Chapter 32: Ashamed to Return Home

On the other side.

Wu Yingwei returned home, was eating breakfast, pointed at the crab tiger in the basin, and asked knowingly, "Where did the crab tiger in the basin come from?"

Mei Yueqin looked toward Wu Ping.

Originally, she had planned to say she brought it from her natal home, but she didn't expect Wu Yingwei to suddenly come home; usually he was busy until noon before coming home to eat.

This early in the morning, she said she went to her natal home; Wu Yingwei would definitely not believe it.

Wu Ping's eyes darted, and he hemmed and hawed.

Wu Yingwei furrowed his brows: "What's up, can't you speak? Or did you steal it?"

"No, no." Wu Ping said, forcing himself: "Actually... actually it was A An who sent it."

"He caught it."

"I and Yueqin can vouch for him."

Mei Yueqin also said: "Yes, yes, yes, I see the second son is different from before, Dad, you must not get angry..."

Wu Yingwei said: "At least you two still acknowledge me as your father."

"There's still business in the village."

"Let's go."

After saying that, he put down his bowl and chopsticks, hands behind his back, and went out.

Wu Ping and Mei Yueqin looked at each other.

After Wu Yingwei walked out the door, Wu Ping then asked: "Yueqin, what do you mean by Dad's behavior?"

Mei Yueqin said: "Hard to say."

"Dad probably already knows about the second son's reformation."

"Fortunately you just told the truth; otherwise Dad might have gotten angry."

Wu Ping gave a bitter smile: "I wouldn't dare lie to Dad."

Mei Yueqin seized the crucial point: "Then who dare you lie to?"

Wu Ping raised his hands in surrender: "I dare not lie to anyone."

"You rest, I'll clean up."

Mei Yueqin was tidying the bowl and chopsticks, rolled her eyes: "Alright, I'll do it."

Wu Ping asked: "Since Dad isn't angry, do you think A An can come back home to live?"

Mei Yueqin frowned: "That's hard to say."

"Let's wait until dinner and try bringing it up then."

"I'll stew these crab tigers with tofu tonight, and then give half to the second son to take over."

Wu Ping nodded with a smile, took a long breath, and said: "Dad finding out is good; from now on we won't have to sneak around."

"Before, we gave him a hard time."

"To give the younger brother something, we had to avoid people, not daring to take the main road, only sneaking through alley entrances in a roundabout way, skulking like thieves."

……

Wu Yingwei came to the Village Committee as usual.

Everyone greeted him cheerfully.

"Old Wu, you're here."

"I heard your second son has been sending a lot of crab tigers home?"

"Tsk tsk tsk, really enviable; the last time I ate crab tiger was last year, I almost forgot what it tastes like."

Wu Yingwei said: "It's simple; after I eat it tonight, I'll tell you tomorrow what it tastes like."

That person laughed and cursed: "Damn, I thought you'd invite me to a meal."

"Old Wu, you're in a good mood today."

"Indeed, now the whole village knows his second son has reformed, every day he brings his little brother A Qing to gather seafood, catching a lot of valuable seafood."

"A prodigal son's return is worth more than gold."

"Young people need discipline; if you don't give them a stern lesson, they won't become sensible."

Everyone chatted and laughed.

At this moment.

After Chen Gui came, everyone followed him asking, since he was also involved, they asked how many crab tigers Wu An had caught, how much money he'd spent, etc.

Chen Gui was so angry he wanted to curse his mother; truly, he touched the sore spot.

Hearing everyone talk about the prodigal son's return and urging Wu Yingwei to let Wu An come home, Chen Gui felt even worse, increasingly feeling like a clown.

Wu Yingwei saw everyone exaggerating more and more, and quickly said: "Who knows if he's acting or being genuine."

"What 'prodigal son's return is worth more than gold'."

"Let's wait and see."

Chen Gui also shouted: "Stop idle chatter, let's start the meeting, start the meeting."

Actually, the village's work isn't that tense or busy; mainly there are many trivial matters.

Some tasks are thankless and hard; nobody wants to do them, but Wu Yingwei will take them on.

Over time, he thus appears especially busy.

Others are idle, but they don't seem much more comfortable; some even have opinions about Wu Yingwei: "What's up, we're all idle, why are you being singled out?"

……

Wu An was awakened by hunger.

After glancing at the little alarm clock, it was already 1:30 PM; he rubbed his eyes, sat up, washed his face with cold well water, and then became fully awake.

He moved the beer, rice, and noodles indoors, and he was at a loss.

Just woke up, feeling lazy, he didn't want to bother with food or drink at all.

Moreover, it was scorching; even a slight move drenched him in sweat, not to mention lighting a fire to cook.

He still had two packs of instant noodles bought in the early morning, and was about to boil water to make a meal when he saw a figure striding toward him under the scorching sun.

The sun outside was blazing, the heat making the air waver; he thought he was hallucinating, rubbed his eyes to confirm, then rushed out: 'Sister-in-law, what brings you here?'

Mei Yueqin saw the line of clothes on the drying rack, a hint of joy flashing in her eyes; even though she knew Wu An was studying well, seeing it herself still made her happy, and she said: 'I brought you food.'

Wu Ping took the two large ceramic jars and said: 'Why bring food at noon? I bought rice and noodles, and have instant noodles; just eating a bit will do.'

This sun could roast a person… Quick, go inside, go inside.

He went inside, swiftly turned the electric fan to face his sister-in-law and cranked the speed to max.

Mei Yueqin told him not to fuss and to hurry up and eat.

There was no stool in the room, so Wu An simply squatted by the door, opened the large ceramic jar—one held rice topped with shredded meat and stir-fried jar beans, the other contained steamed salted fish.

Seeing the salted fish, Wu An's eyes lit up; he grabbed a piece with his hand and shoved it into his mouth—there were hardly any bones, and even if there were, he didn't need to spit them out, he could just chew and swallow.

While eating, he mumbled: 'Sister-in-law, your salted fish is absolutely delicious.'

He gulped down two mouthfuls of rice, feeling immensely satisfied.

As he ate, his eyes grew sore; he quickly lifted his head so he wouldn't tear up in front of his sister-in-law.

Salting fish is a tradition here; without refrigerators in the past, people cured fish to eat later, and even now that freezers are available, every household still salts fish to eat.

Later, while working away from home, when he missed home he craved a taste of his hometown's cooking; he searched online, found sellers of salted fish that looked just like the kind from home, and bought some to try.

The result.

The salted fish looked the same, but its taste was far worse than his sister-in-law's.

Only then did he grasp the maxim: 'Things easily obtained are often not cherished until lost, and then regret comes too late.'

A bite of salted fish, a bite of rice, he ate in big mouthfuls, his heart brimming with mixed feelings; in this life he must cherish all he now possesses even more.

Mei Yueqin wasn't idle; the floor was stone slabs, she saw some dirt, instinctively grabbed a broom and swept, saying: 'Erzi, Dad already knows what's happened these two days; wait till I talk with your brother tonight, maybe you can go home tomorrow.'

Upon hearing this, Wu An paused his meal, swallowed the food in his mouth, wiped his lips, and said: 'Sister-in-law, no rush.'

'Even if Dad allows me to go home tomorrow, I won't just return like that.'

'If I don't do something to make everyone view me differently, I really have no face to go home.'