"Brother Wu, why only a few bags of rice today?" Xu Fei asked as she saw Wu Jun come out, tying her apron.
His in-game inventory was now at zero. There wasn’t a single grain of rice left, so he couldn’t take anything out even if he wanted to.
However, this was something he didn’t need to—and couldn’t—let Xu Fei know.
Wu Jun said, "I signed a big order with ICBC yesterday, so inventory is a little tight. We can hold off on restocking the supermarket for now and prioritize that order."
"Oh, I see." Hearing Wu Jun’s explanation, Xu Fei turned and went back to organizing the shelves without any more questions.
He glanced at his watch. It was only 6:30 in the morning. ’Too early to be calling someone to borrow money.’
Wu Jun was also thinking about his second uncle, Wu Guangkun, whom he had put up in a hotel the previous night.
Since it was still early, he said a quick goodbye to Xu Fei and left the supermarket.
Outside the residential complex, he hailed a taxi and went straight to the hotel where Wu Guangkun had stayed the night before.
Wu Jun found Wu Guangkun in the hotel room.
Upon entering, he saw that the quilt on the bed was folded neatly and the sheet was spread flat without a single wrinkle, looking almost exactly as it had when they checked in.
’Based on what I know about my uncle,’ Wu Jun thought, ’this isn’t his style at all...’
Wu Guangkun was forty-seven years old, a lifelong bachelor who lived with his older brother, Wu Guangqiang, in a wing of Wu Jun’s family home.
Before Wu Guangqiang got into trouble, his sister-in-law, Ma Dongmei, would help clean the room every day.
In the two months since Wu Guangqiang’s incident, no one had been helping to clean up. The last time Wu Jun had gone home, the moment he opened the door, he was assaulted by an indescribable odor from the room that nearly knocked him backward.
It had taken him over half an hour to clean it, and he’d used up a whole can of air freshener in the process.
Wu Jun asked curiously, "Uncle, you’re up early. You even made the bed. Feeling diligent today, are we?"
Wu Guangkun rubbed his lower back and said in his thick local accent, "Hah, don’t even ask. I slept on the floor all night. My old back is about to give out."
Wu Jun was baffled. "This bed is huge, wasn’t it big enough for you? Why’d you sleep on the floor?"
Wu Guangkun pointed at the bed. "These sheets are so white, the quilt cover too. I was afraid I’d get them dirty and they’d make a fuss. Didn’t want to cause any trouble for you, so I didn’t sleep on it."
’Right. Spending over 200 yuan to sleep on the floor of a hotel room,’ Wu Jun thought. ’That’s probably something only my uncle could pull off.’
The sun was up, so there was no point in saying anything more. Wu Jun took Wu Guangkun downstairs to check out, return the key card, and get the security deposit back.
After leaving the hotel, Wu Jun took him out for breakfast.
At the breakfast shop, Wu Guangkun was stuffing soup dumplings into his mouth one after another. "Jun," he said, "there’s no point in me staying here. I’m no good at this whole ’taking care of people’ business. After we eat, just take me to the bus station. I’m heading back today."
Wu Jun stared blankly for a few seconds. "Uncle, don’t go back," he said. "You’ll be all alone at home with nothing to do. Just stay here in the city with me."
Wu Guangkun finished his last dumpling and said firmly, "What would I do in the city? I’d just be dragging you down. I’m not staying here. I’m going home."
Before, Wu Jun was doing well enough just to support himself, so his ability to help his uncle was limited to giving him a few hundred yuan in pocket money each month.
Now, even though he was facing a hurdle, he knew that once he got past it, he’d be back on his feet again.
Once he overcame this current difficulty, properly looking after his uncle would be a simple matter.
Although Wu Guangkun was scruffy and didn’t have a steady job—drifting around the village every day and scraping by on odd jobs—he was infamous throughout the area as a good-for-nothing.
But when it came to his nephew, Wu Jun, he was truly wonderful.
