, I'll spray-paint your car.'
'Tit for tat.'
'Let's see who feels the sting more!'
'I can cover my wall with posters or newspapers.'
'Your car? Try driving it on the road covered in posters.'
However, while he had the address, he only had "JA" for the license plate.
Alliance Road District was one of the larger residential areas in Shimen City.
There were bound to be a lot of Hondas with license plates starting in "JA".
'I can't just spray-paint all of them!'
'If I actually did that, I'd definitely be on the front page of the news tomorrow.'
Suddenly, Wu Jun had an idea. He took out his phone, found Wang Hongliang's number, and dialed. It rang for a few seconds before connecting.
"What? You got business with me, Wu?"
Wang Hongliang's voice came from the other end.
"Wang, was it you who spray-painted my supermarket wall?" Wu Jun asked directly.
"Wall? What wall? I don't know what you're talking about. Don't you go making baseless accusations!"
Wu Jun laughed. "Just admit it. You did it, but you don't dare own up to it? Are you even a man?"
"You're insane!"
Wang Hongliang cursed and hung up the phone.
Wu Jun dialed again.
Wang Hongliang hung up again.
Wu Jun dialed again...
And again...
"Wu, have you fucking lost your mind?!" Wang Hongliang roared, exasperated, after finally answering.
"Wang Hongliang, don't be in such a hurry to hang up. I give up. I'm truly impressed by your methods. Come to my supermarket. Let's talk about the transfer."
Wu Jun blurted out before Wang Hongliang could hang up again.