Chapter 378: Typhoon Again

Gu Anran was still immersed in the joy of being a landlady and couldn't extricate herself; Mei Wen and Mei Wu, the two brothers, also came strolling from the street.

They had been strolling since early morning and now it had already been two hours.

A few storefronts had for-lease signs, but when they asked about the details, good grief, the transfer fee was still tens of thousands, which made the two brothers immediately lose heart.

Moreover, those storefronts were sandwiched in the middle, with restaurants all around, and the location wasn't great.

It was a scorching hot day.

The two brothers ate ice cream while walking, dodging the sun.

Seeing Wu An, they greeted each other.

Mei Wen and Mei Wu were seeing Gu Anran for the first time, feeling a bit shy, while Gu Anran was poised and generous, calling Wu An "brother" as she followed him; once they got engaged, they would be relatives.

Wu An asked about the situation, learned that finding a storefront was difficult, and couldn't help but look at the two storefronts that wanted to terminate their leases, both of which sold clothing.

From the time he arrived until now, although it wasn't a holiday, not a single person had gone in to browse; the business was visibly poor.

Mei Wen shook his head and said, "The foot traffic here is also insufficient."

Mei Wu had done a survey and said, "Brother, but this place isn't far from the dock and the market; at the fork to the south, one road leads to the dock, another to the market, it's well connected—if we make the sign higher, bigger, and brighter, we'll definitely get business."

"I think it's better than Li Street; let's inquire around."

"Mainly, he has already seen two storefronts with for-lease signs posted."

Mei Wen nodded.

Wu An stopped the two of them and said, "No need to ask."

The two brothers turned to look at him.

Wu An put his arm around Gu Anran's slender waist and laughed as he said, "Let me reintroduce you: this young lady standing before you is the landlady of all the storefronts from here to there."

Gu Anran cooperatively raised her hand and waved: "Hello, you don't need to call me landlady; just call me Anran."

The two brothers were dumbfounded.

Wu An gave a brief explanation, and the two brothers were even more shocked.

This is too grand a scheme!

"So that's how rich people make money, huh."

The two of them muttered to themselves.

The group came to the milk tea shop, turned on the air conditioning, and Wu An took out the building's structural diagram; back then, Fang Chuan's father bought the land and built a house in the midst of wilderness.

Nowadays, the new street has taken shape, and this building is at the easternmost end.

Further east, it's still a wasteland.

Wu An pointed to the two storefronts at the far east and said, "Together they're about fifty-plus square meters, under sixty square meters— the area isn't large."

"But look, if you open up this wall, it becomes an open space; later you can set up tables there, and this side faces the road leading to the dock."

"What do you think?"

Mei Wen and Mei Wu said in unison, "Good, good— if we could do that, it would be fantastic."

"Is this open space also yours?"

Wu An blinked: "No."

The two brothers: "Ah?"

Wu An scratched his head and said, "I think setting up a few tables isn't a problem; it's just a bit of a hassle to have to put them out and take them away every day."

"If I inquire and manage to secure that, it would be perfect."

Mei Wu said, "A An, then please take care of it."

Mei Wen said, "A An, you've contributed ideas and helped secure the storefront; I can't offer nothing— here's twenty percent of the fast-food restaurant's shares."

Mei Wu also said, "Right, right— I'll also take out twenty percent."

"Logically, since you have this idea and could pull it together on your own, by reason and sentiment, the major shareholder should be you."

Wu An laughed and cried at once.

"Then he would have forty percent of the shares and, just like that, become the major shareholder of the fast-food restaurant?"

After thinking, he said, "I'll still lease this storefront to you; you just pay the rent normally."

"As for the shares, I'll take twenty percent."

"These twenty percent shares: one part is for my idea, the other part is because, if the fast-food restaurant grows and expands later, I can provide some development plans."

"I neither invest capital nor participate in day-to-day operations; twenty percent is not a small share."

Mei Wen and Mei Wen heard this and also nodded; their originally uneasy feelings inexplicably relaxed quite a bit.

No one knows why.

Wu An took the twenty percent shares, and they instead felt reassured.

……

Wu An and Gu Anran didn't linger long in town; each went home.

According to the forecast on Ink Trace Weather, the typhoon is heading straight for them and will make landfall there.

Many households are making preparations.

As for the typhoon,

how to respond— everyone has experience.

But even if the response is excellent, losses are unavoidable.

This is a natural disaster.

Do what you can, then leave it to fate.

Wu An went to the dock, inspected the fishing boats, tried every means to reinforce them, and finally returned home under the urging of his family.

He didn't go to Lao Wu's house.

Even though the old house has been repaired, it might still not hold up against a typhoon that lands head‑on, and it's still uncertain whether the home is truly safe, but being with family feels different.

Lao Meng is also there.

"Luckily the typhoon arrived early, coming at night, and will be gone by tomorrow."

"It won't hold you up for your affairs the day after tomorrow."

"A An, Uncle has prepared a big red envelope for you."

Wu An handed over a cigarette and said, "Lao Meng, we're not strangers; a little token will do. You know I can earn money now."

Lao Meng took the cigarette and said, "Alright, alright, alright—I've let you, kid, have your say."

Wu Yingwei is also on the phone, discussing matters with Wu Ping.

An engagement is not like a marriage; the immediate family need not be mentioned, and the guests invited are close relatives or good friends, with no villagers invited.

Wu An didn't join in, and took out his phone to open the contacts list.

Since being reborn, he has also made many friends.

Lao Xie, Lao Mai, Qiang Ge, Lao Fang, Qin Zong, Yu Kai Lang and Liu Long, the two Fan family brothers—by that count, I have quite a few friends, enough to fill a table.

Evening.

The typhoon landed as expected.

The mountain roars like a sea tide; I can't fall asleep at all.

The whole family kept watch, hearts trembling with fear; the windows had been reinforced as much as possible, looking on the brink of collapse, yet in reality they were not stable at all.

It still got destroyed.

Next came the raging wind and rainwater surging back.

The entire house was a wreck, and everyone was even more disheveled.

The typhoon arrived quickly and departed just as fast.

But that night, no one could sleep; Wu An stayed in contact with Gu Anran, the signal dropped briefly but was quickly restored, and Gu Anran's home was also in a terrible state, though the people were fine.

The next day.

Everyone was also tidying up.

Wu Yingwei wasn't home; after the typhoon's rampage, there were many busy tasks in the village.

Assessing the losses.

Personnel injuries.

Road damage.

And so on…

Wu Yingwei was heavily involved, and even had a clash with Chen Gui.

The house was also busy; after more than half a day of work, the home that had been a mess basically returned to normal, except the windows couldn't be fixed right away.

That's not a big deal.

Several typhoons pass each year, and we've gotten used to it.

The upside, though.

When the typhoon passes, it also brings the sea's bounty; now the pier is full of people, packing seafood in burlap sacks, and some are hauling them with tricycles.

The losses can not only be compensated, but also turned into profit.