Old house.
Wu An watched his older brother walk away, then closed the door and lay down on the bed.
For some reason, I felt much lighter.
It's so great to have the chance to start over.
I crossed my legs, hummed a little tune, and felt really happy.
I thought it would be difficult to fall back asleep after being woken up halfway through the night, but before long, my leg trembled and I was overcome with sleepiness. With the salty sea breeze blowing, I drifted off to sleep with a smile on my face.
He woke up groggily, and the first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was Wu Ping. He greeted him, "Brother, what brings you here again?"
Wu Ping said, "I brought you some food."
"Your sister-in-law said she'd cook the seafood while Dad wasn't home."
"There's also a dish of scrambled eggs with tomatoes."
Wu An felt a warmth in his heart.
I rubbed my eyes and got out of bed. After a quick wash, I went back to the bedside. There were two large porcelain jars. The scrambled eggs with tomatoes were on top of the rice, and they were still steaming.
He picked up a lot with his chopsticks and stuffed it into his mouth.
He had been craving this food for a long time; he had dreamed of eating it.
He mumbled, "It's delicious!"
Wu Ping laughed and said, "You've said everything. Before, you even complained that your sister-in-law made scrambled eggs with tomatoes every day, saying you were tired of it."
Wu An said, "I used to be a jerk."
Wu Ping said, "A prodigal son who returns is more precious than gold."
"Next time, say this in front of your sister-in-law, so she'll be happy."
Wu An nodded.
He wolfed down the food, then let out a satisfied burp.
Wu Ping was about to clean up, so he took the large porcelain jar and washed it first.
Wu Ping looked on with a relieved smile. His younger brother was truly different now; the old Wu Anke would never have done such a thing.
When he left, he took the clothes he had left on the bed with him.
Wu An shouted, "Brother, what are you going to do with these dirty clothes of mine?"
Wu Ping said, "Your sister-in-law told me to take this back for her to wash. Dad is at the village committee right now, so she'll bring it over as soon as she's done washing it. It won't be discovered."
Wu An didn't know what to say.
His older brother and sister-in-law treated him like a son. If he hadn't been such a scoundrel in his previous life, breaking their hearts, they would never have parted ways with him.
at last.
He didn't let his older brother take the dirty clothes away.
If he were to ask his sister-in-law to do his laundry again, what difference would there be between him and before?
Upon hearing this, Wu Ping didn't insist and happily picked up the two large tea mugs and left.
Seeing his elder brother swinging the large porcelain jar as he walked, Wu An couldn't help but laugh: "My brother, you're already this happy after only a short walk."
"When I make a lot of money, I'll make you, your sister-in-law, and Dad proud. You'll be so happy then."
After eating and drinking to your heart's content, it's definitely impossible to sleep.
Putting everything else aside, I need to wash the clothes right away.
Washing clothes is easy. Besides shorts, a t-shirt, and a vest, I only had one pair of long pants. I finished washing them in half an hour and hung them up on a clothesline.
There's nothing in the old house; the clothesline was brought by Wu Ping.
Looking at the row of clothes hanging on the clothesline, Wu An felt a great sense of accomplishment. It was wonderful to be able to clearly feel himself getting better.
He was somewhat engrossed in it.
What should we do next?
The tide is still out at this time, but the system's luck value won't be refreshed until midnight. Going to the beach now is purely a matter of luck.
Just as I was hesitating, Aqing arrived.
...
Wu Ping hummed a song as he walked home. On the way, he ran into an acquaintance who, seeing him carrying a rice bowl, greeted him, "Ah Ping, are you going to your old house?"
"Uncle Gui," Wu Ping greeted him. This was his father's colleague and also a village official. He replied, "No, I'm just taking a walk."
Chen Gui smiled, thinking to himself how Old Wu had raised such a pair of sons—one a good-for-nothing, the other a simpleton who didn't even know how to lie. But he said aloud, "Why do you care about that good-for-nothing brother of yours?"
"That kid is beyond redemption."
"Otherwise, your father wouldn't have severed ties with him."
Wu Ping's smile faded, and he lowered his head and walked forward.
Chen Gui continued, "Your uncle is advising you for your own good."
"You and Yueqin still don't have a child. Are you really raising that rascal's younger brother as your son?"
"I recently learned a new term, which is to cut my losses in time."
"You should learn this from your dad."
These words were like knives, stabbing into Wu Ping's heart.
Wu Ping walked away with his head down.
He really wanted to yell back, but he didn't know how. Wu An had yelled at Chen Gui before, which resulted in his father having to apologize to Chen Gui.
He didn't want to cause trouble, and he certainly didn't want to upset his father.
Chen Gui and his father had been rivals all their lives. He heard that the village was holding elections and that he was his father's strongest competitor. He couldn't afford to hold his father back at this time.
When he got home, Wu Ping rubbed his face vigorously and tried to smile several times. He walked into the yard, where Mei Yueqin was washing clothes.
"Why did you come back empty-handed?" Mei Yueqin looked up at her, her face full of surprise. "Where are Erzi's clothes?"
Wu Ping said, "He said he would wash it himself."
"From now on, he can do his own things."
“He doesn’t rely on us. He even said that if we want to eat any seafood in the future, we can just tell him and he will go to the sea to get it.”
Mei Yueqin smiled and said, "Erzi seems to have really changed."
Wu Ping nodded.
The second son has grown up. He should do a good job in the future and make sure that damned Chen Gui can't even utter a fart.
He cursed inwardly.
...
"Go beachcombing?" Wu An saw A Qing's excited look and couldn't bear to dampen her enthusiasm: "Okay, let's go and try to dig enough for dinner."
I changed into long pants and put on a hat.
He picked up the bucket and went out.
The sun at two o'clock in the afternoon is at its most intense. Even at the beach, with the sea breeze blowing, you still feel like you're about to melt in the heat.
Anyone who comes out to beachcomb at this time is a warrior of life.
First, we walked to the Yellow Sand Beach.
To Wu An's surprise, the villagers who saw the two brothers this time did not show any disgust; on the contrary, they took the initiative to greet them.
"You two are out beachcombing again?"
"I heard you guys are doing it now, but I didn't believe it. Seeing you come to the beach to collect seafood at this time, it's definitely different from before."
"Where are you two planning to go beachcombing?"
"It's just a minor tide today, nothing special. You two are lucky, I'll go with you."
"Count me in."
Wu An and A Qing were surrounded by several villagers who had seen them go to Lao Xie to sell their goods. Other villagers who were out gathering seafood watched with curiosity.
Aqing felt very uncomfortable and was a little flattered.
Wu An wasn't surprised at all, and said with a smile, "I don't have any particular thoughts, whatever."
“Walk west along the beach.”
If people want to follow him, they can. Anyway, he's not cheating. Once they can't get the goods by following him, everyone will naturally stop following him.
The two walked forward, using a rake whenever they saw a hole, and occasionally, if they were lucky, they could dig up clams, but that was about it.
The villagers followed around, occasionally digging up clams. They would happily praise Wu An, saying he had done a good job. Wu An accepted the credit without hesitation.
This is change.
To turn around one's reputation, one must rely on word of mouth.
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