The Sea Queen of 1985

Chapter 319: Chapter 319: If You’re Not United, Say Less

Han Xiaorui beamed. ”Then I’ll take you up on that.”

Fishing boat or yacht, it didn’t matter—if it was on the sea, she loved it.

Seeing that their big brother and sister-in-law had both agreed, Ye Ling and Ye Chen also agreed to go out to sea on the small boat.

Han Xiaorui and Ye Feng took Pingping, An’an, Ye Ling, and Ye Chen out to sea on the small boat.

The four children were all dressed in orange life jackets, with safety ropes tied around their waists to restrict their movement. That way, even if a gust of wind knocked them into the sea, they wouldn’t be swept away.

Seeing this, Ye Ling protested, ”Sister-in-law, I’m grown up. I don’t need a rope.”

Han Xiaorui insisted, ”You have to use it. Otherwise, you’re not getting on the boat.”

’This is the ocean we’re talking about!’

There were waves on the ocean even without wind, and when the wind picked up, they grew even higher.

Ye Ling obediently complied, not daring to argue back.

’Besides his sister-in-law, no one else had agreed to take them out.’

With preparations complete, the old fisherman, Cao Dapeng, started the engine.

Han Xiaorui, also in a life jacket, was focused on watching the kids and couldn’t be distracted with piloting the boat.

Once the boat reached the open sea, the once-energetic Ye Ling and Ye Chen turned pale. They swayed unsteadily, and then, with a sudden retch, they leaned over the gunwale and threw up.

Han Xiaorui saw what was happening and quickly poured them some water to rinse their mouths.

The two brothers stopped standing and sat down in the boat.

”Are you two okay? If you can’t handle it, don’t try to tough it out. I can take you back,” Han Xiaorui asked, concerned. ’It was their first time on a fishing boat, and out on the open ocean at that. It’s natural they wouldn’t be used to it.’

Ye Ling waved a hand dismissively. ”It’s nothing. I’m fine.”

No sooner had the words left his mouth than he threw up again, bringing up nearly all of his breakfast.

Ye Chen, however, though younger, threw up just once before slowly getting used to the rocking of the boat.

In contrast, Pingping and An’an’s expressions didn’t change; they weren’t dizzy or uncomfortable.

Han Xiaorui kissed her two daughters’ small cheeks. ’Just like their mother,’ she thought, ’they have a natural affinity for the sea.’

After throwing up twice, Ye Ling also gradually adapted to the rhythm of the sea.

He took a small fishing rod and started to fish, pulling up some top-dwelling sea fish.

Suddenly, Ye Ling caught a very strange fish. ”Sister-in-law, this fish looks like a pomfret, but the color is different, and it has spots on it. What kind of fish is this?”

Han Xiaorui glanced over and smiled. ”That’s a spotted sicklefish. It goes by several names.”

”Is it tasty?” Ye Ling asked.

Han Xiaorui answered, ”Spotted sicklefish are considered a lower-quality catch. They have average nutritional value and aren’t worth much. Some people eat them fresh, but most of the time they’re salted and dried.”

”Yours is a nice specimen, though. Put it in the bucket, and I’ll braise it for you when we get back. We’ve been fishing for two hours, let’s go pull up the shrimp pots and the longline.”

”Thanks, Sister-in-law!” Ye Ling grinned, clearly thrilled.

Ye Chen had caught a small octopus and was having fun playing with it off to the side.

Just as Han Xiaorui was about to turn the boat around, she saw Turtle and the little dolphin approaching.

”Ye Ling, Ye Chen, look! The little dolphin is here!” Han Xiaorui pointed at the water. ”Stand still, and I’ll take a picture of you with the little dolphin and Turtle.”

”That’s great, Sister-in-law! I love dolphins.” Ye Ling quickly put down his fishing rod, grinning broadly as he looked at Han Xiaorui.

Ye Chen was the same, scrambling to get a picture with the little dolphin.

”When we get back, I’ll have your big brother take the film to a photo shop to get it developed,” Han Xiaorui said with a smile. ”Xiao Zheng, you stand still too, and I’ll take one for you. You can send it to your family.”

