My 1995 Small Farm.

"Alright, since Boss Du thinks so highly of me and believes I can raise good fish, then I'll have to work hard for your dragonfish."

Chen Ling responded with a smile.

Then, using a small fishing net, I scooped some fish and shrimp from the bucket, opened the fish tank lid, and poured them into the nearby silver arowana tank.

This silver arowana is relatively small.

It's probably only about 20 centimeters long.

As Chen Ling poured the small net of fish and shrimp into the tank, the silver arowana, which had been in a corner at the bottom, blinked its small black eyes twice and then suddenly leaped up and swallowed a small fish whole.

"Wow, that's really fierce. There are people watching, but they're not afraid of anyone."

The lynx was attracted by the sight.

At this point, the silver arowana hadn't finished eating. After swallowing a small fish, it swam to the other side of the tank, then turned around to gather its strength and charged at the fish and shrimp that had sunk to the bottom of the tank, eating them one by one, enjoying it immensely.

"Wow, to be honest, these fish hadn't eaten for three or four days when we got them back, which really worried me."

Du Guanghe then gave each of them a small fishing net and told them to go to the tank with the dragonfish and feed them.

He continued, "Sigh, I was full of confidence at first. I've been playing with fish for so many years, I never thought I wouldn't be able to keep them alive. I didn't expect that something would actually happen when I came back."

I spent so much money to buy the fish and bring them back. If they don't survive, I won't be able to eat or sleep in peace.

In the end, it was thanks to your fish, bro.

At this point, he smiled and looked at Chen Ling.

"What? My fish?"

Chen Ling found this quite strange.

What does it have to do with my own fish if this arowana was transported from so far away?

"I was at my wit's end. When I was flipping through my phone book asking friends for advice, I suddenly saw your number and immediately remembered how tough and resilient your fish are."

These fish were transported all the way from the mountain valleys, and the mountain roads were so difficult to travel, yet your fish suffered such minimal losses.

It's the same when you raise them; you don't have to worry about changing the water like with other fish.

Your fish don't need their water changed for a long time, and they're still thriving.

I tried putting a slightly cheaper arowana into your fish tank.

Guess what?

He spoke up that very evening.

They ate with great relish.

When Du Guanghe got to this point, he clapped his hands, his eyes shining with excitement.

"Boss Du, why are you still keeping my fish? Aren't they all low-grade fish? How could they possibly be worthy of your attention?"

Chen Ling asked this question on purpose.

"Hey, to be honest, even if your fish isn't the best looking, its health is so good, who wouldn't be tempted?"

Du Guanghe smiled broadly, "If you hadn't hidden it so well, I would have made you take out your fish medicine and sell it at those places that raise arowanas."

This is far superior to those fish medicines made from Western medicine and chemicals.

"Haha, don't even think about it. I already said it, it's not fish medicine, it's just the lees left over from my family's brewing."

Chen Ling waved his hand: "My wine is sold at Boss Sun's shop. You know, it can't be mass-produced."

What he said was half true and half false.

At first, this fish medicine was indeed kept secret and no one was told.

But the little sheep often carries fish.

Also, out of consideration for the safety of the little lamb, they put it out in the open.

He only makes a limited amount of wine each year, and the amount of lees is even more limited; anyone who has bought fish from his family knows this.

Mass production was simply impossible, and since Chen Ling had also sold or given away some of them, they stopped being so interested.

Du Guanghe also added those distiller's grains to the fish pond.

It seems that it worked on the dragonfish.

That's why I feel it's a pity.

Du Guanghe genuinely felt regret: "These old things and objects passed down from our elders can sometimes have miraculous effects, but their drawbacks are also too great. They are particular about this and that, making mass production difficult. Alas."

Chen Ling nodded: "Of course. Just like those bows and arrows in ancient times, they had to be made strictly according to the four seasons, otherwise they couldn't be used on the battlefield."

