Chapter 106: The Bid (1)

Translator: Aristophaneso  Editor: Caron_

Chu Xian looked at these seemingly successful men and thought back to a couple of the things Hong Chenghai told him.

The bids for Hai Qing City’s fish farms had some unspoken rules, and most of the current leasees of the various fish farms had certain backgrounds; they were able to secure the farms time and time again due to their connections.

Every year, a couple hundred people participated in the bidding, but very few of them ever succeeded.

In order to win, the bidder needed to submit the price they were willing to pay for the farm, and whoever submitted the highest price won.

The people with connections had a huge advantage and were able to find out what other people bid, so they could bid just a bit higher than their competition.

Chu Xian was one of the beneficiaries of this unspoken rule. If he just came bumbling in without any understanding of the situation and he didn’t have a connection with Hong Chenghai, he would have no chance of winning the bid.

Chu Xian watched the angry fishermen and shook his head. He didn’t want any trouble, so he went to look around in a different area.

Chu Xian liked this location. The topography was good and the water was deep. He could definitely swim out into the sea from these waters and bring back precious fish.

“I’ll keep looking!” Chu Xian thought then he got back into his car.

Chu Xian spent the entire day looking at different fish farms and found a couple places he liked. One was the Hong Shan Canyon, and the other was a place not far from the fish market. There were many sea plants in that area, and it was an especially good place for farming shrimp and shellfish with no restrictions when it came to raising other types of fish.

The last area was the Fengtai Lake. FT area’s fish farms were comparatively small, but it was closer to his ornamental fish farm and was obviously more convenient. Also, if he wanted to visit the Qin Family’s fish farm… heehee.

Having to choose between the three locations, Chu Xian pondered it the whole night through and finally decided on the farm at the entrance to the Hong Shan Canyon.

It was in an excellent location, was much larger than the fish farms in the Fengtai area, and it was also more convenient for him to anchor some fishing boats.

Most fish farms tended to catch fish in the sea. Was raising fish profitable? Yes, but catching fish was even more so, and if you were lucky, one trip out to the sea could earn over a million RMB. Accounting for the costs of gas, labor and the maintenance and depreciation of the boats, you could still earn a couple hundred thousand.

Moreover, the real reason Chu Xian wanted a fish farm was just to store fish, not farm them. With his control ability, Chu Xian could just lead all the fish back to his farm so he didn’t need to spend money buying small fish and invest in the time to cultivate them.

With this plan in mind, Chu Xian immediately printed out a bid application and wrote down the price he decided to pay.

“Eight million RMB!” It was a very high price. Fish farms in this location could store a couple thousand tons of fish and usually earned around twenty million RMB each year. Subtracting the cost for baby fish, feed and taxes, one could make about thirteen million. With an original investment of eight million, that left five million in profit.

Of course, this was just an estimate. Fish farming was very risky and was even more so for fish farms near the sea. A single bacteria problem could decimate the fish population if the fish population was too densely populated.

And a densely populated farm would also cause oxygen deprivation. He would have to install and operate an aerator, but then he would need to find someone with the specialized knowledge to maintain the machine.

There were many complications and fish farming wasn’t easy, especially on a large scale.

It was already considered very successful if a fish farm owner made two or three million a year, and there were many people who lost money in their business, like the Qin Family this year. Eh, that might’ve actually been because Chu Xian ate most of their fish.

“Once I win the bid, I’ll need to start a company. I can’t do everything on my own!” Chu Xian suddenly thought as he put down the pen. Starting a company – just thinking about it excited him.

The next day, Chu Xian drove to Hai Qing City’s Department of Commercial Aquaculture. (1)

Departments of aquaculture only existed in port cities, and they were very important departments. The building was a fancy, seven-floored affair with a nice Chinese feel, and when Chu Xian arrived, he noticed many luxury cars in the parking lot.

In the huge hall were gathered a couple hundred people, most sitting. Some were successful men in suits, and others were more commonly dressed dark-faced fishermen, but in general, the men in suits outnumbered the fishermen.

Chu Xian looked around and everyone had a bid application identical to the one in his hands. He looked up at the electronic board in the center. He still had to wait an hour.

“Managing Director Chen, what are you prepared to bid?”

As Chu Xian sat down, he overheard two overweight people talking.

“Ay, I placed a bid on Hong Shan Canyon, one on Dong Po, and one next to Feng Tai.”

