The Sea Queen of 1985

Chapter 466: Chapter 466: Coral Jade

Everything was ready; all that was needed was the opportune moment.

Chen Yishui had gone to sea and harvested a full three boatloads of Conch Jade, plus another four of coral jade.

All seven boats were filled to the brim. Instead of continuing to fish, they returned directly to port.

Han Xiaorui recognized the Conch Jade.

But when she saw the coral jade, she recalled reading about it in a book from the library.

It was formed from coral reefs on the seabed that, after hundreds of millions of years of natural transformation, had become jade. Coral jade was considered a uniquely spiritual gem, a living treasure that had been alive for eons. It possessed a brilliant luster, a gentle warmth, and a crystalline translucence, making it utterly captivating.

Han Xiaorui gasped. ”Sister Shui, we’ve struck it rich! This is coral jade.”

Chen Yishui wiped the sweat from her forehead. ”I looked it up in a book, too. I found this coral jade on another reef. There are even bigger pieces, but they’re deep underwater and difficult to get. Still, I’ve marked the location. We’ll go back for more when we have the right equipment.”

Han Xiaorui nodded. ”Okay, Sister Shui. The crew worked hard. These are all raw stones, so I don’t know how much they’re worth yet. I’ll just give each crew member a bonus of one thousand, and fifteen hundred for the captain.”

For a trip that took only two and a half days from start to finish, such a high bonus was excellent.

After all, the boats belonged to Han Xiaorui, so it was only natural that she would take the largest share of the profits.

Chen Yishui nodded. ”Sounds good. That’s a very generous amount. We’ll rest for two days, and if the weather holds, we’ll head out again.”

”Deal!” Han Xiaorui agreed, then had people move all the Conch Jade and coral jade into the warehouse.

When Ye Feng got home from work, he found Han Xiaorui still busy in the warehouse.

Sun Dayong was there as well, selecting materials to create some samples.

Ye Feng offered a word of caution. ”Xiao Rui, these were harvested from the sea. They’re essentially fossils. Have you checked if they’re radioactive? A lot of people will be carrying these around with them after they buy them. Things from the seabed often contain various minerals. I think you ought to have them tested.”

Han Xiaorui was taken aback. The materials hadn’t given her any sort of bad feeling, so she hadn’t considered any potential dangers.

’But Ye Feng is right,’ she thought. ’When it comes to safety, I have to be careful.’

”Then how do I get them tested?” Han Xiaorui asked. ”What kind of equipment do I need to buy? The market for specialized goods isn’t very developed yet, so I don’t even know where to start.”

Ye Feng smiled. ”You can buy a jade radiation detector from the proper authorities. It might be a little expensive, but it’s absolutely necessary. Leave it to me.”

Han Xiaorui nodded. ”Okay, thank you, honey. Look at all this jade. If it’s not radioactive, we can start making it into jewelry to sell.”

Ye Feng asked, ”What’s the price point for the Conch Jade?”

Han Xiaorui replied, ”For average-grade pieces, five yuan each. For mid-grade, fifteen yuan each. And for high-grade, flawless pieces, thirty yuan, though we have relatively few of those.”

”As for the coral jade, the colors are beautiful, and it makes for very pretty bracelets. However, its hardness is low, so it scratches and wears down easily. I don’t expect the price to be too high. An average-grade piece will be twenty yuan, a better-quality one will be fifty, and a top-quality piece could go for over a hundred.”

”We’ll see how the market responds first. If they don’t sell, we can lower the price. If they’re popular, we can raise it. Nothing is set in stone; we’ll adapt as we go. Since I’m opening a retail shop and not wholesaling, we don’t need to operate on a huge scale. We have enough raw stones here to last a very long time.”

Ye Feng nodded. ”Right. It’ll also enrich the commercial street. I passed by on my way home and noticed a lot of shops are being renovated. Some are even open for business already, and they seem to be doing well.”

Han Xiaorui was also quite satisfied with the current progress. ”Yes, even my godmother’s pastry shop has found the right people and is being renovated now. Everything is getting better and better.”

”The museum will be ready to open in March. I’ve heard many schools are already making inquiries, planning to organize field trips. Those students will bring in a steady stream of foot traffic.”

”The Daoist Temple on the island is already built and the interior is being decorated. The Martyrs’ Cemetery is also up there and will open before the Qingming Festival. Oh, and the peach saplings we grew from cuttings from the Peach Garden next door are growing strong and tall. We’ll start transplanting them to the island in March.”

Ye Feng had witnessed firsthand the daily transformations in Jinshan Bay, and he knew that most of this progress was thanks to his wife.

’His wife,’ he thought, ’is an incredible woman.’

”After a year of growth, the whole island will be covered in peach blossoms next year,” Ye Feng said with a faint smile. ”When that time comes, our family can go and enjoy the spring scenery together.”

Han Xiaorui nodded emphatically. ”Of course! I’ll probably never leave this place in my life. I love the sea, and I love that this place is getting better day by day because of me.”

Ye Feng chuckled. ”Wherever you are, that’s where I’ll be.”

Han Xiaorui broke into a grin, her smile radiant and her eyes as bright as stars.

「In March, the museum opened.」

Jinshan Bay Primary School and the local middle school, benefiting from their proximity, were the first to be granted admission to the museum.

The museum guides, having undergone rigorous training, were not only beautiful and poised but also exceptionally articulate. They began their tours for the students the moment they stepped inside.

The children of Jinshan Bay had heard their families speak of the heroic events of the past year, but they had never seen the journal with their own eyes, nor the artifacts their predecessors had protected with their lives.

They listened, completely captivated, feeling the thrilling tension of the past and, even more profoundly, the patriotic fervor of the heroes involved.

Gradually, other schools from across the city began to arrange student visits. The once-quiet commercial street started to bustle with activity.

Han Xiaorui hired Cao Fanghua, an eighteen-year-old village girl who hadn’t been accepted into college, to work as a salesperson at the arts and crafts shop selling Conch Jade and coral jade jewelry.

To her surprise, sales had been good lately, and business was improving day by day.

On March 12th, since there was no trip out to sea, Han Xiaorui rallied all the boat crew to plant trees on the islands, transplanting the peach saplings that had successfully grown from cuttings.

Han Xiaorui carried a bucket, selecting spots with rich soil. She would sprinkle a small handful of lime to mark where a hole should be dug.

The male crew members were in charge of digging the holes, while the female crew members, along with their children, started planting the saplings.

There was no need to water them. The spots Han Xiaorui had selected had soft soil, so the holes didn’t need to be deep and were easy to dig. With nearly a hundred male crew members working, they finished planting peach trees on all four islands in a single day.

Liang Xiaoyu looked at the saplings, which were only about a foot tall. ”Xiao Rui, do you think these peach trees will survive?”

Han Xiaorui was confident, but she couldn’t appear overly so in front of everyone. ”Who knows? We’ll plant them first and see what happens. If they don’t make it, we’ll just plant something else.”

Liang Xiaoyu greatly admired Han Xiaorui’s free-spirited nature. ’She likes peach blossoms, so she plants peach blossoms. Just like that.’

’It would be even better if they could actually bear Taozi as delicious as the ones from the Peach Garden.’

The crew members had brought their families and children to help. The work wasn’t strenuous, so everyone could participate.

That evening, they took a large boat back and held a banquet for everyone at Zhang Guangnan’s seafood restaurant. The team-building event was a great success.

Even though they had worked all day, everyone was in high spirits.