The Sea Queen of 1985

Chapter 210: Chapter 210: Handing Over the Passbook

This latest trip to sea lasted two days and two nights, and they returned with the hold completely full.

They arrived at the docks early in the morning, around seven.

Han Xiaorui and Zhang Guangnan stood to the side, watching the crew log the accounts and unload the fish.

Because Han Xiaorui had repeatedly stressed the importance of integrity, the seafood grading was incredibly strict. It was better to give a little extra than to be even slightly underweight.

Through their collaboration, Zhang Guangnan had become certain of Han Xiaorui’s trustworthiness. She never let him get the short end of the stick.

And he, in turn, was never stingy with the price he paid, because he knew her seafood was worth it!

As a result, the catch from Han Xiaorui’s boat was quickly weighed and the accounts settled. This trip brought in 257,000 yuan.

After deducting all costs, the profit was 212,000 yuan.

Han Xiaorui kept cash on board and paid out the commissions right then and there.

The crew had been working with her for two months but hadn’t received their base pay yet.

Since some of them were looking to buy homes recently, Han Xiaorui went ahead and paid them six months’ worth of salary, just so she wouldn’t forget later.

”Thank you, Captain,” the crew said, their faces breaking into wide smiles as they took their pay.

Han Xiaorui handed Chen Yishui a business card. ”This is for Lawyer Chen. If you need anything, contact him. Don’t try to save a little only to lose a lot.”

”We understand. Thank you, Captain,” they all said in unison.

”You’re welcome,” Han Xiaorui replied. ”Just clean the boat inside and out, and then you can all head home. I’m going abroad for a while to look into foreign aquaculture. I won’t be going out, so just wait for word from Uncle Yang.”

”You’ll go out with Uncle Yang then. With two boats, you can watch each other’s backs. If there’s anything you can’t decide on, ask Uncle Yang. What he says, goes.”

Han Xiaorui trusted Yang Zhigang’s character. With his granddaughters, Pingping and An’an, in the picture, she knew he would never turn on her for money.

Chen Yishui nodded. ”Don’t worry, Captain. Go take care of your business. We’re all veteran fishermen with plenty of experience, and we’ll have Uncle Yang with us.”

Han Xiaorui smiled. ”Alright. I’ll bring you all back gifts.”

Han Xiaorui picked up a bucket of seafood, hung it on her bicycle, and headed home.

Her sister had already taken the children to their lessons, so after washing up, Han Xiaorui went to catch up on sleep.

She didn’t wake up until she heard a stir downstairs.

A glance at the clock told her it was almost one.

For lunch, Wu Jiao had made a Henan-style stew with napa cabbage, high-quality pork belly, tofu skin, and cellophane noodles.

It had vegetables, meat, starches, and protein all simmered together in one pot—delicious and incredibly convenient.

The rice had been cooked that morning. They just had to steam it over hot water on the stove for a dozen minutes or so, and lunch was ready.

In the fridge, there was braised beef that Granny Cai had helped make, Qibao chili sauce, a plate of garlic cucumber, and some sliced tomatoes with sugar.

A soup was a must for both lunch and dinner.

Nori and dried shrimp soup was simple and had a pleasant texture.

The children loved the stew poured over rice and could easily finish a whole bowl.

Wu Jiao and Wu Yao preferred wheat-based foods. They were fine with rice occasionally, but they weren’t used to having it for every meal.

So, while the rice was reheating, they also steamed the leftover white-flour mantou from yesterday.

Sipping the Nori and dried shrimp soup while eating big mantou with a side of their hometown stew—it was simply delightful.

Han Xiaorui started packing for her trip to Japan, where she would be investigating the aquaculture industry and assessing the situation there.

Since it was a business trip and most people dressed modestly these days, Han Xiaorui packed mostly trousers, blouses, and light blazers.

Of course, she also packed some dresses and her favorite white sneakers. She filled two entire large suitcases.

She went to the bank and exchanged enough foreign currency for the trip.

Everything was ready.

When Ye Feng learned Han Xiaorui was going abroad, he came over personally to give her a business card. ”If you run into any trouble, you can contact this person.”

”Who’s this?” Han Xiaorui asked in surprise. ”A friend of yours?”

Ye Feng nodded. ”Yeah. He’s trustworthy. It’s just in case.”

Han Xiaorui gave a sweet nod. ”Thank you. You always help me so much. It feels like you’re always there to catch me.”

Ye Feng chuckled. ”It’s my pleasure.”

’His relationship with Han Xiaorui wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment decision; he had given it serious thought.’

’He didn’t just want to date her. He wanted to marry her and have a child that looked like her, but with a little bit of him, too.’

In the dead of night, when he couldn’t sleep, he would gaze at the moon outside his window, his mind filling with the image of Han Xiaorui’s face and the sound of her laughter. And along with that happiness, his jealousy toward Yang Jianming would deepen.

He wanted to punch Yang Jianming every time he saw the man.

Han Xiaorui looked at Ye Feng with concern. ”You’re completely recovered now, right?”

Ye Feng nodded. ”I just had a physical. The recovery is going very well.”

”I know my own body best. After this period of rest, I’m actually in better shape than I was before.”

This fact surprised and delighted him.

’Of course, Han Xiaorui knew why, but she would never say a word about it.’

She put on a look of pleasant surprise. ”That’s wonderful! I bet it’s because you have family looking after you, you’re eating well, and you have an incredibly beautiful girlfriend like me worrying about you.”

”Haha,” Ye Feng laughed. ”You have a point. When you’re happy in body and mind, you naturally recover well.”

”Oh, right. When I was injured, you were the one who bought all those local specialties to send to my six army buddies. I still haven’t paid you back!”

”Here’s my bankbook. Take it! Spend whatever you want, buy whatever you like.”

Han Xiaorui waved her hands dismissively. ”I don’t need money! And besides, you gave me most of the local specialties your buddies sent you.”

”It was only right for me to send them something in return! Besides, they were running around helping out back then, which is why everything went so smoothly.”

”Sending them a few local things was the least I could do. Don’t be such a stranger! If you try to give me money, I’ll actually get mad.”

Han Xiaorui pushed the bankbook back toward him.

Ye Feng smiled. ”You’re not even going to look at the balance?”

Han Xiaorui shook her head. ”I don’t need to. I know it’s a lot. You have your salary, plus the dividends from your grandfather’s businesses.”

”If you just let all this money sit there, the interest isn’t that high. It can’t keep up with inflation at all. I think you should invest it!”

Ye Feng nodded. ”I’m not really interested in business. My grandfather and my aunt both suggested I buy houses and commercial properties.”

”I already bought out the entire second floor of Fuli Mall! It used up eighty percent of my savings. The other twenty percent is left for you as spending money.”

Han Xiaorui’s jaw dropped. ”You bought that many commercial spaces?”

’She had paid a premium for a storefront near the entrance on the first floor just to sell her ornamental fish.’

’She never imagined Ye Feng would just go and buy an entire floor of them. All told, there had to be at least sixty or seventy units, if not a hundred.’

Han Xiaorui blinked. ”It was a huge hassle for me to buy just one space. How did you manage to buy so many—an entire floor?”

Ye Feng paused, slightly taken aback. ”You bought a space in Fuli Mall?”

Han Xiaorui nodded. ”I did. A space on the first floor. I had to pay a premium to get that prime spot near the entrance.”

Ye Feng didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. ”I told you to let me know if you needed anything! Even if I was stuck at home, I could have given you some information.”

”My grandfather developed Fuli Mall with a few associated partners. It pioneered a whole new model for commercial real estate sales and operations here in Shencheng.”