Chapter 11: Sincerity is always the ultimate killer technique

Vendor Old Chen saw someone calling Lin Hu and hastily said, "Turn on the loudspeaker, let everyone hear."

The caller was Mao Wang, who hesitated and said, "Isn't that not okay?"

Old Chen gave a heh smile and said, "What are you afraid of?"

"This is drawing your sword to help when you see injustice."

"Besides, what's Wu Erzi? He's just a deadbeat; even his father has severed ties with him. People like that, offending them is fine."

"What the hell are you afraid of?"

Others also joined in the clamor.

Mao Wang didn't say anything, directly turned on the loudspeaker, and after connecting, he asked, "Lin Hu, where's your fish basket?"

On the big reef, Lin Hu looked at the fishing rod with no movement, wiped sweat from his forehead, and said irritably, "None of your business!"

"If you've got something to say, just say it."

"I'm fishing."

Mao Wang, hearing Lin Hu's bad attitude, thought maybe his caught fish had been stolen, making him upset, and said, "I know who stole your fish."

"It's Wu An."

"He's selling fish over at Lao Xie's; come quickly."

"Lao Xie has already quoted a price; your fish basket could easily sell for two or three thousand!"

Lin Hu, upon hearing, his already dark face turned almost as black as charcoal; not catching fish was already unpleasant, but hearing that Wu An's caught fish sold for so much money made him feel as if a fish had slipped away, hurting him as if a knife were cutting his flesh.

He cursed, "Damn it!"

"First Lao Xie called to ask, and now you're asking too."

"What's the deal?"

"Is it Wu An who had you call to piss me off?"

"Don't let me see you; if I see you, I'll beat you to death."

Mao Wang, stunned by the scolding, also got anxious and shouted, "I'm trying to help you out of goodwill, yet you repay me like a dog biting Lü Dongbin, not recognizing kindness."

"With so many fish, you don't want them?"

Lin Hu, furious, shouted, "I don't want a damn thing; those fish were caught by Wu Erzi!"

"None of my damn business!"

"He caught too many fish, I borrowed his fish basket, what's the problem?"

"You're meddling too much, holy shit you..."

Hearing the stream of profanity, Mao Wang hastily hung up, and while everyone was still stunned, he quickly squeezed into the crowd and ran away.

He felt utterly embarrassed.

He had thought he could watch Lin Hu beat Wu Erzi in a good show, and even planned to call Shen Fang to watch the fun, but he ended up becoming a laughingstock.

He muttered to himself in frustration, never expecting that so many fish were actually caught by Wu An.

This made him extremely jealous.

Moreover, he must not let Shen Fang find out!

He would absolutely not give Shen Fang and Wu Erzi any chance to reconcile; even though Shen Fang is the girl he can't have, he cannot let Wu An have her.

……

Lin Bin was also on the big reef, hearing Mao Wang's words, he said, "Lao Xie has always been fair; Wu Erzi really got lucky."

The fish he caught in one day exceed what the two of us catch in a week.

Lin Hu muttered, "Same fishing rod, same spot, why haven't we gotten a single bite so far? What the hell is going on?"

Lin Bin said gloomily, "That's a human problem."

"I'm not saying it's you."

"It's definitely Wu An's problem."

Lin Hu, with a dark face, said, "You'd better shut up."

"Forget it, I'm really annoyed."

"I'm not fishing anymore; I'm going back to rest."

Lin Bin had no objection; today, being shown up by Wu An left him feeling embarrassed and frustrated enough that, if it weren't for the fisherman's integrity, he would have left already.

……

Old Chen and the others realized, those many fish weren't stolen by Wu An.

The vendors hurried over.

"Lao Xie, I'm not saying this to criticize you, but your price is a bit low."

"Wu Erzi, don't rush to weigh the fish; let me give you a price quote."

"Wu An, I just misunderstood you; come on, give me a chance to correct my mistake." Old Chen also said, fawning, "My price is absolutely not lower than Lao Xie's; we've done business many times."

"Before, nobody else wanted your goods; only I would take them."

That's business.

No nitpicking.

Lao Xie was so angry he scolded everyone for being unreasonable; actually, he hadn't believed Wu An on impulse, but had called Lin Hu beforehand to inquire.

He looked at Wu An, and everyone was looking at Wu An.

Now the initiative is in his hands.

Wu An smiled and said, "Old Chen, you're right; we've done business many times before, so… this time and from now on, I won't sell to you."

Hearing the first part, Old Chen grinned with delight; hearing the second part, he was dumbfounded.

He shouted, "Why?"

Wu An put away his smile, solemnly saying, "Because I intend to give up evil and return to righteousness, to start over as a person."

"I want to cut ties with my past self."

"You used to collude with me in wrongdoing, so of course I must now draw a clear line between us."

"……" Old Chen stared, speechless.

You want me to be a good person, then nail me to the pillar of shame?

So I'm just a prop for your prodigal son's return?

He had a lot to complain about, but it was all stuck in his throat, unsaid.

Why?

Because what Wu An said was very genuine.

Sincerity is always a killer move!

After Wu An retorted at Old Chen, he turned to the other vendors and said, "Sorry, everyone, I just said I'm turning over a new leaf."

"Old Chen has already quoted a price; with the business discussed this far, it's basically done."

"You guys aren't like me, going back on your word and becoming a good-for-nothing again."

The vendors then relented.

Lao Xie let out a sigh of relief and began weighing.

Li Juan watched Wu An speak calmly, a relieved smile appearing; Wu An had truly changed—before, he would surely have gone wherever the higher bid was.

She muttered softly, "Looks like knocking some sense into him isn't without benefit; this kid really has changed."

A Qing stood nearby, saying, "Mom, does that mean I can play with my brother from now on?"

Li Juan hesitated: "You're all grown up, yet you're still thinking about playing all day."

"You should think about how to make money."

"Today... A An did pretty well."

A Qing naturally said, "Brother takes me along to play and earn money at the same time, without any delay."

Li Juan laughed: "Fine, fine, you guys are awesome."

A Qing shouted proudly, "It's my brother who's awesome."

Li Juan nodded; she was quite happy, but she couldn't control how Wu An was—still, A Qing was her son, and A Qing clung to Wu An.

She had been terribly worried, racking her brains over how to keep A Qing from hanging out with Wu An, but now she no longer needed to fret.

If Wu An improves, then A Qing following him will surely not be far behind.

The vendors saw Wu An unmoved by persuasion, with nothing exciting to watch, so they scattered, each having business to tend to at their stalls, though they didn't have much leisure time.

Soon.

After the fish were weighed, Lao Xie pointed to the two Stone Nine Public, two Sea Bass, and two Black Bream in the fish basket, asking, "Are you sure you want to keep these?"

Wu An nodded.

Lao Xie didn't say much more, started calculating, clacking away on the calculator; after totalling, it came to 2,187 yuan.

He said, "Do you want to check it yourself?"

Wu An shook his head: "No need."

Lao Xie directly took out twenty-two red bills, saying, "No change, so I'll give you an even amount."

"If you have good goods next time, come anytime."

Old Chen had been standing at the doorway; hearing this, he spat on the ground and said, "Another time..."

"This is just that one time you lucked out."

"How could heaven let a good-for-nothing like him make money? It's utterly unjust."

Wu An ignored Old Chen's sour remarks, took the money, gave a casual reply, and left.

The fish he kept were intended for his father and elder brother's family; since the fish were still alive, he needed to send them over quickly.