Back when the family was poor, with Ma Siyu as an extra mouth to feed and Ma Dongmei’s extreme frugality, young Wu Jun never got anything he wanted; Ma Dongmei couldn’t bear to spend the money.
But whenever Wu Guangkun earned money from an odd job, the first thing he’d do upon returning was take little Wu Jun and Ma Siyu to the village market and buy them whatever they wanted. He was incredibly generous.
When the two kids argued or fought with classmates at school, Ma Dongmei and Wu Guangqiang would always discipline their own children.
Not Wu Guangkun. He would go straight to the other kid’s house and take on the entire family by himself. He often ended up beaten black and blue, and his reputation in the village only worsened.
Wu Jun’s bond with his uncle was much deeper than that of a typical nephew and uncle.
"Uncle, I really need a helper right now," Wu Jun said with a sigh. "And you’re the only person I can trust for the job. It has to be you. But if you’re not willing to help me, then fine. I’ll go pay the bill and take you home right now."
With that, Wu Jun stood up and started to walk toward the counter to pay.
Wu Guangkun shot out a hand and grabbed Wu Jun’s arm. "Jun, what nonsense are you talking? If you need help, of course I’ll help you! Just tell me what you need me to do, and I’ll do it."
"I knew you’d help me, Uncle." Wu Jun smiled, paid the bill, and led Wu Guangkun out the door.
Wu Jun took Wu Guangkun by taxi to the warehouse he had rented in the Xiao’anshe Industrial Zone.
He had no intention of being a part-time warehouse manager himself, but Wu Guangkun was a suitable candidate for the job.
Although Wu Guangkun was illiterate, he was numerate. Even more surprisingly, he knew how to keep books.
He used a system of symbols that looked like some alien script; only he could read them.
Wu Jun didn’t actually expect him to manage the warehouse or handle the finances; he just wanted to set his uncle up with a cushy job.
First, he took Wu Guangkun for a tour of the warehouse.
Wu Guangkun looked around the empty warehouse and said, "There’s nothing in here. What’s there to steal? Jun, are you pulling my leg?"
Wu Jun said, "The goods haven’t arrived yet, but large shipments will start coming in a few days. I just wanted to bring you over to get familiar with the work environment first."
Hearing his nephew say this, Wu Guangkun didn’t ask any more questions.
The warehouse wasn’t far from the small supermarket and was easily accessible. Wu Jun said, "Uncle, as for a place to live, you can stay with me at the supermarket for a while. I have a new bed there you can use. I’ll just set up a cot for myself in the storage room."
"Nope," Wu Guangkun refused without a second thought. "You know what I’m like. I’d just get in the way of your business. Besides, you don’t smoke, and I’m a chimney. I’m not going to your place just to have to hold back."
"Weren’t there places for rent on the way over?" Wu Guangkun said. "I’ve seen those ’For Rent’ signs plenty of times. I may not recognize the characters, but they sure recognize me. Just find me a little nest over there. It’s closer to here and more convenient. That area looked fine to me. As for your supermarket, I wouldn’t go there in a million years."
On the way to the warehouse, they had passed the small commercial street where Wu Jun used to shop.
The small commercial street was located in an urban village, where rent was cheaper than in the city’s residential complexes. The small eateries served good, inexpensive food, so many of the renters were workers from the nearby factories.
Wu Jun couldn’t win the argument with his uncle and finally gave in. He had originally planned to rent him a small, standalone house with a private courtyard, but the moment Wu Guangkun heard it cost 2,000 yuan a month, he grabbed Wu Jun and dragged him away without another word.
In the end, Wu Guangkun settled on a small room in a corridor-style apartment building.
The room was tiny, just over a hundred square feet, with nothing but a bed inside. The rent was 300 yuan a month.
"This place is great! So small you can sweep the whole floor in two strokes. This is the one!" Wu Guangkun was extremely satisfied with his new home.