At last, the agreed payday arrived.
That day, Li Laifu acted as though nothing had happened and never mentioned paying wages.
The employees talked among themselves, but no one dared ask him to his face.
The next day.
At seven in the evening, just as the day and night shifts were changing over, people streamed through the supermarket in a bustle of activity.
Li Laifu produced a black-bound notebook and a calculator from somewhere, with a box of fingerprint ink on top, and shouted, "Xiaoliang, come over here. We're paying wages today."
Wang Xiaoliang followed him into the little storeroom behind the checkout counter.
The storeroom was packed with all kinds of goods, leaving only a narrow aisle. The air smelled of cardboard boxes and plastic packaging, with a faint trace of mildew.
Li Laifu pointed to several stacked cases of bottled water. "Sit."
He plopped down on the pile of goods opposite, slightly crushing a stack of Jiaduobao cartons beneath him.
Then he casually grabbed a few flat packages from beside him and stacked them into a crooked "desk" between them.
"This'll do." Li Laifu patted the makeshift desktop.
Wang Xiaoliang found the scene ridiculous and absurd. They were only getting paid. Why make it look like a clandestine rendezvous?
"Call the two night-shift workers in first," Li Laifu instructed.
Soon, the two young men working the night shift squeezed inside, making the already cramped storeroom even more crowded.
Li Laifu pulled a wad of cash from his pocket, counted out two portions, and handed them over.
"Here, these are your wages for this month."
He pushed over a battered hardcover notebook and a pen. "Write down which month's wages you received and how much, then sign your names."
The two young men took the money and looked at