The Sea Queen of 1985

Chapter 423: Chapter 423: Coming to the Door to Sell a Second-hand Ship

The boat was left here for inspection and maintenance.

After Yang Zhigang returned to Jinshan Bay, he came over to discuss things with Han Xiaorui.

When Han Xiaorui heard there were four new boats, her eyes lit up. ”Uncle Yang, buy them.”

”Xiao Rui, I knew you’d want to buy them. I’ll call Director Zheng later. As long as they’re selling, we’ll take the boats,” Yang Zhigang said with a smile. ”You take two, and I’ll take two.”

Han Xiaorui nodded. ”Okay, Uncle Yang. That new boat you’re giving me—when can I take delivery?”

Yang Zhigang said regretfully, ”Next March. But that’s still pretty soon.”

Han Xiaorui thought for a moment, then asked, ”Uncle Yang, can you ask around for me? Are there any used boats for sale? They should be in good condition—like 70-80% new. We don’t want anything too old. If we can get a few more used boats and form a fleet, we can go fish in more distant waters.”

”The round trip will be a bit farther and use more resources, but as long as we can catch good seafood, it’ll be worth more than anything. When you’re buying the boats, also ask about the crews’ character. Don’t buy from anyone with a bad reputation; it’ll save us a lot of trouble later.”

Yang Zhigang nodded. ”Alright, I knew you’d be thinking along these lines. Leave this to me. Our village has plenty of old captains and crewmen. When the time comes, we can mix our experienced villagers with crewmen from other villages for supervision.”

Han Xiaorui agreed. ”Okay, Uncle Yang. Let’s work together to make our seafood catching business bigger and stronger.”

Yang Zhigang’s face was glowing with excitement. Like a great general recruiting soldiers and buying horses to build his forces, he said, ”Alright, that’s what I was thinking too. You’re pregnant, so don’t you worry about it. I’ll handle this.”

Han Xiaorui thought for a moment, then added, ”Uncle Yang, with so many boats, I think we need to establish a seafood catching company for easier management. We need to hire accountants and other administrative staff. We can’t keep selling seafood with one hand and taking cash with the other.”

”Paying salaries and commissions too. With so many people, it’s getting really complicated. It’s easy for things to get messy and for conflicts to arise.”

Yang Zhigang rubbed his hands together. ”Right, start a company. And you’ll be the legal representative.”

Han Xiaorui quickly waved her hands in refusal. ”Uncle Yang, you should be the legal representative! Look at what’s under my name already: Jinshan Bay Ornamental Fish Farm, the seafood aquaculture business, and Jinshan Bay Investment Company.”

”And now I’m planning to build the Jinshan Bay Water Park and Marine Life Museum! I already have so many companies under my name, I really don’t want another one.”

”This seafood catching company should be in your name! You’ll be in charge of management and take on more of the day-to-day worries. We’ll distribute profits according to each person’s fishing boats, and deduct the relevant expenses from the company’s earnings.”

Hearing this, Yang Zhigang rubbed his hands again. ”But you have more boats. If it’s registered under my name, I’d feel a little awkward!”

Han Xiaorui quickly tried to persuade him. ”What’s there to be awkward about? You’re my godfather and Pingping and An’an’s grandfather. We’re family!”

”You’re a righteous and enthusiastic person. I trust you completely. I might not be willing to do this for someone else, but for you, I’m more than happy to.”

”Honestly, this is also for easier management. I just don’t have that much energy. After all, the more boats we have, the more crewmen we’ll have. We need standardized management to prevent chaos.”

Hearing Han Xiaorui put it that way, Yang Zhigang agreed.

”Alright then, I’ll go get it done right now!” Yang Zhigang was so eager he didn’t even stop for lunch, rushing off to the district office to make inquiries.

When they heard Yang Zhigang wanted to establish a seafood catching company, they welcomed the idea enthusiastically.

Jinshan Bay was currently a key village of focus for the district, and its needs were given prompt attention.

Many other places in the industrial park had also seen investment and factory construction, but none of them had the same level of uniformity, planning, and foresight as the development in Jinshan Bay.

This was especially true for the Jinshan Bay Ornamental Fish Farm, which was a star export enterprise not just in the district, but in the entire city.

A real little powerhouse for earning foreign currency!

The government provided a great deal of convenience and assistance to meet Jinshan Bay’s needs for economic development.

Three days later, the Jinshan Bay Seafood Catching Company was established.

Separately, Yang Zhigang had used his connections to find out about three used boats.

Many people were trying to hold on, wanting to wait until the fishing season opened to see if the fish population had increased during the moratorium. Would their income be higher?

If there were more fish than before, no one would sell their used boats.

If there were fewer, and they couldn’t make money—or even ended up losing it—then people would start selling.

The day before the fishing ban was set to end, a woman named Yu Xiaohui came looking for Chen Yishui.

Chen Yishui knew Han Xiaorui had been wanting to buy a boat recently, so she brought the woman over to see her.

After some discussion, it was learned that during the fishing moratorium, Yu Xiaohui’s husband had been drinking with friends, then crashed his motorcycle into a tree and died on the spot.

Her family owned a boat, making them shipowners, but now that her husband was gone, her father-in-law, mother-in-law, and brother-in-law were trying to seize it.

She wanted to take this chance to sell the boat. If she could get 200,000 for it, she could buy a few properties and start a small business, which was much better than having her in-laws simply steal it from her.

Han Xiaorui was slightly taken aback by this. ”That boat is considered part of your husband’s estate. You can’t just sell it directly, because his parents are still alive and have a right to a share of the assets.”

Hearing this, Yu Xiaohui waved her hand dismissively. ”When my husband bought the boat, he asked my in-laws for money. All the money he earned from fishing was usually kept by them, but they didn’t give him a single cent. Even when my husband knelt and begged to borrow money from them, they refused.”

”In the end, I had to go back to my own family and borrow money from my parents and siblings to buy this boat. My husband was angry with his parents at the time, so he registered it in my name.”

Han Xiaorui was stunned for a moment. ”Well, if that’s the case, then this is much simpler! Sister Shui, take her to see Uncle Yang. Bring a few people along to appraise the boat and see how much it’s worth.”

”If it’s a good deal, let’s just buy it! The sooner, the better. Get it over to our docks. Otherwise, the longer this drags on, the harder it will be for this lady to sell her boat.”

Chen Yishui agreed. ”No problem! I know the crew over there, and we’re on good terms. We should be able to buy this boat pretty quickly.”

Yu Xiaohui was incredibly grateful to hear this. ”Everyone says Han Shipowner is righteous, and today I’ve seen it for myself! Thank you so much!”

”Once I sell the boat, I want to buy a shop on that street you’re building! Whether I rent it out or start my own business, the property will be there. No one can take it away, and it will belong to me and my two children.”

Han Xiaorui smiled. ”It just so happens I’m looking to buy a boat, and you have one to sell. So it’s not really a favor.”

Yu Xiaohui thanked her profusely before leaving with Chen Yishui to find Yang Zhigang.

After they left, Ye Feng finally asked, ”Don’t you think this will cause trouble down the line? Her in-laws won’t let this go easily.”

Han Xiaorui was unconcerned. ”I’m paying for it, and the ownership will be transferred. It’ll be mine! And anyone Sister Shui brings to me must be a decent person.”

”What I can’t stand are those vultures who prey on a family line that’s ending. The man just died, and before any outsiders can even try to take anything, his own parents and brothers are the first to start grabbing.”