Chapter 175: Qixi Festival Gift

Chapter 175: Chapter 175: Qixi Festival Gift

Sister Cai thought for a moment. "There isn’t a woman in the world who doesn’t love beautiful things. It’s just that after they get married and become mothers, they forget about themselves. How about buying them silver rings?"

Han Xiaorui’s eyes lit up when she heard this. "That’s right! Only jewelry can truly be their own. I don’t know their ring sizes, and it seems too late to go asking each of them now!"

Sister Cai chuckled. "Rings come in many styles. There are also adjustable ones."

"Right, look at me. I don’t usually pay attention to these things, so I forgot about that." Han Xiaorui tapped her head. "I’ll go buy them now. Silver rings... that’s too cheap. I’ll buy gold rings."

Granny Cai was dumbfounded. "Xiao Rui, you... that’s more than a dozen people! The price of gold is 65 yuan a gram right now, and rings are even a bit more expensive than that. Even if a ring is three grams, it’ll still cost two or three hundred yuan."

Han Xiaorui nodded. She knew the price, of course. The bank where she always made her transfers was right next to a gold jewelry store.

"Sister Cai, I know it’s not cheap. But they work for me and make me so much money every time. Take this last trip out to sea, for example. We made a total of 390,000 yuan. Am I really going to worry about spending two or three hundred on a gold ring?"

"Well..." Granny Cai was taken aback for a moment, then she smiled. "Alright. It must be your good fortune, Xiao Rui. They’re lucky to be able to go to sea with you."

Without another word to Granny Cai, Han Xiaorui left to buy the gold rings.

At the village entrance, she happened to run into Song Sixth. Han Xiaorui got right into his car, and they headed straight for the jewelry store.

There weren’t many styles available at the time.

Time was tight, so Han Xiaorui chose the same style for herself and the sixteen crew members: one with the character for "Fortune" on it, each weighing 4 grams and costing 300 yuan.

Since Han Xiaorui bought so many, she got them for 290 yuan per ring.

Of course, Han Xiaorui didn’t forget to buy a leaf-shaped gold ring for her sister and two gold rings for Wu Jiao and Wu Yao. She certainly didn’t forget about Xu Wenwen and Wu Lingling at the ornamental fish store in the city, either.

Lastly, she bought a gourd-shaped ring for Granny Cai and Wu Cuicui, and there were also small gold safety-lock pendants for the children.

In total, she spent 8,500 yuan.

What a big spender!

The manager of the state-owned jewelry store instructed the staff to wrap everything nicely and then saw Han Xiaorui out.

In the van, Song Sixth smiled. "Xiao Rui, I remember you ordered a new boat that you’re getting next spring. Are you hiring crew?"

Han Xiaorui nodded. "I am. Uncle Six, do you have someone suitable to recommend?"

Song Sixth said sheepishly, "Well, I do have someone to recommend, but he’s the son of a senior I trained with. He’s not a female crew member, so I was afraid you wouldn’t be interested."

Han Xiaorui smiled. "Actually, I hired female crew members for my own convenience. After all, it’s awkward to have men and women on the same boat. Besides, there aren’t many female crew members available—I might not even be able to find enough for one boat. But there are plenty of male ones."

"For the other boat, I’m planning to hire an all-male crew. I trust your judgment, Uncle Six, so I’m sure you wouldn’t recommend anyone unreliable."

Hearing this, Song Sixth’s voice filled with delight. "Xiao Rui, you can rest assured about that. The kid is the son of a senior from when I was learning to drive. We keep in touch, and he’s a good lad."

"He actually used to work on Wu Guangfu’s boat, the one Wu Guangfu sold to you. Since you only hired female crew, he was out of a job. He started learning to drive and repair cars, but he’s not interested. All he thinks about day and night is going out to sea."

Hearing this, Han Xiaorui smiled. "Uncle Six, since you’re the one asking, I’ll do you this favor. Tell him to rest easy. When my new boat arrives, there will be a spot for him on the crew."

Song Sixth was even happier to hear her say that. ’Han Xiaorui is so wealthy now, yet she still shows me so much respect. It proves she really respects me.’

