After leaving the supermarket, Wu Jun got into his pickup truck parked in front of the building and headed straight for the warehouse in the Xiao’anshe area.
It was not yet 6 a.m., and the roads were empty. Wu Jun grew a little bolder, pressing harder on the gas. In just over ten minutes, he arrived at the warehouse entrance.
He took out his key, unlocked the warehouse door, went inside, and then turned back to bolt it from the inside.
Taking out his phone, he withdrew three tons of rice from the game and summoned Red and Red Two.
"City Lord, what can we do for you?" the two burly men, both over two meters tall, asked as they bowed to Wu Jun.
Wu Jun said, "Red, you and Red Two will help load the truck and then go with it to unload the cargo."
Aside from being abnormally tall and absurdly muscular, Red and Red Two were otherwise indistinguishable from normal people. They could communicate normally, and if summoned in front of others, they wouldn’t arouse suspicion. He could use them without worry.
The two responded in unison, "As the City Lord commands."
"One more thing." Hearing how they addressed him, Wu Jun corrected them, "From now on, don’t call me City Lord. Call me Wu Jun, or just Wu, or..."
Red quickly interjected, "Let’s just call you Boss Wu. I feel that title rolls off the tongue best."
"That’s right, Boss Wu," Red Two added. "It’s really hard for us to say your name directly. It makes us feel so anxious and uneasy."
Wu Jun: "..."
’This flattery feels great,’ he thought. ’As expected, a Farmer who can trigger the [Fake Death] skill has a lot of potential to be a suck-up.’
It was just a title. Wu Jun couldn’t be bothered to keep correcting them, as long as they didn’t call him City Lord.
Wu Jun had been completely exhausted from yesterday’s work, and he still hadn’t recovered.
He didn’t plan on running around himself today. ’I’m ’Boss Wu’ now. There’s no need to work myself to the bone like a lackey every day.’
Spending a little money to hire a helper was necessary, just like when he’d hired Xu Fei for the store. It would lighten his burden considerably.
After giving his instructions to the two men, Wu Jun took out his phone and called Wang Qidong.
Wang Qidong lived above the small supermarket and was an independent truck driver.
Every morning before heading out, he would come down to the supermarket to buy cigarettes. Wu Jun had known him for over three years and felt he was an honest and dependable person, someone he could trust.
"Wu, what’s up? Calling so early," Wang Qidong’s voice came through the phone, sounding like he wasn’t fully awake yet.
"Brother Wang, I’ve got a job for you. Interested?" Wu Jun got straight to the point. "Help me deliver a few loads of rice to some restaurants today. A thousand yuan for you and your truck for the day. I’ll cover gas, cigarettes, and I’ll treat you to drinks tonight."
"A sweet deal like that? Of course, I’m in!" Wang Qidong was thrilled after hearing Wu Jun’s offer. "When do we start delivering?"
"Right now," Wu Jun said. "I’m at the warehouse in Xiao’anshe. The client is waiting for a delivery and needs it by 6:30. Brother Wang, you should get up and head downstairs. I’ll send you the location."
"Okay, okay, I’m already getting dressed! I’ll be right down. Hanging up now." Seeing how urgent Wu Jun sounded, Wang Qidong didn’t waste any time. By the time he hung up, he had his clothes on, slipped on his shoes, and headed out.
Once downstairs, he didn’t even stop to buy cigarettes and drove his small truck directly toward the location Wu Jun had sent him.
Less than ten minutes after hanging up, Wang Qidong met Wu Jun at the Xiao’anshe warehouse. It was just 6:05 a.m. As expected of an experienced driver, he had taken even less time to get there than Wu Jun.
"Damn, these two guys are built!" Wang Qidong exclaimed in surprise when he saw Red and Red Two.
"These are the loaders I hired. Brother Wang, take these cigarettes. The address is..." Wu Jun didn’t waste time with small talk. He tossed a carton of Rose Diamond cigarettes to Wang Qidong and explained all the necessary details.
Wang Qidong said, "Alright, I know that place. I’ll definitely get it there on time. Let’s get it loaded."
As soon as Wang Qidong finished speaking, he turned around and was shocked again. He saw Red and Red Two carrying a bag in each hand as if they were empty, moving swiftly between the stacks of rice and the truck.
In a matter of seconds, twenty bags of rice were loaded onto the truck.
"Wu, where did you find these loaders? They must cost a fortune..." Wang Qidong turned and asked Wu Jun.
"Not that much. Brother Wang, you should get going," Wu Jun urged. He also told Red to go along and help unload. Wang Qidong didn’t ask any more questions, got in the truck with Red, and drove off.
Just as Wang Qidong left, the phone rang again. Wu Jun answered, spoke for a few moments, and finalized another order for ten bags of rice.
Wang Qidong would return as soon as he finished a delivery, load up again, and head to the next destination.
The day passed in a flurry of activity.
Not a single one of the dozen or so restaurants Wu Jun had delivered rice to yesterday failed to place a new order.
The smaller orders were for five or six bags as a trial, while the larger ones were for dozens of bags at once.
The work started at 6 a.m. No sooner was one delivery finished than another call would come in. Wang Qidong was swamped, running all over town.
Thankfully, all the loading and unloading was handled by the Farmers summoned from the game. Otherwise, he would have felt he was getting the short end of the stick for his 1,000 yuan.
At noon, Wu Jun ordered takeout to be delivered directly to the warehouse. Wang Qidong quickly ate his meal and set out again for another delivery.
For the entire day, Wu Jun directed operations from the warehouse and handled the bookkeeping.
In total, he sold over four tons of rice that day, bringing in over 43,000 yuan. After selling the three tons he’d taken out at the warehouse, he had to transfer several dozen more bags from the supermarket.
Yesterday’s sales at the supermarket had seen a huge spike, like a flash in the pan. Today, things were back to normal. It hadn’t sold even a ton, and Wang Qidong had hauled away the rest.
At 8 p.m., after delivering the final order of 30 bags of rice to a restaurant, Wang Qidong met up with Wu Jun at the small supermarket.
"Wu—no, I should be calling you Boss Wu now." After a full day of work, Wang Qidong had a new perspective on Wu Jun. "I always thought you were just running this little supermarket. I never expected you to be such a big shot, with such a large operation on the side."
"You’re flattering me, Brother Wang. We go way back, just call me Wu," Wu Jun said modestly. "It’s just hard-earned money. The profit margins in the rice industry are paper-thin. It might look like a lot of sales in a day, but the actual profit is pitifully small."
"Either way, you’re doing a lot better than your Brother Wang here," Wang Qidong said. "If you have more work like this in the future, keep me in mind."
"Definitely, definitely," Wu Jun agreed with a smile. ’Once I complete this order for the Industrial and Commercial Bank, the restaurant industry will be my main focus. I’ll definitely need a delivery driver.’
’Wang Qidong is down-to-earth and reliable, and he’s familiar with Shimen City. He’s a good candidate.’
"By the way, Brother Wang, I have another shipment to deliver tomorrow, and I’ll need your help again. I’d like to book you and your truck in advance," Wu Jun said. "However, your truck can only carry 1.8 tons at a time, which definitely won’t be enough. We’ll need to find more people to help. This entire shipment has to be moved tomorrow."
"How big is this shipment?" Wang Qidong asked, a little puzzled.
Wu Jun said, "125 tons."
"Holy cow, that much!" Wang Qidong was stunned. ’If it were just me and my one truck, I’d have to make dozens of trips. With loading and unloading, it would probably take a week to move it all.’