A Woman's Powers of Observation

Feng Jun left the office at five thirty.

When he saw Mrs. Wang had arrived, he froze for a moment before casually handing the branded phone back to Wang Haifeng. "I'm done with it. I'm going to shower... You two talk, Sister-in-law."

After he left, Mrs. Wang watched his retreating back, then quietly asked her husband, "Haifeng, why do I feel like Little Feng has changed a bit?"

"Has he?" Wang Haifeng was taken aback. "How come I didn't notice?"

Mrs. Wang rolled her eyes at him and spoke with a touch of disdain. "What would you notice? I think he's gotten taller, at least."

"Taller?" Wang Haifeng stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Now that you mention it, I kind of get that feeling too."

"His eyes used to only reach your mouth. Now they're past the tip of your nose," Mrs. Wang said with certainty.

Wang Haifeng welcomed his wife getting off topic. He smiled and replied, "Really? Maybe he bought height-increasing insoles... Honey, did you notice his shoes?"

"We can take a look later." Mrs. Wang naturally pulled the conversation back with a stretch of her hand. "Give me the phone..."

She took the phone and called two of her close friends. Both calls were just meaningless small talk. After hanging up, she casually opened ChatChat. "Go do your work. I'll look through your Moments to pass the time."

Could Wang Haifeng say no? Of course he could, but that would lead to even worse consequences.

So he nodded, pretending to be perfectly at ease. "Sure. While you're at it, check the transaction details in the balance too. That kid Feng Jun... Don't let him use my phone to send himself red packets."

"Little Feng isn't that kind of person," Mrs. Wang said, while lightly swiping with her pinky to open the ChatChat wallet...

About ten minutes later, Feng Jun came out of the changing room and saw Coach Wang chatting with his wife. He smiled and greeted her, "Sister-in-law, did you come all the way here because you were worried about Coach Wang? Haha, finding a handsome guy comes with too much trouble."

Mrs. Wang smiled. "He hasn't been home for three days and wouldn't answer his phone. I thought he'd gone missing. I was just about to report him to the police."

Her anger had not fully faded, but after checking the phone, she found that her husband had not been fooling around. Her rage level was not too high.

Seeing this, Wang Haifeng immediately asked his wife for permission. "I want to have a couple of drinks with Little Feng tonight... How about you head back first?"

"Wouldn't that be inappropriate?" Mrs. Wang wore an expression that said it was very inappropriate. "Honey, you haven't eaten at home for three days."

"When we eat at home, we order takeout anyway!" Wang Haifeng waved a hand. "What's the difference from eating out?"

Mrs. Wang looked a little aggrieved. "You don't like the food I make. It's not like I refuse to cook for you."

She had been pampered since childhood and had never so much as touched spring water before getting married. Yet for the man she loved, she had actually taken the initiative to learn to cook.

Wang Haifeng gave her a displeased look. "That food you make... Is it even fit for human consumption?"

Mrs. Wang had an overwhelming presence when she caught cheating, as fierce and unstoppable as thunder. But when faced with other matters, she could only timidly defend herself. "I think it tastes... pretty much fine."

Still, Wang Haifeng cared for her deeply. Seeing her like this, his heart softened again. "Honey, Little Feng got promoted... I have to celebrate with him."

Mrs. Wang immediately stared at Feng Jun in astonishment. "You got promoted?"

Feng Jun gave an awkward laugh. "It's just for show. I only got a raise... I don't even have anyone working under me. How does that count as a promotion?"

"You have your own office now. How is that not a promotion?" Wang Haifeng said with a smile. "The fitness group and bodybuilding group only share one office between us."

Mrs. Wang was actually quite presentable in social situations. Hearing that, she smiled and said, "Then you two should have a good drink. I don't drink, so I'll drive for Haifeng."

Feng Jun smiled and nodded. "Then we'll even save on the designated driver fee... Sister-in-law, you really know how to manage a household."

Wang Haifeng said he wanted to drink with Feng Jun, but what he really wanted was to go to the bank and transfer thirty thousand yuan to him. He had seen his wife's state very clearly just now. They had been only a hair away from a full-blown war.

So he wanted to placate Little Feng as soon as possible, lest anything else go wrong.

Now that his wife was tagging along, he could not mention the money. To show his sincerity, he chose a very upscale restaurant nearby—Fushou Residence.

Feng Jun had not given it much thought. He had entered the space within ChatChat's balance transaction details twice today, and the cost had been considerable. After all, altered data would show up on the phone.

So he stuffed himself with food and drink for a while before he began drinking with Wang Haifeng.

Coach Wang could hold his liquor and usually paid close attention to his health. But with a free designated driver available and gratitude in his heart, he drank to his fill.

Feng Jun had something on his mind. He knew that before he accepted the money, Wang Haifeng would surely remain uneasy, afraid that he would let something slip.

So, using the drinking as an opening, he asked, "Coach Wang, your family runs a factory. Do you know of any good generators? Something around ten thousand yuan will do."

Wang Haifeng gave him a strange look. "You live in the company dorms. Why are you buying a generator?"

"My hometown needs one," Feng Jun said, having already prepared an excuse. "My parents live in the county town."

