Chapter 114: Wu Yingwei's Attitude

Wu An now came back to the old house, put down his gear, and simply rinsed himself off.

Although he was gathering at the Rocky Beach, his body still got covered in a lot of mud.

Put bluntly, there's no clean place by the sea; even if the beach looks clean, when gathering everyone raking wildly with their rakes, plus everyone walking back and forth, by the time they leave it's a mess.

When he changed clothes he also discovered he'd somehow bumped his legs, leaving some small wounds.

What he earned was hard-earned money.

If his Luck Value isn't high, earning four or five hundred a day is just making do; in fact it's only a little more than what a migrant worker makes.

But considering he only worked three or four hours, there's really nothing to complain about.

He gathered up the drying clothes; clothes washed daily, blessed by good weather, the sun‑kissed garments smelled of sunshine, he changed into a T‑shirt and big shorts, pulled on his slippers, and headed home.

When he was still about ten steps from the gate, he smelled a rich aroma of food coming from inside.

He walked a couple of steps quickly; Lao Meng was at the gate tidying up his farming tools, which hadn't been used in a long time and needed regular cleaning.

Others might not have this leisure, but Lao Meng does.

His two sons are successful, living elsewhere, and regularly send money back each month.

He tends his own little plot of land, planting some vegetables and fruits to meet his own needs, and often sends produce to their family.

If anything else is lacking at home, he just buys it with money.

If you had to say who in the whole village Wu An envies most, it's Uncle Meng.

Who wouldn't envy such an old‑age life?

He certainly doesn't want his own old age to be like his father's, running errands for the village from youth until now with no rest.

Even if he retired later, there would still be many village matters that would trouble his father.

Wu An muttered to himself, then greeted Lao Meng aloud.

Lao Meng curiously asked, "You're back so late—what did you get?"

Wu An said, "Nothing much."

"I went to the east side of the dock's Rocky Beach and dug up a lot of sea snails."

"Sea snails aren't worth much; after all that work I only made four or five hundred."

Lao Meng didn't know what to say.

He knew Wu An wasn't showing off, but hearing that really didn't feel good.

He wanted to complain, but in the end didn't know how to say it.

Wu An saw Lao Meng's constipated expression, found it amusing, and suddenly thought that "Versailles literature" hasn't yet taken off.

"Wait a moment," Lao Meng said, rose, put the farming tools in the side room, then went back inside and fetched two bottles of liquor.

Wu An glanced and saw it was Maotai, aged, and said, "Uncle, we're just drinking among ourselves—no need for something this good."

Lao Meng shoved the two bottles at him, saying, "What are you talking about? It's precisely because we're family that we get to drink this good; if it were an outsider I wouldn't bring it out."

"Besides, I'm always mooching meals and drinks, so I ought to show some appreciation."

"Just cut the chatter."

With the elder speaking, Wu An shook his head and didn't say more.

It's said that distant relatives are no match for close neighbors.

These neighbors, getting along day by day, are practically family.

Of course, one also has to look—take the family of Duan Dajie across the way; they don't get along well with them.

But it's not that the Duan Dajie family are bad; it's just that their wavelengths don't match.

Wu An and Lao Meng were talking as they entered the courtyard; Wu Ping came out from the kitchen: "Ah Zheng, how was the gathering?"

"Just dug up some sea snails, made a few hundred bucks."

"That's nice—you never come back empty‑handed from gathering." Wu Ping glanced at the bucket of sea snails: "These are big and plump, pretty rare."

Wu An said, "I deliberately picked out the larger ones to keep; most are still fairly small."

Sea snails are wild, after all, and with villagers constantly trampling the shore, they hardly get a chance to grow big.

"That's pretty impressive—I haven't heard anyone say you can make a few hundred bucks from sea snails." Wu Ping said, pointing to the kitchen: "Dad got home earlier than you today."

Lao Meng chuckled: "Well, that's quite rare."

Speaking, they walked into the kitchen and saw Wu Yingwei lighting the fire at the stove.

Actually, nobody in this family shirks work; Wu Yingwei occasionally cooks, but his dishes can only be described as "edible."

Plus, he's busy with village affairs, so he rarely gets a chance to cook.

But whenever he has time he comes to help, unlike other elders who just wait for the meal to be served, then toss their bowls and chopsticks after eating.

As for Wu An, spoiled rotten by Mei Yueqin, at home he basically expects clothes to be handed to him and food to be placed in his mouth.

As a result, after Wu Yingwei kicked him out to sweep the ground, he learned to cook, which surprised everyone.

The table was already full of dishes; everyone pitched in and quickly finished the pan‑fried sea snails as the main staple.

"This food and drink—even during New Year it's not this lavish." Wu Yingwei watched Wu An pour the liquor, took in the full table, and sighed.

"We've got a big family, so we definitely need more dishes; otherwise there wouldn't be enough to eat." Wu An laughed: "Wait till I go out to sea tomorrow—I should be able to rustle up plenty of seafood."

"From now on, keep a portion of everything for the house."

"No, no," Mei Yueqin shook her head, saying, "What if we can't finish it? Seafood doesn't keep."

Wu An said, "That's simple—if we can't finish it at home, sister‑in‑law, you can send the leftovers to your parents' house."

Mei Yueqin laughed through tears, saying, "These days I've been going back to my parents' place often, and they won't let me bring anything home, saying if you can't finish it you just can't finish it."

Everyone joined in the laughter.

Hearing he'd go out to sea, everyone asked a few more questions and told him to stay safe.

Seeing everyone getting more and more worked up, Wu An hastily raised his cup to cut them off.

Come, let's drink a cup first.

Cheers.

Wu An, you've gone through a calamity today; Uncle wishes you smooth sailing in the future.

Thank you, Uncle.

Wu Ping and Mei Yueqin also said a few words; everyone looked at Wu Yingwei, who took a sip of wine and said, 'In the future, discuss matters more with the family.'

Wu An was overjoyed and quickly replied, 'Okay, Dad.'

I'll toast you with a cup.

Father and son drank a cup.

Everyone drank and chatted happily; the atmosphere was wonderful.

Wu Yingwei drank and drank, unknowingly getting drunk again, lying on the bed with a smile on his face.

Before, when he got drunk he would always sigh and groan, sometimes even vomiting under the covers.

Mainly, his mood when drinking is different now.

So he is also willing to finish work early and go home to eat with the children.

They drank one and a half bottles out of two; the remaining half bottle was taken back by Uncle Meng, since he's not an outsider there's no need for formalities, and Uncle Meng can have a couple drinks in his spare time.

This wine is valuable, far more expensive than a table full of dishes.

After helping the older brother and sister tidy up, Wu An rode his motorcycle back to the old house and fell asleep peacefully.

On the second day, Wu An got up early as usual.

Yesterday he drank quite a bit, but there was no aftereffect, his head didn't hurt, and he felt refreshed.

He opened the door and gazed at the distant blue sea and sky, feeling inexplicably exhilarated.

Just after washing his face, A Qing came running over; breakfast was sea snail meat buns.

Steaming hot, he took a bite, his mouth filled with fresh fragrance, and praised: 'Aunt Juan's buns are absolutely amazing.'

A Qing took four buns and directly stuffed them all into his stomach.

After eating, he mounted his motorcycle and headed straight for town.

There's a lot to do today; yesterday, because he suddenly got a phone call, he didn't buy appliances, today he's getting everything ready, and then he'll go find Lao Mai to ask about the follow-up.