Chapter 532: Reward

Han Yichen was about to lose his temper at Meng Yunhan when he heard Chief Xiao’s voice. He turned to look at the middle-aged man and asked, "What happened? Did something happen, Village Head Xiao?"

"Old Han...Old Han...it is ...I don’t know how to say it... I have no words to tell you what Han Ruochen has done." Village Head Xiao was panting hard while holding the newspaper in his hand. One look at his sweat-covered face and anyone would think that there was something wrong.

Meng Yunhan also thought the same. When she saw Village Head Xiao sweating so hard, Meng Yunhan was sure that Han Ruochen had done something wrong. Maybe she ended up catching and selling some rare and protected fish. If that was the case, then this girl was surely going to be arrested.

As soon as this thought came into her head, she turned panicked. She turned to look at Han Ruochen and scolded her fiercely, "Han Ruochen! I knew you were a restless woman. Out with it, what did you do?" She then turned to look at Han Yichen and said to him angrily, "See this? This is what happens when you let a little girl run around. I told you. I told you that she is going to make a mess of things, but you did not listen to me; now look at this. See what she has done."

Han Yichen frowned after Meng Yunhan jumped on him in such a furious manner. However, he trusted his daughter; he knew that there was no way Han Ruochen would do anything to embarrass him or their family. He turned and glared at his wife before saying to her, "Let the village head speak first. What are you doing making a fuss before he has even finished speaking?"

He then turned to look at Village Head Xiao and said to him, "Village Head, tell us, what happened? Why are you looking for Ruochen?"

"What else? She must have made a mess." Meng Yunhan sneered, stepping forward. "Chief Xiao, I am telling you, whatever this girl has done, we have nothing to do with it. If she has sold something she should not have, you can take her and throw her in prison. Just don’t drag us into the matter. In fact, if you want to kick her out of the village, we will not say anything—"

"Shut your mouth, Meng Yunhan!" Chief Xiao roared, shoving the newspaper that he brought with him into Meng Yunhan’s face. "Look at the front page! Look at what is written on it before you make a fuss!"

Han Ziyan turned, bewildered when she heard the village head’s roar. What was going on? Her smug sneer turned into a mask of pure confusion. She hurried over and looked over at Meng Yunhan’s shoulder. There it was, printed in bold, dark ink across the top of the newspaper, a massive headline:

Hero of the East Sea: Young navigator clears the impassable ’Devil’s Teeth Channel’.

The Provincial Bureau Awards Exclusive Maritime Transit Rights and National Hero Merit to Chen of Sunshine Village.

Below the headline was a crisp, high-resolution photograph of Han Ruochen, who was standing tall on the bow of her boat. She was standing next to a high-ranking naval officer, with Old Master Xu standing beside her, holding the official state charter.

"This...this...what is this?" Meng Yunhan’s voice turned into a high-pitched squeak. "She...she opened the devil’s teeth? The government...the government also gave her exclusive toll rights?"

"It’s not just the newspaper." Village Head Xiao declared loudly, turning to face the crowd of the neighbours who were peering over the wall. "The county magistrate is also on his way. He is bringing a state commendation award and a red plaque for the family ancestral hall! The entire county now knows that Old Han’s second daughter is now a primary disciple of Old Master Xu!"

"Old Master Xu? Who is this man?" Han Yichen asked, as he had never been involved in politics. All he knew was how to raise pigs and how to feed them. Apart from that, what else did he know? He was just a common villager.

Chief Xiao looked at Han Yichen as if the man had lost his mind. "You don’t know Old Master Xu? He was once the highest-ranking naval officer! Even though he has retired now, he holds quite a high position in the navigation department. It is rumoured that as long as he takes a stand, everyone has to bow down to his decision."

"How can that be?" Han Ziyan blurted out. "I heard that Old Master Xu’s family disciple was going to be someone from the Shen family!" She had heard all about the rumours that were going on in the warehouse. The one who was supposed to become the disciple of Old Master Xu was none other than the woman from the Shen family. How come, all of a sudden, the one who became the disciple of that old man was Han Ruochen? What was going on? She turned to look at her mother in shock and horror. How could this be allowed? If Han Ruochen became the disciple of such a big person, how would she ever be able to surpass her?

Meng Yunhan also gritted her teeth; she could not understand what was going on. How come Han Ruochen ended up with such a good thing? She was supposed to be in trouble and not winning awards!

"That’s right! How can she win an award? Surely there must have been some kind of mistake!" It had to be that Shen girl from that big family.

Village Head Xiao glanced at the two women who were jumping around disdainfully. "The Shen family? It is rumoured that they made quite a big mistake with their map, almost causing the country to face millions of yuan. It is a good thing that the flaws were found before they could make a mess of the situation! Now they are no longer considered even on the list."