Many ancient artifacts passed down in our country are beyond the reach of technology.

"Haha, yeah, you know quite a lot, bro."

Du Guanghe laughed heartily, and then began to show off his several dragonfish.

They say silver arowanas are very rare now, so it's not easy to get one.

Chen Ling also found these dragonfish quite interesting.

But now that he has to raise it himself, he's really not that interested.

They haven't even figured out how to care for the native fish in their own country yet.

Furthermore, his main focus was still on those two pig-nosed turtles.

I'm just waiting to go back and treat their illnesses before putting them in a tank.

"So, Mr. Du, these arowanas weren't cheap, were they?"

Sun Yanhong fed the arowana two nets of fish in front of the tank with her little lamb, and was immediately captivated by the arowana's domineering and noble appearance.

"It's alright. I got a bargain through a friend. I picked out five flawed fish, and this is the price."

Du Guanghe adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses and gestured a six.

"Sixty thousand? Sixty thousand for five fish? I thought it would be several thousand at most."

Yu Bangjin was startled. The best fighting dogs he knew cost only twenty or thirty thousand yuan. He could understand that dogs were expensive, but fish were difficult to raise, so why were they so expensive?!
He was really frightened.

"Hehe, this is still cheap. Ask Brother Fugui. In the magazine I showed him, those were hundreds of thousands or even millions."

Du Guanghe chuckled and said, "This fish wasn't originally something we played with in China; it was something the wealthy people of Southeast Asia played with. You know Malaysia, right?"
It's said that some are worth tens of millions, I don't know if that's true, but it's not uncommon to see arowanas worth millions in Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan.

"Fish selling for millions, tens of millions?"

Sun Yanhong and Yu Bangjin exchanged a glance and couldn't help but open their mouths wide.

Suddenly I felt like I'd turned into a country bumpkin.

The little lamb's hand trembled, and it quickly moved far away from the fish tank, no longer daring to feed the fish.

I'm afraid I'll feed such expensive fish until they die.

"Wealth, wealth, did you hear that? There's a huge business opportunity in these fish! If we raise them well, we'll never have to worry about money for eight lifetimes."

Sun Yanhong said excitedly.

"What? Are you interested, bro? I can ask someone to help you choose the fish."

Du Guanghe originally intended to bring Chen Ling into the group, but after witnessing that Chen Ling's 'fish medicine' also worked on arowanas, how could he simply bring him over to show off his own fish?

"Did you hear that? Boss Du said you can raise them too. Raising one fish well is worth a lifetime's worth for someone else."

Sun Yanhong said urgently.

Yu Bangjin was also a bit scratching his head; he wanted to get involved in this kind of business as well.

Chen Ling and the lynx continued feeding the fish calmly.

Chen Ling fed all five dragonfish one by one, then turned around and said, "Why would I do whatever makes money? Someone offered hundreds of thousands to buy my bald son, should I go to Eagle Cave to steal eagle chicks and raise them to sell?"

Lynx laughed and said, "Don't you guys know him? He's the kind of person who's only willing to do something if it's something he's interested in, finds fun, and can also make money."

He clearly hasn't taken a liking to this arowana yet.

Once he gets interested, he'll do it himself without you having to tell him.

He was actually just like Chen Ling. He cultivated what he was interested in himself, and when others were willing to pay a price for it, even if it didn't come at an exorbitant price, he felt a great sense of accomplishment as long as most people recognized his talent.

In short, hobbies and interests outweigh business transactions.

Besides, they really aren't cut out for business.

Sun Yanhong was extremely anxious upon hearing this: "What kind of bad temper is this? Why not make money? How can you sleep at night?"

Hearing Chen Ling's answer, Du Guanghe was somewhat disappointed, but still said, "We're not very familiar with this dragonfish, so it's better to play it safe. I'll test the waters for you first."

He also understood that this was no ordinary fish; acquiring a batch of arowanas would require a significant investment, and losing them would be a painful experience for anyone.

