Mei Yueqin was taken aback: "You're arguing with Dad?"
Wu An shook his head: "No, I don't blame Dad for kicking me out of the house."
"Think about it, Dad just said he was cutting ties with me, and then he turned around and told me to come home. What will outsiders think of Dad? They'll definitely say behind his back that what he said is bullshit."
“You and my brother bring me food and drinks every day, I bet people in the village are gossiping about it.”
"I don't want outsiders to criticize Dad, you, and my brother again because of me."
"I'll go home when I've achieved something and everyone knows I've reformed."
Mei Yueqin looked surprised, then smiled with relief: "The fact that you can think like this shows that you've really grown up."
"good."
"I'll listen to you."
"I will keep your room clean and tidy so that you can sleep comfortably whenever you come back."
Wu An nodded: "Thank you, sister-in-law."
Then, he continued to eat his rice with his head down.
Seeing him wolfing down his food, Mei Yueqin was also very pleased and quickly said, "Eat slowly, eat slowly."
"I'm glad you like it."
Wu An nodded, then ate his rice in large mouthfuls, finishing every last bite. He quickly rinsed the rice and handed it to Mei Yueqin. Noticing some cracks on Mei Yueqin's hands, he frowned and asked, "Sister-in-law, what happened to your hands?"
Mei Yueqin smiled and said, "Nothing much, it's probably because I'm in water every day."
"It's nothing, it doesn't hurt."
Wu An watched Mei Yueqin leave without saying anything.
Living by the sea, constantly exposed to wind and sun, people become very rough. Not to mention their hands, they don't even have the concept of skincare for their faces. Over time, everyone develops joint and rheumatism problems in their hands and feet, looking like they are in their fifties or sixties, when they may actually only be in their thirties or forties.
He was going to town soon anyway, so he decided to stop by the pharmacy and buy some hand cream to take to his sister-in-law.
After waiting for a while, Aqing arrived, bringing a bag of popsicles.
"Wait a minute, I'll get the money."
Wu An lifted the straw mat, and a bed full of red banknotes was particularly eye-catching. He had made quite a bit of money these past two days from fishing and beachcombing. There were both small and large sums of money, and now there was a total of 13,750 yuan on the bed!
That's enough to pay off the loan sharks!
Wu An breathed a sigh of relief; the weight on his heart was about to be lifted and thrown away.
Collect the money carefully; it's a thick stack.
It feels quite heavy in my hand.
These days, that amount of money could buy a lot of gold.
etc.
gold!
Yes.
He remembered that in his previous life, gold had risen to over 600 yuan per gram, but now it was 2012, and gold should only be 200 or 300 yuan per gram.
Buying now and stocking up is definitely a sure way to make a profit.
And houses!
If you have money, it's definitely more worthwhile than putting it in the bank.
Outside the curtain, Aqing asked, "Brother, is it done? The popsicle is about to melt."
Wu An snapped out of his daze and replied, "Alright, alright."
I made a lot of money these past two days, but after paying off the high-interest loans, I probably won't have much left.
Thinking about this, he couldn't help but berate himself for being an idiot.
When I borrowed money from loan sharks, I didn't even check the interest rate. I just heard that they could lend me 10,000 yuan, so I wrote an IOU without looking at it or paying attention to anything else.
He doesn't expect loan sharks to have much of a conscience.
Even though the loan shark's interest rate was outrageous, the original agreement was for a year and the repayment was made monthly. He repaid the full amount in less than a month, so the interest shouldn't be much.
Wu An smiled bitterly to himself. It was his fault, so what could he do but suffer in silence?
No matter what.
Now that he has at least a chance to correct his mistakes, he dares not hope for more.
After leaving the house and closing the door, the two headed straight for the town.
With no transportation, they had to walk. Luckily, they had popsicles, so they ate them as they walked and chatted, which made it all worthwhile.
On the way, they ran into their neighbor, Old Meng, who greeted them cheerfully: "Hey, Erzi, Aqing, what are you two doing?"
Ah Qing blurted out, "Let's go to town and have some fun, and buy some things."
Wu An greeted him and said, "I recently borrowed money from loan sharks and I'm planning to pay it back."
Old Meng glared at him: "Where did you get the money?"
"Everyone in the village says you made money from beachcombing. How could you make so much?"
Wu An smiled and said, "I was lucky."
"Uncle Meng, if you have the chance, please put in a good word for me with my dad."
As he spoke, he took out a pack of cigarettes and stuffed it into Lao Meng's hand.
Old Meng had watched him grow up since he was a child. Although they weren't related, they had a very good relationship, and Old Meng had always taken good care of him. Last time, when his father got angry and wanted to beat him to death, it was Old Meng who protected him and saved him from getting hit by the stick twice.
Old Meng and Wu Yingwei often drank together. This man became more talkative when he drank, which is why he took the initiative to tell Old Meng these things. If Old Meng said some nice things for him, even if it didn't appease his father, at least his father would feel better after hearing it.
Old Meng looked at the cigarette in his hand and grinned from ear to ear: "Good, not bad, you've improved."
"Even without you saying it, I'll say a few more words. Your dad will definitely be happy to hear it."
"Take this cigarette back."
Wu An smiled and said, "I've given it up."
"I remember you liked to smoke this cigarette."
"We have to hurry up and get going. If we don't hurry, it will probably be dark by the time we get back."
Old Meng looked back.
Wu An has changed; he's less impetuous and seems much more grounded.
Looking down at the cigarette in his hand, he muttered with delight, "Has he really turned over a new leaf?"
Ever since Wu An went astray, every time he sees him, he greets him warmly and even steals his cigarettes and lighter. Now he's actually offering him cigarettes. It's like the sun has risen in the west.
He hurried home, intending to have a proper talk with Wu Yingwei when he got back.
There are no secrets in the countryside.
Before long, the whole village was talking about how Wu An and A Qing had turned over a new leaf. They diligently went to the beach twice a day, and with good luck, they made a lot of money selling seafood. They were also sensible enough to send seafood home.
Many villagers were skeptical.
Has that scoundrel really turned over a new leaf?
...
It was past three o'clock in the afternoon, and the sun was already setting in the west, but it was still very bright, making everything look white and uncomfortable, even squinting was uncomfortable.
Wu An quickly found a small shop, bought two bottles of Scream, and the two of them each drank one bottle in one go. Only after burping did they feel alive again.
Ah Qing wiped the sweat from her face: "Brother, which way do we go?"
They walked from the east end of town to the west end and arrived at a three-story building. Wu An said, "Aqing, go wait for me at the shop across the street."
"If I don't come out in ten minutes, call the police."
Ah Qing's expression changed: "Brother, aren't you going to pay off your debts? How could you possibly be in danger?"
Wu An smiled and said, "It's better to be prepared."
"Don't worry."
"Barring any unforeseen circumstances, there shouldn't be any surprises."
After saying that, he patted Aqing on the shoulder, greeted the tattooed man sitting on the recliner by the door, opened the iron gate, and followed the tattooed man upstairs.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com