The next morning.
Wu An got up early, washed up, and sent a message to A Qing, saying he would meet her at her house.
As I walked to the door, I ran into Wu Yingwei and Wu Ping coming out.
He called out and greeted them.
His sister-in-law, Mei Yueqin, was in the kitchen. When she saw him come in, she brought out the breakfast she had just put in the pot: "It's just right."
Breakfast was plain congee with simple ingredients, such as crab meat and dried scallops. It was incredibly fresh and sweet. There was also steamed salted fish, mixed seaweed, and leftover braised dishes from yesterday.
I haven't even taken two bites yet.
Aqing has arrived.
Mei Yueqin brought him a bowl and chopsticks.
Wu An glanced at him but didn't say anything. A Qing wasn't stupid. When they met at the old house, she knew to bring him food. When they met at home, she knew there was food at home.
While the two ate their meal, Mei Yueqin was busy in the courtyard.
When Sister Duan came to visit, she saw Ah An there and quickly put on a smile to greet him.
Wu An nodded.
Mei Yueqin looked on and a smile appeared on her face.
It's really different now.
When Wu An was misbehaving, Sister Duan would always glare at him and have a cold expression whenever she saw him at home. She would always say things in a sarcastic and unpleasant tone, making people uncomfortable.
Now.
When Sister Duan saw Wu An, she greeted him with a smile and said the nicest things.
After Wu An and A Qing finished their meal, Mei Yueqin quickly told them to leave their bowls and chopsticks there so she could clean up later. Wu An nodded and asked A Qing to pull the car out of the shed.
The two got into the car.
Go out.
After Wu An left, Sister Duan asked, "What are you busy with every day, riding your bike out so early in the morning?"
"Who knows? I'm just a woman, it's not appropriate for me to ask too many questions." Mei Yueqin sighed deliberately and said, "As you know, I'm an idle person, what right do I have to speak in this house?"
Sister Duan raised an eyelid and thought to herself, "Don't be so smug."
Others might not know, but her neighbor didn't know that Mei Yueqin was the one in charge of the family. Before, the family was so poor and run-down that being in charge didn't mean much.
Things are different now.
Wu An is good at making money, and he buys this and that for his home.
Furthermore, Wu An was raised by Mei Yueqin, so it's impossible for Wu An to be unkind to Mei Yueqin.
Sister Duan didn't respond, but said, "Wu An is quite the troublemaker."
Mei Yueqin continued, "Yes, I think it's just like you said, a pointless mess."
"..." Sister Duan's lips twitched; this conversation was over.
...
Wu An rode his bicycle to town to pick up Lao Mai.
Old Mai lived in an old house with walls made of coral stone, which looked very beautiful. Wu An couldn't help but take a few more glances. Old Mai noticed and said, "These are all old houses with a history of over a hundred years."
Wu An nodded: "That's really good."
He took two photos and thought they were pretty good. He even planned to ask Gu Anran to come here and take some photos another day, and maybe they would go viral online.
It's really photogenic.
The trend of developing cultural tourism hasn't reached here yet, but he's happy. He remembers that this place will indeed become a popular tourist destination in the future.
Old Mai said, "If you like it, buy one."
"Now everyone is moving into the city, and many houses are empty."
"If I hadn't retired, I probably wouldn't have come back."
Upon hearing this, Wu An's mind stirred, and he exclaimed that there were opportunities to make money everywhere.
If he has money, he'll come here to buy a house. Even if it's not developed into a storefront, he'll definitely make money by running a bed and breakfast once tourism takes off.
In his past life, he was truly blind, living a muddled and aimless life and ending up with nothing.
He nodded: "Okay, Old Mai, can you help me find out?"
"If the price is right, I'll buy it."
Location... doesn't matter.
In any case, the old houses in this area will be preserved and become an important tourist attraction, so even the most remote houses can appreciate in value.
Old Mai was somewhat surprised: "You...you're not planning to live alone, are you?"
Wu An smiled and said, "Do you know that tourism is being promoted all over the country now?"
