Who would still be a social slave when they are so rich?

Seaside pier!

It was past six o'clock in the evening when the fishing boats docked. The afterglow of the setting sun shone on the calm sea, like a sheet of crumpled gold leaf being scattered.

The once peaceful dock became unusually lively because of their return.

"Old Zhou~ What's going on here? Why are you back so late? Did something happen?" Old Zhou had just moored his fishing boat when he heard the high-frequency walkie-talkie crackle.

Hearing that familiar voice, Lao Zhou knew it was the voice of Lao Wang, the captain of another fishing boat. Logically, he should have already gone home by now, so why was he still at the dock?

He immediately looked through the captain's cabin window at the fishing boat moored next door and saw Old Wang holding a walkie-talkie, leaning over the window and waving at him.

Old Zhou picked up the walkie-talkie on the table and replied, "I just received a mission last night to take a few people from the park out to sea for a spin."

He wasn't the kind of person who spoke without thinking, and he knew what he should and shouldn't say. He simply brushed aside the question of Su Chen and the others' identities with a single sentence.

Besides, the park occasionally has similar tasks, such as going to sea for experiments or collecting certain data.

Before Lao Wang could react, Lao Zhou asked, "By the way, Lao Wang, why haven't you left work yet?"

Old Wang's helpless voice immediately came through the walkie-talkie: "On duty, it just so happens to be my turn this week!"

Upon hearing "on duty," he immediately realized what was happening and smacked himself on the forehead, realizing he had completely forgotten about this.

Originally, all these fleets needed to do was fish, but later the shipyard needed to conduct experiments such as sonar tests and collect relevant data at night, so they discussed having the fleets arrange for people to be on duty at night.

This way, they can be on-site immediately when needed at the shipyard, while also taking care of things at the dock. If any emergencies arise, they can handle them with their professional expertise.

"Okay~ You go ahead and do your work. I have some things to take care of here. I'll talk to you later!" Old Zhou saw out of the corner of his eye that Su Chen and the others had already walked to the foredeck and were preparing to disembark. He quickly replied to Old Wang and then ran down the ship.

Old Wang on the next boat naturally saw this scene as well. At first, he didn't pay much attention to it, but when he saw several crew members carrying two baskets of large, golden yellow croakers, he was completely dumbfounded.

His mouth dropped open, his face filled with disbelief. "Holy crap! Old Zhou's got incredible luck!"

Old Wang had no intention of just watching anymore. He rushed down from the captain's cabin and ran towards the berth where Old Zhou was.

Unfortunately, when he arrived, he saw Su Chen and the others leave the berth and walk towards the shore. He was not familiar with the people in the park, so he did not dare to follow them to see if they were alright. He could only look at Lao Zhou, who was standing on the deck and directing the crew to unload the cargo.

As soon as they boarded the boat, Old Wang took out a pack of good cigarettes from his pocket, offered one to Old Zhou, and even lit it for him. Then, with a smile on his face, he asked, "Brother Zhou, did you catch some big yellow croaker? I saw about twenty or thirty of them just now. Did you encounter a school of big yellow croaker?"

Old Zhou was perfectly aware of Old Wang's little scheme; he simply wanted to get the coordinates from him.

Large yellow croakers are known as "gold in the water," and anyone interested in money dreams of getting rich overnight.

Old Zhou leisurely exhaled a puff of smoke before slowly saying, "Today, thanks to those distinguished guests, I was fortunate enough to catch more than thirty large yellow croakers."

Upon receiving Lao Zhou's affirmative answer, Lao Wang felt extremely envious. Thirty-odd large yellow croakers—they could easily fetch hundreds of thousands of yuan. He had clearly seen that each of those yellow croakers weighed at least three kilograms.

"Brother Zhou, did those people take all the big yellow croakers?" Old Wang said, his eyes involuntarily looking towards Su Chen and his group in the distance, his gaze so eager it was almost burning with fire.

"Otherwise what? You don't expect me to secretly keep some for myself, do you?" Old Zhou gave Old Wang a meaningful look, practically revealing Old Wang's thoughts to him.

Upon hearing this, Old Wang immediately looked a little embarrassed. He rubbed his hands awkwardly and chuckled dryly, "How could that be? I'm just...feeling sorry for you! Over thirty large yellow croakers, if you put that in the market..."

“If it were on the market, it wouldn’t be your or my business to worry about it!” Old Zhou interrupted Old Wang, stubbed out his cigarette on the gunwale, and threw it into the sea before turning his gaze to Old Wang beside him.

