Chapter 63

"Cough cough cough." Wu An instinctively wanted to ask, but his mouth was full of cake, and he accidentally choked; A Qing quickly poured a cup of water and handed it over.

Wu An gulped down a big mouthful of water, caught his breath, and asked, "What did I do?"

"Don't just laugh, tell me clearly."

A Qing said, "What's there to say?"

"Brother, stop pretending to be clueless when you know better; there's no outsider here, why are you pretending with me?"

"Don't worry, I promise not to spout nonsense outside."

Wu An said, "I'm being clueless right now."

"First tell me why those two fought."

A Qing said, "It's because Lin Hu caught a big fish, but when Lin Bin tried to net it, he didn't manage to net the fish."

"Lin Hu then said Lin Bin was deliberately failing to net it."

"Then they started fighting."

Wu An realized, others might not say it, but Lin Bin really could do something like that—afraid his brother would suffer, yet also afraid his brother would drive a Land Rover.

Lin Hu caught a big fish; could Lin Bin not be envious?

He said, "That shouldn't warrant such a fierce fight, right?"

Because a single fish can cause a falling-out.

But at most it would just be a falling-out, not come to blows, right?

He felt there must be some other reason.

But it definitely had nothing to do with him.

A Qing continued, "I heard that before Lin Hu caught the big fish, the two had actually been fishing for over a day; on the first day Lin Hu had good luck and caught many fish, but because he used Lin Bin's fishing rod, Lin Bin forcibly took half."

"Lin Hu suffered a dumb loss and accepted it."

"And yesterday that big fish got away because of Lin Bin, which he couldn't tolerate."

"On the spot, Lin Bin was pressed against the rocks and beaten; fortunately there were other fishermen fishing who pulled them apart, otherwise Lin Bin would likely have been thrown into the sea by Lin Hu to feed the fish."

Wu An was also puzzled and asked, "You said it too—their fight was over the catch; what does that have to do with me?"

A Qing said, "I wasn't just loitering on the wall to watch the show; the Lin family originally came to pressure Lin Hu into apologizing, but Lin Hu not only didn't apologize, he almost got angry enough to strike Lin Bin again, constantly calling Lin Bin inhuman, having taken advantage of him for years, and finally he couldn't take it anymore and struck out."

"I heard him shout that the last time Lin Bin asked you for a fish, he got nothing, and that fish was swallowed whole by Lin Bin alone."

"I think Lin Hu's scolding is spot on; Lin Bin really is a worthless person."

Having said that, A Qing gave a hehe smile and asked, "Brother, were you deliberately setting a trap for them back then?"

After saying that, he still put on an expression saying "quick, praise my cleverness."

Wu An listened to that.

He began to feel a bit unsure of himself.

In his previous life, after his father passed, he occasionally returned to the village and heard villagers chatting, only then learning that Lin Hu and Lin Bin had fallen out over the catch, which surely happened years later.

How come they've fallen out now?

Could it really be because of this little butterfly of his flapping its wings?

He coughed once: "You're overthinking it."

"Back then it was Lin Bin who asked me for a fish, and I had no choice but to give him one."

"As for him not sharing it with Lin Hu, how could I have foreseen that?"

"You must have long realized Lin Bin is no good." A Qing said this, realizing his voice had gotten loud, quickly covered his mouth, then whispered, "Don't worry, besides me, no one would associate that with you."

Wu An's face darkened: "In your eyes, am I really that bad?"

A Qing shook his head: "Brother, no, that's called being perceptive; a pair of discerning eyes can see into people's hearts."

Wu An: "……"

For a moment, he actually couldn't tell whether A Qing was praising him or scolding him.

A Qing saw him not speaking, shifted the topic: "Brother, Mao Wang is looking for me; he wants me to take him out gathering seafood."

Wu An was somewhat surprised, didn't expect Mao Wang to also be digging at the wall, and asked, "What did you say to him?"

A Qing said, "What could I say? I told him to get lost."

"I guess he definitely went to you first, and when you didn't agree, he came to me."

Wu An nodded: "You're clever, kid."

A Qing gave a hehe silly laugh.

Wu An still felt relieved; he really hadn't misjudged the person—A Qing is trustworthy.

A Qing isn't stupid; he actually has a clever, perceptive heart.

Others think he's a bit simple-minded, but that's because he sticks to his principles; once he's decided on something or someone, he won't change. On small matters, he doesn't quarrel with ordinary people, doesn't retort when laughed at or taken advantage of, and being naturally optimistic, he stays cheerful no matter what happens.

After eating.

Li the foreman brought the workers over; Wu An greeted everyone, first passed around a pack of cigarettes, then drew well water to chill the drinks, so the workers could sip something to soothe their throats when tired.

Besides the drinks, he also boiled a pot of water, let it cool, and kept it ready to drink anytime.

Li the foreman saw that Wu An had prepared everything properly and said, "Alright, everyone saw that the young man helped us prepare thoroughly; let's get moving quickly."

"While the weather is cool, let's get started."

The workers went about their tasks in an orderly fashion; Wu An and Li the foreman chatted idly, meanwhile learning a few things about the house construction.

There's nothing secretive about building houses in the countryside, and Li the foreman was likewise forthcoming.

Occasionally Wu An also helped out; by mid-afternoon, Wu An greeted Li the foreman, then took A Qing to the dock to buy vegetables.

On the way, A Qing said, "Brother, you're still quite good at handling things."

"You can chat and laugh easily with the contractor."

I think even Uncle Wu isn't as good as you.

Wu An smiled.

Anyway, in his past life he was also a person in his thirties, having struggled in society for many years; he hadn't learned anything else, but he had fully grasped society's ways.

I wouldn't dare say anything else, but in terms of experience, he's not lacking compared to his father.

Arrived at the dock.

Besides the seafood sellers, there were also many old men and women buying vegetables, all home-grown, fresh, healthy, pollution-free, absolutely green food.

Wu An thought, there was actually a vegetable plot behind the old house as well; but later, since no one lived in the old house, that plot naturally fell into disuse.

Now that he plans to stay long-term, the vegetable plot can be cleared out when he has time.

After telling A Qing what vegetables to buy, Wu An headed toward Lao Xie's stall.

Before he even reached Lao Xie, he first ran into Lao Chen, who greeted him enthusiastically: 'Hey, haven't seen you in two days—did your luck run out, or are you up to no good again?'

Not a single kind word.

Wu An ignored him and greeted Lao Xie.

Lao Xie came out of his shop, saw him empty-handed, and asked: 'Coming to buy something?'

Wu An nodded: 'Buy some seafood.'

At Lao Xie's stall he picked out some scallops, went home to make scallop vermicelli, topped with minced garlic and steamed— that's a fine dish.

Seeing that there was also Stone Nine Public, he bought a few, added them to tofu soup, absolutely delicious.

It only cost thirty-odd dollars, and he had a dish and a soup sorted.

Later he'll buy a slab of pork belly and make a hearty dish.

Add two plates of vegetables, and the workers will be so satisfied they won't utter a word.

Taking the plastic bag from Lao Xie's hand, Wu An asked: 'Lao Xie, let me ask around—does anyone here sell fishing boats?'

Lao Xie stared: 'You want to buy a fishing boat?'