Back to 1984: Earning Money, Raising Kids, and Keeping the Household Busy

Chapter 71 Unlucky Gao Lei
"No, no, no," Chen Wenjun shook his head vigorously. "If you don't believe me, you can ask the owner of Guoxing Hotel. I deliver fish and shrimp to him every day. I sold a big fish weighing over ten kilograms that Guoxing Hotel received before."

In addition, my wife also cooks for Boss Huang, who works on the highway project. The food for the twenty-odd people on that project is all bought from me. Every day I have to go to the Xiatian vegetable market early in the morning to set up my stall. The rest of the time I'm in the water, either fishing, collecting snails, or setting traps. Except for sleeping, I'm busy making money; otherwise, I wouldn't have all of this now.”

Wu Agui was stunned. The reason they became hooligans was because they couldn't work diligently and honestly. The life Chen Wenjun lived made Wu Agui's scalp tingle and he couldn't imagine it.

Seeing that he spoke with sincerity, Gao Lei no longer doubted him, smoked a cigarette, and left with Wu Agui.

Those things were left on the ship.

Chen Wenjun didn't want any entanglement with them, so he didn't pursue the matter of returning the items.

Only after everyone had gone far away did he carry the bag into the cabin. When he opened it, he found a box of bird's nest, a can of malted milk powder, four apples, and a bag of grapes inside.

Lin Qin was somewhat surprised, "Why did you send such an expensive gift? I thought it would just be some canned fruit or something."

Chen Wenjun was also somewhat surprised, "If I had known the item was so valuable, I would have chased after it and returned it just now."

Lin Qin sighed and rubbed her forehead. "Fine, since they offered it to us, we'll accept it. We'll just keep our distance from them in the future."

Chen Wenjun thought so too.

Wu Agui, who had already walked some distance away, asked, "Boss, do you think what Chen Wenjun said is true or false? If fishing is so profitable, there would be an abundance of fishermen in Nanxi by now!"

Gao Lei snorted coldly, "Whether it's true or not, just go to Guoxing Hotel and ask! I'm hungry too."

The two went to Guoxing Hotel, where a waiter came to take their order.

Gao Lei: "Do you have any fish or shrimp?"

Waiter: "Yes, we have crucian carp, crucian carp, bamboo shoots, grass carp, bighead carp, and silver carp. The shrimp are river shrimp, and we've made shrimp cakes, which are our restaurant's signature dish. Would you like to try them?"

Gao Lei frowned slightly. "Did you get these ingredients from a Tanka person named Chen Wenjun?"

The waiter's gaze towards the two instantly changed, and his smile vanished. "Are you here to eat?"

Gao Lei knew from the waiter's reaction that Chen Wenjun was telling the truth, so he ordered a plate of shrimp cakes, a fish bone tofu soup, and a small dish of green vegetables.

Zheng Guoxing served the dishes, glanced at Gao Lei, and asked casually, "Are you Wenjun's friends?"

Gao Lei nodded, "I guess so! There was a misunderstanding before. He said he was delivering fish and shrimp to your restaurant and invited us to come and eat."

"I see!" Zheng Guoxing breathed a sigh of relief, his smile becoming much more sincere. "Since you were recommended by Wenjun, I'll give you a discount later."

Wu Agui couldn't help but ask, "Boss, are all the fish and shrimp you use here sourced from his place?"

"Yes!" Zheng Guoxing answered quite readily this time.

Wu Agui gasped, "Where did he get so many fish and shrimp to supply you?"

Zheng Guoxing laughed heartily and said mysteriously, "Just because others can't do it doesn't mean he can't! Wenjun has always been very lucky, and he's also extremely hardworking. I heard he's either setting up his stall or setting up fish traps every day. With such dedication, if he doesn't make money, who will?"

Having received the answer from Zheng Guoxing, Gao Lei no longer had any doubts, but he became increasingly depressed.

He came out to make a fortune, but instead of striking it rich, he encountered a whole host of problems. He thought he could find a way to make money through Chen Wenjun, and even bought some expensive things to take him there, only to be scammed again. Gao Lei became increasingly angry and decided to settle accounts with Zheng Aqiang. Last time, he only broke his leg; this time, he would cut off his hand as well to vent his anger.

After finishing his meal, he immediately gathered his brothers to go find Zheng Aqiang.

Upon arriving at the port, they saw several policemen guarding the riverbank.

Wu Agui instinctively flinched. "Boss, should we go later? It would be troublesome if the cops spotted us."

"What bad things have you been up to lately?" Gao Lei glared at Wu Agui with annoyance.

Wu Agui was so frightened that he quickly shook his head, "No, no, I didn't do anything."

"What are you afraid of if you haven't done anything! Let's go! Let's go take a look." Gao Lei led his men over in a swaggering manner, and just happened to run into Shen Yunfeng, who was getting off a fishing boat.

Their eyes met, and Gao Lei turned and ran, but Shen Yunfeng caught up with him in a few moves and grabbed him by the collar.

"be honest!"

Gao Lei grimaced and struggled, "Brother-in-law, I didn't do anything wrong, why are you arresting me?"

Shen Yunfeng laughed angrily, "Why are you running away if you haven't done anything wrong? I'm asking you, is Zheng Aqiang's death related to you?"

Gao Lei was shocked and turned around abruptly, "Zheng Aqiang is dead? How did he die?"

Shen Yunfeng stared at him intently for a few moments, his sharp gaze fixed on him. "You really don't know?"

Gao Lei shook his head blankly, and after a while, he realized what was happening and shouted indignantly, "That's not right! What makes you suspect me? I'm a member of the underworld, not a gangster. Why are you throwing mud at me? Do I look like someone you can easily bully?"

Shen Yunfeng released his grip, rolled his eyes indifferently, and lit a cigarette. "I've investigated. Zheng Aqiang's legs were broken by debt collectors. Some people say you did it."

Gao Lei paused, looking guilty for a couple of seconds, then retorted confidently, "So what if I did it? Paying back debts is a matter of course. If he can't pay, what's wrong with me breaking his leg? These are the rules of the underworld, none of your business!"

"You still dare to say that!" Shen Yunfeng's eyes hardened, and Gao Lei immediately shut up.

Shen Yunfeng quickly lit a cigarette. Seeing that his team was about to finish work, he glared at Gao Lei with annoyance. "Zheng Aqiang drowned. We can't contact his family. Once the forensic autopsy report comes out, you'll pay for his funeral arrangements."

"I'll pay for it?" Gao Lei seemed to have heard something unbelievable. "Brother-in-law, are you out of your mind? I didn't push him into the water, what does his drowning have to do with me!"

Enraged, Shen Yunfeng grabbed him by the collar again. "Zheng Aqiang is a Tanka person, an excellent swimmer. You broke his leg, and he fell into the water without any ability to save himself. Do you dare say you bear no responsibility? Your father is at a critical moment right now. If you affect his affairs, I'd like to see how you explain it to your family!"

Gao Lei immediately deflated after being told that.

As soon as Shen Yunfeng left, he collapsed to the ground, on the verge of tears. He looked up at the sky and caught a glimpse of Qingyun Temple not far away. He wondered if he was having a run of bad luck and should go and pray to the God of Wealth to dispel the bad luck.

Wu Agui cautiously stepped forward and asked, "Boss, what do we do now? Do we really have to collect Zheng Aqiang's body?"

Gao Lei felt increasingly exhausted.

(End of this chapter)