Luo Zhengang left, full of gratitude.
Working with Wu Jun instead of Meng Zalang would save him over 2.5 million, which was no small achievement.
The contract signing would have to wait until the bank opened tomorrow. After Luo Zhengang left, Wu Jun and Xu Fei resumed business.
The lunch rush came later and ended earlier than usual.
Customers only started coming in at 11:30 AM, and by 1:30 PM, the crowd had thinned out.
In total, they sold over twenty bags of rice, bringing in more than 5,000 yuan.
Half the day had passed. Including the 3,000 from the morning, they had only made around 8,000 yuan in total.
This revenue once again confirmed the analysis Wu Jun had given Xu Fei that morning: the market in the Tianyuan residential area was nearing saturation.
After handling the lunch rush, the two of them closed the supermarket, took a trip to the nearby wet market just outside the residential area, and came back with a pile of groceries.
Xu Fei went into the kitchen to cook, keeping an eye out for the occasional customer. Wu Jun went to the bedroom for a nap and was only woken up when Xu Fei had finished making the meal.
By the time they finished eating and cleaning up, it was already 3:00 PM.
While Xu Fei was washing the dishes, Wu Jun received a call from his cousin, Chen Xingyang.
Production on the packaging bags had started that morning. He estimated all 5,000 bags would be finished by around 9:00 PM.
The order was just waiting for the contract to be signed, the in-game inventory was sufficient, and the issues with the packaging and warehouse were all resolved.
The first big order after acquiring the trademark was a sure thing.
Wu Jun stayed at the small supermarket with Xu Fei until 7:00 PM. Remembering what his mom had told him the previous night, he said goodbye to Xu Fei and headed straight for City First Hospital.
His first and second aunts, his youngest uncle and his wife, and his youngest aunt were all there. All of his mother’s siblings had gathered. The last time they had all been together was during the New Year. ’I should go over and treat everyone to a meal,’ Wu Jun thought.
In the taxi, Wu Jun heard a radio ad for a health supplement called "Yan Zhi Wu’s Bowl-Ready Bird’s Nest."
Remembering his mother’s poor condition the day before—she even had dark circles under her eyes—Wu Jun asked the taxi driver to make a detour. He went to a specialty store and bought a "Little Red Bowl" gift box.
The box wasn’t large, about the size of a laptop. It contained ten ready-to-eat bowls and cost a whopping 4,000 yuan.
Although he only had about 40,000 yuan on hand, Wu Jun didn’t sweat the expense. After tomorrow, he’d have over a million.
The taxi stopped in front of the inpatient building of City First Hospital. Wu Jun paid the fare, got out, and walked toward the entrance.
At 7:00 PM, the hospital’s first-floor cafeteria was already closed, and most of the inpatients had already eaten. He was lucky enough to catch an elevator and went up to the 15th floor.
After getting out of the elevator, Wu Jun headed for room 1512. While still in the hallway, he heard several familiar voices from the room, as well as an even more familiar sound of someone crying.
He pushed the door open and, sure enough, there was Ma Siyu. She was standing by the window, her back to the door, her shoulders trembling as she wept.
When Ma Dongmei saw her son enter, she said, "What took you so long, you brat? Your aunts and uncle have been here for a while."
"I stopped to buy something on the way." Wu Jun casually placed the gift box on the metal bedside cabinet. "First Aunt, Second Aunt, Uncle, Aunt, I’m so sorry. I got held up on the way."
His first aunt, Ma Chunmei, said, "It’s fine. We just came to see your dad. Isn’t his surgery tomorrow? We were worried something might come up and we wouldn’t be able to make it."
Ma Chunmei had been the one to organize this visit from the sisters.
Wu Jun had been a huge help with the factory her son and daughter-in-law, Chen Xingyang and his wife, were starting. She couldn’t help but see her nephew in a new light.
His second aunt, Ma Qiumei, also said, "Wu Jun, your supermarket must be busy right now. You made a special trip here... you must be losing so much business."
"It’s no problem, I can afford to lose a little. You all came from so far away; it wouldn’t be right if I didn’t show up. You guys keep chatting, I’m going to go check on her." Wu Jun nodded toward Ma Siyu, walked over to the window, and pulled her into the bathroom. "Stop crying and go wash your face."
