“This young woman wants to hire a vehicle long-term. You two can discuss the price yourselves,” Uncle Liu said, looking at Han Xiaorui. “Young lady, rest assured. This is my nephew; I know him inside and out, and all three generations of his family are honest, reliable people.”
Liu Sihai quickly added, “Comrade Han, there are seven people in my family, and they can’t pay our wages right now. I’m counting on driving to support my family. I value this job more than anyone, so don’t worry. I drive very steadily.”
Han Xiaorui nodded. “Yesterday, I took a taxi back with the children, and it cost two yuan and eight mao. I’ll give you three yuan per trip. From Monday to Friday at noon, you must be here by 11:55. After my children finish their class at 12:00, you will take them directly home.”
Upon hearing this, Liu Sihai knew he could earn one yuan and two mao per trip, and he was naturally pleased. “Alright, then come with me to the vehicle association next door to get the certification.”
Han Xiaorui was slightly stunned; she hadn’t expected such procedures for a long-term hire at this time, but she said, “Sure!” This made it even more secure.
After completing the paperwork, the class happened to let out. Han Xiaorui and Han Xiaojing took their two daughters and boarded Liu Sihai’s “turtle car” (pedicab) to go home. On the way, when Liu Sihai learned that Han Xiaorui had married into the local area, he dared not underestimate her.
Han Xiaojing was even more attentive to the children than Han Xiaorui, so Han Xiaorui was happy to leave them in her sister’s care. “Xiaojing, you stay home and play with the kids. I’m going to the pier to check on my boat.” Han Xiaorui couldn’t wait to go out to sea and start her fishing career.
Han Xiaojing smiled lightly. “Sister, be careful.”
Wearing a straw hat, Han Xiaorui arrived at the pier and found her boat. It was a boat bought only a year ago, so it was still very new. On the pier, people pointed at Han Xiaorui and whispered. She had no interest in paying them any attention; they were likely just gossiping about how she had been abandoned by Yang Jianming and had become a pitiful divorced woman.
Heh, compared to a cheating scumbag, the fish in the ocean were much cuter, weren’t they?
Han Xiaorui familiarized herself with the boat inside and out, read the manual, and skillfully operated the fishing boat as it accelerated steadily across the sea. The air, wrapped in a faint scent of brine, rushed toward her, making Han Xiaorui shudder with a comfort akin to a baby in a mother’s womb.
She began to attempt to use her water-type superpower to scan, discovering that she could only detect a range of five meters in radius and fifty meters in depth. Even so, it was more than enough!
As she went deeper into the sea, the underwater world became richer, and all kinds of colorful fish grew more abundant. Since she had come all this way, there was no way Han Xiaorui was going back with an empty boat.
Without bait, one cast of the net brought up two buckets of shrimp—lively and jumping, each the size of half a palm. Han Xiaorui kept half a bucket for dinner and used the rest as bait. Unhooking a net was too much trouble, so she decided to fish, not net shrimp.
She stopped at a sea surface near some reefs; there were many groupers below, known for their delicious meat and rich nutrition. After being processed by her water-type power, the small shrimp became exponentially more attractive to the fish.
As soon as the fishing line reached the reef, the nearby groupers rushed over. A fat, large grouper forcefully shoved aside smaller ones trying to get the bait and bit down hard. The shrimp was indeed delicious, but it also held a hook that caught its mouth.
Seeing the grouper hooked, Han Xiaorui immediately reeled it in. However, this grouper was a bit large, weighing over twenty jin (about 22 lbs). The larger the fish, the greater its struggle. Han Xiaorui spent a pleasant moment “playing” the fish before slowly lifting the large grouper out of the water.
A lively, jumping grouper was not only delicious but also a valuable item that could be sold for money. Han Xiaorui threw the jumping fish into the live-water tank; live fish fetched a good price.
Fishing for Han Xiaorui was like an extension of her own body, and she followed her instincts to speed up. The rate at which she caught fish grew faster, with a mix of large and small ones. Some were three or four jin, most were five or six, and only a few exceeded ten jin.
The tireless Han Xiaorui enjoyed the joy of fishing. There were no mutated sea monsters here, the weather was excellent, and there were no wind or waves, making it perfectly safe for her.
As the sun set, Han Xiaorui had filled both live-water tanks with groupers. With over an hour left before she had to return, she packed up her gear and prepared to go home.
Jinshan Bay was a famous harbor in the suburbs of Shencheng, and many procurement agents waited there for returning fishing boats. Although she had never sold fish before, her father-in-law, Yang Zhigang, had a fishing boat and a seafood wholesale stall at the market, so through osmosis, Han Xiaorui had a decent understanding of local seafood.
However, if she returned to Jinshan Bay with such a large catch, the whole village would know about it immediately. If her mother-in-law, Zhang Xiufang, became greedy and blocked the divorce, wouldn’t she be stuck entangled with that cheating scumbag even longer?
Thinking of this, Han Xiaorui drove the boat directly to the county pier, covered her face with a gauze scarf, and docked. Most of the fish buyers on the shore were men; seeing that Han Xiaorui was a woman, they didn’t think much of her, and only a few came over to inquire.
“Young lady, do you have fish?” A man in his fifties had just arrived without any catch, so he asked when he saw a fishing boat approach.
Han Xiaorui wanted to finish selling quickly and get home. “Groupers, want some?”
“Groupers?” The man’s eyes lit up; those were relatively expensive fish. “How many?” Because these fish lived near reefs, they couldn’t be caught by nets and could only be fished individually.
Han Xiaorui lowered her voice. “Two live-water tanks, about two hundred jin.”
Upon hearing this, the man’s small eyes widened into circles. “Young lady, I’ll take them all. I’ll give you a high price!”
“Come with me to load the fish,” Han Xiaorui said, wanting to get home.
The man followed her closely to the live-water tanks. Upon seeing them, he almost knelt. “Young lady, did you raid a grouper nest?”
Han Xiaorui didn’t waste time. “Sizes vary, so prices vary. If the price is right, you load the fish. If not, get off the boat now.”
Only high-quality fish could attract big clients. His restaurant had just been renovated and was upscale, but he couldn’t get his hands on quality sea fish. His wife watched the shop while he came to the pier to buy fish personally. If he bought all these high-quality fish, even if he couldn’t use them all today, putting them in the glass live-water tank at the entrance would attract more customers.
“Under two jin, three yuan per jin; two to five jin, five yuan per jin; five to ten jin, seven yuan per jin; over ten jin, ten yuan per jin.”
“Young lady, I’ll give you twelve yuan per jin for this biggest one, which is over twenty jin. I’m a restaurant owner, so the price I’m giving you is higher than these wholesale rates. If that works, let’s weigh them now.”
Han Xiaorui felt the price was fair and nodded, feeling hopeful about her future. “Deal. We’ll weigh them on the boat; cash on delivery.”