More importantly, it's already autumn.

Winter is just around the corner.

His arowanas survived the critical period thanks to Chen Ling's help in getting them to start eating.

But then there's the challenge of winter. Sometimes, the survival of tropical fish isn't solely determined by temperature.

Sometimes, even when the temperature is high enough, they can still die.

They are relatively difficult to raise.

Chen Ling didn't think that far ahead; he simply wasn't interested and didn't want to raise one yet.

One aquarium at home is enough for him to play with.

Besides, autumn and winter are the best seasons for hunting in the mountains, so who has time to raise arowanas?

I lingered in Du Guanghe's shop for a while longer, looking at all kinds of fish, shrimp and turtles.

They didn't come out until it was dark.

Even after they came out, Sun Yanhong and her companion were still thinking about the dragonfish.

Imagine a fish costing millions or tens of millions of dollars, who wouldn't get excited?
The key is that the people around you might even keep these fish, which makes you even more excited.

Right now, that's all they can think about.

"Fugui, what do you think about this dragonfish business if I and Lao Yu work together? You can still provide the technical expertise, and we'll split the profits as before, how about that?"

"Yeah, brother, there's a lot of money to be made here. Compared to this, dogfighting is nothing."

"It's not that simple. Those of us who rush in headfirst can't compete with others, unless you raise them locally and sell them in the surrounding areas."

Chen Ling shook his head and said, "But the prices are worlds apart when it's sold in the surrounding areas. Those are the authentic ones, and they've gained recognition, which is why they command such high prices."

Our unorthodox methods won't work.

To put it simply, it's just like the difference between genuine and pirated products.

When applied to arowanas, the difference is even more dramatic than between genuine and pirated products.

"Besides, if you want to raise these things, and you want me to provide the technology, then you might as well raise them in the village. But if you want to raise them in the city, I can't watch over you every day."

You also need to understand the habits of fish yourselves.

Secondly, you need a place and equipment for raising fish, you also need to understand market trends, and you need to be immersed in the fish-keeping community...

Most importantly, besides these, if you want to make money and obtain huge profits, you need to be able to buy low and sell high.

In other words, you need to have channels to buy fish at low prices and sell them at high prices.

Think about it, everyone knows that arowana is profitable now. In the coastal areas, everyone in this business is extremely secretive about it. Do you think you can just knock on their door and expect to succeed?

"This……"

Sun Yanhong and the other woman exchanged a glance and gradually calmed down.

They've been able to build connections locally for years; their network of relationships is there.

But if you're thousands of miles away, trying to find low-priced channels in the southeastern coastal areas, it's very difficult.

“How can Boss Du get cheap fish? He said there are minor flaws. Can we ask him for help?” Sun Yanhong said.

"It's possible, but then another problem arises: how would you sell it, and who would you sell it to?"

Chen Ling patiently explained to the two of them, "Even if you manage to raise the fish well after bringing them back, you won't be able to compete with the locals in coastal cities. They'll definitely drive down the price and eat up several percent of your profits. Can you handle that?"

But if we sell it locally, apart from those who are extremely fond of fish, no one else here knows what an arowana is.

How much is this?
In the end, no matter how you calculate it, you'll lose money, so I'll say it again: don't waste your time as soon as possible.

This is different from crayfish; it's not a necessity for food, clothing, shelter, or transportation.

Sun Yanhong and the other woman remained silent after hearing this.

They truly took Chen Ling's words to heart this time.

The timing wasn't right, and even if Chen Ling could raise the dragonfish well himself, he had no interest in doing so.

It's like all those top-quality fruits in the mountains, which rot in the mountains every year.

The country has not yet developed, and the era has its limitations.

He didn't have a good solution to this either.

Seeing that Sun Yanhong and the other woman looked a bit disheartened, the lynx laughed and said, "Since Fugui said it can't be done as a business, you can ask Boss Du to buy a few for you to play with."

