The Sea Queen of 1985

Chapter 21: Chapter 21: Becoming the Most Feared Person in Jinshan Bay

Yang Zhigang was so angry he could only roll his eyes. ”Who’s bullying who here? You bullying Han Xiaorui, or Han Xiaorui bullying you? If your head isn’t on straight, then you can just stay locked up! I’m sick and tired of cleaning up your messes day in and day out.”

”If you get sentenced, I can save 50,000 yuan. I, Yang Zhigang, don’t want a wife who’s been to prison. I’ll just file for divorce with the court. Don’t think just because I’m an honest and decent man that I won’t get a new wife.”

With that, Yang Zhigang made a move to leave.

Zhang Xiufang’s face went pale with fear, her lips trembling. ”Yang Zhigang, you heartless bastard! I’ve been with you for almost thirty years! If I hadn’t saved you when you were injured back then, you’d be dead!”

A scornful look appeared in Yang Zhigang’s eyes. ”You did save me back then, but you also shamelessly latched onto me. Otherwise, why would a handsome young man like me have been interested in you?”

”I came here to tell you how serious this is because I want to help you. We don’t have enough money at home. If you want to get out, I’ll have to sell all your gold jewelry, and even then I’ll still need to borrow money.”

”Oh, and by the way, if you get out and still go looking for trouble with Han Xiaorui, then I don’t see any reason to get her forgiveness. We might as well save the money. Don’t pay her a thing. You can just go to prison.”

Yang Zhigang’s words completely shattered Zhang Xiufang’s resolve.

Zhang Xiufang was furious and heartbroken, but she didn’t want to go to prison!

”Zhigang, I’m begging you, please save me! I’ll listen to you, I’ll do whatever you say. From now on, I’ll steer clear of Han Xiaorui whenever I see her. I can’t afford to mess with her, but I can at least stay away, right?”

She was scared. Utterly defeated.

Yang Zhigang sighed. In the end, he couldn’t bring himself to go through with a divorce. After all, Zhang Xiufang had saved him from the sea back then. It was a debt of gratitude.

”This is the last chance I’m giving you. If you go back to how you were before, I will definitely divorce you.”

Yang Zhigang left and sold all of Zhang Xiufang’s gold jewelry. He even sold the gold bars they had bought as a nest egg. After borrowing more money from the villagers, he finally scraped together the fifty thousand yuan.

Han Xiaorui hadn’t been idle either. She went out fishing and sold her catch directly to Boss Zhang in the county seat, earning over three thousand yuan.

Within three days, with Chen Nanyang as a witness, Han Xiaorui signed the settlement agreement in triplicate.

Han Xiaorui paid Chen Nanyang the 6,000 yuan fee as per their agreement, making him so happy he nearly jumped for joy.

”Ms. Han, I’ll start looking into storefronts for you as soon as I get back. I guarantee I’ll find you a great location at a good price,” Chen Nanyang promised. ’This is a major client.’

Over the past two days, Chen Nanyang had learned that Han Xiaorui was a fisherman. Every time she went out to sea, she made money—and a good amount at that.

By serving a wealthy client like her, his law firm would be able to survive.

Han Xiaorui smiled. ”Then I’ll be counting on you!”

After Chen Nanyang left, Han Xiaorui took the money and went straight to the bank in the county seat to deposit it. Including the money from selling fish over the past few days, she deposited a total of fifty thousand.

After all, with a family of four, daily expenses were high. It was good to have some money set aside for emergencies.

It was the weekend, so there were no therapy sessions at the hospital.

Han Xiaorui locked the door. ”Come on, let’s go to the zoo! Pingping and An’an have never been to the zoo before!”

Pingping’s eyes lit up, and she whispered, ”Giant pandas!”

The day before, their teacher at the hospital had shown them pictures of giant pandas and told them there were real ones at the zoo.

Han Xiaoqing smiled. ”Good job, Pingping! You remembered what the teacher said. Come on, today your auntie and mommy will take you to see the giant pandas!”

An’an’s big eyes darted around, a new sparkle in them. ”Big tigers!”

”Okay, we’ll see the big tigers, too,” Han Xiaorui said with a laugh, leading her daughters onto the bus.

