Upon hearing this, Han Xiaorui’s eyes lit up. “Do you only want one?”
“Huh?” Zhang Facai was stumped by Han Xiaorui’s response. Listening to her tone, it didn’t sound like she was talking about fishing, but rather about restocking inventory.
For others, this would be a difficult task, but for Han Xiaorui, using the term “restocking” was quite appropriate. However, her body hadn’t fully recovered yet, and her strength was limited; she couldn’t pull up a giant grouper if it were too big.
Where could she find helpers on such short notice? Besides, societal standards hadn’t yet become open enough for a woman to bring a man along on a fishing boat without being gossiped about. Finding other female comrades to go fishing was not an easy task.
“Of course, the more, the better! Regardless of how many you get, I’ll take them all. If I can’t use them all, I’ll sell them at a high price for you. I won’t take a cut; let’s just consider it a way of making friends.” Boss Zhang was generous and looked at the bigger picture. If Han Xiaorui could really bring in more giant groupers, his “Fucai Seafood Restaurant” would become even more famous.
“Fine, it’s a deal,” Han Xiaorui laughed. “You wait at the county pier tomorrow afternoon. If you’re late and someone else snatches them up, don’t blame me.”
Zhang Facai chuckled. “I’ll wait there early and pay on the spot.”
After hanging up the phone, Han Xiaorui was in high spirits. She had thought of someone to help and found the phone number Ye Feng had given her.
Ye Feng had just finished handling a matter and returned to his office. He had just taken a sip of hot water when the phone rang. “Hello, this is Ye Feng. Who is this?”
Han Xiaorui answered with a smile: “Comrade Ye, it’s like this: the day before yesterday, I discovered another device similar to that detector in a certain place. It’s a bit big, and I can’t get it up on my own.”
Ye Feng was startled. “Then why didn’t you call to report it sooner?”
“There’s a lot going on at home, so I forgot,” Han Xiaorui replied. She hadn’t actually forgotten; she just felt it was happening too frequently and planned to report it after a while. “I just saw you today and remembered. I have time to go out to sea tomorrow; if I don’t go tomorrow, I have other things to attend to and won’t be able to fish until next Sunday.”
Such a calculated scheme!
The detector Ye Feng had retrieved last time was treated like a treasure by the experts, and he had been credited for the achievement. With such a good thing happening, he would push aside any other tasks to make it work.
“Fine, I’ll come over tomorrow,” Ye Feng laughed. “Many thanks to Comrade Han for providing the lead. By the way, the detector found last time earned a bonus of 500 yuan. Whenever you have time, bring your household registration booklet and ID card to collect it.”
“It’s that good?” Han Xiaorui was pleasantly surprised. That meant the “big guy” she found tomorrow should fetch no less than 1,000 yuan.
“This is our unit’s reward for comrades with high political awareness,” Ye Feng laughed. Han Xiaorui had a very pleasant voice, reminding him of a poem from his school days: “Large pearls and small pearls falling onto a jade plate”—it must be as pleasant as that.
“Then thank you!” Han Xiaorui said, just about to hang up. “You can’t do it alone; bring two more people. That thing is a bit big!”
“Alright, understood, Comrade Han.” Ye Feng agreed, already looking forward to tomorrow’s harvest.
Han Xiaorui hung up the phone with a smile. This Ye Feng was quite clever; he had posed as a family man today and called her “Xiaorui.” Now, calling her “Comrade Han,” he was an interesting person. Having secured at least three free laborers, Han Xiaorui was relieved. She had to catch more giant groupers tomorrow.
On Monday, Liang Xiaoyu was taking her son to the hospital, and Han Xiaorui wanted to go see it, too. On Tuesday, she had to look at the shopfronts Chen Nanyang had found for her. After all, the 50,000 yuan she got from Zhang Xiufang had to be spent. Buying a storefront, whether for her own business or to rent out, was a great investment. On Wednesday, she needed to modify the live fish tanks on her boat—adding a few more would allow her to carry more live seafood back. On Thursday, she had to learn to drive and take the test. Even if she couldn’t afford a car for now, she could at least buy an agricultural tricycle, which would make hauling goods more convenient.
Calculated like this, the whole week was gone! Actually, she wasn’t really scheming against Ye Feng; Han Xiaorui was genuinely very busy.
Handing family responsibilities over to her sister, Han Xiaorui went to the pier early the next morning to prepare. She fueled up, loaded ice, and added two more fishing nets; she was ready for a big day.
A military-green vehicle pulled up to the pier. Ye Feng stepped out, followed by two other men. One of them was Wang Liang, the cousin of an old acquaintance, Zhang Lili, and the other man was also quite young and sturdy.
Once on board, Han Xiaorui took the helm. Ye Feng had dealt with Han Xiaorui several times and knew her well, so he came over to chat. “Comrade Han, how did you discover this new underwater detector?”
Han Xiaorui smiled. “I know how to dive. Sometimes I go down to dredge up some things, and I just happened to find it.” She had used her water-based superpowers to make that gadget float up from the seabed and hit a reef, but of course, she couldn’t say that! The ocean was vast; they wouldn’t know she was lying.
“By the way, is anyone in Jinshan Bay still bullying you?” Although Ye Feng knew Han Xiaorui had reached a settlement with Zhang Xiufang and received the 50,000 yuan compensation, he wasn’t sure how she was faring in the village.
Han Xiaorui smiled. “Bullying? I cleaned up Zhang Xiufang, the local ‘tough nut’ of Jinshan Bay. Now, I have a nickname: the Number One ‘Tough Person’ of Jinshan Bay!”
“Haha!” Ye Feng laughed, his voice loud and clear. “Not bad. As long as you aren’t being bullied, that’s great.”
Han Xiaorui nodded. “Exactly. What era is this? People still look down on me? So what if I’m divorced? Does being divorced mean I have to hang myself, drink pesticide, or go see the King of Hell?”
“I refuse. I have a house, a boat, and my children are getting better every day. I’m earning more money, too. When I have time, I’ll find myself a handsome guy and date.”
Ye Feng was taken aback. His long, narrow eyes held even more approval. “New society, new atmosphere. Comrade Han, as a model of the new era’s woman, you represent the progress of society and the times.”
“That’s for sure!” Han Xiaorui boasted. “Thanks to the Party and the country, life is getting better and better. Our Shencheng will sooner or later develop into a world-famous metropolis, and our country will surely stand at the pinnacle of the world once again.”
Ye Feng hadn’t expected such remarks from Han Xiaorui, but upon remembering she had once been admitted to the best university in Shencheng, he relaxed. “I hope you don’t mind me asking, but do you regret not attending that university?”
Han Xiaorui blinked, a look of shame crossing her eyes. “Regret? I regret it so much my intestines are turning blue! But back then, I was ‘love-brained,’ and my head was filled with water. I thought that ‘with love, you can drink water and be full.'”
“Time cannot flow backward, and there is no regret medicine in this world. I can only stop the losses as soon as possible and not let myself sink deeper into the abyss step by step. Fortunately, I divorced successfully and finally crawled out of that cesspit.”
“It is a pity I didn’t go to university, but life must go on. I will make my life and my journey wonderful.”
Ye Feng praised her, “It’s rare to think this way. Congratulations on your new beginning!”
“Thank you!” Han Xiaorui laughed. “When we encounter a school of fish in a while, will you lend me a hand?”
Ye Feng nodded. “Of course. Helping the people is our duty.”
Along the way, they talked and laughed, not feeling bored at all. Outside, Wang Liang occasionally looked into the cabin, his eyes dark and unreadable.