The Sea Queen of 1985

Chapter 357: Chapter 357: There’s Really an Earthquake

Since Qi Heng had said as much, Wu Guangfu didn’t feel it was his place to offer any more opinions.

In truth, Wu Guangfu was in utter awe of Han Xiaorui.

At sea, there shouldn’t be too many voices; you just had to listen to the captain.

Although they were experienced, when it came to matters of the sea, experience alone wasn’t enough to deal with everything.

When facing Mother Nature, people sometimes start to believe in mystical forces.

They took turns eating while Chen Yishui and Wu Mengyue steered. The two of them were completely focused, navigating based on their own experience and Han Xiaorui’s reminders, sailing through danger without incident.

Roughly two hours later, Han Xiaorui checked the instrument panel, not daring to be careless. ”Based on our current distance, we’ll reach the coastline in another hour!”

Wu Mengyue nodded. ”The waves haven’t subsided, but they haven’t gotten any stronger either. Once we reach the coastline, everything will be much easier!”

Han Xiaorui nodded. ”Yes. We’ll have to trouble you a little longer, Sister Mengyue.”

Wu Mengyue smiled. ”Of course!”

Han Xiaorui frequently contacted Qi Heng and Wu Guangfu on the boat behind them.

As they drew closer to the coastline, everyone’s spirits began to lift.

Meanwhile, Ye Feng received a call from Chen Yupeng. He was told there had been an earthquake in the East Sea and that Han Xiaorui shouldn’t be going out to sea.

Ye Feng, who had been a bit drowsy, was jolted awake by Chen Yupeng’s news. ”Xiao Rui already went out to sea yesterday!” he exclaimed.

Chen Yupeng was also taken aback. ”Fortunately, the earthquake wasn’t that big. Xiao Rui is very experienced, so try not to worry too much.”

’What else could he say? Of course, he had to comfort Ye Feng!’

Ye Feng dropped what he was doing and went to the post office to send Han Xiaorui a telegram.

At this time, telegrams were the only way to communicate with ships at sea.

After receiving the telegram, Han Xiaorui decoded it based on her training.

”Reached coastline. Safe.” Han Xiaorui kept the reply simple; anything more complex would waste time.

Only after receiving this telegram did Ye Feng finally breathe a sigh of relief.

The predicted epicenter was far from the coast. Since Han Xiaorui had already reached the coastline, it meant she was safe.

Seeing Han Xiaorui send and receive telegrams, Wu Mengyue smiled. ”Ye Feng is so thoughtful!”

Han Xiaorui nodded. ”It’s amazing he even found out about the earthquake.”

”He holds you in the palm of his hand, so of course he pays attention to all kinds of news,” Wu Mengyue chuckled. ”After we return from this trip, the weather’s likely to remain bad. We won’t be able to go out again before the fishing moratorium starts!”

Han Xiaorui was also regretful. ”Yes! We won’t be able to head out for nearly five months. But this time our haul was exceptionally abundant! It’s a perfect end to the first half of the year’s fishing.”

Wu Mengyue said with emotion, ”It was a difficult ending to draw, though, what with the earthquake! If we hadn’t left when we did, we could have been in serious trouble!”

At that moment, it wasn’t just Wu Mengyue and Han Xiaorui who felt this way; the crewmen did as well.

Once they passed the coastline, a profound sense of security washed over them.

Qi Heng and Wu Guangfu also let out a sigh of relief. Aching, exhausted, and numb, they handed their helms over to their first mates and let them take over steering.

Wu Mengyue and Chen Yishui were the same. Feeling utterly exhausted, they swapped out with Sister Yun.

She also knew how to pilot the boat, and her steering was steady.

Han Xiaorui took the opportunity to send a telegram to Zhang Guangnan. ”Fish are plentiful and varied. Hire more people to sort them.”

After receiving the telegram, Zhang Guangnan immediately brought a group of people to the pier to wait.

He had hired twenty people in advance, who were now waiting on the shore.

