"Alright, it is good that you know what you are doing." Han Ruochen nodded and did not mention it anymore.

"Don’t worry about me. I heard that things are not going well at your house either. Even though it might still be under control, you need to be careful. Don’t try to overexert yourself. If you tire your body out, then you will be the one getting in trouble." Zhai Heng reminded her out of concern.

"You do not need to remind me about this." Han Ruochen’s eyes flashed with a hint of annoyance. Indeed, even though her mother did not ask for money from her, she had a feeling that something was going to happen. And it was going to happen very soon. Since that was the case, then she might as well be on her guard. A cold sparkle flashed in her eyes when she thought about the limits to which her mother could go for Han Ziyan.

Yun Tao and Zhai Heng were, after all, just cousins; even if they were to beat one another up, no one would say anything, and even if they brought up the matter, they would at most say that the two of them did not care about their familial relationship, but the same could not be said for her and her family. Meng Yunhan was her mother; if she were to hit her, then the entire village would drown her in spit. Thus, even if she pulled a few stunts on her mother, there was a limit to how far she could go against her mother.

Zhai Heng nodded. He did not have much relation with the Han family; at most, he was related to the Han family because of Han Ruochen. But that was all there was to it.

Han Ruochen, on the other hand, was not in the mood to discuss her family with Zhai Heng any further. She batted her eyelashes and asked with one of her eyebrows raised, "Are you not going to go back to the county? The place we are going is not somewhere everyone would like to go."

When Zhai Heng heard her question, he raised his head and took a glance at the woman in front of him. Han Ruochen was looking down at him with one of her boots propped against the railing. She had rolled the sleeves of her dark brown shirt to her elbows, and her dark braid was whipping behind her in the salty wind. A part of him knew that Han Ruochen was telling the truth. Most of the fishermen avoided the western reefs.

Even when they had years of experience, they would never think of diving into the western trenches. This was because this place was dangerous and the water was too deep. Zhai Heng had heard all about the stories of the boats vanishing near the trenches of these waters. If not for the fact that he trusted Han Ruochen, Zhai Heng would have wanted to ask why she even came to a place like this.

"Since you know this, why did you think of diving into such waters?" Zhai Heng asked with a raised brow.

"Because danger usually means that there is an untouched treasure waiting for us to find it."

Behind them, Tong Zhaodi shivered. She rubbed her arms and whimpered, "I hope we find this treasure before we all freeze to death."

"You are wearing at least two jackets." Han Ruochen deadpanned as she turned to look at the woman behind her.

"And?" Tong Zhaodi questioned. "It does not change the fact that I am still suffering."

She then turned to look at Zhai Heng, who had followed them without even thinking anything through and asked in a low voice, "And why is he here? We are not going to a business meeting. Do you think he can help us if we encounter any danger?"

Tong Zhaodi’s worries were not at all unfounded. No matter how one looked at it, Zhai Heng looked like he was more suited to be at a business meeting. He looked so out of place in his pleated pants and white shirt that, forget about Tong Zhaodi, even Han Ruochen at first thought that he was going to attend a business meeting. It was such a surprise when he came to tell her that he was actually there to go with the two of them.

"I will be fine." Zhai Heng was quite upset when he heard Tong Zhaodi’s question. He sullenly spoke, "There is no need to worry so much about me. Instead, you should be worrying about yourself."

"About ourselves? Why will we worry about us?" Tong Zhaodi asked, even though the water had slowly turned black. Cold mist was drifting across the surface, swallowing the horizon whole. Even the engine was churning under them as they moved forward.

"You are taking this boat to the western trenches. Do you think that place is some kind of tourist spot?" He asked with a raised brow. "Many will think you are crazy if you were to tell them that you actually went to the western trenches."

He turned to look at Han Ruochen and remarked, "And I am the same; I do not understand why you are going to the western trenches."

Han Ruochen was not looking at him. Instead, her eyes were narrowed at the fog.

"Because there are countless sea ginseng beds waiting for us."

And not just sea ginseng beds but also sunken cargo routes, abandoned reef caves and something more. As long as they could weave their way through the sunken cargo route, there was a very good chance that they would be able to open a new path for themselves. So what if people were scared of coming to this trench?

It was even better for her. At least she did not have to worry about someone snatching her sea ginseng away.

Zhai Heng’s eyes widened. "Sea ginseng? Are you sure?" 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

He had never heard about the sea ginseng being buried in the western trenches.