Chapter 39

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Mr. Hou stood at the entrance of the classroom, took a deep breath, and firmly held the letter containing secrets that his mother had given him.

Mr. Hou opened his mouth wide, staring at the fish pond in disbelief.

The fish pond was packed with fish.

Mr. Hou was certain that the word "packed" was accurate.

He had been a fish vendor for 20 years and had seen all kinds of fish ponds, but he had never seen one like this.

In the fish pond of a wealthy family, various types of fish swam: bream, carp, freshwater bass... each one was at least twice the size of those in the market.

These were one thing, but what Mr. Hou found even harder to believe were the mandarin fish.

Mr. Hou remembered the largest mandarin fish he had ever seen weighed 15 pounds, but any one of these could match that weight.

Especially the largest one; Lei Xihuan was not exaggerating. Mr. Hou estimated it might even weigh more than 25 pounds.

He had to secure this young man, Lei Xihuan. Mr. Hou made up his mind immediately.

"How did you raise these fish?" Mr. Hou asked tentatively, "Did you use any illegal hormones?"

"I have my own method of raising fish," Lei Xihuan said frankly. "You can take any of my fish for testing. If you find any hormones, I'll compensate you tenfold. If you're still not reassured, I can sign a contract with you right now."

"No, no," Mr. Hou didn't expect Lei Xihuan to reveal his method. "You are quite unusual. Such a large villa, such a large private farm, you must be very wealthy, yet you still sell fish?"

"I'm just looking after the house for someone."

"Oh, I see," Mr. Hou realized. "Alright, I'll take all the fish... The price for carp today is 9.7 yuan per kilogram... Bream is cheaper recently, 8 yuan per kilogram... The price of mandarin fish has risen, 63 yuan per kilogram today... Lei Xihuan, these are the purchase prices, not the wholesale market prices..."

"I understand."

Mr. Hou was determined to do business with Lei Xihuan for the long term. He kept the prices for carp, bream, and freshwater bass the same, but offered 65 yuan per kilogram for the mandarin fish.

First, he wanted to build a good relationship with Lei Xihuan, and second, such large mandarin fish would not be hard to sell.

The mandarin fish weighed a total of 69 kilograms, at 65 yuan per kilogram, which amounted to 4,485 yuan. Including the other types of fish, the total was 5,628 yuan.

Mr. Hou gave a round number, 5,700 yuan.

When Lei Xihuan received the money, he calculated that he had invested only about 300 yuan in fish fry and some fish food, but had earned 5,700 yuan, a substantial profit.

In the afternoon, he would buy another batch of fish fry from Mr. Sun. By the time the third batch of fish was ready, he could sell them to Mr. Sun without arousing suspicion. Since Mr. Sun had been good to him, he couldn't let him down.

"Brother Lei," Mr. Hou, who had calculated that he would also make a good profit, became particularly friendly. "With your skills in raising fish, why are you just tending a small pond? I see that almost no one in your village raises fish, and the ponds are all empty. Why not lease them all? With your skills, you could make a lot of money in a year."

Lei Xihuan had considered this before. However, he was unsure and didn't know how much surprise Little Fat could bring.

Now, after Mr. Hou's suggestion, he felt he should talk to Village Chief Xu about it.

"There's no need to raise carp or bream, and freshwater bass is also not very significant, as the market is well-supplied with these fish," Mr. Hou advised. "Mandarin fish can definitely be raised, especially such large ones, which will definitely fetch a good price. Brother Lei, let me be frank. If you rely solely on fish farming, you won't make much money. If you are willing to work hard, and there are no natural disasters, plus your fish-raising skills, you can make a lot of money..."

As an experienced fish vendor, Lei Xihuan wanted to learn more. "But I can't just raise mandarin fish, right?"

"No, no," Mr. Hou shook his head. "One option is to raise eels. If you can get the fry, it's profitable. Another is to raise eels, but most of the eels in the market are European eels, which we mainly export to Japan and South Korea. If the quality is poor or we can't enter the Japanese and Korean markets, it's risky. The last option is loaches and black bass. If you can scale up, increase production, and improve quality, and if you can export, you can make a lot of money."

Export? Lei Xihuan had never thought about that.

His current focus was on the local market, and he hadn't even considered the market in Yun Dong.

This was Mr. Hou's suggestion. He also told Lei Xihuan that if he wanted to invest less, see results quickly, and stay safe, he should raise grass carp. He could also raise carp, silver carp, bighead carp, carp, tilapia, eels, and soft-shelled turtles. These fish can be mixed in the same water body, and besides feeding them, they can also obtain food through self-fertilization. The main feed for grass carp is grass. The leftover grass fragments sink to the bottom and become food for carp and tilapia. The continuous excrement of grass carp, carp, and tilapia enriches the water, promoting the growth of plankton, which provides food for silver carp and bighead carp...

