Half an hour later, Wu Jun arrived at his destination, paid the driver, and got out of the car.
He turned around and saw the Meng Zalang specialty store not far away. It looked quite impressive.
It had an upscale, imposing storefront and large, clean, brightly lit display windows. The store’s interior layout looked neat and orderly.
Seven or eight staff members in green uniforms emblazoned with the "Meng Zalang" logo were inside, attending to customers who had come to buy rice.
Compared to this Meng Zalang specialty store, his own small supermarket was completely outclassed in every way, from the decor to the number of employees.
’Once I have enough capital, I’ll have to open a few proper specialty stores of my own,’ Wu Jun thought to himself as he headed into the shop.
"Hello, sir. How may I help you?" A female employee greeted Wu Jun warmly as soon as he reached the entrance.
Wu Jun said, "I heard your rice is delicious, so I came over to buy a bag and try it."
"Of course, sir. Please come in, right this way." The salesperson led Wu Jun into the store, explaining as they walked, "Our Meng Zalang rice comes from two provinces: Chiang Rai Province and Surin Province. The rice from each has a subtle difference in flavor. Which one would you like?"
"I didn’t realize it was so complicated," Wu Jun said. "Is the rice from the two provinces the same price?"
The salesperson explained, "The rice from Chiang Rai Province is 18 yuan per 500 grams, and the one from Surin is 15 yuan per 500 grams. We offer them in 10-kilogram and 25-kilogram bags. You can choose whichever you prefer."
"That expensive? Isn’t Wuchang Rice only eight or nine yuan per 500 grams?" Wu Jun asked in surprise when he heard the prices.
’I knew Meng Zalang was expensive, but not this expensive! The price of the rice from my game isn’t even a fraction of theirs!’
"Sir, since you’re not in this line of work, you might not know," the salesperson patiently explained. "The total cultivation area for genuine Wuchang Rice is tiny—not even enough to supply the entire Northeast Region. What you mostly find around here are other varieties of rice just using the Wuchang name. They’re imposters passing off as the real deal."
Wu Jun found it a little funny to be treated like an amateur, but he didn’t correct her. He just nodded and said, "I’ve heard something like that, but I wasn’t sure if it was true. Is it really that widespread?"
"It’s been an open secret in the industry for a long time," the salesperson said. "And let me tell you, the soil in our country is heavily polluted. Heavy metals are off the charts, and there’s contamination from pesticides and fertilizers. Fake rice, re-polished old rice, moldy rice, toxic rice—new scandals pop up one after another. I don’t know if you follow the news, but you see stories about it online all the time. The damage to your health can be huge."
Wu Jun felt the salesperson was being a bit of an alarmist. ’Listening to her, you’d think all the rice in the country is inedible,’ he thought. ’Might as well just switch to eating noodles!’
But, committed to playing his part, Wu Jun went along with it. "You’re right. Those shameless profiteers don’t care if people live or die, all for their own gain. To mess with the food people eat... they should be rounded up and executed, every last one of them."
"Exactly! But we’re not like them," the salesperson said, seeing that Wu Jun was taking the bait. "Our Meng Zalang rice is completely natural and pollution-free. The water used to irrigate the paddies is pure enough to drink. Plus, we use zero chemical fertilizers and zero pesticides. That’s why our yields are low and the price is higher, but it’s absolutely worth it. You can eat a natural, organic food like this with total peace of mind."
"Alright, alright. Give me a 10-kilogram bag of the expensive one from Chiang Rai Province." Wu Jun had heard enough of her singing Meng Zalang’s praises and didn’t want to listen to her ramble on. He was ready to pay and leave.
"Of course, sir. If you enjoy it, please come back again! And if it’s not too much trouble, we’d appreciate it if you’d spread the word for us." Seeing she had made the sale, the salesperson’s smile grew even wider. She grabbed a bag of rice from the shelf and led him to the checkout counter.
The total came to 360 yuan. Wu Jun took his receipt, and walked out with the bag of rice.
