"Oh, it's An. I heard you've been doing well at beachcombing lately..." Wu Yingjin greeted him, then suddenly remembered something and said, "You didn't dig up these sandworms, did you?"
Wu An nodded.
“That’s great! I’ve heard this stuff is pretty good for you. I’d like to get some to try. I won’t take it for free, I’ll buy it.” Wu Yingjin said with a smile, “Give me a 50% discount.”
Wu An picked up the bag containing sandworms and said with a smile, "Uncle, the idea that sandworms can cure kidney deficiency is just a myth."
"A complete waste of money."
"How could someone as smart as you fall for this?"
He shouted loudly, attracting the attention of vendors and passersby.
When some villagers saw Wu Yingjin, they joked, "Ah Jin, did I hear that right? You have kidney deficiency? Really?"
"The county is full of colorful things, I guess they've had a lot of fun."
"Why did you suddenly come back?"
"Could it be that he's trying to steal his wife?"
"Hahaha."
Everyone burst into laughter. Wu Yingjin's face turned pale and then red. He hadn't expected Wu An to suddenly shout like that, catching him completely off guard.
"I am not."
"I don't."
"Don't listen to Wu An's nonsense."
He quickly shouted.
But everyone still laughed, not believing his sophistry at all.
Wu An, looking as if he had just realized something, shouted, "Yes, yes, I was talking nonsense. My uncle doesn't have kidney deficiency."
This attempt to cover up the truth only made everyone feel that they were trying to conceal something.
Wu An looked at Wu Yingjin and asked, "Do you still want to buy?"
Wu Yingjin's face turned ashen. He waved his hand, muttered "I'll buy my ass!" and turned to leave, walking faster and faster amidst the jeers of the others.
Gu Anran followed.
She needed to go home first, put her things down, and also tell her grandmother so that the old lady wouldn't worry.
Wu An also bought some seafood from Lao Xie, mainly shrimp and crabs. There were quite a few kinds, including tiger prawns, black tiger prawns, mantis shrimp, flower crabs, and some small miscellaneous fish. They were delicious when skewered and grilled.
I didn't buy many of each item, but they added up to quite a lot.
He carried the seafood toward the old house, while Aqing went home first to leave the sandworms there, and would bring beer when she came back.
Back to the old house.
Wu An threw the seafood into a basin, soaked it in salt water, and quickly went home. His sister-in-law, Mei Yueqin, was cooking, so he asked her to cook the sandworms as well.
Aren't you staying for a meal?
"No, thank you."
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing much." Seeing that his sister-in-law was about to press for more information, Wu An could only say, "I was just talking to A Qing about having some barbecue and beer tonight."
"Something's not right. I don't think it's that simple."
"Sister-in-law, you're like Conan! Fine, I can't hide it from you anymore. Gu Anran is coming tonight too."
"Ah?" Mei Yueqin exclaimed, and said excitedly, "Then bring her to my house, and I'll cook some of my specialties for her."
Wu An was exasperated: "No need, she said she'll show off her skills tonight."
"That won't do. They've come all this way; there's no reason for us to let them do the work."
"She didn't treat herself as a guest."
"That's not appropriate either. You're asking someone to cook for you when things are still very far off. Are you looking for a wife or a maid? If people find out, they'll gossip."
Wu An scratched his head. He thought it was actually quite good that this was being gossiped about.
He said, "She wants to show her talent, so let's give her a chance."
What did she show?
"Pursue me! As the saying goes, to win a man's heart, you must first win his stomach. That's probably how she's trying to win me over."
"Pah, go get a mirror and look at yourself."
"Sister-in-law, don't worry about it."
"Well... alright, don't drink too much tonight. You should personally escort the girl home so her family won't worry."
"Okay."
"Don't do anything reckless, be careful."
"……oh."
"How about you go over and cook a couple of dishes, sister-in-law?"
"Really, you don't need to."
Wu An hurried out the door. His sister-in-law was pretending to cook two dishes; her real purpose was to keep an eye on him.
He's not...
All right.
My sister-in-law's concerns are not unfounded.
...
Let's go back to the old house.
Aqing and Gu Anran had already arrived. When the latter saw him, she greeted him, "Wu An, you and Aqing handle these things, I'll prepare the ingredients."
Wu An quickly ran over and cleaned the shrimp and crabs.
Besides barbecuing, Gu Anran also plans to deep-fry the shrimp and crabs, coating them with a secret batter. They'll be crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, enough to make the neighbor's kids drool.
Besides deep-frying, there's also salt-baking.
Since there weren't enough stoves, Aqing simply took a few bricks, stacked them together, and a simple stove was built.
Wu An focused on preparing the barbecue.
On the contrary, Aqing was the busiest, having to prepare this and that, and sometimes being ordered around by Wu An. After finishing her work, she even went to the neighbor's woodpile to move a few pieces of wood.
A simple campfire will suffice.
Wu An thought it looked good, took a picture, and sent it to Yu Kailang.
Yu Kailang, who was on duty at the station and had just finished eating instant noodles, let out a blood-curdling scream upon seeing this. Old Liu, who was catching up on sleep, was so frightened that he fell off his chair and asked irritably, "What's wrong? What are you screaming about?"
Yu Kailang pointed at his phone and said, "That kid Wu An put on a seafood feast, had barbecue, drank beer, and even set up a bonfire to liven things up."
"They're calling me."
Old Liu said, "Then go ahead, I can take the shift by myself."
Yu Kailang looked at the instant noodle box in the trash can, his sadness overwhelming him: "I'm full from eating instant noodles."
"..." Old Liu hesitated for a moment and said, "How about I go in your place?"
Yu Kailang: "..."
Old Liu was obviously joking, and could only comfort Yu Kailang by saying there would be another chance next time.
An hour later, Gu Anran had prepared a whole table of seafood.
Wu An had already lit the charcoal and put the seafood on it to grill; all he had to do was keep an eye on it.
"You can start eating now."
"Today's feast is so lavish, wow wow wow."
"Thank you for your hospitality, brother and sister-in-law."
"I'll do it, you guys can do whatever you want."
Aqing was so excited that she picked up a bottle of wine and started showing it off, which was her way of getting started.
Wu An told him to slow down and not to drink too much, otherwise he wouldn't be able to finish the food.
Gu Anran had already started peeling and removing the shells from the shrimp, and then placed the meat in the bowl in front of Wu An. Wu An didn't stand on ceremony, picked it up, dipped it in the sauce, and put it in his mouth. He then peeled two shrimp for Gu Anran as well.
Back and forth.
"Come on, let's have a drink."
"good."
Gu Anran raised her glass, and the two clinked glasses. Wu An took a big gulp, while Gu Anran took a small sip, her face gradually turning red.
"Can't drink alcohol?"
"No, I can drink occasionally, but I get flushed when I drink."
Gu Anran touched her face, which was already a little hot. Her already fair face was now flushed pink, making her look exceptionally beautiful. Wu An couldn't help but take a few more glances.
now.
The sky was completely dark, with only the faint light from the campfire in the old house remaining. The three people sitting at the dining table ate and drank heartily, their laughter carried by the sea breeze, weaving together with the sound of the waves to create a unique symphony of this seaside night.
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