The Sea Queen of 1985

Chapter 149: Chapter 149: Able to Turn Harsh Words into Sweet Nothings

Han Xiaorui had no desire to discuss the messy business with her ex-husband. In any case, whatever happened with Yang Jianming had nothing to do with her.

”Village Chief Liu, you’re putting me in a difficult position. I can’t even avoid Yang Jianming fast enough, so why would I go out of my way to ask about him?”

”Haha.” Village Chief Liu gave an embarrassed laugh. ”That was presumptuous of me.”

After a few more pleasantries, Han Xiaorui took her leave.

When she got home, she received a call from Ye Feng.

Upon learning that Yu Lina had been sent away overnight, Han Xiaorui breathed a sigh of relief. ”I didn’t expect Uncle Ye to move so quickly.”

Ye Feng chuckled. ”Old Ye knew that if this dragged on, it could create an irreparable rift between the Ye Family and the Yu Family.”

Han Xiaorui was relieved. ”Since Yu Lina has left, at least there won’t be any problems for a while.”

”Yu Lina’s cousin, Yu Cheng, told me that Uncle Yu is preparing to send her abroad. It’s basically like giving up on her. Barring any special circumstances, he won’t let her come back.”

Hearing this, Han Xiaorui was completely at ease. She patted her chest. ”That’s great. I think she’s a little crazy, too stubborn. She kept saying she was going to ’take care of me,’ which really made my poor little heart pound.”

”Haha...” Ye Feng laughed softly. ”Don’t be afraid. You have me. Are you planning to go out to sea soon?”

Han Xiaorui nodded. ”I checked the weather forecast. It’s going to be good weather for the next week, so I’m planning to go out the day after tomorrow.”

To Han Xiaorui, not going out to sea in good weather and not making money was the same as losing money.

”Be careful then,” Ye Feng replied. ”After you get back, can you come see me? I miss you!”

The corners of Han Xiaorui’s mouth turned up. ”Okay, I’ll come see you when I get back.”

”I’ll be troubling you, then,” Ye Feng said with a smile. ”Once I’ve fully recovered, I’ll be the one to come see you when you get back from sea.”

”You said it,” Han Xiaorui chuckled. ”I’m holding you to it. If you can’t do it, don’t blame me for being sharp-tongued and unforgiving when I’m in the right.”

Ye Feng laughed happily. ’There really are people in this world who can make harsh words sound like words of love.’ ”Alright, then don’t forgive me.”

After hanging up, Ye Feng turned his head and saw his aunt, grandmother, and grandfather all looking at him.

His handsome face grew hot.

”You’re back early. Have you eaten?” Ye Feng asked with an awkward smile, trying to change the subject.

Mr. Xu sat down. ”We’ve eaten. We were busy all day. I heard from Uncle Xu that Xiao Han came by?”

Ye Feng replied, ”Mhm, she came to visit me after she got back from sea. She brought a basket of home-grown Taozi and a box of seafood.”

Just then, Uncle Xu brought over the washed, peeled, and sliced Taozi. ”Old Master, Old Madam, Miss, have some Taozi. They taste much better than the ones from the market.”

They had already eaten dinner, so it was the perfect time for some fruit to fill in the gaps.

”Put it down, let me have a try.” Mr. Xu used a toothpick to spear a piece of the Taozi and popped it into his mouth. His eyes lit up. ”Mm, this is really good. You all should try some too.”

Xu Yingying smelled the fragrance of the Taozi, and without waiting for her father’s invitation, she started eating it. ”Oh my, this Taozi is amazing! It’s the best Taozi I’ve ever had.”

Old Madam Xu was more reserved. She took a few bites before nodding. ”Not bad. Xiao Han is very thoughtful.”

Xu Yingying ate half the plate of Taozi by herself, then her expression suddenly froze. ”Dad, our hotel is opening soon. What do you think about procuring Han Xiaorui’s honey peaches?”

Ye Feng raised an eyebrow. ”Aunt, didn’t you say you didn’t want to have any financial dealings with Xiao Rui?”

Xu Yingying looked embarrassed. She gave an awkward laugh and shot Ye Feng a glare. ”You little brat. Before, I was worried Han Xiaorui had ulterior motives. Obviously, I was judging a noble person by my own mean standards. Now that I’ve discovered her family’s Taozi are excellent, I’ll shamelessly propose a partnership with her. Are you satisfied now?”

