Chapter 348: Can't Let It Go

Fan Xiao Zhu spread his hands: "My brother didn't lie."

Hearing the Fan brothers say that, everyone's faces changed.

If one were to say Fan Dali lied, that's still possible, but Fan Xiao Zhu probably wouldn't.

Some people's demeanor can be seen at a glance.

If these two brothers were lying, plus Fan Lao Tou beside them muttering nonstop, not knowing what he's muttering, then one could only say their father-son trio's acting is truly superb.

A Qing cursed, saying what's the use of reporting the police.

No physical evidence.

Can't rely on witnesses either.

It's not that they look down on the police, but it's too hard to investigate; trying to find the stolen crab pots is like looking for a needle in a haystack.

The crab pots Wu An bought are just ordinary goods, nothing special.

Put bluntly, whoever's boat you put this on, it becomes theirs.

Wu An said, "Let's first see how many crab pots were stolen."

Lao Fu Tou steered the boat.

Today the wind is calm and the waves are still, and the crab pots they set are along Xuan Ya Dao, so they're very easy to find.

They made a round.

Everyone's faces looked very grim.

There were 22 crab pots in total; now only 15 can be found.

Seven were stolen!

If calculated according to previous income, the loss reaches six figures!

At least tens of thousands!

A Qing burst out cursing: "Damn it, let me know who did it, I'll definitely spear him to death with a fish spear."

"Brother, who do you think did it?"

"Could it be the Chen family?"

Wu An shook his head; he doesn't know who did it, but lately he's been in the spotlight, and many people at the dock are jealous of him.

But the Chen family probably couldn't have done it.

Chen Baosheng is currently overwhelmed, his mind full of how to retaliate against Gu Jianfa and others; he probably doesn't have the time to cause trouble for Wu An.

Most likely someone is jealous of him, so they've harbored ill intentions.

He's considering how to handle this matter, how to investigate, how to recover the losses, and also to kill a chicken to warn the monkey, to deter others as much as possible and prevent such incidents in the future.

He inspected several crab pots and found that a lot of Luck Value remained unconsumed; likely the thieves' haul is limited.

After all, only a few hours have passed since the crab pots were set until they were stolen.

The stolen crab pots still retain a lot of Luck Value.

If the tool that boosts Luck Value isn't used, the Luck Value will persist.

This amounts to a marker that only he knows about.

If those people steal the crab pots but leave them on the boat, he can still locate them.

He thinks the thieves probably won't just discard the crab pots.

After all, the crab pots are all alike; those greedy people would likely think it's a pity to throw away these ordinary crab pots, and anyway, putting them on their own boat makes them theirs.

Wu An pondered for a moment.

No matter what, the crab pots still need to be found as soon as possible.

If the other party destroys or reuses them, it's estimated that only one use will be consumed, leaving him unable to use Luck Value to track the thieves.

He's considering whether to report to the police.

If he reports it, can he recover the loss?

Probably not.

The crab pots marked with Luck Value can only be confirmed by himself; even if he finds them on someone else's boat, he can only stare helplessly.

Once he reports it, will it scare the snake?

But if he doesn't report it, he can only search himself.

No.

That way, he couldn't even board others' boats.

He still has to report it.

Wu An feels somewhat depressed; reporting is necessary, but he can't rely on the police—he still has to solve this himself.

He needs to think of a way to recover the loss as much as possible.

Lao Fu Tou asked, "Should we head back?"

"Or we could salvage the crab pots and bring them back."

"What if..."

"Once bitten by a snake, ten years afraid of the well rope."

Wu An also hesitated.

The crab pots still have a lot of Luck Value unconsumed; pulling them up now would be a bit of a loss.

Wu Ping reminded, "Salvaging is possible, but what if the catch is too much?"

"There's no room on the boat now."

"We don't have that much time to spare."

Some miscellaneous fish, because the hold can't accommodate them, can only be piled on the deck; if we don't hurry back, they'll likely spoil.

Wu An said, "Let's go back first."

"Anyway, they'll come over before dawn tomorrow."

"This night shouldn't still have outsiders coming to mooch."

Fan Dali, still on the boat, said, "If you trust us, we can help keep an eye on things."

"Actually... we've set down quite a few crab pots on the other side."

"Going back and forth like this is too much trouble; we plan to stay overnight and haul them up tomorrow before heading back."

Wu An didn't hesitate much, reached out and shook his hand, then said, "Since you said that, I won't stand on ceremony."

Fan Dali also reached out his hand, saying, "I feel ashamed, I couldn't help you."

Wu An said, "You've already helped a great deal."

They exchanged a few polite remarks.

Fan Dali returned to their fishing boat.

Wu An also immediately turned back.

Along the way.

Because of the unpleasant incident of the stolen crab pots, everyone's good mood was ruined, the atmosphere was very gloomy, nobody wanted to speak, but Wu An was quite busy.

First, he called Gao Qiangqi.

Tell him to take delivery of the goods.

Gao Qiangqi's side was still noisy; he said he was auctioning dragon fish, didn't say two words, then hung up.

Then he called Yu Kai Lang and explained the situation.

After hearing that, Yu Kai Lang was indignant: "Fine, hearing you say it, this matter has blown up."

"You come back and hurry to the station."

"I'll file a case and investigate right away."

Wu An said, "Kai Lang, first I need to thank you for taking my matter so seriously."

"We're friends."

"I won't beat around the bush."

"I'm making a rather excessive request: after I return, you take me to interview the fishing boats that have returned from the dock this afternoon till now."

Yu Kai Lang blinked: "You mean you want me to bring you along to investigate?"

"Yes."

"Well..." Yu Kai Lang hesitated a moment: "Then you have to promise me you'll just follow along."

"Okay."

After hanging up, Wu An let out a long sigh.

A Qing and the others looked over.

Wu An said, "Yu Kai Lang is my friend; he's very conscientious."

Everyone nodded.

But nobody had high hopes.

Being conscientious is being conscientious, but this matter isn't easy to investigate.

Wu Ping comforted, "A An, be careful from now on; if we really can't, we'll just guard the crab pots after we set them down."

Mei Wu also said, "Yes, a setback brings wisdom; just be careful next time."

A Qing didn't speak, just angrily punched and kicked at the air.

Wu An smiled but didn't say anything.

Everyone didn't say to let it go, but the meaning was clear.

But he didn't intend to let it go.

Whoever wants to eat this loss can eat it; I'm not having any.

The fishing boat swayed amid the waves, night fell unnoticed, arriving at the dock where lights were bright; Gao Qiangqi wasn't there, it was A Jin receiving the goods.

The fishing boat docked.

A Jin boarded the fishing boat and immediately explained, "Older brother An, my boss is still dealing with those big clients."

"Hey."

"Just one dragon fish, not enough to share."

Those bosses came for a trip, got nothing, and clung to my boss refusing to let go.