Chapter 79: Offering a Plan

A Qing changed into clean clothes, put on a raincoat, and left.

He was glad he had come.

To be honest, he was also scared to death.

Arriving at the old house, seeing no one inside, he didn't think much and headed toward the tidal flats.

He returned home.

He told Li Juan about this.

Li Juan was also frightened half to death: "A An, what's going on? Being overly diligent, you can't make money just like that."

"Even when it's windy and rainy, you run to the tidal flats."

"How do you know he went to the tidal flats?"

A Qing nodded and said, "I don't know."

"I just wanted to find him."

"I ended up walking to the tidal flats, saw a light, called out, and didn't expect it to really be him."

Li Juan stared for a while: "Maybe Goddess Mazu is blessing us."

……

Wu An followed him back home; even though he had already instructed him on the way, the older brother still told the whole story to his sister-in-law, adding embellishments.

Mei Yueqin naturally gave him a stern scolding.

Wu An quickly made an excuse that he was tired, went back to his room, and lay down.

He had thought this bed at home hadn't been slept on for a long time, possibly causing him to be unable to sleep due to unfamiliarity, but it turned out he was overthinking.

He had just lain down for a moment when sleepiness overcame him.

……

When he woke up again, it was because the phone ringtone disturbed him.

It was Foreman Li calling.

The workers had already arrived at the old house, saw he wasn't there, asked if they could start working directly, and Wu An readily agreed, letting them begin.

After hanging up, he checked the time—it was only six in the morning—and he kept yawning repeatedly.

He was a bit sleep-deprived.

Lately, although he wasn't tired, he hadn't been getting much sleep either.

In repairing the old house, he lent a hand and didn't do little work, essentially acting as half a worker.

He glanced out the window; outside was still dim and gloomy, but he didn't hear any wind or rain.

He got up.

He went out.

Light drizzle was still floating in the air, though the wind wasn't strong.

The kitchen light was on; Wu An walked over, and his sister-in-law was already busy preparing breakfast.

"You're up this early?" Mei Yueqin saw Wu An come in and greeted, "Have you washed your face? It'll be ready soon."

"Not yet." Wu An responded, scooped clean water with a ladle, hastily washed his face; his toothbrush and mouthwash cup weren't here, so he could only rinse with water to get by.

He asked why they weren't there.

Actually, he couldn't quite remember either, but Father, angry and having severed the father‑son relationship, throwing away a toothbrush and cup makes sense, right?

Not long after.

Wu Ping also got up; today is Monday, and he has to go to class.

These past two days have been windy and rainy; he doesn't know how the school buildings are, so he needs to go check the situation first, in case there are any hidden dangers so he can deal with them promptly.

Wu An listened; his older brother truly cared about the school—there aren't many teachers, and Wu Ping holds multiple positions—but despite that, he ended up unable to teach.

Around here there aren't any cram schools or the like; in the end, the older brother could only fade into obscurity, because not engaging in production for years makes earning money much harder than for others.

Wu An was lost in thought when his just‑emptied bowl was filled again.

He was eating fish‑broth seafood noodles.

Their usual practice here is that Mei Yueqin first gives him and his older brother a bowl; after seeing them finish, she fills it again, and most of the seafood meat inside goes to him.

Watching Mei Yueqin's habitual gesture, Wu An took some of the seafood from his own bowl and gave it to his older brother, then put the rest into his sister‑in‑law's bowl, smiling and saying, "I'm full."

"Just drink some soup to aid digestion."

"Older brother, sister‑in‑law, don't look down on it."

"That's already being polite." Wu Ping slurped a mouthful of noodles, eating while saying, "Still talking about whether to dislike it—what kind of talk is that?"

He was just saying it; in fact, he wore a smile on his face.

"Hehe." Wu An chuckled; the fish broth was just the right temperature, he lifted the bowl and drank it all in one gulp, wiped his mouth with his hand, and said, "Really delicious."

"Having eaten and drunk your fill, do some work for me." Mei Yueqin said, "Later your older brother goes to school; you go bring food to Father."

Wu An nodded.

If it had been before, bringing food to Father would have been something he'd try to push off if possible, and if he couldn't avoid it he'd still resist; now he's thinking that Father working so hard is surely bad for his health, wondering how to give him some nourishment.

He grabbed the lunch box, put on his raincoat, and headed straight for the village committee.

He arrived at the village committee.

Wu An opened the lunch box, poured the noodles into the fish broth and stirred, then casually asked, "Dad, why isn't anyone else around?"

Wu Yingwei rubbed his bloodshot eyes, came over, and said, "On duty we don't need many people; I'm enough by myself."

Wu An shook his head: "Dad, it's not that I feel sorry for you; I think one person on duty isn't enough."

"What if you get so tired you fall asleep and miss the phone call, delaying something important?"

"I think we should still have two people on shift."

That way you can rest when you're tired; only with energy can you work better.

Urging Father not to take the shift was impossible, so he settled for second best, getting Father to bring in another person; according to the post, too low a rank won't do, too high also won't do; plus age, too young is unreliable, too old can't endure; thus only Chen Gui is the most suitable.

Wu Yingwei was eating noodles, his face showing a thoughtful expression; he didn't speak, but already had plans in mind. After eating two kinds of noodles, he said, "Don't wait."

Wait until I go home at noon to take it.

It's not that Lao Wu is installing doors and windows today; hurry up and go watch.

Wu An nodded, got up and left.

After he left, Wu Yingwei also stopped eating noodles, quickly called Chen Gui; Chen Gui took a long time to answer, and as soon as he spoke you could tell he was still dreaming.

Wu Yingwei shouted loudly twice, urging him to come quickly.

Chen Gui was extremely unwilling, but couldn't refuse; he secretly scolded Wu Yingwei for what kind of trouble he'd stirred up—normally he'd suffer alone, so why today would he drag someone in?

After hanging up, Wu Yingwei ate noodles in big mouthfuls, unable to help laughing happily.

……

Wu An arrived at Lao Wu's house.

The workers were working in the rain; fortunately they were installing doors and windows, so a light rain didn't matter.

When Wu An arrived, he quickly handed out cigarettes.

Foreman Li took the cigarette and said, "You're in such a hurry; could it be you guessed a typhoon is coming?"

Wu An nodded slightly: "I'm just afraid of a typhoon."

I didn't expect to hit the mark by accident.

It's not a big problem, right?

Foreman Li smiled and said, "Keep one-third of the final payment, and give it after the typhoon passes."

Using the typhoon to test the results—is that enough?

Wu An also smiled and nodded.

That will definitely work.

If it can withstand the typhoon, then future use will definitely be problem-free.

After resting a while, he also helped out; though he couldn't do much, he could just pass tools, and watching the workers work was quite interesting.

Asked why he was so idle?

Because today's Luck Value is also very low.

So… the blue crab migration isn't happening today.

Wu An pondered, wondering if the system was also using this way to remind him to stay calm and not be rash.

Foreman Li's estimate was correct; they finished installing the doors and windows before even eating lunch.

Just as they finished cleaning up, the wind and rain suddenly intensified.

Village Committee.

Chen Gui received a call from his superiors, who clearly informed them that the typhoon would pass through, urging them to take protective measures as much as possible.