There was a bus stop in Jinshan Bay. It was the first stop on the route, so there were always seats, but a bus only came every half hour.

Han Xiaorui and her sister boarded the bus with the girls, and everyone on board turned to look at Han Xiaorui.

Nowadays, no one in Jinshan Bay dared to look down on this skinny wife from out of town, Han Xiaorui.

Zhang Xiufang, known far and wide as Jinshan Bay’s most shameless bully, hadn’t even lasted two rounds against Han Xiaorui before being sent away.

It had cost a full 50,000 yuan to settle, and even now, she hadn’t been released. The police said that even if she avoided prison time, according to the Public Security Administration Punishments Law, she still had to be detained for fifteen days.

Han Xiaorui had made a name for herself in one fell swoop, dethroning the shameless bully Zhang Xiufang to become Jinshan Bay’s number one ”tough nut”!

Han Xiaorui smiled. ”Pingping, An’an, say hello to the aunties.”

Holding their mother’s warm hands, the two children seemed to draw strength. Though still very shy and clinging to their mother’s side, they summoned their courage to say hello.

”Hello, Auntie!”

”Hello, Auntie!”

Their voices were quiet but very sweet and childlike.

Thanks to Han Xiaorui’s skillful hands, both daughters had their hair in pretty princess styles, adorned with sparkly clips. Beneath their wispy bangs were a pair of large, limpid eyes.

They had small, perky noses and rosy little mouths. Their faces were fair, and after a few days of being carefully fed, their cheeks had filled out a bit, making them look adorably cherubic.

The middle-aged woman they had greeted, Xu Hongxia, was the village’s women’s director. A smile spread across her face. ”Aww, look at these pretty little girls! So well-behaved!”

Han Xiaorui showed a hint of shame. ”Things used to be a complete mess, and I didn’t pay enough attention to the children, so they became shy. I’ll take better care of them from now on. I’m sure I’ll need to ask for your advice on raising kids, Sister.”

Hearing this, Xu Hongxia was visibly pleased. Both of her own children had gotten into university, a first in their village.

”You really do need to give children a lot of attention. If there’s anything you don’t understand, feel free to ask me. I think Pingping and An’an have such bright eyes. If you teach them well, they’ll be little chatterboxes in no time.”

”Thank you,” Han Xiaorui said. ”I’ll take that as a blessing, Sister.”

The woman who had also been called ”Auntie” was named Liang Xiaoyu. She had seen Pingping and An’an before when they were non-verbal and seemed lifeless. But now, not only could they speak, but apart from being shy, they looked quite bright and spirited.

”Xiao Rui, does the hospital treatment really work?” Liang Xiaoyu asked. Her own little son was like that; he was already four years old and couldn’t speak.

She had an older daughter who was normal; she never expected that after finally having a son, he’d turn out to be a little simpleton.

Her mother-in-law was constantly making a scene at home, throwing things around and saying she had given birth to a ”bad egg,” making her suffer endless grievances for no reason.

Han Xiaorui looked at Liang Xiaoyu. ”Sister Xiao Yu, all I can say is that my two girls have been going for a week. Before, they wouldn’t say a single word. Now, they can greet people.”

Liang Xiaoyu grew excited and grabbed Han Xiaorui’s hand tightly. ”Xiao Rui, when are you going to the hospital again? I... I want to take my son.”

Han Xiaorui replied, ”We’re going on Monday. I’ve hired Sixth Uncle Song’s van. You can bring your son and come with us then. The fees are a bit expensive, but I think it’s completely worth it.”

Xu Hongxia chimed in from the side, ”Xiao Yu, don’t worry about the money. If he can get better and learn to take care of himself, it will be a huge weight off your mind.”

Liang Xiaoyu’s voice was choked with emotion. ”Yes... For a girl, it’s a little better. Someone will marry her, for better or for worse. But a boy... sigh... he’ll never be able to find a wife. Even on the day I die, I won’t be able to rest easy.”

”Even if I have to sell everything we own, I have to get him into this therapy. I can’t let him miss the best window for intervention.”

At that moment, it was as if Liang Xiaoyu had found a guiding light; she began to see Han Xiaorui as a dear friend.

For the rest of the ride, she held onto Han Xiaorui, talking a great deal. She was deeply moved and became even more determined to get treatment for her child.