"It’s none of your business! Get out, get out!" Ma Siyu pushed Wu Jun out of the bathroom, wiping her tears with the back of her hand.
When Wu Jun came out of the bathroom, he noticed the atmosphere in the hospital room had turned strange.
His two aunts, his uncle, and his uncle’s wife were all looking at him with an indescribable expression.
His uncle’s wife, Dong Lizhu, said to Ma Dongmei with a sour tone, "Third Sister, you’re so lucky. You raised a good son who buys you such expensive supplements. I’ve never eaten anything so fancy in my whole life."
"Lizhu, stop it. What’s the point of saying all this?" Ma Chaoyun tugged on his wife’s arm, a helpless look on his face.
A moment ago, while Wu Jun and Ma Siyu were in the bathroom, the gift box he had placed on the metal cabinet wasn’t stable and had fallen off.
Dong Lizhu was the closest and had helped pick it up. That’s when she saw the receipt and gasped. A single box cost 4,000 yuan!
"You all might be able to hold your tongues, but I can’t. I say what’s on my mind, so don’t blame me for being blunt." Dong Lizhu turned to Wu Jun and said, "Wu Jun, don’t you know our family’s financial situation? Was it really necessary to buy something so expensive? You could buy so many better things with 4,000 yuan! Buying this flashy, useless stuff is just a waste of money!"
His second aunt, Ma Qiumei, just shook her head and sighed. Though she wasn’t as direct as Dong Lizhu, she probably felt the same way. A 4,000-yuan supplement was simply too extravagant for an ordinary family like theirs.
Hearing his aunt’s words, Wu Jun nearly snapped back at her. ’It’s my money, I’ll spend it how I want.’ But he took a deep breath and held his tongue.
He didn’t usually interact much with Dong Lizhu, only seeing her during family gatherings for the New Year.
From his past interactions, she had always seemed to be a pleasant and well-mannered woman. He had no idea what had gotten into her today.
"Lizhu, you take this and eat it. I’m an old woman, what do I need this for? It would be a waste on me." Ma Dongmei shot Wu Jun a glare and tried to stuff the gift box into her sister-in-law’s hands.
BANG!
Suddenly, the bathroom door was thrown open from the inside, and Ma Siyu stormed out, her face still wet from just having washed it.
"Dong Lizhu, what are you being so sour about! You say one more word, I dare you! Believe it or not, I’ll slap you right across the face!" Wu Jun had held back, but Ma Siyu didn’t. Pointing at Dong Lizhu with reddened eyes, she looked like an enraged lion cub. She took a large step forward, looking like she was really about to let her have it.
Seeing this, Wu Jun quickly grabbed Ma Siyu’s wrist. "Calm down. It’s not worth getting this worked up over."
Ma Dongmei scolded, "Ma Simai, how dare you talk to your aunt like that? So disrespectful! Your uncle is the one who spoiled you rotten!"
Dong Lizhu’s eyes reddened, and tears began to fall. She pointed at Ma Siyu and cried, "Look, just look! The Ma Family really sticks together. I’m just an outsider! She squeezed into our 70-square-meter apartment with us for over three years, and I never said a word. Now, not two days after she buys her own place and moves out, she dares to talk to me like this! She’s nothing but an ungrateful brat!"
After saying her piece, Dong Lizhu threw herself onto Ma Chaoyun’s shoulder and began to sob. Seeing this, her three sisters-in-law rushed over to comfort and console her.
This outburst threw the hospital room into chaos.
Wu Jun dragged the still-fuming Ma Siyu out of the room and into the stairwell. "That’s enough! Did you really want to get into a fight with our aunt?"
"You’re a bastard too! Dong Lizhu was saying such nasty things, and you didn’t even make a peep!" Ma Siyu ripped the small bag from her shoulder and threw it hard at Wu Jun.
After hitting Wu Jun, Ma Siyu acted as if she was the one who had been deeply wronged. She crouched on the floor, covered her face, and began to cry with choked sobs. "Are you stupid?! Why didn’t you dodge?!"