On the way back to the supermarket, Wu Jun was at a bit of a loss.
He was in charge of the market here in Xinhua District. He could give it to Ma Siyu, but she wasn’t interested in money.
He could give it to Huang Zili, but he was about to go to Lu Dong to inherit his family business, suddenly becoming a big boss with a net worth in the tens of millions.
A job that was basically a license to print money, and he couldn’t even give it away?
Over the past few days, with a few of his top people out developing new markets, business was booming. This only intensified Wu Jun’s dream of becoming a happy, lazy salted fish.
Besides, everyone was calling him "Boss Wu" all day. What was the point of going out and running himself ragged like some errand boy?
Being so busy you can’t even sit down, working himself to the bone running sales routes—a few days of that was more than enough.
He still had to find a reliable person to take the reins for the Xinhua District market. But who?
Suddenly, Wu Jun smacked himself on the head. ’I’m so dense. There’s a perfect candidate right here!’
"What’s wrong, Brother Wu?" Xu Fei was completely baffled by Wu Jun’s sudden movement.
"It’s nothing, just swatted a mosquito. Come on, let’s hurry home." Wu Jun told Xu Fei to keep walking. "I have something to discuss with you when we get back."
When the two of them got back to the small supermarket, it was a few minutes before nine o’clock. Xu Fei took the key from her purse and opened the door.
After they went inside, Wu Jun turned back and locked the door with a CLICK, then turned to Xu Fei and said, "Let’s go to your room."
Smelling the alcohol on Wu Jun’s breath and hearing his words, Xu Fei’s heart began to race with a surge of nervousness.
Seeing Xu Fei frozen in place, Wu Jun asked, "What’s wrong? Should we go to my room instead?"
"N-nothing. Let’s go to my room," Xu Fei agreed, her face flushing. She turned to lead the way, and Wu Jun followed right behind her.
Hearing Wu Jun’s footsteps behind her, Xu Fei felt so self-conscious that her walk became unnatural; she almost started swinging her left arm with her left leg.
One after the other, they entered Xu Fei’s bedroom. Without any ceremony, Wu Jun plopped right down on her large bed.
Suddenly, a loud CLANG from under the bed made Xu Fei, who was standing by the wall, jump.
Wu Jun bent down and peered under the bed. It was a fire extinguisher about the size of a wine bottle. He remembered it was a free gift from the salesperson when he’d bought the bed.
"It’s nothing, the fire extinguisher just fell over." Wu Jun picked it up, set it aside properly, and then finally looked up at Xu Fei.
"What are you so nervous about?" Seeing Xu Fei’s tense expression and her hands wrung together, Wu Jun couldn’t help but chuckle. ’Does she think I’m the big bad wolf?’
"I’m-I’m not nervous," Xu Fei said, trying to sound tough. She sidled over to the chair at the computer desk like a crab and sat down primly, her back ramrod straight.
"Xu Fei, I want to discuss something with you." Now that she was seated, Wu Jun got straight to the point. "I’m thinking of giving you a new job, and I wanted to see if you’d be interested."
"Huh?" Xu Fei looked utterly confused. "A new job? But I... I think my current job is fine."
"You’ve seen how business at the supermarket is. It can’t even compare to the market outside," Wu Jun said. "Going forward, the focus has to be on the larger market. We can’t just huddle in this little supermarket and scrape by."
Wu Jun laid it out plainly. "I have a much more important job for you. I want to put you in charge of the market here in Xinhua District. Are you up for it?"
Having lived under the same roof with Wu Jun for all this time, Xu Fei was well aware that his business outside the supermarket was much, much larger.
’The market in Shimen City is run by his relatives, like his aunt and uncle... and now he’s handing this over to me?’
"This..." Suddenly being entrusted with such a huge responsibility, Xu Fei felt a little overwhelmed. "Brother Wu, I... can I really do a good job?"
