Super Zoo

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Sometimes, people can't help but believe in fate, as many things, upon looking back, seem to have been destined all along.

For instance, if Zhou Jin hadn't fallen seriously ill and been hospitalized, if he had remained in charge of the villa overseeing the entire company's operations, his underlings wouldn't have dared to slack off, the lakeside surveillance footage would have been replaced long ago, and he would never have found Old Zhu Chenggui, who used to fish by the lake. And what happened afterward would never have occurred.

But precisely because Suming sabotaged him, Zhou Jin fell seriously ill, too unwell to update the surveillance cameras, and thus, quite luckily, found the old man in surveillance footage from several months prior.

Baldy brought some guys over and "invited" Zhu Chenggui to Huating Reservoir.

Zhu Chenggui was feeling quite depressed during that time.

A few months ago, he met Suming and taught him some fish-farming techniques, thinking that if Suming wanted to succeed in fish farming, he couldn't do it without him. He assumed Suming was one of those second-generation rich kids who knew nothing about starting a business with their family's money, so he decided to put on airs and act like an expert, waiting for Suming to come back to him for advice voluntarily. That way, he'd be in a position of power, able to make more demands and benefit from Suming.

Little did he expect that after putting on an act for several months, Suming would never contact him again, and instead successfully raise fish and frequently appear on television.

Zhu Chenggui regretted it deeply, wishing he had put aside his airs and curried favor with Suming from the start. Alas, the world doesn't sell regret medicine. At the beginning, helping him out when his business hadn't taken off would have been like sending charcoal in snowy weather, but now that Suming had made it, trying to butter him up would be nothing but begging.

So when Zhou Jin asked him about fish farming in Shuijun Lake, Zhu Chenggui didn't hesitate and bragged about how he had taught Suming to raise multiple species together and how to use snakehead fish waste as fertilizer.

"Mr. Zhou, when it comes to raising fish, I'm quite the expert. I won't lie to you, the success Shuijun Lake enjoys today is all thanks to the ideas I gave back then…" Zhu Chenggui rambled on, his tone filled with dissatisfaction towards Suming. It was as if he were saying, "I helped you so much, and you fobbed me off with just a few bottles of liquor—that's really dishonest."

"So that's why his fish are raised so well, it's all because of using fish manure as fertilizer!" Baldy had an epiphany. He slapped his forehead and said to Zhou Jin, "Mr. Zhou, how about we leak the news about him feeding fish with manure? People will definitely stop buying his fish."

According to the usual thinking, using manure as feed would certainly be considered unsanitary, and spreading such news would undoubtedly cause an uproar.

However, one must not generalize. Zhou Jin was an industry insider, and he knew all too well that this method of feeding fish was not only hygienic but was also a natural and pollution-free approach. If this news were to be publicized, it would not harm Shuijun Lake in the least, but instead would serve as free advertising, proving that the fish from Shuijun Lake were naturally raised.

Every other day, there is a new report online about something containing additives that shouldn't be consumed, or about something else using chemicals harmful to the body, scaring everyone into believing that anything artificially cultivated is definitely inferior to naturally occurring things. People would rather pay more for natural products. This is like vegetables where those that are grown with chemical fertilizers taste worse and fetch lower prices; but those grown with organic fertilizers look plump and lively and have a good market.

So Zhou Jin glared at Baldy and said, "You should spend more time reading books and less being ignoramus!" Recalling some 'past events,' he added irritably, "Never does anything of use, but always good for nothing!"

Baldy was quite resentful, thinking to himself that he was on Zhou Jin's side, trying to come up with ideas and suggestions, yet not a single piece of praise from Zhou Jin—just scolding at the drop of a hat. Is this how a boss should behave?

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Zhou Jin had no idea what the bald man was thinking. He turned his head to question Zhu Chenggui, "Old Zhu, I'm asking you, aside from this polyculture and using fish manure as fertilizer, did you come up with any other ideas for him?"

Zhu Chenggui shook his head, "No, that's all."

"That's strange," Zhou Jin said as he paced back and forth in the room with his hands behind his back. "I've seen his fish; they all seem to be over two years old. He's been raising fish for less than a year. Just polyculture and fish manure alone can't make fish grow this fast!"

Zhou Jin and Zhu Chenggui, both experienced fish farmers, pondered for a while but could not figure out why the fish in Shuijun Lake grew so abnormally fast. If they hadn't grown so quickly, they wouldn't have taken the market from Huating Company today.

As Zhou Jin mulled it over, he realized that just speculating here on his own wouldn't yield any results—he needed someone to actively investigate. So, he patted Zhu Chenggui's shoulder, "Old Zhu, I need you to do something for me. If you handle it well, I'll give you five thousand yuan for your troubles."

Having lived a long life and though somewhat crafty, Zhu Chenggui was no fool; on the contrary, he was quite astute. He had seen the rivalry between Zhou Jin and Suming and, hearing Zhou Jin's words, Zhu Chenggui hesitantly said, "Mr. Zhou, if it's something that could harm others, or wrongdoing, I dare not do it!"

"Rest easy, I wouldn't come to you for things like murder or arson!" Zhou Jin then shared the details of the task with Zhu Chenggui.

Zhu Chenggui considered it for a long time before finally nodding reluctantly, "I may be able to do this task, I'll do my best."

"It's not about doing your best, it's about succeeding!" Zhou Jin sneered and shook his head, "If you do well, the five thousand yuan is yours. If not, Old Zhu, you will no longer work as a security guard at the factory. Just pack your bags and go back home to farm."

Zhu Chenggui's face immediately fell, and glancing toward the not-too-distant reservoir, he thought to himself that his hometown had been flattened to make way for the reservoir, with nowhere left for him to return to and farm.

"Alright, Old Zhu, you better head back now, waiting for your update. Get it done quickly!" Zhou Jin took out his wallet and gave him several hundred-yuan bills, "Take this to spend first. Once the job's done, you'll have your reward!"

...

These past few days, Suming was frequently wandering around the fish market. Even though he had opened up sales outlets at various big restaurants, the market route remained stagnant. The reason was the same: Huating Fisheries Company had dominated the fish market for many years, and challenging their position was not a matter that could be resolved overnight.

Following the normal rules of the aquaculture industry—not like real estate or stocks—succes cannot happen all at once; it's hard to become rich overnight. One has to take it step by step, first expanding one's own aquaculture business. Only after reaching a certain scale to compete with Huating Fisheries can one slowly erode their market share through various business strategies.

This approach is steady but also the slowest. Suming had been considering these past few days if there was a better way to quickly oust Huating Fisheries Company from the fish market. That's why he was visiting the market every day, scouting for various intel.

He had just returned to the animal park pavilion that day when he heard from the chat group that Yutian Ayaka had released a new AV, and he was preparing to download it to have a look when his phone suddenly rang. It was the gatekeeper, who said that an old man named Zhu Chenggui was looking for him.