The restaurant owner heard the commotion from the back kitchen. She flung the curtain aside, stormed out, and came to Wu Jun’s table.
"What do you think you’re doing!" the owner shouted unhappily. "So young, and already acting like a drunk! Why are you smashing my things!"
The shock of what happened with Xu Fei sobered Wu Jun up considerably. He helped Xu Fei lean against his shoulder before looking at the owner. "I’m terribly sorry. I had a bit too much to drink and lost control. I’ll pay for whatever I broke."
Normally, if a customer smashed a glass after drinking, no restaurant would fuss over it. A single glass costs less than a dollar.
However, the owner had been observing from the back kitchen for a while. This table wasn’t full of ordinary customers. They were drinking Maotai, and a whole case of it at that. They definitely weren’t short on cash.
Besides, they looked unfamiliar—not regulars. This was a chance to fleece them, and she would take what she could get.
"Is this about the glass?!" the owner said, pointing at the wall where Wu Jun’s cup had hit. "See that? You’ve chipped a piece of the plaster off the wall. I can’t just leave it exposed! If I don’t fix it, the whole thing will start peeling off in sheets."
Wu Jun had drunk a lot, but his head was still clear. The moment he heard the owner’s words, he knew she was bad news.
Luo Weimin frowned and said with displeasure, "Ma’am, that’s a pretty shoddy way to do business."
The owner yelled, "What’s that supposed to mean, old man? Let’s have everyone here judge! Who’s really at fault here—me, or you lot acting like crazy drunks?"
No one wanted to be the judge of something like that. You’d offend both sides and come out looking bad. The people at the next table, hearing the owner’s words, pretended they hadn’t and turned away.
"Old Luo, don’t waste your breath on her." Wu Jun raised a hand to stop Luo Weimin from trying to reason with the owner. He pulled out his wallet, took out a 100-yuan bill, and asked, "Is 100 enough?"
Seeing that she could indeed milk this, the owner was secretly delighted and pushed her luck. "I have to hire someone to plaster the wall. Materials, labor costs..."
"One hundred. Take it or leave it. If that’s not good enough, sue me. I’ll pay whatever the court decides, down to the last penny." After speaking, Wu Jun slapped the 100-yuan bill on the table with a SMACK.
He’d been eating out for over a decade and had never met such a bizarre owner. In his mind, Wu Jun had already blacklisted this restaurant.
"Fine, I won’t argue with you. I’ll just take the loss." Seeing Wu Jun’s resolute expression, the owner decided to quit while she was ahead. She grabbed the 100 yuan from the table and turned back toward the kitchen.
"Look at the mess you’ve made." Having been extorted by a shrew of an owner, Luo Weimin was fuming. He shot his son an angry glare.
"Wu Jun, I’m really sorry. I got a little carried away with the drinking today." Luo Zhengang felt terrible for getting a young woman drunk and then having an unpleasant scene with a bizarre owner, so he apologized to Wu Jun.
"Manager Luo, I’m very sorry. This is embarrassing. I had too much to drink today and lost my cool. I really wasn’t aiming that at you." Now that he had calmed down, Wu Jun felt his own actions had been inappropriate and apologized to Luo Zhengang as well.
"Bah! It’s nothing. We were just getting together, it was supposed to be a happy occasion." Luo Weimin stood up. "Let’s call it a night. Wu Jun, you should get Miss Xu home so she can sober up. It’s a young lady’s first time drinking, and she went so hard. Don’t want her to get sick. We’ve had our drinks, so you and Zhen Gang can schedule a time to talk about business on Sunday."
"Why Sunday? We can do it tomorrow," Luo Zhengang asked, not understanding.
"Don’t be dense. I said Sunday, so it’s Sunday. Wu Jun has important things to do tomorrow." Luo Weimin shot a look at Wu Jun. "Isn’t that right, Wu Jun?"
Wu Jun had drunk quite a bit, so his reaction was a little slow. He stared blankly at Luo Weimin.
’What important things do I have to do tomorrow?’
’What could be more important than an order worth over a million!’
Suddenly, it hit him. Tomorrow was Auntie Xu Xiulan’s birthday, and he was supposed to help Old Luo deliver a gift.
"Right, right, Old Luo is right," Wu Jun said, slapping his forehead. "I do have something on tomorrow. It’s a matter of lifelong importance."
"Are you and Miss Xu going to register your marriage?" Hearing Wu Jun mention a matter of lifelong importance, Luo Zhengang asked curiously.
Xu Fei, a young woman, had started chugging alcohol at the drop of a hat for the sake of Wu Jun’s order. He naturally assumed their relationship was something special.
