The Sea Queen of 1985

Chapter 422: Chapter 422: Four New Ships

Han Xiaorui’s pregnancy had made her a bit of a nag.

Before, she would never have meddled in someone else’s love life, especially not a man’s.

Kuno Hiroo looked at her with a complicated expression. ”Xiao Rui, you truly are very charming.”

Han Xiaorui crossed her arms. ”I know I’m charming, but I’m married, pregnant, and about to be a mother of four. You don’t have a chance.”

Besides, she was a patriot at heart.

”Ah?” Kuno Hiroo was taken aback for a moment, then he smiled. ”I was just complimenting you. I don’t have any ulterior motives.”

Hearing this, Han Xiaorui let out a sigh of relief. ”Well, in that case, you shouldn’t say things like that so casually to young women in the future. Our cultures are different; it can easily lead to misunderstandings.”

”Alright!” Kuno Hiroo said with a smile. ”About this month’s Fengshui Fish... could you give me some more?”

Han Xiaorui was surprised. ”Why? Your order quantity is already quite large. Some things are best savored over time. Scarcity creates value. If there’s too much, they won’t be worth as much.”

Kuno Hiroo smiled. ”Officials seek promotion. Businessmen seek wealth. The sick seek health. In short, everyone is seeking something. A certain celebrity said that after buying my Fengshui Fish, he got promoted and his salary doubled.”

”And there’s a very famous actress who said that after buying a large Fengshui tank, she started doing yoga next to it every day. Not only did it bring her peace of mind and boost her spirits, but she also landed good roles in several films.”

”This...” Han Xiaorui was stunned. ”Kuno Hiroo, did you pay people to say that?”

Kuno Hiroo shook his head. ”How could I say something like that directly? What if it didn’t work? Wouldn’t I be afraid of people trashing my store? This is all common Fengshui knowledge. When someone buys them, takes them home, and sees results, they feel it’s especially effective.”

”But I’ve also placed some in my own courtyard. They have a simple, rustic elegance and are very beautiful. I also enjoy watching the fish and appreciating the scenery nearby. It calms the mind and lifts the spirit.”

”A lot of people are ordering them now. The price is twenty percent higher than before, but that still hasn’t dampened their enthusiasm.”

Han Xiaorui blinked. ”Even so, no. The quantity is already set. You’ll have to get back in line. I already disrupted the rhythm for you before. We’ve only just gotten things stable again; I can’t mess it up.”

Although making money was important, Han Xiaorui didn’t want to excessively interfere with the ornamental fish farm’s operations.

After all, the number of species was increasing, and management was becoming more and more complex.

Any disruption would create a lot more work.

Seeing that Han Xiaorui wouldn’t agree, Kuno Hiroo didn’t press the issue. ”If it’s not possible, then forget it.”

Just then, Chen Yishui, Wu Mengyue, and Liang Xiaoyu came over.

During the fishing ban, they had taken their children on vacation.

Originally, some of them had wanted to work at the marine aquaculture farm, but Han Xiaorui had talked them out of it.

She told them to rest up, collect their base pay, and just work hard once the fishing ban was over.

Their commissions were high and their base salaries weren’t low, so who would want to work hard when they could be enjoying themselves?

However, some people felt the burden of having many children at home was heavy, so they found outside work.

But since it was the fishing ban, Han Xiaorui treated it as the crew’s vacation and didn’t interfere.

”Boss, the fishing ban is over in half a month! We’re planning to get the fishing boats maintained so we can head out as soon as the season opens.”

Han Xiaorui nodded. ”Okay! You guys arrange it. I’m heavy with child right now, and even after I give birth, there’s the confinement period and breastfeeding.”

”I’ll leave the matters on the boats to the three of you. Sister Xiao Yu, please help me supervise the catch on Wu Guangfu’s boat.”

Liang Xiaoyu nodded. ”Don’t you worry, I’ll keep a close eye on it! And after we sell the seafood each time, I go over to check the sanitation. If they don’t clean up properly, I don’t let them leave the boat.”

Chen Yishui chimed in, ”We’re keeping an eye on it too! You can rest assured!”

After completing the necessary paperwork, the four captains—Chen Yishui, Wu Mengyue, Wu Guangfu, and Qi Heng—took the boats to the shipyard for maintenance.

Yang Zhigang, having nothing better to do, tagged along to chat with Director Zheng from the shipyard.

Of course, it wasn’t just idle chatter. He had bought plenty of good liquor and fine cigarettes and brought them with him.

Even though bribery and corruption were out of the question, some gifts of liquor and cigarettes were still necessary.

The other party could refuse them, but you couldn’t not offer.

Director Zheng trusted Yang Zhigang, so he accepted the gifts. Seeing that no one else was around, he asked in a low voice, ”Because the fishing ban has been so long, a lot of fishing boats can’t stay in business. A few boat owners ordered fishing boats from me a while back. They’ll be ready in about a month.”

”Yesterday, I notified them to get the money ready for the final payment. But a few of them said they don’t have the money. Some asked me to wait while they try to get a loan. Others even asked me to help them find a buyer.”

When Yang Zhigang heard this, his eyes lit up. ”How many are there?”

Right now, he and Han Xiaorui had a total of three boats. Every time they came back, they could make over a hundred thousand on a good trip, or at least tens of thousands on a lesser one.

After just a few fishing trips, they could make back the cost of a boat.

He had actually come today intending to order three more boats.

But the shipbuilding cycle was very long—a year at the shortest, sometimes two.

Even if he ordered them now, he would have to wait a long time.

If he could buy ready-made sea vessels, and new ones at that, it would naturally be for the best.

The moment Director Zheng heard this, he knew Yang Zhigang was interested.

Being in the same industry, Director Zheng was naturally aware of the situation.

Those three boats from Jinshan Bay came back with a full haul every single time, making a lot of money.

While other boats didn’t necessarily come back empty-handed, they definitely couldn’t manage a full haul every single time.

Therefore, Director Zheng figured that transferring these boats to Yang Zhigang would not only ensure he received the final payment but also put Yang Zhigang in his debt.

”Four boats,” Director Zheng replied. ”If you want them, I can arrange a meeting for you. Taking all four shouldn’t be a problem for you.”

Hearing this, Yang Zhigang sighed wistfully. ”It might be a little difficult. After all, I got divorced and had to part with a large sum of money. But, I’ll go back and discuss it with Xiao Rui. I’ll ask if she wants them. If she does, we’ll take all the boats.”

Director Zheng nodded. ”Alright. And these are new boats. I’ve also heard that many other boats are having trouble staying afloat financially. It all depends on how things go after the fishing season opens. If the market is good, there might not be many used boats for sale. If it’s not, I expect even more people will be selling.”

Hearing this, Yang Zhigang nodded. ”In that case, please keep an eye out for me. If any used boats come up, they need to be at least seventy percent new. Anything too old is no good. Besides, new fishing boats aren’t that expensive anyway.”

Director Zheng was inwardly envious. ’Not that expensive, he says.’

To most people, that amount of money was already an astronomical figure.

But this business on the sea was a mysterious thing.

Yang Zhigang and Han Xiaorui’s boats could always catch good seafood and make money.

The sea was right there for anyone to fish in. Whatever you caught was yours.

The other crews would even follow them and cast their nets in the same spots, but if they couldn’t catch any seafood, who could they blame?

All they could do was gossip behind their backs and be envious.