Although he didn't think it was a ship from Longtail Island, Feng Ye didn't dare to let his guard down and remained vigilant.
These days, you have to be extra vigilant whenever you encounter an unfamiliar ship at sea.
Robbing ships isn't something only people from Nagao Island do.
Some fishermen, when they encounter a lone boat, will occasionally take advantage of their numbers and pretend to be pirates.
Feng Ye stared intently at the direction of the light, but immediately realized something was wrong.
It seems there isn't just one light, but many.
He didn't know the exact amount at the moment.
It's too far away to see clearly.
But one thing is certain: this could not possibly be a fishing boat.
Generally speaking, no matter how big the fishing boat is, they usually operate alone and rarely gather together to fish.
Even fishing company fleets will disperse once they set sail.
Unless it's a double trawler, they will work side by side, but even then there are only two boats.
So what are all these ships doing moving together?
Feng Ye immediately became curious.
He actually had a vague answer in his mind, but he couldn't be sure if it was right or wrong.
Ah-chan was focused on sailing the boat and hadn't noticed this yet.
Sailing at night is different from sailing during the day. Visibility is limited, so you must concentrate and pay attention to the sea conditions ahead at all times.
As time passed, the lights drew closer and closer, forming a long line on the sea.
Feng Ye counted them and found there were as many as twenty-four lights, which meant there were twenty-four boats.
At this moment, Ah-Can finally realized what was happening and was instantly shocked.
"Wasn't there only one ship? How come there are so many all of them suddenly?"
"There were originally this many, but they were too far apart just now, so they looked like they were overlapping, and naturally, we couldn't tell them apart."
"Brother Ye, what are you doing with so many boats all together?"
"smuggling."
This was the only answer Feng Ye could think of.
"Huh? Smuggling?"
"right."
Feng Ye said firmly, "A fleet of this size, sailing at night, is most likely engaged in smuggling."
“Look at their boats, each one has only one light, you can’t even see the outline of the boat clearly.”
“Normally, fishing boats or legal merchant ships will turn on more lights when sailing at night for safety reasons, so as to make it easier for each other to identify each other and avoid collisions.”
"But these ships only lit one light, clearly intending to conceal their identities and whereabouts."
"Moreover, they chose to operate at night in order to avoid patrols and surveillance at sea."
After hearing this, Ah-Can seemed to be thinking: "I've heard that many people are involved in smuggling, but I've never seen it before. Today is truly an eye-opening experience."
"Actually, there are smugglers on our island, you just don't know it."
"Huh? Who is it, so bold?"
"I only know that there is a man named Lu Junjie in the third group of Lujia Village who is involved in smuggling."
Feng Ye then added, "Just keep it to yourself, don't tell anyone, or you'll offend people for no reason."
Smuggling involves a complex web of people and forces, and a slight misstep can lead to trouble.
He didn't want to get involved in these troubles.
If it doesn't concern me, I'll stay out of it.
This is the mindset of most people.
He was no exception.
"I know, but it's none of our business anyway."
Ah-Can nodded, then looked at the lights in the distance and said, "I wonder where these people and ships are from, and where they're going? So many ships, they must be carrying a lot of cargo!"
"With smuggling so rampant these days, who knows?"
"Brother Ye, why isn't anyone arresting them?"
"Of course they have! Weren't the smugglers on Longtail Island caught? But you can't catch them all; there will always be people who will take the risk for money."
"No wonder there are always new and interesting things appearing in the town and county; they're all smuggled!"
"You're only finding out now?"
Feng Ye smiled and then added, "Also, have you ever heard of a term called 'collusion between officials and businessmen'?"
He remembered that in his previous life, many smuggling cases were exposed, and without exception, they all involved some officials.
These officials, for their own personal gain, turned a blind eye to the situation and even directly participated in it.
A chain of interests has formed between smuggling gangs and these officials, making it extremely difficult to combat smuggling.
The most notorious case is the Xiamen smuggling case, involving over 50 billion yuan, evading over 30 billion yuan in taxes, and implicating a large number of officials...
Moreover, he also heard that the military in Lingnan was directly involved in the smuggling, using warships.
He also saw this quote online: "For 100,000 impoverished households, a million is just the beginning, and ten million is what makes you rich."
This was a widely circulated saying in the early 1990s in a county-level city under the jurisdiction of Licheng: getting rich quickly through smuggling.
"It's true that some people are dying of drought while others are drowning in floods; having power means making money quickly."
Feng Ye was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "The smuggling business is very complicated; high returns mean high risks."
"If you get caught, at best you'll go to jail for a few years or even a decade, at worst you might be eating peanuts."
"This is not something we can get involved in, so let's not meddle in other people's business. We should just focus on fishing."
Ah-Can nodded: "Yes, let's stick to fishing. We might earn less money, but at least we'll have peace of mind."
"Um……"
As they talked, they watched the ships, whose outlines were indistinct, pass by one by one in the distance.
It's a pity it's still dark and we can't see clearly, otherwise it would be spectacular to see so many boats lined up in a long queue.
Feng Ye withdrew his gaze: "Alright, stop looking. This is none of our business. Focus on sailing and avoid running aground."
"oh oh."
Ah-Can responded and was about to turn his head away when he noticed something unusual.
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