"Of course," Wu Jun said with an encouraging smile. "I told you a long time ago, with your skills, you can do any job well. Working in the supermarket is a waste of your talent."
Promoting Hongyun Rice was a really simple job. Even his fifty-something-year-old aunt could handle it, let alone someone like Xu Fei. Wu Jun wasn’t the least bit worried she couldn’t do it well.
"Then... I’ll do whatever you say, Brother Wu." Seeing how much faith Wu Jun had in her, Xu Fei stopped hesitating and nodded in agreement, a honey-sweet feeling spreading through her heart.
Wu Jun asked Xu Fei, "Do you have a driver’s license? You know how to drive, right?"
"Do I have to drive?" Xu Fei felt a bit apprehensive.
She was a lot like Wu Jun. Ever since getting her license, she hadn’t touched a steering wheel. Now she was a rookie driver about to be thrown into the deep end.
"Of course you have to drive to do sales," Wu Jun said. "You can use the pickup truck I’m renting. Just drive it, don’t worry. It doesn’t matter if you get a few dings or scratches."
"Okay, I’ll listen to you, Brother Wu." Xu Fei nodded. ’I can’t let him down.’
Then Xu Fei asked, "But if I leave, what about the supermarket?"
Even though business wasn’t what it used to be, the little supermarket was still pulling in about 10,000 yuan in sales every day.
By Xu Fei’s conservative estimate, after subtracting costs, that was a daily profit of nearly two thousand yuan. Over a month, that would be at least 60,000 yuan.
A monthly profit of 60,000 yuan was definitely a respectable income in a lower-tier, second-class city like Shimen City. She’d feel terrible for Wu Jun if he just abandoned it.
Of course, Xu Fei could never have guessed that Wu Jun was basically running a no-cost business. Where others might make 2,000 yuan in profit from 10,000 in sales, Wu Jun was making at least 9,000.
The rice cost him almost nothing, and he’d long since recouped his initial investment. Now, every sale was pure profit. The cost of the other small goods was a thousand yuan at the absolute most.
Making around 9,000 yuan a day from the supermarket was a bit on the low side for Wu Jun, who was already making hundreds of thousands daily and would only make more in the future. It was like a piece of chicken rib—not much meat, but a shame to throw away.
Would Jack Ma care about a single small supermarket? Obviously not.
Although Wu Jun hadn’t reached the heights of a mega-tycoon like Jack Ma, he was no longer that invested in the income from one small supermarket.
The energy he spent on the supermarket could be put toward the much broader market outside, where he could earn far more.
Wu Jun thought about his conversation with Xu Minli the previous night.
Xu Minli ran an eyeglass shop. And while selling glasses was supposed to be a high-margin business, that just made others envious, and they all jumped on the bandwagon.
In the last few years, seven or eight more eyeglass shops had opened up around Xu Minli’s store. The competition was brutal, and her income had shrunk dramatically. Now, it was just a war of attrition to see who could outlast the others and force them to close. The last one standing would be the winner.
Wu Jun mulled it over for a moment, then looked at Xu Fei and said, "I’m planning to turn the supermarket over to your aunt to run. That way she won’t have to keep fighting a deathmatch with all her competitors."
"Brother Wu, are you... are you serious?" Xu Fei asked, her voice full of disbelief.
’Last night he helped my uncle find a job, tonight he’s giving me an important position, and now he wants to give the supermarket to my aunt... Brother Wu is being way too good to me and my family. What could he possibly want in return?’
"Of course. I’m dead serious." Wu Jun lifted his wrist to check his watch. It was just a little past nine.
Wu Jun looked up at Xu Fei. "It’s still early. Your aunt probably isn’t asleep yet. You can go ask for her opinion. If she’s willing to take over the supermarket, she can start as early as tomorrow."
"Okay, I’ll go now! Thank you, Brother Wu!" Xu Fei exclaimed, her face beaming with joy. She had the sudden urge to run up and kiss him. She turned and practically skipped out the door.