The Sea Queen of 1985

Chapter 391: Chapter 391: Attracting Attention

Professor Wang at the farm had his assistant, Xiao Sun, come over with a message. ”Boss Han, Professor Wang just received a notice. A fisheries university from the next town over wants to come visit us.”

Han Xiaorui was taken aback for a moment. ”What are they coming here to see? The seafood farm?”

Xiao Sun smiled and nodded. ”The seafood farming, of course! The quality of the seafood we raise is so high, the experts from that university must be very curious.”

Han Xiaorui looked surprised. ”How do they know about us?”

Xiao Sun blinked and scratched his head. ”Our professor’s paper hasn’t been published yet, so it probably wasn’t him who spread the word!”

Han Xiaorui smiled. ”Well, it’s a good thing either way. Maybe this means we can sell more of our farmed seafood!”

Xiao Sun nodded eagerly. ”That’s what my professor said, too!”

Han Xiaorui agreed. ”If they want to come, let them.”

Xiao Sun had just left when Han Xiaorui received a phone call.

The call was to inform her that city officials were coming for an inspection.

Han Xiaorui was confused. Her farmed seafood had only just begun to sell, and so far, Zhang Guangnan was her only customer.

So, Han Xiaorui called Zhang Guangnan. ”Boss Zhang, have you been marketing our seafood in other cities? Or maybe to the government officials in Shencheng?”

Zhang Guangnan was taken aback for a moment. ”I don’t think so. I’ve been busy with my business in Shencheng lately and haven’t been making any special effort to market it elsewhere.”

”After all, summer is the peak season for the seafood business, but it’s hit hard by the fishing ban. Now that I’ve finally managed to procure high-quality farmed seafood, I’m busy educating my customers about the taste and sharing the inspection reports.”

”So why the sudden call? What’s going on? Are people from other cities trying to buy from you? Boss Han, we signed a contract, remember? You can’t sell to anyone else.”

Hearing this from Zhang Guangnan, Han Xiaorui laughed. ”Boss Zhang, don’t worry. Our partnership has been wonderful. Whether it’s wild-caught or farmed seafood, why would I pass up a great customer like you to look for someone else?”

”You can be completely at ease. You’re my most important customer! I’ll set aside the quantity of farmed seafood you need for the fishing ban period and only sell the surplus.”

The price for farmed seafood was quite high right now, which was a testament to Zhang Guangnan’s good faith.

How could she possibly offend and give up such a good partner?

Hearing Han Xiaorui’s reassurances, Zhang Guangnan breathed a sigh of relief. ”That’s good to hear! Then we have a deal!”

Although they had signed a contract, plenty of people these days would ignore such agreements. As long as there was money to be made, they’d disregard everything else.

But Han Xiaorui was a woman of her word. Since she made a promise like that, she wouldn’t easily go back on it.

After hanging up the phone, Han Xiaorui called Chen Yupeng.

Chen Yupeng’s hearty laughter came from the other end of the line. ”Even if you hadn’t called me, I was about to call you! I have to congratulate you on the success of Jinshan Bay Farm.”

Han Xiaorui was completely baffled. ”I called you specifically to ask about this, so stop beating around the bush and just tell me!”

Chen Yupeng answered, ”To put it simply, the inspection agency found the quality of your farmed seafood to be excellent and worth promoting, so they reported it to their superiors!”

”Here in Shencheng, the fishing ban is strictly enforced, which has hurt the livelihoods of many fishermen. The government offers subsidies, but it’s nowhere near what they’d normally earn.”

”A lot of people are unhappy about it, so the government has been looking for ways to help the fishermen, encouraging them to get into aquaculture. A few have tried, but their inexperience means their profits are very low.”

”Jinshan Bay Farm has given the Shencheng Department of Agriculture hope. That’s why they want to come inspect it and learn from your experience. For Jinshan Bay Farm, this will certainly create more competition.”

”But I know that aquaculture is only one part of your business; your bigger investments are in breeding fry and producing fish feed. With that kind of support system, the quality of your seafood is excellent, and it’s going to be promoted heavily.”

It dawned on Han Xiaorui. ”I get it. The government and its related agencies want to give my business free publicity.”

”You could look at it that way,” Chen Yupeng replied. ”Congratulations, Boss Han.”

Han Xiaorui chuckled. ”The feeling is mutual. But don’t be so formal. Weren’t you calling me ’sister-in-law’ so sweetly before?”

Chen Yupeng roared with laughter. ”I was just afraid you’d start looking down on me for being poor, sister-in-law!”

”Heh, it’s not like you just became poor today. You’re only worried about me looking down on you now?” Han Xiaorui shot back. ”Anyway, I have something I want to discuss with you and your wife. If you’re free this weekend, come for a visit.”

Chen Yupeng chuckled at Han Xiaorui’s jab. ’She can still joke like that.’ ”Sister-in-law, can you tell me what it’s about?”

Han Xiaorui thought for a moment before answering. ”You know I’m donating the funds to build the Jinshan Bay Primary and Middle Schools. Even though they’ll be public schools, since I’m the one donating, I want to oversee how the money is spent.”

”I’m too busy to be at the school every day to keep an eye on things. Yulan is an experienced teacher, so I was hoping she might transfer over. A great teacher like her could really improve the quality of education in Jinshan Bay.”

”I’m offering generous salaries to any excellent teachers willing to come—at least double what Yulan makes now, with even more in bonuses. Of course, you two should discuss it. If you’re not interested, that’s perfectly fine.”

Hearing this, Chen Yupeng’s eyes lit up. ”Sister-in-law, are you serious?”

”Of course I’m serious. Why would I lie about it?” Han Xiaorui retorted. ”Just talk it over with Yulan. If you’re not interested, it’s really not a problem.”

Chen Yupeng smiled and nodded. ”Thank you, sister-in-law. We’ll come over this weekend.”

”Great, I’ll see you then. It’s the perfect chance for you to try our farmed seafood,” Han Xiaorui said with a laugh before hanging up.

Now that her operations were getting bigger and bigger, Han Xiaorui always felt like she was short-staffed.

For the education side of things, she wanted to have Yao Yulan manage the Jinshan Bay education fund.

As for the police dog base, while she was a shareholder, it was ultimately a government project.

She was only responsible for raising the dogs. The management side was handled by personnel from the government agency, so she didn’t have to worry about it.

As for whether it was profitable, that wasn’t important to Han Xiaorui.

The country needed high-quality police dogs to ensure public safety. As a citizen, she just considered it her contribution to the nation.

The aquaculture business was managed by the village and Professor Wang. Han Xiaorui felt it was time to hire an accountant to audit the books.

She couldn’t micromanage everything, but she had to make sure the finances were in order.

She was a generous boss, happy to pay high salaries and bonuses, but she would not tolerate anyone deceiving her and lining their own pockets.

At the ornamental fish farm, Han Xiaorui had also assigned an accountant, while Yang Jianguo handled the management. She was very satisfied with this arrangement.

Han Xiaorui notified the village committee and Professor Wang at the aquaculture farm, putting them in charge of hosting the visitors.

”Mr. Han, congratulations,” said Director Wu from the inspection agency. ”Mayor Liu has arrived for the inspection.”