Just like investing, you can raise a few fish at first to get to know them and make more friends with fish. Once you're familiar with them, the right channels might come your way.

Besides, if you buy this thing and it doesn't die, you won't lose a lot of money.

Of course, in most cases, you won't make a big profit either.

Unless, in two years, the price of arowana doubles.

"Hey, Brother Zhong, that's a good idea. Let's ask Boss Du to get us a few cheaper ones to raise."

The two of them rolled their eyes and thought that Lynx's idea was quite reasonable, and they were actually tempted.

"What about you, Fugui?"

"I'm not buying them. I just got two top-quality deep-sea turtles from Lynx and I'm going to take them home to raise."

Chen Ling chuckled and said, "Don't keep asking me. Lynx knows more about this than I do. He used to play the fishing game. Listen to him, you're guaranteed to make a profit."

"Come on, they're just flattering me again. They'll come after me when they lose money."

"Don't worry, you won't lose money. To be honest, if I hadn't planned to use the money for something else this year, I might have actually bought a few arowanas to raise... The arowana trend is really a sure thing."

Chen Ling was very certain.

"Huh? What do you need the money for?"

When Chen Ling mentioned needing money, everyone became interested; this guy rarely spends money.

He earns so much money, but I've never seen him spend much of it.

It's rare for him to be willing to spend money.

"I won't tell you, just buy it if you want, you won't lose money if you keep it yourself."

Chen Ling chuckled and led the horse forward.

Arowanas were originally edible fish, but their prices skyrocketed, eventually reaching exorbitant levels.

It's nothing more than hype.

In the 1980s, the gambling industry in Malaysia was booming, and local gamblers often drew inspiration from numbers such as car license plates and phone numbers.

For example, they might think that the license plate number of a certain car they see today, or the number of phone calls they receive, contains the secret to winning the lottery.

In short, he's become obsessed with gambling and has started to believe in superstitions.

A Chinese man surnamed Chen discovered by chance that during the growth process of arowanas, lines resembling Arabic numerals would grow on their gill covers.

He immediately had an inspiration and connected this to gambling.

As a result, some people actually won the lottery by using this method.

However, lottery tickets are ultimately limited.

He then took advantage of the superstitious nature of Chinese people in places like Malaysia, saying that dragonfish can bring wealth and ward off disasters.

Many of the people there are from China. Besides having traditional Chinese superstitions, they live on an island where 'dragon culture' is even more prevalent and authentic than in China.

Therefore, it was exaggerated that the dragonfish had many characteristics of the Chinese dragon.

Arowanas became increasingly popular from then on.

Once something like this is hyped up, its price won't fall in the short term.

He had also discussed these things with a pen pal.

This person also analyzed arowanas and wrote an article called 'The Arowana Phenomenon,' which has not yet been published.

When Chen Ling mentioned that he was commissioned to write an article but lacked inspiration, I copied some content for him and showed it to him, providing him with a direction and a starting point.

"Most of my pen pals are really kind-hearted. I must visit them after Hong Kong returns to China."

Interpersonal relationships are reciprocal. Chen Ling felt that since others had treated him well, he couldn't treat them badly in return. He had even thought about following Zhao Yubao's example and extending invitations to some of his older pen pals.

If it's convenient, I'd like to retire in the village.

However, upon closer reflection, I realized it was too presumptuous. Although my pen pal was very enthusiastic, he couldn't compare to the kind of relationship Zhao Yubao and his friends had.

That's what he thought.

What he didn't know was that Zhao Yubao and Old Zhong's old friends were actually having trouble traveling far away, let alone moving to a different place, because of their children's issues.

Even if you want to, you don't have the power.

On the contrary, some of his pen pals learned about their village through various news channels, and especially saw Zhao Yubao's articles, and learned about the situation of Zhao Yubao and his companion.

Several letters are already on their way.

Besides the elderly, there were also quite a few young men and women.

This was truly unexpected for him.