The Sea Queen of 1985

Chapter 247: Chapter 247: Double the Happiness

After returning to shore, Han Xiaorui called Zhang Guangnan and told him to come get the fish as soon as possible.

Han Xiaorui headed home carrying a bucket of seafood. ”Sister Shui, Sister Mengyue, Sister-in-law Xiao Yu, I’m leaving the rest to you all!”

”My kids are young, and my sister is off at college. Even though there’s someone to look after things, I’m still worried.”

Liang Xiaoyu smiled. ”Go on, hurry home. We’ll be here for a few more hours anyway!”

Han Xiaorui instructed, ”If it gets too late, just rest on the boat! If you want to go home, hire a car at the dock.”

”Make sure you find someone you know. Don’t ride your bikes back by yourselves! It’s not safe these days, and it’s especially dangerous when you’re carrying money.”

People didn’t use to pay it much mind, but ever since Yang Minmin was kidnapped, everyone has realized it’s not as safe as they thought, especially when traveling at night with cash on you.

Chen Yishui nodded. ”Don’t worry, my cousin has a van. I’ll have someone from my family go call for him in a little while.”

”He’ll make sure everyone here gets home safely.”

Han Xiaorui nodded. ”That’s great! The fare is on me!”

After settling things on the boat, Han Xiaorui headed home with the seafood.

Just as she reached the front gate, she heard cheerful laughter coming from the courtyard.

”Auntie, I want some candy!”

”Auntie, I want a popsicle!”

”Auntie, I want some chocolate!”

...

Hearing the voices inside, Han Xiaorui broke into a smile.

’So my sister’s home.’

”Hurry and open the gate, Mommy’s home!” Han Xiaorui called out.

Hearing her sister’s voice, Han Xiaoqing rushed over.

The moment she saw her sister, she threw her arms around her in a hug.

”Sis, I thought you wouldn’t be back until tomorrow!”

Pingping and An’an rushed over too, each hugging one of their mother’s legs.

Han Xiaorui laughed. ”We found a deep-sea trench this time. The catch was so good that we came back half a day early.”

”So, with the Mid-Autumn Festival, National Day, and the weekend all together, how many days off do you have?”

Han Xiaoqing smiled. ”Four days. It’s a lucky coincidence. We get one day for the weekend, one for the Mid-Autumn Festival, and two for National Day, all in a row.”

Han Xiaorui reached out and caressed her daughter’s little cheek. ”That’s great. I’m taking time off too, so we can have a proper celebration.”

”Okay, okay, let go of me. I reek of fish. I’m going to go take a shower!”

Pingping and An’an trailed after their mother like little shadows.

Even while their mother was in the shower, they sat obediently on little stools by the door, waiting for her.

Wu Yao asked, ”Sister Xiao Rui, are you hungry? Should I make you some dinner?”

Han Xiaorui shook her head. ”I already ate on the boat, so you don’t have to make anything for me! But thank you.”

After her shower, Han Xiaorui changed into some comfortable loungewear.

Her half-dry hair hung loosely over her shoulders, and her skin, as if rehydrated, looked even more dewy and radiant.

Han Xiaorui took out five red envelopes and handed them to Wu Jiao and Wu Yao. ”Happy Mid-Autumn Festival. And with National Day coming up, let’s wish our country peace and prosperity.”

Wu Jiao and Wu Yao waved their hands in refusal. ”Sister Xiao Rui, you already pay us so much!”

With the wages they earned, they sent money and goods back to their family. Their mother and younger siblings were living much better lives because of the money and things they sent home, and for that, they were already more than content.

Han Xiaorui pressed the red envelopes into their hands. ”You said it yourself, that’s your salary! This is a holiday bonus! Holidays are happy, and getting a bonus is happy. We’ll call it a double dose of happiness.”

Wu Jiao and Wu Yao looked at the red envelopes that had been pressed into their hands and broke into wide smiles.

”It really is a double dose of happiness!” Wu Jiao laughed. ”Thank you, Sister Xiao Rui!”

They accepted the red envelopes with delight.

Han Xiaorui then handed an envelope to her sister. ”This one’s for you. Buy yourself something nice!”

Pingping and An’an looked up at their mother expectantly, waiting for their red envelopes.

Their envelopes only contained one yuan each. ”These are for you. You can buy some sour plum powder and treat Sister Minmin.”

”Yay!” Pingping and An’an cheerfully took the red envelopes and tucked them into their pockets.

Wu Jiao and Wu Yao took the two children out to play in the courtyard, where adorable little puppies hopped and bounded about.

Han Xiaorui happened to glance into the yard. ’Why is the whole courtyard full of puppies?’

’Weren’t there only ten of them?’

Han Xiaorui pushed the door open and stepped outside. ”Wu Jiao, Wu Yao, how many puppies are out here?”

Wu Jiao smiled. ”Sister Xiao Rui, there are 23 of them.”

”Good heavens! Are all of these from Officer Li?” Han Xiaorui felt her head spin. ’Does he really think my home is a police dog training academy?’

Just then, someone knocked on the gate.

Wu Yao opened the gate. ”Police Officer Qi, you’re here!”

A policewoman stepped in, looking a bit sheepish. She smiled and said, ”Thank you, Wu Yao. And thank you, Mr. Han, for helping us raise the police dogs.”

”They’re too much of a ruckus during the day, so I’ll take them off your hands now!”

”We’re on duty at the local substation just nearby. There are six of us working there now. If you ever need anything, you can call us anytime.”

Ten puppies had already been a handful, but then a few other departments heard about it and sent over another thirteen.

Hearing this, Han Xiaorui found it hard to refuse. The nature of her work meant she couldn’t be home every day, and having a police substation less than fifty meters from her gate was a huge deterrent to petty thieves.

”The puppies are still little, so you can leave them here for now. We’ll figure it out when they’re a bit older. But please, don’t send any more. Even with a big yard, I can’t possibly raise this many dogs!”

Police Officer Qi nodded hastily and promised, ”It won’t happen again. We’re sorry for all the trouble, Comrade Xiao Han!”

”This is for expenses. With so many puppies staying here, it must cost a lot.”

Han Xiaorui nodded. ”Wu Yao, take it. Use this money to take care of the dogs.”

”Police Officer Qi, don’t just stand out here. They’re playing with the dogs and training them at the same time. You should join in.”

Police Officer Qi nodded. That was exactly what she had in mind.

’If she didn’t get involved now, the puppies might not want to leave when they grew up, and all this effort would be for nothing.’

The two sisters went back inside the house.

Han Xiaoqing looked like she wanted to say something but hesitated. Finally, she worked up the courage. ”Sis, there’s something I need to talk to you about!”

Han Xiaorui smiled. ”I could tell you had something on your mind. I was just waiting for you to bring it up! I wanted to see how long you could hold it in.”

Han Xiaoqing gave a bashful smile and shook her sister’s arm. ”My dorm mates found out I’m from the coast, and they were hoping to visit during the holiday.”

Hearing this, Han Xiaorui agreed without a moment’s hesitation. ”Of course they can come! There’s plenty for them to do around here!”

”Just give them each a shovel and a bucket and let them forage for treasures on the beach at low tide. That’ll be enough to keep them entertained for a whole day!”

”We also have the small boat. I can find someone from the village who knows how to handle it to act as a guide and take them out to the island. That would be even more fun.”

”You don’t have to ask me about things like this in the future. Just decide for yourself! You’re grown up and in college now. You have your own friends, and you need to start building your own network.”