"It’s for someone else, someone else," Wu Jun said, waving his hands awkwardly. Luo Weimin’s old face flushed red as well.
"Then let’s schedule a call for Sunday," Luo Zhengang said, getting up to leave.
Wu Jun said, "Manager Luo, I think you blocked my number. Remember to unblock me when you get back."
Luo Zhengang: "..."
"Alright, alright, stop wasting time on nonsense. Hurry up and get Miss Xu home," Luo Weimin urged. He turned to pay the bill. Wu Jun, busy supporting the drunk Xu Fei, didn’t have a free hand to stop him.
Luo Weimin came back after settling the bill, muttering, "That woman only has eyes for money. I’ve never seen anyone do business like that. What a weirdo."
"What’s wrong?" Wu Jun asked.
Luo Weimin said angrily, "The bill was 301 yuan. I didn’t have a single yuan on me, so that owner insisted on taking 400 and giving me 99 yuan in change! And if giving change wasn’t bad enough, she made sure to give me all old, worn-out bills. When I called her out on it, she acted like she was completely in the right."
"Forget it. No point getting angry over a weirdo like her. We just won’t come here again," Wu Jun said, trying to placate him. The Luo father and son walked ahead, with Wu Jun following behind, supporting a swaying Xu Fei. The four of them left the small restaurant.
"Wu Jun, quick, help Miss Xu into the car. I’ll give you two a ride." Luo Weimin opened the car door and called out to Wu Jun.
The moment they stepped outside, a cool breeze blew over them, clearing Wu Jun’s head considerably. He waved his hand. "No need, Old Luo. You and Manager Luo should head back. Xu Fei and I will walk. It’ll help us sober up, and we won’t risk puking all over your car."
Luo Weimin said, unconcerned, "If you puke, you puke. We can just get it cleaned."
Wu Jun saw Luo Zhengang leaning over a trash can on the side of the road, retching. "Looks like Manager Luo had quite a bit to drink too," he said. "You should probably look after him first."
Luo Weimin followed Wu Jun’s gaze and saw his son leaning against a lamppost, dry heaving. He didn’t insist anymore.
Even though he was harsh and blunt when he spoke to his son, what father doesn’t care about his own child?
"Alright then. You two take it easy. And you, kid, don’t get any funny ideas. Make sure you get Miss Xu home safely. I’m taking Zhen Gang and leaving now," Luo Weimin instructed, turning to take care of his son.
The two of them exchanged a few words, waved at Wu Jun, and drove off in their car.
Wu Jun looked down at Xu Fei leaning against him, mumbling nonsense in her hometown dialect. He felt that tonight, she looked even prettier than usual.
"That Old Luo, what does he take me for? Am I that much of a beast?" Wu Jun chuckled, then held Xu Fei by both arms to steady her. "Xu Fei, wake up. We’re almost home. You can sleep when we get home."
Xu Fei didn’t react at all. Her body was limp, as if all her bones had been removed. Wu Jun tried letting go, and her body began to sway like seaweed in the wind. He quickly grabbed her again.
Seeing her condition, he knew she definitely couldn’t walk. Wu Jun grabbed one of her arms, bent down, and hoisted her onto his back.
Without any prompting from Wu Jun, Xu Fei instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck, nuzzled her head against his back, and found a comfortable position.
"You sure know how to get comfortable..." Wu Jun chuckled, grabbing her calves to support her, straightened up, and prepared to head home.
Just as he was about to take a step, Wu Jun suddenly heard the sound of the owner arguing with someone inside the restaurant.
He listened for a moment. A group of people were actually fighting over who got to keep a few empty liquor bottles.
The owner, leveraging her home-field advantage, threw a tantrum and acted shamelessly, ultimately managing to claim the nearly full bottle of Feitian Maotai that Xu Fei had opened last.
The few who managed to get the other bottles paid their bills while cursing under their breath.
When they came out and saw Wu Jun still standing by the side of the road, they looked a little embarrassed. They hid the bottles behind their backs and quickly walked away.
Wu Jun saw them but pretended he hadn’t. He readjusted his grip on Xu Fei, walked up the steps, pushed open the door of the small restaurant, and went inside.
"What now? Is there something else? Let me tell you, that 100 yuan is nowhere near enough to fix the wall. You got off easy, kid." The owner was clearing a table when she saw Wu Jun return. She put on an air of having been greatly wronged, as if to say, ’You should quit while you’re ahead.’
Wu Jun smiled. "The bottle of liquor I left on the table? Could you get it for me, please? Thanks."
The owner: "..."