The Sea Queen of 1985

Chapter 28: Chapter 28: Finding the Peach Garden’s ”Guardian

With the boat at the shipyard for repairs these past few days, she didn’t have to worry about it being damaged.

She just had to focus on her family’s peach forest.

She was only two kilometers from Jinshan Bay, so Han Xiaorui decided to walk home instead of waiting for the bus.

Along the way, she kept thinking about how to deal with Brother Wolf, Yu Lanlan, and Song the Second.

The weather was a bit gloomy, and it looked like it was about to rain.

In the grass by the road, a small snake was crawling from the east side to the west.

Seeing this, Han Xiaorui’s eyes lit up!

’That’s it!’ Most local snakes were non-venomous, so she’d get some venomous ones and place them in her peach forest.

If anyone snuck in at night, they would be bitten immediately.

This would be far more effective and stealthy than catching the gangster Brother Wolf and Yu Lanlan in the act and sending them to a detention center.

If she were alone, she could do as she pleased. But with two children and a sister, it was best to avoid a direct confrontation with them.

She was a woman with a superpower. She could launch a sneak attack, and no one would be able to catch her. Even if those people wanted revenge, they wouldn’t be able to find her.

’How thrilling!’

When Han Xiaorui returned home, Pingping and An’an were feeding their precious little pets—chickens, ducks, and geese.

Seeing that their mother was back, they dropped what they were holding and ran over. ”Mommy!”

Han Xiaorui’s face lit up in a smile. ”Mommy’s going to go shower and change, then I’ll hold you.”

Pingping and An’an nodded, their gazes following their mother. They tagged along behind her and waited by the bathroom door.

After washing up and changing into clean clothes, she felt completely refreshed.

Her sister had dinner ready, and Han Xiaorui ate with the children.

”Sis, did everything go well today?” Han Xiaoqing asked. Her older sister had been all smiles since she walked in the door, clearly in a good mood.

”Today was so intense...” Han Xiaorui recounted the story of her escape on the high seas. ”The two Luo Duan sold for a good bit of money, too, so it wasn’t all for nothing.”

Han Xiaoqing patted her sister’s hand. ”Sis, be more careful in the future. Remember, you have two children!”

”Mm, I know. I won’t be so reckless again,” Han Xiaorui answered. ’Ye Feng’s side will probably learn from this, too,’ she thought. ’If they find another tracking device, they’ll have a more effective way of recovering it.’

After dinner, Han Xiaorui went out to her family’s Peach Garden.

The peach blossoms were in full bloom, their fragrance filling the air—a breathtaking sight.

The sisters brought the children and took lots of photos in the peach forest.

They spread a plastic sheet on the ground and shook the trees, causing fragrant pink blossoms to shower down.

Han Xiaorui gathered the peach blossoms to make a peach blossom brew later. Once the peaches were ripe, she could also press their juice to make peach fruit wine.

It was low in alcohol, fragrant, and sweet—a beauty tonic revered by women.

She washed the collected blossoms, then spread them on a sieve to dry in the sun. Next, she sterilized some glass jars by scalding them inside and out with boiling water before letting them air dry.

She layered the blossoms and rock sugar in the jars, then added an appropriate amount of water to begin the fermentation process.

The water was infused with her Water Ability, which changed its quality and would ultimately alter the peach blossom brew as well.

The current temperature was perfect for fermentation. She would have to stir it every morning to release the built-up gas. After a week, the lightly alcoholic peach blossom brew would be ready to drink.

Han Xiaorui made twenty jars—more than enough to satisfy her cravings.

That night, Han Xiaorui searched carefully through the peach forest and managed to find several venomous Short-tailed Vipers.

This species secretes a complex venom that is primarily hemotoxic, but its neurotoxins are also highly dangerous to humans.

A bite from a Short-tailed Viper leads to severe swelling and affects blood circulation.

Without prompt treatment with antivenom, a bite can be fatal.

From now on, she would be relying on them to guard the peach forest.

Han Xiaorui gave them some water enhanced by her Water Ability. The snakes became more intelligent and much stronger.

