Chapter 96

Taking care of pets, exercising to cultivate his physical and mental strength, Su Jing's life was leisurely and fulfilling.

The only thing that slightly depressed him was that the 300 golden mandarin fish were growing bigger and becoming harder to raise. The fish tank wasn't big enough, they ate a lot, and their living environment required high standards, making them troublesome to care for. After some consideration, Su Jing decided to sell some of the less superior ones. He picked out fifty of the best and moved them to another tank, then called Xue Zonghong.

"Ah Jing, how are your golden mandarin fish doing? Have any of them started to develop their heads? Mine have already had five or six start to develop, and a few of them have the potential to become Hongyun mandarins," Xue Zonghong asked right away.

"I called you about the golden mandarin fish," Su Jing smiled, feeling a bit awkward about saying that almost all of his had started to develop, especially when Xue Zonghong mentioned that out of thousands, only five or six had started.

"What's the matter?" Xue Zonghong asked.

"I want to ask if you know any fish enthusiasts who might be interested in buying some golden mandarin fish. I want to sell some of them," Su Jing said. He could have sold them at the flower and bird market, but he was worried that ordinary people wouldn't recognize their value and he wouldn't get a good price.

"Coincidentally, I'm at a gathering with a group of fish enthusiasts right now. Who doesn't like golden mandarin fish? But are you sure you want to sell them?" Xue Zonghong was a bit puzzled. At this stage, the fish should be rare to start developing, and their colors and shapes weren't even fully grown, so they weren't even considered semi-finished products. They wouldn't fetch much money, and did Su Jing really need the money?

"I'm sure. You can pick some too," Su Jing said.

"I don't need to; I have so many myself. Show me a video, let me see how they've grown," Xue Zonghong said.

"Sure." Su Jing turned on the video, showing the 250 or so golden mandarin fish in the tank.

"This... How is this possible?" Xue Zonghong immediately exclaimed.

"What's wrong, Old Xue?"

"What's the big deal?"

A few people gathered around Xue Zonghong and, upon seeing the video, all showed looks of surprise.

"Am I seeing things? So many Hongyun mandarins, and they look so good."

"They're only eight or nine centimeters long, but their heads are already so high. They have the potential for a big head."

Although Su Jing had picked out the fifty best, the rest weren't bad either. Except for a dozen or so, all of them had started to develop, and nearly half of them had a red front half and a white or light-colored back half, with very few or no spots, which made them the legendary Hongyun mandarins. As experienced fish enthusiasts, they had seen good-quality Hongyun mandarins before, even those worth over 100,000, but seeing so many together was a first.

"Old Xue, who is this friend of yours? What a bold person."

"Is he an experienced fish enthusiast? Can you introduce us?"

Xue Zonghong, however, was still staring at the video, his heart unable to calm down. He had only given Su Jing 300 golden mandarin fish, and Su Jing had managed to raise over 200 that had started to develop, with over 100 being Hongyun mandarins. Was this defying the laws of nature?

"Wait, maybe it's not just the ones I gave him. Maybe he raised many and ended up with these." Xue Zonghong thought more and more that this was the case, but with others around, he couldn't ask Su Jing directly.

"Everyone, my friend wants to sell some golden mandarin fish. Are you interested?" Xue Zonghong asked.

"Of course, we're interested."

"What are you waiting for? Let's go."

The group, seeing so many semi-finished Hongyun mandarins, couldn't wait to see them in person.

So, six or seven people drove to Su Jing's house. Su Jing welcomed them into the living room, and before he could introduce them, they had already rushed to the fish tank, surrounding it in amazement.

"Ah Jing, did you get more golden mandarin fish from other places and raise them to get these?" Xue Zonghong asked.

"Ha ha, yes," Su Jing smiled, deciding to go along with Xue Zonghong's assumption, as it was hard to explain otherwise.

"I thought so." Xue Zonghong sighed in relief and joined the others around the fish tank, but the more he looked, the more shocked he became. The quality of these fish was too good. Even fish dealers would find it hard to get so many semi-finished Hongyun mandarins of this quality. How did Su Jing manage it?

"Kid, are you really going to sell them?" an old man suddenly asked. The others looked at Su Jing, worried that he might not want to sell them, as fish enthusiasts usually wouldn't part with their fish unless they were in dire need of money.

"Of course, as long as the price is right," Su Jing smiled.

"I'll take this one, this one, and this one. Five hundred each, how about it?" the old man said. Generally, semi-finished Hongyun mandarins cost between 150 and 300 yuan, and the better ones could go higher, but since they weren't fully grown, the price wouldn't be too high. Five hundred each was quite a good price. Of course, the price of mandarin fish often fluctuates based on quality, and sometimes it's hard to measure by price.

"Five hundred? I'll take them all, seven hundred each," a bald middle-aged man said generously.

"That's not fair. If you take them all, what will we do? I'll offer eight hundred each," the others protested.

"Let's do this: let Old Xue pick some he likes first, and then we'll auction the rest," Su Jing smiled innocently, already delighted inside. Experts were indeed experts; they not only recognized the potential of these fish but were also generous with their offers.

"Me first? That's not right," Xue Zonghong hesitated. He hadn't taken it seriously when Su Jing said he could pick some, as he already had a male and female pair and many fish fry. But seeing so many high-quality Hongyun mandarins, he couldn't help but be tempted. However, he felt a bit embarrassed, as the 300 fish fry he had given Su Jing probably weren't worth as much as one of these.

"Old Xue, don't be so formal. You gave me 300 fish fry before. It's nothing to give you a few back. If you don't pick now, they might be taken by others, and you'll regret it," Su Jing smiled.

"In that case, I'll take three," Xue Zonghong decided. The other fish enthusiasts, though a bit envious, had no objections, as Xue Zonghong was Su Jing's friend and deserved to pick first.

The rest were auctioned off. Some of the best-quality ones even fetched a high price of 10,000 yuan, far exceeding market value. The slightly less good ones sold for a few hundred, and the dozen or so that hadn't started to develop were given away as gifts. The bald middle-aged man bought the most, and Xue Zonghong introduced him as someone who had an aquarium in his backyard.

In the end, over 200 golden mandarin fish were sold, and Su Jing made 250,000 yuan, averaging about 1,000 yuan per fish. However, Su Jing knew that if the other fifty were raised, the 250,000 yuan wouldn't be much. Those fifty were the real prize.