The Sea Queen of 1985

Chapter 44: Chapter 44: Rescue at Sea

A few old fishermen on their boats, however, saw how low Han Xiaorui’s vessel was sitting in the water and deduced she had a massive haul.

When they saw the deck packed with bulging shrimp pots, the fishermen were green with envy.

”Uncle, is that Yang Zhigang’s daughter-in-law’s little boat?” a young man named Cao Qiang asked bitterly, taking a drag from his cigarette.

He and his uncle had been out all day and only caught a few dozen pounds of cheap fish—not even enough to cover their expenses.

Cao Dapeng was a veteran fisherman, and his face was also full of envy. ”They’re divorced, so she’s not Yang Zhigang’s daughter-in-law anymore. Don’t make that mistake again. Yang Zhigang has made it clear that no one is to bully his granddaughter’s mother.”

”That young woman is something else. Don’t you go causing any trouble for Han Xiaorui. If Yang Zhigang decides to teach you a lesson, I won’t be sticking up for you.”

Cao Qiang wasn’t tall, and his eyes were brimming with envy. ”Yang Zhigang’s sea vessel comes back fully loaded every time, and now his divorced daughter-in-law’s little boat comes back fully loaded too. Uncle, is there some secret to it?”

A look of confusion crossed Cao Dapeng’s face. He finally shook his head and sighed. ”If I knew, I’d be the one with the big sea vessel right now, not Yang Zhigang.”

They were both fishermen. Ever since private boat ownership was encouraged, both he and Yang Zhigang had been the type to think big and act boldly, taking out loans from the credit union to buy their boats.

He earned more than he did back in the days of the big commune, but it was nothing compared to Yang Zhigang.

In just a few years, Yang Zhigang had upgraded his boat twice, each one bigger than the last, allowing him to fish in more distant waters.

And him?

He was still stuck with this small, ten-meter wooden boat.

’A man just has to accept his fate!’

Cao Qiang’s brow suddenly smoothed. He stubbed out his cigarette and said with a grin, ”Uncle, what do you think about me pursuing Han Xiaorui? If I marry her, we’d have a legitimate reason to go fishing with her, wouldn’t we?”

SMACK! The moment he heard this, Cao Dapeng smacked Cao Qiang on the head in anger. ”Where’d you buy that abacus? The clicking is so loud I can hear it from miles away.”

”Han Xiaorui is a beautiful woman. Even divorced and with a child, what makes you think she’d ever look at you?”

Cao Qiang leaned over to look at his reflection in the water and straightened his center-parted hair, displeased. ”Aside from being a little short, I’m pretty handsome.”

”A toad lusting after a swan’s flesh. Don’t go trying to get a taste of the swan only to get your eyes pecked out. A woman gets married for one of three things: money, looks, or love. You don’t have money, and you’re ugly. You don’t stand a chance.”

Crushed, Cao Qiang still tried to argue, ”But I have love to offer! I could treat her well, listen to her in all things, both at home and outside. Wouldn’t that work?”

Cao Dapeng was exasperated. ’I knew I shouldn’t have stopped to watch Han Xiaorui’s boat.’ ”Qiangzi, have you heard the radio drama of *Water Margin*?”

”I have!” Cao Qiang nodded. ”I love the part where Wu Song kills the tiger. He’s so heroic.”

”We’re not talking about Wu Song today. You could never be a man like him,” Cao Dapeng said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. ”Let’s talk about Wu Dalang. Do you know how he died?”

”Of course. He was poisoned by Pan Jinlian,” Cao Qiang answered.

Cao Dapeng’s expression was complicated. ”Good that you know. The story teaches us that if you don’t have the skills to back it up, you shouldn’t marry a beautiful wife. Others will covet her, you won’t be able to protect her, and you might just end up getting killed one day.”

”Well...” A look of regret crossed Cao Qiang’s face. ”Uncle, you’re right. A toad can’t get a taste of a swan. I’ll be lucky to find a frog with nice skin.”

Hearing this, Cao Dapeng actually laughed and clapped Cao Qiang on the shoulder. ”Qiangzi, now you’re thinking straight. Song the Second was ugly. He found himself a pretty wife and was dead before he hit thirty-five.”

