The Sea Queen of 1985

Chapter 169: Chapter 169: Bountiful Harvest on the Unnamed Reef

After sailing about another kilometer, Han Xiaorui had Chen Yishui stop the boat.

They lowered a small boat. Wearing life jackets, Han Xiaorui and Chen Yishui got aboard.

Liang Xiaoyu looked worried. ”Xiao Rui, let me go instead!”

Han Xiaorui smiled. ”Don’t worry. I believe good things happen to good people. Xiao Dai will show us the way.”

With that, Han Xiaorui steered the small boat, following Xiao Dai.

At first, they thought the reef exposed above the surface wasn’t very large. But as the sun climbed higher and the tide went out, more and more of it was revealed.

”Oh my god, this place is covered in scallops, oysters, and sea cucumbers! And they’re all huge.”

”Xiao Rui, quick, poke it with that stick in your hand! See if it’s solid enough to stand on!”

Xiao Dai was perched on the reef, bobbing its head cheerfully.

Its large size, weighing well over a hundred pounds, proved the reef below was very solid.

Han Xiaorui poked the reef with her stick. It was incredibly hard; a person could definitely stand on it.

”Looks good. I’m going down first!” Han Xiaorui said with a smile.

Chen Yishui grabbed Han Xiaorui’s arm and stepped ahead of her, her rubber boots landing firmly on the reef.

Seeing Chen Yishui’s protectiveness, Han Xiaorui was impressed. ’What a responsible captain. I’ll have to give her a bigger bonus at the end of the year.’

Chen Yishui walked around a bit. ”Xiao Rui, the reef is solid over here. And I was right, it’s getting bigger as the tide recedes.”

”I’ll start gathering things here. You go get the other women from the boat so we can haul this bounty back.”

Han Xiaorui wanted to stay, but since Chen Yishui had already started working, she had no choice but to take the boat back to get the others.

It took two trips to bring twelve crew members over, all carrying baskets to fill with scallops, oysters, and sea cucumbers.

Wu Mengyue and three other crew members remained on the main boat, on standby.

The crew members, all wearing life jackets, saw the abundance of scallops and oysters and immediately started gathering them at a rapid pace.

Han Xiaorui didn’t stay idle either. This spot had probably never been discovered because the reef was usually submerged.

That meant they didn’t have much time.

Chen Yishui thought for a moment, then said to Han Xiaorui, ”There’s so much, we’ll never be able to gather it all. Should we tell Uncle Qi to send his crew over to help?”

Han Xiaorui considered it. ”Let’s wait until our own holds are full, then we’ll have them come over.”

Chen Yishui paused. ”Are you worried we’ll get less if they come now?”

Han Xiaorui shook her head and smiled. ”Of course not. It’s a precaution. We’ve been careful and haven’t hit any reefs, but if we did, Uncle Qi’s boat out there is our lifeline.”

”If he comes in for these scallops and also runs aground, we’d be stranded out here in the open sea. It would be a disaster. People could die.”

Hearing this, it dawned on Chen Yishui. ”You’re right, I didn’t think it through. I’ll take these ten baskets over now and have Mengyue give Uncle Qi the message.”

Han Xiaorui nodded. ”Right. Tell them to wait patiently and not to worry.”

Chen Yishui took the small boat and ferried away six baskets of scallops and four baskets of oysters.

The sea cucumbers were hiding in the shallow water, and they had already gathered two baskets of top-grade golden sea cucumbers.

The crew on the main boat used the winch to hoist up the baskets of scallops and oysters.

Chen Yishui relayed Han Xiaorui’s message, telling the other boat to wait.

”Once these are loaded, I’ll talk to Uncle Qi,” Wu Mengyue said, her face beaming. These scallops were huge and of excellent quality.

”I’m leaving the boat to you,” Chen Yishui instructed. ”We only did a rough sort. You guys take another look, then get them into the hold as quickly as possible to keep them fresh.”

Once all the baskets were hoisted aboard, Chen Yishui immediately piloted the boat back to the reef.

No sooner had she returned than four baskets of large golden sea cucumbers, three baskets of scallops, and another three of oysters were loaded onto her boat.

(They’re said to be an aphrodisiac, so they’re quite popular.)

Xiao Dai and the little sea snake would occasionally dive underwater, bringing extra-large scallops to Han Xiaorui and placing them beside her.

Just as Han Xiaorui was about to toss a large scallop into the basket, Xiao Dai pressed it down with a front flipper. Its slightly crossed eyes blinked as it prevented her from putting the scallop in with the others.

It even nudged an empty basket in front of Han Xiaorui.

How could Han Xiaorui not understand what it meant?

She grinned. ’There must be a treasure in this one.’

Han Xiaorui obediently placed all of these special scallops into a separate basket.

The basket was only half full when Xiao Dai dove back into the water.

When it surfaced again, not only was Xiao Dai holding a large scallop in its mouth, but its friends and family had also brought many more.

Han Xiaorui put these gifts from her sea turtle friends aside separately, filling a total of six baskets.

She marked them and instructed Chen Yishui to make sure the crew stored them separately and didn’t mix them up.

The scallops were plentiful and the sea cucumbers were easy to grab, so much so that many people didn’t want to waste time prying loose the oysters.

And just like that, in two hours, they had used up all their baskets.

Han Xiaorui, seeing this, was already very satisfied with the harvest. ”Just take the big ones. We’ll leave the small ones to grow.”

”Our holds are full now. Let’s head back and let Uncle Qi’s crew come over to gather the rest and shuck oysters.”

Chen Yishui was reluctant to leave. ”But we can’t just wait around doing nothing! We can pick some more, shuck them on deck, and lay them out to dry. We can sell those too.”

Sister Lan quickly chimed in, ”That’s right! It’s practically free for the taking. We’d just be sitting around on the boat anyway. What a waste that would be.”

Since her crew felt that way, Han Xiaorui nodded. ”Alright, let’s pick some more then.”

Another hour passed, and another twenty baskets were sent to the boat.

Han Xiaorui radioed Captain Qi. ”Uncle Qi, our boat is about to head out. You can come in now. There are lots of scallops, oysters, and sea cucumbers here. I estimate you have about two and a half hours before the reef is submerged again.”

Ever since he got the first message, Captain Qi had been intermittently watching them through his binoculars.

Watching boatload after boatload of goods being delivered to the main ship was an enviable sight, but he restrained himself.

On one hand, he had to follow Han Xiaorui’s instructions. On the other, he was keenly aware that out on the open sea, nothing was more important than safety.

Even if it were a mountain of gold and silver, he would only go after it once safety was guaranteed.

”Alright, we’re on our way,” Captain Qi said with a laugh. They waited for Han Xiaorui’s boat to clear the area before steering their own in.

They quickly lowered their boats and ”invaded” the unnamed reef.

They started gathering scallops, oysters, and sea cucumbers from the opposite end.

The men were stronger and their tools more suited for the task. They didn’t just pick up sea cucumbers and scallops; they also relentlessly pried open oysters.

They divided the labor, grabbing everything big and small without sorting, and quickly ferried it all to their ship.

Two people on the ship re-sorted the catch, working in perfect sync.

Here, the advantage of the male crew’s strength was obvious. A single man could haul up a large basket and carry it to the fish hold.

The female crew members needed two people to carry a basket. It was slower, but it conserved their stamina, preventing them from becoming too exhausted to continue working.

Still, Han Xiaorui was very pleased; she felt her female crew was excellent.

They were not only efficient workers, but they also kept the boat very clean.

’She was sure there would be more pleasant surprises to come.’