Chapter 59: From Now On, President Chu Is My Brother!

Chen Feng hurried to answer Chu Lin’s call, greeting him warmly, “President Chu, it’s really a surprise to receive your call. I was just thinking of visiting you!”

“Well, I’d be most happy to welcome you,” Chu Lin replied with a laugh, then added, “Coincidentally, I have a batch of blue-ringed jellyfish here and would like to invite you to come have a look.”

“Of course, I’ll definitely come. President Chu, wait for me,” Chen Feng responded immediately.

He was well aware of blue-ringed jellyfish—an increasingly popular aquatic pet in recent years. Though the market price was only a little over a hundred yuan, their survival rate in breeding was low, and not all blue-ringed jellyfish could reproduce, so the price remained stable, even showing an upward trend. Most importantly, he had wanted to get closer to President Chu, and this was the perfect opportunity.

After hanging up, Chen Feng sought out Li Yan, the shop’s aquaculture specialist, and instructed, “Come with me to President Chu’s breeding facility.”

“Boss, does President Chu have new stock again?” Li Yan followed behind, asking curiously. He still remembered the previous hundred Neptune groupers vividly. When those hundred fish went out, many people cursed, because they’d believed their own fish, which cost over forty thousand, were the finest. Now, they realized those hundred were a whole class above. As a result, a number of customers placed orders with their shop after seeing the difference, and some, after buying one, went home and stewed their original fish, berating their previous supplier.

No telling how many fish vendors were frustrated and scolded as frauds.

Chen Feng explained, “President Chu said he has a batch of blue-ringed jellyfish and invited me to take a look.”

Li Yan replied, “Blue-ringed jellyfish aren’t luxury aquatic pets, but they’ve been really popular online lately. High-quality ones are now up to 150 yuan apiece, and our shop’s social media account has had inquiries, but we just don’t have any stock.”

“Mm!” After getting in the car, Chen Feng drove straight to Pingjiang District with Li Yan.

Arriving at Chu Lin’s facility, he noticed many more dogs in the steel-roofed courtyard. As he parked, the dogs followed two mongrels and barked at them.

Hearing the commotion, Chu Lin came out, spotted Chen Feng, and quickly shouted at the dogs, “Go on, play elsewhere!”

Only then did he turn to Chen Feng and invite, “Young Master Chen, let’s go inside to see the jellyfish.”

Chen Feng nodded, following Chu Lin inside to the dedicated blue-ringed jellyfish breeding pool.

The water was breathtakingly clear, and as they peered in, they could easily observe the graceful motions of the jellyfish. Especially those blue rings—no matter the size of the pool, their silhouettes were quickly found.

“President Chu, the water quality in your breeding pool is always unbelievable, so clear every time I see it,” Chen Feng exclaimed, unable to contain his admiration as he looked at the jellyfish.

Chu Lin picked up a net and scooped two jellyfish into a bucket. “Young Master Chen, come have a look at these blue-ringed jellyfish.”

Chen Feng and Li Yan moved closer.

This time, they could observe the jellyfish more clearly.

Li Yan marveled, “Young Master Chen, President Chu’s blue-ringed jellyfish are extremely healthy and lively, and their appearance is stunning—top quality.”

Chen Feng could see this himself and quickly asked Chu Lin, “President Chu, how many blue-ringed jellyfish do you have, and at what price are you looking to sell?”

Chu Lin smiled broadly and introduced, “There are over two thousand mature blue-ringed jellyfish in this pool, and I can offer them to you at one hundred yuan each. Moreover, I can supply about four hundred more daily thereafter.”

Hearing this price, Chen Feng didn’t hesitate, replying immediately, “President Chu, I’ll take all your blue-ringed jellyfish.”

Lately, the price had risen to 150 apiece. With President Chu offering them at 100, that meant a fifty yuan profit per jellyfish. Two thousand meant ten thousand yuan profit. Plus, four hundred a day after that—another twenty thousand, minus costs, still quite substantial. The real value lay in the steady stream.

Just this deal alone made today’s visit worthwhile.

