The Sea Queen of 1985

Chapter 205: Chapter 205: The Little Dolphin’s Injury is Healed

Later that morning, Han Xiaorui went to the East Foreign Trade Company to hand over the client information she had acquired.

Zhou Zhenxing carefully took notes and organized the information, all while secretly glancing at Han Xiaorui, who was chatting with Director Chen.

He’d heard she was the owner of the Jinshan Bay Ornamental Fish Farm. ’So young, and so beautiful.’

Zhou Zhenxing had originally assumed her father had started the farm. To his surprise, it was all her.

He reflected on how he had just graduated from college, and how his family had to pull strings to get him a promising, high-paying job at an import-export company.

But compared to Han Xiaorui, his salary was nothing to write home about.

Zhou Zhenxing wasn’t optimistic about the prospects of exporting ornamental fish. However, because Han Xiaorui was young and beautiful, she had left a deep impression on him, so he was extra diligent while organizing her documents.

A short while later, he put the ornamental fish client files out of his mind and focused on organizing what he considered more promising light industrial goods, like clothing and fabrics.

Having entrusted all the work to the East Foreign Trade Company, Han Xiaorui felt a weight off her shoulders.

From now on, Zhou Zhenxing would communicate with Yang Jianguo about everything, confirming orders, packaging, shipping, and other related matters.

When she went to Fuli Mall in the afternoon, she saw that Wu Lingling had already hired six employees.

They wore white shirts and dress pants, looking very professional.

Han Xiaorui was quite shocked. Wu Lingling’s efficiency was truly impressive.

”Lingling, are these people reliable? Where did you find them? They’re all so young and pretty.”

Wu Lingling looked rather pleased with herself. ”Sister Xiao Rui, don’t you worry. I selected them all carefully, and I’ve been vetting them for a long time.”

Han Xiaorui looked skeptical. ”How long have you even been working in the city?”

Wu Lingling smiled. ”Actually, it’s all thanks to our ornamental fish shop near the school. Parents often come by to pick up their kids.”

”Some parents arrive early, so I put a few small stools out by the entrance for them to sit and rest their feet. I’m a big talker, so over time, I got to know a lot of them.”

”I knew we’d eventually open another ornamental fish shop, so I dropped a few hints to some of the parents who seemed particularly reliable.”

”It’s not easy to find a job these days. The state-owned factories aren’t doing well, and they’re even harder to get into. Even though we’re a private shop, the pay is high, and the work isn’t tiring.”

”Some of them wanted to help family or friends find jobs, so they’d recommend them to me. Even though the shop wasn’t open yet, that didn’t stop me from getting in touch with them first.”

”Now that the store is open, some who were unemployed came straight over. Others were working temporary jobs with low pay and exhausting hours, with no chance of becoming permanent, so they just quit and came here.”

Han Xiaorui nodded, expressing her approval of Wu Lingling’s work.

”Since you’ve selected them so carefully, I won’t say anything more! Just have them work hard. I guarantee their salary and benefits won’t disappoint them!”

Seeing Han Xiaorui’s support, Wu Lingling was overjoyed. ”Sister Xiao Rui, I’ll definitely lead everyone to do a great job.”

”And don’t worry about Wenwen, either. I’ll go check on her when I have time. Besides, Wenwen has become much more cheerful. She’s really happy looking after the shop near the school.”

”Since I’m not there anymore, I hired someone to help her. She’s a woman who can’t speak but has no problem with her hearing. Her child attends the nearby school.”

”Sister Wang is very diligent and works very efficiently. From now on, Wenwen only needs to handle sales, and Sister Wang can do all the other chores.”

”The reason I looked for an honest person like her is, first, because Wenwen has a gentle personality. If I hired someone with too many schemes, Wenwen wouldn’t be able to handle them.”

”Second, Sister Wang is genuinely hardworking and does her job well. On top of that, her situation is rather pitiable, and I feel for her. It wasn’t easy for her to get this job, so she cherishes it very much.”

