Gay?
Everyone looked at Wu Jun, their eyes filled with confusion.
Qian Na’s expression grew a little strange as she looked at Bian Xuedao, who was standing and smoking with her cousin.
Wu Jun said, speechless, "KFC and McDonald’s. Haven’t you noticed how close those two seem to be?"
His aunt Ma Chunmei said, "Oh, you’re talking about them, Little Jun. I think they taste about the same. Not as good as steamed buns and fried dough sticks. It’s just stuff to fool kids."
Qian Na’s face lit up with understanding. She let out a sigh of relief and said, "Well, I prefer KFC. It has more of a family atmosphere. In fact, I went there with my husband and Bian Jing the day before yesterday."
Ma Chaoyun said, "Your aunt and I go to McDonald’s more often. The dining environment feels a bit more bright and lively. It’s a nice place to go sit for a bit after a day’s work."
Wu Jun: "..."
"AHEM..." Seeing how quickly everyone had gotten sidetracked, Wu Jun interrupted, "I wasn’t asking which one tastes better. I was talking about their store locations. Where there’s a KFC, there’s a McDonald’s, and where there’s a McDonald’s, there’s a KFC."
"So... we open our store right between them?" said Second Uncle-in-law Qian Liangping, who, after a long silence, made a surprisingly insightful suggestion.
"Before our Hongyun Rice came along, Meng Zalang’s sales were consistently strong. Their store locations in the city must have been chosen after thorough market research." Wu Jun, having gained a new appreciation for his family’s powers of comprehension, cut straight to the chase. "Hasn’t Meng Zalang been jumping around in our faces? Let’s give them what they want. This time, we’ll go head-to-head with them."
"CEO Wu, you mean..." Bian Xuedao said, seeming to have an epiphany.
Wu Jun said, "Wherever Meng Zalang is, Hongyun will be too. Our specialty stores will be their neighbors, no more than 500 meters away at most."
"Yes, that’s a great idea! It saves time, effort, and trouble!" Bian Xuedao praised, though he inwardly cursed himself. ’How did I not think of that? I missed a chance to stand out.’
"Also," Wu Jun continued, "take all of our Hongyun Rice’s inspection certificates, have them enlarged, copied, and framed. Hang them in every specialty store. Especially the ones for nutritional content, heavy metal levels, and pesticide residue—the things the public cares about most. Those three certificates must be hung in the most conspicuous places."
"During the Rice Expo, weren’t people on their Moments feeds calling our Hongyun Rice ’the pride of domestic rice’?" Wu Jun said, somewhat shamelessly. "We need to fly that banner high. When it comes to singing our own praises, we should do what needs to be done. No need to be shy about it."
"As for the restaurants, make copies of the documents from the Market Supervision Bureau and show them. Hongyun Rice won’t take the blame for arbitrary price hikes."
"Also..."
In the meeting room, the group listened to Wu Jun’s methodical arrangements and composed responses, one by one, the adoration in their eyes deepening.
’Our nephew, our brother-in-law, our Brother Jun... He’s really starting to carry himself like a man destined for great things.’
Store renovations, staff recruitment, soothing the restaurant market’s anxieties—for every issue, whether it was one Wu Jun had anticipated or one raised by others, he provided a solution.
Taking sips of water when his throat grew dry, Wu Jun led the Junheng Trading Co., Ltd. executive meeting from just after nine in the morning until one in the afternoon, without even a break for lunch.
Wu Jun spoke with eloquent logic, and the others listened with surging excitement. Bian Xuedao even held it in when he needed to use the restroom, waiting until the very end of the meeting.
"Is it that late already?" After finishing, Wu Jun glanced at his watch and said, "Nobody leave. Let’s all go out for lunch together today."
His cousin Qian Na teased with a smile, "Then it had better be somewhere good. It’s not every day our CEO Wu treats us."
"I’m just going to the restroom first..." Bian Xuedao couldn’t hold it in any longer. He excused himself, stood up hastily, and walked toward the door with a strange gait.
