The Sea Queen of 1985

Chapter 256: Chapter 256: Awarding Bonuses, a Peculiar Goldfish

Old Madam Xu made her intentions clear.

She had only one goal: to get them married as soon as possible. The sooner, the better.

How could someone as astute as Granny Cai not see it?

It was no wonder Han Xiaorui got along with her so well.

A single quality—cleverness—was the key to Han Xiaorui’s invincible position.

She understood what others needed and hoped for, then catered to their preferences, ensuring everyone was cooperative and polite.

Granny Cai smiled. ”Sister Xu, don’t be anxious. Good things take time. I’ll go ask a local Daoist to help pick an auspicious date tomorrow.”

”Little Sister Cai, how can I not be anxious?” Old Madam Xu lamented. ”It’s so rare for Ye Feng to have someone he likes, and for Xiao Rui to be willing to marry him. It’s truly a blessing. I used to think I’d never see this day in my lifetime.”

”My son won’t date or marry. My grandson won’t date or marry either. My daughter is married, but she hasn’t had any children. I’ve spent day after day praying to who knows how many gods.”

”When I’m abroad, praying to the gods of our Hua Country doesn’t seem to work very well. So I tried praying to the foreign God, but that was no use either. Now that fate has brought them together, we have to act quickly.”

Granny Cai nodded, suddenly realizing that even the matriarchs of wealthy families had plenty of worries.

Who wouldn’t be anxious if they were in Old Madam Xu’s shoes?

”Alright, I’ll do my best. Good things are on the horizon.” Granny Cai smiled. The betrothal gifts were quite substantial.

Han Xiaorui could earn her own money, but the Western-style garden villa next to the Xu family’s home was a residence only the exceptionally wealthy could have afforded in the past.

And that was still the case today.

It wasn’t even on the market for ordinary people; it was being held for capitalists who had fled abroad, to entice them to return and invest in factories.

Old Madam Xu smiled, never arriving empty-handed. ”Little Sister Cai, it’s inconvenient for you to come to my place. If you need anything, just give me a call, and I’ll come over.”

Granny Cai nodded. ”Alright!”

Because a part of her house and yard had been sectioned off to open a kindergarten, Han Xiaorui had a telephone specially installed.

Granny Cai could use that phone, but she wasn’t one to take advantage. She insisted on paying for her calls, calculating the cost separately.

After Old Madam Xu left, Granny Cai relayed her message to Han Xiaorui.

Han Xiaorui was surprised. ”That’s so much for the betrothal gift! I thought it would just be a symbolic gesture.”

Granny Cai chided her, ”How could that be enough? That would be an embarrassment! Never mind that you don’t need the money; given the Xu family’s status, this amount is them being low-key.”

”If you wanted to ask for more, I could make it happen. After all, their desperation to get this marriage finalized far exceeds yours.”

Han Xiaorui smiled and nodded. ”Sister Cai, this is already more than enough. There’s no need to haggle over the betrothal gift. That would make it feel less like a marriage and more like a business transaction. What matters with these gifts is the thought behind them.”

Granny Cai nodded. ”Alright, I’ll give them a reply in a couple of days. Tomorrow, I’ll go burn some incense and have a date calculated for you and Ye Feng. Old Madam Xu is really in a hurry. She said the sooner the engagement and wedding dates, the better.”

Han Xiaorui paused for a moment, then smiled. ”The elderly tend to be more impatient.”

”And you think Ye Feng isn’t in a hurry?” Granny Cai snickered. ”I see how he never wants to leave every time he’s here. HAHA, it makes me want to laugh just watching him.”

Every time Ye Feng came over, he would linger, staying until very late before leaving.

If she were to even say, ”Don’t go home tonight,” Ye Feng really wouldn’t leave.

He would be willing to sleep on a mat on the living room floor.

Thinking of this, Han Xiaorui’s heart filled with warmth.

She entrusted these matters to Granny Cai, confident that she would handle them well.

The next day, Han Xiaorui arrived at the ornamental fish farm with a case full of money.

