The Sea Queen of 1985

Chapter 66: Chapter 66: The Stinky yet Fragrant ”White Stone

Han Xiaorui entered the water again, diving to the bottom.

The sea snake saw Han Xiaorui and flicked its tongue, as if greeting her and urging her to hurry over.

This white ”stone” was over a meter long, an irregular oblong shape with a diameter of about a foot.

The sea snake coiled around it once, trying to drag it away.

But its body was too slender and it was too weak; it couldn’t move the thing at all.

Han Xiaorui couldn’t tell what it was, but the sea snake’s actions made her decide to haul it to the surface.

It wasn’t as heavy as she had imagined and even had some buoyancy. Han Xiaorui hugged it and quickly ascended.

Liang Xiaoyu saw Han Xiaorui surface while hugging a rock and looked confused. ”Xiao Rui, what are you doing bringing up a rock?”

”I have a feeling this is something good, so I brought it up.” Han Xiaorui held it up while Liang Xiaoyu helped pull it aboard.

A fishy, foul stench washed over them, and Liang Xiaoyu nearly gagged. ”This rock smells awful! Hey, Xiao Rui, I don’t think this is a rock. A stone this big couldn’t possibly be so light!”

Han Xiaorui found a burlap sack, put the object inside, and placed it in the boat’s cabin.

’It’s fine if I don’t know what it is. I’ll take it back first and figure it out later.’

They were both hungry. Liang Xiaoyu washed her hands and took out the thin rice cakes and hot ginger soup her mother-in-law had made. ”Hungry?”

The thin rice cakes were made from glutinous rice.

The ones Granny Cai made had sesame and walnuts in them and were delightfully sweet.

Han Xiaorui nodded. ”I really am hungry. Sister-in-law Xiao Yu, what do other fishermen usually eat on their boats? We’re always eating snacks, and I feel like it’s not filling enough.”

Liang Xiaoyu smiled. ”They have those stoves, the kind you secure to the boat. They bring some vegetables with them, or they catch fish and cook it right there on the spot.”

Han Xiaorui’s eyes lit up. ”Sister-in-law Xiao Yu, I don’t know what kind of stove to buy. I’ll give you the money, and you can buy one for me. We should get a stove too, so we can have hot meals.”

”After all, our work is physically demanding. We need to eat well and eat our fill. And if we come across some good fish or shrimp, we can be the first to pay our respects to them by eating them.”

Having spent this time with Han Xiaorui, Liang Xiaoyu knew she wasn’t just being polite—she genuinely loved good food.

In Han Xiaorui’s eyes, nothing was more important than a delicious meal.

’Eat well, drink well, and all is right with the world!’

”Sure, I’ll go buy it and find someone to secure it to the boat.” Liang Xiaoyu smiled. She could handle that.

After eating, Han Xiaorui prepared to pull up the shrimp traps.

’If I finish early, I can head back early and make something delicious for my sister and the kids tonight.’

The shrimp traps yielded a rich harvest. There were large lobsters and a good number of kuruma prawns, which were delicious and meaty.

Han Xiaorui planned to keep some of the kuruma prawns and an octopus for herself when they got to the docks.

After pulling up the traps, they passed by Wang Gensheng’s fishing boat. ”Uncle Gensheng, this spot will be submerged in about half an hour, so be careful. I’m heading home now.”

Wang Gensheng was a bit tired and taking a break. He was thrilled because he had caught a lot of abalone today. ”Alright, you be careful then. We’ll fish for another half an hour.”

”Okay!” Han Xiaorui nodded and steered the boat away.

However, Wang Gensheng had a sharp nose. He caught a whiff of a scent that was foul yet faintly fragrant.

It was a bit familiar, as if he’d smelled it somewhere before, but he couldn’t quite place it at the moment.

They had traveled quite far today. With the boat full of their catch, it was slower than on the way out.

It took them a full three hours to reach the county town’s dock.

The moment Boss Zhang saw Han Xiaorui, he grinned from ear to ear. ”Xiao Han, you’re finally here! Besides the lobsters, what other goodies do you have for me today?”

Han Xiaorui pointed at the baskets of abalone. ”There, they’re all in there!”

When Boss Zhang saw what was in the baskets, his eyes nearly popped out of his head. ”Well, I’ll be damned! This is abalone! Abalone this big is a rare sight!”

