The Sea Queen of 1985

Chapter 126: Chapter 126: Such a Sweet Talker

Hearing Han Xiaorui hurry them along, the children all ran to the bathroom to wash up.

Yang Minmin, as the oldest, looked after her two younger sisters.

Breakfast consisted of Yang Minmin’s favorite pan-fried buns and Pingping and An’an’s favorite steamed egg with shrimp.

Han Xiaoqing took Pingping and An’an to their lessons, while Han Xiaorui rode her bicycle to take Yang Minmin to school.

”Minmin, I’ll come pick you up at noon to bring you home for lunch. If I don’t show up, you are not to go with anyone else. Not even if you know them, understand?” Han Xiaorui said, parking her bicycle and tying Yang Minmin’s red scarf for her.

Yang Minmin smiled and nodded. ”Auntie Xiao Rui, I’ll remember!”

”What do you want for lunch? I’ll make it for you!” Han Xiaorui asked with a smile, patting her on the head.

Yang Minmin smiled and ran off. ”I love everything Auntie Xiao Rui makes! Goodbye, Auntie Xiao Rui!”

Watching Yang Minmin run off so cheerfully, Han Xiaorui couldn’t help but hope, ’I wish Pingping and An’an could be like this one day.’

It was still four hours until Yang Minmin got out of school. Carrying a container of pigeon soup she had stewed for Ye Feng, Han Xiaorui took a bus to the hospital to visit him.

Ye Feng was recovering remarkably fast. He could now walk around without needing anyone to support him.

When he saw Han Xiaorui, Ye Feng gave a small smile. ”Is everything at home taken care of?”

Han Xiaorui nodded. ”The big boat has been transferred to my name, and I have all the relevant documents.”

”The boat is still undergoing maintenance for a few days, though. The weather hasn’t been great, and the crew isn’t assembled yet, so we haven’t gone out to sea.”

Ye Feng sat down. ”I received a telegram yesterday morning. My comrade-in-arms’ two sisters are on their way here by train.”

”If you’re free this morning, you could go to the train station to pick them up and bring them straight home.”

”With them there, you won’t have to worry about things at home, even if you’re out at sea for a few days.”

Han Xiaorui’s eyes lit up. She had been just about to ask Ye Feng about them. ”Which train are they on? What time does it get in?”

”It should arrive around 10 a.m.,” Ye Feng replied. ”I was originally going to have someone pick them up and take them directly to you.”

”But since you’re here, picking them up yourself will show more sincerity. They’re martial artists and have very straightforward personalities. If you treat them with courtesy, they’ll be sure to serve you with all their heart.”

Han Xiaorui agreed completely. ”Alright, there’s still enough time! I’ll leave the soup here for you. Drink it for lunch!”

”Alright!” Ye Feng nodded. ”I’m recovering very well, so don’t worry about me.”

Han Xiaorui’s smile was dazzling, and her words were sweet as honey. ”You’re my boyfriend. How could I not worry about you?”

”I’ll take them straight home from the station, so I won’t be back to see you today. I have to pick up Minmin at noon and then again in the afternoon. I’ll visit you again tomorrow.”

Ye Feng looked surprised. ”Did something happen?”

Han Xiaorui then recounted what she had learned from Wu Cuicui the previous night. ”...The Yang Family is in total chaos, so Sister Cuicui can’t look after Minmin right now.”

”Ah,” Ye Feng said, the pieces clicking into place. ”So it was a case of killing two birds with one stone. We caught Wang Liang and his uncle, and it even threw Yang Jianming for a loop!”

Hearing this, Han Xiaorui grew very curious. ”Ye Feng, was Wang Liang the one who swapped the surveillance device?”

Ye Feng nodded. ”I already suspected there was something wrong with Wang Liang, but I didn’t have any evidence.”

”This time, with the swap involving such a large piece of equipment, we put Wang Liang under intense scrutiny and sure enough, we got him. From there, we just followed the trail and ended up catching a whole string of people.”

”Yang Jianming should count himself lucky he wasn’t mixed up in it. Otherwise, it wouldn’t just be his research project getting canceled—he’d be behind bars by now.”

