Chapter 500: Willing to Bet and Accept Defeat

Wu An woke up, hearing the chattering outside, and was extremely irritated.

He has morning temper.

After sleeping another half hour or so, feeling the morning temper had subsided, he finally sprang up like a carp.

He went out.

Both Mei Wu and Mei Wen were there.

Wu An asked, "What are you talking about, such a lively crowd?"

Mei Wu, beaming, said, "A An, guess what, today when I returned to the village, Chen Shui came to apologize."

Wu An was startled, "He did it on his own?"

Mei Wu nodded.

Mei Wen said, "Chen Shui brought many gifts, and in front of the neighbors he laid out the whole truth in detail; the Chen Family Elder couldn't stop him."

Wu An sneered, "Chen Shui is using the pretext of a dead fellow disciple to avoid being a poor disciple."

The apology is fake.

Diverting attention is the real move.

Chen Shui is merely using money to get things done, so he naturally doesn't want the villagers to poke at his backbone.

If you want to poke, go poke Chen Lao Da.

Actually.

Chen Shui originally intended to take the blame for Chen Lao Da, on the condition that Chen Lao Da could pay.

No money.

Then there's nothing more to say.

Chen Lao Da refused, the matter wasn't settled, and he wanted me to take extra money, which is like throwing money into the sea; the two fell apart, and Chen Shui turned and came to the Mei family to apologize.

The Chen Family Elder isn't a good sort either, trying to block Chen Shui.

As a result, he failed to stop him and even let Chen Shui, in front of the villagers, berate the Clan Elder for lacking propriety; the main line's face is face, but the sub‑branch's offspring's face is not?

Wu An, after hearing Mei Wu, said with a teasing tone, "So the Chen family is not united internally either."

Mei Wu nodded, "At my family's gate, the uproar was quite fierce."

Wu An said, "That's also a good thing."

Why can the Chen family flaunt their power in Shangwancun? It's because they have numbers and strength, mutual aid among clans, and ordinary minor families dare not provoke them.

But once the interior collapses, they're just a bunch of country chickens and mongrel dogs, nothing to fear.

…

While they were talking, Lao Fu Tou's phone rang.

Wu An answered.

Lao Fu Tou said, "A police car just came to the village and took away Chen Lao Da, who had just returned home."

Wu An was startled, "Oh, I see."

Lao Fu Tou, seeing Wu An wasn't surprised and knowing it was Wu An's doing, shifted tone and said, "My nephew Yongning wants to come aboard our ship to work."

Wu An smiled, "Is this a case of willing to bet and accept loss?"

Lao Fu Tou said, "He has given in."

"You bet with him; it's his destiny."

"So you agree?"

Wu An laughed, "I was the one who started the bet, so I can't be two‑faced."

"However, the wage split must be calculated separately."

"The Trawler can be test‑sailed the day after tomorrow; if all goes well, we can begin trawling operations."

Lao Fu Tou was delighted, "That's great."

A small fishing boat makes tens of thousands per voyage; he can't even imagine a 25‑meter Trawler, sailing three to five days for trawling, and how much money a single trip could bring.

Wu An said, "Lao Fu, your wage remains fixed at five percent; that doesn't change."

"I want to discuss with you how to pay the wages of the crew who will work on the Trawler in the future."

Lao Fu Tou hesitated, "Previously on Chen Lao Da's ship, five to six thousand a month was already a lot."

Wu An smiled, "I still intend to give a share."

Lao Fu Tou said, "If we split, we can give bonuses based on yield and fish price—one hundred to five hundred per ton of catch."

Wu An thought, using the cheapest sea fish at ten yuan per jin, one ton equals ten thousand; with five crew, each gets a hundred, totaling five hundred.

Divided equally, that's a one‑percent commission.

If the catch is high and we give five hundred, it might not even amount to a one‑percent commission.

Lao Fu Tou, seeing Wu An silent, continued, "We could also split according to the profit of a voyage."

Wu An, after hearing him, quickly had an idea: "Set a one‑percent profit share for ordinary crew; ask Fu Yongning if he is willing…"

Before he could finish, Lao Fu Tou laughed, "He is willing."

Wu An nodded, "Alright, that's it; the day after tomorrow come with me to the test sail."

Lao Fu Tou agreed, put down the phone, and Fu Yongning, sitting nearby, eagerly asked, "Uncle, how much he gave me, you didn't even ask me, you just agreed outright."

He said, "On Chen Lao Da's ship, the wage was outstanding."

He said, "I give…"

Lao Fu Tou, irritated, said, "One percent."

Fu Yongning muttered, "That's not high; even with a good haul, a trip only makes a few thousand yuan."

Lao Fu Tou laughed, "That was on Chen Lao Da's ship."

"On A An's boat......"

"Never mind, you'll find out later; I'll tell you, when you work on someone else's boat, you have to do it properly."

Fu Yongning said: "I know, I know."

"You know I'm not unaware of what I'm doing."

"Besides, even if I didn't say it, you're the captain—could you not look after me a bit?"

Lao Fu Tou stared: "I can't look after even a bit."

Fu Yongning: "You old......"

Lao Fu Tou: "Get lost."

Fu Yongning chuckled: "Wu An really is capable—although Mei Wu said he lost his job, he hasn't suffered any anger at all; why was Chen Lao Da arrested?"

"Was it Wu An who did it?"

"He's really impressive—how did he manage that?"

Lao Fu Tou: "Go ask him."

Fu Yongning: "What relation do I have with him? He'd never tell me, and besides, I wouldn't dare ask—he's our boss now."

Lao Fu Tou glared: "You still know......"

"Hurry up and resign."

Fu Yongning: "He wasn't arrested, so how am I supposed to find him?"

Lao Fu Tou: "The remaining umbrellas aren't just Chen Lao Da's alone—since he was taken, find whoever can make the call."

Fu Yongning nodded.

? Wu An put down his phone; Mei Wu asked: "Was that Lao Fu's call?"

Wu An said: "Chen Lao Da was taken away by the police."

Mei Wu and the others heard, all turned their heads; Mei Wu scratched his head: "Just my business—do the police still care?"

Wu An laughed: "What are you thinking? Chen Lao Da committed something else."

Although hiring someone to cause injury didn't result in serious consequences, a detention of seventy or eighty days is unavoidable.

While speaking.

Mei Wu's phone rang—it was Old Master Mei calling, saying Chen Lao Da had been taken by the police.

The Chen family is now in utter chaos; Xiao Huang is investigating through legal connections, and some in the Chen family think the Mei family reported it, so they've gone to ask friendly villagers.

Mei Wu suddenly realized: "A An, you said this matter wasn't over—there's actually a follow-up!"

Wu An waved his hand: "Nothing to do with me."

"I don't know."

"Chen Lao Da, this kind of troublemaker who smokes—surely he got arrested again for stirring up trouble outside."

Mei Wu wanted to say more, but Mei Yueqin cut him off, telling him to stop spouting nonsense.

She urged: "Some things just need to be understood silently—don't make a fuss."

Mei Wu suddenly understood and quickly made a gesture to seal his mouth.

Wu An really felt a bit depressed.

In his family's eyes, he truly didn't want to set up a persona of someone scheming with ulterior motives.