Wu Jun didn’t receive any orders around noon.
Wang Qidong was on standby at the warehouse. The two movers he’d hired went straight to a shady spot outside, laid down some cardboard, and took a nap on the ground.
Wu Jun sat on a small stool and chatted with Wang Qidong. "Brother Wang," he asked, "how have the last two days of delivering for me been compared to waiting for gigs?"
"Way better," Wang Qidong said. "We’ve known each other for a while, so I’ll be straight with you. When I was waiting for gigs, it was a dog-eat-dog world with the other drivers. Getting three to five jobs a day was considered good. After a month, once you subtract gas money, you’re just making a living wage."
Wang Qidong was quite honest, telling it like it was without playing any games. This was precisely what Wu Jun valued in him, and why he felt comfortable using his services.
If he had lied through his teeth and said it was about the same as waiting for gigs, Wu Jun would have let him go right back to doing just that.
"Brother Wang, how about working for me full-time?" Wu Jun got straight to the point. "My business is only going to get bigger, and I’m planning to set up a dedicated logistics department. You’ve been in the shipping business for a long time and know the ropes. I’d like to put you in charge of it."
"Deal! I’ll work for you!" After interacting with Wu Jun for a few days, Wang Qidong knew he wouldn’t be taken advantage of. When Wu Jun extended the offer, he accepted without a second thought.
"You’ll work for me without even asking about the salary and benefits?" Wu Jun appreciated Wang Qidong’s straightforwardness and asked with a smile.
Wang Qidong laughed heartily. "What’s there to ask? I’ll take whatever Boss Wu offers."
"The base salary will be 10,000 a month. At the end of the month, we’ll calculate a bonus based on performance and delivery volume." Since he and Wang Qidong weren’t family, it was best to be clear about compensation from the start, so Wu Jun laid out the terms.
"No problem!" Hearing the salary Wu Jun offered, Wang Qidong was ecstatic. ’Boss Wu really is generous!’
Not even counting the bonus, the base salary alone was two or three thousand yuan more than what he usually earned from his shipping gigs.
Although Wang Qidong was honest, he wasn’t stupid. The money he was making by freelancing for Wu Jun was currently more than the proposed salary, but that wasn’t a long-term solution.
Since Wu Jun was planning to build his own logistics department, if he didn’t join, Wu Jun would just find someone else.
Once that logistics department was established, his freelancing gravy train would come to an end. From a long-term perspective, joining Wu Jun was the wisest choice.
Following Xu Fei, Wu Jun had recruited another employee. The team was growing.
As for things like employment contracts, Wu Jun had no experience and was completely clueless.
His aunt-in-law had worked in human resources for many years and was an expert in this area. Wu Jun sent Dong Lizhu a message on WeChat, asking her to help draft one up.
As soon as Wu Jun asked, Dong Lizhu readily agreed. In less than half an hour, she sent over a digital version of an employment contract, telling Wu Jun he just needed to get it printed at a copy shop.
He went to a print shop, spent 20 yuan to print two copies of the contract, and he and Wang Qidong signed on the lines for Party A and Party B, respectively. The employment relationship was now official.
"Boss Wu, I’m with you from now on," Wang Qidong said with an honest smile, tucking away his copy of the contract.
Wu Jun smiled and said, "Brother Wang, no need to be so formal. Let’s keep things as they are. I’ll pay you separately for today’s deliveries. You can officially start tomorrow."
"Alright, I’ll do as Boss Wu says." Today’s runs would earn him at least five or six hundred yuan. Wang Qidong didn’t stand on ceremony with Wu Jun—it would be foolish to turn down free money.
Wu Jun’s phone rang. A one-minute call resulted in 2,500 yuan being transferred to his account—another order for 10 bags of rice.
Seeing that a new job had come in, Wang Qidong called the two movers over to load up the truck. He got the address from Wu Jun and drove off to make the delivery.
Wu Jun stayed at the warehouse until three in the afternoon, when Wu Guangkun came shuffling over in his slippers.
"Well, I’ll be! You guys sure are quick. You got this much delivered in one go!" Wu Guangkun exclaimed in surprise as he entered the warehouse and saw the neatly stacked bags of rice.
"Jun, the delivery came and you didn’t even wake your uncle up. If I hadn’t been woken up by a full bladder, I’d still be snoozing at home," Wu Guangkun grumbled at Wu Jun for not getting him.
"I was free anyway, so I just watched over things for a bit. I wanted to let you get some more sleep." Wu Jun stood up and offered his small stool. "Second Uncle, come have a seat."
Wu Guangkun waved his hand. "No, I’m not sitting. I’ve been lying down for half the day. I need to stretch. You sit."
The uncle and nephew chatted while Wu Jun took orders on his phone.
Over the course of the afternoon, Wang Qidong delivered one truckload, came back for another, and returned with an empty truck around six-thirty in the evening.
In just one afternoon, the warehouse had shipped out 321 bags of rice, and the balance on Wu Jun’s phone had increased by over 80,000 yuan.
Payment for the rice was all done via mobile transfer or cash. No credit was extended, period.
Want to settle accounts monthly like with other suppliers? Sorry, you’ll have to find someone else. We at Hongyun Rice only take cash.
Outstanding quality and affordable prices were the pillars of Wu Jun’s confidence.
"Second Uncle, you, Brother Wang, and the two movers should go get some dinner. I have something to do tonight, so I won’t be joining." As Wu Jun spoke, he deftly counted out a wad of cash and handed it to Wu Guangkun.
"We won’t need this much just for a meal." Wu Guangkun pulled out three bills and returned the rest to Wu Jun. "I’ve eaten at all the restaurants around here. Three hundred yuan is more than enough."
"Keep the rest as spending money," Wu Jun said, stuffing the money back into Wu Guangkun’s shirt pocket.
"Alright then. I’ll save it up for you—to buy a house, buy a car, and find your uncle a niece-in-law sooner rather than later," Wu Guangkun said with a chuckle. He turned, called over to Wang Qidong and the two movers, and headed toward the commercial street.
After seeing them off, Wu Jun locked the warehouse door and drove his pickup truck toward the supermarket.
On the way, he passed a liquor and tobacco store. Remembering the dinner party scheduled for eight o’clock, he pulled over, locked the truck, and stepped inside.
"What’s the best liquor you have here?" Wu Jun asked a female sales clerk as soon as he walked in.
"Hello, sir, and welcome." Realizing she had a big spender on her hands, the clerk said eagerly, "The best liquor in our shop is Luzhou Laojiao Guojiao 1573. Would you like a bottle?"
Guojiao 1573. Wu Jun had heard of it. It was considered a high-end liquor, costing around 1,000 yuan a bottle.
"1573, huh... Alright, that’ll do. Give me a case." Wu Jun took out his phone to scan the payment code and asked the ecstatic clerk, "How much for a case?"
"6,129 yuan. I’ll go get it for you." The clerk quickly quoted the price and turned to fetch a case from the back, afraid that if she moved too slowly, Wu Jun might change his mind.
Wu Jun scanned the code to pay and reached for the case, but the clerk wouldn’t hand it over. She insisted on carrying it out for him, saying her boss would reprimand her if she didn’t help the customer.
"Your boss is really something..." Wu Jun didn’t want to make things difficult for her, so he let her carry it out.
The two of them left the store, one after the other. Wu Jun led the clerk to his pickup and opened the back door.
"Sir, you’re so low-key." The expression on the clerk’s face was priceless when she saw that Wu Jun was driving a beat-up old pickup truck.
Wu Jun said, "It’s a rental."
The sales clerk was speechless.
’This guy isn’t just a driver buying liquor for his boss, is he?!’