Chapter 71: Not a match at all

He arrived at the gate of his home.

Wu An shouted.

A Qing ran over to open the door and greeted Wu An as he entered the courtyard.

Wu An greeted Li Juan, didn't go into the courtyard, took out a hundred yuan and gave it to A Qing, asking, "How many spicy snails did you pick up behind?"

A Qing took the money, didn't ask further, and said, "I picked up about three or four catties."

Wu An said, "That's enough to eat."

I also have five catties left, so I won't leave any for you.

A Qing had no objection and asked, "Brother, what are we doing tomorrow?"

Wu An said, "We'll talk about it tomorrow."

The roof isn't fixed yet; probably need another whole day tomorrow.

He also didn't have any special plans.

It mainly depends on luck value.

No need to send it.

On this foraging trip, A Qing actually picked up about the same amount of spicy snails as he did, but saying they should split it evenly is definitely impossible; being able to pick up this many spicy snails, others don't know, but he himself is clear about it.

He couldn't lie to himself.

So they still followed the agreed profit-sharing ratio; no matter how much, it's always one-tenth.

He just didn't want A Qing to lose out.

A Qing waved his hand and closed the big iron gate.

He went into the kitchen and handed the money to Li Juan.

Li Juan wiped her hands, happily took it; she also knew Wu An and A Qing's profit-sharing ratio, and said that according to earnings, A Qing's share wasn't much.

But if calculated by current wages and income, A Qing could earn a hundred yuan working two hours, which is already a lot.

I'll put it away.

Li Juan went into the room, opened the bedside cabinet, took out an iron box; inside already lay a stack of red bills, and she placed the hundred yuan inside.

No need to count; she knew it totaled 4,000 yuan.

A Qing curiously asked, "How much money is this?"

Li Juan said "four thousand," and said, "In just one week, you've earned this much money!"

Son, you're really amazing.

If this got out, who knows how many people would envy you to death.

A Qing grinned and said, "My older brother is the amazing one."

Li Juan nodded: "Right, right, right."

Follow A An well, and next year Mom will build you a new house.

At your age, you should also be getting a wife.

A Qing scratched his head and gave a silly laugh, not knowing what to say.

……

Wu An went to the old house.

The workers had already left; the roof had been mostly cleared, the house was a bit messy, but the bed was covered with a plastic sheet, and you could sleep by lifting the plastic sheet.

He walked around, saw nothing worth seeing, put the water bucket and tools away, and leisurely walked home.

Wu Ping was washing vegetables in the courtyard when he saw him enter; with a gossipy expression he asked, "Your sister-in-law said there's a girl in the neighboring village who gets along well with you."

Are you secretly dating?

Come clean.

Wu An waved his hand: "Nothing of the sort."

It's just that they saw me and my sister-in-law being surrounded by those women and I helped break it up.

We shouldn't get carried away.

Mei Yueqin came out of the kitchen holding a spatula and said, "Erzi, you two know in your hearts whether there's anything going on; we elders won't meddle, but if you're serious, you ought to tell us soon."

Wu Ping also said, "Right."

I say, how did you suddenly become proper? Could it be that the girl educated you?

You haven't seen how handsome that girl is—she's like a fairy." Mei Yueqin paused, then looked at Wu An and said, "Erzi, if you really want to do an honest job and make money, otherwise you won't be able to support a wife even if you marry one."

Wu An scratched his head.

If they keep talking like this, before long they'll be discussing what brand of milk powder he and Gu Anran's child drinks.

He changed the subject, saying, "Sister-in-law, how are we going to prepare these spicy snails?"

Mei Yueqin said, "These spicy snails are big; simply boil them in salt water as a snack with drinks."

Wu Ping curiously asked, "I heard from your sister-in-law that you picked up a lot of spicy snails today; how much money did you sell them for?"

Wu An casually replied, "One thousand."

Wu Yingwei, who had just stepped into the courtyard, froze on the spot.