”As for how he died... I’m sure you’ve heard the recent rumors. Yu Lanlan and that porter from the seafood market...”

Cao Qiang, only eighteen this year, was dumbstruck. ’Better stay away from beautiful women in the future, or my life could be at risk.’

’I should find a woman who knows how to live a simple life and just settle down.’

As the two were talking, they didn’t notice the danger approaching.

Several swordfish, swimming rapidly, rammed their boat. Both uncle and nephew were thrown into the sea. The long bill of one swordfish stabbed into Cao Dapeng’s thigh, and it immediately began to bleed.

The swordfish’s ”sword” was stuck in the boat. It thrashed about, and with the immense strength of its five- or six-meter-long body, it broke free and swam away, leaving the boat to take on water.

Cao Qiang scrambled back onto the boat and pulled his uncle aboard, only to find the boat was leaking so badly he couldn’t plug the hole.

”Qiangzi, get help! Quick!” Cao Dapeng urged, grimacing in pain as blood streamed from his wound.

He urged his nephew on as he tied a rope above the wound.

Cao Qiang grabbed a red cloth and waved it in the air, hoping Han Xiaorui, who had just passed by, would see their call for help.

Han Xiaorui was piloting the boat, her eyes fixed straight ahead.

Liang Xiaoyu, with nothing to do, was by the window, gazing around.

Suddenly, she saw someone waving a piece of red cloth in the air. Liang Xiaoyu quickly said, ”Xiao Rui, stop for a second! I just saw someone signaling for help.”

Han Xiaorui paused, stopped the boat, and raised a pair of binoculars to look in the direction Liang Xiaoyu was pointing. ”It looks like they are asking for help. Let’s go check it out.”

Liang Xiaoyu, calming down, hesitated. ”Xiao Rui, out here on the sea, if they mean us harm, we’re two women against men. We wouldn’t be able to fight them off.”

Hearing this, a hint of disdain flickered in Han Xiaorui’s eyes. ’If they have any ill intentions, I don’t mind tossing them overboard to feed the fish.’

’Since they’d be acting like animals, they can become animal feed! Tossing them to the fish would just be putting them to good use!’

However, if they were truly in danger, Han Xiaorui would also rescue them without a moment’s hesitation.

Not for money, not for a reward, but simply because they were fellow human beings.

She had a conscience. It was as simple as that.

”Sister-in-law Xiao Yu, don’t be afraid. I’ve trained in martial arts. I can protect you.”

As she spoke, Han Xiaorui turned the boat around.

The Cao uncle and nephew, on the verge of despair, saw Han Xiaorui’s boat turning back and were so overjoyed they could have cried.

Cao Dapeng was twitching from the pain, but he didn’t forget to lecture his nephew. ”Qiangzi, you see that? That’s true integrity! She’s a woman, yet she dared to turn back to save us. This is a life-saving grace.”

”Get all those messy thoughts out of your head. We of the Cao family act with integrity and stand tall. We can’t repay kindness with malice.”

Cao Qiang’s eyes reddened as he tried to use his body to plug the hole in the boat. ”Uncle, I get it. I don’t want to die. I’m still young, I haven’t even gotten married yet! I haven’t had the chance to properly repay you and Auntie.”

”Just hold on a little longer. We’re not going to die,” Cao Dapeng comforted his nephew. ”The boat’s almost here!”

The water was already halfway up the cabin, and the boat looked like it was about to sink.

Han Xiaorui’s boat arrived. Only then did Liang Xiaoyu get a clear look at them. ”Uncle Cao, it’s you and Qiangzi! Xiao Rui, hurry and pull up alongside them.”

’They’re from our village; we should save them.’

’Cao Dapeng is a good man in the village; we definitely should save him.’

Cao Qiang supported his uncle while Han Xiaorui and Liang Xiaoyu helped from their boat, lifting the injured Cao Dapeng into the pilothouse.

Just then, from the bottom of the boat, a sea snake poked its head out.

Seeing someone climb aboard, it opened its mouth and bit down on Cao Qiang’s butt.

”AAAH!” Cao Qiang let out a bloodcurdling scream.

Everyone looked over. After biting Cao Qiang, the sea snake sank back into the water, hiding once again beneath the boat.