The Sea Queen of 1985

Chapter 45: Chapter 45: Tact in Business, Integrity in Life

Liang Xiaoyu cried out, her face paling. ”Oh god, that’s a sea snake! It’s venomous.”

When Cao Dapeng heard this, he ignored the pain in his own leg, struggled up, and ripped off Cao Qiang’s pants. He tried to squeeze out the snake venom with his hands, but it didn’t seem very effective.

Steeling himself, he leaned over his nephew’s buttock and started forcefully sucking out the venom.

Although Liang Xiaoyu and Han Xiaorui had immediately turned away, they still caught a glimpse of the large, dark birthmark on Cao Qiang’s buttock.

Han Xiaorui found the first-aid kit and handed it to Liang Xiaoyu. ”Sister-in-law Xiao Yu, excuse me, let me take the kit over.”

Liang Xiaoyu was older and certainly couldn’t let a young woman like Han Xiaorui go over. She snatched the first-aid kit. ”Don’t you go, I will. Cao Qiang’s mom is only a few years older than me. I saw him running around bare-bottomed as a kid. You, get the boat moving!”

With that, Liang Xiaoyu brought the first-aid kit over to Cao Dapeng. ”Uncle Cao, don’t worry, Xiao Rui is starting the boat now. We’ll be moving soon. I have antiseptic here, I’ll disinfect the wound for Cao Qiang.”

Cao Dapeng was bleeding quite a bit by now, his face pale. Seeing Liang Xiaoyu come over to disinfect his nephew’s wound, he gave a weak smile. ”Thank you, Xiao Yu.”

Cao Qiang had just had his uncle suck on his buttock wound, and now Sister-in-law Xiao Yu was disinfecting it. He was so mortified his face and ears turned bright red. Covering his rear with both hands, he was on the verge of tears. ”No, I... I’ll do it myself!”

But Liang Xiaoyu was a feisty one. She slapped Cao Qiang on the buttock. ”When I married into Jinshan Bay, you were just a little brat running around with a bare butt. What is there that I haven’t seen!”

”Even though your uncle sucked the venom out, who knows if there are germs or what! Now lie still. If you don’t listen, I’ll tell your mom when we get back, and she’ll beat your butt raw.”

Cao Qiang instantly froze and lay there obediently. The cool sensation on his buttock was a bit of a relief. He covered his face. ’I’m too embarrassed to ever face anyone again!’

Liang Xiaoyu said to Cao Dapeng, ”Uncle Cao, it looks like your bleeding has stopped, so let’s not move you. Just hang in there. We’ll be at the county pier in about an hour.”

”I’m in your debt!” Cao Dapeng said gratefully. If it weren’t for Han Xiaorui and Liang Xiaoyu, he and his nephew, Cao Qiang, probably wouldn’t have made it.

With two extra people on board, plus so much seafood, the boat was slow.

But now Cao Dapeng and Cao Qiang needed emergency treatment and had to get to the hospital as soon as possible. She couldn’t bear to throw away the fish and shrimp she had worked so hard to catch, so she had no choice but to use her Water Ability. She created a current behind the boat, pushing it along and increasing its speed.

The trip, which should have taken an hour, was completed in just forty minutes.

Boss Zhang had gotten a call from Han Xiaorui in the morning and had rushed over to wait for her right after lunch.

He waited until three in the afternoon for Han Xiaorui to finally arrive. Just as he was about to ask what was going on...

...he heard Han Xiaorui say to him, ”Boss Zhang, please help me call a car. Two fishermen from our village are injured and need to go to the hospital.”

Hearing this, Boss Zhang was more than willing to help. ”Alright. Xiao Liu, Xiao Zhao, go down and help carry them up.”

Han Xiaorui pulled three hundred yuan from her pocket and handed it to Liang Xiaoyu. ”Sister-in-law Xiao Yu, you go with them in the car and make sure they get to the emergency room. Then call Uncle Cao’s family and let them know.”

Han Xiaorui couldn’t leave the boat full of seafood. Liang Xiaoyu took the money. ”Okay, I’ll go. Find some people to sort the fish and shrimp. I’ll hurry back as soon as the Cao family arrives.”

”Okay!” Han Xiaorui agreed, watching as Liang Xiaoyu left with the car.

Han Xiaorui hired three women to come aboard and sort the fish and shrimp.

Large lobsters over two jin: 120 jin at 6 yuan/jin, totaling 720 yuan.

