The Sea Queen of 1985

Chapter 192: Chapter 192: Revisiting the Possibility of Exporting Ornamental Fish

Yang Minmin heard that there were lots of kids at Auntie Xiao Rui’s house, so she came over to play, bringing some water caltrops her mom had just boiled.

She shared the water caltrops with the younger kids and played games with them in the courtyard.

Ye Feng brought over a cake. It was made with real cream and tasted wonderful. It had two little rabbits on top, with fruit around the edges, making for a beautiful combination of colors.

Han Xiaorui cut it into small pieces. Seeing them all sweaty from playing, she said with a smile, ”Quick, go wash your little hands. It’s time for cake!”

The cake was about 10 inches. It wasn’t huge, but it was enough for everyone.

Han Xiaorui cut a small slice for everyone so they could all have a few bites.

Since lunch was at noon, she couldn’t let the children eat too much.

”Thank you, Mommy.”

”Thank you, Auntie.”

The children, holding little plates in one hand and small plastic forks in the other, ate the fragrant, sweet, and smooth cake, their eyes closing in bliss.

Eating candy and sweets can give children cavities, but that’s only if they don’t brush their teeth and rinse their mouths properly.

Brushing and rinsing immediately after eating can effectively reduce the risk of cavities.

That’s why Han Xiaorui never stopped her children from eating dessert, as long as they didn’t have too much.

This way, they would have lots of wonderful, sweet memories from their childhood.

While eating her cake, Han Xiaorui asked Chen Yupeng, ”Chen Yupeng, do you know about the foreign trade fair that’s opening in Shencheng in a few days?”

Chen Yupeng nodded. ”I do. Why? Are you thinking of exporting your seafood too?”

Han Xiaorui shook her head. ”I only have one boat right now. The seafood I catch sells on the spot for a pretty good price, so there’s no need to export.”

”But the ornamental fish I’m breeding are gorgeous. Opening a shop here in Shencheng is fine, but it can’t possibly handle this much volume.”

”Besides, the domestic spending power is nowhere near that of Japan, South Korea, Europe and America. So I was wondering if I could export my ornamental fish.”

Chen Yupeng was dumbfounded. ”Our country exports a lot of high-end seafood every year, but I’ve never paid attention to ornamental fish exports!”

Han Xiaorui pointed to the large fish tank in the courtyard. ”Here, take a look. Aren’t the colorful fish in the tank beautiful? The species here are only a quarter of what I have at my farm. There are many other types there.”

”I have freshwater and saltwater species! The fish at my farm are very hardy. I once did an experiment where I added oxygen to a sealed container, and the fish inside survived for a whole month.”

”That means even with the long transit time of shipping by sea to the United States, my fish won’t die along the way.”

Chen Yupeng put down his small plate and fork, walked over to the fish tank, and observed them carefully.

He had to admit, the ornamental fish were indeed very lively and beautiful.

”I’m really not familiar with this area, but I’ll ask around for you. However, that trade fair is mostly for light industrial products. The customers it attracts might not be the right audience for ornamental fish.”

Han Xiaorui smiled. ”I’m not expecting to build a huge business from a single trade fair!”

”If I can get a spot, more people will know that we sell ornamental fish. If someone is interested, or if they have friends in this line of business, they might make an inquiry.”

”Maybe I’ll find a good opportunity! I know these things don’t happen overnight. This is just laying the groundwork.”

Chen Yupeng nodded. ”Xiao Rui, you’ve got a point. But compared to attending the trade fair, you need to get moving on leasing a seafood farm.”

Han Xiaorui thought for a moment and nodded. ”I know. I’ll talk to the village chief later to find a suitable place to lease.”

”Otherwise, after the fishing ban next year, I won’t be able to go out to sea for several months. I’ll just be sitting at home with no income. Seafood farming is a much more stable, long-term business.”

Ye Feng thought for a moment and asked, ”Need any help?”

Han Xiaorui turned to Ye Feng. ”Of course. But they have to be good swimmers. Seafood farming involves building racks at sea and working on the water. You can’t do it if you can’t swim.”

Han Xiaorui had already thought it through; she would mostly hire people from the village.

Ye Feng nodded. ”Okay, I understand.”

’There are some soldiers from rural areas who aren’t assigned jobs after being discharged. They’re physically fit and disciplined. If I get them hired, they can act as a check and balance against the local workers, supervising each other to prevent the locals from trying to fool Han Xiaorui.’

Chen Yupeng understood what Ye Feng was getting at and thought it was a good idea.

In the morning, the boat crew came to collect their commissions and bonuses. Chen Yishui, Wu Mengyue, and Liang Xiaoyu each got over three thousand yuan.

The other crew members also received over eighteen hundred yuan. Everyone was all smiles as they collected their money and went home.

Seeing that Han Xiaorui had a lot of guests, Liu Huamei immediately offered to stay and help with lunch.

Although she was originally hired to cook for the boat crew, she worked less than half the month and still earned so much money. Of course, Liu Huamei wanted to show some initiative.

Otherwise, she would feel she didn’t deserve such a large commission and bonus.

With the help of Liu Huamei, Liang Xiaoyu, and Wu Jiao, they prepared a sumptuous lunch.

After eating, the children were too excited to take a nap and insisted on going to the kindergarten to play on the slide.

They didn’t even feel the heat of the bright sun. Luckily, there was a shaded area there. Han Xiaoqing and Wu Yao went along, while Yang Minmin led the other kids in their games.

Yao Yulan was overjoyed to see her daughter so happy and promised they would visit often.

Although she was also a Shencheng local, her parents had passed away early.

She only had a younger brother attending university in Beijing. Relatives from her mother’s side had seized her parents’ house back then, so Yao Yulan had cut off contact with them.

Her husband’s family treated her coldly, so Yao Yulan wasn’t close to her in-laws’ relatives either.

She saw her colleagues from school during work hours, but it didn’t make sense to intrude on their personal lives after work. As a result, Yao Yulan’s social circle was very narrow.

Han Xiaorui’s place had lots of room to play and many children, girls especially. If they played together often as kids, they would grow up to be childhood friends with a strong bond.

They left at four in the afternoon. Chen Yupeng, holding his sleepy daughter, said goodbye to Han Xiaorui.

Ye Feng sat in the front passenger seat, letting Chen Yupeng’s family of three sit in the back, and drove them home.

Back home, Yao Yulan hummed a tune as she cooked, a gentle smile gracing her lips the entire time.

The child was already asleep. Chen Yupeng came into the kitchen and asked, ”You seem happy.”

”I used to worry that our daughter was too young and would be a bother to Xiao Rui. If I had known how much fun her place was, I would have gone sooner.”

Han Xiaorui’s two daughters had developmental delays in their speech, so she was actually hoping other children would come over to play with them.

Chen Yupeng smiled. ”When the weekend comes, I’ll go with you if I’m free. But if I’m not, don’t be shy. Just make plans and go yourselves.”

”You’ve seen what Xiao Rui is like. She’s incredibly generous and hospitable and loves having friends over. She earns good money, so she doesn’t care at all about the cost of food and drinks for her guests.”

”You’re a teacher. If you show more care for Pingping and An’an in the future and help her look after them, Xiao Rui will appreciate it.”

Yao Yulan deeply agreed. ”You’re right. On weekends, we can take our daughter over to play and help look after Pingping and An’an. That way, Xiao Rui and her sister can get a break.”

Only someone who has raised children can understand how hard it is. You can’t let your guard down for a single moment.