Outside, he hailed a taxi and headed straight for his supermarket.
After running around all morning, he got back to the supermarket a little after one in the afternoon. Xu Fei was in the grains and staples section, weighing rice for a customer.
"Brother Wu, you’re back." Xu Fei greeted him as he walked in. Noticing the bag in his hand, she asked curiously, "Brother Wu, did you go out for a supply run?"
"Yep, went to pick up stock," Wu Jun said, hiding the bag of rice behind his back as he quickly walked toward the bedroom he used.
’A guy who sells rice buying it from another store... If the customers in here saw this, who knows what they’d think.’
After stashing the Meng Zalang rice in the bedroom, Wu Jun came back out and headed toward the grains and staples section.
Xu Fei had just finished with a customer buying rice. She wiped the beads of sweat from her forehead and said, "Brother Wu, why don’t you go man the register? I can handle this on my own."
"No way. I’ve been out and about all morning, let me take over for a bit." Wu Jun reached for the apron she was wearing. "You go to the register. I’ll weigh rice."
Xu Fei insisted, "Brother Wu, I’m fine, really. I’m not tired."
"You’ve only been here two days and you’re already disobeying orders?" Wu Jun teased, having already untied the apron from Xu Fei and slung it around his own neck.
"Okay, fine. But just for a little while. I’ll switch back with you in ten minutes," Xu Fei said, relenting when she saw he was insistent.
"Make it an hour," Wu Jun said.
Xu Fei: "..."
Time flew by once things got busy. Xu Fei couldn’t sit still for long before she jumped back in to help weigh rice.
With the two of them working together, the time flew by, and soon it was 2:10 PM.
After the last rice customer left, the small supermarket finally quieted down.
"Brother Wu, you haven’t eaten yet, have you? I’ll go make lunch," Xu Fei said as she turned toward the kitchen.
"Xu Fei, wait," Wu Jun called out, stopping her. He ducked into the bedroom, came back out with the bag of Meng Zalang rice he’d bought, and brought it into the kitchen. "Let’s try this rice today," he said.
"Huh? Brother Wu, you bought this?" Xu Fei looked at the bag of rice with a puzzled expression. "We have over a ton of rice in stock. Why would you go out and buy more?"
Wu Jun set the bag on the floor and started opening it. "This is 18 yuan per 500 grams. It’s from a competitor. I want to see what we’re up against."
"18 yuan per 500 grams! That’s so expensive!" Xu Fei exclaimed.
Wu Jun said, "We’ll cook two batches today. One of our rice, and one of this."
"Got it, Brother Wu," Xu Fei replied, then started washing the rice to cook.
Not one to skimp, Wu Jun grabbed a brand-new rice cooker—one that cost him over 50 yuan wholesale—from a supermarket shelf and brought it to the kitchen. ’He’d already spent 360 yuan; what was another 50-odd?’
Half an hour later, both batches of rice were cooked. Xu Fei had also stir-fried a couple of side dishes using vegetables her aunt, Xu Minli, had brought over that morning.
Not only was Xu Fei a quick worker, but she was also an excellent cook. The sight of the food alone was enough to make one’s mouth water.
With the supermarket empty, Wu Jun and Xu Fei sat at the small kitchen table, ready to eat.
They served four small bowls of rice—two for each of them. One bowl contained Hongyun Rice, the other Meng Zalang Rice.
In terms of appearance, the Hongyun Rice was clearly superior. Its grains were plump and uniform, with each kernel perfectly distinct and not at all sticky. It looked much better than the Meng Zalang Rice.
As for aroma, the Hongyun Rice’s fragrance was also richer and more potent, completely overpowering the scent of the Meng Zalang Rice.
In two of the three classic aspects of food—appearance and aroma—the Hongyun Rice was the decisive winner.
"Let’s see how it tastes," Wu Jun said to Xu Fei. They both picked up their chopsticks, lifted some rice from their bowls, and began the taste test.