His younger uncle, Ma Chaoyun, joked, "Old Bian is making room in his stomach. Looks like Little Jun is going to have to bleed some cash for lunch today."
Wu Jun smiled and said, "Uncle, give Auntie a call and see how she’s doing. If she’s not done, tell her to come back for lunch first and go back this afternoon."
"Alright, I’ll call her now." Ma Chaoyun made the call. Dong Lizhu said she had already eaten out and that they shouldn’t wait for her.
Wu Jun led everyone downstairs. After waiting for Bian Xuedao to join them, the group took three cars and drove out of the villa district.
A restaurant called "Good Fortune" on the edge of the West Sanzhuang Villa District had practically become the company cafeteria for Junheng Commerce.
The owner of Good Fortune had long since become familiar with Wu Jun. She knew this handsome young boss wasn’t short on cash; he always ordered a whole table full of dishes and was very generous when it came to treating his employees.
Seeing Wu Jun arrive with a group, the owner didn’t say a word and led them directly to a private room.
Wu Jun let the others order, but after they politely deferred to each other, he just went ahead and ordered himself. When the food finally arrived, there was barely enough space on the table for it all.
Even though they were all close acquaintances and relatives, they unanimously abided by the principle of not drinking alcohol during work hours. Men and women, young and old, all drank soft drinks.
After the small gathering finished, Wu Jun got up to pay the bill, and Xu Fei went with him.
When they got to the front counter, Wu Jun reached into his pocket and realized he didn’t have his phone; he’d left it charging in his office.
The owner, her eyebrows penciled and eyes lined, dressed in a bold and flirtatious style, said with a smile, "You can just pay for it all next time. We’re a small business, and I don’t usually let people run a tab. Only CEO Wu gets this special treatment."
"I’ll get it, Brother Jun." Xu Fei was not a fan of the way the owner looked at her Brother Jun, as if she wanted to eat him alive. With a delicate huff, she took out her phone and paid by scanning the code.
Seeing the young woman’s jealous expression, the owner covered her mouth to hide a chuckle, not minding at all.
The owner was a straightforward person who liked to make little jokes. It was all talk and no substance; she didn’t have any bad intentions.
When Wu Jun came, she was very enthusiastic. The food came out incredibly fast, the flavors suited their tastes, and the restaurant’s hygiene was up to standard. For a meal during the workday, this place was an excellent choice.
Wu Jun thanked the owner for her hospitality and slung an arm around Xu Fei’s neck as they walked back toward the private room.
At 165 centimeters, Xu Fei wasn’t short for a woman, but next to the 182-centimeter Wu Jun, she looked quite petite. With his arm around her neck, she looked adorable.
After lunch, everyone left the restaurant and went their separate ways. Some went to deal with the restaurant clients, while others went to scout for new store locations.
The pickup truck Xu Fei had driven was still parked at the company building. Wu Jun gave her the keys and told her to take it, while he walked back to the office.
Back at the company, Wu Jun went straight up to his office on the second floor and called Dong Lizhu to ask if she was done with recruitment.
Dong Lizhu said she had received 50 resumes and had notified 30 people to come in for interviews tomorrow.
Before Dong Lizhu had left, Wu Jun had only tasked her with recruiting staff for the online store. Now that he was planning to open specialty stores, he asked her to put in some extra effort, add "specialty store clerk" to the list of open positions, and notify more people to come in for interviews.
After ending the call with Dong Lizhu, Wu Jun sat in his boss’s chair, his back to the door, facing the window and gazing at the lush green trees in the distance.
Opening an online store, opening specialty stores—Wu Jun had been considering these moves for a long time.
While he was recovering from his injury recently, he had developed an even more detailed plan, which was why he had been able to speak so methodically and eloquently at today’s meeting.
’You consider me your biggest rival, but I don’t even see you as a threat. I wonder how you’d feel if you knew that?’ Wu Jun stopped twirling the business card in his fingers and looked down at it.
The name on the card was He Qingfeng.