“Old Wang, we’re not the scattered rabble we used to be. It’s best not to have any ulterior motives. If you walk by the river long enough, you’re bound to get your shoes wet!” Old Zhou patted Old Wang on the shoulder. “Remember, those who drown are often the ones who think they’re good swimmers!”

Old Zhou's words were like a bucket of cold water, extinguishing most of the burning passion in Old Wang's heart.

His smile froze, and he looked like he'd been caught red-handed, embarrassed but too ashamed to argue back.

Just as Lao Zhou said, they now have the support of the industrial park and shipyard, and they can live a stable life. They can no longer resort to those underhanded methods of scheming and manipulating the sea for fish catches.

"Sigh~ Brother Zhou, you're right!" Old Wang sighed, looking a bit dejected. "I was blinded by greed and forgot my limits when I saw that golden thing."

Old Wang took out another cigarette from his pocket, handed one to Old Zhou, and then lit one for himself, his movements slow and tinged with self-deprecation.

Smoke swirled around the ship's gunwale for a moment. He looked at the lights gradually coming on at the dock and softened his tone: "I know you're itching to see it. To be honest, when I saw that net being pulled up, my heart almost stopped for a second."

“But Lao Wang, we need to recognize ourselves and understand our place.”

Then Old Zhou changed the subject, his tone becoming more cheerful: "Have you ever seen a yellow croaker weighing over ten kilograms? Today, your brother has the good fortune to taste its flavor!"

These words immediately piqued Old Wang's interest, and he quickly pressed for more details.

Old Zhou naturally didn't hide anything and carefully told Old Wang about Xiao Chen catching the big yellow croaker and how he directly ordered them to cook it.

The flavor of the large yellow croaker was particularly emphasized, making Old Wang swallow hard.

"Alright, I won't chat with you any longer. Lao Wang, you should go back to your shift. There are still six or seven tons of mackerel on the boat. We need to get them to the park's cold storage while it's still early!" Lao Zhou hadn't forgotten about the bonus Su Chen mentioned, and he wanted to finish his work as soon as possible so he could go back to the park to collect it.

As he spoke, he walked towards the fish hold on the aft deck. After taking a couple of steps, he paused, then added without turning his head, "I'll come find you for a drink later when I'm done with my work!"

Old Wang responded and stood there quietly smoking. After about a minute, when the cigarette in his hand had burned out, he returned to his fishing boat, but his steps were not as hurried as when he came!
Meanwhile, Su Chen and his group had arrived at the parking spot. He was completely unaware that his generosity had inadvertently eliminated a potential scheme to embezzle public funds.

Just as they were about to get in the car and return to the park, Xiao Chen's voice suddenly rang out: "Old Su, shall we go take a look at the shipyard's No. 1 dock?"

Xiao Chen suddenly had this idea because he had just noticed that the No. 1 dock was still brightly lit, indicating that things were still busy inside.

Su Chen naturally knew that Xiao Chen's suggestion was because of the experimental sonar system that Xiao Chen had seen on the fishing boat. He did not refuse and immediately arranged, "Afei, while there is still time, you take all these large yellow croakers back and let those experts have a taste."

"Sir~" Chen Fei was about to say that he would have someone else send them back while he stayed with them to prevent any accidents from happening, but Su Chen interrupted him by raising his hand.

"I know what you're trying to say. This shipyard is our own; what could possibly happen? Besides, Brother Chen is here, isn't he? Don't you trust your boss's abilities?" Su Chen added with a little joke. Upon hearing this, Xiao Chen immediately gave Chen Fei a half-smile, which sent a shiver down Chen Fei's spine.

He quickly loaded the two baskets filled with ice and large yellow croakers into the trunk, said goodbye to Su Chen and Xiao Chen, and sped off, disappearing from their sight.

Seeing Chen Fei run away, Su Chen joked with a smile, "Looks like you're the kind of big devil they think of you, Brother Chen."

Xiao Chen didn't respond to Su Chen's words, but just rolled his eyes at him before walking towards the shipyard.

"Oh~ you're quite arrogant!" Su Chen chuckled and quickly followed.

The two walked toward Dock No. 1, chatting and laughing. When they reached the gate separating the dock from the shipyard, they were stopped by the shipyard's guards.

"Hello~ Please show your identification!" The guard's cold gaze swept over Su Chen and his companion, his words devoid of any emotion.

"Uh~" Su Chen then remembered that under Luo Yufan's management, Xinghai Shipyard was particularly strict in terms of security, and internal credentials were required to enter and exit.

"Why don't you make a call?" Xiao Chen suggested, knowing that Su Chen didn't have the shipyard's permits.

However, his curiosity about the shipyard grew even stronger. What kind of things were they researching that required such security?