”What’s your price?” Han Xiaorui asked. Abalone of this quality was highly sought after on the market.

Even though it was the 1980s and many people’s incomes were not high, one should never underestimate the wealthy people of this era—from the mainland, from Hong Kong Island, and from abroad.

Boss Zhang rubbed his hands together excitedly. Most of them were two-head abalone, meaning two abalones per pound.

The fact that these abalones were live made them even more valuable.

”Two-head abalone, 15 yuan per pound; three-head, 10 yuan per pound; four-head, 8 yuan per pound.”

”Lobster and crab will be the same price as before. How does that sound, Xiao Han?”

Han Xiaorui nodded, as the prices were within her acceptable range. ”There are also some one-head abalone over there. What are you offering for those?”

”What?” Boss Zhang exclaimed. ”One-head abalone? Where?”

Boss Zhang rushed to the fish hold. His eyes fell on the massive abalones, his expression one of pure joy, as if he were gazing upon the most beautiful woman in the world.

”My God, it really is one-head abalone! Two-head is already incredibly rare, but you actually have so many one-head abalone here.”

”For the one-head, I’ll double the price directly: 30 yuan per pound. How’s that?”

Han Xiaorui nodded. ”Deal. Get some people to sort and weigh them quickly.”

Boss Zhang immediately found six people and they began sorting the abalone.

One-head abalone: 213 pounds at 30 yuan/pound, for a total of 6,390 yuan.

Two-head abalone: 640 pounds at 15 yuan/pound, for a total of 9,600 yuan.

Three-head abalone: 320 pounds at 10 yuan/pound, for a total of 3,200 yuan.

Four-head abalone: 160 pounds at 8 yuan/pound, for a total of 1,280 yuan.

Just from the abalone, she earned 20,470 yuan.

The shrimp and crab sold for a total of 3,920 yuan.

In total, she made 24,390 yuan today.

She also kept half a basket of abalone, some kuruma prawns, and a small octopus to take home and cook.

Boss Zhang paid her promptly, urged Xiao Liu to load everything onto the truck and drive off immediately, and had Xiao Zhao stay behind to take over receiving goods for him.

Han Xiaorui was as eager to get home as an arrow loosed from a bow, hoping to be back before five o’clock.

Liang Xiaoyu was truly envious of Han Xiaorui’s income, but it was only envy. After all, Han Xiaorui had brought up every single one of those abalones from the seafloor herself.

That wasn’t something just anyone could do!

”It’s a shame. Now that other people know about such a good spot, it’ll probably be picked clean soon,” Liang Xiaoyu lamented. ”It feels like every boat in the village wants to go out to sea with us now.”

If Han Xiaorui didn’t have her superpower, her ”cheat,” she might have been worried about her income decreasing.

But with her superpower, she could roam thousands of miles through the ocean without fear.

Unless another black hole appeared and sucked her away again.

But even if she were sucked away, she wouldn’t be afraid.

’I’ve lived two lives, it was worth it! Who knows, maybe there will be other opportunities!’

”The ocean is vast; there are plenty of places to fish,” Han Xiaorui said with a smile. ”Our income is only going to increase, so don’t worry.”

Liang Xiaoyu praised her, ”Xiao Rui, you’re just so open-minded. Anyone else would probably be furious.”

”Haha, with Mazu’s blessing, the sea belongs to no one, and it is generous,” Han Xiaorui laughed, her eyes fixed ahead.

After docking the boat, she saw Yang Jianguo on the pier.

As Han Xiaorui got closer, she learned that the village was planning to repair the pier.

When Yang Jianguo finished what he was doing, Han Xiaorui waved him over. ”Brother Jianguo, I’m having a little trouble with my boat. Could you come take a look?”

”Xiao Rui, what’s wrong?” Yang Jianguo came over and entered the cabin. ”Whoa, what’s that smell?”

Han Xiaorui opened the burlap sack. ”Brother, I have a feeling this is something valuable, but I can’t figure out what it’s called.”

Yang Jianguo leaned in for a look. The scent hit him, and he was stunned. He quickly reached in, pinched off a piece, and brought it to his nose to smell and examine it closely. ”My God, Xiao Rui, you’ve really hit the jackpot!”