Chapter 714: Writing an Anonymous Letter (Revised — Extra Chapter for Alliance Leader Vera)

Although Lin Lin Xiuqing felt his words made sense, it was still too risky.

What if they failed to steal the chicken and ended up losing the rice?

They were originally honest fishermen; it was fine to just honestly catch fish. They absolutely must not do something like this.

"Our village has been so lively these past few days. Do you think those people might come to our village too? It's too risky... what if they inquire around and find out..."

"The boat has already been docked at the town's pier. How would they know? No one in the village saw me sail back either. I took it away overnight."

"Good thing no one saw you. What on earth is on that island? Worth it for them to go up several times, even losing a boat in the process. They probably won't give up either, right?"

"Uh..."

Come to think of it, that's true. They even lost a boat in the process, so they probably won't give up, right?

"You took their boat away. They'll definitely call more people to go to the island. We won't be able to show up in that stretch of sea for a long time. Same as before, we can't catch squid there!"

Ye Yaodong was stunned for a moment, feeling his brain really didn't work as well as Ah Qing's!

Sure enough, people with education could think faster.

"I only thought about taking the boat directly so they couldn't go to that island anymore. After all, they wouldn't know who took it. We'd solve the problem once and for all while also gaining a boat. I really didn't think it through that carefully. What if they rally their clansmen and brothers to go again? That's possible too."

"Right, a boat costs a lot of money. How could they be willing to just lose one for nothing? They'd definitely call relatives and friends to hang around the area, maybe even share the purpose of their trip to the island and ask everyone to help. That's also possible! Who knows, there might be even more people by then, and we still won't be able to catch squid."

His wife's words made sense!

If it were him, with the boat gone, while having people inquire and search everywhere, he'd definitely call a bunch of brothers to circle the area for a few days to see if there were any suspicious boats.

And without a boat of their own, they'd definitely have to share the secret. Two heads are better than one.

Ye Yaodong frowned. "Then what should we do?"

At the time, he only thought about stealing the boat so those people couldn't come anymore. After all, they were used to robbery—ill-gotten gains anyway.

"Then let's just stay away from that area for now? Don't go there for the next half year. Let's find a new place to fish. Anyway, we got a boat for nothing, no loss, so it's a gain. Just switching fishing grounds."

"That won't do!"

That place could be considered his base!

So many good things had been found there. How could he bear to leave? Besides, once the weather got hot, he still wanted to get in the water to scoop up sea cucumbers, catch lobsters, and dig for abalone.

There was also a stretch of pen shells on the seabed nearby. He'd dug most of them last year, so there must be more this year. And he hadn't even had time to explore the surrounding area.

That place was a treasure trove. Other seabeds weren't easy to scout, and he didn't know how deep they were. But that patch of submerged reef, he knew it like the back of his hand.

Then he definitely had to take advantage of the familiar ground.

"The sea is so big. Switching fishing grounds is no big deal. Safety first." Lin Lin Xiuqing didn't understand why he kept insisting on that place.

"Let me think..."

Ye Yaodong frowned, pondering, wondering if there was any other way.

The boat was already in hand, no worry there. He just needed to tell his mother to wait a few days before letting the news out. What worried him was if those people refused to give up—that would be troublesome.

Lin Lin Xiuqing watched his troubled look and couldn't help saying, "Next time, think it through before you act..."

"It doesn't have much to do with picking up the boat. Even if I didn't pick up the boat, they'd still go there every day. What if they really find something? Then they definitely won't leave."

"Fine, then let's switch fishing grounds. That way there won't be any trouble. Who cares what they're doing over there?"

He was a bit reluctant, and also worried that there really was a gold mine on the island, which would benefit the pirates.

After thinking for a while, he said, "I'll write an anonymous letter in a bit."

"Huh? You want to report the people from Luzhoudao?"

"Why report them? Just anonymously say the island is a smuggler's hideout."

He couldn't deal with the people from Luzhoudao, so he'd let those who could deal with it handle it. What was the use of reporting them? Directly saying that island was a smuggler's hideout would draw real attention.

If the report said there was a gold mine on the island, they'd probably think the anonymous letter writer was an idiot and just tear it up and throw it in the trash.

Saying it was a smuggler's hideout was different—much more credible.

There was still a strict crackdown going on, especially in their coastal areas where smuggling crimes were being heavily targeted. Anonymously reporting that place as a smuggling hideout—the border defense station would definitely send people to check.

If they could bust a hideout, that would be a major achievement. Whether it was true or not, they'd definitely send people to check first.

As for whether there really was one, whether they could find it—that was the officials' own business.

It had nothing to do with him!

He was just running his mouth anyway!

If the people from Luzhoudao who lost the fishing boat refused to give up and asked relatives and friends to linger around the island's waters looking for suspicious vessels, and officials sent people to approach, there would definitely be conflict.

If a fight broke out, that would be quite a sight.

Would attacking the Haishi Bureau's border defense station be legal?

When the time came, every single one of them would be arrested. If they didn't die, they'd at least be skinned alive!

In this day and age, how many people to arrest, how to catch them—following the trail, having the military arrest all the lawless elements on Luzhoudao was just a matter of one word.

After coming up with the plan, Ye Yaodong's heart settled.

Regardless of whether the legend of the dog-head gold was related to a gold mine, he planned to keep it to himself. He was just a small fisherman.

