The Sea Queen of 1985

Chapter 5: Chapter 5: A Surprise

The arrogant Zhang Lili panicked upon hearing Han Xiaorui’s self-assured words.

"Han Xiaorui, don’t get cocky. The baby in my belly is smart, and it’s a son. He’s nothing like those two stupid daughters of yours."

In the past, taunting Han Xiaorui about her two "stupid kids" had always sent her into a rage.

But this time, she had miscalculated.

Han Xiaorui glanced at Zhang Lili’s belly. "You should watch what you say for the sake of the child in your belly. The karma from your vicious words might just fall upon your own child."

"You..." Zhang Lili clutched her belly, swallowing the string of curses that had been on the tip of her tongue.

Han Xiaorui said coldly, "Don’t mess with me. You don’t want to see the price for provoking me."

"From now on, you’d better avoid me when you see me. Otherwise, even though I’m divorced, I still live here. Yang Jianming and I will be seeing each other all the time. I’m better looking than you, and if I put my mind to it, I can always lure him back."

Zhang Lili was also quite pretty, but she couldn’t compare to how Han Xiaorui used to look.

The first time she saw Han Xiaorui, Zhang Lili had been stunned by her beauty to the point of jealousy.

It was only because Han Xiaorui had become irritable, worn down by her two special-needs daughters and arguing with Yang Jianming constantly, that Zhang Lili had an opportunity to make her move.

If Han Xiaorui really set her mind to seducing Yang Jianming, he would cheat on Zhang Lili even if they were married.

Like a turtle pulling its head into its shell, Zhang Lili immediately scurried back into her home and slammed the door shut.

Han Xiaorui sneered. ’This is how I’ll deal with Zhang Lili if she dares to be so brazen again.’

"Don’t be scared, don’t be scared. Mommy scared the bad lady away." Han Xiaorui gently soothed her daughters. "Mommy will go home and make you yummy shrimp. After we eat, we can plant some vegetables at home together, okay?"

Although it was mostly Han Xiaorui talking to herself, she observed carefully and could see that the children were reacting to her words.

’This was huge progress!’

Just as she reached her front door, Han Xiaorui saw someone crouching there. "Xiao Jing?"

Han Xiaoqing had been waiting so long she’d almost fallen asleep. Hearing her sister’s voice, she quickly opened her eyes and stood up. "Sis, where have you been? I’ve been waiting for you all morning!"

"Xiao Jing!" Looking at the Han Xiaoqing in front of her, who looked exactly like her sister from her past life, Han Xiaorui quickly walked over, embraced her, and burst into tears.

That sister had died in her arms after being pierced by a mutated, poisonous rose while saving her. She had lost her last living relative.

It was as if heaven was compensating her, allowing them to reunite here.

Seeing her sister cry, Han Xiaoqing said quickly, "Sis, I was just thinking, if Yang Jianming is bullying you, we don’t have to put up with him. I’ll take you with me. We can go find work somewhere else and support ourselves."

Hearing her sister’s comforting words, Han Xiaorui wiped her tears. "Xiao Jing, I’ve divorced Yang Jianming."

"You really divorced him?" Han Xiaoqing blinked, finding it hard to believe. No matter how she’d tried to persuade her before, her sister had refused to divorce, even threatening to kill herself several times.

Han Xiaorui nodded. "Mhm, we’re divorced!"

Seeing their mother crying, Pingping and An’an didn’t understand why, their eyes filled with panic and their faces etched with fear and anxiety.

Han Xiaorui quickly wiped her tears, composed herself, and took her two children by the hand. "Xiao Jing, let’s talk inside."

Soothed by Han Xiaorui, Pingping and An’an gradually calmed down. They opened the door and went into their home.

"Sis, if we take the kids with us... sigh, it’ll probably be really hard. But if we don’t take them, Pingping and An’an will have a miserable life." Han Xiaoqing stroked her nieces’ little faces, feeling torn. She couldn’t bring herself to tell her sister to abandon the two children.

