Chapter 673: A change in thought makes the world vast

Wu An rode his tricycle out, first stopping at the small shop to buy some food and drink for the workers.

Arriving at the old residence, the big villa had already been built, standing out in the village.

It's big enough, impressive enough.

When villagers pass by his place, they always have a few words to say.

They envy his newfound wealth.

It's as if making money made him arrogant—building such a huge, luxurious house, pouring all his funds into it, leaving him helpless if anything goes wrong.

Seeing him approach, they hurried over to keep him company.

"Next up are the courtyard and interior decoration."

"It should be done before the New Year, basically settled."

"After a few months of settling, we can move in."

Wu An nodded.

As for the schedule, he's still quite satisfied.

But there are shortcomings; the house is beautifully built, yet compared to it, the courtyard is somewhat lacking.

It's still not big enough.

If we could acquire Wu Yingjin's homestead, adding it to the villa would make the courtyard virtually flawless.

But Wu Yingjin is adamant, refusing to sell, and he has no recourse.

Or rather, he's unwilling to scheme against Wu Yingjin for this—some things can be done, but even if possible, he firmly refuses to do them.

In life, once one becomes unscrupulous, having no principles is truly terrifying.

Wu An still made some requests for the courtyard, adding a few things.

They had the foreman keep an eye on things, then hired a designer to plan, confirmed the fixed price, and finally added it to the project's final payment.

Hearing this, the construction crew were naturally pleased—more work meant higher pay, so they could earn more.

He took Wu An around inside and out twice, practically begging him to make more requests.

Someone called home, telling him to come back for a meal.

Wu An and A Qing returned home; since they were about to go to sea, Aunt Juan was also there, making it a sort of departure meal.

The food and drink were good.

They were going out to sea that night, so they didn't drink alcohol.

The whole family went to the pier together; Lao Fu Tou and the others were already on the boat, helping to move the supplies.

Mainly food and drink, fruit, drinking water—basic necessities.

Whether it was good or bad luck, they often ran into unexpected situations at sea, so Mei Yueqin always prepared plenty just in case.

He said it wasn't necessary.

Mei Yueqin wouldn't listen to him at all.

There was nothing to be done.

He could only let Mei Yueqin prepare; once at sea, he had everyone work hard.

Fu Yongning had gone along a few times; besides earning money at sea, he also missed the meals on board.

The food was really good.

It was tasty and satisfying, with fruit, drinks, and fresh seafood to eat.

Even seafood costing dozens or hundreds per catty could be enjoyed freely—right at home, something not guaranteed even during the New Year.

But now.

It's merely a work meal.

His wife once doubted whether he was really going to sea; previously, each return from sea left him thin and gaunt, but these few trips had not only not slimmed him—he'd actually gained a few pounds.

Fu Yongning had no choice; he asked Lao Fu Tou to vouch for him.

In the end his wife still didn't believe him, so Fu Yongning had to pull out all the stops—he let his wife sleep, proving he was indeed at sea, not out carousing.

Lao Fu Tou turned the incident into a joke and told everyone.

The Fan brothers were delighted.

They couldn't believe such a thing existed.

They were especially curious—just how did he get his wife to believe him?

Fu Yongning sighed and said, "How else could she believe? Naturally, by letting her inspect the grain tax."

The Fan brothers stopped laughing.

Neither of them had yet paid the grain tax.

Because there was a lot to move, each trip took effort, and before they knew it, the sky had gradually darkened.

"Let's head back."

"We're setting off."

"If things go smoothly, we might be back in two or three days."

Lao Fu Tou started the fishing boat.

The fishing boat slowly pulled away from the pier.

When they could no longer make out the people on the pier, Wu An turned his head and saw everyone busy.

After several days without going to sea, everyone's spirits were high.

"These past few days, because I've been busy with my own affairs and haven't gone to sea in time, it looks like everyone's feeling restless."

Lao Fu Tou said, "You're taking on more and more responsibilities, your burden is growing, and your time at sea will only get less."

"If it really comes to it, we'll just go out to sea ourselves—the crew on board is sufficient."

Everyone just feels a bit unsure……

After the fishing boat left the dock, he let Mei Wu take the helm and also came up on deck to keep busy.

A Qing said, 'I'm different from everyone else; I have confidence in my heart.'

Mei Wu asked, 'A Qing, where does your confidence come from?'

A Qing: 'Brother gave it.'

I'm fully confident; if Brother isn't with us, we definitely can't make it.

Is my confidence enough?

Everyone: '……'

Wu An shook his head.

Everyone chatted and laughed, but only he knew this was indeed the problem he currently faced.

If he can't go out to sea, his income will be greatly affected; this is his foundation, and no matter what, he still wants to keep it steady.

Either he should let other things slide or delegate them to others, or he must find a way to solve the problem of not being able to boost luck value in real time if he doesn't go along.

Lao Fu Tou asked, 'A An, has that small boat been sold?'

Wu An shook his head.

Right.

Small boat!

Or perhaps develop a small fleet?

Longline fishing, adhesive nets, and crab pots—these can all have their luck value boosted in advance, then people can take the small boats out to set them.

With a daily round trip, he doesn't need to go along, and the income can be very stable and secure.

It doesn't have to be near the shore.

We can get a fishing boat several tens of meters long, then take the small boats out to sea, and let everyone split up to work in the deep sea.

For example, he could boost the luck value of ten sets of longline gear, letting the offshore workers use one set per day.

After ten days, when they return, the harvest will surely not be lacking.

And while he's at home, he can not only attend to other matters, but each day he can add luck value to a new set of longline gear.

When the workers return, he can then replace the gear with the newly boosted set.

'Yeah, doing it like this should work.'

Wu An shouted somewhat excitedly, startling everyone.

A Qing asked, 'Brother, what's wrong? You're all jumpy.'

Wu An said, 'I was thinking that those small boats shouldn't just be wasted like this; when we have more people, we can let them operate the small boats out at sea.'

As he spoke, he became happy.

With a shift in perspective, the world opened up; the problem that had troubled him for a long time was instantly resolved.

He too had fallen into a misconception: after getting a big boat, he tossed the small boats to the back of his mind and completely forgot about them.

Fortunately, Lao Fu Tou reminded him.

Sometimes we just need a flash of inspiration.

A Qing said, 'Are you planning to follow the small boat?'

Wu An shook his head.

A Qing said, 'If you don't follow along, that definitely won't work.'

Wu An chuckled: 'Not necessarily.'

'We can give it a try then.'

The advantages of trawling need no explanation—one haul can net several thousand kilograms, something a small boat couldn't match even after a busy day.

But if there were three or four small boats, even five or six, the day's income would also be quite substantial.