“Managing Director Chen, you cast your net wide! I hope you succeed!”

“I hope so too, but I probably won’t get any of them. It’ll be great if I win, but it’s alright if I don’t. Managing Director Wei, which farm did you bid on this year? I heard you’re very confident this year!”

“Heehee, I made a deal with the fish farm boss that as long as he can keep the farm, I’ll pay him five hundred thousand extra to transfer it to me.”

“Then congratulations!”

“Keke, I really bled for this, but I hope when I get it, I can make some connections!”

“Ay, the fish farm market is getting shadier and shadier. Now there are some people with deep connections starting a fish farm reselling business. They secure the farm then sell it to someone else! They make a couple hundred thousand risk-free!”

“Of course, it’s more and more difficult to get a fish farm if you don’t have the right background…”

Their conversation was conducted in a low whisper, and if Chu Xian hadn’t upgraded his hearing and wasn’t seated relatively close to them, he wouldn’t have heard any part of their conversation, but he did and he smiled with some satisfaction. According to them, he also counted as a man with the right background.

More and more people filtered in, some with great confidence and some with nervous looks. Suddenly, Chu Xian noticed several familiar faces. One was his old friend, Qin Zhiyu.

Qin Zhiyu was walking beside his father Qin Dahai and some other fish farm bosses from Feng Tai Lake. All of them walked into the building confidently.

“Eh? Looks like his leg injury wasn’t that serious!” Chu Xian noticed with some surprise. From the way Qin Zhiyu walked, it looked like the Mo-croc’s bite hadn’t done any serious damage.

Qin Dahai looked around with a contemptuous smile and walked over to a seat.

Chu Xian noticed they were unwittingly heading in his direction and he smiled playfully.

“You!” Qin Zhiyu gasped as they approached, his face twisting in anger as he pointed his finger at Chu Xian.

“Oh? What a coincidence!” Chu Xian turned to him and let his gaze linger on his leg.

Qin Zhiyu noticed Chu Xian’s gaze and a thought appeared in his mind. His face darkened. “Coincidence? Yes, it’s very coincidental!”

Qin Zhiyu’s leg appeared fine, but he couldn’t put much weight on it and he couldn’t run or jump. He was often upset about it, and it was all because of this guy in front of him. He had encountered misfortune upon misfortune ever since he met Chu Xian.

His car was smashed, his family’s fish were stolen, and he was bitten by a crocodile. Now, his father was forcing him into the family business and he had to do honest work raising the fish. He was only able to dream of days when he could go out, party and drink.

It was all because of this bastard in front of him!

Qin Dahai noticed his son’s outburst and turned to Chu Xian. “Who is he?”

“Father!” Qin Zhiyu turned to his dad and gritted his teeth in anger. “He’s the owner of that fish farm and was responsible for that crocodile bite!”

“Pu!” Chu Xian burst out in laughter and shook his head speechlessly. “I’m responsible? Isn’t it more likely that it was karma for your dirty deeds? Hehe!”

“You…” Qin Zhiyu stared at him angrily.

“Enough!” Qin Dahai glared at his son and turned to Chu Xian. “Not bad, kid. You dared to act arrogantly in Qin Dahai’s domain. Very good!”

Qin Zhiyu smiled fiercely at his father’s words.

“Heh, of course I’m very good. Aren’t you the ones who are bad?” Chu Xian replied offhandedly, looking over at them casually.

“Hehe.” Qin Dahai smiled coldly. “I hope you can stay this good in the future!”

“I hope so too!” Chu Xian replied with a big smile.

Qin Dahai’s fat face twitched at Chu Xian’s reply and he smiled coldly when he looked at the bid application in Chu Xian’s hand. “You’re here to bid?”

“En, yes!” Chu Xian smiled and nodded as if he and Qin Dahai were old buddies. He looked at them and asked, “You’re all here to bid as well? Are you confident in getting a farm?”

Qin Dahai laughed. “Of course I am, but you definitely won’t be able to, and your small fish farm will only bring you trouble in the future. Paradise Ornamental Fish, one of the five tyrants in the ornamental world. It’s just an empty name. Lucky new money.”

Chu Xian’s pupils shrunk a little. “Looks like you did your homework, but the truth isn’t as simple as you think.”

“Oh, hehe. Really?” Qin Dahai smiled coldly again, looking at Chu Xian with his bright eyes.

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