He doubted he had misheard.

How many spicy snails would one need to pick up to sell for a thousand yuan?

Mei Yueqin laughed and said, "I think Erzi could get rich just by foraging and fishing."

Dad, the job you mentioned only pays three or four thousand a month.

Even if Erzi fishes three days and dries nets two days, that still earns more than working a job.

Wu An turned around, saw Wu Yingwei, and hurriedly greeted him.

Wu Yingwei nodded, smacked his lips, really wanting to rebut Mei Yueqin's words—fishing three days, drying nets two days, how could that work? But think about it, isn't that just how sea gathering and fishing is?

Others can't get this bowl of food, but Wu An's luck is good—he might be able to get it, and even eat his fill and eat well.

What else could he say?

He certainly couldn't speak ill of his own family; he wished Wu An's luck would stay good forever.

Wu An saw Father say nothing, and also let out a breath of relief.

Going to work for wages is definitely out of the question.

But if Father kept holding to his old notions, thinking sea gathering and fishing unreliable and insisting he go work for wages, he'd be in a tough spot.

Fortunately Father is fairly open-minded.

Actually this is quite normal; Father, in the village, is quite knowledgeable, and in handling work he knows how to adapt.

After the meal was ready, the family sat down.

Wu Ping asked Father whether he had settled the dispute between Lin Bin and Lin Hu.

Wu Yingwei nodded: "More or less."

"Those two have completely fallen out."

"They'll never have anything to do with each other again—this is fine, avoids further conflict."

Mei Yueqin sighed: "What a good relationship they had—cousins closer than brothers."

"Just because of a fishing dispute… really…"

"Second son, you and A Qing…"

Wu An took a sip of soup and said: "Looks unlikely now… but who knows what the future holds."

He didn't want to say more, then changed the subject: "I plan to go to town tomorrow to look at a vehicle."

"Buy a tricycle to bring back and use."

"Brother, are you free tomorrow?"

Wu Ping blinked: "I do have time, but you've just repaired the old house and still need to buy a car…"

Wu An said: "Buying a car is a pressing need."

"We only have one bicycle, yet you and Dad need several rotations for commuting."

"Today I went sea gathering and picked so many spicy snails I could barely bring them back."

"As for money, you don't need to worry."

"I only have about ten thousand cash on hand now; repairing the old house will use up seven or eight thousand, but we still have several days before the final payment is due."

"I won't say more, but over these days the car money can easily be earned."

Wu Ping looked at Wu Yingwei.

Wu Yingwei said irritably: "What are you looking at me for?"

"I'm not putting up money, so there's nothing to say."

"If you have time, just come along."

Wu Ping quickly smiled: "I have time, I have time."

After the meal.

Wu An wanted to help clean up, but Mei Yueqin wouldn't let him, saying he must be tired from sea gathering today and should rest.

He had planned to keep Father and the elder brother company with tea, but suddenly thunder cracked and startled him.

Seeing rain coming, he didn't dare linger, greeted them and ran toward the old house.

On the way he also ran into Shen Fang and a few others, all peers, presumably idly visiting.

Hearing someone call him, Wu An didn't listen, waved and shouted a reply, then sprinted over.

In the crowd.

Shen Fang wore a resentful look; from the moment Wu An appeared she kept staring at him, yet he never once glanced her way.

Earlier in town she had been infuriated by Gu Anran; now she was utterly devastated.

In Wu An's eyes, she was completely gone.

The freckled girl said: "Shen Fang, maybe just let it go."

Shen Fang, unwilling, said plaintively: "Why should I?"

"Back then he was no good, so dumping him was only right."

"Now that you've reformed, I'm letting him come back—he ought to return!"

The freckled girl sighed: "That's true, but the situation has changed."

"Wu An now has Gu Anran by his side."

"You're no match at all."

Shen Fang had nothing to say, couldn't rebut; after a moment she gritted her teeth and said: "No, I can't just forget the feelings I've invested all these years."