The main structure of the new factory under construction was already complete. In a little over a month, the entire building, inside and out, would be finished.

It was just as you’d expect from a state-owned military engineering construction unit—the quality of the building and the speed of construction were both top-notch.

Of course, Han Xiaorui was also prompt with her payments.

The construction unit usually worked on public projects. When it came to payment, it was always between government entities, and many units were unwilling to pay, or at least not quickly, leading to triangular debt.

This was their first time working for a private client. They had initially looked down on the job, but now, with the factory only half-built, they had already received half the payment.

Once it was finished, they would receive another 40%. After a year, if there were no issues, the final balance would be paid in full.

Their accountant had been stunned at the time.

’So this is what it’s like working for a private client. The money comes in so fast!’

Although they were a state-owned unit with government-guaranteed salaries, who wouldn’t want more money on the books?

Engineer Liu, who was in charge of the project, hurried over when he saw Han Xiaorui. ”Boss Han, welcome! Here to inspect the work?”

Han Xiaorui replied courteously, ”Mr. Liu, you’re being too formal. I’m very satisfied with the project.”

Yang Jianguo had someone secretly inspect it, and the quality was excellent.

Mr. Liu smiled. ”If you ever need another factory built, Boss Han, don’t hesitate to contact us.”

Han Xiaorui’s eyes lit up at his words. ”You know, now that you mention it, I do have a friend who needs to build a factory. It’s Zhou Wei, from the fish tank factory. He has a lot of orders right now and is also expanding production.”

”It’s just that his current factory is a bit too small to meet the demand. He was just asking me about your construction team. If your quote is reasonable, Mr. Zhou is also a prompt payer.”

Mr. Liu was delighted. ”Great! Thank you, Boss Han.”

In the past, Mr. Liu might have been too embarrassed to solicit business like this, but now, for the sake of money, what was there to be embarrassed about?

Once the unit had money, they wouldn’t constantly run into issues when purchasing various materials.

It was as if a new door had opened for Mr. Liu. He began to take the initiative, and because they could buy some materials in bulk at a cheaper price, he actually managed to land a lot of new projects.

Once all the employees had arrived, Han Xiaorui placed the case of money on the table.

Everyone had long been looking forward to this quarter’s bonus. They would have been happy with one month’s salary.

But the amount far exceeded their imaginations.

With a grand wave of her hand, Han Xiaorui gave them a bonus equivalent to three months’ salary.

Their salaries were already considered high for the local area.

Now, to be given another three months’ salary as a bonus instantly shocked everyone.

She was doing this partly because of Yamamoto Ichiro. Only by making the employees genuinely invested in the farm would they protect it with all their hearts.

Liu Xiangnan was the deputy manager, with a monthly salary of one hundred and eighty yuan. Three months’ salary was five hundred and forty yuan.

Zhao Jing was a team leader, earning one hundred and twenty yuan a month. Her three-month bonus was three hundred and sixty yuan.

There were only a dozen or so people in total, plus a security department made up of ten veterans.

Even with a three-month bonus, it wasn’t a huge amount of money, but it significantly boosted the workers’ motivation.

Furthermore, there was also the year-end dividend.

Yang Jianguo looked at the crowd. ”As the bosses of this factory, Xiao Han and I are not stingy. We hope that in your future work, you will all do your utmost, stay vigilant, and don’t let saboteurs damage our farm or steal our breeding techniques.”

Liu Xiangnan immediately pledged his loyalty. ”Brother Jianguo, Sister Han, don’t worry. We’re not the type to betray our own. We will definitely work hard.”

Zhao Jing quickly chimed in, ”That’s right! There’s no better job than this. There are bonuses for good work and penalties for poor work. We’re happy with that.”

”We’ll work hard from now on and raise even more beautiful ornamental fish. By the way, Boss Han, I recently bred a very interesting Butterfly Tail goldfish. It’s black and white, almost like the colors on a giant panda, and the black and white pattern is similar too.”