The next morning, Eli woke up feeling tired after yesterday tour and dragged himself through his usual morning routine quick shower, brushing, same old coffee. Once dressed, he sat on the edge of the couch, let out a breath, and signed into the system.
Eli then woke Jin up "Hey, sorry for waking you up so early" Eli said in a low voice "Do you want to come and help in the store with me"
"Yeah, why not" Jin replied in a tired voice
Eli and Jin showed up at The Corner Pocket where he saw Mr Duan with a small crew of local contractors. They were older guys down to business, tough, and ready to handle whatever mess needed fixing. Eli looked a bit surprised but gave a nod as they started bringing in their tools and gear.
Mr Duan introduced the men to Eli and Jin "this are men from a small construction company in Briggon " he said with a smile " they are here to work on the plumbing, wiring and lighting "
"First up, plumbing," Mr Duan said, pulling out a checklist he'd made late last night. "Next, wiring. And after that, lighting. Let's do something about those flickering lights that are scaring off customers."
Eli chuckled. "And let's not forget to fix that leaky ceiling before Auntie Lin brings her umbrella inside again."
By noon, the place was buzzing with the sounds of drills, pipe scraping, and the occasional curse. They unplugged the broken freezer for a look, pulled shelves from the walls, and sparks flew as they swapped out the old wiring for new. The store might have looked like a construction zone, but for the first time in ages, it felt vibrant again.
Eli took Jin into the dimly lit back room.
"We're not changing any of the plumbing here," Eli said. "But we are making this storeroom easier to deal with."
Jin glanced around at the stacked boxes, dusty shelves, and the old whiteboard, raising an eyebrow. "This is what we're working on?"
"This is your mission," Eli said with a grin, handing him a clipboard. "We need to sort things out inventory, organize, label. I don't want to dig through a pile of instant noodles just to find dumplings."
Jin rolled his eyes but took the clipboard. "So, you want me to do all that."
"Yep," Eli replied, crossing his arms. "Time to take charge. Don't make me regret this."
Jin didn't say anything at first, but as Eli turned to leave, he muttered, "Got it, General."
By mid-afternoon, the flickering LED lights above aisle three were replaced with a fresh new strip. They tossed out the broken shelf, putting it by the dumpster, and put in a stronger one that a neighbor had dropped off.
In the storeroom, Jin had sorted through half the inventory into labeled crates. He even doodled fun drawings on the labels dumplings in sunglasses, rice bags doing kung fu. Eli saw it and tried not to grin too much.
When Jin took a break, covered in dust but clearly proud of his work, Eli handed him a cold drink.
"You did great," Eli said.
Jin looked away, shy. "It's no big deal."
"It is to me," Eli insisted.
They sat together on the back step, watching the electricians finish up. Mr. Duan brought out some tea and joined them.
"The store looks a lot better," he said. "So do you guys."
Jin rolled his eyes. "I'm fifteen."
"Exactly," Mr. Duan said with a wink. "The store looked like it was eighty."
"So Jin, how would you like to work in the store as a cashier, don't worry you will be paid above minimum wage" Mr. Duan asked
"Yeah this will also help improve your social skill" Eli added
"Give me some time to think about this first" Jin said
" No worries take your time, but remember not to take to long as someone else could be hired before you" Eli said
Jin just stared down at his drink, not responding.
As the sun started to go down casting log shadows across the alley, Eli stood up and stretched.
"Well, this was a busy day, time to head back home" he said " Jin, You coming?"
"Yeah" Jin replied, getting on his feet. He paused and looked back towards the store. " But I might come back tomorrow. I have to finish the other half of the storeroom, right?."
Eli looked at Jin with a hint of surprise in his eyes, then he smirked "Look at who is volunteering already"
"Don't make it weird" Jin replied with a hint of playfulness in his voice
Back at their apartment Eli calculated the amount of money in his account which totaled up to 14,000 yuan. Then Eli stood up went into the room, took down his delivery uniform opened the app, found an order and started his deliveries.