The clerk glanced at his boss and then at the customer, who seemed to be looking for trouble but not quite. After a few back and forth looks, the clerk confirmed that the customer knew his boss.
Since they knew each other, there was nothing more for him to do; he'd leave the rest to the boss. So, the clerk picked up a rag and started wiping the shelves, but his ears stayed alert; he was still very interested in his boss's gossip.
Huang, the boss, gave a resigned smile after his initial shock, put down the newspaper, took out two cigarettes, stuck one in his mouth, and tossed the other to Ermao.
Ermao caught the cigarette but showed no intention of smoking. He waved off Huang's motion to offer a lighter, indicating that he wasn't going to smoke for now.
"I've stopped messing with these things since I had a kid. You're still a heavy smoker," Ermao said as he handed the cigarette back to Huang.
