The Sea Queen of 1985

Chapter 233: Chapter 233: With the Money in Place, Everything Is Negotiable

Kuno Hiroo smiled. ”Are you sure? You’re not going to change your mind?”

”That’s right. My family’s elders visited Xiao Rui’s family a couple of days ago. We’ll be getting married soon, so you don’t have a chance.” Ye Feng didn’t hesitate to stake his claim. If it weren’t for the fact that this Kuno Hiroo would sell anything, he wouldn’t have bothered wasting his breath on him.

Of course, Kuno Hiroo had also made a fortune by daring to sell anything to Hua Country.

For context, Kuno Hiroo was from Osaka.

During the invasion of China back then, the Osaka Army even dared to sell supplies and weapons.

With the current foreign blockades against Hua Country, certain items could be sold for a high price.

How could they pass up the chance to sell outdated technology at a premium?

Kuno Hiroo said regretfully, ”Ah, well. In truth, even if I did like her, my family would never allow me to marry a woman they didn’t approve of.”

Ye Feng nodded. ”You enjoy the benefits of the Kuno Family, so naturally, you must also fulfill your obligations. Do you have any other purpose for this visit?”

Kuno Hiroo shook his head. ”No, really. I’m just here to import ornamental fish. I’ve discovered it’s a huge market.”

”Then congratulations on finding a prime supplier,” Ye Feng replied. ”I might need your help with something later.”

Kuno Hiroo smiled. ”As long as the money is right, we can talk about anything.”

Ye Feng shook his head and chuckled. ”Amazing. I appreciate that damn honesty of yours.”

When Kuno Hiroo got back to his hotel, he called Han Xiaorui.

Han Xiaorui had been ready to head out to sea, but since Kuno Hiroo was coming to see the ornamental fish farm, she postponed her trip for a day.

Additionally, Han Xiaorui called Yu Zhenxing and asked him to come over the next day to host the client from Japan and handle the business negotiations.

As for Yamamoto Ichiro, Han Xiaorui decided she wasn’t going to wait for him any longer.

’It’s not like I promised him an exclusive deal, so this isn’t a breach of trust.’

’I can’t stop looking for other clients from Japan just because Yamamoto Ichiro hasn’t placed a large order.’

Although the people of Hua Country harbored a deep-seated hatred for Japan, remembering their national and personal grievances, it was undeniable that Japan was the most developed nation in Asia, with greater purchasing power.

The whole point of the economic reforms was to make money, develop the economy, and import advanced technology. This would reduce the time needed for basic research, allowing them to build upon imported technologies and innovate from there.

The hope was that one day, they could leapfrog the competition.

Yu Zhenxing was grinning from ear to ear when he got the call. ”Ms. Han, don’t you worry. I’ll be at the farm on time tomorrow, guaranteed.”

”Alright. Travel safely,” Han Xiaorui said. She was always polite to Yu Zhenxing; after all, he was the one who handled all the miscellaneous tasks.

’Yu Zhenxing never would have thought such a small ornamental fish farm could have so much potential!’

The next morning, Han Xiaorui arrived at the ornamental fish farm to find Yang Jianguo berating the staff.

”Brother Jianguo, what’s wrong?” Han Xiaorui asked, curious.

Yang Jianguo scratched his forehead. ”A bag of feed is missing. Cao Mo was on watch, but he somehow fell fast asleep. This morning, I had to come and splash cold water on his face just to wake him up.”

Han Xiaorui was taken aback. ”Cao Mo is always so diligent and alert. For him to sleep that soundly... could someone have drugged him?”

Cao Mo was bewildered. ”But I ate and drank the same things as everyone else yesterday. If I was drugged, why is everyone else fine!”

”Think back. Did you meet anyone yesterday? Did anything strange happen?” Han Xiaorui asked.

Yang Jianguo poked Cao Mo’s head. ”Think hard. The feed is a huge reason why our ornamental fish are doing so well.”

This was the story Han Xiaorui had told them. In reality, while the feed had some effect, it wasn’t the main reason.