Large lobsters over one jin: 610 jin at 4 yuan/jin, totaling 2,440 yuan.

Large lobsters between half a jin and one jin: 260 jin at 2 yuan/jin, totaling 520 yuan.

Anything under half a jin wasn’t worth much, so she tossed them back into the sea to be caught again when they were bigger.

The large lobsters alone sold for 3,680 yuan.

Portunus crabs: 115 jin. The price was a bit higher today at 1.5 yuan/jin, for a total of 172.5 yuan.

Boss Zhang was grinning from ear to ear. Another batch of excellent product! Once the deck was clear, he hopped onto the boat to have a look around.

”Xiao Han, what other good fish do you have in the hold?”

Before Han Xiaorui could answer, Boss Zhang lifted the hatch himself. ”Whoa, the fish in this live well are gorgeous. Xiao Han, sell them to me. The aquariums in my seafood restaurant are missing exactly this kind of beautiful fish.”

Han Xiaorui smiled. ”I’ll scoop out two of each for you. Consider it a gift, Boss Zhang.”

Boss Zhang refused. He was a slick businessman, but an honest man. ”No way. Making a living at sea isn’t easy. Catching fish like this is even harder.”

”I won’t take advantage of you. Ten yuan per fish, two of each kind. Otherwise, I’d rather go buy them at the flower-and-bird market than take them from you for free.”

Han Xiaorui gave him a thumbs-up. ”You’re a class act, Boss Zhang. No wonder you’re so successful!”

Hearing this, Boss Zhang beamed. ”Let’s all get rich together! By the way, what’s in here?”

Han Xiaorui answered, ”Silver pomfret. I didn’t have enough baskets, so I put them all in here!”

Boss Zhang’s eyes lit up. He quickly opened the lid, and his eyes seemed to be glued to the silver pomfret inside.

At that moment, even if a peerless, nation-toppling beauty were standing before him, Zhang Fa Cai wouldn’t have given her a second glance.

These fish were far more beautiful than any woman!

”These are all excellent fish, and in great condition, too! Xiao Liu, Xiao Zhao, handle them with care and sort them by size.”

”Yes, boss!” Xiao Liu and Xiao Zhao were also thrilled to see so many good fish.

Especially the pomfret weighing over two jin—they looked so good it made their mouths water.

Boss Zhang kept reminding them, ”Careful, don’t damage them!”

Pomfret over 3 jin: 8 yuan per jin, 110 jin, totaling 880 yuan.

Pomfret from 2-3 jin: 6 yuan/jin, 630 jin, totaling 3,780 yuan.

Pomfret from 1-2 jin: 4 yuan/jin, 420 jin, totaling 1,680 yuan.

Pomfret from 0.5-1 jin: 2 yuan/jin, 160 jin, totaling 320 yuan.

The ones under 0.5 jin, she didn’t sell. There were 43 jin of them, which she would take home to eat.

In total, the silver pomfret sold for 6,660 yuan. Adding the 3,852.5 yuan from the earlier lobsters and crabs, her earnings came to 10,512.5 yuan.

Finally, adding the 160 yuan for the ornamental fish, the grand total was 10,672.5 yuan.

After Boss Zhang paid Han Xiaorui, his money bag was instantly deflated.

However, he was extremely satisfied with the fish he had acquired.

With a good supply source for his high-end restaurant, he would earn even more. Nowadays, many foreigners came to eat at his seafood restaurant in the city.

”Sister Xiao Rui, the weather’s great tomorrow. Are you going fishing?” Boss Zhang stared at Han Xiaorui eagerly, afraid she would say she was busy and wouldn’t be going out.

Han Xiaorui smiled. ”Of course I am. The schools of fish are plentiful right now, so I want to earn some more money, too.”

Han Xiaorui was no longer satisfied with her small ten-meter boat. She wanted to earn enough money to buy a bigger fishing vessel and go out to farther, deeper waters.

”Great! It’s a deal, then. I’ll be waiting here tomorrow after lunch,” Zhang Fa Cai said happily. ”As long as you have good product, I’ll definitely give you a high price.”

”Boss Zhang, what kind of fish has been selling well recently?” Han Xiaorui asked. ”And which ones are the most expensive?”

In the entire ocean, there wasn’t a fish she couldn’t catch.

’Of course she’d go after whatever was most expensive. That way, she could earn more money in a single trip.’