Chapter 22: Starting to Gain Popularity

Lao Wu.

Wu An watched his older brother walk away, then closed the door and flopped onto the bed.

For no reason, his heart felt much lighter.

It's great to have a chance to start over.

He crossed his legs, hummed a little tune, and felt delighted inside.

Having been woken up midway, he thought falling back asleep would be hard, but soon his foot twitched, drowsiness hit, and with the damp salty sea breeze blowing, he drifted off to sleep with a smile.

He woke up dazed, opened his eyes to see Wu Ping, and greeted: "Brother, why are you here again?"

Wu Ping said: "I brought you something to eat."

"Your sister-in-law said to make seafood while Dad's not home."

"And there's also a dish of scrambled eggs with tomatoes."

Wu An felt warm inside.

He rubbed his eyes, got up, washed up simply, then returned to the bedside where two large ceramic jars held the tomato scrambled eggs atop rice, still steaming.

He grabbed a big bite with his chopsticks and stuffed it into his mouth.

This bite, he had been craving for a long time, even dreaming about eating it.

He mumbled: "It's really delicious!"

Wu Ping laughed: "You'll say anything; before you complained that your sister-in-law made tomato scrambled eggs every day, saying you were sick of it."

Wu An said: "I used to be a good-for-nothing."

Wu Ping said: "A prodigal son's return is worth more than gold."

"Next time say that in front of your sister-in-law to make her happy."

Wu An nodded.

He wolfed it down cleanly and let out a satisfied burp.

Wu Ping was about to clean up, but he snatched the large ceramic jar and went to rinse it.

Wu Ping watched, smiling with relief: his brother was truly different now; the old Wu An would never have done this.

As he was leaving, he intended to take the clothes tossed on the bed.

Wu An shouted: "Brother, what are you doing with my dirty clothes?"

Wu Ping said: "Your sister-in-law told me to bring them back for her to wash; Dad's at the Village Committee now, so she'll return them after washing and no one will notice."

Wu An didn't know what to say.

His brother and sister-in-law have nothing to complain about; they raised him like a son. If it weren't for his past life being such a good-for-nothing, breaking their hearts, they wouldn't have cut him off completely.

Finally.

He didn't let his older brother take the dirty clothes.

If he let his sister-in-law wash his clothes again, what would be the difference from before?

Upon hearing that, Wu Ping didn't insist, cheerfully picking up the two large tea jars and leaving.

Watching his older brother swing the large ceramic jar as he walked, Wu An couldn't help laughing: "My brother, you're getting happy over just this little thing."

"When I make big money and give you, your sister-in-law, and Dad face, you'll have to be even happier."

After eating and drinking his fill, he certainly couldn't sleep.

Aside from that, the clothes need to be washed quickly.

Washing clothes is still easy; aside from the big underpants and tank top, there's just a pair of long pants, which he finished washing in half an hour, then he set up a clothesline to hang them.

In Lao Wu there was nothing; the clothesline was brought by Wu Ping.

Seeing the row of clothes hanging on the line, Wu An felt quite a sense of accomplishment; being able to clearly sense his own improvement is truly great.

He was a bit intoxicated by it.

What should he do next?

At this time the tide is still ebbing, but the system's Luck Value only refreshes after midnight, so going out to gather seafood now would be purely down to luck.

As he hesitated, A Qing arrived.

……

Wu Ping hummed a song as he walked home; on the road he met an acquaintance who, seeing him carrying the food container, greeted: "A Ping, are you heading to your family's Lao Wu?"

"Uncle Gui." Wu Ping returned the greeting; this was his father's coworker and also a village cadre, replying: "No, I'm just taking a stroll."

Chen Gui smiled, thinking to himself how Old Wu could have sired such sons—one a good-for-nothing, one a simpleton, not even knowing how to lie—yet he said aloud: "Why do you still bother with that good-for-nothing younger brother?"

"That kid is beyond help."

"Otherwise your dad couldn't have cut off the father-son relationship with him."

Wu Ping's smile faded; he lowered his head and walked on.

Chen Gui continued: "Old Uncle's advice is also for your own good."

"You and Yueqin still have no child to this day—are you really raising that good-for-nothing younger brother as a son?"

"I recently learned a new term: 'cut your losses in time.'"

"On this point, you should learn from your dad."

These words were like knives, stabbing into Wu Ping's heart.

Wu Ping walked away with his head down.

He really wanted to shout back, but didn't know how; earlier Wu An had scolded Chen Gui, which resulted in their father having to go apologize to Chen Gui.

He didn't want to cause trouble, nor add to his father's worries.

Chen Gui and his father had been rivals all their lives; hearing that the village leadership election was underway, his father's strongest competitor was him, so at this moment he couldn't let his father down.

Returning to the gate, Wu Ping vigorously rubbed his face with his hand, tried smiling a few times, then entered the courtyard where Mei Yueqin was washing clothes.

"Why did you come back empty-handed?" Mei Yueqin looked up, her face puzzled: "Where are Erzi's clothes?"

Wu Ping said: "He said he wants to wash it himself."

"From now on, he'll handle his own affairs."

"Not relying on us, and saying that if we want any seafood later, just tell him and he'll go get it from the sea."

Mei Yueqin smiled: "Erzi really seems to have changed."

Wu Ping nodded.

Lao Er has grown up; from now on he'll do things properly, and from now on he'll make that damned Chen Gui unable to utter a single fart.

He cursed silently in his heart.

……

"Going to gather seafood?" Wu An looked at A Qing's eager expression, unwilling to pour cold water on him: "Alright, let's go; let's try to dig enough for dinner."

Changed into long pants and put on a hat.

He picked up a bucket and headed out.

The two‑o‑clock afternoon sun was at its fiercest; even by the sea, with a sea breeze blowing, one still felt as if about to be melted by the sun.

Those who come out to gather seafood at this hour are all warriors of life.

First they went to Yellow Sand Beach.

What surprised Wu An was that this time, seeing the villagers of the two brothers, they didn't show any disdain; instead they even took the initiative to greet them.

"You two are out gathering seafood again."

"I heard you're doing it, but I didn't believe it; seeing you come to the beach at this time to gather seafood really is different from before."

"Which side are you planning to gather seafood on?"

"Today's a neap tide, not much fun, but you two are lucky—I'll go with you."

"Take me with you."

Wu An and A Qing were surrounded by several villagers; these were the ones who had seen the two going to Lao Xie to sell goods, while the other villagers gathering seafood just watched and were curious.

A Qing felt quite unaccustomed, a bit startled by the favor.

Wu An, on the other hand, was not at all surprised, laughing as he said: "Nothing in particular, just whatever."

"Walk west along the beach."

"Anyone who wants to follow can follow; anyway he's not using any cheats, so if those who follow him can't get any haul, the crowd will naturally stop following."

The two walked forward, and as they went, whenever they saw a hole they'd rake it; occasionally, if luck was good, they could dig up clams, and that was about it.

The few villagers followed around them; occasionally they'd dig up clams, happily praising Wu An a couple of times, saying he led well, and Wu An, not being modest, took the credit with a laugh.

This is the change.

If you want to turn your reputation around, you have to rely on word‑of‑mouth.