Chapter 438: Both boats were sabotaged

Alright, Old He, go call little Han girl over, and bring the kid too.

Zhang Guafu glanced back at Ye Cheng, giving a look that said she understood him.

Ye Cheng smiled faintly; he was somewhat sensible.

Soon, Han Xiaotao came with the child, and together with Xiao Liang from Zhang Guafu's family, the three kids went off to play.

Han Xiaotao glanced at Ye Cheng a little embarrassed, then went into the kitchen to help, her thick braid swaying behind her.

With an extra pair of hands, the dishes came out much faster.

It was still the same big table as last time, with roughly the same people, only the mood had changed a lot.

He Feiyang sat at the table, appearing much more steady and restrained, lacking the earlier smug vigor when he returned.

That cheap suit had been changed for clothes more suited to village life.

"Here it comes! Braised pork intestines are here!" Qian Shen shouted, bringing out a big pot of steaming pork intestines, the sauce a tempting red, the intestines trembling inside the pot—Ye Cheng couldn't resist and took two pieces first.

"Wow, this texture is great," Ye Cheng said, mouth full as he chewed, it was too hot.

Xiao Hu hasn't come back yet; we better eat something quick.

The second dish is prawns, the simplest preparation—just dip them in sauce later to best retain their freshness.

"Has Xiao Hu come back yet? If the seafood comes up later and gets cold, it won't taste good," Qian Shen said, looking around.

"No, Auntie, you go ahead—this guy will definitely run fast if there's food," Ye Cheng said firmly.

But speaking of it, Xiao Hu should be back by now; surely nothing's wrong.

Qian Shen also knew Ye Cheng was just joking; everyone sat down to chat and waited ten minutes, yet Xiao Hu still hadn't returned.

Maybe his motorcycle broke down—Ye Cheng felt a bit restless and wanted to go check.

Just then, the sound of a motorcycle came from outside; Xiao Hu rushed in, panting.

"Damn, did you go pick up a girl? Why are you so exhausted?" Ye Cheng was speechless—riding a motorcycle shouldn't be this tiring.

But Xiao Hu's face showed no hint of joking, his expression grim,

"Brother, someone tampered with our boat."

"What do you mean? What does 'someone tampered with our boat' mean?"

"The big boat's net hauler was broken, won't start, the nets were torn; I went to a repair shop and they said it'll take some time. And our small boat earlier had the same issue—its winch and trawl were tampered with; this repair shop said they could fix it quickly."

"Just our boats were sabotaged?" Ye Cheng's face darkened further.

"Yeah, I haven't heard of anyone else's boats being tampered with."

"Then damn it, someone's deliberately targeting me," Ye Cheng said angrily.

"What's wrong?" Ye Cheng shouted so loudly that the three women rushed over, thinking they were arguing.

"A Cheng's boat has been sabotaged," Ye Guowei said in a low voice.

"Huh? How could that happen? Is it badly damaged?" Jiang Yunxiang exclaimed.

"Sister-in-law, it can still run, but it needs repairs before it can trawl—it's just disgusting," Xiao Hu replied.

"No, why would someone sabotage your boat?"

"Right, A Cheng, have you offended anyone lately?"

"Lately everyone's been doing multi-level marketing; could it be related to that?"

When multi-level marketing was mentioned, He Feiyang sprang to his feet,

"Brother Cheng, it's not me—I didn't do this."

Ye Cheng pressed down his hand,

"I know it's not you—you've never even seen my boat, so it must be someone who knows me well."

Seeing everyone gathered around with the food untouched, Ye Cheng quickly said,

"Auntie, let's serve the dishes—it's not a big deal; we can talk while we eat."

According to Xiao Hu, the hull isn't damaged, just the equipment—these aren't major issues.

At the end of the day, it's just a matter of tens of thousands of yuan, though it's really disgusting.

"Then I'll bring the dishes out first, and we can all think about it together." The women hurried back to the kitchen and got busy.

Soon the dishes were served; the originally cheerful meal turned a bit awkward because of Ye Cheng's boat trouble.

"Come on, let's eat—it's not a big deal." Ye Cheng was the first to pick up his chopsticks, prompting everyone to start eating.

They ate, but the conversation kept circling back to Ye Cheng's boat.

"A Cheng, if someone deliberately sabotaged it, who would it be?" Ye Guowei still worried, "Will they come back to harm you again?"

"Probably not—judging by the method, they only damaged the net hauler and trawl, leaving the engine untouched; it doesn't seem like a deep grudge," Ye Cheng inferred.

"That's true too—if they'd poured water into your fuel tank, that would be serious trouble," Ye Guowei nodded.

Water in the fuel tank!

Holy shit!

Ye Cheng's eyes flashed with shock, but he quickly composed himself.

He exchanged a glance with Xiao Hu, who shook his head apologetically.

He knew Xiao Hu probably hadn't seen it.

For now, let's just eat; after the meal we'll go check whether anyone actually put water in the fuel tank.

If so, damn it to hell!

Find the person and kill him!

"Brother Cheng," He Feiyang suddenly said, "I didn't tell anyone it was you who called the police."

"Hmm, it's fine, this isn't your concern—lots of people know I reported it."

That said, Ye Cheng guessed the culprit was probably someone from his own village; folks from other villages likely still don't know it was him who reported it.

No, after we finish eating we'll go to the Matou and have a look to see if there are any clues.

Seeing the atmosphere a bit oppressive, Qian Shen had wanted to tell Ye Cheng to let He Feiyang help out, but she didn't dare say it, so she could only wait for another chance to eat.

The happiest are the three children; they don't understand what the adults are saying, but they know there's something good to eat today.

During the meal, Han Xiaotao occasionally gave worried glances; Ye Cheng gave a reassuring look and then ignored her.

There's important business to attend to!

Originally we planned to have a good drink, but something came up; Ye Cheng only hastily had two cups, then dragged Xiao Hu to the Matou.

"Xiao Hu, later drain all the oil and see if water's been added; damn it, if water's been added, I'll break one of his legs or I'm not surnamed Ye!"

If water has been added, and if one isn't careful and starts it up, the engine could easily blow a cylinder; normally, unless it's a deep grudge, nobody would dare do that.

"Brother, rest assured, if someone really did that, I'll break his leg first—no need for you to lift a finger."

The two of them first boarded the big boat; after just one glance at Ye Cheng's face, they relaxed.

Damn, the control box of the net hauler was smashed, the roller mechanism was also smashed, and the trawl net was cut to shreds with several big holes—if we lower the net, even sharks could slip through.

"Let's drain the oil first and see." Ye Cheng turned his head into the cabin, then Xiao Hu drained the oil.