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

Chapter 72 Zheng Aqiang's Aftermath

Before he could say anything, Chen Wenjun and Lin Qin ran over together. Judging from their appearance, they had just been working in the water.

Wu Agui greeted Chen Wenjun.

Chen Wenjun glanced at Zheng Aqiang's house, which was now sealed off, and remained stunned for a long time. "I heard Zheng Aqiang is dead?"

Wu Agui nodded. "They said he fell into the water and drowned. I don't know how. Aren't there so many Tanka people living here? How could no one see him fall in? No one heard him call for help?"

Chen Wenjun didn't know how to answer, and his face looked rather grim.

Lin Qin whispered, "Should we go and find out? And what about Zheng Aqiang's funeral arrangements? Is anyone taking care of it?"

She remembered that in her past life, Chen Wenjun had finally lent a hand and helped everyone pool their money to make it happen.

Gao Lei suddenly stood up, gave Chen Wenjun a resentful look, and walked away with his head down.

The group of underlings quickly followed.

Upon seeing this, Wu Agui quickly followed, and before leaving, he said to Chen Wenjun, "My boss will handle it, you don't need to worry about it."

Chen Wenjun and Lin Qin exchanged a surprised glance.

What's going on? Gao Lei is handling this? Could Zheng Aqiang's death be related to Gao Lei?
The two were filled with doubt and surprise. When they heard Zhou Shuifang calling them, they boarded her fishing boat.

"Auntie, when did Zheng Aqiang die?"

Zhou Shuifang's gaze remained fixed on Zheng Aqiang's fishing boat, and she clicked her tongue, saying, "Who knows! It was probably fine this morning, but it was only discovered when a fishing boat returned to port at noon."

As she spoke, Zhou Shuifang turned her gaze to Chen Wenjun and his wife. Seeing that they were still carrying buckets with some snails inside, she guessed that they had just been fishing and asked, "Have you visited Zheng Aqiang these past few days?"

Chen Wenjun honestly shook his head, "I made things clear on the spot that day and broke off all ties with him, so why would I go see him?"

“You two grew up together, how can you just abandon each other like that?” Zhou Shuifang disagreed.

Chen Wenjun said calmly, "You said we grew up together. He can cheat and deceive even me, and he bullies my son whenever he wants. Does he even consider me a brother? I haven't even asked him for the more than one hundred yuan I borrowed from him. Isn't that enough? Auntie, has Zheng Aqiang ever borrowed money from you?"

This was said to the other people returning to port.

Zhou Shuifang paused for a moment, glanced at Lin Qin, and nodded slightly. "As you know, our family's money is managed by Grandpa and your Uncle Yongding. They often go out on cargo ships, so I only have so much money. How much can I lend to Aqiang?"

Chen Wenjun didn't stop there, but continued to press, "Did he pay you back?"

Zhou Shuifang nodded sheepishly, "I did return some."

Chen Wenjun sneered, "Look, he knows to pay back the money he borrows from you, but borrowing money from me is like throwing a meat bun to a dog—it's gone forever. People who don't know better would think we're brothers, that I'd be sucked dry by him for the rest of my life!"

These words are enough to slap Zhou Shuifang in the face.

She awkwardly changed the subject, "Have you eaten?"

Chen Wenjun nodded and led Lin Qin off the boat. "We have other things to do, so we'll be going now."

People from several nearby fishing boats popped their heads out and asked Zhou Shuifang, "Zheng Aqiang's family isn't here, who's going to collect his body?"

"How would I know?" Zhou Shuifang's face turned somewhat unpleasant.

Chen Wenjun just made it very clear that Zheng Aqiang owes him over a hundred yuan, which is not a small amount. They can't expect him to repay evil with kindness or step in to deal with Zheng Aqiang's matter.

Chen Wenjun had a reason to ignore it, but these people couldn't simply turn a blind eye. After all, Zheng Aqiang, though rotten, hadn't done anything to wrong them. But dealing with this matter would cost money, and it was the kind of money that would just be spent without any benefit.

Zhou Shuifang didn't want to spend the money at all, but her husband and father-in-law might not be so willing. They value relationships and would most likely contribute money and effort.

Thinking about this made Zhou Shuifang feel heartbroken.

Two days later, Grandpa Chen and Chen Yongding returned by boat. When they heard that Zheng Aqiang had fallen into the water and drowned, their expressions were priceless.

Chen Yongding asked, "Have his funeral arrangements been made?"

Zhou Shuifang shook her head. "The body was taken away by the police, and his fishing boat is still sealed off! I don't know what's going on."

Chen Yongding's eyes widened instantly. "No one went to the police station to inquire? What about Wenjun? He didn't go to ask either?"

Zhou Shuifang told them what Chen Wenjun had said.

“Zheng Aqiang owes Wenjun more than 100 yuan and bullies Ping An. Wenjun is determined not to care. If he doesn’t care, no one else will. Dad, I think we don’t need to care. Let the police station handle it. Anyway, we’re not his family.”

Grandpa Chen didn't even glance at her. After a moment of silence, he looked at Chen Yongding and said, "We'll go to the police station later to ask what happened. Even just helping to bury the person is fine."

Chen Yongding nodded. "I'll ask the others to see if anyone else is willing to go."

Grandpa Chen's expression finally softened considerably.

When Chen Yongding returned, he was followed by only two people.

"So little?" Grandpa Chen frowned.

The Tanka people are looked down upon, so when something happens, they usually go out in groups, sometimes dozens, but always a dozen or so.

Chen Yongding said helplessly, "Dad, I told them what happened, and they were all furious. Almost everyone was owed money by Zheng Aqiang. Some owed him three or five yuan, and some owed him more than ten yuan. Everyone was angry because they couldn't get their money back."

If they didn't know Wenjun was owed over a hundred yuan, they definitely would have made a scene. Now that Wenjun isn't pursuing it, they're too embarrassed to, but their attitude is very clear: they're not going to care.

The two who came along were also owed money by Zheng Aqiang, and it was only after Chen Yongding persuaded them that they were convinced.

Zhou Shuifang covered her mouth in shock, "My goodness, Zheng Aqiang has really gone mad! He's borrowed from everyone he knows, has he gone insane?"

She had previously thought Chen Wenjun was exaggerating, but now she had to face the truth: Zheng Aqiang deserved to die. If it were her, she wouldn't want to get involved in such a mess either.

Grandpa Chen's expression was priceless.

Seeing that Chen Yongding had finally managed to find two people, and worried that they might change their minds and not want to go, he quickly set off with them.

After the four arrived at the police station, they explained their purpose.

A police officer pulled up Zheng Aqiang's case. "The forensic autopsy results came out that day. There were no new external injuries on the body surface, but a high concentration of alcohol was detected in his body, which is consistent with drowning and suffocation."

"It's highly likely he drowned after falling into the water while drunk. Since we can't contact his family, we've already had his body taken away by the crematorium. If you can make the decision, please go to the crematorium and take care of things."

The four people thanked them repeatedly. They explained that to get to the crematorium from the city, they had to take a minibus, which cost one yuan per trip and took more than an hour.

The two men didn't really want to go, and Grandpa Chen was too old and had some taboos, so he couldn't go.

In the end, Chen Yongding had to make the trip himself.

(End of this chapter)