Chapter 12

Wu An called out to A Qing, divided the remaining fish into two, and said: "I'm in a hurry to deliver the fish."

"Wait until after dinner, come to my house... Lao Wu."

"When the time comes, we'll settle the accounts."

A Qing scratched his head: "Settle accounts?"

Wu An said: "This time it's the money from selling the fish."

A Qing shook his head and said no: "Brother, I'm just following you to have fun."

"These fish are fine for me to take."

After saying that, he picked up the divided fish, caught up with Li Juan who had already walked far ahead pulling the cart, ran far enough, then waved his hand as a farewell.

Wu An smiled.

Lao Xie puffed on his cigarette, chuckling happily: "Your little brother is quite sensible."

Wu An nodded.

……

A Qing threw the fish onto the cart, even snatched the cart to pull it, saying: "Mom, my brother gave them."

"He still wants to give me a share of the money, but I didn't take it."

"The fishing rod and tackle are what he borrowed after cracking his head."

"Originally I couldn't catch any fish, but with my brother's guidance I managed to catch a few."

"Mom, fishing is really fun."

He chattered on nonstop, Li Juan smiled and nodded, thinking, "Who says my son is stupid? That's just their blindness; my son is actually clever."

She casually agreed: "Pretty good, pretty good."

A Qing said: "Mom, cook all these fish tonight."

"Stew Stone Nine Public into soup, steam the sea bass, and braise the black bream."

Li Juan smiled and nodded.

"There are only two of us at home; cooking all these fish would definitely be more than we could eat, but it doesn't matter—my son finally managed to bring fish home, and he's pleased, so we should go along with it."

……

Wu An carried the fishing box home.

"Inside the fishing box were Stone Nine Public, sea bass, black bream, plus water—still quite heavy."

After walking a while, he was already sweating all over, but fortunately it was evening; the distant sunset was blood-red, the sun didn't beat on him, and after sweating, a sea breeze blew, so he didn't feel sweltering.

As he walked home, he was still a bit nervous.

What should he say when he later meets his father and older brother and sister-in-law?

He felt timid upon nearing his hometown.

Having lived two lives, the thought of facing his family still made him somewhat uneasy.

Mainly because he knows he's not welcome, likely to be met with a cold shoulder despite his warm approach.

Before, he never considered these things, and it was even less likely he'd think about reconciling with his family; when trouble arose, if he couldn't resist he'd hide, and if he couldn't hide he'd run.

Only after repeatedly hitting walls in a foreign place, with no support, did he realize the kindness of his family; battered by society, he finally learned how to get by.

He regretted it too late.

Now, heaven has given him a chance to start over briefly; he must make a change.

Before he even reached the gate, he happened to run into Lin Hu and Lin Bin, also carrying fishing gear and heading home.

Lin Hu saw him, his face as dark as Bao Gong's.

Lin Bin's eyes darted, he smiled and stepped up to greet: "Wu An, what are you up to?"

Wu An said: "Going to deliver fish to the family."

Then he shouted at Lin Hu, saying he'd return the fishing box after delivering the fish home.

Lin Hu nodded without saying anything.

Lin Bin laughed: "Well, look at that, the prodigal son returns."

"But offering kindness only now is a bit late."

"Your father has cut ties with you; can he even accept your fish?"

Wu An calmly said: "This isn't your concern."

"I'm in a hurry, no time to wrangle."

"Move aside."

Lin Bin's smile faded slightly, he spoke with a sarcastic tone: "A An, I heard those fish sold for several thousand."

"I'm not saying everyone gets a share, but the fishing gear was borrowed from us."

"You ought to give us something anyway."

Wu An laughed at this guy's shamelessness, teasing: "No way, buddy."

"You're trying to play the rogue with me?"

"Are you sure?"

Lin Bin, after clearing his head a bit, said: "Fine, lending you the fishing gear counts as our selfless dedication."

"Then you stole our fish; you should return them."

"Those are sea bass, worth several dozen bucks."

"No matter who we tell, we're in the right."

Wu An frowned.

Fine.

People who eat someone's food have short mouths.

Father was already fuming; don't add to his anger.

He opened the tackle box, took out the sea bass, and said, "This one is no smaller than yours—it's only bigger—so consider it compensation."

We're even!

Lin Bin happily took the fish: "Fine, fine, fine."

He proudly showed off the fish to Lin Hu: "Look, a fish I got for free."

Lin Hu reached out to take it, saying, "Give it to me."

Lin Bin shouted: "Why should I give it to you?"

Lin Hu: "Wu An stole my fish back then."

Lin Bin: "If it weren't for me, Wu An couldn't have returned the fish; this fish should be half mine."

Wu An heard the two brothers arguing, turned and glanced, and couldn't help but chuckle.

Truly, two people whose moral standards are only a notch above his—how interesting.

In his previous life, Wu An was at least a thirtysomething; though he hadn't seen much of the world, he had endured society's beatings and survived the short-video onslaught; he couldn't easily read human nature, but when faced with certain matters and people, he could see through them more clearly than most.

In his previous life, whenever he occasionally returned to the village, he heard that Lin Hu and Lin Bin had fallen out over their catch; their homes weren't far apart, they'd see each other when looking up or down, yet nobody spoke to the other.

Now looking at it, it's probably not a rumor.

You two brothers, just keep quarreling.

In his previous life, they treated me as a joke; this life, it's their turn to watch the spectacle.

……

Before he even reached home, it had already gotten dark.

The village lane had no streetlights; Wu An walked a bit slowly; it had been over ten years since he'd last returned home—he remembered where home was, but the road was really hard to walk.

Coming out of the alley, before he even reached the gate, he heard Father's loud, slightly hoarse shout from the courtyard: "You went to Lao Wu again yesterday, didn't you?"

In this house, my words count for nothing!

Whoever is looking after that good-for-nothing, don't call me Dad!

Immediately afterwards, a voice sounded—eldest brother Wu Ping: "Dad, calm down."

Lao Wu has nothing, and it's been years since anyone lived there; if you don't clean it up, how can the second son live there?

Immediately afterwards, a woman's voice sounded: "Dad, it was I who said we should go."

If you want to blame someone, blame me.

Actually, we didn't do anything; we just cleaned the house.

Father asked: "You two didn't give him any money?"

"No." Wu Ping added: "The second son doesn't have a penny on him, otherwise..."

Suddenly, with a "bang," no one knew what Father had smashed, startling Wu An outside the wall; then Father began cursing.

Anyway, however harsh the scolding, it's mainly aimed at the eldest brother—since he's the father and in his own home, he can scold however he likes, and outsiders won't say anything.

Wu An let out a sigh.

Originally he had worried about what to say when they met, but now he didn't need to worry.

Given the situation at home, what face does he still have to save?

He had intended to leave straight away, but after glancing at the fish in the tackle box, he hesitated, then grabbed the black bream, hurled it hard into the courtyard, and ran off after throwing it.

In the courtyard came an "ouch."

Wu An staggered on his feet, nearly falling, and thought to himself: "Damn, that was accurate!"

Who did it hit?

He muttered to himself and ran even faster.