Chapter 1 My Life as a Corpse Fisherman

Speaking of this topic, Sixth Uncle's expression became a bit more serious. He raised his glass and clinked it with ours, took a sip, and then slowly said, "Da Ding, we're old classmates, so I'll be blunt. There's a saying in economics: risk and return are equal. The greater the risk, the higher the return, understand?"

Uncle Mei nodded, understanding the meaning.

The job of salvaging the treasure ship would give us at least 50,000 yuan each. Such a high return corresponds to high risk.

"Sounds like things often go wrong in this line of work," Uncle Mei said.

Sixth Uncle didn't deny it, saying directly, "Salvaging treasure ships requires going deep into the sea. The ocean has everything, and it's very dangerous. Let me be frank, I've seen a lot in this line of work. Of ten divers who go down to salvage, no more than six return safely."

"That dangerous?!" Uncle Mei and I were both shocked and asked blankly.

"Otherwise, why do you think this line is so profitable?" Sixth Uncle said with a wry smile. "This money is earned with our lives!"

I calmed down and thought about it carefully, feeling that it made sense. Then I thought about the grave robbers we often dealt with before. Of the ten people who went down into a tomb, not even six might come back alive.

Boss Wang's gang, Yang Guo's gang, Silver Ring Snake's gang, Liu Huangshu's gang, Big Hand's gang...

And so on...

When these grave robbers went down into a tomb, less than one or two out of ten people would come back alive. In that case, salvaging treasure ships at sea was much safer than robbing tombs.

Seeing Uncle Mei and me hesitating and not speaking, Sixth Uncle smiled again and said to us, "Da Ding, Rongsheng, I've already told you everything. This line of work earns a lot, and it's a good opportunity to make a fortune. Besides, I think you two are strong swimmers and can indeed make a living doing this. But there are also dangers. Once you go down, I can't guarantee you'll come back safely. You decide for yourselves whether to go or not. I won't force you."

Uncle Mei immediately nodded and said, "Yes, yes, Sixth, I'm very grateful that you introduced me to this business. You're right, it's indeed a chance to make a fortune."

After saying that, Uncle Mei looked back at me, as if asking for my opinion.

Seeing that we were hesitant, Sixth Uncle immediately stood up and said, "How about this, you two discuss it carefully. Don't rush to make a decision. I'll go to the restroom and not disturb you."

After saying that, he turned and walked towards the restroom.

Once Sixth Uncle was far away, Uncle Mei quickly asked me, "Rongsheng, what do you think? Should we do this business or not?"

I had already made a decision in my heart. I said, "Uncle, I want to do it! Little Mei has a strange illness, and we don't know how much it will cost to cure her. We're penniless now and can't take out a single cent. If we don't take this opportunity to earn some money, how will we pay for Little Mei's treatment in the future?"

After hearing that, Uncle Mei was silent for a while, then said, "But Rongsheng, you also heard what Sixth Uncle said just now. Less than sixty percent of those who go down to salvage ships come back alive. Aren't you afraid of dying?"

I smiled and said, "Uncle, with my swimming skills, let alone six out of ten coming back, even if only one out of ten comes back, I'll definitely be that one!"

Hearing that, Uncle Mei couldn't help but laugh and give me a thumbs up, "Good lad!"

Then he said decisively, "Then it's settled, we'll take this business!"

"We'll take it, we'll take it!" I said, slapping my thigh.

Before I finished speaking, Sixth Uncle came back from the restroom, winking at us and asking, "How is it? Did you reach an agreement? If not, I can go to the restroom again."

Uncle Mei said with a smile, "No need, no need, we've reached an agreement. We'll take this business."

"Good." Sixth Uncle's expression was calm, without joy or surprise. "Now that you've decided, let's act as soon as possible. By the way, do you two have passports? If not, I'll take you to get one tomorrow. Once you have your passports, I'll book your plane tickets."

Uncle Mei and I had never been abroad, so of course we didn't have passports. Uncle Mei quickly asked, "How do you get a passport? Is it troublesome?"

Sixth Uncle said with a smile, "It's not troublesome. You can get one with a work certificate or a bank statement. You don't have to worry about these things. I have acquaintances who can provide a one-stop service. Just wait to go abroad."

Hearing that we could go abroad, Uncle Mei and I were a little excited. After all, neither of us had ever been abroad, especially Uncle Mei, who had lived his whole life on the banks of the Tuo River. Not to mention going abroad, he hadn't even left Shu.

Uncle Mei rubbed his hands and said, "Sixth, we can't speak Thai or English. How will we communicate with people when we go abroad?"

Sixth Uncle said with a smile, "You don't have to worry about that. I'll be there to take care of you the whole time and take you to the ship. Once you're on the ship, there will be our compatriots, so someone will translate for you."

"Then I'm relieved," Uncle Mei nodded.

Having talked about this, we were almost done eating the hotpot. Uncle Mei stood up to pay the bill, but Sixth Uncle waved his hand and said, "No need, I paid for it when I went to the restroom just now."

Uncle Mei said a little embarrassed, "How can that be? You introduced me to this lucrative job, there's no way I can let you pay."

Sixth Uncle chuckled and said, "Don't be so polite with me. Da Ding, when you come back after making money, treat me to a meal."

Uncle Mei sighed and nodded, "Alright."

Sixth Uncle also said, "By the way, Thailand is very corrupt. If you make a lot of money on this trip, don't get hooked on staying there and not want to come back."

Uncle Mei quickly waved his hand and said, "How is that possible? My daughter is still in the country, how can I abandon her?"

Sixth Uncle didn't speak, just smiled ambiguously. From his expression, I felt that he must have known people like that, who went out, made money, got their souls hooked by the foreign land's gentle embrace, and then never came back.

Later, facts proved that this was indeed the case. There were indeed many such people there. They originally just wanted to go abroad to make a fortune, but after going out, they never came back.

The wild flowers outside are so beautiful, they directly make people infatuated...

Two days later, Sixth Uncle called Uncle Mei and told him that our passports had been processed and the plane tickets had been booked. We could set off at noon the day after tomorrow.

Uncle Mei called Hu Wazi and told him to take good care of Little Mei, and to communicate more with Lao Wei and Jiang Yongguang, and to avoid conflicts.

Having experienced these things, Hu Wazi had become much more mature. He was no longer as headstrong as before, and he would discuss things with Jiang Yongguang and Lao Wei calmly.

However, he was a little worried about our trip to Thailand. Before we left, he repeatedly told us not to take risks and to come back safe and sound.