The Sea Queen of 1985

Chapter 65: Chapter 65: Even Abalones Can Burst the Warehouse

After two days of rest, Liang Xiaoyu was getting restless.

She had checked the weather forecast, and seeing that it was a fine day, she came over in high spirits.

When they arrived at the dock, Wang Gensheng and the others were already waiting!

Wang Gensheng handed Han Xiaorui 4,210 yuan from the lobster sale the other afternoon. ”Xiao Rui, I haven’t had a chance these past two days. Here’s the money, I wanted to give it to you in person.”

Han Xiaorui took the money and counted it. ”Thank you, Uncle Gensheng. Come on, let’s set sail. The sooner we leave, the sooner we can get back.”

The sea snake under the boat seemed to sense Han Xiaorui’s joy, taking the lead and surging forward.

Everyone followed behind Han Xiaorui’s boat. It wasn’t just the original seven boats anymore; other villagers had joined in.

Everyone saw so many people heading out to sea with Han Xiaorui. They might have claimed it wasn’t profitable, but their actions spoke louder than words.

No one was a fool. They figured Wang Gensheng and his group must have made a good catch with Han Xiaorui.

That was why even more people had shown up for today’s trip.

’I’ll buy a bigger boat in the future,’ Han Xiaorui thought. The only reason she wasn’t buying one now was because she didn’t have the money.

’As soon as I have enough cash, I’ll definitely buy it.’

’When the time comes, I can hire a crew from these fishermen. They’re all from the village, so we know each other’s backgrounds. We’ll be more united and safer at sea.’

’If you want people to work for you, it’s not just about paying them. You have to demonstrate real ability and make them believe that following you offers a future, make them trust you.’

Following the sea snake, Han Xiaorui’s boat raced onward without stopping.

After more than two hours, they unexpectedly came upon an island reef.

Han Xiaorui used her Water Ability to investigate and was instantly delighted.

It turned out the area was hiding a huge number of abalone. At a depth of over ten meters, they were packed together, and they were all massive.

Plus, there were lobsters in the deeper waters nearby.

Han Xiaorui set down her lobster pots, while the others kept their distance and set theirs in different spots.

”Sister-in-law Xiao Yu, you can fish up here. I’m going to go down and take a look.”

Liang Xiaoyu knew how to swim but couldn’t dive, so she didn’t try to act tough. ”Be careful then, Xiao Rui. Don’t go too deep.”

Han Xiaorui started changing into a simple, old-fashioned plastic diving suit. ’This thing cost me quite a bit of money!’

’I don’t actually need any of this gear,’ she thought, ’but with so many people watching, I have to keep up appearances.’

Carrying a scraper and a mesh bag, Han Xiaorui jumped into the sea. She dove to a depth of twenty meters and, using her little scraper, quickly pried the abalone off the reef.

She only picked the large ones. Most were half the size of her palm, and some were even bigger.

Han Xiaorui didn’t bother with the small ones, leaving them there to continue growing.

Liang Xiaoyu tried to fish while anxiously waiting for Han Xiaorui, terrified that something might happen to her.

Five minutes later, the mesh bag Han Xiaorui had brought with her was full, and she quickly ascended.

When Liang Xiaoyu saw Han Xiaorui break the surface, she hastily threw down her fishing rod. ”Xiao Rui, you’re finally back! What did you get?”

”Abalone!” Han Xiaorui shouted, holding up the bag from the water. ”Quick, pull it up! There’s still more down there!”

Liang Xiaoyu was stunned for a moment, but her face lit up when she saw the mesh bag was filled to the brim with abalone. ”Okay, I’m pulling it in. Are you going to get more?”

Han Xiaorui nodded. ”Of course I am!”

With that, Han Xiaorui grabbed the empty mesh bag Liang Xiaoyu handed her and dove back down.

The sea snake swam around her, guiding Han Xiaorui, always leading her to the biggest and best abalone.

