Chapter 48

In a fish tank, a fish with a completely golden body was swimming. This fish was brightly colored, with its head held high, and the most peculiar thing was that there was a black protrusion between its two eyes, as if it had a third eye.

"What kind of fish is this?" Annie clearly became curious about this beautiful fish.

But Fat Mo immediately recognized it: "A golden arowana."

A golden arowana?

Lei Huanxi blurted out: "1:1:1?"

This immediately caused a burst of laughter from the onlookers.

Lei Huanxi felt a bit embarrassed. The golden arowana he knew was only the brand of cooking oil and its famous advertisement.

"This is also called a feng shui fish." Fat Mo, who apparently had some knowledge about fish, continued: "This fish can bring good feng shui and is treasured by many wealthy people as a guardian of their homes. I've seen one at Jiang Bin's house."

Seeing that Lei Huanxi and Annie knew nothing about this fish, Fat Mo decided to explain in detail.

The price of the golden arowana is exorbitantly high. A 1.5-kilogram golden arowana can sell for 1.8 million yuan. That means each gram costs 120 yuan, more expensive than gold.

Rarity makes things valuable. The high price is mainly due to the limited supply. To prove its value, a computer-recognizable chip is implanted in the head of each golden arowana, and the place of origin issues a special identity certificate, making it highly collectible. The high price is also attributed to the belief that these fish can bring "good feng shui."

"Feng shui fish" are mostly golden, red, or silver arowanas, with the golden arowana being the most expensive. A silver arowana from Malaysia can sell for over 40,000 yuan. Even the young fish are not cheap. A golden arowana fry, about ten centimeters long, can sell for over 3,000 yuan. Blood parrots, which are entirely red, and colorful flowerhorns can easily sell for thousands of yuan.

More importantly, golden arowanas cannot live in local freshwater. To keep these "foreign" high-end fish alive, inland cities have to use artificial seawater. The current price is 2 yuan per kilogram.

Lei Huanxi listened with his mouth agape. Good grief, this is more expensive than purified water.

But there's actually artificial seawater for sale?

"The most expensive golden arowana is this one, the three-eyed golden arowana. And from the color and brilliance, it's of the highest quality." Fat Mo sighed repeatedly at the golden arowana: "This one would sell for at least 400,000 yuan."

A fish for 400,000 yuan?

Crazy, crazy, only those big bosses can afford it.

Not only is the golden arowana expensive, but the cost of raising it is also high. Besides the 2-yuan-per-kilogram artificial seawater, it eats 80-yuan-per-kilogram shrimp.

Such feng shui fish can be sold once every six months.

That's why there are many onlookers, but few who actually ask about the price.

"Boss, how much is this fish?" In the end, it was Annie who couldn't resist her curiosity and asked.

The boss looked at Annie, not believing that such a delicate young girl would buy it, but since all customers are welcome, he said: "Judging by its appearance and its third eye, it already weighs 2.1 kilograms and can grow to at least 3 kilograms. If anyone really wants it, 500,000 yuan will take it away."

Good grief, Lei Huanxi thought the 400,000 yuan Fat Mo mentioned was high, but here it was 500,000 yuan.

"A fish can really bring good feng shui." Annie didn't believe it at all.

The fish boss suddenly became excited: "Young lady, this thing only works if you believe in it. Let me tell you a story. A boss in Yun Dong bought a silver arowana from me. The day before he went on a business trip, the fish died for no reason. The next day, the boss was in a car accident but was unharmed. Why? The silver arowana protected him from the disaster. I'm not exaggerating; ask anyone in the market, they all know."

Most of these stories are made up. Ask? Where to ask? Those in the trade would rather have more fantastic stories to boost the value of these fish.

But Lei Huanxi suddenly thought of another issue.

If there's artificial seawater, can he raise golden arowanas?

Raising these fish is clearly a highly profitable business.

With Little Fat, he might even be able to breed some particularly valuable varieties.

However, there are too many problems to face. Where to find the fish? Where to buy artificial seawater? Where to raise them? What to pay attention to during the breeding process?

Even if these issues are resolved, can Little Fat accept seawater?

Maybe it can. After all, in movies and TV shows, dragons always live in the sea.