"Look at these mountains, this water, this sea, and these old houses."
"It would be an outrage against nature if we didn't develop tourism here."
Old Mai's eyes flashed as he listened to his words: "From what you're saying, it sounds pretty good."
Wu An patted him on the shoulder: "If you want to do it, we can cooperate."
Old Mai smiled but didn't say anything.
Wu An didn't care; nothing was set in stone yet, and he was just saying it for fun.
I was just about to leave.
Old Mai's grandson, Mai Hangyu, came out of the house. After introducing themselves, they learned that Old Mai's grandson was a college student. Upon learning that Old Mai was going out to sea, he said he wanted to eat shrimp.
Old Mai frowned: "It's not the right time yet. If you want to eat them, I'll go to the market and buy some prawns."
Wild shrimp in their area are mainly caught by nets. After the fishing season opens, shrimp are the most common catch for fishermen, and this is one of their main sources of income.
Nowadays, the market only has farmed prawns. Occasionally, fishermen catch some wild prawns while going out to sea, but the quantity is very small, and they are snapped up by diners as soon as they arrive at the market.
Mai Hangyu shook his head: "I don't want to eat prawns."
Old Mai: "This..."
Wu An suggested that they go beachcombing; if the tide went out, they might find something on the shore, and if they were lucky, they could make a whole plateful.
I'm lucky today, I have 55 points.
I wonder what this luck value is allocated to, whether it's fishing or beachcombing. It's a pity the fishing season hasn't opened yet, otherwise he would have more ways to use up his luck value.
With so much luck value, he was feeling a bit pressured, unsure if he could use it all up. There were no "Blue Crab Crossing the Border" or "Butter Crab" to quickly deplete his luck value.
Mai Hangyu said, "Then I'll leave it to you."
Old Mai frowned: "That's rude, you should call me 'brother'."
Mai Hangyu scoffed, "He just calls you Old Mai, doesn't he?"
Just as Old Mai was about to speak, Wu An said with a smile, "What's the big deal? We all look to be the same age, just call each other by name."
"Going to sophomore year of college?"
"I'm so envious. If I hadn't dropped out, I'd be a sophomore now."
Mai Hangyu asked curiously, "Why did you drop out of school?"
"You're not studying well, are you? I heard from Old Mai that your grades are pretty good."
"It's nothing special."
The two started chatting and their conversation became increasingly lively.
Mai Hangyu studied tourism, not at a vocational college, but at a prestigious university.
Upon learning that Wu An wanted to buy a house for investment, Mai Hangyu greatly appreciated it. He also said that, from his professional perspective, their area was very suitable for tourism and vacation.
The only thing lacking is opportunity.
Wu An smiled and said that we live in the information age, and opportunities can be created even if they don't exist now.
Mai Hangyu's eyes lit up when he heard him say that.
The two exchanged ages and found out they were born in the same year: Wu An in July and Mai Hangyu in November. Without Lao Mai reminding him, he started calling him "brother" repeatedly.
When Wu An left, Mai Hangyu said he would come over for dinner next time, and Wu An agreed.
After going out.
Old Mai laughed and said, "My grandson is very arrogant. He was spoiled by his parents since he was a child. He talks big and boasts at home every day. I think only you can keep him in check."
Wu An smiled.
He possesses the youthful vigor and insight far exceeding that of ordinary people. When chatting with Mai Hangyu, it's not an exaggeration to say it's a complete game of cat and mouse, but he can at least handle it with ease.
Aqing scratched her head: "But will we be able to get any shrimp today?"
"We haven't caught many shrimp in all this time."
Old Mai quickly said, "He's not a child, it won't matter if he doesn't get to eat shrimp."
Wu An smiled but did not comment. Despite what Old Mai said, he actually doted on his precious grandson. Before, when Mai Hangyu said he wanted to eat wild three-knife fish, he went fishing everywhere because he couldn't buy them.
In the end, he was the one who caught it, allowing Old Mike to get what he wanted.
As they talked, the group arrived at the bald boss's fishing tackle shop.
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