Chapter 187: Having Confidence in Wu An

The village pier at night had dim lights.

Aside from a few shops with lights on, only two or three street lamps were lit.

Wu Yingwei walked to the pier, smoking, and looked toward the sea growing darker.

In the distance, the lighthouse was the only light in the darkness, guiding the fishermen still drifting at sea back home.

Lao Meng came over, saw Wu Yingwei, and greeted with a smile, "Yingwei, what are you looking at?"

Wu Yingwei replied, "Nothing much, I've had a full meal, just came over to digest a bit. You go on with your business."

"I don't have anything to be busy with; I'm also here to digest." Lao Meng didn't leave, saw Wu Yingwei finish a cigarette, handed one over: "I heard that this morning, A An set out to sea at the crack of dawn?"

Wu Yingwei took the cigarette and nodded.

"Don't worry, these days A An has been earning plenty; what does that indicate?"

"It shows that he's the one who earns this living."

"With Goddess Mazu's protection, he'll surely have a safe future and return fully loaded."

Wu Yingwei nodded.

In front of outsiders he pretended to be a stern father, saying he wasn't worried at all, but with his old comrades he had nothing to hide.

He came to this side of the pier because he was worried about Wu An; after all, it was already so late.

Just then.

A voice sounded from nearby, "Yingwei, Lao Meng, what are you doing here at this hour?"

The two turned their heads and saw Chen Gui.

Wu Yingwei furrowed his brow; for some reason, seeing Chen Gui appear made him feel uneasy.

Especially the way Chen Gui smiled; it was clear he was scheming something bad.

All these years working together.

The two found each other disagreeable, yet it was undeniable that they understood each other's character well.

Lao Meng asked, "What brings you here?"

Chen Gui shrugged, "Just on routine patrol."

Even though they grew up together and have lived in this village for decades, their relationship isn't good; even standing side by side, there's little to say.

The atmosphere was awkward.

Wu Ping and Mei Yueqin arrived on a motor tricycle; from afar they saw Wu Yingwei and shouted, "Dad, A An called and said he'll be here soon."

Wu Yingwei exhaled, a slight smile appearing, "Just give me a call to let me know; why did you both come over?"

Wu Ping said, "A Qing sent us."

"Going out that early and returning this late, I bet the haul was substantial."

As he spoke, the joy on his face could not be concealed.

He had originally wanted to go along, but a sudden matter at school prevented him.

But that's fine.

There will be plenty of chances later to earn money with A An.

Besides, when A An makes money, he can't shortchange his big brother.

Wu Yingwei nodded, turned his head, and inadvertently saw Chen Gui also wearing a smile.

Unlike the earlier forced grin, this smile was clearly more sincere.

Strange, indeed.

Why was he so happy?

Not long after.

A fishing boat sped toward the pier in the night, its shape gradually becoming clear.

Mei Yueqin, excited, grabbed Wu Ping's arm and shouted, "It's A An's fishing boat."

"Finally back."

Wu Ping was thrown off by her.

When the boat docked and the gangplank was lowered, A Qing was the first to rush down, still carrying two water buckets.

Right behind him was Wu An.

Mai Hangyu followed closely.

Chen Gui tiptoed to look onto the boat, but the vessel had little light and it was too dark to discern anything.

Wu An turned back and waved at the boat.

The engine roared, and the boat immediately set off from the pier.

Wu Yingwei was startled, pointing at the departing boat, "A An, why did the boat leave?"

Wu An replied, "It's heading to the town pier; someone there will receive the cargo."

While still on the boat with signal, he first contacted home, then called Gao Qiangqi.

Gao Qiangqi wasn't in town; he was returning from the county.

He guessed that once he arrived in town, they could meet Gao Qiangqi at the pier.

There would probably be a feast that night.

Wu An told A Qing to place a bucket into Lao Mai's off‑road vehicle, saying, "After returning, tell Aunt Juan that today's bill can be settled tomorrow."

A Qing nodded, made a round of greetings, then took a bucket and left.

Mai Hangyu also said hello and went back to the vehicle to wait.

Wu An placed the bucket into the motor tricycle; Wu Ping curiously peered inside, and Chen Gui also leaned over, shining a flashlight into it.

Inside the bucket there was nothing else but a sea‑wave fish, some abalone, a few small green‑dragon fish, scallops and other seafood, all snatched while hauling the abalone.

All together they didn't catch much; Wu An calculated they couldn't sell for much money, so he simply didn't sell.

They divided the catch among themselves, giving the family a little celebration.

Don't be fooled by how far we went today; actually we didn't catch much seafood. If it weren't for good luck finding abalone, today we would at most barely recover the boat's cost, at best only making a few thousand dollars.

Huh?

Wu An suddenly realized he was getting a bit carried away.

Even making a few thousand dollars isn't enough?

Alright.

If it's up to him, making a few thousand dollars just means having hands is enough.

Wu An stared at Chen Gui, thinking Lao Dongxi was up to something; just then Chen Gui looked up and their eyes met, and Chen Gui instinctively avoided his gaze.

Lao Dongxi is scheming something bad.

But he couldn't figure out where Chen Gui could cause trouble, so he simply stopped thinking about it.

You can be a thief for a thousand days, but you can't guard against a thief for a thousand days.

Meet each move with a countermove.

After Chen Gui left, Wu An then greeted his older brother and sister-in-law, happily saying: "Brother, sister-in-law, today's trip earned quite a bit; I still have to go to town later, I don't know how late I'll be busy, so you don't need to wait for me."

"Leaving already?" Mei Yueqin said: "The food at home is all ready, waiting for you to come back and eat together."

Lao Meng couldn't help laughing upon hearing that, Wu Yingwei coughed twice; just now he had casually found an excuse to go out and digest.

Wu An smiled and said: "I definitely won't be able to eat dinner; I'll come home tomorrow morning to eat breakfast."

"When eating out, eat more rice and drink less; look at you, you've lost quite a bit of weight lately." Mei Yueqin reminded, meanwhile thinking in her heart that she needed to make more variety tomorrow morning.

Wu An nodded, greeted Father, then got into the car.

Wu Ping watched the off-vehicle drive away, saying: "Look how happy A An is; this trip out to sea seems to have a good harvest."

Mei Yueqin smiled and said: "The fishing season is about to open; maybe we'll soon be able to earn back the capital."

Wu Yingwei nodded: "I think there's no big problem."

Originally Wu An didn't spend much money buying the fishing boat; now that the fishing season is open, it's clearly a time to make money—as long as one is diligent, one can definitely make money.

The more they talked, the happier they became, still full of confidence in Wu An.

Wu Ping looked at Lao Meng and called out: "Uncle Meng, get in the car, let's go home together."

Lao Meng shook his head: "No."

"I'm not like certain people who haven't eaten yet but claim they're full just to go out and digest."

"You guys go ahead, I'll walk home."

Wu Ping still wanted to say a couple more things, but Wu Yingwei urged to hurry up and ride; Lao Meng joked like that, and if he followed along home, they'd surely keep laughing at him the whole way.

Doesn't he care about face?

Wu Yingwei is definitely someone who cares about face!