Chapter 502: A Little Trick Every Day

Gu Anran had already prepared to kick back and run if Wu An reached out with his "magic claw".

Wu An said: "I won't do anything to you."

Gu Anran snorted: "I don't believe you at all, you're awful, you trick me every time, I won't be fooled again."

Wu An said: "I've prepared a gift for you."

Gu Anran's eyes lit up: "What gift?"

Wu An: "Stretch out your hand."

Gu Anran stretched out her hand, Wu An grabbed it and pulled her straight into his arms.

Gu Anran cried "ya!" and they tumbled into a heap.

"You tricked me again."

"I didn't trick you, look." Wu An handed her the plastic bag.

Gu Anran opened the plastic bag, fuming: "Is the gift you prepared just a razor?"

"I don't need it!"

Having said that, she slapped the razor box from the plastic bag into Wu An's hand.

Then she turned her face away.

Wu An gave a hehe laugh: "Open it and see."

Gu Anran took the box with doubtful surprise, saw it was an exquisite wooden box, her eyes lit up, and she opened it.

She couldn't help but widen her eyes.

Inside was a piece of coral.

One can't say it's not precious, but only that around here, if they want to find it, they can get a large amount just by going out on a fishing boat.

Gu Anran was so angry she wanted to hit him: "Let you toy with me, and still..."

Wu An took out a chip box and said: "Have some chips to calm down."

Gu Anran took it, opening the chip box while saying: "Wait till I'm full and have energy, then you just wait..."

Then.

Seeing the box empty, she was about to get angry when her wrist tilted and a water-drop-like glass bead slid out from the bottom of the box.

"What is this?"

Gu Anran's eyes widened, her eyelashes trembling slightly.

"Take it out."

"Held in her palm."

Wu An leaned in: "Do you like it?"

Gu Anran turned to look at him, eyes full of surprise and joy almost spilling over, she asked: "I like it, what is this, it's too beautiful."

Wu An said: "Beautiful Joy Pearl."

Gu Anran's eyes widened: "This... this is the Beautiful Joy Pearl?"

"I've heard coconut snails can produce them, but I've never seen anyone actually get one."

Wu An smiled: "I was lucky, I got it, kept it safe, it's quite valuable."

Gu Anran nodded vigorously, one hand cradling the Beautiful Joy Pearl, then she kept fiddling with it with her fingers, happily exclaiming "wow" and shouting intermittently.

Wu An saw her delight, and he himself felt very pleased.

They went to the beach.

A gentle sea breeze brushed their faces, a lovely lady beside him.

If life could always be like this moment, it would basically be considered perfect.

……

The sky gradually darkened.

Mei Yueqin called, shouting for him to come back for dinner.

Gu Anran hurriedly pushed him away with a flushed face, half-crouched as she tidied up, walked toward the car, complaining he was messing around again.

Wu An looked utterly innocent.

Isn't this mutual consent?

When useful, you say nothing; when not needed, you turn hostile and deny knowing anyone.

That's turning the heavens upside down!

They arrived at the intersection.

Gu Anran knew he was going out to sea at night, couldn't help worrying, said some old talk, Wu An nodded with a smile, also reminded her to ride slowly.

Gu Anran gave a playful smile: "Not a bit slow, I can't wait to go home now and let Grandma see the Beautiful Joy Pearl you gave me."

"Let's go."

"Remember to contact me as soon as you're back."

Wu An replied: "Sure, after coming back I need to go to the county for some business."

Gu Anran glared at him: "Hope it's real business!"

Wu An nodded: "This time it's real business."

"Our driver's licenses have come through."

"Also, the twenty-five-meter trawler I ordered has been completed; let me go for a trial voyage."

Gu Anran let out an "oh", muttering softly: "Indeed, there really is proper business."

In her heart she inexplicably felt a little loss.

……

Returned home.

Wu Yingwei had also returned.

