A small restaurant outside the Tianyuan residential complex.
Wu Jun, Xu Fei, and Wang Qidong sat together at a table.
Though the restaurant was small, it had all the essential dishes.
There were eight dishes on the table, all of them hearty: chicken, duck, fish, beef, lamb, and shrimp—six meat dishes and two cold appetizers.
Having gotten used to drinking Maotai recently, and not being a stingy person, Wu Jun had brought another bottle he’d pulled out from under his bed.
Looking at the table laden with food and the bottle of Maotai worth several thousand yuan, Wang Qidong felt his estimation of Wu Jun was still too low. He had thought that after working with Wu Jun all day and getting a glimpse of his hidden depths, he had already rated him highly enough.
’This Wu Jun has been running a small supermarket for over three years, and he’s quietly become this loaded? He even drinks Maotai!’
"You worked hard today, Brother Wang. Let’s have a drink, just the two of us." Wu Jun grabbed two glasses, one for himself and one for Wang Qidong.
"Little Wu, you really are too low-key on a normal day," Wang Qidong said with a smile. "Then today, I’ll have to thank you for the opportunity. An old roughneck like me gets to drink some fine liquor."
"I’ll pour," Xu Fei said, taking the bottle from Wu Jun. After opening it, she poured them each a glass, then handed Wu Jun a pair of chopsticks.
Wu Jun was already used to Xu Fei’s meticulous attentiveness and didn’t think much of it, but Wang Qidong watched from the side with a pang of envy.
After a few glasses, Wang Qidong said, "I’ve contacted everyone. In total, there are 15 mid-sized trucks, same as mine. They can haul 27 tons at once. Little Wu, if you think that’s not enough, I can have them contact a few more."
The warehouse in Xiao’anshe was seven or eight kilometers from the Industrial and Commercial Bank branch. Hauling 27 tons per trip, it would only take five round trips to move all 125 tons.
The goods for this order wouldn’t be ready until 10 a.m. If they hurried, they could probably finish the delivery before the end of the workday.
"That’s more than enough. Thank you for the trouble, Brother Wang." Wu Jun then asked, "How will the shipping fees be calculated?"
"I calculated the shipping fee for you on my way over," Wang Qidong said. "One truck, one trip is about 150 yuan. If you include unloading, 200 yuan should be enough. The total freight cost will be around 15,000 yuan."
Worried Wu Jun might not be at ease, Wang Qidong added, "Little Wu, you can calculate it yourself when you get back. There are standard rates for these things on Huolala."
"No need. 200 it is. I trust you, Brother Wang."
Wu Jun couldn’t be bothered to calculate it in detail anyway.
Since the hauling was within the city, it was impossible to find those massive trucks that could carry dozens of tons in one go. The higher cost for smaller trucks was acceptable.
"What time tomorrow? Six o’clock again?" Wu Jun’s trust made Wang Qidong feel good, and he asked eagerly.
Wu Jun said, "A bit later tomorrow. It has to be after 10 a.m. Brother Wang, just wait for my call then."
With the hauling arrangements settled, Wu Jun urged Wang Qidong to drink with him. The two finished the bottle and polished off most of the food on the table. After a long day of work, their performance at the dinner table was astonishing.
After they finished drinking, the three of them walked back to the residential complex together. They parted ways downstairs. Wang Qidong and Xu Fei took the elevator up, while Wu Jun unlocked the door and went back into his small supermarket.
By the time he finished washing up, it was already eleven at night. He took out the phone linked to Resource Tycoon and saw that the in-game production had been tallied.
Adding the 38 tons produced today, the in-game inventory was now 106 tons. He was just 19 tons short of completing the order for the Industrial and Commercial Bank. With half a day’s production tomorrow, it would be just enough.
’I really hope nothing else goes wrong...’
Although the game had notified him that the next Resource Guardian event would start on Sunday night, there was no guarantee something else wouldn’t happen before then.
Having learned his lesson from last time, the more Wu Jun thought about it, the more uneasy he felt. ’It’s better to withdraw it all now,’ he decided. He got dressed again and went out.
He had just had a good bit to drink, so he couldn’t drive even though he had a car. Wu Jun went straight outside the complex and used a ride-sharing app on his phone to call for a car. He spent over 30 yuan on the ride to the warehouse.