Many people thought rich second-generation types like him didn’t care about five or ten thousand yuan. It was a misconception. He didn’t deny his parents gave him millions as startup capital, giving him an advantage over many. But once he began doing business independently, without relying on his family, every five or ten thousand had to be earned through hard work.

“Alright, then all the blue-ringed jellyfish will go to you,” Chu Lin agreed readily.

Once the deal was done, Li Yan called for the shop’s special vehicle to collect the jellyfish. When it arrived, he helped Chu Lin net the blue-ringed jellyfish from the pool.

The final tally was 2,013 jellyfish.

Chen Feng decisively transferred the payment to Chu Lin, as per usual, including tax handling.

…

Soon, the notification arrived.

“Your account… has paid 191,300.00 yuan, remaining balance 11,862,088.55 yuan.”

“Young Master Chen, the payment came through,” Chu Lin said with a smile after seeing the receipt, then asked, “Do you think the breeding of blue-ringed jellyfish has prospects?”

Upon hearing the question, Chen Feng immediately replied, “Absolutely. Now that blue-ringed jellyfish are getting more and more popular online, the market price keeps going up, never down.”

“However, the breeding technology for blue-ringed jellyfish isn’t simple. Survival rates are low, and most can’t reproduce. The main issue is the strict temperature requirements during breeding. If the number kept at home is small, it’s fine, but large-scale breeding is difficult to manage. Some people have lost their entire batch during the breeding period because of this, throwing away a hundred thousand yuan investment.”

“At present, the breeding technology for blue-ringed jellyfish isn’t very mature.”

Chu Lin didn’t seem concerned, instead smiling as he asked, “What if the survival rate during breeding is extremely high, and the reproduction speed is much faster than normal?”

Chen Feng replied instinctively, “If that’s the case, given current supply and demand, it’ll definitely be profitable—hugely so.” Then a thought struck him, and he asked in surprise, “President Chu, do you have such technology?”

“How else do you think these blue-ringed jellyfish came about?” Chu Lin said with a smile.

“President Chu, you’re incredible!” Chen Feng exclaimed in amazement. He understood the potential of this technology.

Both entrepreneurs, yet look at Chu Lin—not only establishing such a large facility, but now acquiring this kind of technology. Truly admirable.

“This technology isn’t limited to blue-ringed jellyfish,” Chu Lin continued, then led Chen Feng to the breeding tank where Neptune grouper juveniles were kept.

Chen Feng was curious about the densely packed fry in the tank. As he approached and looked closely, he cried out in disbelief, “Damn… Are all these Neptune groupers?”

Chu Lin smiled and asked, “These were bred with that same technology. What do you think?”

“Amazing, absolutely amazing,” Chen Feng couldn’t help but marvel. “President Chu, with this technology, you’re going to make a fortune.”

Suddenly, he realized something.

President Chu had specially introduced so much to him—could he be looking to bring him in?

With that thought, Chen Feng looked at Chu Lin expectantly, feeling a little nervous. He knew starting a business wasn’t easy. Even if they were rich second-generation types with an advantage, to succeed independently was still tough. He hoped those with good projects would let him join.

Chu Lin noticed Chen Feng’s nervousness and smiled, asking, “I want to build a new breeding facility using this technology, to breed blue-ringed jellyfish and Neptune grouper. I’m looking for a partner—would you be interested in investing, Young Master Chen?”

Chen Feng had guessed as much, but hearing it confirmed, he couldn’t help feeling excited. He knew the prospects for this technology—it could certainly carve out a place in the ornamental aquatic pet industry.

He blurted out, “President Chu… No, from now on you’re my brother, Brother Lin… I’m very interested in this project.”

Chu Lin was taken aback by Chen Feng’s reaction, and said, “Young Master Chen, mind the age difference. You’re older than me, calling me brother isn’t quite right.”

Chen Feng retorted immediately, “Brother Lin, you’re being shallow. We’re talking about friendship and ability, not age. There’s a boss twenty years older than my father who always calls my dad ‘brother’—he says he most admires people like my dad who are truly capable!”

Chu Lin laughed.

He suddenly found Young Master Chen very amusing.

Clearly, he was referring to his own father, yet somehow Chu Lin felt as if he himself had been flattered.