Chapter 12

Entering the living room, Ye Yuan carefully opened the black cloth bag in his hand and placed the fish tank on the table.

The two "Red Mint Angelfish" in the fish tank were very lively, showing no signs of lethargy.

When Zhao Chuan saw the fish in Ye Yuan's hand, he asked uncertainly, "Are these Red Mint Angelfish?"

Ye Yuan looked at Zhao Chuan meaningfully and slowly said, "They are, and they aren't."

Zhao Chuan rolled his eyes at Ye Yuan. "Fourth Brother, can we not be so mysterious? You don't know, brother, even though we studied the same major, I returned everything I learned to the teacher right after graduation. I don't want to owe anyone, you know?"

Ye Yuan was amused by Zhao Chuan's thick-skinned nature. "Brother, your eyesight is terrible. They are natural, not carved by me. Look closely at the fish's body; there are words on it."

Hearing Ye Yuan's words, Zhao Chuan handed him a bottle of mineral water and leaned in to look at the fish tank for a long time.

"Fourth Brother, your skills are impressive. You can engrave words on a fish. That's quite a skill."

Ye Yuan almost sprayed the water in his mouth out.

"Brother, what kind of eyesight do you have? They are natural, not carved by me."

Zhao Chuan looked again carefully and said uncertainly, "Are you sure they are natural? Let me tell you, my old man is an expert."

Ye Yuan didn't bother to respond and plopped down on the sofa. "I must say, this imported leather is really different."

"Do you like it? I'll give it to you."

Ye Yuan didn't respond but took out a few pearls from his backpack and placed them on the table.

Seeing the pearls, Zhao Chuan lost interest in the "Red Mint Angelfish."

He came straight to the table, looking at the large black pearl, marveling, "Wow, it's even brighter than in the photos."

As he spoke, Zhao Chuan quickly took out a caliper and a pair of white gloves from the drawer and carefully measured it.

"Too bad, the diameter is 37mm, just a little short." Seeing the measurement, he muttered to himself.

Ye Yuan, puzzled, asked, "Is 37mm a problem? What's the issue here?"

Zhao Chuan glanced at Ye Yuan irritably. "You really don't care about your own things? The world's largest black pearl has a diameter of 38mm. You see, yours is just a little short." As he spoke, he began to sigh.

Only then did Ye Yuan realize that his black pearl was just a little short of breaking the world record.

"It's not a big deal. Such a large pearl should fetch a good price, right?" Ye Yuan was still concerned about the price of the black pearl.

Speaking of the price, Zhao Chuan looked at Ye Yuan seriously. "I've talked to the appraiser. We'll take the four smaller ones directly, giving you 15,000 yuan for each black pearl and 5,000 for the white ones. The largest black pearl will go to auction. Don't worry about the price; I'll guarantee a minimum of 3 million yuan."

Hearing Zhao Chuan's offer, Ye Yuan was surprised. He knew black pearls were expensive, but he didn't expect them to be this expensive. Even if he didn't auction them and sold them directly to Zhao Chuan, it would still be a huge sum for him.

Zhao Chuan noticed Ye Yuan's surprise and added, "Because of your black pearl, I've sent out many invitations. There should be a good price, but I can't say for sure. The jewelry business is complex. If I have enough time, the price could be even higher."

Ye Yuan interrupted Zhao Chuan, "No need, this is fine. I need the money urgently."

Zhao Chuan wanted to offer to lend Ye Yuan the money but thought of his character and swallowed the words.

Zhao Chuan's phone rang. It was Third Brother Deng Kai. Zhao Chuan locked the pearls in the safe and told Ye Yuan that he would take them to the appraiser the next day. Ye Yuan, of course, had no objections.

Deng Kai entered, and upon seeing Ye Yuan, gave him a warm hug. The three of them had lived in the same dorm for four years. Now, after a year of graduation, it was their first time meeting, and they missed each other a lot.

The three sat down and chatted about their different experiences over the past year. It was soon evening. Zhao Chuan changed his car and took Third Brother and Ye Yuan to the airport to pick up Second Brother Zhang Wujin.

What they didn't expect was that a beautiful girl was also there to pick up Second Brother.

After Second Brother introduced her, they learned that she was a fourth-year student at the Beijing Film Academy. Because of her presence, they didn't drink too much. In the end, only Ye Yuan and Zhao Chuan returned to Zhao Chuan's house.

Second Brother said, "I've already booked a hotel, so I won't stay at your place." The ambiguous look he gave as he left made everyone understand.

The next day, Zhao Chuan went to the company early. He wanted Ye Yuan to go with him, but Ye Yuan decided to visit the ornamental fish market. He entrusted the pearl matter to Zhao Chuan, who didn't hesitate and threw him a set of car keys before leaving.

Ye Yuan drove to a nearby store to buy a fish tank, then found a secluded road and took out some of the ornamental fish from his space. He then headed to the flower, bird, and fish market.

From his conversation with Third Brother, Ye Yuan knew that there were three such markets in Beijing. He planned to visit all three over the next few days to understand the market better. He arrived at a store selling marine ornamental fish, inquired about the prices, and casually visited a few others.

When he came to a larger fish store, he saw a few people arguing inside. With nothing else to do, he went in to take a look.

"Miss, you can eat anything, but you can't say anything. When I sold you this Blood Red Dragon, it had no problems. Who knows what you did to it after you took it home."

A middle-aged man, who looked like the owner, was speaking to a girl who appeared to be around 20 years old, with delicate features. She was wearing a T-shirt and jeans and holding a small Hermes handbag.

Hearing the owner's words, she angrily responded, "You told me the fish needs to be kept in water between 24 and 28 degrees Celsius. I followed your instructions, but the fish still ended up like this."

She pointed to a commercial SUV outside.

The SUV's door was open, revealing a large fish tank inside. The tank contained a Blood Red Dragon with blood-red scales. The Blood Red Dragon is considered the supreme among dragon fish. If the Red Dragon is the nobility, then the Blood Red Dragon is the royalty, extremely prestigious.

The fish was truly beautiful, and even Ye Yuan, who had seen many kinds of fish, couldn't help but look at it a few more times.

However, the fish was in poor condition, occasionally floating belly-up and then sinking to the bottom of the tank.

"It looks like it's not going to make it," people around them whispered.

The girl, in a bad mood, said to the owner, "I'm not blaming you. You sold me this fish yesterday, and now it's like this. Can't you help me find a way to cure it? I'm not asking for a refund, just to cure it. I'm giving it as a gift, and in this state, how can I give it away?"

Hearing that the girl wasn't asking for a refund, the owner's face showed a hint of a smile.

"Miss, I understand your feelings, but the fish is in this state. Even a god couldn't help. If you want to buy another fish, I have many good ones. Which one do you like? I can give you a 20% discount, how about that?"