The Sea Queen of 1985

Chapter 473: Chapter 473: Not Simple

Hearing this, Leader Wang thought for a moment. ”Since there’s a problem, we have to solve it. How about this? We can have the Marine Research Institute recruit more people and then send them to the Jinshan Bay Fish Seed Breeding Base to support its development. What do you think?”

When Chen Yupeng heard this, his eyes lit up. ”This is why you’re the leader! You came up with a great solution right away. This would indeed meet our needs and also help cultivate talent for Shencheng’s marine research.”

Leader Wang was clearly pleased by the flattery. He smiled and said, ”Alright, I’ll look into this matter.”

’Although I can tell Chen Yupeng is being complimentary,’ he thought, ’he’s a man who gets things done. If there’s an opportunity in the future, I should do my best to promote him.’

Not wanting Leader Wang’s good intentions to backfire and cause a misunderstanding or rift with Han Xiaorui, Chen Yupeng added a reminder. ”Leader, since we’re sending people to the Jinshan Bay Fish Seed Breeding Base to provide support, they must have real skills and knowledge. Otherwise, if we send a few useless loafers, President Han won’t show any deference. She’ll just kick them out, and that would be very embarrassing for everyone.”

Han Xiaorui had practically revitalized Jinshan Bay—and by extension, Shencheng’s entire fishing and aquaculture industry—single-handedly.

It was precisely because Han Xiaorui led the way that people were willing to invest, whether in aquaculture or marine fishing.

Otherwise, a single fishing moratorium, lasting the better part of half a year, would be enough to make many shy away or even give up entirely.

Leader Wang paused, realizing Chen Yupeng had a point. ”Alright, I understand. Technical skills can’t be faked. Only those with genuine abilities who are willing to work hard can produce results.”

Seeing that the leader had made his decision, Chen Yupeng breathed a sigh of relief.

’The people sent over should be actual talent, not some well-connected freeloaders just waiting for their paychecks.’

’Otherwise, not only would they be no help to Han Xiaorui, they might even cause trouble for her.’

Just as Chen Yupeng was about to leave, Leader Wang stopped him again. ”Yupeng, about the release of the valuable fish fry into the ocean, has President Han mentioned when it will happen?”

Chen Yupeng smiled. ”Tomorrow is the weekend, and I’m actually taking my wife and child to visit President Han’s home. I’ll ask her then.”

”Good. Once you have a clear answer, I can arrange the related work on my end,” Leader Wang said, very satisfied.

’After all, for an event this significant, there was a lot of coordination to be done.’

’For example, we could invite the city’s top leaders to personally participate. An activity like this aligns perfectly with policies on protecting the fishing moratorium and promoting sustainable development.’

’With some maneuvering, television interviews and news reports could even land us a spot on the 7 PM national news broadcast.’

’These are all political accomplishments!’

’This was much more than just releasing some fish fry into the sea!’

Carrying Leader Wang’s instructions, Chen Yupeng left work for the day.

The next day, Mianmian, Pingping, and An’an were together from morning till night at Rain Kindergarten, so naturally, they wanted to play together on the weekend as well.

Mianmian was an articulate child, and her mother, Yao Yulan, had taught her well. Knowing that Pingping and An’an had language delays, Yao Yulan had instructed Mianmian to lead them in play and encourage them to talk.

Cai Wenjun also tagged along, running around with them. He spent all his allowance buying snacks and toys for his three little friends.

Every time Liang Xiaoyu mentioned it, her face would light up with a smile.

”And you’re smiling about it?” Han Xiaorui said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. ”Wenjun just spent his entire allowance. He’ll probably be asking you for more in a little while. It’s fine to give him money, but you can’t just say yes every time.” She felt Liang Xiaoyu’s approach to parenting was misguided.

Liang Xiaoyu started counting on her fingers. ”Here, Xiao Rui, let me break it down for you. The only people Wenjun is willing to spend his allowance on are his sister, Xiao Min, Pingping, An’an, and now Mianmian.”

”Besides them, only his grandmother and I ever receive anything from his ’filial piety fund.’ Even his own father can’t pry a cent of allowance from him. In fact, it’s the other way around—Wenjun often rummages through the pockets of his dad’s dirty laundry.”

Hearing this, Han Xiaorui raised her eyebrows in surprise. ”He knows to check pockets now?”

”Yep, he figured it out,” Liang Xiaoyu replied. ”Last month, when I was washing his dad’s clothes, I found half a pack of cigarettes and two ten-cent coins in Xueqin’s pocket. Wenjun was right there, so I just gave him the coins as allowance.”

”He’s remembered ever since. Now, whenever he sees a pile of laundry, he checks the pockets. And believe it or not, both Xueqin and my father-in-law are always forgetting to empty theirs. My mother-in-law and I used to give the money back to them, but now whatever Wenjun finds is his, and no one can take it away from him.”

”My son knows how to spend money, and that’s a good thing. Knowing who’s worth spending it on is even better. What’s the big deal about a few kids going to the corner store? It’s hot out; they’re just getting some ice cream to cool off.”

Hearing Liang Xiaoyu’s explanation, Han Xiaorui didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. ”I have to say, Wenjun has made huge progress. Our efforts haven’t been for nothing!”

Liang Xiaoyu nodded. ”Three days ago, I took Wenjun to the maternity and child care hospital to see Expert Wang. He personally assessed our Wenjun and said that among the children in the same intervention therapy program, our Wenjun, and your Pingping and An’an, are showing the best results.”

Han Xiaorui smiled. ”That’s right. Expert Wang also highly praised their kindergarten, saying it’s been a great help to the children. Let’s keep up the hard work!”

”Mhm.” Liang Xiaoyu nodded. ”If Wenjun can recover and grow up to be a typical kid, or even just a normal, ordinary person, my mother-in-law and I are willing to donate money to help you build a child development and rehabilitation center. Think of it as a way to pray for Wenjun’s future.”

Han Xiaorui smiled. Only mothers like her and Liang Xiaoyu could truly understand how hard-won their children’s progress was.

”Deal!” Han Xiaorui nodded. ”Let’s work hard together.”

After chatting with Ye Feng for a bit, Chen Yupeng came over to Han Xiaorui. ”Sister-in-law, when are we releasing the fish fry?”

Han Xiaorui thought for a moment. ”I’m thinking around the time of the second batch, which should be mid-June. There are so many fish farmers lined up to buy fry right now. If we do the release now, they’d probably blockade the gates to the breeding base, and I wouldn’t get a moment of peace at my own house either.”

Chen Yupeng considered this, then asked, ”Sister-in-law, how many fry are you planning to release?”

Han Xiaorui gave a wry smile. ”The ocean is so vast; even if I released every single fry from my breeding base, it would be a drop in the bucket. But I’m running a business. I need to turn a profit and cover my operating expenses, so I can’t ignore the costs.”

”Professor Li and his team and I ran the numbers. This year, we can spare a million fry for the release, at most. Any more than that would impact my expansion plans and operations.”

Hearing the number—one million—made Chen Yupeng smile and nod. ”Sister-in-law, you’re incredibly generous. I would have thought half a million was already a lot.”

Han Xiaorui just smiled. ”I’ve taken so much from the ocean. It’s only right that I do something to give back. It’s one million this year. Next year, once the breeding operation has expanded, I’ll double the amount.”

”Next year?” Chen Yupeng froze. ”Sister-in-law, you plan to do this every year?”

Doing it once could be seen as a publicity stunt, but doing it annually was something else entirely. The significance was far greater.