Another three days passed in a flash.
Wu Jun's savings surpassed 300,000, and his rice inventory hit a new high of 76 tons.
Every night when he went to bed, all Wu Jun could do was worry as he looked at his ever-growing inventory.
「Noon on the fourth day.」
Wu Jun had just finished weighing rice for Auntie Xia from upstairs when his phone, which was sitting on a nearby shelf, rang.
When he saw the caller ID was Chen Lin, Wu Jun's heart leaped with joy.
"Auntie Xia, just a moment. I'll help you carry this to the elevator after I take this call," Wu Jun called out, wiping his hands on his clothes before grabbing his phone.
"It's fine, it's fine. Go on, Little Wu, you're busy. I can still manage this much," Auntie Xia said with a hearty laugh, lifting the bag of rice and heading for the door.
"Sorry about that, Auntie Xia," Wu Jun said apologetically. Seeing that his phone was still ringing, he figured Chen Lin must be calling about something important, so he swiped to answer.
"Wu Jun, that Mr. Wang who was selling the trademark three days ago is here again. He wants to meet and talk with you."
Chen Lin's voice came through as soon as the call connected.
"Is that so? In that case, I'll..." Wu Jun was about to say he'd head over immediately, but he stopped mid-sentence. On second thought, he changed his mind.
'I should test Wang Hongliang's bottom line first,' he decided. 'See just how desperate he is to sell this trademark. That way, I'll have the upper hand when we talk price.'
Wu Jun said, "Tell him to wait. I'm busy right now. I'll head over when I'm finished. If he doesn't want to wait, then forget it."
"Well... I'll ask Mr. Wang what he thinks." Chen Lin was puzzled. 'Wasn't Wu Jun desperate to buy the trademark? Why the sudden change of heart?'
「Inside the registration agency.」
Chen Lin covered the mouthpiece and turned to Wang Hongliang. "Mr. Wang, Wu Jun says he can't get away at the moment. He's asking if you can wait. Is that okay?"
'That bastard Wu is playing hard to get now!'
Hearing Chen Lin's question, Wang Hongliang cursed inwardly.
But he had been waiting for days without a single call from another potential buyer, and he was desperate for the cash. He had no choice but to swallow his pride and endure it.
Suppressing his rage, Wang Hongliang said with a dark expression, "Fine. I'll wait for that bastard Wu!"
After Chen Lin relayed Wang Hongliang's answer to Wu Jun, they both hung up.
'He's willing to wait for me.' Wu Jun was now certain he had Wang Hongliang right where he wanted him. He felt he had gained even more leverage for the negotiation.
In any negotiation, the party in a hurry is always at a disadvantage.
At 2:10 PM.
After the lunch rush was over, Wu Jun took a shower, changed into clean clothes, then closed up shop and went to a small restaurant outside his complex for a meal.
This time, he wasn't in any rush. He scanned a shared bike and leisurely pedaled toward the wholesale market.
By the time he arrived, it was nearly 3:00 PM.
As he parked, Wu Jun noticed that the screw connecting the front fork to the wheel of the shared bike was loose. 'No wonder the ride felt so wobbly,' he thought.
However, fixing it now would surely get his hands greasy. He decided to deal with Wang Hongliang first and fix the bike on his way out.
He parked the bike outside and pushed open the door to the agency.
"Wu Jun, you're finally here," Chen Lin said, coming over to whisper to him. "Mr. Wang has been waiting for over four hours."
Wu Jun said, "Something came up and I couldn't get away. I'm really sorry."
"Alright, what matters is that you're here. Just try not to fight again this time." After speaking, Chen Lin turned and led Wu Jun into a very small meeting room.
When he saw Wang Hongliang again, that cocky, swaggering air about him was gone.
His bald head, once shaved so clean you could see your reflection in it, was now covered in an inch of stubble.
There were a few sores at the corner of his mouth; it looked like he'd been under a lot of stress lately. The man looked completely dejected.
'A trip to the slammer really changes a man,' Wu Jun mused.
Over this period, apart from the hiccup with buying the trademark, everything else had been smooth sailing for Wu Jun.
Even without a trademark, he was earning tens of thousands a day and had made quite a bit of money.
As the saying goes, good fortune lifts the spirits. He was dressed neatly and looked sharp, creating a stark contrast with the man before him.
"You bastard Wu, did you get here in a wheelchair?!" Seeing the man who'd kept him waiting for hours finally appear, Wang Hongliang stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray, shot to his feet, and glared at Wu Jun.
"Just answering the nation's call for low-carbon, eco-friendly, green travel. I took shank's mare," Wu Jun replied with a smile, pointedly emphasizing the word "green."
The moment Wang Hongliang heard this, his mind instantly flashed to his Accord, which had been spray-painted green.
"You fucking..."
"Mr. Wang, Wu Jun, I didn't bring you two here to watch you argue," Chen Lin interjected. "If you can't be civil with each other, then there's really no point in talking today. I'll have to ask you both to leave."
Hearing Chen Lin's words, the two men finally calmed down.
Wang Hongliang said, "My apologies, Miss Chen. We'll talk. We'll talk today. I'm perfectly calm and collected right now. No problem at all."
Wu Jun smiled. "I don't mind. Any day works for me."
With Chen Lin mediating, the atmosphere finally settled, and they got down to the business of the day.
"Eighty thousand, paid in full. You get the trademark and the rest of the equipment. Forty thousand for each," Wang Hongliang said sullenly, taking a drag from his cigarette.
"Mr. Wang, I'm not interested in the equipment. I only want the trademark," Wu Jun said. "I plan on buying all new equipment."
Wang Hongliang froze for a moment when he heard this, then looked up at Wu Jun.
His own words, spoken more than half a month ago, echoed in his mind: "I just want the supermarket. I plan on bringing in all new merchandise."
Now, Wu Jun was throwing those exact words right back at him.
'This bastard Wu is definitely doing this for revenge, just to screw with me!'
"I'm selling you the trademark, what am I supposed to do with the equipment!" Wang Hongliang snapped, his eyes widening in anger. "Besides, my equipment is only a few years old—it's practically brand new! Don't push your luck, Wu!"
"Then the deal's off. I'm definitely not taking the equipment. You can keep it and sell it for scrap. I'm not interested in a 'buy one, get one free' deal where I'm forced to take the mother-in-law along with the bride," Wu Jun said, standing up as if to leave.
'That production equipment is truly useless to me,' he thought. 'Buying it would just be a waste of money.'
'My rice is already processed. What would I even do with that equipment?'
"You..." Wang Hongliang also shot to his feet, his expression flickering.
"Mr. Wang, Wu Jun, both of you, please calm down," Chen Lin said, trying to smooth things over. "A rice trademark isn't something you can easily find a buyer or seller for here in Shimen City. You're a perfect match for each other's needs. Who knows when another opportunity this good will come along."
Chen Lin's words hit a nerve. Wang Hongliang lit a cigarette and took long, deep drags, clearly wrestling with his thoughts.
He was in a huge hurry. He'd made a deal with a fixer: if he could come up with the money within a week, the fixer would start pulling strings to sort out the trouble his two brothers-in-law were in.
More than half the week was already gone, the deadline was looming, and he still hadn't gathered the funds.
"Miss Chen, I need to think about it. I'll give you a definite answer tonight." After finishing his cigarette, Wang Hongliang said this with a look of utter defeat, shot Wu Jun a glare, and turned to leave.