Wang Haifeng picked up a piece of duck offal with his chopsticks and put it into his mouth. After chewing laboriously a few times, he stretched his neck and swallowed. "I'm not too sure about that either. I'll ask my old man later... I'll get back to you tomorrow."

Feng Jun nodded. "Then I'll trouble you. As soon as possible, please. After payday this month, I might quit."

"Don't do that," Wang Haifeng said anxiously upon hearing this. They had a good relationship, and he greatly admired the hacker ability Little Feng had just displayed. He truly did not want him to leave. "You just got promoted, and you're already leaving?"

Feng Jun raised his glass and took a light sip, then spoke unhurriedly. "A promotion doesn't pay much. I can't even afford a house. With my abilities, I can actually make more money... Coach Wang, you should know that too."

Wang Haifeng knew what he meant. He could make thirty thousand yuan in one afternoon. He sighed. "Are you determined to leave?"

"We'll see," Feng Jun said, not daring to make any absolute claims. "Soonest this month, latest next month."

Mrs. Wang spoke up unusually. "Are you planning to... go back to your hometown?"

Feng Jun shook his head. "Probably not. I'll stay in Yang City. My hometown is just a small county town. How could there be more opportunities than here?"

Mrs. Wang nodded and sighed in agreement. "Yeah. Once you get used to the prosperity of a big city, it's hard to go back."

Wang Haifeng was a man, and he thought differently. "Have you already decided what you want to do?"

Feng Jun pondered for a moment before answering. "I want to transport goods and resell valuable items, like your branded phone. If I went to Sea City and bought a batch to bring back, as long as I could get them through customs, making money wouldn't be a problem, right?"

Mrs. Wang answered first again. "Sea City versions of branded phones aren't very good. Crane River versions support all three networks."

As expected of a rich second-generation heir, her knowledge was truly impressive. She could rattle off these insider details without hesitation.

Wang Haifeng shook his head. "Getting them through customs won't be easy. Even if you buy just one for personal use, you have to open the packaging at customs to prove it's for yourself... Those people have especially sharp eyes."

"That's right," Mrs. Wang agreed with a nod. "How can you sell it without the packaging? And if it gets confiscated, your losses will be even greater... You can't make much profit on a single phone anyway."

Feng Jun frowned again. "Then what if I brought back a batch of cosmetics from Stone Kingdom? That should be easier to sell, right?"

Compared to smuggling branded phones, cosmetics were where the real massive profits lay.

Mrs. Wang nodded again. "As long as you can bring them back, I can help you sell them. I won't promise too much, but I can guarantee you at least a thirty percent profit."

A thirty percent profit meant she would be wholesaling them and still making money herself. That was why it was called a massive profit.

Smuggling branded phones in bulk only earned several hundred yuan per unit at most, and some of that had to be given up to distribution channels. Besides, they were not officially licensed goods. Cosmetics did not have that issue of official versus unofficial stock.

Wang Haifeng frowned slightly as he listened and spoke with dissatisfaction. "I say, why are you always thinking about these crooked, shady businesses?"

"Bullshit." Feng Jun glared at him and answered righteously, "I have no capital and no backing to begin with. During the process of primitive accumulation, who can claim to be cleaner than anyone else? Even if you opened a restaurant, wouldn't you use your competitive reputation to suppress your rivals?"

"I'm only operating in the gray area. That's already pretty principled... Others can do it, but I can't?"

Wang Haifeng was left speechless. The original sin of capital was not just empty talk. Even when his own father had first built his business, there had been plenty of shady dealings that could not be openly discussed now.

Seeing her husband looking a little awkward, Mrs. Wang naturally had to stand up for him. "Little Feng, if you want to bring in cosmetics, you'll need to prepare more capital too. Small-scale business won't do. You might not even earn back the travel costs."

She knew he lacked money, so there was somewhat of a challenge in her words.

"Mm." Feng Jun nodded somewhat gloomily, then sighed. "That's why I'm not sure whether I can quit this month. But I really can't stay here much longer... There's no future here."

Wang Haifeng slapped his chest and said readily, "If you really want to start a business, I can lend you some money. One or two hundred thousand yuan won't be a problem."

Mrs. Wang gave him a seemingly casual glance but said nothing.

Wang Haifeng noticed it and asked her, "Honey, if he brings back cosmetics, you can sell them for him, right?"

Mrs. Wang nodded slightly and replied softly, "As long as he can bring them back, there won't be a problem."

That was where the topic ended. The three drank for another half hour before getting up to leave.

Having drunk this much, Coach Wang really wanted to go have some fun at a KTV. But with his wife there, he could only watch Feng Jun leave.

As he watched Feng Jun's back disappear into the night, Wang Haifeng spoke quietly. "Honey, you don't trust him, so you don't want to lend him money?"

Although their families were not short on money, they were not the type to lend it out casually either. People's hearts had turned bad these days. If you did not know how to refuse, even a mountain of gold could be borrowed dry.

And Feng Jun was merely a colleague from the fitness club. He was not even a local.

Mrs. Wang pondered for a moment before slowly replying, "He really wasn't wearing height-increasing insoles."