Chapter 100: The Reason for the Bare House

When Wu An got up, the sky was already bright.

He glanced at his phone; it was already 7:30 a. m.

He had slept eight or nine hours, feeling refreshed, all fatigue gone.

Although making money during this period had been hard work, it had also exercised his body; besides, he had been eating plenty of fish and meat lately, and when he rubbed his stomach he could faintly feel his abs.

He got up.

He fetched water and washed up.

He also glanced at the system.

Luck Value: 101

Daily Luck: (15)

Not bad.

If he worked a bit harder, with this much Luck Value he could easily earn a thousand or so dollars.

He sent a message to A Qing saying they would meet at home.

Arriving home, his sister-in-law Mei Yueqin was sitting at the courtyard gate shelling edamame.

"Here I come."

Mei Yueqin set down the edamame and said, "There's pickled vegetables and porridge in the kitchen; they've cooled down, just right to drink."

Wu An quickly said, "Sister-in-law, go ahead with your work."

"I'm not a child; I won't get burned serving the porridge."

Mei Yueqin smiled, sat down again to shell edamame, and said, "Fine, go on your own; Dad and your brother have already eaten and gone to work."

"The pot is all yours; drink more."

Wu An nodded.

He walked into the kitchen.

The big sand pot contained crab porridge.

It looked like plain porridge, but it wasn't; besides the crab there were many ingredients, the amount depending on the family's circumstances.

This porridge looks simple, but it's quite labor-intensive to cook.

His sister-in-law must have gotten up early again; since the house didn't even have an electric rice cooker, he planned to buy one when he went back to town.

This household also ought to add some appliances that keep up with the times.

It's 2012, yet the household appliances worth mentioning are… actually none— not even a bulky TV, he recalled having one.

Holding the porridge bowl, he strolled around the house and came out, asking, "Sister-in-law, where is our TV?"

Mei Yueqin's expression changed, and she gave an embarrassed laugh, saying, "It's broken."

Wu An: "Broken, but it should still be there; I haven't seen it at all."

Duan Dajie appeared out of nowhere, sneering, "Wu Er, stop pretending to be clueless here— the day the Chen family came and caused a ruckus, they took away everything from your house."

"That TV alone was worth two or three hundred dollars."

"The Chen family didn't even spare the chickens your sister-in-law raised; how could they let the TV go?"

Wu An froze.

Since his rebirth, many of his present memories have become fuzzy; no wonder he felt something off each time he came home— this is why!

He took a deep breath and said, "I understand."

Mei Yueqin quickly said, "It's not that we earned money; we'll just go buy a new one."

Wu An nodded without saying anything.

The family suffered this disaster, naturally because of him; no wonder Father wanted to cut ties with him, but now having forgiven him, Father is still lenient toward him.

He is the culprit; he won't deny that.

But he also wants to settle accounts with the Chen family for what they've done!

He plans to go to town, take care of business, buy what needs buying, then return to handle this matter.

Duan Dajie was munching melon seeds and said, "Even with money, you can't just waste it."

Mei Yueqin turned her head and said, "Duan Dajie, just say a couple less sentences."

Duan Dajie didn't expect Mei Yueqin to react so strongly; she pursed her lips and said, "It's not me saying it— Mei Yueqin, you're too indulgent with this kid."

Mei Yueqin thought, "I'm not indulging Wu An— am I indulging you?" and said angrily, "Your business isn't for you to gossip about my family."

Duan Dajie gave a "tsk", turned, twisted her waist past the Wu family gate, and walked toward the village.

Wu An said, "Sister-in-law, it's my fault; let her gossip if she wants."

Mei Yueqin said, "Our family's gossip is all spread by her; before it was fine, but now we can't let her damage your reputation further."

Reputation in the village is very important, especially for Wu An, who is still unmarried.

Seeing Wu An silent, Mei Yueqin lowered her voice and said, "Don't overthink it."

"After all, it was you who hit them first; they came to cause trouble, we had no money then, they took things, and as long as they don't pursue you, that's fine."

"Anyway, our belongings are what I bought when I first got married; they're almost ten years old, worn out and outdated, some even broken."

"As the saying goes, 'Out with the old, in with the new.'"

"We have money now; it's the perfect time to buy new things."

Wu An nodded and said, "Sister-in-law, rest assured, I won't cause trouble."

In the past he acted impulsively, felt satisfied himself, but left the trouble for the family to bear; now he naturally won't repeat the mistake, and will handle things so as to clear himself.

"A mother knows her child best."

"An elder sister-in-law is like a mother; Mei Yueqin has cared for him since he was about ten, so she can guess what he's planning."

Mei Yueqin breathed a sigh of relief: "All right, sister-in-law trusts you."

Wu An smiled, looking at the azure sky outside, but his eyes were a bit cold.

He hit Chen Long; the fault was his, so he should bear these consequences.

If he hit Chen Long and it was an act of seeing justice and courage, the fault would lie with Chen Long, so Chen Long should bear the consequences; then the Chen family's stealing the sister-in-law's chicken and stealing the household appliances should have an explanation!

……

A Qing came, learned there was crab porridge, and also went to the kitchen to serve himself a bowl.

Wu An asked, "Didn't you eat breakfast?"

"I ate."

"Then you're still eating?"

"I want to eat."

"……"

After A Qing finished his porridge, Wu An pulled the car out of the shed, just as he got in, Mei Yueqin brought over a sun hat and sleeve covers, saying, "Take the hat and sleeve covers; the weather's nice, this trip will take at least half an hour—don't get sunburned."

"Do I need to bring water?"

"No need to bring water; if you get thirsty in town you can buy it directly." Wu An said while taking the sun hat and sleeve covers and putting them on; the elder sister-in-law, acting as mother, still treats him like a child, worrying about everything.

"Are you coming back for lunch?"

"I won't, I guess."

He waved at the sister-in-law, Wu An started the motorcycle and headed for town, passing through the village's main road; many villagers were chatting idly, and he also saw Duan Dajie pointing at him and gossiping.

He couldn't hear what they were saying, but it was surely nothing good.

It's pointless.

He thought this wasn't bad either; at least it proved that the secrecy work over the past two days had been done well.

All the way to town, when he had gone to the hospital, he saw a sneaky figure.

A Qing pointed and said, "Brother, it's Lao Mai."

Wu An took a close look; Lao Mai was wearing a hat and mask—if it weren't for A Qing's sharp eyes, one might not even recognize him at first glance.

He rode over and greeted, "Lao Mai, what are you up to?"

Seeing it was them, Lao Mai immediately flipped into the cargo bed and shouted, "Run, run!"

Wu An didn't have time to ask more; he twisted the throttle to the max, and the motorcycle roared as it shot off.

Through the rearview mirror, he saw several people rushing out of the hospital, those people still holding things like crutches as weapons.

After they had gotten far enough, Wu An looked back at Lao Mai and asked, "What's going on?"

As he asked, his gaze fell on the camera in Lao Mai's hand, and his eyes involuntarily flickered.

For a moment, his thoughts turned.

He knew Lao Mai was a reporter, though retired; this was… taking up his old trade again?