The Sea Queen of 1985

Chapter 112: Chapter 112: Sea Cucumber Stock Explosion

Since Ye Feng didn’t show up, Han Xiaorui felt like something was missing, even though the meal was delicious.

Seeing this, Liang Xiaoyu whispered, ”Xiao Rui, don’t be upset. Maybe Ye Feng got tied up with something. His work is unusual, after all.”

Han Xiaorui had been telling herself the same thing. ’But even if he’s busy, couldn’t he at least give me a call?’

”Forget it, let’s eat,” Han Xiaorui said with a smile. ’Good food is the one thing you can always count on.’

The delicious food soon soothed her slight disappointment.

Granny Cai and Liang Xiaoyu helped clean up and didn’t leave until the place was spotless.

By then, it was already eight o’clock.

Her child, tired from playing, washed up and lay in bed, waiting for Mom to tell a story.

After her child fell asleep, Han Xiaorui poured herself a glass of plum juice and sipped it slowly.

Only after her child was asleep did she finally have some time to herself.

It was pleasant on the third-floor balcony, with a lit mosquito coil and a cool summer breeze.

That night, Han Xiaorui never got a call from Ye Feng, nor did he show up.

But Han Xiaorui was a woman whose heart held the stars and the sea; how could she let one man stop her from exploring the great ocean?

The next day, Han Xiaorui and Liang Xiaoyu took the boat out to sea.

Since Han Xiaorui didn’t go out to sea often, the village fishermen had resumed fishing separately.

They had left early, so Han Xiaorui and Liang Xiaoyu were the last to arrive at the pier.

However, Han Xiaorui had prepared plenty of bait, longline gear, and shrimp pots.

Han Xiaorui steered the boat while Liang Xiaoyu sat down and began baiting the longline hooks.

She remembered that Boss Zhang wanted Moonfish.

Today, she was going to give it a try.

After finding a spot with plenty of lobsters, she dropped the shrimp pots.

They searched at sea for another half hour before setting out the longline.

She had planned to head deeper out to sea, but the little sea snake unexpectedly helped her find a reef.

Surprisingly, it was teeming with large sea cucumbers.

During the current low tide, the reef was visible to the naked eye beneath the water’s surface.

Han Xiaorui anchored the boat, put on her diving suit, and said, ”Sister-in-law Xiao Yu, I’m going down for a look.”

”Be careful then, Xiao Rui,” Liang Xiaoyu said, squinting. She could also see the reef, which was poking more than half a meter out of the water. ”The boat is anchored, so don’t you worry.”

Han Xiaorui slipped into the water and swam down about ten meters, where she saw a multitude of sea cucumbers.

Han Xiaorui picked only the large ones, placing them in her net bag.

Sea cucumbers are known as ”soft gold” and are extremely nutritious.

Han Xiaorui had previously borrowed many books from the maritime affairs department. They covered not only sea fish but also other commercially valuable marine products like sea cucumbers.

These were dark-colored spiny sea cucumbers.

This spot must have been rarely discovered, because the wild sea cucumbers below were large, plentiful, and of excellent quality.

It was a variety considered the best quality among the more than twenty edible types of sea cucumbers in China and was listed as one of the ”Eight Treasures” of Chinese cuisine.

These particular spiny sea cucumbers were of excellent quality. Traditional medicine considered them to have gentle, warming, non-toxic properties, effective for tonifying the kidneys, enriching the blood, and treating ailments like dysentery and ulcers.

Its medicinal properties are so warm and nourishing that they rival ginseng, which is how it got its Chinese name, *haishen*, or ”sea ginseng.”

Han Xiaorui’s net bag was filled with large sea cucumbers, each 30 to 40 centimeters long.

When Liang Xiaoyu saw the spiny sea cucumbers Han Xiaorui hauled up, she was stunned for a moment. ”Heavens, Xiao Rui, this is the good stuff!”

Han Xiaorui smiled. ”That’s right, Sister-in-law Xiao Yu. Quick, hand me two more net bags. Store these sea cucumbers safely. We should try to get as many as we can and head back to the pier as soon as possible.”

Liang Xiaoyu nodded. ”Alright, Xiao Rui. Be careful.”

Han Xiaorui dived again with two more net bags. Thanks to her superpower, she could clearly see the topography of the seabed.

