The Sea Queen of 1985

Chapter 68: Chapter 68: High Price, Great Fortune

If she sold it for more, the ones who would benefit the most would still be Pingping and An’an.

Yang Zhigang smiled and waved his hand. ”Don’t worry, the price will only be higher than elsewhere, not lower. We’re comrades who were in the same trench. Back in the day, he was wounded on the front lines, and I carried him back from enemy-occupied territory.”

Comradeship from the war, the debt of saving his life, being from the same hometown, and serving as soldiers together for several years—their bond was strong.

How could that be explained in just a few words?

Besides, Chen Yupeng worked for the state. As long as he completed his task, that was enough. A low purchase price wouldn’t get him a bonus.

And if the purchase price was high, as long as the item was of good quality and they could sell it for a high price, Chen Yupeng wouldn’t lose out either.

Hearing Yang Zhigang say this, Han Xiaorui and Yang Jianguo both felt relieved.

Chen Yupeng discussed it with a few experts. Although it was damp, the quality was excellent.

In the end, they decided on a purchase price of 35,000 yuan per kilogram.

Chen Yupeng held up a notebook and handed it to Yang Zhigang. ”Take a look. This was our purchase price last year. But that one was dry, 32,000 yuan per kilogram.”

”The price has gone up this year, but yours is wet. I can offer you 35,000 yuan per kilogram. What do you think?”

Yang Zhigang looked at last year’s purchase ledger. They had indeed acquired a few pieces of ambergris, the most expensive being 32,000 yuan per kilogram, with ”dry” noted next to it.

’By that calculation, the price was quite good.’

Yang Zhigang handed the notebook to Han Xiaorui. ”Xiao Rui, what do you think?”

’Her piece weighed over a hundred jin. Wouldn’t that sell for more than two million yuan?’

’Selling it in pieces might fetch a higher price, but it would be a lot more trouble.’

’She wanted to get rich quietly!’

”Uncle Yang, if you think it’s fair, then it’s fair,” Han Xiaorui said with a smile, trusting Yang Zhigang.

After all, her ability to establish herself in Jinshan Bay wasn’t just due to her own skills, but also thanks to the help of Yang Zhigang and Yang Jianguo.

Otherwise, even if she made a lot of money, the villagers might not cause her trouble, but there were plenty of local thugs and riffraff, and it was impossible to guard against all of them.

People with ill intentions like Song the Second, Cao Lang, and Yu Lanlan would instinctively think Han Xiaorui was an easy target.

Hearing this, Yang Zhigang felt a warmth in his heart, pleased that Han Xiaorui trusted him.

He looked at Chen Yupeng. ”Brother Chen, given our friendship, I know you wouldn’t cheat me. Since Xiao Rui is listening to me, let’s go with this price. Shall we weigh it now?”

Chen Yupeng breathed a sigh of relief. He had been worried they would think the price was too low and try to bargain, which the experts probably wouldn’t have liked.

’If he had to report that to his superiors, it would make his job difficult!’

Chen Yupeng weighed it in front of them, with Yang Zhigang and Yang Jianguo watching closely.

The final weight was 67.3 kilograms, totaling 2,355,500 yuan.

While they were weighing it, Han Xiaorui’s gaze was drawn to a category on the acquisition list.

Freshwater ornamental fish, with prices ranging from 10 to 20 yuan per fish.

This was 1985! The purchasing power of 10 yuan was immense; a few dozen yuan was enough to cover a family of three’s living expenses for a month.

’I should build a good relationship with this Uncle Chen,’ she thought. ’Maybe I can export ornamental fish through him in the future!’

But for now, she had to go to the bank for the money transfer. Luckily, she had brought her ID card and household registration book the other day to collect the reward from that special department.

With Chen Yupeng there, their partner bank had stayed open, just waiting for Han Xiaorui and the others to arrive.

2,355,500 yuan was transferred from the Liqin Foreign Trade Import and Export Company’s account to the personal account Han Xiaorui had just opened.

At this stage, the tax system wasn’t fully developed, so there was no tax to pay. This was a special exception for their company’s miscellaneous acquisitions, allowing them to deal directly with individuals.

Han Xiaorui looked at the amount in her passbook, her heart filled with joy.

