111: The Thirteen Factories Shopping Spree: Human-shaped Road Openers

The lingering warmth and passion of last night were finally dispelled by the first ray of morning sunlight piercing through the window frames.

Wang Fugui had barely slept all night.

His mind repeatedly replayed that moist, fleeting touch in the darkness, and his Adam's apple still felt a bit itchy even now.

Was it Sister Chen Yun's bold testing, or Little Grass's unconscious movement in her dreams? He didn't dare think about it, nor did he dare ask.

The atmosphere in the attic was somewhat subtle.

Lin Xiaocao kept her head down, silently heating up the leftover pig's trotters from last night and handing them to Wang Fugui. Her eyes were evasive, but the tips of her ears were so red they looked ready to bleed.

Chen Yun acted as if nothing had happened. She quickly stuffed steamed buns into her mouth while scrutinizing Wang Fugui with eyes that were startlingly bright, as if she were looking at a secret weapon about to be deployed to the battlefield.

“Eat faster! You need strength once you're full!” She spoke with finality, breaking the silence. “Today, we're going to war!”

...9:00 AM, Shisanhang Clothing Wholesale Market.

Wang Fugui finally understood what Chen Yun meant by “going to war.”

This wasn't a market; this was clearly a battlefield!

People! An endless sea of people!

The deafening shouts of vendors, the sharp screech of trolley wheels against the ground, and the ripping sound of packing tape merged into a torrential wave of noise that nearly burst one's eardrums. The air was thick with the chemical scent of new fabric, cheap perfume, and the steam of sweat from countless people squeezed together, making one's head spin.

Scrawny men carrying bundles of goods taller than themselves charged through the gaps between people; fashionably dressed female bosses in high heels held small notebooks, using shrill voices to haggle with stall owners.

Forget walking; even turning around was difficult.

Lin Xiaocao was so frightened by the spectacle that her face turned pale. She instinctively grabbed the corner of Wang Fugui's shirt, practically shrinking into his broad shadow.

“Stay close to me!” Chen Yun's eyes, however, were more excited than ever, like a leopard scenting blood. Standing on her tiptoes, she scanned the crowd rapidly and soon locked onto a stall with a “Clearance Sale” sign.

“That's the one! ‘Sister Rose’s Chic Wear.’ Their boss lost the entire factory gambling the day before yesterday. This batch is clearance stock; we can take it all at the lowest price!” Chen Yun pointed to the stall dozens of meters away, which was surrounded by thick layers of people, and gave Wang Fugui the order: “Fugui, clear a path!”

“Huh? How do I clear it?” Wang Fugui looked at the airtight wall of people, feeling a bit dazed.

“Use all your strength to bring us both in!” Chen Yun’s tone brooked no argument.

Wang Fugui didn't ask any more questions.

He took a deep breath, shielding Lin Xiaocao and Chen Yun behind him. Spreading his arms like two iron gates, he shouted in a low voice, “Coming through! Sorry, coming through!”

He didn't shove or ram; he simply stepped forward, using his terrifying weight and power to steadily “squeeze” his way through.

The men in front who were fighting for goods felt an irresistible force behind them, as if they were being pushed aside by a moving wall. They turned around, cursing, but when they saw Wang Fugui's arms—thicker than their own thighs—and his expressionless, honest face, the curses instantly caught in their throats.

Wang Fugui's body literally forced a narrow “vacuum passage” through the tide of people.

“Ouch! Why are you pushing! Are you blind?!” A voluptuous female boss with permed hair stumbled from the squeeze and was about to burst into a tirade.

But the next second, a domineering masculine scent—a mix of sweat and sunlight—instantly enveloped her. It wasn't ordinary body odor, but a strange scent that made her knees weak and her heart inexplicably race.

She looked up and met Wang Fugui's clear eyes, which held a hint of apology, and saw his bronze-colored neck glistening with fine beads of sweat from the exertion.

The female boss's scolding instantly turned into a coquettish whine, her cheeks flushing red: “Oh my... little brother, you... go slower, you're hurting me...”

Wang Fugui didn't notice any of this. His mission was to get Chen Yun and Lin Xiaocao to their destination safely.

In his “Human Road-Opener” mode, the three of them soon fought their way to the very front of the stall.

“Boss! How much for this batch of jeans?” Chen Yun immediately entered battle mode.

“Wholesale starts at fifty pieces, ten yuan each! No haggling!” The boss was so busy he didn't even look up.

“Eight yuan! I'll take them all!” Chen Yun said decisively.

The boss looked up, about to snap, but then he saw the tower-like Wang Fugui standing behind Chen Yun, and the aura he exuded—reassuring yet inexplicably heat-inducing. His momentum instantly weakened by half.

Ultimately, after a war of words, Chen Yun secured several trending clearance items at an extremely favorable price.

