By the time Zhou Kun went to deliver the goods, Lu Guifen had already been waiting at the door for a long time.
The day before, Zhou Kun's dragon fruit caused a peak in the number of customers in front of the cash register for a period of time, but soon, the dragon fruit that Zhou Kun delivered ran out.
Hence, Lu Guifen proceeded to purchase 10 dragon fruits from another store and waited for her customers to come forth, thinking that she had made a wise decision. However, the outcome made her flabbergasted.
There were still eight dragon fruits on the counter, but all of them seem a little wilted due to the hot weather.
"Little Kun, you're here..." Lu Guifen saw Zhou Kun's figure from afar, and in turn, she greeted him enthusiastically.
Zhou Kun seemed a little uncomfortable with Lu Guifen's sudden eagerness, but he also knew that the change in his aunt's attitude was mostly because of the dragon fruits.
"How many kilograms of dragon fruit did Xu Cai order from you?" asked Lu Guifen who was asking the obvious. She subconsciously looked at the goods behind Zhou Kun, worrying that the latter would deliver lesser than they had ordered.
Zhou Kun did not expose her and simply answered, "Uncle ordered 15 kilograms over the phone. Did I deliver too many?"
"No, no, the weather is warm now, and business is thriving in the store. 15 kilograms is not considered too much," said Lu Guifen who smiled gleefully at the instant that she heard that Xu Cai had ordered 15 kilograms of dragon fruit.
Seeing that the dragon fruits that Zhou Kun delivered were succulent and fresh, Lu Guifen nodded in satisfaction. They were indeed the same as the batch sent yesterday, and they looked much better than the ones she bought the day before.
"Little Kun, your batch of dragon fruits is not bad. Where did you get them from?"
"They're imported goods that I've gotten from my friends," said Zhou Kun who answered with the excuse that he had already thought of earlier on.
At that moment, Xu Cai returned. "Little Kun, you delivered the fruit so soon. Would you like to have some water?"
"It's alright. After I'm done, I have to get ready to visit my mother at the hospital."
"Yes, you ought to go take a look. It's good that you're here. Let's tabulate the money I owe you for the fruit that you've delivered in the past few days."
"Alright. 25 kilograms of pear, 2.5 kilograms of grapes, 7.5 kilograms of lemons, 35 kilograms of oranges, and 20 kilograms of dragon fruit. 735 yuan in total."
"735 yuan? That's so expensive!" Lu Guifen jumped at the instant that she heard the price. She wondered, 'We didn't even get much fruit from Zhou Kun in the past few days, how could it be so expensive!?!'
Zhou Kun did not get angry and simply began to state the prices of the fruits. "The pears cost 1.8 yuan per 500 grams, so 90 yuan in total. The grapes cost 6 yuan per 500 grams, which makes it 30 yuan in total. The lemons are 5 yuan per 500 grams, so 75 yuan in total. The dragon fruits are 10 yuan per 500 grams, 400 yuan in total."
"What!?!
The dragon fruits cost 10 yuan per 500 grams? They sell it for 6.5 yuan per 500 grams next door. I just bought them yesterday. You sell it at 10 yuan per 500 grams as wholesale price? Didn't you say that you're selling it to us at the wholesale price? "
"10 yuan per 500 grams is the wholesale price."
"How can it be!?!" Lu Guifen was infuriated.
She thought, 'It's no wonder that he delivered the goods so quickly and decided not to mention the fact that I had offended him previously. He even rushed over to deliver the fruits. Turns out he's waiting for me here.'
Actually, Lu Guifen had really gotten the wrong idea about Zhou Kun. Zhou Kun didn't hold it against her at all. He wasn't being calculative too. However, in Lu Guifen's view, Zhou Kun was full of evil intent and was trying to make money off of her.
"Before the accident, your mother clearly agreed that she would deliver the goods to us at the wholesale price. Now that something had happened, you actually turned your back on us."
Originally, Zhou Kun was not going to care about Lu Guifen, but now she suddenly got his parents involved, it truly angered him.
