A moment later, Feng Ye emerged from the seawater, clutching the opening of the fish trap.
Unfortunately, he only found one fish trap; the other one, which was originally connected to the trap, had been washed away by the waves.
Fortunately, it was anchored to secure it, preventing it from being completely washed away.
You can still find it when the tide goes out.
When Xu Laosi saw that he hadn't found the net, he immediately became smug: "See? I told you I didn't steal it. You're framing an innocent person."
The crowd of onlookers also began to divide.
Some people think that Feng Ye and the others may have misunderstood Xu Laosi.
Without evidence, mere words are not convincing enough.
Others insist that Xu Laosi was stealing the goods from the fish trap.
After all, many people know what kind of person Xu Laosi is.
The only problem is that the net bag used as evidence was thrown away and can't be found anymore.
Both sides stuck to their own versions of events and could not reach an agreement.
Feng Ye tied a knot at the opening of the fish trap and threw it back into the sea.
Then he walked over to Xu Laosi and said to Acan, "I pulled him ashore. He stepped on the net."
He didn't know what to say about Xu Laosi. He could say he was a little clever, and he was, for he did know how to hide the net.
But this person was greedy; instead of just throwing it away,
Instead, he stepped on it, thinking he would take the net back later.
Well, his cleverness backfired, and he found out.
If he really threw it away, and the waves were so big, Feng Ye might not be able to find it.
Xu Laosi's expression changed slightly, but he quickly regained his composure and said, "This isn't how you slander someone..."
Before Ah-chan could reach out to pull him, he took the initiative to walk towards the shore.
Of course, before lifting his leg, he subtly kicked the net away.
But none of this could escape Feng Ye's eyes.
As soon as Xu Laosi moved, he held his breath and plunged back into the sea, successfully grabbing the net.
There was quite a lot of cargo inside, filling more than half of the net bag. It contained fish, shrimp, crabs, and shellfish, but scallops were the most abundant.
He threw the net onto the shore: "Didn't you want evidence? I found your net."
"Tch, what kind of evidence is this? My name isn't on this net, so how is it mine?"
Xu Laosi argued illogically, "You just pick any net and claim it's mine? Aren't you bullying an honest person?"
The crowd erupted in uproar.
Everyone was shocked by Xu Laosi's shamelessness.
This is clearly his net; the creatures inside are still alive and well, yet he still tries to deny it.
Feng Ye laughed in exasperation: "Do you even believe what you're saying?"
This isn't your net bag. Where did the goods inside come from?
"They couldn't have gone in on their own, could they?"
Xu Laosi immediately seized the opportunity: "That's hard to say..."
The surrounding crowd couldn't stand it anymore and began to criticize:
"Damn, did you get your head stuck in the sand? Do you think we believe you?"
"Exactly, they're still trying to argue at a time like this. Do they really think we're fools?"
"If you stole someone's things and got caught, just admit it. Why try to argue?"
...
Amidst the accusations of the crowd, Xu Laosi's face turned a deep shade of liver: "It's not mine, I didn't steal it..."
"I don't think they succeeded in stealing it, did they?"
Feng Ye was too lazy to waste any more words with him. "Tell me yourself, how do you plan to resolve this?"
"Even if this net is mine, the goods are still there, and I didn't manage to steal it. And you hit me, so we're even."
Xu Laosi, having given up all hope, resorted to shameless behavior.
"We're even? You make it sound so easy. Who knows how many of our traps you've ruined? What about the goods that escaped? Who's going to compensate us for that loss?"
"So what do you want?"
"It's simple, just bring us a bag of the goods you picked up as compensation, and that'll be the end of it."
Feng Ye didn't want this little bit of stuff from him.
It should be noted that a kind person is often bullied, and a good horse is often ridden.
They knew perfectly well that the fish traps in the sea were set by them, yet they still stole them. If we don't teach them a lesson and just let them off so easily, what if others follow suit?
Anyway, getting caught won't do anything serious, it'll just make me lose face.
Some people value face highly, while others don't care at all.
Many people in their village don't care about saving face at all; they'll do anything shameless for a little profit.
He didn't want these people to take advantage of the traps he had painstakingly set up.
Therefore, he asked Xu Laosi to bring out a bag of goods as a small lesson.
It also lets others think it over: if they were caught, would it be worth it?
Stealing comes at a price.
I didn't want to go too far, just because we're from the same village.
Otherwise, if they are taken to the police station, they will definitely be detained for ten days to half a month, if not sentenced to several years.
"I didn't steal anything, and your so-called losses are just empty talk. Why should I compensate you?"
Old Xu, with his neck stiff, shouted that he didn't want to accept this outcome.
He had a good catch of seafood today, but it would be a real pain for him to give away just one bag. How could he possibly agree to do that?
The bag was full, weighing at least seventy or eighty pounds.
Although many of them are empty shells, after picking through them, there are still about fifty pounds.
All sorts of miscellaneous items added together can make a lot of money.
"Why waste so much breath on him? I'll just go and carry a bag over; I know which pile belongs to his family."
As Ah-Can spoke, he walked straight toward Xu Lao Si's pile of seafood.
"You dare! If you dare touch my goods, I'll never forgive you!"
Old Xu was shocked. He shouted and rushed forward to grab Ah Can, preventing him from going any further.
But he was only one person; he could stop Ah Can, but he couldn't stop the Feng Ye brothers.
His relatives and friends are now trying to protect themselves and don't want to get involved.
Since Xu Laosi has already been caught red-handed, if they insist on speaking up for him, they will undoubtedly offend Feng Ye and the other two.
Each of their families had dried fish in their homes, some more or less.
Some fish were caught by themselves at sea, while others bought fish to dry...
They were still hoping to monetize through Feng Ye and his group.
If they offend people, who will they sell their dried fish to?
Moreover, they also felt that what Feng Ye and the other two did was not too excessive.
It's perfectly reasonable to ask for just a little compensation.
It's not like we're shouting for violence or trying to do anything to anyone.
In comparison, even if I offended Xu Laosi because I didn't help, it wouldn't be a big deal; at worst, we'd just break off the relationship.
Humans are driven by self-interest; the instinct to seek advantage and avoid harm is fundamental.
They can still distinguish what is important and what is not.
Therefore, no matter how much Xu Laosi called for their help, they stood still and did not move.
Of course, they still had to put on a show of persuasion, simply advising both sides not to act impulsively, to talk things out, and that everything could be discussed...
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