Li Jingwei had the landlord come over, and the two of them huddled to the side, whispering for a while.
In the end, just as Li Jingwei had predicted, he managed to knock 5,000 yuan off the rent.
Wu Jun readily signed the contract, transferred the money to the landlord, and got the warehouse keys.
Real estate agents work on commission, so the higher the rent, the higher their cut. By haggling the price down, Li Jingwei was also reducing his own commission. Still, to close the deal, he had to side with his client.
After all, if they couldn’t agree on a price, it wouldn’t be a matter of a smaller commission—he’d have worked for nothing. Earning a little less was always better than earning nothing at all.
"Little Li, you can take a taxi back. I won’t give you a ride." After the landlord left, Wu Jun gave Li Jingwei a hundred yuan for cab fare.
"Thanks, Boss Wu." Li Jingwei didn’t stand on ceremony with Wu Jun. He simply thanked him and took the money.
A taxi from the warehouse back to the real estate agency wouldn’t even cost 30 yuan, leaving him with a 70-yuan surplus. That was two days’ worth of food money; it would be foolish not to take it.
Just as Li Jingwei was leaving, Wu Jun’s phone rang. He pulled it out and saw it was a call from Huang Zili.
"Old Wu, when are you heading back? I’m over at your supermarket," Huang Zili’s voice said as soon as the call connected.
Wu Jun asked, "Shouldn’t you be at the hospital with your wife? What are you doing at my supermarket?"
"Let’s talk in person when you get here. I’ll wait for you." Then Huang Zili added, "And Old Wu, your girlfriend is really pretty. You’re a sly one, getting a girlfriend without making a sound."
"What are you talking about? She’s not my girlfriend." Wu Jun knew at once that he was talking about Xu Fei and flatly denied it.
"Sure, sure. Keep playing dumb with me," Huang Zili teased. "I was in the shop for less than ten minutes, and I already heard several people calling her the boss’s wife."
"Alright, just wait there. I’m on my way back." Wu Jun felt it was impossible to explain things to Old Huang and couldn’t be bothered to try. He hung up.
Recently, the neighborhood aunties had found out that Xu Fei had moved in with Wu Jun at the supermarket. They all started teasing them and had taken to calling her "the boss’s wife."
And they wouldn’t take no for an answer. To them, any explanation was just a cover-up, and a cover-up was an admission of guilt.
Wu Jun drove toward the small supermarket. As it happened, he also had something to discuss with Huang Zili.
No one was in charge of the market over in Xinhua District yet. He had originally planned to give the role to Ma Siyu, but she had turned it down. Now, Wu Jun intended to hand it over to Huang Zili.
Aside from his own family, Wu Jun was closest to Huang Zili. They were buddies who went way back. And now, with his friend’s family facing hardship, it was the perfect time to offer help.
Half an hour after hanging up, Wu Jun parked his pickup truck in front of the building. He saw Huang Zili smoking out front while his daughter, Huang Jiayi, skipped and twirled around him.
The pair’s demeanor was completely different from the last time he’d seen them.
Huang Zili was dressed sharply and looked full of vigor. Huang Jiayi was dressed up like a little doll in an outfit that looked quite expensive.
Wu Jun opened his door, got out, and greeted Huang Zili. "Why didn’t you go inside and wait?"
"Uncle Wu Jun~" Seeing Wu Jun, Huang Jiayi came running toward him.
"Little Yiyi, you’re dressed like a little princess today," Wu Jun said with a smile, squatting down to scoop her up.
Huang Jiayi giggled. "Uncle Wu Jun, you got even more handsome! You’re a super handsome guy, and the auntie inside is a super pretty lady."
’What auntie?!’
Wu Jun felt a wave of embarrassment, but explaining things to a child was even more impossible.
"Huang Jiayi, get down now, or your auntie will see and get jealous," Huang Zili teased, stepping forward to take his daughter. He turned to Wu Jun. "Old Wu, if you’re not busy, want to go out for a few drinks?"
