The Sea Queen of 1985

Chapter 461: Chapter 461: Conch Jade

Han Xiaorui also saw Zhang Guangnan. ”Boss Zhang, you’re looking well lately. Business must be booming!”

Zhang Guangnan was polite, pulling out an invitation. ”It’s all thanks to you, President Han. Business is indeed good! In three days, I’m opening a new seafood restaurant. I’d be honored if you, Boss Han, and the fisherwomen could come!”

Han Xiaorui took the invitation. ”A new store opening? Boss Zhang, you’re really something! Opening another new shop so quickly!”

Zhang Guangnan chuckled. ”To be honest, it’s really all thanks to you! Whether it’s your wild-caught or farmed seafood, the flavor is excellent.”

”It’s not just helped me keep my regulars, but it’s also attracted new customers. Business is getting better and better. So many people can’t get a table, and when I see them leave because they can’t wait... it’s no different from watching money fly right out the door.”

Han Xiaorui laughed heartily. ”That’s true! Alright then, the weather’s been bad lately, so we can’t go out to sea anyway! I’ll bring Sister Shui and the others to support you. Just don’t complain if we eat too much!”

Zhang Guangnan dismissed her comment with a wave. ”I’m inviting you to come help me taste-test and give me some suggestions. The last thing I’m worried about is you eating too much. In fact, I’d feel like I was losing out if you didn’t eat your fill!”

”You’re too generous, Boss Zhang!” Han Xiaorui gave him a thumbs-up as she watched baskets of seafood being unloaded, weighed, loaded onto trucks, and tallied.

Nowadays, there were dedicated people responsible for all of this, so Han Xiaorui didn’t need to do it herself.

Before the work was finished, Han Xiaorui said her goodbyes to Zhang Guangnan and the other wholesalers.

Before leaving, however, she went to each boat to say hello and thank everyone for their hard work at sea.

Her politeness was very well-received by the rough-and-tumble boatmen.

Their exhaustion seemed to melt away.

Most of the boatmen were hot-tempered, but they were also very straightforward.

When treated with such courtesy, their first thought was to work even more seriously and diligently on the next trip, to catch more fish and repay their boss.

Some of the veteran boatmen knew Han Xiaorui was very generous, but the new crew members had only heard rumors and hadn’t experienced it for themselves.

Seeing Han Xiaorui leave, a new boatman quietly asked a veteran, ”Is our young boss going to dock our commission?”

Hearing this, Qi Heng looked confused. ”The commission is a set percentage. It’s calculated based on the money from our catch after deducting all the costs. Why would she just dock it? Our boss has never done that, so don’t you worry.”

The new boatman breathed a sigh of relief. ”My old boss... whenever he smiled at us, it meant he was about to dock our commission.”

At that, Qi Heng chuckled. ”Don’t overthink it. That won’t happen here. Just work hard, and everyone will get every last cent of their commission. You can rest assured. We had good luck on this trip, so the commission will be pretty good.”

”You won’t get paid today, but after the accountant calculates everything, the money will be transferred tomorrow morning. That’s why we had you all get passbooks—for the transfers. If you go to withdraw money tomorrow afternoon, you’ll see the amount in your passbook has changed.”

Hearing this, the new boatmen were overjoyed and lifted the baskets with renewed vigor.

As a mother, she couldn’t stay out for too long.

Han Xiaorui said goodbye to Chen Yishui and the others. ”Sister Shui, I’ll leave you to it. I’m heading home first.”

Chen Yishui smiled. ”We’ll be done here soon. Once we’re finished, I’ll come to your house personally to give you a little something.”

”What is it?” Han Xiaorui asked curiously.

Chen Yishui just smiled. ”If I tell you, it won’t be a surprise anymore. Just go home and wait!”

”Alright!” Han Xiaorui laughed. ”Then I’ll get some tea and snacks ready. Hurry on over.”

With her children at home, Han Xiaorui said her farewells and hurried back.

Of course, she took a bucket of small shellfish with her when she left.

They were a bit of a hassle to prepare, but they tasted great.

Of course, she also brought two fine golden pompanos and two groupers.

Living by the sea, a day without seafood just felt wrong.

After Han Xiaorui finished feeding her babies, she placed them inside their playpen to practice rolling over.

The floor was covered with a thick, warm mat, perfect for the little ones.

Wu Yao was always nearby, and sometimes when Sister Lian wasn’t cooking, she would come over to watch the children too.

Chen Yishui arrived, carrying two large buckets. ”Xiao Rui, come and see what I brought you!”

Han Xiaorui quickly put down what she was holding and hurried over to look. ”This... Oh, why are there white conch shells inside these rocks? They look like they’re made of jade. What kind of conch is this?”

Chen Yishui smiled proudly. ”This is Conch Jade!”

”Conch Jade?” Han Xiaorui blinked. ”How come I’ve never heard of this type of jade?”

Chen Yishui explained with a smile, ”It’s actually the fossil of a coral conch. It looks novel, but it’s not worth much. We happened upon a small island and found it was covered in this stuff, so I picked some for the crew and brought some for you. If you dig out the Conch Jade, polish it up, and make a keychain charm, it’d be quite nice.”

Han Xiaorui’s eyes lit up with delight as she looked at the Conch Jade, a glint in her eye. ’Not worth much? That’s even better!’

”Huh?” Chen Yishui was taken aback. ”Xiao Rui, that’s not right. Of course the more valuable, the better. How can ’not valuable’ be a good thing?”

Han Xiaorui explained with a smile, ”If these are made into keychains and crafts that sell for a few dollars, or maybe a little over ten, people will buy them. If they were expensive, who could afford them?”

Chen Yishui was stunned. ”Boss, are you thinking of going into the handicraft business with this?”

Han Xiaorui nodded. ”Of course. The seashell craft shop has already had its soft opening. Business isn’t great, but that’s just because it’s not the summer peak season yet. Now that we have this Conch Jade, opening another shop will be even more attractive to customers.”

”After all, when people travel, especially those from out of town, they want to buy local specialties to take back—food, practical items... or something like this that looks unique but isn’t too expensive. Tourists will grit their teeth and buy it. It can be used as a decoration or given as a gift.”

Chen Yishui blinked. ”If that’s the case, there’s a lot of it on that island. We should be able to make a lot of money, right? Xiao Rui, I’ll take some people to the island tomorrow and chip all that Conch Jade off to bring back.”

Han Xiaorui waved her hand. ”You didn’t think much of it before, just bringing a bit back as a trinket. I’m sure others feel the same and don’t see its value. The weather is supposed to be rainy for the next couple of days—cold and windy, not safe. Just bring it all back the next time you go out to sea.”

”Safety first,” Chen Yishui agreed. ”Alright, I’ll keep that in mind. Okay, I’ve dropped the stuff off. I should go home now to change and clean up.”

Han Xiaorui saw Chen Yishui to the door. ”Take care, Sister Shui.”

After seeing Sister Shui off, Han Xiaorui rode her motorcycle to the library to borrow some books. She did indeed find information about Conch Jade and was astounded, her eyes opened to a whole new world.