These suggestions were very useful to Lei Xihuan.

He currently relied on Little Fat's power, but if he could learn more about fish farming, it would be very helpful for the future.

Mr. Hou found it strange. He had only intended to show off a bit, but Lei Xihuan, who could raise such large fish, must be an expert. However, Lei Xihuan seemed not to be very familiar with these things, which was puzzling.

After some thought, he concluded that Lei Xihuan must have some special method of raising fish.

Thinking this, he shared all his fish farming knowledge with Lei Xihuan and repeatedly reminded him to notify him first when the fish were ready to be harvested.

Regarding the price? It could be negotiated.

After seeing Mr. Hou off, Lei Xihuan didn't waste any time and headed straight to the village committee.

It was already noon, and the village officials were having lunch. Seeing Lei Xihuan, Village Chief Xu called out, "Xihuan, haven't you eaten yet? There's food over there, help yourself. It's a dish made by my wife."

Lei Xihuan didn't hesitate, took a bowl, and sat down to eat while saying, "Uncle Xu, is the fish pond on the west side of the village currently unleased?"

"The west side?" Village Chief Xu thought for a moment. "No, it used to be leased by someone from another village, but they left because they couldn't make a profit. It's been empty ever since."

"How big is it?"

"Ten acres. What's up, do you want to lease it?"

"Yes, Uncle Xu, I want to lease it."

"Are you kidding?" Village Chief Xu thought Lei Xihuan was joking. "You have a villa given to you by a big boss from the city, why would you want to lease a fish pond... Hey, Xihuan, be honest, did that girl fancy you? Otherwise, why would she give you such a big house? You're about to turn your luck around. If you marry into her family, you'll have everything you need. Don't forget Uncle Xu when that happens."

Lei Xihuan was speechless. "Uncle Xu, do you think a big boss's daughter would fancy a poor guy like me? I'm serious, I want to lease that ten-acre fish pond."

Hearing Lei Xihuan's serious tone, Village Chief Xu put down his bowl. "You really want to raise fish? Okay, according to the previous contract, it's 750 yuan per acre, with a three-year lease."

"750? Uncle Xu, can you make it cheaper?"

"750 is already cheap. Others pay 800 or more."

"Uncle Xu, it's just sitting there empty, with no one leasing it. It's a waste. Besides, I'll need to clean it and reinforce the embankment, which will cost money."

"But it's a great fish pond..."

They argued back and forth, and the other village officials tried to mediate. In the end, they agreed on 700 yuan per acre.

That's 7,000 yuan per year, 21,000 yuan for three years.

Lei Xihuan counted his money. "Uncle Xu, can I pay for one year first?"

"No way," Uncle Xu refused. "700 yuan per acre is already cheap, and you only want to pay for one year?"

"Uncle Xu, remember what you said when I first came back to the village? You said you'd take care of me and help me if I had any difficulties. Now you're backing out when it comes to money?" Lei Xihuan reminded him. "You've seen me grow up, haven't you? I'm in trouble now, and I'm coming to you for help. I won't owe you a single cent."

"Xihuan, you can't say that," Village Chief Xu was getting anxious. "If you need money, I'll lend it to you without hesitation, but this is a village rule. The last person who leased it also said the same thing, but in the end, they owed the village a year's lease fee. I can't break the rules this time."

"Where could I run to, being from Xiantao Village?"

Seeing the argument about to escalate, the village accountant, Mr. Shen, interjected, "Xihuan, don't blame the village chief. Our village is poor and relies on these lease fees. Village Chief Xu, you should understand Xihuan's difficulties. He's the only one in the Lei family, and we've all seen him grow up. Who else should we help? Let's not break the rules. How about we all chip in and lend Xihuan 14,000 yuan?"

Lei Xihuan was surprised by Mr. Shen's suggestion.

Village Chief Xu didn't hesitate this time. "Alright, I can contribute 8,000 yuan. Everyone else, please help Xihuan get through this tough time."

Lei Xihuan could afford the money, but with the fish pond leased, he would need money for various expenses, not just the lease fee.

Village Chief Xu led the way, and Mr. Shen contributed 3,000 yuan. The rest of the money was quickly raised.

"Everyone, remember to bring the money to the village committee tomorrow," Village Chief Xu said. "Xihuan, let's sign the contract today."

(Readers, during the long holiday, I've been writing non-stop. If you think I've been diligent, please give me your recommendations and support. I appreciate it in advance.)

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