Chapter 564

The next morning, after seven o'clock, Wu An was woken up by his sister-in-law shouting.

Mei Yueqin asked anxiously: "I heard from Aunt Juan that you're going out to sea today?"

Wu An sniffed: "Yes."

"I only decided last night after midnight; I thought it was too late, so I didn't tell you."

Mei Yueqin smacked him: "That also needs to be said; I only found out early this morning that there's no time to prepare anything."

Wu An said: "No need to prepare anything; Old Fu Tou and the others will have everything arranged."

Mei Yueqin told him to hurry up and pack, then come eat.

Wu An gulped his breakfast while his sister-in-law kept nagging beside him, telling him to eat more fruit, pay attention to this, pay attention to that.

Wu An grew a bit impatient listening to it.

He's not a three-year-old child, nor is this his first time going out to sea.

He ended up enduring it, saying nothing, shouldering his pack, which his sister-in-law had packed with clean clothes.

Arrived at the dock.

A Qing saw Wu An yawning repeatedly and said: "Brother, you told us to rest well, yet you look like you went thieving last night."

Wu An coughed: "Adult matters, kids shouldn't pry."

A Qing lifted his head, puffed his chest: "I'm not little anymore."

"My mom said, who knows how many girls from the surrounding ten li eight villages want to follow me."

"Let me choose slowly."

Wu An said: "Okay, then let me also keep watch when the time comes."

A Qing nodded.

"To be honest."

Given A Qing's current situation, he can indeed pick casually.

He ought to pick a good one.

Virtuous.

Sensible.

Not troublesome.

It's not that Wu An wants to interfere; given his relationship with A Qing, if this wife isn't harmonious and starts blowing pillow wind, it will surely affect their brotherly bond.

Wu An walked around the ship; Old Fu Tou and Fu Yongning had arranged things securely—food, drink, fresh water, ice, fruit, beverages, various convenience foods.

Upon entering the rest area, he found that even the bedding had been replaced.

It was Fu Yongning who did it.

"The women at home were idle anyway, so I helped change a set; when the weather improves, we'll air them out at home, and that way we'll be more comfortable resting on the boat."

Wu An nodded, quite satisfied.

At that moment.

Two trawlers were also preparing to go out to sea.

They belonged to Chen Lao Da.

Fu Yongning whispered: "I've inquired; Chen Lao Da isn't on the boats now—one is crewed by former shipworkers, the other by workers recruited from the neighboring town, named Ma Weiqun."

Wu An nodded: "I know; there had been a conflict before."

Fu Yongning was taken aback, then realized: "Could Chen Lao Da have specially hired these people?"

Wu An smiled.

"Guess."

He beckoned Fu Yongning over; the latter leaned in, listened to Wu An's whisper for a moment, then Fu Yongning nodded, took a small sand shovel, and went to Chen Lao Da's trawler.

He greeted his former coworkers and boarded smoothly.

Old Fu Tou saw Fu Yongning go onto Chen Lao Da's boat and asked: "A An, did you send him?"

Wu An nodded, saying: "Let Brother Yongning go scout."

Old Fu Tou didn't say much more.

Not long after.

Fu Yongning returned, not bringing the sand shovel back but leaving it on Chen Lao Da's fishing boat.

Wu An asked: "All set?"

Fu Yongning said: "I tossed it in the corner of the storage room; nobody will notice."

He didn't bother asking Wu An why he was doing this; since it was a simple favor, he continued: "I asked around, and nobody wants to come."

Wu An nodded: "No forcing."

Old Fu Tou: "Digging someone's wall openly like this—who would agree to your face? Good thing the Chen family aren't on board, or you'd have no good fruit to eat."

Fu Yongning snorted: "I'm not afraid of the Chen family now."

Money is a person's guts.

He no longer relies on the Chen family for meals, so what's there to be timid about?

Wu An said: "Since nobody wants to, let's just call it quits."

"Let's set off."

Old Fu Tou went to the wheelhouse.

Start the machinery.

Make sure there's no problem.

The trawler slowly pulled away from the dock.

Lao Fu Tou asks, "A An, shall we still go to the previous sea area?"

Wu An thinks for a moment and says, "Earlier Brother Fu Yongning reminded us that this trip we should go to the sea area where the Chen Family often operates."

Fu Yongning, upon hearing, wants to speak.

He wants to advise Wu An to go to the previous sea area again.

Compared with the harvest from the last operational sea area, the sea area the Chen Family often operates in is nothing at all.

But he holds his tongue before he can speak.

Forget it.

Anyway, Wu An's Luck Value is strong, so operating in any sea area works.

After more than an hour, Wu An and the others were in the lounge playing cards for money, but not big stakes; Wu An set a rule that on his ship, casual play is allowed, but serious gambling is not.

Otherwise, the ship would eventually become a mess because of it.

Regarding that.

Naturally, no one had any objections.

If Wu An hadn't taken out the cards, they wouldn't have voluntarily suggested playing cards.

While they were happily playing, Lao Fu Tou suddenly reminded them to be careful.

Wu An went to the helm.

"Lao Fu, what's wrong?"

"Brother Chen Lao Da's two ships have caught up."

Wu An looked; the two Trawler ships behind came over, one left and one right, forming a pincer, and their speed was slightly faster than theirs.

Lao Fu Tou was worried those two ships might cause trouble, so he gave the warning.

"If the two ships behind don't adjust direction or slow down, they could collide, like a hamburger, squeezing our ship in the middle."

"We'll adjust."

"Alright."

Lao Fu Tou adjusted the rudder, making a dodge.

Hu Zi is not present.

Moreover, they have two ships while we have one; if a collision occurs, we would definitely be the one at a loss.

Wu An doesn't want a head‑on clash.

The Chen Family's two fishing boats are rickety, but his is a new ship; besides, a single voyage can earn a few million, it's nonsense—if we have to turn back because of this, we'd suffer a huge loss.

Today's wind and waves are not small.

The fishing boat rises and falls among the waves.

After Lao Fu Tou adjusted the rudder, the two Trawler ships behind also adjusted, heading straight toward them.

A Qing and his crew, furious, cursed and swore, sending salutations to everyone on the two Trawler ships, their families and even their eighteenth‑generation ancestors.

Wu An was also extremely angry.

He hadn't acted yet, but Ma Weiqun provoked first.

Lao Fu Tou said, "A An, there's an island over there; should I head over?"

"If they aren't crazy, they wouldn't have followed so rashly."

Wu An said, "Go, go over there."

He added Luck Value to the fishing boat, staring at the two Trawler ships behind.

Lao Fu Tou headed straight for the island.

Near the island there are many hidden reefs; Trawler ships generally don't approach because they'd easily run aground, and such waters aren't suitable for trawling.

With Luck Value's boost and Lao Fu Tou's skill, they smoothly avoided the hidden reefs.

Wu An kept his eyes on the two Trawler ships behind.

He actually hoped that Ma Weiqun and the others, seeing how easily they passed, would follow.