The Sea Queen of 1985

Chapter 297: Chapter 297: Kuno Hiroo Refuses to Leave

They had seafood for lunch, so they would have to eat something else for dinner.

For Han Xiaorui, she could eat seafood every meal, but the crew couldn’t.

For the sake of their health, they couldn’t eat it every day.

What a pity.

Everyone took turns eating, savoring the taste of their harvest.

The second net they pulled up was full of cuttlefish.

Cuttlefish is incredibly nutritious. The meat is tender and has a delicious, fresh flavor. It’s said to nourish the body and aid digestion. Cuttlefish is high in protein, low in fat, and also rich in collagen and various vitamins.

There are all sorts of ways to prepare cuttlefish, such as steamed baby cuttlefish with garlic and vermicelli, stir-fried cuttlefish slices, cuttlefish stewed with pork ribs, cuttlefish stewed with chicken, and cuttlefish balls.

Sister Yun smiled. ”Xiao Rui, I know you’re looking out for our health by having us eat less seafood. But when you come across something this delicious, it’s just too cruel not to eat it.”

Sister Tang nodded in agreement. ”Health is important, but I think satisfying our cravings is important, too. These cuttlefish look amazing. It’d be a shame not to eat them.”

Han Xiaorui chuckled. ”Well, since you’re all insisting, I’ll have Sister Huamei cook some up. It’s not that I don’t want you to have it. It’s just that if we eat too much seafood, the high purine levels can lead to high uric acid and gout.”

Sister Tang waved her hand dismissively. ”What’s the big deal? Everyone’s going to die eventually, so does that mean we shouldn’t bother living? Eat when it’s time to eat, drink when it’s time to drink! It’s not like we’re having it for every single meal.”

”When we’re out at sea, we should be eating the freshest seafood. If we have to, we’ll just cook seafood for our families when we get home and not eat any ourselves.”

Liang Xiaoyu burst out laughing. ”After eating the absolute freshest catch out here, anything you buy from a seafood market and cook just doesn’t taste as good as what we have on the boat.”

Sister Tang nodded. ”Exactly! The seafood we eat *is* what you’d call ’real’ seafood. It goes from the ocean to the wok in ten minutes, tops.”

”All right, all right. Since everyone feels so strongly about it, it would be unreasonable for me to say no,” Han Xiaorui said with a laugh. ”Besides, I want to eat it, too!”

At everyone’s strong insistence, another dish was added to the dinner menu: stir-fried baby cuttlefish with onion.

Out on the open sea, their only concerns were the weather, the waves, and the fish in the water.

They left all their shore-side worries behind. Even the troubles of daily life couldn’t touch them out here.

The saying about the vastness of the sea and sky freeing the mind wasn’t just talk.

It truly could make a person more open-minded and optimistic.

After all, Han Xiaorui had never seen a fisherman commit suicide by jumping into the sea!

「Two nights and three days later.」

Han Xiaorui and her group returned to the docks on the afternoon of the third day.

Just as they arrived at the docks, before Han Xiaorui even had a chance to call Zhang Guangnan, she spotted Liu Xiangnan from the ornamental fish farm.

”Boss Xiao Han, hurry! That ’Little Japan’ is here,” Liu Xiangnan said, beaming and clearly delighted.

It was a classic case of taking the Japanese man’s money while still scorning him on principle.

It wasn’t just Liu Xiangnan who called him that; even the workers at the farm did the same.

They would often say things like, ”This batch is for the customer from the United States,” ”That one’s for the client from Hong Kong,” and ”That one’s for ’Little Japan.’”

And that was being polite. Some would even add the word ”devils” after it.

Han Xiaorui paused, then asked with a smile, ”You mean Kuno Hiroo?”

”Yep, that’s the one,” Liu Xiangnan said, still smiling. ”The guy’s a real piece of work. He wanted to order more of our Butterfly Tails, especially the Panda Butterfly Tails, but Brother Jianguo turned him down.”

”We don’t have that many, and we have to save some for our other clients. If we gave them all to ’Little Japan,’ what would everyone else do? But he refuses to leave without the fish. He even said he already wired the money to Eastern International Trade’s account. We haven’t even signed a contract yet! Talk about being ’sincere.’”