"We haven't seen a three-eyed golden arowana in Yun Dong for two years..." The fish boss was excited, spitting out saliva: "Not to brag, but I'm the only one in the entire market... I'm waiting for a big boss to buy it. Ordinary people can't even afford to raise it..."

Lei Huanxi was curious about the golden arowana and wanted to take a closer look. As he moved closer, the fish boss immediately pushed him away: "Don't get close, don't get close. This fish is very precious. If you drop any dirt into the tank and kill the fish, you won't be able to pay for it even if you were sold."

His tone was domineering, but Lei Huanxi just smiled. Then someone said:

"500,000 yuan, I'll take it."

This voice immediately made the surroundings quiet.

Annie! It was Annie who said this.

The fish boss suddenly became stammering: "Y-Young lady, don't joke around. This is 500,000 yuan..."

Annie took out a black card: "Boss, can I pay by card? Mobile transfer is also fine. Or you can wait for an hour, and I'll have someone bring cash."

Seeing that she wasn't joking, the boss was stunned.

"Hey, are you selling it or not?" Fat Mo started to back her up: "You said 500,000 yuan, and now she's paying. Why are you hesitating?"

He immediately saw that the fish boss's attitude towards Lei Huanxi had angered Annie.

Lei Huanxi was like an idol to Annie. If she was angry, she wouldn't hesitate to buy the entire store.

The onlookers, who love to stir things up, started to cheer: "Hey, boss, that's not right. You said 400,000 yuan, and the young lady paid without haggling."

"Lao Feng, we all do business here. If you don't keep your word, you won't have any business in the future."

"That's right, no one is as straightforward as this young lady."

Lao Feng, the fish boss, turned pale, feeling helpless. He wouldn't dare sell this fish for 500,000 yuan, let alone 600,000 or 800,000 yuan.

"Y-Young lady, no, miss, listen to me." Lao Feng was sweating profusely: "This fish is already reserved. If you like it, I can get another one for you. Just wait, wait for half a year, and I'll definitely..."

"I want this one." Annie's tone left no room for negotiation: "You have to sell it today, whether you like it or not."

Someone else started to back Annie: "Lao Feng, you're ruining your reputation. You set the price, and she paid. If she haggled, you could have refused her, but now what are you doing? If this gets out, your peers will laugh at you. Will you have any business in the future?"

This is the rule in the flower and bird market.

For something rare, if someone asks the price and you don't want to sell, you can ignore them or say you're not selling, or even set an astronomical price.

Once they start to haggle, you have the upper hand. But if a wealthy person pays without haggling, you have to let go of the item, no matter how much you like it.

This is a special circle. If you break the rules, you ruin your reputation, and even if you have good items, your regular customers won't come to you.

Because you've lost the basic trust in doing business.

Lao Feng kept wiping his sweat, his face grim: "Miss, please let me off. If it were mine, I'd sell it to you immediately, but it's not mine. It's being kept here for someone else."

The crowd booed.

"Kept for someone else? Who are you trying to fool?" Annie didn't believe it at all.

But Fat Mo asked: "Just arrived from abroad?"

Lao Feng, seeing a knowledgeable person, nodded repeatedly.

Fat Mo smiled at Annie: "It might be kept for someone else. This fish is very delicate. Just imported from abroad, it's not familiar with the local climate and environment, and an amateur can easily kill it. So the owner often entrusts an expert to keep it for a month or two until it adapts, then takes it home."

Annie was about to let it go, not wanting to make things too difficult for the other party, but Lao Feng had offended Brother Huanxi.

Annie didn't say much else: "600,000 yuan, the extra 100,000 yuan is for your keeping fee."

Lao Feng was stunned. He had been running this store for many years and was well-known, or else someone wouldn't have entrusted such a valuable golden arowana to him.

But he had never encountered someone like Annie before.

A delicate young girl who could take out hundreds of thousands of yuan without batting an eye.

The crowd kept cheering, and Lao Feng had no choice. If his reputation was ruined, he couldn't continue in this business: "Wait, wait, let me call the owner."

He hurriedly took out his phone and went to a corner to make a call. After a while, he came back: "The owner will be here soon. If you really want to buy it, you have to go through him. Miss, I