Chapter 688

As the saying goes.

When putting on a show, you must do the whole set.

Wu An learned that Gu Jianfa had been sent away by Lao Tan, and then went looking for him.

Lao Tan thought he was coming to cause trouble and said, "Wu An, as far as I know, Gu Jianfa caused a huge ruckus at the Gu family, nearly beating your girlfriend, so I sent him away; that's only beneficial to you, not harmful."

Wu An replied, "That's true as you say."

"But aren't you afraid something will go wrong one day because of this?"

"If Gu Jianfa comes back to report you, what will you do?"

Lao Tan laughed heartily, "Since I was able to send him away, I naturally have a way to keep him from returning."

Wu An nodded, "Good, then I'm relieved."

Lao Tan's expression relaxed.

Wu An shifted his tone, "I heard you agreed with Shen Nan to trouble me?"

Lao Tan: "No, how could that be? Where did you hear that rumor?"

Wu An let out an "oh" and said, "Shen Nan said so."

"He's probably just flaunting a tiger‑skin banner."

"Scaring me."

Lao Tan frowned.

Wu An didn't linger long in Lao Tan's office.

After leaving the office, he urged Lao Wu to find other work; as long as he's willing, he can work on his ship.

Lao Wu showed a reluctant expression.

Wu An didn't press further.

In fact, Lao Tan's good days only lasted a few years, and that's all.

Father's notebook noted that in a few years Lao Tan's business would go bust.

If it's merely a financial matter, then it would be shut down for a few years, roughly.

Other issues are far more serious; nothing was said about Lao Tan, but in a neighboring village a person who followed him was sentenced for eleven years.

From this one can infer Lao Tan's fate.

As Lao Tan's capable subordinate, Lao Wu's problems are likely to be even more severe.

Lao Wu didn't agree; he's probably already deep in a mire, hard to get out of.

Wu An plans to lend a hand.

If he can make Lao Tan go bust early, perhaps a few years sooner, his own troubles would be much lighter, maybe even better than the previous life's outcome.

This matter.

Cannot be avoided with Gu Jianfa.

On the contrary, Gu Jianfa became the most crucial move.

One could call it waste utilization.

Its gold content is still rising.

He handed this matter to Liu Gang, who had already fled, and it was a coincidence; when they happened to discuss it, Liu Gang said he had run away to work at a black factory for a while.

Not only could he hide safely, but also earn money.

Wu An then asked Liu Gang to help gather information; the connections on their side are limited, but as long as it's not Southeast Asia, they can basically find it.

In the short term.

They can only wait for Liu Gang's news.

…

Meanwhile.

Wu An also advanced the Zhenzhongcun tourism town project, receiving extensive support from the county and city, and it can be considered the first shot in promoting cultural tourism.

Ribbon‑cutting ceremony.

County and city leaders gathered together.

It is a key investment project of the city.

It received comprehensive support.

Wu An was even dubbed a young entrepreneur, landing the front‑page headline; aside from that, he remains a celebrity in their county.

…

Wu An's salvage of the sunken wood was not smooth, but with the help of dolphins and Killer Whales, he finally located the wood and, with Elder Zhang's assistance, solved the shipping issue.

Both ends of the sunken wood yielded profits of over thirty million.

…

While Wu An was busy making money, the matter of Jing He was finally clarified; after some connections were smoothed, Jing He was quickly released.

Wu An was the first to get the news and waited for him at the gate.

For this final strike at the doorstep, he must come himself.

"Jing He, I heard the two ships of Chen Lao Da are the ones you want to buy." Wu An greeted proactively, "I have to thank you for taking over."

Jing He: "What do you mean?"

Wu An said, "Originally Chen Lao Da approached me first; I almost took over."

"But after learning about your situation, I understood why Chen Lao Da would willingly sell his ships."

Jing He's face darkened, "You're saying his ships are inauspicious?"

Wu An smiled, "I was merely suspicious, because his ships have caused many incidents."

But your experience makes me certain.

His ship is the one that broke the taboo.

You're also a smart person; you can figure it out yourself.

Jing He: "You wouldn't be deliberately spreading this rumor and then stealing the win, would you?"

Wu An shrugged: "I'd have to be crazy to steal the win."

Believe it or not.

Chen Lao Da should come looking for you soon.

Because around here, he can't find any buyers at all.

We can only find someone like you, an outsider with money, a sucker.

Jing He remained silent.

Drove away.

On the way.

Chen Lao Da called.

After several calls, Jing He finally answered: "Sell your fishing boat to whoever you want, I don't want it anymore."

I'm afraid I might have the life to buy your fishing boat, but not the life to use it.

Chen Lao Da got angry, saying Jing He was spitting blood and slandering people.

His fishing boat is fine.

Jing He cursed loudly, saying all his misfortunes happened because he bought the fishing boat.

Chen Lao Da thought the fishing boat's bad luck was a rumor spread by Jing He.

And Jing He thought Chen Lao Da wanted to pester him.

The two couldn't agree, and they started arguing over the phone.

……

Chen Lao Da hurried to find Xiao Cang.

Xiao Cang said: "Chen Lao Da, I'm still saying the same thing: we need a discount."

Chen Lao Da: "Alright, 30% it is."

Xiao Cang shook his head, saying: "No no no, that was the previous price; now I can only accept a 20% price."

Chen Lao Da, times have changed.

Nowadays, with all the rumors going around, I'm afraid nobody else will take over your fishing boat except me.

Chen Lao Da weighed the pros and cons.

He finally agreed.

He was still anxious and quickly handled the procedures.

One day.

On the road, he saw Xiao Cang and Wu An drinking tea.

Do you know each other?

Oh, friends.

You... you guys teamed up...

Chen Lao Da, to be frank, I'm just using your scheme against you; you set me up first, so I can't blame you for returning the favor. Wu An did not deny it.

Chen Lao Da was so angry he vomited blood.

After Xiao Cang obtained the fishing boat, he formed a fleet and, together with Wu An, went to the Zhongxian side, directly attacking the Wanwan fishing boats, and discovered golden swiftlets on the island.

They successfully swept the nests clean and left.

The Wanwan fleet gave chase, but out at sea, with Da Yi Quan and Hu Zi helping, they didn't let the Wanwan fleet gain any advantage.

After some time passed.

Liu Gang brought good news; he had found Gu Jianfa.

Gu Jianfa was in a terrible state.

He was a gambler who had never done any honest work; he ended up in a black-market factory, working day and night—you can imagine how dire his situation was.

When Liu Gang told him, he learned that Wu An had sent him to look for someone.

Gu Jianfa became so agitated he could hardly wait to get his revenge.

Wu An put up money and effort.

He arranged for Gu Jianfa and Guang Liangjun to return; once they were back, they could trigger Lao Tan's debt early, and after Lao Tan defaulted, Shen Nan's funding problems would naturally surface.

By then.

Even if Shen Nan's funding runs into trouble, then he can smoothly take over this project.