Chapter 98: Indeed, There's a Butterfly Effect

Lao Meng paused, then continued: "When you set out to sea, you must pay attention to safety."

The sea is too vast.

The fishing boat is too small, its wind‑resistance is poor, and a wave could bring an unspeakable danger.

Mei Yueqin also expressed some worry: "You've never been to sea; can you just buy a fishing boat and go out?"

Wu An poked at the meat in the crab leg and said, "The first step is always the hardest."

"I think it's actually nothing; just pick a calm, sunny day to set out, and basically nothing will go wrong."

"At first, A Qing and I can operate in the near sea, not far out."

Everyone listening nodded straight away.

In the past Wu An often spoke grandly, making listeners feel it was unrealistic.

But hearing him say that today, no one thought he was unreliable.

After so many days, everyone already believes he can get things done.

A Qing took a sip of beer, swallowed the food in his mouth, wiped his lips and said, "I don't think it's difficult at all."

"When we get there, just grab the gear and catch seafood."

"Brother also said that later we'll use crab pots and longline fishing; we won't have to do anything ourselves—just drop the gear and retrieve it when the time comes."

"That's even easier than us chasing fish at the shore."

Everyone laughed, "It's not as simple as you say."

"If it were really that simple, everyone in our village would be going out to sea to fish and make money."

"First we have to determine which sea area has seafood; small fishing boats lack fish finders, so we rely on experience and luck."

"Many fishermen from our village have taken a boat out, only to get nothing and waste fuel money."

"These days the marine resources aren't as good as before."

Everyone listening kept nodding.

A Qing said, "Maybe because Brother took me along, I didn't feel it was difficult."

"It's just quite tiring."

"But if there's money to earn, the fatigue doesn't matter."

Wu An said nothing; A Qing had already finished speaking.

Lao Meng was right; the current marine resources are poor, but compared with the future, many sea products now don't yet come with the "sitting through the floor, foot on the sewing machine" big gift package.

For example, Jinxiu Lobster, Chinese Horseshoe Crab, etc., can still be harvested freely now, provided you have enough luck; this vast ocean still holds great potential.

"Stop just talking, eat the vegetables, eat the vegetables." He picked up some cold shredded potatoes, shoved a mouthful in: "Very refreshing, really tasty."

These past few days we've had a lot of big fish and meat; this shredded potato is sour and crisp—if there were a pancake, rolling it up would be pretty good.

Wu Yingwei's smile flashed across his face.

Lao Meng cheerfully said, "If it's tasty, have more; this was made by your Father."

Wu An nodded, picked up two more pieces, and vaguely asked, "Father, why did you come back so early today?"

Wu Yingwei gave him a glance and said, "A knowing question."

"I turned back halfway."

"If you hadn't gone to the mudflat, I would at least have taken a stroll."

Wu An suddenly: "I'm drunk, I'm drunk."

At first he was quite puzzled why today only he went deeper.

Hearing Father say that, his doubts cleared instantly; in his previous life, Father had gone to the mudflat, probably persuaded the big fellow to leave, causing many people to force him, so they went deep into the mudflat.

Then by chance they discovered Butter Crab.

And now, because of his reason, Father didn't go to the mudflat, so the big fellow stayed upstream chasing sea, which let him get a huge bargain.

Thinking about it, indeed.

He is already different from his previous life, so naturally he'll change some things; in the future, he'll intervene in many village industries and take a share from others.

The usually quiet Li Juan asked curiously, "A An, you're going to buy a fishing boat; do you have the certificate?"

Wu An was startled.

He was instantly at a loss.

He was only thinking about buying a boat to make money, and actually forgot this part.

Wu An looked at A Qing.

A Qing shook his head: "Brother, I don't have it; I heard you have to take an exam for that, you know I'm most afraid of tests."

Steering a boat at sea is more complicated than driving a car; besides the Ship Certificate, you also need a Fishery Permit and a Harvest Permit.

Fortunately it's 2012; compared with the future, the current Gray Area of operation still exists.

As far as he knows, some villagers obtained their driver's licenses without studying, just got them directly.

He thought for a moment and said, "I'll go to the town tomorrow and ask."

"Anyway, we don't have a boat now."

"The rest still has time to prepare."

In front of Father, he really didn't say much; if he spoke up, Father would definitely scold him.

Everyone then said nothing more.

After three rounds of drinks, today was truly joyful; the table was lively, even Mei Yueqin and Li Juan each drank a bottle, not enough to get drunk, they both knew their limits.

Wu An drank a bit too much.

Having been reborn to today, he finally has some money in hand; money is a man's courage, so he let himself loosen a bit, and the drink made him a little tipsy.

He originally wanted to use the alcohol's boost to talk properly with Father, to mend the already riddled father‑son relationship, but Father ended up drinking too much.

He already speaks with a thick tongue.

He was pulling him, muttering something, and when his ear got close, not a single word was unclear; when he felt with his hand—good grief—a hand full of saliva.

Even if it's his own father, it still makes him feel sick.

Lao Meng was the first to stand up and leave.

He didn't drink much; after all, being alone at home, getting drunk with no one to look after him is a very dangerous situation, so Li Juan and A Qing also got up and said their goodbyes.

After seeing them off to the Gate and returning to the Hall, Father was already about to stand up.

They hurriedly helped Father to his feet and carried him to the bed, took off his shoes, used warm water to quickly wipe his face, hands, and whatever parts they could reach; his clothes remained on, not yet at the level of "filial piety", also fearing Father would feel embarrassed once he sobered up.

After a quick tidy‑up, they poured another cup of warm water and placed it at the bedside.

Hall.

Wu Ping and Mei Yueqin were tidying up, and began to chat softly.

"The second son can even take care of people now."

"Yeah, this looks more careful than I am."

"He's not just careful; he's sensible, a heartfelt filial devotion to Father, which makes him willing to do these things."

"The two of us are certainly relieved."

"More than just a relief, he's become the pillar of our family; look, after a day's hustle, not to mention the money on his side, we each have over twenty thousand in hand."

Mei Yueqin patted her bulging pocket; she had just sat down to eat and hadn't even had time to put the money away.

Touching it, it felt somewhat unreal.

Like a dream.

Wu Ping paused, lowering his voice again: "When the time comes, we'll go to the hospital for a check‑up; if there really is any problem, we have the money to treat it…"

Mei Yueqin quickly said, "Pah, pah, pah, don't be a doom‑sayer; hopefully nothing's wrong… maybe it's just our posture that's off?"

"Uh…"

Wu Ping scratched his head, thinking that not every posture could be wrong, could it?

While the couple were whispering private words, Wu An stepped out, grabbed the water on the table, drank it in one gulp, and said, "Brother and sister‑in‑law, I'm leaving."

"Wrap this trash directly with the tablecloth; I'll throw it away on my way."

Saying that, he rolled the trash wrapped in the plastic tablecloth, lifted it, and headed out.

The brother and sister‑in‑law saw them off to the Gate, saying, "Take care on the Road."

"This tablecloth's quality isn't great; be careful, don't let it tear halfway."

Wu An nodded, carrying the trash in one hand, the strange beast lugging a satchel, using the Headlamp to light the Road toward Lao Wu; halfway there, they ran into several people.