"I told you that this is the cost price. If you are not satisfied with the goods, you can purchase from another seller. When doing business, you should pay for what you get. If you think it's expensive, I will take the goods back now!"
He continued, "Also, stop trying to speculate on others using your narrow-minded mentality. Don't cause us to fall out and end up not being able to become relatives over such a trivial matter."
"Hey... Rascal, is this how you speak to your elders?"
"Enough!" Xu Cai hollered, causing Lu Guifen to be stunned as she froze on the spot.
"Kun definitely wouldn't make us pay for something we didn't order. We'll pay him however much he's charging us," Xu Cai said as he began to take the money from the drawer and counted it.
"What do you mean we'll pay him however much he's charging us? Do you think paying 10 yuan for 500 grams of dragon fruit is reasonable?"
Xu Cai barked, "It's reasonable just because the quality of his dragon fruit is good. Did you manage to sell any dragon fruit from other stores?"
Xu Cai's interjection made Lu Guifen stop because she indeed couldn't sell the cheaper dragon fruit that she had purchased from other stores.
"10 yuan is still too expensive," Lu Guifen grumbled incessantly.
"Count the money, and check if it's the right amount. Once you're done, go visit your mother at the hospital," said Xu Cai who was afraid that he would be put in the spot if Lu Guifen were to continue rattling on.
Zhou Kun took the money and went straight to the hospital. He happened to be busy with the matters regarding the passage the past few days, and it had indeed been a long time since he went to the hospital to visit his mother. He felt that he was wrong.
When he arrived at No.2 City Hospital, Zhou Kun never thought that he would meet someone he knew.
Zhou Kun's ex-girlfriend was resting on a chair in the lobby.
Zhou Kun was about to leave, but he didn't expect the other party to look up and happen to see him. Hence, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and step forward to say hello.
"Tang Xin, why are you here?"
For a while, Zhou Kun was filled with emotions. After all, she was still his girlfriend three months ago. Yet, they were now greeting each other in such an awkward manner.
Tang Xin obviously did not expect to meet Zhou Kun either. She didn't expect him to greet her too. Consequently, she looked at Zhou Kun in a dumbfounded manner and remained silent.
Looking at the familiar face, Zhou Kun recalled everything that happened three months ago.
The accident happened to Zhou Kun's parents all too suddenly. By the time he rushed to the hospital, he was faced with a verdict from the doctors that his elderly parents might not be able to regain consciousness.
All of a sudden, he felt like he had fallen into an abyss. Zhou Kun, who had just stepped into society, only felt that the sky had fallen down onto him.
Fortunately, the expensive medical fees were covered by the insurance company that insured the driver of the vehicle that caused the accident.
However, even so, Zhou Kun was at a loss for what to do about his parents who were comatose.
After he was done with settling the administrative procedures in the hospital, Zhou Kun had an honest chat with Tang Xin. He told her about the situation of his parents and initiated a breakup.
He had prepared for the worst at the time. Zhou Kun had thought it through clearly and felt that he had to bear the responsibility of taking care of his parents since he was their son. However, there was no need to make Tang Xin suffer along with him.
After remaining silent for a few days, Tang Xin indeed agreed to break up.
Zhou Kun did not cry for several days after the incident, but he simply chugged an entire carton of beer on the day of the breakup and cried until dawn.
On the second day, he headed back to the hospital as though nothing had happened. However, Tang Xin's name was deeply etched in his mind.
"Tang Xin, is he your friend?" a male voice asked all of a sudden.
A man walked toward Tang Xin with an invoice in his hand. He scanned Zhou Kun from head to toe.
"Yeah, this is my classmate, Zhou Kun. Zhou Kun, this is my husband."
The man greeted Zhou Kun politely.
Husband?
It turned out that Tang Xin had already gotten married.
"I didn't expect to run into you in the hospital by such a coincidence. I just happen to have something to do today. Let's meet at another time. I'll get going now."
Zhou Kun had no idea how pathetic he looked when he left, but he didn't want to stay there any longer.