The two returned to Xiaoxi Village, and it was already dark.
Wu An first went to the old house, put down the table, chairs and fishing gear, and told A Qing to go back and go to bed early. Although he had bought fishing gear, Wu An still planned to try going to the beach first.
After Aqing left, he took the ointment he had bought for his sister-in-law, got up, and went out.
What needs to be faced must be faced.
Although the family escaped unharmed, the reason Old Tan's men came to collect debts was ultimately because he had borrowed money from loan sharks.
I don't know what his father's attitude will be now that he's gone.
In his previous life, he lacked the courage to face it and ended up fleeing in panic.
This lifetime.
I dare not say anything else, but he has the courage to face everything.
The roads are difficult to walk on at night.
But there are advantages too. Everyone is at home, there's no one on the road, and we arrive at our doorsteps quietly.
The iron gate was wide open.
Wu An looked into the courtyard and saw that everything seemed normal. It appeared that Boss Tan hadn't lied and his men hadn't caused any trouble at home.
As he hesitated, a voice came from behind him: "Erzi."
Wu An quickly turned around.
It was my sister-in-law, Mei Yueqin.
He nodded and asked, "Sister-in-law, are you home today? Boss Tan's men are here to collect a debt..."
Mei Yueqin smiled and said, "It's alright, it's alright."
"Come on, let's go inside and talk."
"Something seems to have happened in town, and the village is holding an emergency meeting. Dad isn't home."
Wu An then followed him into the courtyard.
Wu Ping was busy in the kitchen when he saw Wu An and greeted him happily: "An, you're here just in time, then I don't need to bring you fish soup."
"Wash your hands, sit down, and eat."
Wu An called out "Brother!" and was about to decline when his stomach suddenly growled, which made Mei Yueqin laugh and tell him to go wash his hands quickly.
After washing their hands, the three sat down.
Wu An took out the ointment, and Mei Yueqin looked surprised. Then she smiled, picked it up and looked at it, asking, "Is this expensive?"
Wu An said, "It's not expensive. Sister-in-law, you can use it first. If it's not good, I'll buy a better one when I go to town another day."
"Don't waste money," Mei Yueqin scolded playfully, putting down her chopsticks and opening the ointment to apply it. It was clear that she was genuinely happy.
Wu Ping then inquired about repaying the loan sharks, and Wu An gave a brief explanation. After he finished speaking, Wu An also asked, "Brother, sister-in-law, how did Boss Tan's men find our family?"
Wu Ping hesitated for a moment, then said, "Someone said Chen Gui brought it."
Wu An suddenly realized.
Then there's no way out.
It must have been Chen Gui who called Boss Tan and said he wouldn't pay his debts, which is why Boss Tan sent his men. Logically speaking, this kind of thing is thankless and troublesome, and everyone would avoid it. Only a scoundrel like Chen Gui would take the initiative to come along.
Compared to Chen Gui, he felt that his past self was better.
Wu An used to be openly malicious, while Chen Gui was malicious in secret.
Seeing that Wu An remained silent, Wu Ping said with some concern, "An, no matter what, you've paid off the loan shark and gotten the IOU back. So this matter can be considered resolved without any major incident."
"Let's not cause any more trouble."
Mei Yueqin nodded in agreement.
Wu An smiled and said, "I understand."
The usury issue has been resolved.
But since Chen Gui made a phone call and led the way, we still need to get an explanation.
But there's no need to tell his brother and sister-in-law these things. He's not the same Wu An he used to be; he'll think things through before he acts.
Mei Yueqin said, "Let's eat first."
Wu An wolfed down his food.
Eating at home used to be commonplace, but now I realize how precious it was.
After finishing her meal and wiping her mouth, Mei Yueqin said, "Just leave the dishes and chopsticks there; I'll clean them up later."
After Wu An had eaten and drunk his fill, he got up to take his leave.
Fortunately, my father wasn't around, which saved me a lot of trouble.
