CHAPTER 72: CHAPTER 72: ZHENG AQIANG’S FINAL AFFAIRS

Before he could speak up, Chen Wenjun and Lin Qin came running over, clearly just having been working in the water.

Wu Agui greeted Chen Wenjun.

Chen Wenjun glanced at the sealed house of Zheng Aqiang, unable to snap out of it for a long time, "I heard Zheng Aqiang died?"

Wu Agui nodded, "They say he drowned, but who knows how it happened? Aren’t there so many Dang people living here? Did no one see him fall in? No one heard him cry for help?"

Chen Wenjun didn’t know how to answer, his face looking a bit uncomfortable.

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

She remembered that in her past life, it was Chen Wenjun who ultimately lent a hand, pooling money with everyone to take care of it.

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

The group of underlings quickly followed him.

Wu Agui glanced over, quickly caught up, and said to Chen Wenjun before leaving, "My family leader will handle it, you don’t need to worry."

Chen Wenjun and Lin Qin exchanged a surprised glance.

What’s going on? Gao Lei is handling it? Could Zheng Aqiang’s death be related to Gao Lei?

The two were full of doubt and suspicion when they heard Zhou Shuifang calling them, so they boarded her fishing boat.

"Auntie, when did Zheng Aqiang die?"

Zhou Shuifang kept her gaze on Zheng Aqiang’s fishing boat, clicking her tongue, "Who knows! I guess it was this morning. Everything seemed fine early on, but it was only when a fishing boat returned to the harbor at noon that it was discovered."

As she spoke, Zhou Shuifang turned her gaze to Chen Wenjun and Lin Qin, noticing their water buckets with some snails in them, she guessed they had just been fishing and asked, "Have you gone to see Zheng Aqiang these few days?"

Chen Wenjun shook his head honestly, "I made it clear on the spot that we are done with each other, so why would I go and see him?"

"You grew up together, are you really just going to ignore it?" Zhou Shuifang disapproved.

Chen Wenjun responded lightly, "As you said, we grew up together. Still, he managed to cheat and fool me, even bullied my son. Does he consider me a brother? I haven’t even asked him to repay the more than a hundred bucks he owes me, isn’t that enough? Auntie, did Zheng Aqiang ever borrow money from you?"

These words were meant for others returning to the harbor to hear.

Zhou Shuifang hesitated for a moment, gave Lin Qin a glance, and nodded slightly, "You know, it’s Grandpa Chen and Uncle Yongding who manage the money for our family. They often go out with the cargo ships, so I only have a little bit of money in hand. How much could I lend to Ah Qiang?"

Chen Wenjun didn’t stop the topic but continued to press, "Did he ever pay you back?"

Zhou Shuifang nodded awkwardly, "He did pay back some."

Chen Wenjun scoffed, "You see, he borrows money from you and knows to pay it back, but when he borrows from me, it’s like throwing meat buns to a dog, there’s no return. Anyone would think we’re blood brothers, with him leeching off me for life!"

These words effectively embarrassed Zhou Shuifang.

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

Chen Wenjun nodded and took Lin Qin off the boat, "We still have work to do, we’ll get going first."

Nearby, people from several fishing boats popped their heads out, questioning Zhou Shuifang, "Zheng Aqiang’s family isn’t around, who’ll take care of his body?"

"How should I know?" Zhou Shuifang’s face wasn’t looking good.

Chen Wenjun had just made it very clear, Zheng Aqiang hadn’t repaid a hundred-plus debt, which isn’t a small amount. These people couldn’t expect someone to repay evil with good and step forward to handle Zheng Aqiang’s affairs.

While Chen Wenjun had every reason not to care, it would be neglectful for the rest not to. After all, despite how rotten Zheng Aqiang was, he hadn’t actually done anything to wrong them.

But handling this matter meant spending money — money spent with no returns or benefits.

Zhou Shuifang had absolutely no desire to spend this money, yet her husband and father-in-law likely didn’t share her sentiments; they valued loyalty and would very likely invest both money and effort.

This thought filled Zhou Shuifang with unease.

Two days later, Grandpa Chen and Chen Yongding returned with the ship, and upon hearing about Zheng Aqiang’s drowning, their expressions were quite something.

Chen Yongding asked, "Has his funeral been arranged?"

Zhou Shuifang shook her head, "The police took the body, and his fishing boat is still sealed. We don’t know what the situation is."

Chen Yongding’s eyes widened instantly, "No one went to the police station to inquire? What about Wenjun? Didn’t he ask?"

Zhou Shuifang relayed what Chen Wenjun had said to the two siblings.

"Zheng Aqiang owes Wenjun over a hundred bucks and bullied Ping’an. Wenjun has firmly decided not to get involved. If he’s not going to bother, no one else will. Dad, I think we shouldn’t get involved either; just let the police handle it. Besides, we’re not his family."

Grandpa Chen didn’t even look at her, remaining silent for a moment before he turned to Chen Yongding, "Let’s go to the police station later and find out what’s going on. Even if we just help to bury him, that’s fine."

Chen Yongding nodded, "I’ll ask around to see if anyone else is willing to come along."

Grandpa Chen’s face finally relaxed a bit.

When Chen Yongding returned, he only had two people with him.

"Just so few?" Grandpa Chen frowned.

The Dang people are often looked down upon, so when trouble strikes, they typically act as a group. While not dozens, a dozen or so people is expected.

Chen Yongding was somewhat helpless, "Dad, I explained the situation, but they were all so mad. Almost everyone is owed money by Zheng Aqiang — some three to five bucks, some more than ten. Everyone is holding a grudge because they can’t get their money back.

If it weren’t for knowing that Wenjun is owed over a hundred, they surely would have caused a commotion. Now that Wenjun isn’t pursuing it, they don’t dare to either, but their stance is clear: they won’t get involved."

The two who came along were also owed money by Zheng Aqiang, and it took a lot of persuasion from Chen Yongding to get them to come.

Zhou Shuifang was stunned, covering her mouth in surprise, "Dear god, Zheng Aqiang really didn’t behave like a person! He actually borrowed money from everyone, is he crazy?"

Earlier, she thought Chen Wenjun was exaggerating, but now she had to face the facts — Zheng Aqiang deserved his fate. If it were her, she wouldn’t want to deal with such a mess either.

Grandpa Chen’s expression was quite complex.

Seeing that Chen Yongding had a hard time finding just two people, he was worried they might change their minds, so he hurried to have them set off together.

When the four of them arrived at the police station and explained their purpose.

A police officer pulled out the case on Zheng Aqiang, "The forensic autopsy result came out that day, no new external injuries on the body, and a high concentration of alcohol was detected in his system, consistent with drowning due to suffocation.

More likely than not, he got drunk and fell into the water and drowned. Since we couldn’t reach his family, we’ve already had the funeral home take his body. If you can make the decision, you’ll have to handle it at the crematorium."

The four thanked them repeatedly, from the city to the crematorium required a bus ride, one ticket cost a dollar, and importantly, it took over an hour.

The two didn’t really want to go, and being older, Grandpa Chen had some taboos about it and couldn’t go.

In the end, it was only Chen Yongding who had to make the trip.