”Hmph!” Ye Feng said smugly, lifting his chin slightly. ”It’s acceptable.”

Xu Yingying gritted her teeth in anger. She raised her hand to hit Ye Feng, but remembered he hadn’t fully recovered from his injury and decided to pinch his ear instead. ”I’ll let you owe me this one. Once you’re better, I’ll give you a proper beating.”

Ye Feng pretended to dodge. ”Auntie, if you want to buy the Taozi, you should go to Jinshan Bay tomorrow. Xiao Rui is going out to sea early the day after.”

Xu Yingying let go, huffing, ”Now that’s more like it!”

「The next morning」

Han Xiaorui looked at the few baskets of Taozi she still had at home. She couldn’t finish them all, so she prepared to take them to the market to sell.

Then she got a call from Ye Feng, who said his aunt wanted to buy some Taozi.

’This is perfect!’

Xu Yingying’s car parked in front of Han Xiaorui’s house. After getting out, she pushed her sunglasses up to the top of her head, where they served as a headband.

She didn’t go straight into the house, but instead went to look at the peach forest nearby.

Han Xiaorui was in the peach forest picking Taozi. Seeing Xu Yingying, she smiled and greeted her, ”Miss Xu, how many Taozi are you looking to get?”

Xu Yingying was wearing high heels and thought about the hairstyle she’d gotten done that morning, so she waved her hand. ”I won’t come in. How long can you supply Taozi from here? About how many jin can you get per day?”

Han Xiaorui did a rough calculation. ”The Taozi ripen at different times, so I can probably harvest for about a month. This is ten mu of land, and one mu can yield about 3,000 to 5,000 jin. I’m not sure exactly how many Taozi there will be each day.”

”Miss Xu, how much does your hotel need? Set an amount, and I can have someone deliver it to you. Or you can send a truck to pick it up.”

Han Xiaorui carried out a basket of ripe Taozi from the forest. ”These all ripened naturally and early. They taste great.”

Xu Yingying took it and held it to her nose to smell. ”Alright, then however many ripen and you pick each day, just send that amount to my hotel. What’s the price?”

”Whatever price you pay when you source from others, just give me that. You don’t need to give me a high price for Ye Feng’s sake. I don’t want you to think I’m taking advantage of the Xu family. I, Han Xiaorui, don’t need that!”

Xu Yingying rolled her eyes. ”You’re just like Ye Feng. A three-jin duck with a two-and-a-half-jin beak. You’re clearly a good person, but you have the biggest, toughest mouth.”

Han Xiaorui broke into a dazzling smile. ”Of course. To put it elegantly, it’s called being kindred spirits. To put it plainly, it’s called every pot has its lid.”

Xu Yingying shot Han Xiaorui a sidelong glance. ’She’s so thick-skinned.’ ’But why am I starting to like Han Xiaorui’s tough and quirky personality more and more?’

’Am I a masochist?’

Xu Yingying couldn’t resist poking Han Xiaorui’s cheek. ”Thick-skinned! Alright, I’ll give you one yuan per jin.”

”That expensive?” Han Xiaorui was taken aback. ”The ones at the market are only two or three mao per jin.”

Xu Yingying raised an eyebrow, looking quite pleased with herself. ”Ours is the first five-star hotel in Shencheng. We host foreign merchants and personnel, and they have money. We use only the best of everything. Your family’s Taozi are excellent; they’re worth this price.”

Han Xiaorui’s eyes showed her suspicion. ”Really? How about five mao? That’s already double the market price. One yuan per jin is too expensive.”

”You!” Xu Yingying shot Han Xiaorui a look. ”Anyone else would be desperate for a higher price, but you’re actually complaining it’s too high. Are you silly or what?”

This time it was Han Xiaorui’s turn to roll her eyes. She retorted irritably, ”If you weren’t Ye Feng’s relative, I’d be desperate for the price to be high.”

”Alright, it’s one yuan,” Xu Yingying said with a nod. ”Hurry up and pick them. After you’re done, deliver them as soon as possible while they’re still fresh.”

Since things had been settled, Han Xiaorui had no choice but to nod. ”Fine. You can go rest at my house for a bit.”

Xu Yingying, who was used to a pampered life, opened an umbrella and prepared to head to Han Xiaorui’s house. But when she saw the man she would recognize even if he were turned to ash, she swayed, and the umbrella in her hand fell to the ground.