"Sure, let me go get Xu Fei." Wu Jun glanced at the time; it was almost 6 PM, dinnertime. He said this to Huang Zili and headed inside the building.
"Brother Wu, Big Brother Huang and his daughter are outside. Did you see them?" Xu Fei said when she saw Wu Jun come back.
"I saw them," Wu Jun said. "We’re all going out to eat. Close up the shop and come with us."
Xu Fei quickly replied, "It’s okay, Brother Wu. I’ll watch the supermarket. You guys go ahead."
"It’s fine for a little while. Go get changed," Wu Jun said, giving her a gentle push toward her room before she could argue.
"Okay, then." Seeing how insistent Wu Jun was, Xu Fei gave in and closed her door to change.
Wu Jun turned and walked to the supermarket entrance, hanging up a small sign that read, "Out on business. Temporarily closed."
Turning back, he saw a case of liquor behind the checkout counter. It was another case of Feitian Maotai. Old Luo was extraordinarily generous.
’He had only just finished the last case Old Luo had sent him, and here was a fresh supply.’
’Looks like I’ll have to give them a huge red envelope when he and Auntie Xu get married.’
Xu Fei came out of her room in a short-sleeved black dress that perfectly accentuated her slender figure. She had also let down the ponytail she usually wore, giving her a completely different style.
Usually, Xu Fei wore a T-shirt with slacks or jeans. This was the first time Wu Jun had ever seen her in a dress.
"What is it, Brother Wu? Is something wrong?" Xu Fei asked, blushing a little under his gaze.
"Nothing. The dress looks great on you. You should wear them more often," Wu Jun said with a smile. He grabbed two bottles of liquor from the case and gestured for Xu Fei to head out.
The two went outside and joined Huang Zili and his daughter, who were waiting by the door.
"Auntie, you’re so pretty! When I grow up, I want to be as pretty as you are," Huang Jiayi said, making Xu Fei’s face flush an even deeper shade of red.
"Kids say the darndest things, kids say the darndest things," Wu Jun said with an awkward expression, trying to smooth things over for Xu Fei.
"I’m sure Yiyi will be even prettier than me when she grows up," Xu Fei said with a smile, taking Huang Jiayi’s little hand in hers.
Since Wu Jun planned on drinking, he didn’t drive. The four of them walked out of the complex and went to the largest restaurant just outside, where they got a private room.
"This one’s on me tonight. Old Wu, Little Xu, don’t hold back. Order whatever you like," Huang Zili said, handing the menu to Xu Fei.
"What’s all this? We haven’t even started drinking, and you’re already trying to usurp my role as host?" Wu Jun joked. "You’re on my home turf, so you’ll do as I say. Who do you think you are, offering to pay?"
Huang Zili laughed. "Didn’t you pay last time we went out? Stop arguing. No matter what you say, it’s my turn today."
Seeing Huang Zili’s firm stance, Wu Jun could tell he wasn’t just making a polite offer. He felt incredibly puzzled.
’Old Huang’s wife, Dong Yajun, just had surgery not long ago. The guy is drowning in debt. What’s gotten into him today?’
’The Huang Zili he knew wasn’t the type to pretend he was rich when he was broke.’
’And looking at Huang Jiayi’s outfit, it didn’t seem like something that cost a hundred yuan or so. It looked very high-end.’
’Has Old Huang’s luck finally turned? Did he win the lottery or something?’
Since Huang Zili insisted on paying, Wu Jun and Xu Fei stuck to ordering the cheaper, more practical dishes, but he vetoed every one of their choices.
"Honestly, you two... just let me do it!" Huang Zili snatched the menu back and proceeded to order every single one of the restaurant’s house specials.
"That’s enough, Old Huang! We can’t eat all that; it’ll be a waste." Seeing that Huang Zili had already ordered eight dishes and showed no signs of stopping, Wu Jun snatched the pen from his hand.
"Fine, we’ll start with these. We can always order more if it’s not enough," Huang Zili said, turning to hand the completed order to the waiter behind him.
"Please wait a moment. Your dishes will be out shortly," the waiter said before leaving with the menu.