The Sea Queen of 1985

Chapter 260: Chapter 260: A Special Thank You Today

It wasn’t time to haul in the nets yet, so everyone found a spot to sleep or take a nap.

Everyone just assumed Han Xiaorui was playing with Xiao Dai and feeding it.

Han Xiaorui took the ”brick” into her cabin, found a dagger, and scraped off the green moss and other grime.

Soon, the dull color of gold, tarnished by seawater, was revealed.

Han Xiaorui was certain. This was a gold brick.

She carefully wiped it clean, wrapped it in a cloth, and prepared to take it back with her.

’There’s so much down there. Even if I worked Xiao Dai to death, it couldn’t bring it all up.’

Han Xiaorui decided to give the coordinates to Ye Feng. ’If I recall correctly, Ye Feng’s salvage company offered me a twenty-percent stake, which includes dividends. That offer should still stand, right?’

’Even though it’s only twenty percent, I can earn money without having to do any of the work.’

’Besides, salvaging things from the seabed is incredibly difficult. I can’t handle it on my own.’

In the middle of the night, every haul was a bountiful one, bursting with fish. Most were the more expensive varieties from the East Sea.

At midnight, when the Big Yellow Fish were hauled up, their color was a brilliant gold. It wasn’t like when they were caught during the day, as their color would fade quickly then.

This was when they were in their best condition.

Everyone gasped in amazement. ”This is a great haul of Big Yellow Fish! Everyone, be careful with them.”

The crew sorted them by size in an orderly fashion.

A few were damaged, so they set them aside to eat the next day.

However, a diet heavy in seafood is high in purines, which can cause high uric acid and lead to gout. Because of this, Liu Huamei made sure to cook plenty of other dishes with chicken, meat, and eggs, along with a variety of vegetables, to ensure a balanced diet.

The chicken soup, made from a stewing hen, was both nourishing and delicious.

In the early morning, Han Xiaorui had two bowls of chicken noodle soup. It was incredibly flavorful, and the tea tree mushrooms inside made the broth even more savory.

The crewmen used to think it was a waste of money for the owner to hire a dedicated chef for the boat.

But now, not a single one of them still thought that. This was pure bliss.

With full bellies, they weren’t tired from work and didn’t even feel homesick.

This trip went very smoothly as well.

However, they had been out a little long and didn’t reach the port until the afternoon of the third day.

Han Xiaorui called Zhang Guangnan to have him come pick up the shipment.

It wasn’t time for the children to get out of school yet, so Han Xiaorui waited at the docks.

Zhang Guangnan arrived half an hour later. It turned out he had been inspecting one of his seafood restaurants in this district.

Upon seeing Han Xiaorui, Zhang Guangnan greeted her with a smile. ”Ms. Han, here’s to making another fortune!”

”And to you as well!” Han Xiaorui laughed. Zhang Guangnan was looking more and more like a true businessman these days.

He still had a ways to go compared to his father, Zhang Fa Cai, but he was taller than his dad and had a pleasant, enduring sort of handsomeness. His business was bound to do better and better in the future.

”Seeing you today, I also have to thank you!” Zhang Guangnan was clearly happy; his entire demeanor had changed.

Han Xiaorui looked surprised. ”You pay, I provide the fish. What’s there to thank me for?”

Zhang Guangnan shook his head. ”It’s not about business. It’s about you introducing me to Lawyer Chen Nanyang.”

”Thanks to his efforts, my mother’s case went to trial today, and the verdict is in.”

Hearing this, Han Xiaorui blinked, her curiosity piqued. ”And the verdict?”

Zhang Guangnan answered, ”The judge considered opinions from all sides. Our relatives, fellow villagers, and other folks from back home all pleaded for leniency. My mother was given a suspended death sentence instead of immediate execution.”

”As long as my mother behaves well for the next two years and shows genuine remorse and rehabilitation, her sentence will be commuted to life in prison.”

”And a life sentence can be further reduced through continued good behavior. As long as she stays healthy, she might be released within her lifetime, and I’ll still have a chance to care for her in her old age.”

”Throughout this whole ordeal, Lawyer Chen ran himself ragged on my behalf, coming up with the strategy that led to this outcome. I’m incredibly grateful to him.”

