The Sea Queen of 1985

Chapter 168: Chapter 168: Gold Ingot, Undersea Treasure

As dusk approached, Xiao Dai still hadn’t stopped, but the fishing boat had.

”Xiao Rui, we can’t go any further,” Wu Mengyue said, having someone call Han Xiaorui to the cockpit.

Han Xiaorui looked at the instruments. The water ahead was only twenty meters deep. ”Let’s stop here then. We shouldn’t go any further, lest we hit a reef.”

”This is a good time to pull up the nets anyway,” Wu Mengyue said with a smile. ”I wonder what Xiao Dai is leading us to.”

Han Xiaorui smiled. ”It’s getting dark, so we can’t see much.”

When Xiao Dai saw that the boat was no longer following, it grew anxious, swam back, and started splashing at the bow.

Han Xiaorui chided it with a laugh, ”I can’t go over there. If you’ve found something good, you’ll have to bring it to me.”

Xiao Dai, who was a little cross-eyed, actually seemed to understand Han Xiaorui’s words. It quickly turned and swam away.

While the crew was busy sorting the large lobsters they had just hauled in, Han Xiaorui stood at the bow, waiting for Xiao Dai.

Xiao Dai didn’t disappoint her. When it returned a short while later, it was actually carrying something in its mouth.

It was dark, and Han Xiaorui couldn’t see clearly, so she quickly grabbed a landing net and held it beside Xiao Dai’s mouth.

When she scooped it up and took a look, she was stunned. It was an object shaped like an ingot.

She quickly took it out, tossed a few fish to Xiao Dai, and said, ”Thank you, I understand. But I can’t retrieve it right now. From now on, just lead me to fish, shrimp, sea snails, and things like that...”

Xiao Dai bobbed its head as if it understood, then dove back into the water.

After a long time had passed and Xiao Dai hadn’t resurfaced, Han Xiaorui finally returned to her room and took the ”ingot” out of her pocket.

She vigorously wiped the ingot-shaped object with a handkerchief, scrubbing away the microorganisms on its surface to reveal its true nature.

Though corroded by the sea and having lost its original shine, she could tell from its weight and color that it was a gold ingot.

Oh my god!

’Xiao Dai is really something else, isn’t it?’

’It actually found sunken treasure for me!’

’Is this something an ordinary person should have?’

’The crew are all hardworking, but who knows what would happen if word of a shipwreck got out?’

’My hauls are already so big they’ve attracted a lot of attention.’

Worried about people with ill intentions, Han Xiaorui had even hired bodyguards.

’If word of this shipwreck gets out, I’ll never have a moment’s peace.’

At this thought, Han Xiaorui quickly hid the gold ingot, resolving not to show it to anyone.

She made a note of the coordinates, deciding to figure out the rest once she got back.

After sorting the fish and finishing their meal, everyone went to find a place to rest.

Han Xiaorui was standing at the bow, wondering which direction to head next, when Xiao Dai reappeared.

It indicated for them to bypass the nearby reef and continue heading southeast.

Han Xiaorui hadn’t rested during the day, so after telling Wu Mengyue the direction, she washed up and went to bed.

During the night, they pulled in two nets.

One was full of ribbonfish, and the other held a mix of assorted species.

Han Xiaorui woke up at six o’clock.

Liu Huamei was already preparing breakfast: seafood congee served with braised bamboo shoots.

Knowing that congee alone wouldn’t be filling enough, Liu Huamei also made a large batch of sweet rice rolls.

They were soft, chewy, and sweet, filled with a fragrant date paste.

Han Xiaorui had two bowls of seafood congee and a plate of the sweet rice rolls, leaving her feeling full and content.

After breakfast, they hauled in another net.

This one was also full to the brim, but with a wide variety of species, the most valuable of which were the red groupers.

Chen Yishui came over to ask, ”Xiao Rui, where are we heading now?”

Han Xiaorui smiled and pointed at Xiao Dai on the sea’s surface. ”We follow its lead. Continue southeast!”

Chen Yishui was exasperated. ”We’ve been following it all this time, ever since yesterday afternoon. You don’t think it’s just leading us on for fun, do you?”

’Others might not know, but I do,’ Han Xiaorui thought. ’Yesterday, Xiao Dai led me to a sunken treasure ship.’

’It casually brought up a gold ingot. The wealth down there must be unimaginable.’

Hearing Chen Yishui misjudge Xiao Dai, Han Xiaorui could only offer an awkward smile. ”It’s so intelligent, I doubt it’s just messing with us. Let’s keep following!”

Since Han Xiaorui insisted, Chen Yishui didn’t press the issue. ”Alright, I’ll deploy the net, and then we’ll get underway.”

And so, they continued to chase Xiao Dai across the open sea for another three hours before Chen Yishui stopped the boat.

”There’s a reef up ahead, we can’t go any further! I’m stopping the boat. Let’s pull up the net first!”

Han Xiaorui nodded. ”Alright. We can try to inch forward a bit after we get the net up!”

Just then, Xiao Dai disappeared beneath the surface and continued swimming forward.

About ten or so minutes later, Xiao Dai returned, followed by a group of its friends and family.

Han Xiaorui held out the large landing net as Xiao Dai, a large scallop in its mouth, spat it into the mesh.

The large sea turtles behind it did the same; some brought scallops, while others offered up golden sea cucumbers.

Han Xiaorui lifted the net onto the deck and gasped when she saw the contents. ”Everyone, come look! These scallops and sea cucumbers are huge!”

Hearing Han Xiaorui’s shout, Chen Yishui hurried over. ”They really are big. The diameter of these scallops is over ten centimeters! Look at this one—it’s a full fifteen centimeters!”

Han Xiaorui nodded. ”Yeah, scallops of this quality will fetch a great price! And these are golden sea cucumbers, the best quality there is!”

Chen Yishui nodded, raising the binoculars hanging around her neck to her eyes for a closer look. ”I see a reef breaking the surface up ahead. I’m going to move the boat a little closer and anchor over there.”

”We have a small boat we can lower. The wind isn’t strong, so I’ll go check it out first! We might be able to find all sorts of things on the reef.”

Han Xiaorui nodded enthusiastically. ”I can’t believe we found a reef breaking the surface this far out at sea. I’ll go with you.”

”No, I’ll go check it out first. You can come over once I’m sure it’s safe!” Chen Yishui felt that as the captain, and being paid so well, she had a greater responsibility to bear the risks.

Han Xiaorui didn’t argue. ”Xiao Dai is intelligent. I’ll have it guide us.”

Just then, Captain Qi on the other boat, assuming Han Xiaorui’s crew hadn’t spotted the reef ahead, quickly got on the radio to warn them.

”Xiao Han, don’t go any further! There’s a reef ahead; you could easily run aground if you’re not careful.”

Hearing his warning, Han Xiaorui appreciated his concern. ”Uncle Qi, I know about the reef. The little turtle I rescued earlier just brought me a fifteen-centimeter scallop, and some huge, long golden sea cucumbers.”

”Sister Yishui is at the helm. We’re just moving a bit closer to check out the shallowest area. It’s alright, don’t worry.”

’The boat has its instruments, and Xiao Dai is guiding us, so there shouldn’t be any danger,’ she thought.

’Besides, even if there is danger, it’s not a huge deal. Isn’t there another boat right here?’

She was confident there would be no issue with safety.

Hearing her explanation, Captain Qi didn’t press the matter. ”Alright then. We’ll wait here. If anything happens, we’ll be ready to assist you immediately.”

”Thank you,” Han Xiaorui replied, then turned back to guiding Chen Yishui.