The Sea Queen of 1985

Chapter 264: Chapter 264: The Confidence from Sister

Teacher Wei lived in a faculty dorm and had a private room.

After Han Xiaoqing and the other two came in, they closed the door. She patted the bag she was holding, unable to contain her excitement. ”Teacher Wei, we made money today!”

With that, she unzipped her backpack and dumped all the bills, large and small, onto the table.

A shower of coins also landed on the table, clattering noisily.

Teacher Wei stared, dumbfounded, at the pile of small bills and coins covering the table. ”This is so much money! Where did you get it?”

”Teacher Wei, we earned it!” Sun Dandan replied.

Hearing this, Teacher Wei’s expression changed drastically. A terrible thought crossed her mind.

”You girls can’t be doing anything reckless! There are a lot of bad people out there! You can’t go down the wrong path just to make money!”

Han Xiaoqing heard this and quickly explained, ”Teacher Wei, we didn’t do anything bad! This is the money we made selling ornamental fish at the school gate!”

”Let’s count the money quickly, so you can take it to Dai Wencui tomorrow! If we all work hard together, we can save up enough for her treatment.”

Teacher Wei was Dai Wencui’s counselor. She was slightly taken aback when she heard this. ”Is selling ornamental fish really that profitable?”

”The main thing is that we have a great supplier—my sister’s fish farm! They only have two stores in Shencheng. All their other business is foreign trade, exporting overseas.”

”My sister heard about Wencui’s situation and agreed to let me take the stock first and pay later! I’ve already set aside the cost of the goods. This money should help with the immediate emergency. We’ll keep selling and saving up more later.”

Teacher Wei breathed a sigh of relief. ”You girls scared me to death just now! I thought you’d gone down the wrong path!”

”You’re one-in-a-million university students. Every one of you is a precious asset to the country. Nothing can be allowed to happen to you.”

”But I also know you’re just eager to help your classmate, and your hearts are in the right place. To save student Dai Wencui, let’s count this money together.”

The four of them counted together, and after ten minutes, all the money was sorted.

In a single afternoon, they had actually made 189 yuan, and that was after deducting their costs.

Teacher Wei was also very excited. ”I was at the hospital today, and the doctor recommended surgery as soon as possible. It can’t be delayed.”

”Why don’t you tell me where to get the fish, and I’ll sell them at the school tomorrow afternoon? We need to raise the money for the surgery as quickly as possible. The sooner she has the operation, the better.”

Han Xiaoqing thought for a moment. ”Teacher Wei, that would be too much for you to handle alone. I’ll make a call and have my sister send someone to deliver them to us.”

Teacher Wei gripped Han Xiaoqing’s hand tightly. ”Han Xiaoqing, on behalf of Wencui, thank you!”

”No need to thank us, Teacher Wei!” Han Xiaoqing said with a smile. ”We’ll be counting on you to go to the hospital tomorrow!”

Teacher Wei nodded, found a pen and paper, and wrote a receipt. ”Here, take this receipt.”

”That’s not necessary, Teacher Wei. We trust you!” Han Xiaoqing didn’t take it.

Teacher Wei’s expression turned serious. ”I know you trust me, but I have to teach you something. Whenever money or other important items are involved, you must have a written slip when you hand them over to someone else. Even a handwritten one will do.”

”You need to make this a habit in your future work and life. It’s not just about clearly defining responsibilities at work; sometimes, it can also protect you and minimize losses. Now, take it.”

Han Xiaoqing accepted the lesson. She felt that Teacher Wei had a point and took the receipt. ”In that case, we’ll leave things on Dai Wencui’s end to you, Teacher Wei.”

Teacher Wei nodded. ”I will do everything in my power to keep her in the hospital for treatment. If the money isn’t enough, then just as you said, we’ll earn more.”

”Okay!” Han Xiaoqing, Sun Dandan, and Wu Yunqian agreed.

”Alright, you three should head back together now. Don’t linger outside; the student dorms will be locking up soon.” Teacher Wei saw them out, watching until they had left the main gate.

On the way, the three of them walked hand in hand, crying and laughing at the same time.

They were exhausted from the day’s work, but they had helped a classmate and gained a precious friendship.

The next day, after her morning classes and lunch, Han Xiaoqing called home.

Han Xiaorui immediately had someone at the fish farm pack up a lot of freshwater fish, along with small fish tanks and other accessories, to be delivered to the university.

Han Xiaorui was, of course, happy to support her sister’s desire to help a classmate.

If she didn’t have the means, Han Xiaorui wouldn’t overextend herself; but since she did have the means, she absolutely couldn’t stand by and watch idly.

They were classmates, after all!

The friendship between classmates was also incredibly precious.

Ye Feng arrived and found Han Xiaorui at the ornamental fish farm.

When he learned what Han Xiaoqing was doing, Ye Feng praised her. ”It’s wonderful that Xiao Jing is taking action to help her classmate. She’s not even asking for anything in return, just hoping her friend can get better.”

Han Xiaorui nodded. ”Yes, I support her completely.”

Ye Feng smiled. ”Mhm, with a supportive older sister like you, Han Xiaoqing can act with confidence and be more open.”

Han Xiaorui watched as Song Sixth loaded up the goods and drove off toward Han Xiaoqing’s university. Only then did she return home with Ye Feng.

Han Xiaorui took out an object wrapped so tightly it looked like a brick and handed it to Ye Feng. ”Here, a gift for your deep-sea treasure-hunting ship.”

Ye Feng froze for a second. ”Xiao Rui, don’t tell me you’ve found another sunken ship?”

Han Xiaorui nodded with a light laugh. ”You could say that. Xiao Dai brought it to me. I’ve already recorded the coordinates.”

Ye Feng unwrapped the cloth covering the object. When he saw what was inside, he was stunned. ”A gold brick?”

Ye Feng carefully tapped it, then picked up a small knife and slowly scraped away the outer layer, revealing a few Latin letters.

”This probably isn’t from our country. This looks like Portuguese.”

Han Xiaorui shrugged. ”The ocean is full of sunken treasures. I didn’t used to believe it, but I do now. My good friend Xiao Dai is just too perceptive.”

”Just keep it to yourself, and don’t tell anyone. Just say you found it by researching historical documents. I’m honestly worried that if this gets out, someone will capture Xiao Dai and dissect it for research.”

Ye Feng gently pressed his forehead against Han Xiaorui’s. ”How could I ever tell anyone? This is an auspicious sign, a sacred object that protects our Hua Country.”

Han Xiaorui was surprised. ”You believe in auspicious signs? Aren’t you a Party member? A staunch materialist?”

”I am a Party member and a staunch materialist. Does that have anything to do with me believing in auspicious signs? I burn paper offerings during Qingming and visit graves during the New Year! I champion all that is just, true, good, and beautiful, and I oppose all that is evil, dark, and cruel. Everything else is just a matter of form.”

He said it all with righteous conviction, the main principle being mutual non-interference.

Han Xiaorui looked up at the man who made her heart flutter, whose soul was just as interesting. ”You’re right, there’s no conflict!”

Ye Feng took out a document and handed it to Han Xiaorui. ”Sign it.”

Han Xiaorui was skeptical, but she took it and looked. ”Are you really giving me a twenty-percent stake?”

”Of course!” Ye Feng said, gesturing with the undersea gold brick in his hand. ”Do you have any idea? The leads you provide can save us so much time and money. The salvage ship and its team have already gone to the first set of coordinates to begin recovery.”

”This is the second one. These two locations alone will give us enough work for a year or two. And of course, these gold bricks are clearly foreign. We’ll bring them up, clean them, melt them down, and sell them domestically.”