Chapter 297: First Rule Out Wu An

"But..." Mai Hangyu sighed: "Once the plan is confirmed, after construction starts we'll need to purchase large amounts of building materials; I'm afraid even 1 million might not be enough."

Wu An nodded: "I know."

There's nothing to say; this isn't an issue that needs discussion.

Money.

Have is have, not have is not have.

If he can't come up with it then, he'll just be at a loss.

Fortunately, this money doesn't need to be taken out all at once; we can earn while we spend, worst case we stop work if we run out of money and resume when we have it.

After watching the road work for a while, Wu An guessed the tide had risen to high tide and then begun to ebb, so he took A Qing and left the construction site.

First return to the market, pick up the water pump, then go to the seaside Panshuikeng.

Arriving at the former Panshuikeng spot, the tide had already begun to recede.

As the tide receded, individual pools began to appear.

There were anglers coming to fish.

Not far away there were large reefs, where anglers often came to fish from the rocks.

Seeing Wu An and A Qing squatting by the pool's edge, he laughed: "Another youngster has come to Panshuikeng."

"It's not that; earlier someone messed up this Panshuikeng area and scared away a lot of the catch."

Wu An originally didn't want to join the conversation, but hearing them chat like that, he asked: "Has anyone been coming here to Panshuikeng often lately?"

"Not really, there haven't been many."

"Some got lucky and caught a lot, but most are just wasting fuel money."

"In that case, I advise you to spend this effort better by following us to fish."

"Regardless of whether you can catch fish, at least you won't lose money."

"The past few days I caught several red snapper here, plus other sea fish, and sold them for three or four thousand."

He said all that just to lead up to this last sentence.

Wu An indicated understanding.

If an angler catches a fish and doesn't show off, the fish isn't caught for nothing.

Wu An laughed: "Your fishing gear costs nothing, bait costs nothing?"

"Your stools cost nothing, cigarettes cost nothing, drinks cost nothing?"

A Qing was less polite, waving his hand: "Go on, go on, what nonsense are you spouting? Don't block our two brothers' money-making path."

Speaking frankly.

Now he really looks down on fishing.

Unless he can catch valuable fish, otherwise his income will definitely be less than from Panshuikeng.

As for fun, A Qing also feels that scooping fish and catching shrimp in Panshuikeng is much more interesting than fishing.

The two anglers muttered as they walked away; although we didn't hear, they were surely saying something unpleasant.

Wu An couldn't be bothered to pay attention.

A Qing looks down on fishing, and the anglers also look down on those who do Panshuikeng, thinking they have no technical skill, purely for making money, with no enjoyment whatsoever.

Today is a neap tide.

The revealed pools aren't many; waiting for the uppermost pools to fully appear and confirming they aren't connected to the sea, the two began to get busy.

The water pump rumbled loudly in operation; Wu An didn't notice his phone ringing.

……

Shangwancun.

In Chen Lao Da's home.

Yu Kai Lang made two consecutive calls, neither got through; he furrowed his brow and put the phone down.

He shook his head at his colleague and said: "We couldn't get through; they're probably busy."

"But I still suggest we investigate ourselves first and clarify the leads."

"Wu An is no ordinary commoner; he has already received two 'Seeing Justice and Courage' honors."

The two officers opposite, with solemn expressions, nodded; to say that earning one 'Seeing Justice and Courage' honor could be luck, but having two really means something.

Without solid clues or evidence, it's really hard to act lightly.

Yu Kai Lang looked at Chen Lao Da standing not far away with a face full of anger, suddenly recalling that Wu An had received two 'Seeing Justice and Courage' honors, which seemed related to the Chen family.

What do you mean, why are you still provoking Wu An?

If this continues, you'll really become tools for Wu An to farm honors.

Yu Kai Lang silently complained; he came to Shangwancun to continue the investigation, not expecting to run into a colleague also investigating.

Only after asking did he learn that Chen Lao Da had filed the police report.

There were two situations: one, the windows at home were smashed; two, Chen Baosheng was beaten unconscious in town and hospitalized.

Knowing the grudges between the sides, Yu Kai Lang, who understood the situation well, instinctively felt it might have been Wu An who did it.

But after a second thought, he felt it wasn't.

Smashing someone's windows isn't the sort of thing Wu An would do; plus he entrusted him with the investigation, showing he placed hope in him—how could he simultaneously lie in wait to strike back?

Therefore he first ruled out Wu An as a suspect.

Chen Lao Da came over, shouting that it was definitely Wu An and Lao Fu Tou who did it; Yu Kai Lang, annoyed by the noise, couldn't help retorting: "Let's not talk about Wu An's timing and feasibility—what about the motive?"

"I know you've had some unpleasant disputes at the dock; this isn't a deep hatred, so it can't serve as motive."

"If you think it's Wu An and Lao Fu Tou, then produce evidence."

Chen Lao Da's eyes darted; with a resentful expression he said: "Everyone in the village says Lao Fu Tou's windows were smashed because I had someone do it."

That's why they hold a grudge.

This is retaliation!

Yu Kai Lang suddenly understood and said, "I get it now. You mean you have no evidence, you're just relying on the fact that the whole village says you smashed Lao Fu Tou's window, so you think Wu An and Lao Fu Tou are retaliating against you based on that rumor."

Don't you think that's a bit of a stretch?

What makes you think that?

Are you treating everyone like fools?

Chen Lao Da slightly opened his mouth, still wanting to argue his point.

Before he could finish speaking, Yu Kai Lang continued, "Yesterday, I came to your house to investigate. You said it was a rumor and wanted to call the police to catch the rumor-monger."

Then your current behavior is even more outrageous, targeting someone based on a rumor.

We can't possibly open an investigation against someone based solely on your unfounded statement.

Seeing his colleagues nod slightly in agreement, and with Chen Lao Da looking speechless, Yu Kai Lang let out a breath and continued, "I'm here to investigate the smashing of Lao Fu Tou's window."

I'm not afraid to tell you, they repeatedly asked me to continue the investigation.

They placed their hopes on me, hoping I could find results; how could they possibly retaliate against you?

Chen Lao Da heard this.

Everyone was numb.

Yesterday, the whole village said he had someone smash Lao Fu Tou's window; the police came to his house to investigate but found nothing.

He was still pleased with himself, and even though everyone thought that, without evidence there was nothing they could do to him.

Now he can also be certain it was Wu An who did it, but there's still no evidence, and even after a police analysis, Wu An's suspicion was cleared.

The roles of attack and defense have reversed.

This feeling seems familiar.

Wu An is clearly copying him!

What can he do?

They've called the police, but there's no evidence!

Wu An not only copied him, but went further, acting more viciously and maliciously, smashing his window and beating Chen Baosheng so badly.

The student surpasses the teacher, right?

He can't possibly confess to the police that he himself had someone smash Lao Fu Tou's window just to get them to investigate, can he?

It really fits the saying: a mute eating coptis—has bitterness but cannot speak.