”Thank you, Ms. Han.” Xiao Zheng was only twenty this year. He was overjoyed to encounter a dolphin and a sea turtle and naturally wanted a photo as a souvenir.

After taking the pictures, Han Xiaorui took them to collect the shrimp pots.

The ten shrimp pots were full of crabs, lobsters, red sea bream, croakers, and small octopuses.

It was a diverse catch. Han Xiaorui and Ye Feng got to work sorting everything into separate containers.

They got lucky with the longline, which had caught several tiger groupers and green groupers.

The bountiful harvest was a real eye-opener for Ye Ling and Ye Chen, and they both had a blast.

By the time they got back to shore, it was already noon.

Han Xiaorui gave them some snacks to tide them over while she and Ye Feng started cooking.

Braised spotted sicklefish, steamed grouper, and a cold-dressed octopus salad.

Han Xiaorui also prepared some sashimi, but Ye Ling and Ye Chen clearly had traditional Chinese palates. They each took one bite and refused to eat any more.

To them, eating something raw felt positively barbaric.

’Her brothers-in-law were surprisingly particular,’ she thought.

In truth, Ye Feng didn’t like it either, but he ate a few pieces so it wouldn’t go to waste.

Xiao Zheng enjoyed the seafood feast immensely. Afterward, he went to the seafood market to buy a large haul of dried seafood to mail back home.

[The next day.]

They bought plane tickets and saw Ye Ling, Ye Chen, and Xiao Zheng off.

”Sister-in-law, I’ll miss you! I’ll come back during summer vacation,” Ye Chen said, clinging to Han Xiaorui’s arm and refusing to let go.

’It was so much fun here. Even though Big Brother would discipline him directly for any mistakes, at least there wasn’t all the nagging.’

Ye Ling also said with a smile, ”Sister-in-law, when you, Big Brother, and my two nieces come to Beijing, I’ll host you.”

The implication was clear: they wanted to come back and were extending a warm invitation for their brother and sister-in-law to visit them in Beijing.

What could Han Xiaorui say? She could only smile and say, ”Okay, we’ll go when we have time. You two need to study hard when you get back. You’re welcome to visit, but only on the condition that your mom and dad agree.”

”If they don’t agree, then there’s nothing we can do. The gifts from your big brother and me are in your luggage. Finally, have a safe trip.”

Watching her two brothers-in-law leave, Han Xiaorui let out a long sigh of relief. ’They’re finally gone!’

Ye Feng was at a loss for words. ”Then why were you so nice to them? Now they don’t want to leave. You should have been a little meaner so they wouldn’t want to come back.”

Han Xiaorui waved a hand dismissively. ”Now, now, Comrade Ye Feng, let’s not have any more of that divisive talk. We have a perfect opportunity to make a good impression on your brothers, so why would we create conflict?”

”Judging by how Ye Ling and Ye Chen acted, they seem like good kids who will do well in the future. We live far away and aren’t competing for family resources, so there’s no need for us to be at each other’s throats.”

”Besides, if we have a good relationship, we can help each other out down the line. And our kids will have relatives to connect with. Of course, that’s all assuming your two brothers are reliable people.”

Ye Feng smiled. ”You’re right. When it comes to understanding people and social nuances, I’m no match for you.”

Han Xiaorui’s eyes twinkled. ”Of course. Listening to me is always the right choice. If they want to come, they can come. If they don’t, we won’t force them.”

”As for Wang Liwen, how should I put it? She’s a bit petty, but Dad can keep her in line. Plus, she’s still young, has a job, and doesn’t have the time to manage her two sons.”

”We won’t be seeing much of each other in the future, so there’s even less reason to be at each other’s throats. Infighting is the most pointless activity. I hope she can figure that out.”

”Anyway, I’m not going back to the city with you today. Tomorrow, I’m going to the shipyard with Uncle Yang, the technicians, and the boat crew to inspect the new boat. If everything’s okay, we can bring it back.”

Ye Feng chuckled. ”Congratulations, Captain Xiao Han. If you’re not going back with me, then I won’t go back either. Worst case, I’ll just go to work directly from here tomorrow.”