The Sea Queen of 1985

Chapter 159: Chapter 159: Seizing the Opportunity to Develop the Business

”Of course, of course!” Zhang Guangnan said, his eyes filled with gratitude. ”What did Lawyer Chen propose?”

Chen Nanyang smiled and, in front of Han Xiaorui, told Zhang Guangnan what they had just discussed.

Zhang Guangnan was even more grateful when he heard the price wouldn’t increase for the first three shipments and would only go up from the fourth—and even then, the price was reasonable. ”Thank you so much!”

”No need to thank me,” Han Xiaorui replied. ”This is just a business relationship. We won’t get involved in anything else.”

Zhang Guangnan bowed to Han Xiaorui. ”I’m sorry that my family’s affairs have caused you trouble.”

Han Xiaorui waved her hand dismissively. ”Mr. Zhang, you must be very busy. We have a deal. You should hurry and take care of your other matters.”

”Thank you again.” Zhang Guangnan breathed a sigh of relief. Now that his supply of high-end seafood was secured, everything else would be easier to handle.

Chen Nanyang followed Zhang Guangnan out. ”Mr. Zhang, do you need a lawyer?”

Zhang Guangnan was taken aback, a hint of wariness in his eyes. ”You... aren’t you Ms. Han’s lawyer?”

Chen Nanyang remained composed and confident. ”For the seafood partnership just now, I was Ms. Han’s lawyer. But right now, don’t you need to hire a lawyer for your mother?”

Zhang Guangnan’s eyes lit up, his tone urgent. ”If I hire you for her defense, can you get my mom off death row?”

”Well...” Chen Nanyang couldn’t make any promises. ”Because my client, Ms. Han, was involved previously, I looked into the matter. I found that your mother is a hardworking, frugal, and filial woman who managed her household diligently. Your father betrayed his marriage and family and even transferred their assets away. Your mother only had such an extreme reaction because she was provoked.”

”If enough people can testify to how much your mother gave to this family and how your father failed her, and if you have a capable lawyer defending her, it might be possible to get the sentence reduced to life imprisonment.”

”Okay, I’ll hire you to defend my mom,” Zhang Guangnan said quickly, a glimmer of hope in his eyes.

Chen Nanyang was surprised for a moment, then said awkwardly, ”It was a vicious homicide, so a reduced sentence isn’t guaranteed. The death penalty is still a possibility. I can’t promise anything.”

Zhang Guangnan nodded. ”I know. After all, a murder charge isn’t taken lightly. Just do your best. I was already planning to hire a lawyer for my mom, but I don’t know any.”

”The fact that you were able to find out so much about my family in such a short time proves you’re capable and diligent. What’s your fee?”

Chen Nanyang was taken aback. ”Two thousand if I achieve the desired outcome, one thousand if I don’t. Also, I can handle another case for you—recovering the marital assets your father secretly transferred, as well as your father’s inheritance.”

Zhang Guangnan was dumbfounded. ”That money... it can be recovered?”

”Of course it can!” Chen Nanyang replied. ”The money in that other woman’s name is all illegal gains, so of course it has to be returned. We can apply for an asset preservation order right now and freeze her accounts.”

”I’m worried that woman has already transferred the money away!” Zhang Guangnan sighed. ’Now my family’s dirty laundry will be aired in public.’

Chen Nanyang’s tone was firm. ”As long as she’s still in the country, she’ll either return the money or go to jail! An amount that large could land her in prison for ten years.”

”Okay, I’ll entrust this to you as well.” Zhang Guangnan was so busy he could barely think straight. With a lawyer to handle these matters, he could focus on managing the hotel. ”If you do a good job and prove your skills, I’ll work with you on a long-term basis.”

Chen Nanyang smiled. ”Then please wait and see, Mr. Zhang.”

’I’ve finally landed a big client!’

This matter was now completely unrelated to Han Xiaorui.

Han Xiaorui was given permission to go out to sea, but the weather was bad.

Han Xiaorui stood by the shore. The wind was strong, and the waves were high.

It was like this on the shore. Out in the deep sea, the waves would be even more turbulent.