Their territory was the ten-mu peach forest.

With that done, Han Xiaorui could rest easy, just waiting for some unlucky fool to walk right into her trap.

However, the night was peaceful.

’Surprisingly, no one showed up. Maybe that Brother Wolf isn’t ready yet!’

Han Xiaorui had just finished her meal when Liang Xiaoyu and her husband, Cai Xueqin, arrived with their four-year-old son, Cai Wenjun.

Liang Xiaoyu’s eyes were red; she had clearly been crying over some grievance at home again.

Han Xiaorui quickly got her two daughters ready, and along with her sister, they all climbed into Song Sixth’s car.

Cai Xueqin, being polite, offered Song Sixth a cigarette. ”Sorry to trouble you today, Xiao Han, and you too, Sixth Uncle Song.”

”It’s no trouble, it’s on our way,” Han Xiaorui smiled. ”Wenjun is so handsome. He inherited all the best features from Sister-in-law Xiao Yu and Brother Cai.”

”Sigh, what good is being handsome!” Cai Xueqin was pessimistic, clearly not hopeful about a cure.

Song Sixth tucked the cigarette behind his ear. ”Everyone settled? Let’s get going.”

”We appreciate it,” Han Xiaorui said politely. She ignored Cai Xueqin and looked at her daughters instead. ”Pingping, An’an, say ’brother.’”

Although the two girls were shy, they managed to say ”Brother” with their mother’s encouragement.

Cai Wenjun looked at the two pretty little girls, then shyly hid in his mother Liang Xiaoyu’s arms, stealing glances at them every so often.

Seeing this, Han Xiaorui smiled. ”The fact that he’s responsive to others is a good sign, so don’t be afraid. Let’s see what the specialists at the hospital say.”

”Sigh, I’m just afraid of spending all that money for nothing,” Cai Xueqin hesitated. It wasn’t easy for his family to save, and they still had their very smart older daughter to think about—she was their safety net.

Liang Xiaoyu’s eyes grew even redder as tears streamed down her cheeks. ”Cai Xueqin, you’re just as obsessed with money as your parents! Even if it doesn’t work, at least if we spend the money, we’ll know we did everything we could as parents. We won’t have any regrets, and we’ll be able to face Wenjun.”

”But if you all are too stingy to even get him checked out, by the time the best treatment window has passed, he’ll just be a little fool! Won’t you regret it? Won’t you blame yourself?”

Seeing his wife crying, especially in front of other people, Cai Xueqin looked embarrassed. ”I was just talking... If I really didn’t agree, I wouldn’t have let you all come to the hospital in the first place.”

As he drove, Song Sixth couldn’t help but chime in. He’d seen the change in Pingping and An’an this past week and believed the hospital’s treatment was truly effective. ”Xueqin, money’s not as important as people think. We can always earn it back after we spend it, but you can’t put a child’s future on hold.”

”If you’re short on cash, I don’t have a lot myself, but I can lend you three hundred. Let’s just focus on getting the boy treated first. You don’t have to look far—just look at Pingping and An’an. After only one week of classes, they’re completely different.”

Seeing his mother cry, Cai Wenjun, though not understanding why, reached out a hand to wipe away her tears.

At this sight, Cai Xueqin nodded again and again. ”It’s alright, Sixth Uncle Song, I have some savings. He’s my only son, of course we have to get him treated.”

Once at the hospital, Pingping and An’an began their sensory integration class with the help of their therapist.

Han Xiaoqing stood at the doorway, peering through the small glass window and carefully committing everything to memory.

She was a serious student, integrating what she saw with other materials to gain a thorough understanding. This way, she could give her nieces extra practice at home for even better results.

Expert Wang personally tested Cai Wenjun, and the results were ready in half an hour.

Cai Wenjun’s condition was slightly worse than Pingping’s and An’an’s, but he was still somewhat responsive to external stimuli. He could start with a month of classes to see how he progressed.

Although the expense made his heart ache, Cai Xueqin still paid for one month of classes.