The Sea Queen of 1985

Chapter 482: Chapter 482: So Many Mouse Groupers

As the fleet owner, Han Xiaorui came over as well.

The wholesalers and buyers hurried forward to greet her.

But Han Xiaorui was a woman, and all the buyers—bosses in their own right—were men. Knowing she didn’t smoke, they quickly stuffed their cigarettes into their pockets.

This was especially true because Han Xiaorui was an exceptionally beautiful female boss. These men were usually smooth-talkers, but they didn’t dare try anything in front of her.

She was their bread and butter, after all!

Previously, these buyers had ganged up, thinking they could lowball her since she was bringing in so much seafood.

But Han Xiaorui was something else. She simply sailed her boats away from the dock and went to the one in the city, where there was an even larger wholesale market with more buyers.

She sold her catch there for a slightly lower price, but she absolutely refused to let the local wholesalers collude to lowball her.

Han Xiaorui even sent word that if they didn’t raise their prices, she wouldn’t sell them any seafood at all.

For Han Xiaorui, it just meant earning a little less, but for these seafood wholesalers, it was a huge loss.

They could buy from other fishing boats, of course, but the quantity was limited, and the quality couldn’t compare to Han Xiaorui’s catch, especially her mid- to high-end fish.

Not only was her haul plentiful, but the condition of the fish was excellent.

When they supplied seafood restaurants and hotels, these fish always fetched a good price.

After Han Xiaorui returned from two consecutive trips without selling them a single fish, the buyers finally behaved. They obediently raised their prices—and even added another two percent on top of the original price.

After that showdown, they learned that Han Xiaorui was more ruthless and had more guts than Yang Zhigang.

At the time, Yang Zhigang had thought it was enough for the buyers to simply restore their original prices.

But Han Xiaorui wouldn’t have it. She felt they had ganged up to bully her and Yang Zhigang.

Now that she had the upper hand, she certainly wasn’t going to let these buyers off easy.

The two-percent increase on top of the original price was a penalty for their dishonesty.

Although the buyers were unhappy about it, they knew they’d been in the wrong, so they could only hold their noses and accept it.

At the same time, the buyers also came to a realization: if you offended Yang Zhigang, there might still be room for negotiation.

Yang Zhigang was concerned about saving face. A few nice words or someone putting in a good word for you, and the matter would probably be dropped.

But Han Xiaorui... she wanted face, and she wanted results. Letting her get cheated or take a loss? Not a chance.

It was precisely because of Han Xiaorui’s masterful tactics that these men didn’t dare act out of line in her presence.

Moreover, those who knew her background knew that Han Xiaorui, a divorcée with a child, had managed to marry into the family of a ”red capitalist” and become its young mistress.

A woman like that didn’t get by on a pretty face alone. After all, there were plenty of beautiful women, but how many actually married into a family like that?

What’s more, she had since given her husband a pair of fraternal twins, making her position rock-solid.

A woman like that was too formidable. You didn’t provoke her.

Zhang Guangnan had been working with Han Xiaorui for a long time and had once received her help during his most difficult period.

As a result, the price Zhang Guangnan offered for her seafood was arguably the highest in all of Shencheng.

In return, Han Xiaorui, a woman who valued loyalty, made sure the seafood she supplied to Zhang Guangnan was of the highest quality.

Han Xiaorui saw Zhang Guangnan approach and smiled. ”Boss Zhang, wishing you great fortune!”

Zhang Guangnan clasped his hands in a fist-and-palm salute. ”It’s all thanks to you, President Han!”

Han Xiaorui chuckled. ”You’re glowing. Is there a happy occasion on the horizon?”

Zhang Guangnan chuckled and pulled out a stack of invitations, handing the one on top to Han Xiaorui. ”I’m getting married the day after tomorrow. Anyone who’s free, please come for a celebratory drink!”

Han Xiaorui accepted the invitation. ”This time, my congratulations are for real, not just empty pleasantries! I wish you a happy marriage, Boss Zhang, and may you have a son soon.”

The others also knew Zhang Guangnan, and after receiving their invitations, they all promised to be there.

When baskets filled with fish began to be carried off the boat, everyone fell silent. All eyes were fixed on the catch as they scrambled to buy the seafood they needed.

There were many boats and even more fish. Han Xiaorui stayed for over an hour, offering words of encouragement to the crew before preparing to leave.

Just then, Chen Yishui hurried after her. ”President Han, once I’m done here, I’ll come to your house. I have something to report!”

Han Xiaorui was taken aback, but with others around, she simply smiled. ”Alright. As it happens, I have something to assign to you as well.”

Han Xiaorui was filled with suspicion. ’What could Chen Yishui possibly want to talk about?’

The people nearby were also stunned.

’What couldn’t be said in public?’

’Is there a conflict within the fleet? Is Chen Yishui going to file a complaint?’

These men were all bosses; they were sharp as tacks.

Their minds were racing with gossip, and they were dying to ”interrogate” Chen Yishui on the spot.

Just then, a cry of surprise came from behind. ”My God, is that leopard coral grouper? I haven’t seen leopard coral grouper this good in years! These are a good three or four pounds apiece!”

”One crate, two crates, three... My God, there are twenty crates already! Did you guys raid the leopard coral groupers’ nest? I’ll take them! I’ll take them all!”

”Old Liu, don’t be ridiculous! With this many leopard coral groupers, if you take them all, what’s left for the rest of us? Jack squat? No way! We’re splitting them.”

”Exactly! I’m not greedy, just give me half.”

”In your dreams! Half? Why don’t you just ask for all of it? Finders keepers, everyone gets a share.”

...

As everyone was scrambling, Chen Yishui stood on a high platform with a megaphone and shouted, ”Stop fighting! We’ll follow the usual rules. Anyone who causes more trouble gets thrown out!”

It was already chaotic. If they started fighting, unloading would take even longer.

If anyone else had said that, the buyers would have ignored them completely. But Chen Yishui was the head captain, in charge of all the other captains.

Her word was second only to Han Xiaorui’s and Yang Zhigang’s.

Jinshan Bay had produced a formidable woman like Han Xiaorui, and now a formidable captain like Chen Yishui.

It was like the world had been turned upside down. She was basically the Wu Zetian of Jinshan Bay!

You couldn’t afford to cross her. You absolutely couldn’t.

There was no helping it; they all relied on Han Xiaorui to make a living.

Still, it was strange.

Under Chen Yishui’s leadership, Han Xiaorui’s fleet returned with a full haul every single time.

Who else could manage that?

It wasn’t just Jinshan Bay—who in all of Shencheng hadn’t heard of such a legend?

Sister Lan watched the big shots fall instantly silent and whispered, ”Sister Shui is such a badass!”

Liang Xiaoyu said smugly, ”Of course she is. Those leopard coral groupers were caught by our boat. The other boats got some too, but none of them caught as many as we did.”

’Our commission this time is going to be huge again.’

Even though her family’s pastry shop was making good money now—more than her commission—Liang Xiaoyu still loved the process of fishing out on the open sea.

It was thrilling and deeply satisfying.

It wasn’t until six hours later, after all the fish had been unloaded and the accounts settled, that Chen Yishui finally arrived at Han Xiaorui’s home.