Chapter 8
Hey, young man! Stop right there!
Qi Yaoguang stopped immediately when he heard Fang Jie call out.
"What's up now?"
"The Mid-Autumn Festival is almost here! Our shop needs to display some mooncake gift boxes and pack some fruit to put outside. It'll be very busy then. You'll need to come to work every week from next Friday until the Mid-Autumn Festival. How about this, I'll pay you 150 a day, cash only, is that okay?"
He glanced at Gu Mengzhu, who was waiting expectantly behind him, and readily agreed. She was very happy and skipped along the way back from her lunch break until she accidentally bumped into someone and got scolded, at which point she calmed down.
In the afternoon, the store gradually attracted more customers. Fangjie called Gu Mengzhu, who was sweeping the floor outside, and asked her to bring out all the Qiuyue pears from the cold storage and put them on display.
"This area is all empty, hurry up and put all the fruit on the table."
She answered as she walked back into the shop, and when she opened the freezer, she was hit in the face by a blast of cold air. Qi Yaoguang wasn't idle either; in his daze, Sister Fang launched into a tirade against him:
"What are you looking at? Tell me what's so great about it. You should hurry up and pack all the apples into the gift box; our guests will be coming to collect them later."
Reluctantly, he looked away, folded the foam wrap around the apple, and stuffed it back in. His hands moved constantly, but he wasn't focused; his eyes kept glancing elsewhere. Only when Gu Mengzhu emerged safely from the cold storage did he relax and return to his work with serious attention.
"Hey, can you find me a lemon?"
She was focused on arranging the autumn pears and didn't notice anyone speaking. Seeing her lack of reaction, the middle-aged man shoved her forcefully. Startled by the sudden shove, Gu Mengzhu staggered a few steps away, staring blankly at the man who had pushed her.
"Hey! Aren't you responding?! Didn't you hear me when I told you to get a lemon?!"
Gu Mengzhu was very unhappy with this treatment, but she didn't want to cause any more trouble, so she lazily replied "Oh" and started looking around.
"Here he is! Idiot!"
The middle-aged man grabbed a few lemons from beside her, glanced at her, and spoke with obvious disgust. Qi Yaoguang threw down the empty gift box in his hand and walked straight towards the man. His expression was strange, extremely serious, as if he had been provoked by someone and was about to start a fight.
Why did you push her? Couldn't you have stated your demands clearly?
Although Qi Yaoguang wasn't as robust as the middle-aged man, his height gave him a much more imposing presence. His expression was extremely fierce, causing the man to involuntarily shrink back. The man dared not look him directly in the eye, turning his head away. Seeing Gu Mengzhu's bewildered gaze, his anger surged again.
"I asked her to cover it with a lemon, but she didn't even move! She's like a sweet potato!"
“Hey, look at me! What are you looking at? You said you were just using a lemon to cover your face, so why did you have to push her? Don’t you have any respect for people? Do you think that just because you work here, you’re treated like a servant, someone you can boss around and push around at will? Look at me, apologize!”
"Okay, forget it."
Gu Mengzhu forced a smile, worried that Qi Yaoguang might really hit her, so she deliberately pulled him further inside. He looked at her, his expression unreadable. She thought it was a reproach, and guiltily looked away from him, but her hand still held him tightly.
"What are you doing! What's all the noise about?"
Hearing the commotion, Fangjie came running over like a duck.
"It's nothing serious, Fang-jie, you go ahead and get busy—"
Qi Yaoguang immediately interrupted her, preemptively accusing her. Fang Jie's expression grew increasingly unpleasant as she listened, while the middle-aged man, somewhat smug, watched them with his arms crossed, anticipating a good show.
"Sir, please apologize."
The man was so angry he almost laughed:
"Apologize? Are you kidding me? Is this how you do business? Treating your customers like this?"
Fang Jie touched her freshly permed hair, pursed her lips, and glanced at him casually:
"Without employees, there would be no shop here! I'm sorry, sir, my customers are all very cultured and polite people. You don't even know how to apologize, which proves you're uneducated. We generally don't deal with people like that, so we won't be doing business with you. Goodbye."
"Fine!" He held up his index finger at her. "You've got guts! I'll let everyone know that your Fangji Fresh Fruit Shop bullies its customers because you're a big company!"
The man stormed off, and Gu Mengzhu tugged at Fang Jie's sleeve guiltily.
"I'm so sorry, Sister Fang. What should we do now? Those customers might not come."
"Oh, silly girl, don't be afraid! Everyone in the neighborhood knows how good our fresh fruit shop is. What are you afraid of if he spouts some nonsense!"
She patted Gu Mengzhu's hand:
"You'd better be a little tougher from now on, or you'll always get bullied! Okay, okay, no more looking! Hey you guys, you don't have to do anything! Get to work right now!"