Han Xiaorui sighed. ”You reap what you sow. It’s just karma. Anyway, let’s not meddle in other people’s affairs. Just tell me the sisters’ names so I can make a sign.”

”The older sister is named Wu Jiao, and the younger is Wu Yao. They’re twins, so they look quite similar.” Ye Feng was delighted to see that Han Xiaorui didn’t seem to care about Yang Jianming in the slightest.

Han Xiaorui found a piece of cardboard around the hospital, borrowed a pen, and had Ye Feng write down the names.

Han Xiaorui was dressed in a fresh, summery style today: a white, sleeveless, black-polka-dotted dress, a pair of white sandals, and a leather shoulder bag.

The moment she appeared at the train station, she turned many heads.

Han Xiaorui strode confidently to the exit area, holding her purse in one hand and the sign in the other as she positioned herself by the arrivals gate.

As more and more travelers streamed out, the area around the gate became packed with people.

Han Xiaorui stood on her tiptoes, scanning the crowd. She spotted two girls of about seventeen or eighteen, with similar builds and faces, heading toward the exit.

She tentatively called out, ”Wu Jiao, Wu Yao...”

Sure enough, the two young women heard her, looked over, and spotted the sign in her hand. They walked up to her. ”Hello, I’m Wu Jiao, and this is my sister, Wu Yao.”

The sisters were both tall and sturdily built.

’I always thought of myself as tall,’ Han Xiaorui reflected, ’but I’m still shorter than them by an inch or two.’

Their features were ordinary. Combined, you couldn’t call them beautiful, but they weren’t unattractive either. They had the kind of faces that were easy on the eyes.

Han Xiaorui smiled. ”I’m Han Xiaorui, Ye Feng’s girlfriend. I’m also your employer. Your job will be to protect my sister and my two daughters.”

”This isn’t the place to talk. Let’s head home for now. Once you’re settled in, I’ll take you to see Ye Feng.”

Wu Jiao nodded. ”Alright, Comrade Han.”

Han Xiaorui smiled. ”No need to be so formal. You’re both younger than me, so just call me Sister Xiao Rui from now on.”

Han Xiaorui offered to help with their luggage, but Wu Jiao and Wu Yao refused. ”It’s okay, Sister Xiao Rui. We’re strong, we can manage it ourselves.”

They assumed the tall, slender Han Xiaorui wouldn’t have the strength and insisted on carrying everything themselves.

They had not only their quilts but had even brought a thermos flask with them.

They hailed a taxi. They put what luggage they could in the trunk, and when it wouldn’t all fit, the two sisters sat in the back, holding the rest in their laps.

It was the sisters’ first time riding in a car, and they were quite nervous. They were mesmerized by the tall buildings, wide roads, and dazzling array of shops, unable to take it all in.

”Sis, this place is so much more bustling than our county seat,” Wu Yao said softly, pointing outside.

Wu Jiao didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. ”Of course it is. This is Shencheng, the most developed city in all of Hua Country. Forget our little county seat—even our provincial capital can’t compare to this place.”

Han Xiaorui smiled. ”Once you’re settled in, I’ll show you around.”

”Thank you, Sister Xiao Rui, but there’s no need. We’re here to work.” As the elder sister, Wu Jiao was very sensible.

They cherished this hard-won job opportunity. Their brother had passed away, and their grandmother had taken more than half of the survivor’s benefits, claiming she needed it for her own retirement.

They had younger siblings at home to support, so they needed to work hard and earn money.

Han Xiaorui simply smiled and didn’t press the issue. ’I’ll just arrange for them to have holidays later so they can explore,’ she thought.

Wu Yao, the more vivacious of the two, noticed the buildings were getting smaller and couldn’t help but ask, ”Sister Xiao Rui, you don’t live in the city?”

’Aren’t rural areas supposed to be poor? Can she really afford to pay us such high wages? It couldn’t be that Brother Ye is secretly subsidizing our pay, could it?’

”No, I live in Jinshan Bay,” Han Xiaorui replied. ”Our village has its own docks, and my family owns an ocean-going fishing boat. Even though it’s a village, it’s no worse off than the city.”