Chapter 313: Subject to Money

Mei Donghai looked at Mei Wu, who stood aside like a pillar, and said, "In the future, you should learn more from A An."

Mei Wu remained silent, his eyes flickering upward slightly, thinking to himself that he was working at the factory now and couldn't learn even if he wanted to.

Wu An said, "It's right that I should be learning from Brother Wu."

"Compared to Brother Wu, I was totally messed up before."

"Brother Wu is solid in both his work and character; if it weren't for his example, I might not have learned well."

Mei Wu turned his head, looking at him with a surprised expression.

Everyone else also looked surprised, not expecting him to speak like that.

Wu An really is different now.

It's understandable that a person becomes diligent and improves, but for his personality to undergo such a big change is truly not easy.

As the saying goes, "It's easy to change the rivers and mountains, but hard to change one's nature."

In the past, Wu An wouldn't have been so considerate of others or spoken up for them.

Back then, for any little matter, explaining a single problem to Mei Wu would have him repeat it over and over several times.

Nowadays, he actually can speak up for Mei Wu.

He's no longer arrogant, having become mature and steady.

Wu An rose and walked toward the kitchen, seeing the table already full of dishes, and exchanged a couple of polite remarks with Mei Wen.

"Let's just have something casual for lunch; you're not an outsider, so I didn't make any special preparations." Mei Wen said while stir-frying the vegetables, laughing.

"Brother Wen, hearing you say that makes me happy." Wu An paused, looking at the dishes on the table: "If there weren't a dozen or so dishes on this table, I'd believe what you said."

The meal was taken in the hall.

There was no air conditioning.

A few electric fans were blowing, which made it fairly cool.

Everyone sat down.

Wu An went to pull Mei Wen, who was still busy in the kitchen, out and wouldn't let him keep cooking.

The family raised their cups, full of joy and harmony.

"Come, have a drink."

"A An, don't pretend; I'm glad you came today, so keep me company for a few more drinks."

"Yeah, drinking too much is fine; we can still squeeze together like before, following A Wu."

"No, no, no, there's no room to squeeze now; I'll sleep on the floor mat."

"Hahaha."

Wu An rose and raised a cup to Elder Mei, then raised another cup to the old lady.

Many of the women here can also drink a bit, and what they drink is the homemade rice wine they brew themselves.

Just as they were about to pour the wine,

Mei Xiaoxiao volunteered, saying she would take care of pouring the wine.

Wu An happily agreed.

Mei Wen coughed and said, "What nonsense, you little brat."

Wu An said, "It's quite good."

Mei Xiaoxiao may be young, but she's opinionated, speaks and acts openly, and is very outgoing.

With such a personality, when she grows up and enters society, she'll be able to get by.

With a bit of luck, she'll definitely not do poorly.

This kid is the first of the younger generation in their whole family; he can be well nurtured and later be able to support the household and establish a lineage.

The meal finished.

Wu An's face was flushed red again from drinking.

But he hadn't drunk too much; partly because everyone was drinking casually, not pressuring others, and Wu An was actually quite happy, actively asking for more drinks.

The result was that his sister-in-law slammed the table to suppress him.

On the other hand, his older brother Wu Ping drank too much directly.

If a son-in-law comes to visit and doesn't get drunk, it means they haven't taken proper care of him.

They cleared the bowls and chopsticks.

Wu An still wanted to show off a bit.

Mei Wu called out to him: "Enough, with all the work around the house, I've never seen you wash a dish once."

"Don't go overboard with your enthusiasm."

"You wouldn't want me, after you leave, to have my parents use this to educate me again, would you?"

Wu An: "……"

After resting a while, with nothing much to do in the afternoon, everyone sat around cracking seeds, drinking tea, and chatting.

Wu An indirectly asked about Mei Wu's job situation and his wages and benefits.

His monthly salary is around 3000, and besides room and board, there are basically no other benefits.

Actually, this salary is quite decent for the town, especially since he doesn't have to go elsewhere and can return home anytime to look after the house.

