Chapter 626: Gu Anran

Wu An didn't stay long; he left quickly.

Fu Yongning called home and told his wife to slaughter the two chickens in the house.

His wife asked, "Didn't you say it might delay two or three days before setting out to sea?"

Fu Yongning replied, "The plan has changed; tomorrow at dawn."

His wife said, "Then bring back some oysters from the pier later."

Fu Yongning's face darkened, "Got it."

He had intended to say at night that there was no need to eat oysters, but considering his wife knows him inside out, saying it repeatedly would only bring him disgrace.

His wife laughed, "Leaving for sea earlier is also good."

Fu Yongning gave a short reply and didn't say much more to his wife.

Although this voyage was said to be for seeking help from the dolphin and Hu Zi, he thought that, after all, pulling weeds and hunting rabbits, casually casting a few nets in the sea shouldn't yield a poor catch.

As long as they go to sea, there's definitely profit!

After these several trips, no one doubts that any more.

Wu An drove toward home, passing a small shop, when Lao Jiang shouted at him loudly.

Wu An stopped the car, rolled down the window, and Lao Jiang hurried over, "A An, I called you several times."

Wu An picked up his phone and saw, damn, it had run out of battery at some point.

He was overwhelmed.

Lao Jiang didn't mind, hand on the car window, leaning forward, "Our county is holding an Outstanding Youth competition."

"Did you know about this?"

Wu An was startled, "I didn't know; what's up?"

Lao Jiang said, "We have a recommendation slot; guess who got it?"

"Shen Nan?"

"Yes."

"Alright, I got it."

"A An, I don't know how you feel, but I'm definitely not satisfied," Lao Jiang hummed, adding, "That kid Shen Nan pales in comparison to you."

Wu An nodded; he agreed with that.

But Yan Zu said, in these days, making a living isn't about a hard fist, but about wielding influence.

Shen Nan isn't that great.

However, his grandfather had served many years as village head; in his youth he was a prominent figure, the senior cadres of ten or eight villages considered him the most senior and formidable, and it's said that Leader Qi was once under the care of Elder Shen when he was young.

After chatting a couple more sentences with Lao Jiang, Wu An drove home.

Father wasn't home.

His sister-in-law learned that he would set out to sea early tomorrow and hurried to prepare some things.

Wu An asked, "Sister-in-law, when can the cousins meet?"

Mei Yueqin said awkwardly, "They plan to wait until the end of the month after getting paid before coming over."

Wu An nodded, "That works."

Mei Yueqin said, "If it's urgent, I'll call them and have them come right away."

Wu An replied, "It's not that urgent."

"The new ship still needs some time before it's ready."

In fact, he knew that those cousins of his sister-in-law had reservations.

Human nature.

Nothing much to say.

Actually, the crew on the ship is insufficient; with more people, they could run a two‑shift system.

More importantly, if there are enough people, they can be freed, just needing to follow on the ship.

Sister-in-law nodded, went to the garden to pick vegetables, and said she would bring them to the ship for tomorrow's meal.

Wu An called Gu Anran.

He called twice, no one answered.

After a short while.

Gu Anran returned the call, "I was busy just now, what's up?"

Wu An: "I'm heading out to sea early tomorrow."

Gu Anran was surprised, "Didn't you say you'd rest for two days?"

Wu An: "It's a last‑minute decision."

Gu Anran didn't hesitate, saying, "It's perfect; I also have something to discuss with you."

"Stay at home."

"I'll be back right away."

After drinking half a pot of tea, Gu Anran rode over on a bike, had a cup of tea, and talked about their plans to franchise a milk‑tea shop.

That was something Wu An had mentioned before.

Gu Anran was quite interested, after all they currently run a milk‑tea shop, but it isn't a franchise.

At present, whether it's a franchise isn't crucial, but now is the time to seize the franchising market.

When Gu Anran pulled out a proposal, Wu An wiped his hands and took it, showing respect.

He skimmed it; inside was a very detailed market analysis.

Gu Anran had indeed put in a lot of effort, and he praised it highly.

He said, "Now that the tourist town is taking shape, it'd be best if these milk‑tea shops could open."

Gu Anran compiled a detailed survey of the more popular milk‑tea brands on the market; Wu An circled a few on the list, all of which later became familiar names.

Franchising any of these can't go wrong.

Gu Anran nodded, "No problem; if it's fast, by next week; if it's slow, within a month the renovation can be completed."

"But …"

"Worried about customers?"

Gu Anran nodded.

Wu An said, "This isn't us fighting alone."

"The last time the county‑city leaders came for inspection was a very clear signal."

"With support from the relevant departments, it's hard to fail."

"As the old saying goes, if you want wealth you must first build roads."

"The airport, high‑speed rail, even the cross‑sea bridge and highway are already in place; all that's missing is the first person brave enough to be a trailblazer."

Gu Anran nodded.

Wu An, with the proposal in hand, said, "Besides these existing franchise brands, you could also consider developing locally distinctive tea beverages."

"Fruit mixes, Qingbuliang, and combining cultural tourism with tea drinks."

"Especially, we can draw heavily from these tea‑drink brands."

"Oh, right, we could make guofeng tea drinks; that definitely has potential."

Gu Anran listened, nodded repeatedly, and asked, "Are these all your ideas?"

Wu An said, "I saw them online."

Gu Anran let out an "oh," feeling a bit strange—how come she hadn't seen these online.

Especially when Wu An spoke of these, his words were so confident, as if success was certain.

It was clearly crossing the river by feeling for stones.

Where does his confidence come from?

Gu Anran felt Wu An was sometimes mysterious, impossible to read.

It was precisely this that made her a bit fascinated.

Wu An asked, "You also need to keep an eye on the supermarket's design."

"No need to worry about losses."

"We have capital for trial and error."

Gu Anran nodded.

Wu An patted her, "Thanks for your hard work."

Besides the serious tasks, Gu Anran also inquired with the small vendors setting up stalls; once the tourist town gets traffic, the snack stalls will be organized uniformly.

Eating, drinking, playing, relaxing—everything can be handled in one go in the tourist town.

Gu Anran shook her head.

Compared with her previous uncertainty about the future, the busy days now feel fulfilling.

The business talk is over.

Wu An's hand started to act up; Gu Anran quickly got up and went to the garden to help Mei Yueqin.

Night fell.

Wu Ping returned first; even after coming back he hadn't rested, still busy with school work.

Eat quickly.

Wu Yingwei just came back, looking weighed down with worries.

He washed his hands, sat at the table, and said nothing.

Wu An asked Gu Anran to bring the wine.

Gu Anran was startled, "You still want to drink?"

Wu An said, "I don't drink; I'll give it to dad."

It's not that Gu Anran wouldn't let him drink; it's just that later, as agreed, he'll drive Gu Anran home—no drinking while driving, no driving while drinking. Even though it's in the Village, he must keep that in mind.

He poured a cup of wine for Wu Yingwei.

Wu An asked, "Dad, something on your mind?"

Wu Yingwei hesitated, then said, "Do you know about our county's outstanding youth competition?"