Next, it was Wang Fugui's time to perform.

Goods that others needed trolleys to haul back and forth became “accessories” on him.

Four large bags of jeans hung from his left arm, three bundles of T-shirts were hoisted on his right shoulder, and two bags of socks hung from his neck. Altogether, it weighed two to three hundred pounds.

Yet he acted as if it were nothing, his steps steady and his breathing even, and he even had the strength left to protect Chen Yun and Lin Xiaocao behind him.

Everywhere he went, he had a hundred percent turn-back rate.

The eyes of those shrewd female bosses were no longer looking at a simple laborer with brute strength, but at a rare treasure. Their gazes were so scorching they could burn holes in him... The bus ride back was not much better than the wholesale market.

The carriage was packed like a tin of sardines.

Wang Fugui was squeezed in the middle, and the bags of goods hanging on him actually formed a small protective circle.

Chen Yun and Lin Xiaocao were squeezed tightly into the gaps between him and the bags.

Chen Yun was fine; she was practically pressed against Wang Fugui's broad back. Through the thin fabric, she could clearly feel the contours of his back muscles and his burning body temperature. She simply leaned her cheek against him, closed her eyes, and a satisfied smile curled on her lips.

Lin Xiaocao was not nearly as calm.

She was squeezed in front of Wang Fugui to his side, the entire side of her body in close contact with his arm and chest. With the bus starting, braking, and jolting, that unavoidable, long, and elastic friction made her whole body go soft.

She could smell that increasingly intense scent on him that made her dizzy. She bit her lower lip hard to keep from making any embarrassing sounds.

After finally enduring the trip back to the attic in White Stone Islet, all three were covered in foul sweat.

“Quick! To work!”

Chen Yun had no intention of resting and immediately began directing them.

She tore open all the bags and began teaching Lin Xiaocao how to sort and coordinate the clothes.

“This is called layering. Look, pair this T-shirt with these jeans and add a plaid shirt on top. Sell the set for thirty-five; it earns more than selling them individually! Remember, our mouths must be faster than the customers' brains; we have to think for them about how to wear it!”

Wang Fugui was assigned the most grueling task—ironing the clothes.

The new clothes were all wrinkled and needed to be smoothed out one by one with an old-fashioned steam iron before they could be hung out as samples.

The attic was already sweltering, and the steam iron was like a giant furnace. Before long, Wang Fugui couldn't stand the heat. He pulled off his soaked tank top and worked bare-chested, wearing only a pair of large boxer shorts.

His bronze skin glistened in the dim light, and sweat slid down his sculpted muscle lines, dripping onto the hot iron and evaporating into white steam with a “sizzle.”

The scene, full of power and hormones, caused Chen Yun and Lin Xiaocao's movements to slow down as they organized the clothes.

Just then, a few aunties and young wives passing by were attracted by the beautiful clothes hanging at the attic entrance and poked their heads in to look.

“Oh, little sister, how much are these clothes?”

But their eyes involuntarily bypassed the clothes and became glued to the man in the center of the room who was focused on ironing.

“This young man... his physique is really good...”

“Yeah, look at those arms, so much power...”

The low murmurs and unabashedly scorching gazes made Wang Fugui feel a bit uncomfortable.

Chen Yun, however, felt as if she had discovered a new world, her eyes suddenly lighting up.

She walked quickly to Wang Fugui's side, took the iron from his hand, picked out a tight black T-shirt that best showed off his physique, and slapped it against his chest.

“Stop ironing! Put this on!”

“Huh? I'm hot...”

“Put it on!” Chen Yun’s tone carried a hint of undeniable excitement. “Fugui, from today on, you are our stall’s ‘Living Signboard’!”

...In the evening, the lights of the White Stone Islet night market flickered on.

Chen Yun chose an intersection with the most foot traffic, briskly set up the stall, and hung up the ironed clothes.

With Chen Yun's encouragement, Lin Xiaocao also plucked up the courage and began to hawk the goods in her still-unfamiliar dialect.

Wang Fugui, following Chen Yun's instructions, wore that black T-shirt that outlined his muscle lines with perfect clarity. He stood behind the stall with his arms crossed and an expressionless face, looking just like a temple guardian deity.

Everything was ready and full of hope.

But before the stall could welcome its first customer, several youths wearing floral shirts with hair dyed in various colors, cigarettes dangling from their mouths, swaggered over and surrounded them.

The leader was a tall, thin man with a scorpion tattooed on his neck. His triangular eyes scanned the beautiful clothes before finally landing on the faces of Chen Yun and Lin Xiaocao, revealing a malicious smile.

“Yo, newcomers?” He blew out a smoke ring and gestured with his chin toward the stall on the ground. “Did you check in with Brother Biao before setting up a stall here?”