And with the little sea snake’s help, she could always find the biggest and best ones.

After a dozen or so trips back and forth, Han Xiaorui had harvested a huge number of the large sea cucumbers below.

It was well over a thousand pounds in total.

To keep the sea cucumbers fresh, Han Xiaorui decided on the spot to head back to port immediately.

She decided not to even bother collecting the longline and shrimp pots. Selling the sea cucumbers was the priority!

Liang Xiaoyu agreed. ”You’re right, Xiao Rui. We should do it this way. After we sell the sea cucumbers, we can come back for the longline and the pots.”

”Alright, we’ll just spend a little extra time on the water today,” Han Xiaorui said with a laugh. ”And let’s keep some of these sea cucumbers for Sister Cai to cook up for us.”

Liang Xiaoyu laughed heartily. ”Then I’m in for another treat!”

Without stopping for a moment, Han Xiaorui made it to the county pier before noon.

Boss Zhang hadn’t arrived yet, so Han Xiaorui went to a nearby phone to call him.

The moment Boss Zhang heard she had high-quality sea cucumbers, especially a prime variety like spiny sea cucumbers, he immediately ditched his friends to come and pick up the goods himself.

Not only that, but he also brought specialized containers for them.

”Xiao Han, I’m almost there. Don’t you dare sell them to anyone else!”

Han Xiaorui smiled. ”I won’t. Unless you deliberately try to lowball me, Boss Zhang, I have no reason to switch buyers.”

Boss Zhang’s heart skipped a beat. ’She’s sending me a warning.’

’Don’t lowball her!’

”Xiao Han, don’t you worry. My price will definitely make you happy,” Boss Zhang said with a smile. He had, in fact, been planning to keep the prices steady to increase his profit margin.

But Han Xiaorui was no fool. Many other bosses knew he sourced his products from her, and they were probably keeping an eye on the situation from the sidelines.

”Then I can rest easy,” Han Xiaorui said with a laugh before hanging up and buying something to eat.

Liang Xiaoyu was in the middle of cooking. Seeing Han Xiaorui approach, she urged, ”Xiao Rui, let’s eat quickly. We have a busy afternoon ahead of us, we can’t do it on an empty stomach.”

Han Xiaorui had just bought a roast chicken to go with the steamed sea bass and stir-fried vegetables.

Han Xiaorui was very satisfied with the simple yet delicious lunch Liang Xiaoyu had prepared.

”Sister-in-law Xiao Yu, steamed fish that’s fresh out of the ocean is just so delicious,” Han Xiaorui remarked with a sigh. The freshness was beyond description.

Liang Xiaoyu demurred, ”I can’t compare to my mother-in-law’s cooking, but I can manage a decent home-cooked meal.”

Just as Han Xiaorui and Liang Xiaoyu were eating, Boss Zhang rushed to the pier.

”Xiao Han, where are the sea cucumbers?”

Holding her bowl, Han Xiaorui gestured toward the fish hold. ”They’re all in there. Still alive, too.”

Boss Zhang nimbly hopped onto the boat and walked over to the fish hold. The moment he looked inside, he couldn’t tear his eyes away.

”Xiao Han, these spiny sea cucumbers are in excellent condition and huge—they’re top-grade. I’ll give you 15 yuan per jin. If you sell to a wholesaler, you’ll never get a price like that.”

”Deal! Just get them moved quickly. I still have to go back out to collect my shrimp pots! I came back early just to keep these fresh,” Han Xiaorui said with a nod. The price was three yuan per jin higher than what a wholesaler would offer.

Of course, this batch of sea cucumbers was exceptionally high-quality, not your average haul.

Boss Zhang was all smiles. ”Xiao Han, that’s exactly the right way to think. Sea cucumbers have to be processed as quickly as possible, or both their nutritional value and appearance will be affected.”

Xiao Zhao and Xiao Liu carefully transferred the sea cucumbers from the fish hold to the truck.

The total came to 1,056 jin. At 15 yuan per jin, that was 15,840 yuan.

Boss Zhang had brought cash and paid her on the spot.

After taking the money and stowing it safely, Han Xiaorui started the boat and left the pier.

Liang Xiaoyu took charge of washing the bowls and pots and tidying up the fishing boat.

They headed straight back to where they had set the longline, little knowing another surprise awaited them.