Chapter 661: Waiting All Night

The wind grew stronger.

Wu An ran along the coast toward the dock, the white‑capped waves already towering high.

In this situation, even if the thick fog cleared, rescue vessels still couldn't set out to sea.

The number of people at the dock was far fewer than at dusk, but some fishermen's families were still keeping watch.

Wu Yingwei took the tea handed over by Elder Xie, thanked him, and Elder Xie said, "I just heard that some fishing boats have docked at Zhen Matou."

Wu Yingwei nodded.

He had just seen some fishermen's relatives receive a call and leave jubilantly.

Elder Xie said little more.

What needed to be said had already been said; now all they could do was wait.

There was no other way.

Wu Yingwei, drowsy, yawned, and Elder Xie yawned too, saying, "Elder brother, there's a bed inside; why not nap over here for a while."

"If A An's fishing boat returns, I'll wake you up at once."

Wu Yingwei shook his head.

Although it's difficult now, letting him close his eyes and try to sleep, he might not actually be able to fall asleep.

He took a sip of tea, and in a flash, Wu An appeared before him.

Was his vision blurred?

Was it a hallucination?

Wu Yingwei blinked hard, his eyes a bit hazy, and rubbed them with his hand.

He widened his eyes and looked ahead; Wu An had already walked up to him.

"How did you get here so quickly?" Wu Yingwei hurried to stand, asking with some agitation.

He tried to stand, but didn't manage to.

Wu An quickly acted, pinning him down, and laughed, "I went to Zhen Matou to dock.

"Just got home and learned you were at the dock, so I came to see."

Then he looked at Elder Xie, nodded, and greeted.

Elder Xie smiled, "The village chief is truly impressive, waiting for you all night."

Wu Yingwei coughed, saying, "I'm not here just to wait."

"With the dock situation so complicated, I also have to keep watch."

Wu An laughed, "Right, right, you might as well wait for me to arrive."

"Take your time getting up."

"I'll help you up."

Wu Yingwei had said it wasn't necessary, but after sitting too long his limbs were numb; instinctively he grabbed Wu An's arm and managed to stand.

Wu Yingwei said, "By the way."

"In the early morning, An Ran also came."

"Later, after waiting a while, I urged her to go back first."

"Later, see whether you need to get in touch or go over to report that everything's fine."

Wu An nodded.

Coming out of Elder Xie's shop, the sky was already bright, Wu Yingwei asked, "Didn't you say you'd be back by midnight? Why is it only now?"

"Nothing serious, right?"

Wu An casually explained, "Nothing came up."

"Just got delayed a bit at sea."

Wu Yingwei hummed, "Still keeping it hidden?"

"When you called home, why didn't you mention the thick fog?"

Wu An scratched his head, "I'm just reporting the good news, not the worries."

"Since I'm already home, everything's fine; there's nothing to worry about."

Wu Yingwei said nothing more.

The two old men didn't talk much to begin with.

Returned home.

Afternoon.

The typhoon arrived as scheduled.

The wind was extremely strong; the windows couldn't hold and were blown to pieces.

Fortunately everyone was home; though the typhoon left a mess, it caused no real damage.

After the typhoon passed, while the wind was still strong, the dock was already full of people hurrying to the sea.

Wu An also joined the bustle; with the wind in his favor, the sea goods naturally became easy to grab.

Abalone, sea cucumber, octopus, squid, Shrimp Crab, and he easily grabbed a sack.

Sea snail, Spicy Snail and the like were even more; some people drove straight to the shore, tossing sack after sack into their cars.

The village elders couldn't go into the sea, so they could only watch from the shore.

"How does this catch bring out so much sea cargo?"

"Indeed, this much sea cargo is not common."

"Kid, watch your safety."

"The wind and waves are still huge."

Elders shouted loudly.

Wu An and A Qing, one in front and one behind, carried a snake skin bag of seafood up.

A Qing turned back: "Brother, does that mean we're just leaving?"

Wu An casually said: "Go."

"Just catch enough seafood to eat."

"These are more than we can eat; we'll cook them all and later give the workers an extra meal."

A Qing let out an "oh" and then said nothing more.

Indeed.

They walked around the seaside and basically picked up all the more valuable sea products.

The leftovers were just some sea snails, oysters and the like—ordinary sea products.

Although there were a lot, they weren't worth much.

Even if we caught a lot, selling them would only bring a thousand or so dollars; for ordinary people, that extra income is not insignificant.

But now, he looks down on that little money.

With that time, he might as well rest at home, drink tea and play cards.

Returned home.

Aunt Juan was also there; seeing them bring back so much seafood, she said: "Aren't you going to sell these?"

Wu An shook his head: "Not selling."

Aunt Juan was exasperated: "Then when will we finish dealing with these?"

The catch was too much, and handling it was also quite a hassle.

Mei Yueqin said: "I'll lend a hand."

Wu An shook his head: "Sister-in-law, you'd better rest; we can handle it."

Just as they were speaking.

Wu Yingwei suddenly returned home, also bringing a group of people from the Village Committee.

Looking back, there were still many people he didn't know.

A crowd of people just walked in; fortunately the courtyard was big enough, otherwise they really couldn't stand.

Wu An exclaimed in surprise: "Dad, what's going on?"

Wu Yingwei laughed: "You're still asking me what's going on?"

"These people went to the Village Committee, naming you specifically to find you."

"They need to thank you, their lifesaver."

Wu An scratched his head, looked at these people, and said: "Oh, when I came back yesterday, I encountered other distressed fishing boats on the way and just brought them along."

"These are probably the crew from those boats."

Wu Yingwei: "That's no nonsense; you rescued them, you don't know?"

Wu An said: "I rescued so many people, how could I possibly meet each one individually?"

While saying that.

Haishen finally squeezed from the back to the front, with a middle-aged man in a suit following beside him.

He hadn't even gotten a chance to speak when he was pushed to the side by others.

There were too many people.

When Wu An spoke, those in front heard him, but those behind couldn't hear and pushed forward; there was no way, so Wu An got a loudspeaker so everyone could hear him.

After finally sending the people away, the courtyard was also piled full of gifts.

Wu An had people take them away, but nobody listened.

"They came to thank him for saving their lives, bringing gifts; there's no reason to take them away."

"This is also their local custom: letting them return from the sea without loss, the gratitude is immense, and they each insist on inviting Wu An to a meal."

Wu An politely declined.

Just joking.

"If he agrees to one, can he not agree to another? With so many people, how could he possibly eat them all?"

After most people had left, Haishen brought a middle-aged man over.

That was his boss, who insisted on meeting Wu An no matter what.

……