But compared to going out to sea with him, there's simply no comparison.

He plans to find an opportunity to take Mei Wu out to sea for a trip.

The family sat together, naturally chatting about everyday household matters.

It's nothing more than food, drink, housing, transportation, and work life; Mei Wen and her husband are considering whether to settle in the town, buying a house so that Mei Xiaoxiao can attend school peacefully.

Regarding that idea of the couple, Wu An is very supportive; as long as they don't buy a stalled building, they'll surely not lose out or be deceived.

He said: "If you're buying a house, I can help give some advice."

So although he wasn't in his hometown, he had still heard some rumors about future plans in the city.

Roughly aware which areas will have good development in the future; up to now that area might still be wasteland.

He also suggested Mei Wen could do it herself; with such skill, opening a fast-food place could make money.

Mei Wen blinked, hesitant: "Can opening a fast-food place work?"

"There are plenty of small eateries in our town; working hard doesn't guarantee wealth."

Wu An said: "The fast-food place I'm talking about is different from ordering at a restaurant where the chef stir-fries fresh."

"Cook the dishes first, lay them out for customers to choose."

"There are twenty or thirty dishes; customers pick whatever they want to eat."

"If opened near the dock, with foot traffic and affordable prices, business will surely be steady."

"If scaled up, it could even become a chain."

Wu An briefly explained the operating model of those chain fast-food places from his previous life.

Actually, there's nothing special about it.

Speaking of which, being able to eat freshly stir-fried dishes in the future is what makes a restaurant conscientious.

In his previous life, he had eaten plenty of pre-made meals; pre-made meals were tolerable—at least clean—but the food from those unscrupulous eateries… even stray dogs would shake their heads at their cooking process.

Mei Wen, hearing him, pondered and said: "Listening to you, it sounds like there might be some promise."

"Ah, better forget it."

"Doing that would likely require a sizable investment."

"The family's money barely covers a down payment on a house in the city."

In other words, if they opened a fast-food place, they definitely couldn't buy a house.

If done well, it might still take a long time to break even; if done poorly, the house would be lost.

With no extra money, his risk tolerance is too low; he can't afford to gamble.

Mei Wen was somewhat tempted, but reality wouldn't allow it.

Wu An had wanted to say more, but hearing that the family thought Mei Wen's consideration was right, he didn't add anything.

Right now he also has no spare money.

When he later has more funds, he wouldn't mind making an investment, also as a way to repay the Mei family for their care.

Moreover, catering is also part of the inn industry—food, drink, lodging, transport; for an inn, besides comfortable lodging, distinctive food service is also a major draw for guests.

But without money, he lacks confidence, afraid to speak loudly.

Yet he isn't anxious.

Compared to most ordinary people, he's already quite fortunate and has the ability to earn money!

What more could he possibly be dissatisfied with?

Wu Ping slept over an hour, woke up saying he wanted water, so Mei Yueqin simply let him sleep in the car.

It's time to go home.

Just as they reached the gate, they saw several people running past from the gate, shouting that something had happened, something had happened.

Right after that.

Chen Lin also ran past the gate, looking hurried.

"What's going on?"

Mei Donghai walked to the gate, seeing Chen Lin and the others running, his face also full of suspicion.

At that moment.

Wu An's phone rang; he looked and saw it was Lao Fu Tou calling.

He reacted, thinking it might be that the Chen family had trouble.

Really?

So soon?

He answered.

From the receiver came Lao Fu's voice: "A An, a group of people came and smashed the Chen Lao Da's place."

Everyone's gone to look.

"And… some even suspect it's people I sent… not… not you, right?"

Wu An laughed: "Of course it wasn't me."

"Where are you?"

"I happen to be in Shangwancun; let's go over and join the excitement."

The casino owner's reaction was much faster than he expected, also indicating the venue was unexpectedly swept away, the owner is furious, so Chen Baosheng's fate will surely be grim.