The Sea Queen of 1985

Chapter 174: Chapter 174: Younger Sister’s Fear and Worry

Han Xiaoqing closed the door and took out a gold ingot from the cabinet. ”Sis, where did this come from?”

Han Xiaorui was taken aback. ”I told you not to do my laundry. I can wash it myself.”

”Sis, you work so hard. What’s wrong with me doing your laundry? I’m just trying to take care of you!” Han Xiaoqing rolled her eyes and shoved the gold ingot in Han Xiaorui’s face. ”Where did you get this?”

Han Xiaorui smiled. ”Xiao Dai is so intelligent. It gave it to me. It even took me to a reef, which I think is where the shipwreck is.”

Hearing this, Han Xiaoqing’s scalp tingled with fear. Seeing Wu Jiao and Wu Yao in the courtyard, she lowered her voice and whispered, ”Sis, who else knows about this?”

”Of course, I’m the only one who knows. How could I let anyone else find out about something like this?” Han Xiaorui replied. ”I hid it as soon as I fished it out. I was just thinking about how to bring all these gold ingots back. My god, it’s a sunken treasure.”

Seeing her sister so happy, Han Xiaoqing didn’t know what to say. To her, it didn’t look like money, but a whole heap of trouble.

Noticing her sister wasn’t happy, Han Xiaorui patted her on the shoulder. ”You’re my sister. Once I bring it all up, I’ll give you a share.”

Seeing that her sister had misunderstood, Han Xiaoqing shook her head. ”Sis, you’ve got me wrong. I don’t want any of that gold or jewelry. I think our life is great just the way it is.”

”Every time you go out to sea, you make hundreds of thousands. We don’t even spend that much money, really. Money isn’t that important to us.”

”While you were away, some unsavory people were watching us. If anyone finds out you’ve recovered another underwater treasure, vicious criminals will definitely come knocking on our door.”

”Besides, any shipwreck found within our territorial waters belongs to the country. If you bring it up and don’t hand it over, that’s illegal. You could go to jail.”

Han Xiaorui thought for a moment and said, ”It was more than sixty miles out. It’s in international waters.”

Han Xiaoqing was so anxious her forehead broke out in a sweat. ”Sis, even if it’s in international waters, we still can’t bring it up.”

Seeing her sister’s face turn pale with fear, Han Xiaorui asked, ”Xiao Jing, are you afraid that if we bring up the treasure, we’ll never have a peaceful day again?”

Han Xiaoqing nodded. ”It’s the classic ’the common man is innocent, but possessing a treasure makes him guilty.’ The government might not do anything openly, but what about behind the scenes? Who knows? Besides, there are far more vicious, ill-intentioned crooks out there.”

”Our family is just women and children. We’ll never have peace. Even if we move, there’s no such thing as a perfect secret. It will still bring disaster upon us.”

”Sis, don’t be greedy. If you think I’m just being young and paranoid, you can go ask Uncle Yang. He’s a man of great integrity and loyalty; he’ll definitely tell you what to do. If you’re still not convinced, go ask Ye Feng.”

After saying so much, Han Xiaoqing just wanted her sister to give up the idea of salvaging the sunken treasure.

It wasn’t that Han Xiaorui was obsessed with the money; she just felt it was a shame to leave so many good things behind without bringing them up.

To keep her sister from worrying, Han Xiaorui smiled. ”Xiao Jing, don’t worry. I won’t go salvaging it right now, at least. Look at how scared you are.”

Han Xiaoqing’s eyes reddened as she hugged her sister tightly. ”Sis, you’re the only family I have left. Please, don’t let anything happen to you. Really, I’m very happy with our life now. I don’t want you to be in danger for money.”

”Me, Pingping, and An’an all depend on you. Nothing can happen to you!”

Han Xiaorui patted her sister’s back, comforting her softly. ”Alright, I’ll listen to you. I won’t salvage it.”

”Really?” Han Xiaoqing was skeptical. Her sister was so daring these days; give her a staff and she could poke a hole in the sky like the Monkey King.

Han Xiaorui nodded repeatedly. ”Yes, really. I promise.”

If she really went after the sunken treasure, her sister Han Xiaoqing would probably be too anxious to eat or sleep.

Only then did Han Xiaorui begin to think about what she should actually do with the sunken treasure.

To put it nicely, she was a determined person. To put it bluntly, she was possessive.

’To just watch all that stuff sit there and not bring it up... it feels like such a waste!’

Han Xiaoqing’s tears turned to laughter. ”That’s good. Sis, peace and safety are the greatest blessings.”

”Mhm!” Han Xiaorui nodded. ”By the way, did you do that to our wall?”

Han Xiaoqing followed her sister’s gaze outside, to the shards of glass on top of the wall. ”That was Uncle Yang. He said it would stop thieves from climbing over.”

Han Xiaorui didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. ”It might stop someone in thin clothes, but what if they wear something thick? It looks intimidating, but it’s not actually that useful.”

Han Xiaoqing shook her head. ”Sis, you have a point, but it still gives me a lot of peace of mind. Sis, you don’t know how scared I’ve been. I haven’t been able to sleep soundly at night.”

Han Xiaorui patted her sister’s shoulder. ”Don’t be afraid. Think about it! We have two bodyguards, Wu Jiao and Wu Yao, and they have weapons.”

”We also have dogs and a big goose. If anyone tries to force their way in, we’ll have an early warning. The phone is right by your bed to call for help. And even if you can’t get through, you can still scream!”

But Han Xiaorui didn’t mention her ultimate weapon: the Short-tailed Vipers she was raising in the Peach Garden.

You couldn’t usually see them, but there were many of all sizes hiding in concealed crevices.

Anyone who dared to climb that wall would be bitten.

A bite from a Short-tailed Viper would quickly incapacitate them. If they didn’t get medical attention in time, the venom could be fatal.

Just then, Granny Cai arrived. ”Xiao Jing, Xiao Rui, tomorrow is the Qixi Festival. Should we celebrate?”

Qixi?

”Yes, yes, let’s celebrate!” Han Xiaorui stuffed the gold ingot back into the cabinet, opened the door, and rushed out. ”Sister Cai, what are the local traditions for Qixi?”

Seeing her suggestion so eagerly received, Granny Cai’s face lit up with a smile. ”Oh, there are so many fun things to do! In the past, when times were tough and the era didn’t allow for it, we could only celebrate among ourselves at home.”

”Now that life is better, there are many more ways to celebrate Qixi. On the seventh day of the seventh month, we make and eat ’skill fruit’ pastries. We dye our nails with balsam flowers. We do ’needle-floating’ to pray for skill, hoping that our Pingping, An’an, and Wenjun will all grow up to be clever and nimble.”

Han Xiaorui’s eyes grew brighter and brighter; she found it all fascinating. ”Alright, what do we need? I’ll go get it.”

Granny Cai smiled. ”No need. I just came to ask today. If you want to celebrate, I’ll just make some extra and bring it over to your place tomorrow evening.”

Han Xiaorui laughed. ”Sister Cai, we’ll be troubling you then. It’s the Qixi Festival tomorrow. Sister Cai, if you hadn’t reminded me, I would have completely forgotten.”

”My crew is all women. I’ll go out and buy something now. Tomorrow, when they come to get their pay, I’ll give everyone a Qixi gift.”

Granny Cai smiled with gratification. ”Ah, Xiao Rui, your crew is lucky to have a boat owner like you.”

Han Xiaorui smiled. ”Without my crew, I couldn’t make this much money. I treat them well, so they’re happier working on my boat.”

”But what should I buy? The salary and commission I give them are enough for them to live comfortably. I want my gift to be something more personal for them.”