Han Xiaorui didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. ”This Kuno Hiroo is really something else, resorting to shameless tactics.”

”I know, right? So shameless,” Liu Xiangnan said with a grin. ”Boss Xiao Han, you need to come to the farm with me right away and get rid of him.”

Han Xiaorui nodded. ”Okay, I get it. Sister Shui, you call Zhang Guangnan to settle the accounts for the catch. I’m going to get off the boat and head to the farm.”

Chen Yishui acknowledged the order. ”Don’t you worry, Boss. I’ll make sure it’s done right.”

When Han Xiaorui wasn’t around, Chen Yishui was in charge, while Liang Xiaoyu and Wu Mengyue were responsible for supervision.

Besides, the rest of the crew all valued their jobs and were more than happy to finish up the final tasks so they could get paid and go home.

And so, still reeking of fish, Han Xiaorui arrived at the ornamental fish farm.

When Kuno Hiroo saw Han Xiaorui, his face lit up. He hurried over, but as he got close, he quickly backed away again.

”My dear Ms. Han, don’t you find that the fishy smell detracts from your elegant disposition?”

Han Xiaorui rolled her eyes. ”I just came from fishing. Isn’t it normal to smell like fish? I wasn’t out shopping or on a date. What kind of ’disposition’ do I need for this?”

Her loyal lackey, Liu Xiangnan, was displeased and shot back, ”You can’t say that! Our boss is a powerhouse. She’s got a powerhouse aura.”

Hearing this, Han Xiaorui was again at a loss for whether to laugh or cry. ”You’re too kind.”

Kuno Hiroo gave an embarrassed laugh. ”I wasn’t complaining. It’s just that a woman as beautiful as Ms. Han could be even more so.”

Han Xiaorui was unimpressed. ”There’s beauty in hard work. Anyway, I heard from Xiangnan that you’ve been squatting at our farm and refuse to leave?”

At these words, Kuno Hiroo remembered his mission. ”Ms. Han, I need one thousand Butterfly Tails and twenty Panda Butterfly Tails.”

Han Xiaorui gasped. ”That many? Mr. Kuno, are you trying to clean out my entire stock?”

”Ms. Han, you have to give them to me, please! You’ll be saving my life!” Kuno Hiroo pleaded, his face a mask of misery. ”You see, last week, the ornamental fish exhibition I held in Tokyo got on television. It was covered in the news for three days straight.”

”More and more people kept coming. In the end, I had to limit the number of people allowed inside just to keep the exhibition hall from being overwhelmed.”

”You know, a zoo even contacted me! They want Panda Butterfly Tails because they’ve been trying to lease pandas from Hua Country. They’ve been applying ever since our two countries established diplomatic relations, and they still haven’t been approved. So, they’re settling for the next best thing and planning to set up a huge glass tank in the zoo to display Panda Butterfly Tails.”

”I can turn down requests from ordinary citizens, but I can’t say no to official institutions. These people are pressuring me through all kinds of channels. If I can’t bring back those Panda Butterfly Tails, I might as well forget about staying in business.”

And there was more that Kuno Hiroo wasn’t saying.

Certain wealthy individuals and powerful dignitaries had also taken a great liking to them.

Of course they would enjoy an elegant hobby like fishkeeping.

The beautiful Butterfly Tails, in particular, looked absolutely stunning in an aquarium.

Gifting high-end, hardy ornamental fish like the Butterfly Tails—which were famously easy to keep alive—had become the top choice for presents.

Once a gift like that was presented, no request was ever denied.

Kuno Hiroo was too embarrassed to say all this out loud.

Furthermore, on this trip, he had also commissioned Zhou Wei’s fish tank factory to build large, outdoor-rated aquariums.

Today, he would bring these beautiful Butterfly Tails back with him, even if he had to get on his knees and beg. He was even prepared to pay a higher price.

Han Xiaorui frowned. ”That’s a tough situation.”

Kuno Hiroo gritted his teeth. ”I’ll pay more!”

The moment he mentioned paying more, Han Xiaorui’s spirits lifted. ”How much more?”