Chapter 350: Investigation

Everyone's discussion, Yu Kai Lang and Liu Long naturally heard it.

The two walked ahead, couldn't help but make eye contact, each seeing the helplessness in the other's eyes.

What these people said is damn true.

Liu Long turned his head, looked at Wu An, and asked softly: "A An, we're not outsiders, so I'll just say it straight—the seriousness of this case depends on the value of your crab pot's sea catch."

Wu An nodded.

Liu Long continued: "So first, we need to determine how many crab pots you lost, and the value of the sea catch in those crab pots."

"What's the situation with your crab pot haul this time?"

Wu An said: "Mainly nine-section shrimp."

Liu Long said in surprise: "These shrimp are pretty expensive, right?"

"I remember at the last banquet, there was a plate on the table with seven or eight, and a plate cost a hundred."

Wu An said: "Then what you ate was probably farmed."

"My wild nine-section shrimp, still alive, the purchase price is 130."

"For ordinary-sized wild nine-section shrimp, buying at the market, each costs seventy or eighty."

Liu Long sucked in a cold breath, "Holy shit, just one shrimp, and it's that expensive—who the hell can afford it? Buying this to eat makes you a total sucker."

With his salary, he could only buy a few dozen shrimp!

He was a bit stimulated, and couldn't help muttering to himself, "I bought a watch last year."

This meme is really old.

Recently they caught some petty thugs who kept saying this, and he'd scoff at it, but honestly it pretty well expresses his current mood.

Yu Kai Lang's face grew increasingly stern as he asked: "Can you provide proof?"

Wu An said: "That's definitely possible."

"You also saw how many people were at the dock just now."

"These nine-section shrimp could only come from crab pots or trawling—there's no way they were caught by fishing line."

"My boat doesn't have trawling gear, so it can only be crab pots."

Liu Long and Yu Kai Lang listened and nodded—this way, the case involves a huge amount, qualifying as a major case, so the bureau can naturally allocate more resources.

This is definitely advantageous for the investigation.

Liu Long said: "Since nine-section shrimp are so valuable, it must be because rarity drives price, so the haul should be limited—your crab pot catch probably isn't large."

Wu An nodded: "It's not much."

"The haul from one line of crab pots can reach two hundred catties if good, or around one hundred catties if poor."

"Actually, we can take an average from the nine-section shrimp I'm currently selling; that would be fair, and then we can estimate the approximate value of the lost crab pots."

Liu Long nodded and said: "Taking an average of one line's two hundred to one hundred catties gives one hundred fifty catties… wait, one hundred fifty… catties!"

Wu An nodded: "Right, it's catties, not kilograms—not that much."

"" Liu Long widened his eyes, saying: "Wait, wait, let me… uh… let me calculate—one hundred fifty catties at 130 per catty, that… that… is…"

Yu Kai Lang said: "Nineteen thousand five hundred, which is about twenty thousand."

Liu Long didn't even know how many cold breaths he'd taken, his steps halted, and he shouted: "Seven lines of crab pots—that's 140,000!"

Yu Kai Lang shook his head, speaking solemnly: "This is just the value of the crab pots themselves; there's also lost wages."

Wu An's eyes lit up: "Can lost wages be calculated too?"

Yu Kai Lang said: "Of course!"

"'Crab pots are work tools; having them stolen is worse than being hit by a car on the way to work—even traffic accidents compensate for lost wages, so you can certainly demand compensation for lost wages.'"

"'If your seven lines of crab pots are used continuously, the losses from the delay are actually not small either.'"

"'Right?'"

Wu An nodded: "Yeah, yeah."

Liu Long also said: "It needs to be calculated, it needs to be calculated."

Wu An asked: "Do I need to prepare any materials?"

Yu Kai Lang said: "It would be best if you had your seafood sales receipts."

"'From the receipts, we can deduce the lost wages.'"

Wu An grinned: "Then we have that."

Look.

This is what it's like when someone is easy to work with.

He hadn't even thought of it, but Yu Kai Lang had already anticipated him.

Liu Long sighed and said: "Don't laugh first."

"'The precondition for all this is being able to find a suspect and secure a conviction.'"

"'I said from the start—first we need to confirm how many crab pots you lost.'"

Wu An repeated: "I said it's seven."

Liu Long shook his head: "Just because you said it doesn't make it true."

"'We still need to find the suspect and finally confirm it.'"

Yu Kai Lang looked at the many fishing boats anchored not far away, narrowed his eyes, and said: "Determining the suspect is the first step, and also the hardest."

A few people came running over.

They were dock management staff.

They were all from the town; Wu An knew them, and they exchanged greetings.

"'I understand the situation.'"

Please follow me.

From 3 p. m. until now, the returning fishing boats have all been counted; under the guidance of the dock management staff, everyone boarded the boats one by one for inspection.

Some of the boat owners were summoned.

They cooperated, but their attitudes were somewhat displeased.

I understand the police coming to investigate, but why is the victim also coming along?

It's just throwing away a few crab pots, isn't it?

Who among those who go out to sea hasn't thrown something away?

Wu An didn't speak.

After a casual glance around the boat, a quick swipe of the hand was enough to confirm it.

When Yu Kai Lang disembarked, he turned back to look at the speaking boat owner: "Thank you for your cooperation."

But…… have you thrown away crab pots suspected of amounting to over ten thousand?

Boat owner: "……"

Ah this……

Yu Kai Lang said: "No report filed?"

If so, you're pretty generous.

The boat owner gave an embarrassed laugh: "No way, I threw away only worthless things."

They moved quickly; checking all the returning boats took only half an hour.

Yu Kai Lang said: "A An, this kind of perfunctory glance won't do; even if there were clues, you wouldn't spot them."

Liu Long also said: "I'll call the station to request reinforcements; we need to thoroughly search these fishing boats."

"A An, are you sure you can recognize your crab pot?"

Wu An nodded.

He certainly could recognize it, but he didn't say so; just recognizing it…… couldn't serve as evidence.

Although the dock has few cameras, the key entrances and exits still have surveillance; thus, they have already assigned colleagues to check the footage of those entrances and exits.

If someone were to take a crab pot away from the dock, that could be deemed suspicious.

Just after making the call, colleagues haven't discovered anything yet.

Wu An said: "It's not necessarily from our town; the neighboring town's dock could also be involved."

Yu Kai Lang frowned: "Then we need to find the station chief, have him call over, and request assistance from the neighboring town for the investigation."

He said this while looking at Liu Long.

Liu Long gritted his teeth, stomped his foot: "I'll make the call right now."

Having said that, he walked aside to make the call.

Yu Kai Lang, meanwhile, instructed the dock management staff: if any more fishing boats return later, please help check whether there's anything suspicious on board.

If there is, contact them at any time.

Wu An bought a pack of cigarettes and brought it over; although it's the dock staff's duty, one still needs to observe social niceties.

Not long after.

After Liu Long finished the call, he said the station chief had already coordinated with the neighboring town; they can now go directly there.

Speed is essential in warfare.

The three of them immediately got in the car and headed straight for the neighboring town's dock.