After listening, Han Xiaorui nodded. ”Alright, you’ve considered every angle. You can handle it as you see fit.”

The reason she trusted Wu Lingling was that Lingling did a good job, and Han Xiaorui knew exactly how many fish were at the farm.

There were some losses, but the numbers more or less matched up.

As long as she controlled the overall direction and the general data, she could tell if Wu Lingling was profiting on the side.

However, based on her understanding of the Wu Family and Wu Lingling, she didn’t think they would do such a thing.

Seeing that things here were running smoothly, Han Xiaorui took a taxi to her driving lesson.

She made an appearance, then rode the motorcycle for a while.

「Time flew by, and soon it was the weekend again.」

She called Professor Wang from the Marine Biology Research Institute. ”Professor Wang, have the little dolphin’s injuries healed?”

Professor Wang chuckled. ”They have! I was just about to call you. When are you heading out to sea? I’ll have someone deliver it to your boat.”

The research institute had a vehicle specially modified for transporting marine products, which would make it much easier to deliver the little dolphin.

”We’re heading out the day after tomorrow. Would it be alright if I brought the kids to the institute to see the little dolphin tomorrow?” Han Xiaorui asked. ”Also, on my last trip out, I didn’t manage to catch the Yellowlip Fish you wanted, but I did get some miiu croakers. Would you like them? There are four, and they’re each about four jin.”

Professor Wang was a little disappointed to hear she hadn’t caught a Yellowlip Fish, but he got very excited when he heard about the miiu croakers. ”Yes, of course! I’m on duty tomorrow, so just come over. Oh, right, I’ll send someone to pick up the miiu croakers right away.”

Han Xiaorui chuckled. ”Professor Wang, there’s no need. I’ll bring them over in a bucket tomorrow. The fish are in great condition; I guarantee they won’t die.”

But Professor Wang didn’t see it that way. Miiu croakers were very precious, too.

Although they weren’t a protected species yet, at the current rate of fishing, it was only a matter of time.

If they could figure out how to farm miiu croakers, it would surely bring enormous economic benefits and be of great research value.

Four fish, each at least four jin, were worth a lot of money.

”No need. It’ll be a hassle for you to bring the kids and carry a bucket tomorrow. Besides, I have a work vehicle here, so it’s very convenient.”

Since Professor Wang insisted, Han Xiaorui smiled. ”Alright then. My home is in Jinshan Bay. When the driver arrives, they can just ask anyone, and they’ll know where I live.”

”Alright!” Professor Wang hung up the phone and started making arrangements.

Han Xiaorui called Yao Yulan and told her to bring her child directly to the Marine Biology Research Institute tomorrow to see the dolphin.

Yao Yulan readily agreed. She also wanted her child to see the dolphin.

About an hour or so later, Professor Wang arrived with a driver and loaded the four miiu croakers onto the aquatic transport vehicle. ”Xiao Han, here’s a hundred yuan. The budget is a bit tight, so please don’t mind that it’s not much.”

Seeing this, Han Xiaorui didn’t know whether to laugh or cry and quickly waved her hands in refusal. ”Professor Wang, please take the money back. I don’t want it. I’ve said it before: if you need any kind of fish for research in the future, just let me know. As long as I can catch it, I’ll donate it to you to support our country’s marine biology research.”

”How could I accept that?” Professor Wang said politely, feeling embarrassed.

Han Xiaorui pretended to be angry. ”Professor Wang, if you insist on paying, I won’t help you anymore in the future.”

”No, no, no!” Professor Wang’s eyes showed his gratitude. ”Thank you so much, Comrade Xiao Han, for your support of our research.”

”You’re welcome. When your research yields results, I’ll be able to use them too. It’s only right for me to provide whatever help I can,” Han Xiaorui said with a sincere tone.

Perhaps in the eyes of others, this was just about currying favor, but Han Xiaorui knew that marine resources were being depleted. She genuinely hoped to make her own small contribution.