Upon hearing this, Su Chen nodded and prepared to take out his phone to call Luo Yu Fan and ask him to explain the situation to the guards.

Just as he reached into his pocket and before he could take out his phone, he heard a voice from the direction of the guard post: "Xiao Yang~ No need to check, open the door immediately!"

Looking in the direction of the sound, Su Chen saw a slightly older man running over quickly. When he saw the man's face clearly, he took his phone out of his pocket and laughed, "I didn't expect to run into an acquaintance!"

"Captain!" Upon seeing the older man approach, the young man, called Xiao Yang, immediately saluted and called out.

The captain nodded to him, then quickly walked up to Su Chen and respectfully saluted, "Boss~ What brings you here!"

This person was none other than the guard who stopped Su Chen's car at the gate when Su Chen first came to Xinghai Shipyard. However, Su Chen remembered that this person was just an ordinary guard at that time.

"Has he been promoted to captain?" Su Chen asked with a smile.

Hearing this, the captain straightened his back even more. He hadn't expected Su Chen to remember him, and excitedly replied, "Yes, boss!"

"Not bad!" Su Chen smiled and patted him on the shoulder. "Where's Engineer Luo? Is he still working overtime at Dock One?"

"Here! Engineer Luo has been living and working at Dock No. 1 for most of this time, often working overtime until the early hours of the morning!" The captain didn't hide anything and told him everything he knew.

He knew that as a member of the guard team, his job was to report everything he saw and heard to his boss in its entirety.

Su Chen nodded slightly, glanced at Dock No. 1, and then turned to Xiao Chen beside him, saying, "Let's go, Brother Chen, let's see what Engineer Luo is busy with?"

As he spoke, he took the lead and walked into the shipyard. When he passed the young guard, he paused slightly and said, "Well done."

The young guard was taken aback for a moment, then straightened his back and his face lit up with excitement: "Thank you for the compliment, boss!"

Su Chen smiled and walked into the shipyard side by side with Xiao Chen.

Upon entering the factory area, the atmosphere was immediately different from that of the dock outside.

The sea breeze at the dock carries a salty, leisurely feel, while the area is filled with the scents of metal, machine oil, and a tense, pent-up industrial atmosphere.

The massive outline of Dock No. 1 resembled a crouching beast, with the sounds of various machine tools operating and metal clanging emanating from within.

After walking for about six or seven minutes, Su Chen and his group arrived at Dock No. 1, where a familiar figure was already standing in front of the door.

Upon seeing Su Chen and his companion arrive, the figure immediately rushed forward to greet them, "Welcome, boss, to inspect and guide our work!"

Looking at the figure in front of me, with slightly messy hair, gray clothes with a metallic sheen, and a smiling face that couldn't hide the weariness.

Su Chen extended his hand and shook hands with the figure, saying in a heavy tone, "Engineer Luo, you've worked hard! You still need to take more rest—health is the most important thing!"

The figure was none other than Luo Yufan, the head of the shipyard.

He appeared at the entrance of Dock No. 1, which did not surprise Su Chen at all, as he knew it was the guards at the entrance who had reported it earlier.

"Thank you for your concern, boss. My body can handle it. I'll take a good rest after this busy period is over!" Luo Yufan replied with a smile.

Upon hearing this, Su Chen raised an eyebrow slightly. It seemed that Luo Yu Fan's first project had officially started.

He was also very curious about what this first project was all about, and immediately laughed and said, "Come on, take us to see what kind of project is making you so reluctant to sleep!"

Luo Yu Fan's eyes immediately lit up with excitement, his fatigue seemingly vanishing. He quickly stepped aside, saying with barely suppressed excitement, "Boss, please come in!"

As for Xiao Chen, although he didn't know him, he understood that anyone brought here by his boss must be one of their own, so there was no need to keep it a secret.

Luo Yufan's words instantly aroused Su Chen and Xiao Chen's curiosity, and they followed him into the brightly lit No. 1 dock, which resembled a steel palace.

But when Su Chen and Xiao Chen saw the scene in the center of the dock, they were completely dumbfounded.

A uniquely shaped boat was quietly resting on the support frame.

It is not large, about forty or fifty meters long, but its streamlined hull is exceptionally smooth, and its entire body is covered with a matte dark gray coating that hardly reflects light under strong light.

What's most striking is its superstructure, which is integrated at different heights and low in height, unlike traditional fishing boats and patrol vehicles, exuding a sleek and mysterious aura.

"This thing looks familiar...it kind of looks like a warship," Su Chen murmured softly.

Xiao Chen, standing to the side, suddenly remarked, "It's either like it or it is!" (End of Chapter)