Gu Mengzhu's eyes stung, and she felt like crying, but she was afraid others would laugh at her, so she nodded and walked away quickly, pretending to be busy and starting to tidy up the boxes on the ground.
"I thought I'd get a thank you, but I was just overthinking it."
Qi Yaoguang watched her retreating figure and muttered something with a smile.
"Hey young man, trying to slack off and look at the sky thinking you're feeling melancholy? Get back to work!"
"Sister Fang, I'm not old enough to be deaf, you don't need to speak loudly."
At night, the dark sky was sparsely dotted with stars, and a bright ray of moonlight shone through the window, casting its glow onto the patterned tile floor. Qi Yaoguang's feet touched a bit of the moonlight, but he didn't notice. The fruit shop was too crowded; he had just returned from working overtime for more than two hours and was terribly hungry. Fortunately, Gu Mengzhu had left early, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to eat a single bite yet.
He waited listlessly at the coffee table, frantically chugging water because he was starving. After his second cup, Gu Mengzhu emerged from the kitchen carrying two bowls. Qi Yaoguang stared at the pale white contents of the bowls; the rice grains, except for something else, were even more pathetic than his own wallet. He closed his eyes briefly, then reluctantly opened them again:
"No way, just one sausage? Hey, you skinflint, even if you need to pay off your debts, you need to eat your fill to have the energy!"
Qi Yaoguang complained, then picked up his chopsticks, grabbed a sausage, and waved it in front of Gu Mengzhu, who had just sat down. In a daze, he seemed to notice something else, and with his left hand, he pulled out a shiny strand of hair.
"Hey lady, your hair loss is pretty bad."
I'm sorry.
She quickly reached out and took it, smiling at him twice.
"Hey, your takeout is here!"
"Here I am!"
Gu Mengzhu got up and ran over. He bent down halfway and curiously looked in the direction she left. This stingy girl actually dared to order takeout? This is truly the first time in three hundred years.
What good food is coming out tonight?
Qi Yaoguang rubbed his hands together, watching her unpack the package without blinking.
"Roast goose! I specially asked the restaurant to save it for you, a huge roast goose thigh! The food delivery app is having a promotion recently, with a coupon for 49 yuan off for every 50 yuan spent. I played a game for a long time to win it! Also, I've heard that this roast goose is very good and has a great reputation. Eat it while it's hot, even this little bit costs several hundred yuan."
Seeing him standing there motionless, she asked in confusion:
"What's wrong? Didn't you say you wanted to eat it last time?"
Qi Yaoguang looked directly into her eyes and asked:
"Hey, do you... like me?"
Gu Mengzhu's gaze darted around before she quickly lowered her head, a little guilty and shy, and answered in a whisper like a mosquito:
"It's a little bit nice, I like it."
His smile faded slightly.
"You like me? Sure, but you're so ordinary, what could I possibly like about you?"
She sensed the unspoken rejection and resistance in his words, so she suppressed all her tender emotions and looked up to meet his gaze.
Whether you like me or not is your business, not mine. I don't care what you think.
After she finished speaking, she hurriedly shoveled down two mouthfuls of white rice. Seeing her eating so dryly without picking at her food, Qi Yaoguang swallowed back what he wanted to say. A moment later, she looked up again:
"Hey, do you even know I like you?"
"Anyone who recognizes me, knows I'm a gambling addict and in debt, and still brings me into their home is either incredibly stupid or after something from me. We're all adults, we all understand to some extent, so tell me, how much for one time?"
He picked up a piece of roast goose and ate it plain without dipping it in sauce. Seeing that the skin was still crispy, he nodded in satisfaction.
"Once, what?"
"Money, how much to pay each time?"
"Once?"
Gu Mengzhu looked puzzled. Seeing that she didn't understand, Qi Yaoguang raised an eyebrow.
"Time to go to bed."
Her face was scrunched up.
"You! You're despicable!" She scratched her right arm, shrugging her shoulders. "Do you have any diseases? Are they contagious? If you do, you should pack up and go back to living under the bridge. Let me tell you, the government treats those diseases for free. Just stay under the bridge and don't go out and cause trouble or harm society. And don't be afraid to seek medical help!"
His eyes widened, filled with disbelief.
"I'm warning you, don't stare at me like I'm a cockroach!"
"Hey, hey, hey, don't touch me! Who knows what's on your body!"
She quickly picked up her bowl and chopsticks and stepped back.
"Hey, I'm perfectly clean, okay!"
"Of course, Caihua wouldn't go around telling people he's Caihua; he would only emphasize that he's very clean."
"Don't talk nonsense! You're ruining my reputation with such lies. I'll sue your parents!"
Gu Mengzhu's expression changed slightly. Without answering, she quickly grabbed a few pieces of roast goose and vegetables, then left with a disgusted look on her face. Qi Yaoguang shouted after her:
"Hey! Hey! Don't go yet! Listen to me! Hey!"
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