Just like that, Han Xiaorui brought up bag after bag without stopping.

Liang Xiaoyu had completely forgotten about fishing by now and was busy sorting the abalone.

Wang Gensheng and the others who had followed them saw Han Xiaorui diving, so they also dove in to take a look.

They didn’t have any equipment, but this was where the skills of veteran fishermen were on full display.

They could hold their breath for three to four minutes. They didn’t dare dive too deep, but there were still abalone a few meters down, though they were a bit smaller.

When we say smaller, they were only small from Han Xiaorui’s perspective.

For the other fishermen, abalone that were ”four-head” or ”five-head” grade were already considered quite large.

Everyone began showing off their own skills and started harvesting abalone.

They didn’t dare go any deeper, but there were oysters in the shallows.

Those who couldn’t dive simply grabbed buckets and tools and pried oysters in the shallow areas.

Han Xiaorui’s movements were particularly swift, thanks to her Water Ability, her sea snake sidekick, and her diving equipment.

One mesh bag was proving insufficient for Han Xiaorui, so she switched to using two at a time.

This saved her the time of making multiple trips, allowing her to bring up a larger haul each time she surfaced.

More and more abalone were hauled up by Han Xiaorui!

Liang Xiaoyu never imagined they would one day have so much abalone it was practically bursting their storage!

Not only was the fish hold filled with abalone, but even the ten bamboo baskets they had brought along were overflowing.

Only after she had harvested a sufficient amount did Han Xiaorui finally stop.

It was only then that she noticed the many beautiful sea fish swimming underwater.

Her ornamental fish shop was doing very well.

And now, preparations for her ornamental fish farm were also underway.

Having come across such beautiful fish, Han Xiaorui naturally wasn’t going to let them get away.

’Is that a blackfin squirrelfish?’ Also known as a soldierfish.

The fish’s body was red, covered in thin, white, horizontal stripes that extended all the way to its tail. It was stunning.

When the sea snake saw Han Xiaorui chasing the beautiful fish, it actually started herding them in her direction.

Among them were several foxface rabbitfish, so named because of their fox-like features.

Their heads were long, slender, and triangular, resembling a fox’s face.

There was also a species of soldierfish, sometimes called warrior fish or bigeyes.

Its overall color was a beautiful brick red. A black stripe ran behind its gill cover but didn’t extend all the way across its body.

There were quite a few different species of fish being herded toward her. Han Xiaorui reached out, catching them and putting them in her mesh bag.

Just as she was about to grab a drab, greyish fish, it suddenly seemed to get a fright. It opened its mouth wide, and all the spines on its body stood on end as it inflated, growing bigger and rounder by the second.

Startled, Han Xiaorui quickly pulled back her hand. A closer look revealed it to be a long-spined porcupinefish.

At first, she had thought the fish was plain and unattractive, but seeing its puffed-up, spiky, and perfectly round form, she found it surprisingly cute.

Han Xiaorui couldn’t help but smile. ’Such a fun little animal. I have to take it with me.’

Back on the boat, Han Xiaorui set aside a special bucket for a few long-spined porcupinefish.

Liang Xiaoyu jumped in fright. ”Xiao Rui, that thing’s poisonous! Why did you bring it on board?”

Han Xiaorui poked one with a small stick, and it immediately puffed up its spines again. ”Isn’t it cute?”

Liang Xiaoyu shook her head and chuckled. ”You’re thinking of keeping these as ornamental fish?”

”Exactly. This kind of porcupinefish is poisonous, but as long as you’re careful and don’t touch it, you’ll be fine. Look how cute it is!” Han Xiaorui was now even more set on the idea. ”Sister-in-law Xiao Yu, please sort these fish for me. I’m going down one more time.”

Han Xiaorui had thought she’d harvested more than enough, but then she sensed a signal from the little sea snake and decided to investigate.

When she looked, a flicker of confusion crossed Han Xiaorui’s face. The sea snake was coiled around a whitish ”rock.”