The Sea Queen of 1985

Chapter 75: Chapter 75: Like a ’Cha’ Having a Field Day with the Melons

Han Xiaorui stared, dumbfounded. ”I can’t believe it. Uncle Cai is so ugly, I never thought he’d be such a player!”

”Hmph!” Liang Xiaoyu rolled her eyes, her dislike for her father-in-law clear. ”Yeah, I know, right? Back in the day, my mother-in-law’s parents picked him because they thought since he was ugly, he must be simple and honest. In reality, he’s full of nothing but schemes.”

”So you see, whether a man fools around has nothing to do with his looks. That’s why when you’re looking for a partner, you should still find someone you like looking at, someone you click with, someone handsome.”

Han Xiaorui couldn’t agree more. ”You’re right, Sister-in-law Xiao Yu. Knowing Granny Cai’s temper, the only reason she hasn’t divorced him is probably for the sake of you and your family.”

Liang Xiaoyu nodded. ”Yeah, my mother-in-law is a very fierce woman. The moment my father-in-law started fooling around, she started sleeping in a separate bed. I remember, not long after I was married, my father-in-law tried to force his way into her room, and she chased him out with a cleaver.”

”And because he had a woman on the side, most of the money he earned was spent on her. Eventually, my mother-in-law gave up on him. If he didn’t contribute to the household expenses, she wouldn’t cook for him or even let him in the door.”

”If he knew I was earning this much money, he’d definitely stir up trouble, so I have to be on my guard against him.”

Han Xiaorui understood. ”Okay, you do what you think is best. At least Granny Cai has her son, daughter-in-law, and grandchildren. She doesn’t have to rely on her husband.”

”That’s right.” Liang Xiaoyu grinned. ”The village might look all calm and peaceful on the surface, but behind the scenes, there are all sorts of outrageous things going on!”

At these words, Han Xiaorui immediately perked up. ”Sister-in-law Xiao Yu, hold on a second!”

Outside, the wind howled and the rain fell.

Being stuck indoors was boring, and there was nothing more entertaining than cracking open some melon seeds and listening to village gossip.

Seeing Han Xiaorui’s expression, Liang Xiaoyu raised an eyebrow as if she’d found the perfect gossip buddy, and grabbed a handful of melon seeds for herself.

She cracked a seed between her teeth and said, ”You must have seen Director Lin when you went to the village committee to pay your fees last time, right?”

Han Xiaorui nodded. ”I did. He’s tall, slender, and quite handsome. Wears gold-rimmed glasses, seems very gentle and scholarly. He looks like a well-educated man.”

Hearing Han Xiaorui’s description, Liang Xiaoyu gave a meaningful smile. ”He’s a high school graduate from our village. And a high school diploma from the sixties was a very big deal back then.”

”He’s only in his thirties now. His older brother and nephew went out fishing, got caught in a storm, and were lost at sea. His sister-in-law didn’t want to remarry. She’s thirty-five, and at that age, she’d probably just end up as some man’s second wife and a stepmother.”

”But Lin Pozi is incredibly mean and was determined to drive Eldest Sister-in-law Lin out. She was worried the sister-in-law would marry a man into the family and take over her dead son’s house.”

”So Eldest Sister-in-law Lin decided to go all in. She took a handful of the veterinary medicine they use for breeding pigs, mixed it into some food, and fed it to Director Lin.”

”After that... well, he was a young man in his twenties, full of vigor. How could he possibly resist? One thing led to another, and soon enough, the brother-in-law and sister-in-law were an item!”

”By the time Lin Pozi found out, Eldest Sister-in-law Lin was already four months pregnant! They claimed it was Eldest Brother Lin’s posthumous child, and in the end, Lin Pozi had no choice but to grit her teeth and accept it.”

Han Xiaorui’s eyes were sparkling. ”It’s that scandalous? This is way more exciting than any TV drama!”

”So what happened then? Are they still in touch? But wait, I remember Director Lin is married! He has two kids!”

At that moment, Han Xiaorui was no longer the glamorous, formidable businesswoman, but an eager gossip fiend, lapping up every last detail.

Not far away, Han Xiaoqing, who had been watching TV, saw her sister cracking melon seeds while listening to the gossip, her amused expression animated and full of life.