The biggest factor was Han Xiaorui’s superpower; she had altered the biological requirements for the fish’s growth.

The ornamental fish she sold could grow from fry to adulthood, but they were sterile.

By sacrificing their reproductive potential, she could stimulate their life force, guaranteeing they had much greater vitality.

This also prevented these highly resilient ornamental fish from disrupting the local ecosystem through breeding.

And, of course, it was also a way to ensure long-term business.

Once the fish reached the end of their natural lifespan, they would simply die.

Still, the theft of the feed was a matter that had to be taken seriously.

Cao Mo replied, ”Brother Jianguo, I’ll get to the bottom of this!”

Han Xiaorui surveyed the area. ”The door to the feed warehouse—was it locked or unlocked?”

Yang Jianguo answered, ”It was locked, and I’m the only one with a key! I specifically counted the bags before I left last night and made sure the door was locked tight before heading out.”

Han Xiaorui thought for a moment. ”If no one could have gotten to your key, then this person is likely an expert lockpick.”

”Getting in silently and picking locks... sounds like the work of a professional thief, right?” Yang Jianguo added.

Hearing this, Cao Mo slapped his thigh. ”That bastard, Wang Lvzi! I went home for a bit yesterday afternoon, and he offered me a cigarette!”

”I was busy at the time, so I didn’t smoke it! But when I was on the night shift and started getting sleepy, I took it out and lit it up! There must have been something in that cigarette.”

Hearing this, Yang Jianguo immediately said, ”Take a couple of guys and go bring Wang Lvzi here.”

The three of them hopped on their bicycles and rode to the next village to find Wang Lvzi.

Only Wang Lvzi’s elderly mother was home. She said he hadn’t come back last night and still wasn’t back. She had no idea where he’d gone.

Wang Lvzi’s mother had cried her eyes out.

This sort of thing happened often. Her son must have been out making trouble again, getting caught for some petty crime.

’He’d just been released after three months in jail, and now he was in trouble again. Who knew, one day he might end up with a bullet in his head.’

Cao Mo said to Aunt Wang, ”Aunt Wang, when Wang Lvzi gets home, tell him this: if he comes clean and tells me who put him up to stealing our farm’s feed, we’ll drop the theft charges.”

”But if he doesn’t talk, the next time he shows his face around here, I swear I’ll break his legs!”

Aunt Wang cried even harder. She had been widowed young and had only this one son.

’He was a troublemaker, but if she lost him, who else could she rely on?’

Suddenly, Aunt Wang had an idea. She remembered seeing her son talking secretly with someone in the woods a couple of days ago.

”I really didn’t know that scoundrel of a son stole from you! I was hoping he’d turn over a new leaf after getting out this time. But a few days ago, Lin Yongfu from your village called my son into the woods. I saw them whispering to each other.”

”I was too far away to hear anything! But I’ve heard that this Lin Yongfu has a grudge against Yang Jianguo from your farm. Could it have been his idea?”

Cao Mo was stunned. ”Aunt Wang, that’s a serious accusation!”

Hearing this, Aunt Wang wiped away her tears. ”How would I dare make something like that up? I’m trying to keep you from crippling my son, so of course I’m telling you everything I know!”

”I just beg you, if you find my son out there, just give him a beating. Please, don’t kill him or cripple him!”

Cao Mo felt that Aunt Wang wasn’t lying and hurried back.

When Yang Jianguo learned that Wang Lvzi had been in contact with Lin Yongfu, he slammed his fist on the table in anger. ”I was wondering why Lin Yongfu had been so quiet after being removed as village chief. So this is what he’s been up to—targeting our fish farm.”

Han Xiaorui considered this carefully. ”Brother Jianguo, Wang Lvzi is the key right now. But since we can’t catch him right away, have someone tail Lin Yongfu. See who he’s been meeting with.”

Yang Jianguo nodded. ”I’ll investigate it. The clients are here. You should go greet them and try to land another deal.”

The breeding program at the ornamental fish farm was now running smoothly, producing a large supply of fish each month.

Making money was the priority!

As for those pests, they would find them eventually and root them out, one by one.