Only after doing all this did Han Xiaorui return to her cabin to rest.

She thought she wouldn’t be able to sleep, but the moment her mind relaxed, she got into bed and was out like a light.

Even when they reached the shore, Han Xiaorui didn’t stir, sleeping soundly through the noise.

The pier was now crowded with laborers, and onlookers gathered, their curiosity piqued.

”The three big ships from our Jinshan Bay just left yesterday. Could they be back already?”

”Looks like it! A small boat would never need this many laborers!”

As they were speaking, three black dots appeared on the horizon, growing larger and larger.

About twenty minutes later, they were moored at the pier.

Many people were curious and crowded around for a look. Others waited nearby, hoping they could get some work and earn a bit of money if there weren’t enough hands.

Chen Yishui and Wu Mengyue led their crew and the workers hired by Zhang Guangnan in sorting the fish, then loading them basket by basket onto the refrigerated trucks.

When Yang Zhigang heard the ships had docked, he hurried over as well.

”How was the haul?” Yang Zhigang asked eagerly. ”You’re back so soon. Did you have some kind of strange encounter at sea?”

Qi Heng quickly answered, ”Brother Yang, we found a huge school of fish near Abalone Island yesterday. A lot of deep-sea fish just floated to the surface. Trawling was useless; we had to use hand-thrown cast nets.”

Hearing this, Yang Zhigang said, ”That’s unusual. It must mean the seas are unstable!”

Qi Heng replied, ”Last night, we were just busy fishing. There was a huge mix of valuable fish, all very precious. Xiao Rui’s boat caught an Emperor Fish, so we didn’t dare to linger and immediately started our return journey. We just heard on the radio that there was an earthquake this morning in the area we were in!”

Yang Zhigang was shocked. ”When you run into something like that, you have to head back right away. You can’t linger in that area!”

Qi Heng nodded. ”Yes. Xiao Rui’s boat led the way back, and we followed her. Even though it was raining and the waves were high, we made it back safely despite the close calls.”

Wu Guangfu walked over just then, praising her endlessly. ”I used to think Xiao Han was just lucky. But after last night, I’m in absolute awe of her!”

Hearing this, Yang Zhigang looked quite pleased. ”That’s why at sea, you just listen to Xiao Rui. Her word is my word! Now, let me see what kind of fish you all caught. I heard it was quite a mix!”

Wu Guangfu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. ”To say it’s a mix is an understatement. I can’t even remember how many different species of fish we pulled up last night!”

”Can you imagine a single net containing Big Yellow Fish, Chinese bahaba, and even golden croakers? I’ve never seen anything like it in my life!”

Qi Heng chimed in, ”And what’s even more ridiculous, we actually caught tuna—bluefin tuna—with a hand-thrown cast net!”

Yang Zhigang was flabbergasted. He pointed at the buyers who were scratching their heads in frustration. ”No wonder I saw them all looking so flustered. So it’s because you caught such amazing fish!”

”Set aside the Chinese bahaba and golden croakers. We’ll sell the fish after we’ve removed the maws!”

Qi Heng and Wu Guangfu exchanged a look. ”But their value will drop significantly if we take out the maws!”

Yang Zhigang waved his hand. ”I’ll still factor that money into the total value. Everyone’s commission will be calculated based on the grand total.”

Qi Heng waved his hand. ”Brother Yang, that’s not what we meant. We just feel it’s not a good deal to sell them separately. It’s a lot of trouble.”

Yang Zhigang smiled. ”It might be a little troublesome, but I want to keep these fish maws. Xiao Rui is pregnant now. She’ll need them to recover after childbirth.”

”The whole reason Chinese bahaba and golden croakers are so valuable is because the maws in their bellies have such incredible nourishing properties, right? They’re especially good for women after childbirth, when they’ve lost blood and their energy is depleted. This is the best thing to eat for recovery!”

Hearing this, Qi Heng and Wu Guangfu were gobsmacked. ”Xiao Han... is pregnant? I just thought she’d been eating well and put on a little weight around her stomach!”