Han Xiaorui smiled, her expression bright. "Xiao Jing, even though I’m divorced, I’m not going anywhere. Shencheng is the fastest-developing city in the country, and it also has the best medical facilities. I took the kids for intervention therapy at the hospital this morning. As long as we’re dedicated, Pingping and An’an’s condition can improve."

"Sis, if they can really be treated, then let’s get them treatment. I can work more overtime at the factory. I can make eighty yuan a month." Han Xiaoqing thought for a moment, feeling they couldn’t delay the children’s treatment.

This so-called "overtime" wasn’t just an extra hour, but six extra hours a day, for a total of fourteen hours of work.

Han Xiaorui was touched. Her sister’s love for her and her nieces was genuine. "You don’t have to use your money. I didn’t leave the marriage with nothing."

"This house, the family boat, and a nearby mountainside are all mine. Plus, Pingping and An’an’s grandfather is giving us two hundred yuan a month for living expenses and five hundred yuan for treatment fees."

"Huh?" Han Xiaoqing couldn’t believe it, her pretty, wide eyes going round. "Sis, if that’s the case, then you really don’t need to leave."

Han Xiaorui grasped her sister’s hand. "Xiao Jing, you should quit your job. I want to hire you to help me take care of Pingping and An’an, and take them to their classes at the hospital. I’ll pay you a salary of one hundred yuan a month."

Hearing this, Han Xiaoqing retorted playfully, "Sis, you just got divorced. You can’t manage two kids on your own. It’s only right that I come and help. I’m your sister; I’m supposed to help you when you’re in trouble. If you give me money, I’ll get angry and won’t help you with the kids."

Those few short sentences made Han Xiaorui adore this sister of hers.

Han Xiaorui was touched. "Let’s not talk about this, we’re sisters! You play with Pingping and An’an, and I’ll go make dinner. We can talk more while we eat."

’With my sister to watch the children, I can go out to sea and fish.’

"Okay, Pingping and An’an like me." Han Xiaoqing played with the two children in the yard. Although she was doing most of the talking, the children sometimes seemed to listen and would give simple responses.

Han Xiaorui had seen her sister again. Even though they weren’t the same person, she felt a great sense of psychological comfort.

Feeling cheerful, Han Xiaorui hummed a song as she put two bowls of rice in the rice cooker. If there were leftovers, she could make egg fried rice or shrimp fried rice tomorrow.

She quickly washed the large shrimp, then used scissors to snip off the legs and heads, squeeze out the guts, devein them, and cut a slit down their backs.

She chopped the scallions and ginger, and minced the garlic.

She poured some lard into the wok, added the large shrimp first, and stir-fried them until they turned golden before taking them out.

Without washing the wok, she added a bit more lard, stir-fried the minced garlic until golden and fragrant, then added two spoonfuls of light soy sauce and one spoonful of homemade oyster sauce, continuing to stir-fry until everything was well combined.

She returned the cooked shrimp to the wok, continued to stir-fry, then poured in enough water to just cover the shrimp.

For simple seasoning, she added half a spoonful of salt and a spoonful of sugar to enhance the flavor.

She continued to cook it over high heat to let the flavors infuse, and after three to five minutes, she added the other half of the minced garlic, allowing it to fully merge with the shrimp.

She added a small amount of starch to thicken the sauce, reduced it over high heat, then sprinkled in some charming chopped scallions and tossed it a few more times.

The fragrant garlic shrimp, bursting with flavor, was ready.

Because Han Xiaorui was in a good mood this time, she didn’t mind the trouble and put her heart into making it, so the garlic shrimp was especially rich in flavor.

Pingping, who had been playing, smelled the aroma and ran to the kitchen, staring eagerly at the freshly cooked garlic shrimp.

Han Xiaorui was incredibly satisfied. A child wanting to eat her food was the greatest affirmation of a mother’s cooking skills.

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