’So, just because my sister doesn’t like to spread gossip doesn’t mean she doesn’t like to listen to it.’

Finding such a receptive audience in Han Xiaorui, Liang Xiaoyu grew even more animated in her storytelling.

”Now, once we step out that door, I’m not admitting I said any of this! Officially, they’ve broken it off, but privately, I’m sure they still see each other.”

”I haven’t seen it myself, but someone in the village saw Director Lin and Eldest Sister-in-law Lin coming out of the woods, one after the other!”

”Whenever Second Sister-in-law Lin sees Eldest Sister-in-law Lin, she screams all sorts of insults at her! Eldest Sister-in-law Lin never says a word back. I don’t know if it’s because she has a guilty conscience or if she’s just trying to act pitiful in front of Director Lin. In any case, I hear they still haven’t broken it off. Director Lin is still paying for her kid’s school fees.”

Han Xiaorui was completely engrossed. ”I never would have thought... Still, since we didn’t see any of this ourselves, we shouldn’t talk about it outside.”

Liang Xiaoyu nodded. ”Of course. I’d only ever say this stuff to you. I told my mother-in-law the same thing at home, not to spread it around.”

”My mother-in-law, though, she does talk about village affairs, but only the rumors that have some truth to them. It’s never caused any trouble for our family.”

Han Xiaorui sighed. ”I really never expected there to be so much drama in our little Jinshan Bay.”

”This? This is nothing! Our village is actually pretty tame, since we have someone as respected as Village Chief Liu keeping things in order. The next village over is the one that’s truly a mess, oh my god...”

Han Xiaorui listened with rapt attention as Liang Xiaoyu recounted these local tales. ’This is what real life is like!’

At noon, Liang Xiaoyu, holding an umbrella and wearing a raincoat, took Cai Wenjun home for lunch.

When she got home, Liang Xiaoyu gave her mother-in-law three hundred yuan. ”Mom, this is my pay from Xiao Rui. I’ve saved the rest. I’m planning to buy a storefront and put it in my name.”

”Buy a storefront?” Granny Cai paused in the middle of counting the money. ”Where are you going to buy one?”

Liang Xiaoyu glanced at her father-in-law, who was sharpening a knife in the courtyard, and lowered her voice. ”Xiao Rui said it’s a good deal to buy a storefront in the city right now. Even if we don’t run a business, we can rent it out. The value will go up later.”

Hearing this, Granny Cai’s eyes narrowed slightly. Han Xiaorui was the most capable and shrewdest person in the village; buying property on her advice couldn’t be wrong. ”I have five thousand yuan here. When you go to buy the property, I’ll add this to it.”

”Huh?” Liang Xiaoyu was taken aback, not expecting her mother-in-law to be so generous. ”Mom, aren’t you afraid he’ll get angry?”

Granny Cai sneered. ”I’m doing this precisely to keep it from that old bastard. He clearly earned over a hundred yuan outside but insisted to me he only made eighty. He gave the other half to *her* again. If it’s in your name, that old bastard won’t get a single cent.”

Liang Xiaoyu smiled. ”Okay. Whatever is mine belongs to my two children anyway.”

The next day, the sun was shining and the weather was beautiful. According to the forecast, it was a good day to go out to sea.

Han Xiaorui had been resting at home for three days straight and was already feeling sore from the inactivity.

As soon as she arrived, the little sea snake peeked its head out from under the boat.

She used to think it was hideous, but now Han Xiaorui thought it was a little cutie!

A little cutie that could make her money, at that!

”Setting sail!” Han Xiaorui laughed heartily. The sea breeze, carrying the unique scent of the ocean, rushed to greet her, delighting her body and soul.

The superpower she had awakened was destined for the sea!

Today, Han Xiaorui used her ability to search for a new spot.

Her efforts paid off. She found a spot, but today’s catch wasn’t lobster, it was horseshoe crabs.

The creatures looked a bit frightening, and their taste was unusual, but not fishy.

Those who loved them really loved them, but those who didn’t couldn’t get used to the taste.

It was a strange-looking creature. Its tail-like telson and parts of its abdomen were used in medicine. The horseshoe crab’s meat and roe were both edible.

Its shell, tail, roe, meat, and even its blood could be used for medicinal purposes, and they weren’t cheap.