"Hey buddy, should I wait for you?" the driver asked, rolling down his window. He saw that they were in the middle of nowhere.
"No need, thanks," Wu Jun said, sending the driver away out of caution.
He watched the car drive off until its taillights disappeared at the end of the street. Then, Wu Jun took out his key, unlocked the warehouse, and slipped inside.
He flipped the light switch on the wall to the right of the entrance, and the warehouse was instantly flooded with light.
Taking out the phone linked to Resource Tycoon, he aimed the camera at the floor and withdrew the entire 106-ton inventory from the game.
THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! Countless bags of rice appeared out of thin air, a truly stunning visual.
SWISH! SWISH! SWISH! A green light flashed repeatedly as 38 Farmers materialized inside the warehouse.
They asked in unison, "City Lord, what are your orders?"
Wu Jun pointed to the rice bags on the floor and said, "Stack all of these neatly."
"As you command, City Lord!" they replied in unison and began stacking the rice bags.
tons of rice, over 4,200 bags. That was more than 100 bags per person. They finished stacking them in less than 10 minutes. Their work efficiency was simply incredible!
Wu Jun took out his phone, recalled the group of Farmers back into the game, locked the warehouse door, and then used his phone to call another ride-share.
"What the— It’s you again, buddy," the driver said, completely baffled when he saw Wu Jun. "I told you I could wait, but you said no."
"Sorry to trouble you, I had a last-minute change of plans," Wu Jun explained, feeling a bit speechless himself as he got in the car.
He spent another 30-plus yuan to get back to the complex. By the time Wu Jun entered the small supermarket, it was already midnight.
He went straight to the bedroom, took off his clothes, and went to sleep.
He didn’t wake up until the next morning, when Xu Fei knocked on his door after she had finished making breakfast.
While they were eating, Xu Fei asked, "Brother Wu, is the rice in the store still just what was left over from yesterday? Hasn’t a new shipment arrived?"
Wu Jun said, "Yeah, we need to prioritize the Industrial and Commercial Bank’s order first. Once this deal is done, the supermarket’s supply will stabilize."
Xu Fei: "..."
One moment they were prioritizing the big order from the Industrial and Commercial Bank, the next they were trying to handle both. It was all starting to confuse Xu Fei.
But she didn’t ask any more questions. She would just do whatever Brother Wu said.
After breakfast, Wu Jun still felt uneasy about the warehouse. He grabbed the most expensive carton of Zhonghua cigarettes from the store’s stock, pulled the remaining two bottles of Feitian Maotai from under his bed, put them in a black plastic bag, and told Xu Fei he was heading out.
He drove over to the warehouse to check on things. Everything was normal, which finally put his mind at ease.
It was still early, just around six o’clock. With four hours to go until 10 a.m., he had plenty of time.
Wu Jun bought breakfast on the commercial street in the industrial park and walked directly to the small rented room of Wu Guangkun.
"Second Uncle, are you awake? I brought you breakfast," Wu Jun called out after knocking on the door.
The door opened to reveal Wu Guangkun, wearing a pair of baggy shorts, his hair a mess, and his eyes still heavy with sleep.
"Jun, why are you here so early in the morning instead of sleeping in? Come on in," Wu Guangkun said once he recognized Wu Jun, ushering him inside.
"I brought you breakfast. Eat it while it’s hot." Wu Jun placed a bowl of soft tofu pudding, a few fried dough sticks, and several tea eggs all onto a small round table by Wu Guangkun’s bed.
Wu Guangkun didn’t stand on ceremony with Wu Jun—there was no need for such formalities between uncle and nephew. He just picked up the disposable chopsticks and started eating.
"Ah, Jun, when do I start work? I’ve been so idle these past two days I’ve nearly walked all over the industrial park. I’m just waiting to get started," Wu Guangkun asked as he ate.
"Soon, soon. You’ll probably be able to start next Monday," Wu Jun said, placing the black plastic bag he was holding on the bed.
"What’s that?" Wu Guangkun asked, a little puzzled when he saw the black plastic bag.
Wu Jun said, "I brought you a carton of cigarettes and two bottles of liquor. Smoke less, but you can drink a little in moderation."
"My boy Jun still thinks of his Second Uncle," Wu Guangkun said with a cheerful laugh and went back to his breakfast.