Han Xiaorui nodded. ”Your mother has held in her grievances for most of her life. Hearing she was being divorced must have been a traumatic shock. She must have felt like her world was collapsing, which led to her extreme actions.”

Zhang Guangnan nodded, a bitter feeling in his heart. He sighed. ”That marriage was my mother’s entire world. She poured all her heart and soul, all her effort, into preserving it.”

”She wasn’t trying to preserve the marriage for her own sake, but for me and my sister. She couldn’t stand the thought of the restaurant she worked so hard to build ending up in someone else’s hands.”

Han Xiaorui thought for a moment. ”In any case, what’s past is past. Getting this result is truly a silver lining in a terrible situation.”

Zhang Guangnan smiled too. ”Yes. This is the first time I’ve been able to smile genuinely since my family’s world was turned upside down. And I’ve managed to stabilize the business at our three restaurants.”

”And on that note, I have to thank you especially. You continued to work with me during my most difficult time. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to get back on my feet so quickly.”

Han Xiaorui waved her hand dismissively. ”It’s nothing. You offer a good price, so I sell my seafood to you.”

”Our accounts are always settled on the spot. I deliver in good faith, and you pay promptly. It’s a pleasure doing business with you. There’s no need to say more than that.”

Zhang Guangnan nodded, his gaze falling to the dazzling, brilliant ring on Han Xiaorui’s hand. ”Ms. Han, are wedding bells in your future?”

Han Xiaorui nodded with a smile. ”We’re picking a date!”

”You have to send me an invitation when you do!” Zhang Guangnan felt a pang of wistfulness. ’Why can’t I ever meet a good woman?’

Han Xiaorui smiled. ”Of course!”

”By the way, where are you holding the wedding banquet?” Zhang Guangnan asked.

Han Xiaorui thought for a moment. ”I’m not sure yet. My side of the family isn’t picky. We could have it in the village or at a restaurant in the city; either would be fine.”

”But the Xu family and the Ye Family probably have a lot of friends and relatives to consider, so they’ll likely be the ones making the arrangements.”

Zhang Guangnan chuckled. ”Looks like I was trying to teach a fish to swim. The Xu family’s hotels are in a completely different league than my restaurants.”

After all, they own the first five-star hotel in Hua Country.

He’d had the good fortune to visit a few times, and the inside was incredibly luxurious and immaculate.

’The hotel industry is booming,’ he thought. ’There’s a lot of potential there.’

’If I use my current earnings to invest in a hotel and leverage the advantages of my seafood restaurants, that could be a good move.’

Han Xiaorui smiled. ”Don’t sell yourself short, Boss Zhang. You’re already the envy of many people!”

”I’m the one who’s envious of you, Ms. Han!” Boss Zhang laughed. ”You come back with a full load from the sea every single time, and your ornamental fish farm has become a well-known local enterprise with foreign trade.”

”Next year, the fishing moratorium will be strictly enforced. We won’t be able to use trawling nets; only handlines and fishing rods will be allowed. My three restaurants have a high demand for seafood, so we’ll have to rely on farmed seafood for a portion of our supply.”

Han Xiaorui nodded. ”I’ve thought about that too. That’s why I’ve leased a section of the sea from the village to start a seafood farm.”

Zhang Guangnan’s eyes lit up. ”In that case, could you let me have the first pick of your farmed seafood?”

Han Xiaorui nodded. ”Of course. If you decide not to buy it, I’ll just sell it to someone else.”

Zhang Guangnan was delighted. ”Thank you! A lot of people are looking for investment projects right now. Someone even approached me about investing in a water park.”

”But I’ve always been in the restaurant industry, so I don’t know anything about that field. It would be a huge risk to jump in blindly.”

The speaker’s words were casual, but they struck a chord with the listener.

Han Xiaorui filed the idea away. ’A water park... that could be really popular.’

’You could have dolphins, sea turtles, and other marine life, plus some amusement park rides.’

’A perfect way to cool off during a hot summer at the beach.’

’But it would involve safety issues and all sorts of other problems. It’s not something that can be put together in a day.’

’I’ll have to talk to Ye Feng when I get back. He has a sharp mind for business.’