Hearing this, Mu Xueqing immediately felt a great weight lift from her heart. After all, as long as a person's mental state remained normal, appearance was relatively secondary.
Mu Xueqing nodded and said, "Mhm, that's good. I was just afraid he'd lose hope and do something foolish. He used to talk about how handsome he was every single day, and now he's ended up like this..."
As she spoke, Mu Xueqing's voice grew softer and softer, until finally, she pursed her lips and could no longer continue.
It was clear that Mu Xueqing was deeply distressed by the fact that her younger brother had been disfigured.
Just then, Wang Dazhu, who was smoking, suddenly spoke up with a face full of worry: "Old Five doesn't have a partner yet. What's he going to do now?"
Liu Guilan frowned, thought for a moment, and said, "Anyway, Second Brother's family has money now. It should be easy to find a wife."
Hearing this, Wang Dazhu countered, "How can that be the same? That's called buying a wife. Would a bought wife truly be devoted to him? Could they actually get along?"
It had to be said that Wang Dazhu's point was very reasonable, because true affection indeed cannot be bought with money alone.
Looking at the sorrowful expressions on his family's faces, Wang An didn't know what to say for a moment.
After a while, Wang Dazhu spoke with a tone of frustration, as if disappointed by their lack of shrewdness: "Those two kids... why are they so naive? When you're out in the world, where does all that kindness come from? Sigh, it's worrying me to death."
Liu Guilan immediately echoed, "Mhm, exactly. Now look where that got them."
After Liu Guilan finished, the couple discussed the matter for a few more sentences before finally quieting down.
However, Wang An realized that by bringing up all these unhappy things the moment he returned, he might have messed things up a bit. The current state of his family was truly off.
Furthermore, and most importantly, he hadn't eaten yet. How could he go on without eating?
Thus, Wang An said to the three of them, "Who could have predicted this? It's enough that he came back in one piece. You can't expect to get rich without taking any risks; where is such a good deal? Besides, didn't everyone consider these possibilities before going? What's the use of worrying about it now?"
After Wang An spoke, Wang Dazhu, his wife, and Mu Xueqing were all stunned. Mainly because what Wang An said was indeed flawless.
Seeing their expressions begin to shift, Wang An's expression suddenly changed, and he said with a chuckle, "Alright, stop overthinking. No matter how much you think, you're just staring at the problem. Anyway, I've been back for half a day now—why hasn't anyone arranged some food for me yet?"
It must be admitted that Wang An's sudden pivot caught Wang Dazhu, his wife, and Mu Xueqing completely off guard.
Liu Guilan gave Wang An a sidelong glance and said irritably, "Every single day, the moment you get home, all you know how to do is show off."
In this situation, what Wang An needed to do was divert the family's attention and liberate them from this oppressive atmosphere. Therefore, at this moment, Wang An was absolutely not going to indulge his mother.
After all, there is an old saying that is very well put: "When you cannot solve a problem, what you should do is not exhaust yourself trying to find a solution, but rack your brains to solve the person who raised the problem!"
Though saying it that way might not be entirely accurate, the general meaning was more or less that. Just understand it as such; after all, Wang An hadn't even graduated from middle school and had no diploma.
Consequently, Wang An let his eyelids droop and flopped sideways onto the kang bed. Crossing his legs, he used a tone intentionally designed to provoke anger and said righteously to Liu Guilan, "So what? I'm hungry, is that not allowed? Is there something wrong with a mother making some food for her son?"
It had to be admitted that with Wang An's current attitude and posture, he looked exactly like a genuine, low-life hoodlum at first glance—the kind of person one wants to beat to death the moment they see them.
Seeing this act, Liu Guilan gritted her teeth and shouted, "Sit up straight! You start annoying me the moment you get back. If you keep acting smug, I'll have your father beat the life out of you!"
Perhaps feeling that her anger wasn't fully vented, Liu Guilan turned and shouted to Wang Dazhu, "Dazhu, beat him for me!"
It must be admitted that Liu Guilan's shout was incredibly powerful and domineering, instantly calling Wang Dazhu from the kang bed down to the floor.
Once on the ground, Wang Dazhu charged toward Wang An with a fierce expression.
Seeing things take a turn for the worse, Wang An sprang with his legs, darting straight to the innermost part of the kang. Immediately after, he stood on the windowsill and flipped the window open.
To be honest, Wang An's entire sequence of movements was exceptionally skilled, possessing a feeling of natural fluidity.
Then, with one foot on the indoor windowsill and one foot on the outdoor ledge, Wang An laughed and jeered at Wang Dazhu and Liu Guilan, "Even if you two work together, can you catch me? Hahaha!"
At this moment, although Wang An was in a state where he could be beaten at any second, it had to be admitted that it seemed as if Wang An was the one who had already won!
After Wang An finished shouting, Wang Dazhu turned and walked toward the outer room, while Liu Guilan had already climbed onto the kang.
It must be said that the old couple's coordination was very tacit; they were clearly planning a pincer attack on Wang An!
Noticing the movements of Wang Dazhu and his wife, Wang An made a face at Liu Guilan, who was already on the kang, jumped straight from the windowsill to the outside, and ran toward the main gate.
He demonstrated the four words "decisive action" to the absolute fullest.
About a second later, Wang Dazhu was seen chasing after him from the doorway.
Actually, Wang Dazhu ran quite fast. He zoomed along, his speed basically on par with Wang An's. Perhaps the reason Wang An ran so fast was that he inherited it from Wang Dazhu.
Soon, the father and son had both vanished from sight.
Seeing that the two were gone through the window, Liu Guilan turned to Mu Xueqing and said, "That little brat, lucky for him he ran fast, otherwise he definitely would have gotten a beating."
By this time, Mu Xueqing had been completely stunned by Wang An's seamless series of movements.
It seemed as if every move made by Wang Dazhu and his wife had been predicted by Wang An, allowing him to avoid them perfectly.
As a result, the matter regarding Mu Li was temporarily forgotten by Mu Xueqing.
Hearing Liu Guilan's words, Mu Xueqing subconsciously said, "My dad and Xiao An both run pretty fast, huh!"
Liu Guilan said nonchalantly while getting off the bed to tidy up the burlap sacks containing the gold, "Mhm, once those two start running, there's no stopping them. Ignore them. In a bit, help me start the fire, and I'll go prepare the meal."
Mu Xueqing nodded subconsciously again and glanced outside once more.
It must be said that Wang An's tactic had indeed worked. He had successfully derailed the family's train of thought, and that oppressive atmosphere vanished instantly.
(End of Chapter)