’I thought I’d have to save for a long time to buy a big boat.’

’I never expected that clever little sea snake to help me achieve my goal in one fell swoop.’

’From now on, the little sea snake is my number one cute pet.’

Night fell. Yang Zhigang declined Chen Yupeng’s invitation to stay. ”Brother Chen, I’m heading back for now. I’ll come visit you at home another day.”

Han Xiaorui also smiled. ”Uncle Chen, I’ll visit often with Uncle Yang in the future.”

”Alright. Give me a call before you come, and I’ll cook for you myself,” Chen Yupeng said with a smile, walking them to the main gate. He even had his driver take them to the pier.

Once on the boat, Han Xiaorui took out ten thousand yuan, giving five thousand to Yang Zhigang and five thousand to Yang Jianguo.

Yang Zhigang was taken aback, then grew rather angry. ”Xiao Rui, if you’re going to be like this, then don’t come to me for things like this in the future.”

Yang Jianguo also quickly waved his hands in refusal. He had just come along to help carry things, how could he take Han Xiaorui’s money?

Besides, Han Xiaorui was building a factory in the village, and she had given him twenty percent of the shares just for running a few errands.

’Han Xiaorui had already been incredibly generous to him!’

”Xiao Rui, if you consider me a brother, take this money back right now.”

Seeing Yang Zhigang and Yang Jianguo react this way, Han Xiaorui had no choice but to put the money away. ”Uncle Yang, Brother Jianguo, thank you.”

Yang Jianguo smiled. ”Words are empty, but with Pingping and An’an in the picture, I consider you family. Besides, you gave me a lot of shares in the ornamental fish farm. I won’t forget that!”

Hearing his nephew’s words, Yang Zhigang was quite moved. But then the thought of his own rascal son, Yang Jianming, made him want to curse!

”Xiao Rui, Jianguo is right. From now on, you’re my niece. Pingping and An’an are my biggest concern, and I won’t be able to rest easy until the day I close my eyes for good. Helping you is helping my two granddaughters.”

After considering Yang Zhigang’s and Yang Jianguo’s kindness for a moment, Han Xiaorui said, ”Once the ornamental fish factory is built and running smoothly this year, I’m going to start a seafood farm. When the time comes, if you’re interested, you can invest.”

Yang Zhigang thought for a moment. ”Alright, we’ll talk about it once you’ve got things sorted out. One thing at a time!”

Yang Jianguo was tempted. He couldn’t go out fishing, but he could probably do aquaculture.

Suddenly, he recalled what Village Chief Liu had said. ”Xiao Rui, have you thought about buying a big boat?”

”I have!” Han Xiaorui nodded eagerly, blinking. ”Brother, why do you ask?”

Yang Jianguo smiled. ”When you were at the village committee signing the land lease contract, Village Chief Liu heard about you saving someone’s life and how you do things with integrity, so he wanted to give you a tip.”

”Wu Guangfu, from the next village over, who took out a loan to buy a big sea boat right around the same time as my uncle, has run into some bad luck. For several months now, his earnings haven’t covered his expenses, and he can’t even make his loan payments.”

”Village Chief Liu saw Wu Guangfu at the bank negotiating to only pay the interest for now, not the principal. After all, with thirty crewmen, the monthly wages are significant, not to mention all the other miscellaneous expenses. He probably can’t hold on for much longer.”

”If you’re interested, Village Chief Liu could act as a middleman and sound them out about whether they’re willing to sell the fishing boat.”

”A used, old boat?” Han Xiaorui paused, worried that a boat that wasn’t new would come with a lot of legacy issues.

Yang Zhigang smiled. ”I got my boat a month before he did. That boat of his is secondhand, but it’s not old.”

”What if I want to buy a new one? After all, two or three years have passed; shipbuilding technology has probably advanced. If I’m buying a boat, I want to buy the most advanced one in the country.”

’With over two million yuan in her passbook, Han Xiaorui felt bold and ambitious!’

Yang Zhigang laughed. ”I understand you want to buy the newest and biggest boat, but you have to order those in advance. It takes at least a year and a half to get one.”

”Huh?” Han Xiaorui was dumbfounded. ’Do you really have to wait that long?’