Given a second chance, he only wanted to get rich through hard work, content with modest wealth. But the weather is unpredictable, giving him a bit of luck and a few more windfalls.

Still, windfalls were just windfalls. He could only hold onto them tightly. To him, the dog-head gold was just a dog-head gold—a collectible treasure he could keep as a family heirloom.

Whether it was a gold mine or not, as long as it didn't fall into the pirates' hands, that was fine. He wasn't that greedy, and it wasn't something he could dream of. Besides, there was already a chest of gold at home—more than enough.

He'd keep the dog-head gold for future generations to collect. If future generations had any ideas, or their patriotism exploded, with extremely high consciousness, and wanted to donate it for the greater good, that wouldn't be his business anymore.

After all, you bring nothing into life, and you take nothing with you in death.

"Smuggler's hideout?" Lin Lin Xiuqing was surprised.

She hadn't expected him to want to report the island as a smuggler's hideout. She'd thought he was going to report the people from Luzhoudao for mining gold.

"Right, if I report them for mining gold there, who would believe it? The officials would think someone was messing with them. But saying it's a smuggler's hideout—that's much more credible."

Lin Lin Xiuqing caught on. Indeed, that was true.

"That's true enough. As long as the officials are willing to move, it'll work. If there are more people from Luzhoudao, all gathered patrolling near the sea island, that would look suspicious at first glance."

"When the two sides meet, they'll definitely fight. Anyone daring to oppose the officials can't be far from death — they'll all be rounded up."

"And the key thing is, you only reported it as a smuggling den. If they patrol the sea island and find no smuggling, they'll just give up on that island."

"If they interrogate them later and find out the den is actually on their Luzhoudao, they can redirect the trouble eastward, and the nearby waters will be calm."

The more Lin Lin Xiuqing spoke, the brighter her eyes grew, and she felt much more at ease.

"Or those people might reveal what they were searching for on the island, and then we'll know what's on that sea island too."

Ye Yaodong was also genuinely curious — what exactly were those people looking for those few days?

Hand it over to the officials, and the mystery should be solved quickly.

Lin Lin Xiuqing laughed and said: "You're getting smarter and smarter!"

"Haven't I always been smart? Keep the compliments coming — I could listen to a few more."

With his thoughts straightened out and a plan in mind, Ye Yaodong relaxed inside, and was in the mood to tease his wife a few lines.

She smiled and shot him a sidelong glance. "Now that you've figured it out, why aren't you writing? Let me see if your chicken-scratch has improved?"

"Who's the joke on? Being able to read is already my greatest skill! Whether I can write, whether it's neat or not — what does it matter?"

"Then go on and write!"

Lin Lin Xiuqing even deliberately rummaged through the drawer, set the fountain pen and notebook neatly in place, opened it, and handed it to him.

"What's the rush? Watching the show is what's important now. I'll first send you all to Goddess Mazu Temple, then come back and slowly figure out how to write it."

Want to see him make a fool of himself? No way!

Lin Lin Xiuqing watched his reluctant look with amusement. "I'm afraid there are characters you can only recognize, not write. If I'm beside you, I can teach you. The sooner this letter is posted, the better — who knows when it'll get delivered?"

"Are you silly? I'll just take the letter and drop it into the mailbox at the gate of the border defense station. Someone checks the mailbox every morning — wouldn't that be faster? You think I'd drop it in the village mailbox? And then wait a week, ten days, half a month? How can you be so silly?"

"Uh… right, I didn't think of that for a moment."

"And you call yourself a middle schooler…"

Lin Lin Xiuqing glared at him, shoved the pen into his hand. "Hurry up and write. You expecting a middle schooler to teach you?"

Ye Yaodong gripped the fountain pen, glanced at her. "Underestimating people…"

He sat down, intending to show off properly.

But once he raised his hand, fountain pen aimed at the paper, he didn't know how to put pen to paper for a moment, and after a while drew his hand back again.

After a pause, he reached out again, intending to write.

He thought it over, then stopped again.

He mulled it over in his mind, drafted it out, felt it should be fine, then reached out again…

How do you write the "ling" in "leader"?

Lin Lin Xiuqing watched him hesitate back and forth, finding it hilarious.

"Do you even know how? Can't write the character? I'll teach you."

Ye Yaodong watched her grinning, beaming face, gave a light snort, and capped the fountain pen.

"After I send you all to Goddess Mazu Temple, I'll come back and write it slowly!"

"Whatever character you don't know, I'll teach you."

"I can look it up in the newspaper myself."

Saying so, he set the fountain pen down on the table, stood up, and put his arm around her shoulders.

"Come on, let's get you all to Goddess Mazu Temple first. Don't want it to be too late — won't be able to find a spot, and someone else will have taken it."

Lin Lin Xiuqing watched his appearance with amusement.

"Fine, then you take your time flipping through the newspaper later to find the characters. It's not like your chicken-scratch can be recognized by anyone anyway."

The two chatted and laughed as they opened the bedroom door — and without any warning, a figure tumbled straight into the room, startling the couple.

"What are you doing? Yangyang."

Ye Ye Chengyang rolled on the ground, scrambled right back up, and said urgently: "Dad, Mom, you're finally out! I've been waiting forever! Great-grandma wouldn't even let me go inside to find you."

Finished paying off Alliance Leader Vera's bonus chapters. Next, I'll work hard to pay off Shiyi Alliance Leader's bonus chapters.