"Thanks so much, Xiao Rui." Song Sixth was overjoyed. Since Han Xiaorui was so good to him, he couldn’t hold back on her either. "Xiao Rui, are you thinking about getting a driver’s license?"

Han Xiaorui nodded and sighed. "I heard that to get a driver’s license these days, you also have to learn car repair. That’s why I haven’t bothered."

Song Sixth thought for a moment, then said, "That’s true for car and truck licenses, but for a motorcycle license, you don’t have to learn repairs."

"A motorcycle is faster than your bicycle, and it would make getting around more convenient. But when you’re riding, you must always focus. Safety first."

Hearing this, Han Xiaorui’s eyes lit up. "A motorcycle? Where do you learn? Where do you take the test?"

Song Sixth smiled. "That senior I mentioned, he specializes in teaching people to drive and arranging the license tests. If you want to take it, I can take you over to sign up together when you have time."

Han Xiaorui was overjoyed. "There isn’t enough time today, let’s head home. Tomorrow won’t work either. The day after tomorrow, Uncle Six, if you’re free, come and pick me up."

’Ever since she’d been able to afford one, Han Xiaorui had coveted a car. But these days, not only was the license test hard to pass, it was also difficult to hire a driver—especially a private one. If a car license was out of reach, a motorcycle license would be fine. A motorcycle would make getting around so much more convenient.’

"Alright, the day after tomorrow it is," Song Sixth said with a laugh. ’The matter of finding a job for his senior’s son was settled.’

Back home, Han Xiaorui gave the gold rings to her sister, Wu Jiao, and Wu Yao.

Wu Jiao stared, dumbfounded, at the gold ring Han Xiaorui handed her. "Sister Xiao Rui, I... I get one too?"

Han Xiaorui nodded with a smile. "It’s a gift for the Qixi Festival tomorrow. You’re a woman, so of course you get one. Here, take it."

Wu Jiao and Wu Yao were girls, after all, so of course they loved jewelry. They both eagerly put the rings on.

They looked beautiful, but they were worried they might lose them while practicing with weapons or boxing, so they put them away in a drawer.

After dinner, Han Xiaorui took a gold ring and the two small safety-lock pendants to visit Wu Cuicui.

At that moment, Yang Minmin was by the crib, cooing at her tiny little sister. "Mom, her mouth keeps moving. Is she hungry?"

Wu Cuicui, who was shaking a baby bottle in her hand, nodded with a soft laugh. "Yes, she is. I’m mixing her formula right now."

"Mom, was I this small when I was little?" Yang Minmin blinked, her eyes fixed on the baby.

Wu Cuicui answered patiently, "No, you were seven and a half jin when you were born—much bigger than your sister. Her mommy was injured, and she was born prematurely, so that’s why she’s so small. But we’ll take good care of her from now on, and she’ll grow up big and strong."

Yang Minmin breathed a sigh of relief. "That’s good. When Shunshun gets bigger, I’ll take her to play with Pingping and An’an."

"Okay!" Wu Cuicui smiled. ’I was worried my daughter would be unhappy about having a little sister in the house, but it seems I was overthinking things.’

Just then, Han Xiaorui came over and looked at the baby. "The little one seems to be in good shape."

Wu Cuicui’s nose tingled. "All in all, we spent over a hundred thousand yuan. The doctor said we really snatched her life from the jaws of death."

"An ordinary family wouldn’t have been able to bear the financial pressure. They would have given up."

Han Xiaorui nodded. "If you can’t earn the money, that’s one thing. But since Uncle Yang can, we had to do everything we could. Thankfully, the outcome was good."

"Here, tomorrow is the Qixi Festival. These are the safety-lock pendants I got for Minmin and Shunshun. And Sister Cuicui, I also got a gold ring for you."

Han Xiaorui placed three velvet boxes on the table and gently opened them.

Wu Cuicui was so moved she immediately started crying. Wiping her tears, she said, "Xiao Rui, these gifts are too precious."

Han Xiaorui smiled. "What’s this? They might be precious to other people, but for us, it’s manageable, right?"

"It’s just a Qixi gift. I hope you’ll always be as clever and capable as ever, Sister Cuicui, and that you and your husband will have a loving and wonderful life together. And I hope all of our children grow up to be bright and clever."