Everyone had already gathered around the dining table and sat down, waiting for him.

A whole table of dishes, quite sumptuous.

Wu An called out, "Since we're not drinking, what am I waiting for? You all eat first."

He said that and hurried to sit down.

Only then did everyone pick up their chopsticks.

Wu An looked at his sister‑in‑law still wearing an apron and said, "Sister‑in‑law, you've worked hard."

Mei Yueqin smiled, "What's so hard about it."

"Try this salt‑baked shrimp."

Wu An took it.

His sister‑in‑law has labored for so many years; she may have gotten used to it.

But to be honest—

Cooking isn't easy.

Preparing an entire table of dishes is even more arduous.

Washing vegetables, chopping, stir‑frying, then washing dishes and scrubbing pots—although Big Brother and Father help, most of the work still falls on the sister‑in‑law.

While eating, they talked about the new boat.

Wu Yingwei asked, "The new boat is a Trawler. Since it's a trawling operation, the few of you on board can't possibly handle it all, can you?"

Wu An nodded, "Me, A Qing, A Wu Ge, Lao Fu, and Lao Fu's nephew—barely enough, I think."

Wu Yingwei gave him a glance and said, "It looks a bit shaky to me."

Wu Ping added, "It's not just shaky; it's insufficient."

"I heard a trawling net can haul up several tons of catch at once, like a mountain. With only a few of you, you'll definitely be overwhelmed."

Wu An replied, "Even so, it's not guaranteed to be that bountiful."

Hearing him say that, Mei Yueqin immediately spat out a "Peh! Peh! Peh!"—the boat hadn't even set sail yet, what was he talking about? She gave Wu An a good scolding.

Wu An quickly complied.

He also knew that manpower was a big issue.

But on his boat, he preferred quality over quantity.

Wu Yingwei said, "Finding reliable people takes slow searching."

"Yueqin, your several cousins—I recall they're all decent people."

"Why don't you ask if anyone's willing to run the boat with you?"

Mei Yueqin nodded.

The Wu family is a minor clan in Xixi Village; Wu Yingwei, years ago, acted according to the rules, causing many relatives to fall on hard times, so the relationships aren't good and there's little contact.

Now that they're gathering, Wu Yingwei still isn't entirely at ease.

Wu An's mother was among the last batch of sent‑down youths to come here years ago; for some reason she cut off contact with the family and stayed in Xixi Village after marrying Wu Yingwei.

Wu An had asked before, but Wu Yingwei has remained completely silent on the matter.

So the relatives one can count on are indeed few.

Wu Yingwei asked, "I heard from Old Li that you called him to test the boat together?"

Wu An nodded, "He's an insider and knows the equipment."

"Lao Fu is an old fisherman; he's always been busy on trawlers before."

"Having the two of them is enough."

Wu Yingwei nodded, took a sip of wine, and, not knowing why, felt a little uneasy; as the elder he ought to have been supporting, but Wu An had already taken care of everything down to the last detail.

After the meal.

Without much delay, he and Mei Wu rode a cart to the pier, waited a while, and A Qing and Lao Fu Tou arrived; A Qing had also brought plenty of food and drink, all prepared by Aunt Juan.

Wu An was also quite pleased; at least the boat wouldn't need to cook two meals, just a quick warm‑up would do.

Lao Fu Tou would still be the one to set sail.

Wu An said, "Head to Xuan Ya Dao."

He didn't plan to trouble himself further: circle Xuan Ya Dao, then sail around Shuangzi Dao, pack up the Crab Pot and return home, rest a day, then test the boat.

Now with a Trawler.

This little boat basically no longer has the chance to go far; occasionally it runs near the coast.

When there are more people.

The small boat can also be assigned to people.

As long as there's Luck Value, near‑sea earnings won't be bad.

Lao Fu Tou responded with a sound, and the fishing boat slowly left the harbor, heading toward the Starry Sea.