"Hey, lucky boy, if I were you, I'd head back to the United States as soon as you get this money." After watching the fish being weighed, the financial department over there handed Jiang Hai the account. The old man from the fishery company couldn't help but whisper to Jiang Hai. Hearing his words, Jiang Hai glanced around.
It turned out that around the fishery company, the fishermen who had been gathered there were whispering in small groups. But when they saw Jiang Hai and his gaze, they quickly turned their heads away.
Though Jiang Hai hadn't studied psychology, he had heard that when someone actively avoids eye contact, it either means they like you or that they feel guilty. These fishermen obviously didn't like Jiang Hai, so it was clear they felt guilty.
Why would people who had never met him feel guilty? Because they were planning something underhanded.
"What? Is Puerto Rico so lawless?" Hearing the old man's words, Jiang Hai chuckled and then looked at his haul for the day. The two yellowfin tuna Jiang Hai caught weren't very valuable, and together they sold for less than $3,000.
However, the price for the Atlantic swordfish was still decent—a total of $13,000. This was the difference between a live fish and a dead one. A live fish could sell for $100,000, but a dead one was only worth a bit more than $10,000.
The most expensive catch was the bluefin tuna, which sold for $27,000. Altogether, Jiang Hai earned $42,890 for the day—enough to match the annual income of a middle-class family in the United States.
At the same time, this money was enough to make some of Puerto Rico's poorer residents target Jiang Hai.
"Lawless? You could say that. This is a very dangerous place. While it's not like some South American countries, where warlords control parts of the country and the government can't maintain order, things are still unstable here. If something happens to you, all it takes is for someone to shift the blame to people in the United States, and what started as a civil issue could easily become a political one. You know how politics works—it's a murky pool, and it's not easy to navigate." The boss of the fishery company chuckled and said, understanding Jiang Hai's concerns.
Jiang Hai understood what he meant. While Puerto Rico wasn't technically lawless, it wasn't far off.
The country is divided into three factions. The first is the pro-government faction, which forms the majority. These people are the most eager for Puerto Rico to join the United States, so they envy and resent Jiang Hai—but they wouldn't resort to anything dirty.
The second group consists of those who are indifferent. They don't lack money and believe that not joining the United States won't significantly impact their lives. These people typically abstain from voting.
The third group doesn't want Puerto Rico to join the United States. Some of these people are nationalists, while others hold local power. These are the ones who can control things here. If Puerto Rico were to join the U.S., these individuals would lose their influence. To maintain their power, they rely on desperate people and extreme nationalists to support them.
These individuals are often involved in shady dealings and don't make much money. For the right price, they'll do anything. Fortunately, they only make up about 5% of the population, but in a place like Puerto Rico, that's still about 90,000 people. While this number might seem small, it could cause problems for someone like Jiang Hai.
If Jiang Hai were to get into trouble here, the Puerto Rican government could easily frame it as an issue of anti-U.S. sentiment, and the U.S. would likely turn a blind eye. They wouldn't send troops to intervene—at most, they'd discourage Puerto Rico from joining the U.S. But remember, Puerto Ricans once attempted to assassinate a U.S. president, and it was left unresolved. Politics can be the dirtiest game.
Someone might wonder if the old man, who runs the fishery, isn't afraid of being attacked. Of course, he's afraid. But a business of this size doesn't get built without the support of powerful figures. The people in power know that touching these businesses could provoke a response from the U.S. government, but more likely, mercenaries or hitmen would be called in. Some money can be touched, but others—those with the wrong ties—are untouchable. This isn't a terrorist base, after all.
"If I were you," the old man continued, "I'd stock up on fresh water and other supplies here, and then head back to the States as soon as possible. I can guarantee your safety here, but I'm not sure about outside these walls."
Jiang Hai smiled at the old man's words. "Thanks, Uncle, but if they have the guts to come at me, let them try!"
With that, Jiang Hai casually grabbed the bag of money, walked out of the fishery, and headed back to the boat.
Once aboard, Jiang Hai started the engine and headed to the port where he had docked the previous night.
About an hour later, his boat arrived at the port, where the guards greeted him warmly.
After arranging to have the boat refueled and replenished, Jiang Hai took Bell-Lester off the boat. Kevin and the others had already left. They'd sold the barracuda they caught that day, along with the yellowfin tuna, and made a total of over $1,000.
Each of them received over $300, and they happily went home. For them, they were just tour guides for Jiang Hai, and everything else was out of their hands. But if Jiang Hai and the crew were still around tomorrow, they were happy to continue working as guides and would go lobster fishing.
Jiang Hai smiled, handing them $100 each as a tip, and made plans to join them tomorrow.
He didn't care much about the locals. After all, there was nothing of real value on their boat.
If they dared to challenge him, Jiang Hai wouldn't hesitate to show them what real strength looked like.
After seeing Kevin and the others off, Jiang Hai and Bell went to buy other necessities. They didn't need food since they still had some left over from the barracudas caught by Darlene and Marian. Kevin and the others had no stake in that, so they stayed on the boat, not worrying about food for the time being.
What they really needed to buy was alcohol. After a day of drinking on the boat, they had already consumed most of their stock, and it was a good opportunity to stock up. However, when they entered the bar, they noticed the atmosphere was off.
Yesterday, when Jiang Hai and Bell entered, people ignored them, but today, many of the patrons were staring at them with red eyes, which made the place feel heavy and uncomfortable.
"Boss, something's not right," Bell-Lester whispered to Jiang Hai, sensing the hostility in the air.
"You've got your stuff, right?" Jiang Hai replied, keeping his voice low.
"Of course," Bell responded firmly. In such an uncertain place, you never went without your protection.
"I've got mine too. It'll be fine," Jiang Hai said with a smile, unbothered.
They walked up to the bar, gently tapped the table, and called over the bartender from the previous day.
"Two of the drinks you mixed yesterday, five boxes of beer, and a box of rum," Jiang Hai ordered, pulling out a stack of Franklin bills—one of his earnings from the day.
As he took out the money, he noticed the tension in the room. The patrons' breathing had become heavier.
Jiang Hai smiled inwardly. He liked the thrill of walking the tightrope.
He placed the money on the bartender's table, and the bartender quickly collected it and started mixing the drinks.
"If we finish these drinks, we'll leave," the bartender whispered as he served them. "I'll send the rest of the alcohol to your boat."
"Why?" Jiang Hai raised an eyebrow, genuinely curious.
"Your dealings at the fishery company have spread around here. You understand?" The bartender frowned, as if it were obvious. Did Jiang Hai need to ask such a question?
"Thanks. Here's your tip—don't forget to send the booze to my boat." Jiang Hai handed him another Franklin and then took a slow sip of his drink.
Seeing Jiang Hai's nonchalance, the bartender didn't press the matter. He'd already given his warning, and now it was up to Jiang Hai to handle it.
The bartender mixed the drinks again, pretending everything was normal. (To be continued.)