Chapter 130: Guo Boss's Thoughts
Chapter 130: Guo Boss's Thoughts
Zhou Chenglei: "My friends are all upright and decent."
Guo Boss: "..."
What did he mean by that? He's a decent person too! He's never done anything illegal like murder or arson.
Intimidation is just a way of survival; he just scares people a bit, but he doesn't actually harm them. It's those people who are too easily frightened.
When he collects protection fees, he genuinely protects those who pay! Who wouldn't be grateful to him?
"Haha, that's great! I'm also an upright person. Everyone says I'm a good person, a benevolent one! I've helped many people and even saved the lives of those who fell into the water, truly!"
Guo Boss still had his eyes on Zhou Chenglei's diving gear. If he couldn't get it, he'd settle for borrowing it. After all, he was strong against the weak and thick-skinned against the strong.
He didn't feel ashamed of calling himself a benevolent person; he had saved people too!
Zhou Chenglei chose not to comment: "Anything else?"
Guo Boss: "That's all. I won't disturb you further today. I'll take my leave now, and another day, big brother, I'll treat you to a drink!"
Guo Boss turned to Zhou Fu and Jiang Xia: "Uncle, little sister, I was just joking. Don't be afraid. I'll treat you to a meal another day to calm your nerves."
First, he'll make friends, then borrow the diving gear another day, or perhaps ask Zhou Chenglei to help him buy a set.
After Guo Boss finished speaking, he hurriedly directed the sailors to sail away.
As the boat sailed into the distance, one of the sailors couldn't hold back: "Boss, are we just giving up on that diving gear? Are we letting them off the hook so easily?"
How impressive was that diving gear? They had the numbers, and it wasn't like they couldn't beat or take it from them!
Another sailor spoke up: "Boss, they must have found something valuable underwater. Why else would they stay there twice?"
Guo Boss glared at them, "So what? Can't you see who they are? He's a former soldier, a battle-hardened one! Didn't you see the callus on his index finger, thicker than the dead skin on your mother's heel? Do you want to challenge a soldier and risk your life?"
The two sailors fell silent, whether they were thinking about their mother's heel calluses or something else.
Guo Boss gazed at the boat floating in the middle of the sea.
Should he back down?
They didn't understand a thing! Sometimes, retreating is a strategy for a better advance.
The ocean waves test the shore daily with their ebb and flow, but who knows if a sudden retreat will bring a tsunami the next moment?
After the previous incident, he had made some inquiries.
Zhou Chenglei had retired from the military, but before that, he was a battalion commander.
For someone from a small fishing village to become a battalion commander at such a young age, what does that imply? Extraordinary abilities!
And at that level, who were his connections? Who were his friends? Not to mention, his wife wasn't an ordinary person either! There were circles he wanted to enter but couldn't, but even touching the edges was an achievement.
So, befriending Zhou Chenglei would be worthwhile.
He had just played along earlier, intending to use his thick skin to borrow the diving gear as a starting point, gradually building a friendship with Zhou Chenglei. Of course, he didn't need to share these thoughts with his subordinates.
As Guo Boss's boat sailed away, Zhou Chengxin also swam to the surface. He had seen two boats from the bottom of the sea.
Alei asked him not to go up yet and to collect all the abalone from the cave entrance.
So, Zhou Chengxin collected all the visible abalone from the cave entrance.
He had almost finished collecting, leaving only the smaller ones, but now he collected even the tiny ones, throwing the very small ones back into the cave to continue growing.
After Zhou Chengxin boarded the boat, he removed his breathing tube and asked, "Who was that just now? Is everything okay?"
Jiang Xia handed Zhou Chengxin a water bottle and smiled, "It's fine."
Zhou Chengxin was relieved and thanked her.
Zhou Fu glanced at the time; it was half-past three. "Are we going underwater again? How about the three of us go down for another round?"
After encountering Guo Boss, Zhou Fu noticed their wet clothes, indicating they had also gone underwater. Worried that they might discover the abalone nest below, he wanted to harvest another batch.
Despite the early hour, Zhou Chenglei nodded in agreement, "Alright, let's go down again."
Jiang Xia didn't join them underwater. The water pressure was high, and carrying the device was tiring. Moreover, Zhou Chenglei was concerned about her, constantly keeping an eye on her, which only slowed him down. It was counterproductive.
She stayed on the boat to handle the abalone.
So, the father and sons dived again, making several trips to bring up the abalone. It was past four o'clock when they finally returned to the boat.
Zhou Fu started sailing back.
As they planned to dry the abalone before selling, Zhou Chenglei, Zhou Chengxin, and Jiang Xia began cleaning and salting the abalone right on the boat.
By the time they reached the village wharf, it was already seven o'clock. The wharf was packed with boats, except for a few fishing vessels still unloading their catch.
Seeing them return so late, a villager asked, "Yongfu, why are you back so late today? Did you catch a lot?"
Zhou Fu laughed, "Not at all. We didn't catch much, so we thought of prying some oysters, and that's why we're back so late."
The abalone was packed in tarp bags, and no one could see what was inside, except for the outlines of shells, which had slightly different shapes. But no one paid much attention. It was seven o'clock, and everyone was in a hurry to sell their fish, go home for dinner, and then get some sleep.
Fishermen usually went to bed early, often by eight o'clock, after a day of fishing.
Zhou Mu knew they would be late today as they were diving for abalone, but seeing them return so late still worried her. However, her concerns vanished when she saw them.
Tea Caihua had no idea what was going on and had been worried for nothing.
The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law hurried to help on the boat.
Jiang Xia had already sorted the fish, and Zhou Chenglei and Zhou Chengxin carried them off the boat in baskets to the buying station for weighing.
Zhou Fu lifted a bag of abalone and placed it on the cart.
Tea Caihua noticed there wasn't much fish, but seeing the many bags of abalone with their mouths tied shut, she asked, "Xiaxia, you didn't trawl today and only focused on prying oysters?"
With many people around, Jiang Xia chose her words carefully, "We trawled twice."
After saying this, Jiang Xia and Zhou Mu carried the small, less valuable fish that Jiang Xia had separated earlier. These fish were too small to sell, so they would dry them for personal consumption or feed them to the ducks.
The two trawls of fish sold for ninety-six yuan. Zhou Chenglei divided the money into three portions and, in front of Tea Caihua, gave thirty-two yuan to Zhou Chengxin, "Big Brother, this is yours. We'll settle the unsold goods later."
Tea Caihua couldn't help but glance at the money.
Zhou Chengxin refused, "Why are you giving me money? You don't need to pay me. I was just helping you today."
Zhou Chenglei insisted, not wanting to cause any discord between the couple, and also because his brother had bad luck, earning less from fishing, and with several nephews to support, he couldn't take advantage of him, "Take it! You worked so hard today."
Zhou Fu also knew his eldest daughter-in-law's character and advised, "Take it! Brothers should keep accounts clear."
Zhou Chengxin was a bit unhappy, "I'm helping you as your big brother, and you're being so clear about the money. Are you trying to make me angry?"
Hearing this, Zhou Chenglei couldn't insist further.
Oh well, when he and his brother go out to sea in two days, they'll catch more abalone anyway.
Zhou Chenglei put the money together and handed it all to Jiang Xia.
Jiang Xia took it and stuffed it into her pocket.
Tea Caihua: "..."
Oh well, it's just over thirty yuan, no big deal!
Tea Caihua kept reassuring herself.
But when she learned that the tarp bags didn't contain oysters but abalone, and such large ones at that, she couldn't convince herself to let it go. She felt Jiang Xia had deliberately hidden the abalone from her earlier.
(End of Chapter)
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