Otherwise, if they met, he wouldn't know what to say, mainly because he was too embarrassed to chat with his father about everyday things.
Wu An had just left not long ago.
Wu Yingwei returned home, Mei Yueqin heated up the dishes, and Wu Ping took out a bottle of wine and poured it for him. Wu Yingwei took a sip and said, "Why did you buy this wine?"
"Erguotou will do."
"I drink casually, I don't need such good wine."
Wu Ping said with a smile, "I forgot to tell you this morning, this wine was bought by A'an."
"Specially made for you."
Wu An originally told him not to tell anyone, but he figured that since his father already knew, there was no need to hide it anymore.
Wu Yingwei was taken aback, but didn't say anything.
Wu Ping quickly poured another cup, while Mei Yueqin took out some ointment and said, "Erzi also bought me ointment for my hands."
"Dad, Erzi has really learned his lesson."
Wu Yingwei said indifferently, "That's what he should do."
"He can be unfilial to anyone, but he cannot be unfilial to you."
"Buying some ointment is no big deal."
Upon hearing this, Mei Yueqin felt a lump in her throat.
The Wu family, young and old, all devoted themselves to their work, while she took care of all the big and small matters at home. It's no exaggeration to say that Wu An was practically raised by her.
Wu An's bad behavior left her exhausted.
Sometimes she complained that life was too hard.
But now that she sees Wu An getting better, she feels that all the hard work she went through was worth it.
Wu Ping pressed on, saying, "Dad, I didn't expect A'an to have changed so much."
"Now, the high-interest loans have been paid off."
"It's time to let him go home."
Wu Yingwei sneered: "You can say that when you're in charge of this family."
After eating and drinking well, Wu Yingwei washed the dishes and went out to digest his food while smoking a cigarette.
Wu Ping then muttered to himself, "If I were in charge at home, I wouldn't need to say anything; I would have just brought A'an back."
Mei Yueqin said, "Alright."
"Don't say these things again."
“I asked Erzi, and even if Dad were willing to come back, he wouldn’t want to go home like this.”
Wu Ping shook his head and said, "The old and the young are all equally stubborn."
Mei Yueqin said, "What if it weren't for father and son?"
...
Wu Yingwei hadn't gone far when Old Meng was standing at the door, the two old men squatting by the roadside smoking.
Old Meng offered me a cigarette: "Have this."
Wu Yingwei took it.
Old Meng said, "It was given to you by Ah An, he wouldn't have left it for you, would he?"
"He certainly knows how to win people over," Wu Yingwei scoffed. "He didn't give it to me."
Just as Lao Meng was about to make a joke, Wu Yingwei chimed in, "You did bring me two bottles of wine."
Old Meng was taken aback for a moment, then burst into laughter: "Show off, go ahead and show off."
Wu Yingwei twitched the corner of his mouth.
He smiled along.
Only in front of his old buddies can he let down his guard and be himself.
...
"Ring ring ring".
The alarm clock rang precisely at one o'clock in the morning.
Wu An sat up, perhaps because he had paid off the high-interest loan and felt carefree, he slept very soundly and didn't feel too uncomfortable when the alarm clock woke him up.
I washed my face.
Not long after, Aqing came running. The two of them, shrouded in the night, carrying fishing gear and beachcombing equipment, headed straight for the beach.
There weren't many people on the yellow sand beach.
Heading west, the rocky beach was pitch black in the early morning, but when they arrived at the mudflats, the lights crisscrossed, illuminating the surroundings. Aqing's eyes widened immediately: "There are... there are so many people!"
"Brother, what do we do?"
"Let's just leave it be." Wu An smiled. There are gains and losses, and there's nothing to fuss about. He said, "Let's not go any deeper. Let's just get some bait around here and go fishing."
“But…” Aqing hesitated, feeling genuinely uncomfortable. In his mind, this mudflat should belong to him and his brother.
These people came to the mudflats to harvest seafood; they were there to rob him and his brother.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com