Work

That day, 8:50 AM.

Chen Feng arrived at a small chain supermarket called Yong Le Fu.

It wasn't very large, less than a hundred square meters.

The shelves held plenty of snacks, drinks, and daily necessities, along with a hot dog machine by the checkout counter and rows of cigarettes in the back.

"What would you like to buy?" The cashier was a woman in her thirties, wearing a white blouse and black trousers. Seeing Chen Feng approach, she asked instinctively.

"Hello, I'm looking for Manager Liu."

Chen Feng said, then added his purpose: "I have an appointment with her at nine for an interview, applying for a cashier position. Is she in?"

"Oh, so you're Chen Feng."

To Chen Feng's surprise, the woman in front of him broke into a smile.

"I'm Liu Fang. Hehe, didn't expect you to be so punctual."

As she spoke, she looked Chen Feng up and down.

A black short-sleeved shirt and shorts—not too formal, but the young man seemed sunny, with bright eyes.

She nodded inwardly, already forming an impression, and quickly gestured: "Come on, Chen Feng, this way. Let's sit and talk."

"Aunt Zhang, could you cover the register for a bit!"

Led by Liu Fang, Chen Feng walked to a sofa seating area by the floor-to-ceiling windows, off to the side of the supermarket shelves.

"Sit, make yourself at home."

"Thank you, Manager Liu."

"Ah, just call me Sister Liu."

"Not many young people are willing to work in supermarkets these days, and you're a college graduate too—pretty impressive."

They chatted back and forth, and luckily, the supermarket wasn't busy at the time.

Before long, Chen Feng learned that Liu Fang was the manager for the Yong Le Fu chain in the nearby area, overseeing three locations.

This store was one of them, with four employees total, working two shifts from 8 AM to midnight.

Since one cashier had suddenly quit, leaving a gap in the rotation, Liu Fang had been covering the position herself for a few days.

There were no surprises.

Eager to hire, and with Chen Feng being young, decent-looking, and claiming prior cashier experience from an internship, it was settled.

After a few minutes, Chen Feng landed his first job in this world.

Salary was three thousand a month, one meal provided per shift, six days on and one off.

He could adjust his days off, with a monthly shopping allowance of three hundred yuan and additional internal discounts.

"Any questions? If not, let's lock this in." Liu Fang asked, clearly showing the supermarket was short-staffed.

"Sister Liu, I have a special request."

Chen Feng spoke up at the right moment, not mentioning boxing, just using other daytime commitments as an excuse.

"Could I only take the shift from 4 PM to midnight?"

The martial arts hall's Sanshou class ran from 1 PM to 3:30 PM—time Chen Feng had to keep free.

"Oh?" Liu Fang paused, not expecting Chen Feng to make this request.

She didn't mind, though. Instead, her eyes lit up as she nodded: "No problem, Chen Feng."

"As it happens, Aunt He was just talking about swapping shifts, wanting to leave earlier in the afternoon to pick up her grandson from school. This works out perfectly."

"I'll talk to her about it later."

Chen Feng breathed a sigh of relief; he'd been ready for rejection.

Without further ado, after a few more exchanges, he followed Liu Fang to the checkout counter to get familiar with the process.

"For prices, just have a rough idea—scanning the barcode will pull them up automatically."

"Different membership tiers have different discounts; entering the phone number calculates it automatically."

"And when it's slow, help tidy up and arrange the shelves."

Liu Fang explained patiently, and Chen Feng nodded lightly.

Having worked as a cashier during an internship in his past life, he picked up the payment process quickly. Soon, Liu Fang was smiling and praising him repeatedly.

"Young people sure catch on fast."

"Alright, Chen Feng, can you start your shift at 4 PM today?"

"Yes."

Seeing her urgency, Chen Feng nodded.

Starting earlier meant earning money sooner.

Pleased with his attitude, Liu Fang immediately registered his employee info and the three-hundred-yuan free shopping allowance.

At the same time, they kept him there to share lunch.

Half past one in the afternoon.

Chen Feng arrived at the Martial Arts Hall right on time.

Patting his round belly, he found the supermarket's meal service wasn't bad.

Two meat dishes, one vegetable, and a soup—someone delivered meals on time every noon and evening.

Of course, he wasn't sure if Liu Fang had prepared extra food specifically because he was there, but either way, he ate his fill.

"Next, I need to properly absorb this."

With bright eyes, Chen Feng couldn't wait to practice boxing.

He quickly went to the Locker Room to change into the clothes he'd brought, then walked into the Practice Field.

"Oh, you're here."

Lin Hao, in a white tank top, spotted him from afar, a light sweat on his face as if he'd just finished warming up.

"Yeah, you're early today." Chen Feng nodded, Looking Along the Flow to see other students arriving in twos and threes.

"Eh, nothing else to do. Idle time's just idle time."

"Besides—"

Lin Hao replied with a smile, but before he could finish, a loud bang rang out.

Looking Along the Flow, they saw the burly, robust Xu Dongtai throwing punches at a sandbag.

Bang!

Bang!

The dull echoes reverberated as the hanging sandbag, weighing nearly a hundred kilograms, swayed continuously.

This scene drew many eyes, and a few female students shot him fiery glances.

"As expected of Dong Ge!"

"One punch like that, even the sandbag would burst!"

The Other Party's lackey, Zhou Xin, deliberately exaggerated loudly, even tilting his chin to glance around at the other students, his eyes smug, as if the commotion had been his doing.

Some were annoyed, but others stared sharply, watching Xu Dongtai's punching rhythm Stirred Up a fierce competitive drive.

"This Xu Dongtai, last month his punch test was 89kg."

"Looking now, he's probably already at the Amateur Fourth Dan level."

Lin Hao clicked his tongue in amazement. Chen Feng beside him didn't reply, but his eyes turned a shade more serious.

Amateur Ninth Dan, Professional Seventh Grade—these were Earth Star's rankings for fighters.

Combining strength, reaction, speed, and even actual combat performance, they gave a comprehensive assessment.

Amateur, from low to high: First Dan to Ninth Dan.

Professional, from low to high: First Grade to Seventh Grade.

Many City Boxing Tournaments required participants to hold corresponding rank certificates, or they couldn't compete.

"Amateur Fourth Dan. The punch standard is at least 90kg."

Watching the explosive force of Xu Dongtai's punches, Chen Feng's eyes flickered.

The punch requirement for Amateur First Dan was 60kg.

Each subsequent Dan added 10kg.

As for Professional Grade, the minimum started at 200kg.

Thinking this, Chen Feng's eyes flickered again.

He clearly remembered that when the original body first entered the Martial Arts Hall for testing, his punch was less than 50kg.

Now, with Sanshou basics and an increase in his strength attribute, Chen Feng was also curious about his current level.

"Once the class ends, I'll go test it properly."

With the decision made, Chen Feng's gaze gradually calmed, and he soon walked alone to a corner.

Before that—

Boom!

Back to punching!