Some of the peaches had been blown down by the strong winds, which was a real shame.

Granny Cai and Liang Xiaoyu, wearing raincoats, were gathering all the peaches that had fallen to the ground.

Seeing that both of their hair was soaked, Han Xiaorui chided them, ”You two are so bold, aren’t you afraid of the thunder! If the peaches fell, just leave them. Or at least wait for the rain to stop before you pick them up.”

Granny Cai smiled. ”I saw that the thunder was dying down, and the rain isn’t heavy. It’s better to pick these peaches up early so they don’t go to waste.”

”You have an oven, so I’ll make you some dried peaches. Today, we’ll start with the ones that have slightly damaged skins. For the good ones, we can wait until the weather clears up and dry them outside to make even more.”

Liang Xiaoyu’s face lit up, and she swallowed. ”Xiao Rui, my mother-in-law’s dried peaches are delicious. We can take some on the boat as a snack. They aren’t too filling, but they’re full of flavor.”

Han Xiaorui’s eyes brightened, and she looked at the peaches with a newfound eagerness. ”Okay, let’s make dried peaches with the ones we can’t eat. Sister Cai, I’ll provide the ingredients, you provide the labor, and we’ll split them evenly.”

Granny Cai chuckled. ”Just give me a little. We can save the rest to eat on the boat. We’re all women here, who doesn’t love a good snack?”

Liang Xiaoyu chimed in, ”It gets boring floating on the sea. Having a sweet and sour snack while we eat and chat would be wonderful. Besides, these peaches fell on the ground, so they won’t sell well, and it’d be a shame to let them rot. Xiao Rui, you don’t need to lift a finger. We’ll handle it.”

’Getting to eat some is a bonus, of course.’

”Alright, you two sit down. Wait for the rain to stop before you pick up more peaches,” Han Xiaorui said with a smile. She had no immunity to delicious food.

’Dried peaches that could earn the praise of a master chef like Granny Cai and a foodie like Liang Xiaoyu were guaranteed to be amazing.’

Granny Cai washed the peaches while Liang Xiaoyu wiped them dry with a clean cloth.

Han Xiaorui wanted to help, but Liang Xiaoyu stopped her. ”There aren’t that many. The peaches have fuzz on them, and your skin is delicate—it gets red as soon as you touch them. You shouldn’t handle these.”

Han Xiaorui sat on a small stool, eating a peach. ”Sister Cai, besides dried peaches, what other tasty things can we make with them?”

When the topic turned to her area of expertise, Granny Cai’s face lit up. ”Peaches are best eaten fresh, but you can only get them for these two months out of the whole year. If you want to eat them in other seasons, besides making dried peaches, you can also can them.”

”Later, we can find some canning jars and can the peaches we can’t finish. That way, we can eat them in the fall and winter.”

Hearing this, Han Xiaorui’s eyes lit up. ”Sister Cai, don’t bother looking around for used jars. I’ll just buy more from the glass factory.”

Granny Cai nodded. ”Okay. Stored in a cool, dark place, they’ll be fine for three months.”

Worried she might forget, Han Xiaorui went back inside and immediately called Zhou Wei at the glass factory to order two hundred one-liter glass canning jars.

Zhou Wei laughed on the other end of the line. ”We have a lot of unsold canning jars in the warehouse, about five hundred of them. I’ll give them all to you, no charge. I’ll have someone send them over right away.”

”No, that won’t do. If I buy them now, then they’ll be sold, won’t they?” Han Xiaorui refused. ”Figure out how much it is, and I’ll give the money to the driver to take back with him.”

”You’re being too polite.” Zhou Wei didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. ”Thanks to your inspiration, the fish tanks are selling like hotcakes now. The whole factory has been brought back from the brink, all thanks to you.”

”Those are two different things,” Han Xiaorui said with a light laugh. ”If they’re free, I don’t want them!”

After hanging up, Han Xiaorui went back to the kitchen in the courtyard and saw someone else next to Liang Xiaoyu. ”Sister Cuicui, when did you get back? Is everything taken care of?”