Reborn As Super Heiress

Chapter 25: Chapter 23: The Strange Post

The cheaper the better?

The vendor was stunned, for in all his years of business, he had never heard of such an eccentric way to pick koi fry.

The few old spectators were also dumbfounded, especially the old man who had previously spoken up to advise. He looked at Huo Sining with a glare, cursing inwardly: One fool left, and another idiot arrived—can’t they see this obvious scam?

“Young lady, that’s not how you pick ornamental fish. Cheap stuff isn’t good quality!”

Seeing Huo Sining actually squat down to pick fish, the old man got anxious and hurriedly advised her.

“Grandpa, it’s fine. The fry aren’t expensive anyway, I’m just buying them for fun.”

Huo Sining didn’t feel there was anything wrong with her decision. She had scoured the entire market just to find such affordable fish breeds.

She picked out five fish, and after some persistent haggling, managed to get the vendor to throw in an extra one for free, spending a total of fifty yuan.

Watching Huo Sining leave with the fish fry in high spirits, her beaming smile as if she had just won five million yuan, the old man watched with twitching lips and almost felt driven to insanity. Where on earth did this joker come from?

What the old man did not know was that before long, those unremarkable little fry in Huo Sining’s hands would dazzle everyone at the S City fish fighting competition, causing a great uproar.

Though the koi looked sickly, Huo Sining still felt the trip that morning was worth it.

Koi, unlike angelfish, can grow to be over a meter long, so Huo Sining thought that she would need to prepare a larger aquarium in the future.

But for now, there was no need to worry about that. These little ones were only about three inches long. On her way home, she bought a plastic bucket and casually carried them back with her.

If the people at the future fish fighting competitions knew that the stunning Fish King had to endure its youth in a plastic bucket less than thirty centimeters in diameter, they would likely be deeply distressed and full of regret.

Although Huo Sining vaguely suspected that the Water-Repelling Pearl could transform a hybrid fish into a purebred, she still did not distinguish between ornamental fish and fish for consumption.

In fact, embedded deeply in her mind was the notion that fish are meant to be eaten, keeping them as pets was simply too wasteful.

So, she roughly bagged the koi fry in the plastic bucket and took them home.

Which made those sickly koi even more listless once they arrived home.

Huo Sining, however, was not stingy. She dipped her finger into the bucket, controlling the Spiritual Energy of the Water-Repelling Pearl to baptize the fish from head to tail.

Perhaps because the fish had no obvious injuries, or maybe because it gets easier with practice, Huo Sining felt that this time, it was effortless to channel the Spiritual Energy. Moreover, after she finished, she felt that the Azure Pearl still had plenty of Spiritual Energy.

The Azure Pearl’s Spiritual Energy was indeed effective. After absorbing the Spiritual Energy, the koi quickly recovered their vitality, darting around the bucket and gaping eagerly, waiting for Huo Sining to feed them.

“Darn it, I forgot to buy fish food!”

Huo Sining slapped her forehead, remembering that she seemed to have a bag of cookies left from last night. She quickly found and crumbled them into the bucket.

The koi weren’t picky at all, gathering around to eat the crumbs.

Seeing them eat so gleefully, Huo Sining nodded in satisfaction and turned around to feed the Rainbow Fairy Fish as well.

The fish must have been hungry. Seeing Huo Sining throw a piece of cookie down, it hurried over immediately.

But before Huo Sining could feel pleased, the fish sniffed at the crumbs and then turned and swam away!

Was this rejection?

Huo Sining’s smile froze on her face. After a moment of thought, she went downstairs to knock on Old Lady Xu’s door.

“Auntie Xu, what do you usually feed your Rainbow Fairy Fish?”

Old Lady Xu counted on her fingers, “Homemade burgers, usually with ox heart, lean meat, chicken heart, fresh shrimp, and leafy vegetables. This way, the fish get enough magnesium, calcium, and other minerals. You should also feed them bloodworm bait occasionally and some aquatic plants. But you have to be careful not to overdo it, these things carry bacteria; if you’re not careful, they could get infected and also—”

“…”

Old Lady Xu hadn’t finished speaking when Huo Sining was already feeling overwhelmed.

Angelfish really are a pricey business; only those with money and time could indulge in it!

Huo Sining had only one thought at that moment, and that was to get rid of the angelfish in her hands as soon as possible. She really didn’t have the patience to attend to such an ancestor.

However, Huo Sining dared not tell Old Lady Xu that her angelfish had already been cured, considering only a day had passed. Even the most skilled fish breeders couldn’t accomplish such a feat. If Mrs. Xu were to inquire, she really wouldn’t know how to explain it.

Moreover, she had learned that the fish had mutated. According to what the previous aquarium owner had implied, this angelfish seemed to have developed authentic German eyes.

Even in S City, it was unlikely for there to be a purebred German Red Pine angelfish of the first generation. If she were to return the fish to Mrs. Xu now, it would be hard for her to avoid drawing attention.

It wasn’t that Huo Sining was reluctant to part with the angelfish. With the Water-Repelling Pearl acting as a cheat device, transforming a few angelfish into something special wasn’t difficult. She simply did not want to attract unnecessary trouble because of it.

It looked like dealing with this fellow was going to be quite a hassle.

As she watched the German fish in the aquarium happily devour the chicken heart hamburger she had just bought, Huo Sining felt a bit of concern.

After some thought, she took out her candy bar cell phone. Although the camera quality was terrible, it was better than nothing.

Taking advantage of the moment when the fish was focused on eating, Huo Sining snapped a few photos.

Approaching evening, Huo Sining went out, entered a nearby internet cafe.

After registering an account on an ornamental fish forum, she posted a message and attached a few low-resolution photographs.

—— For sale: Rainbow Fairy Fish, authentic German “glasses elder” Red Pine lineage, purebred, healthy, and lively, one of a kind, first come first serve.

After seeing her post quickly sink to oblivion, Huo Sining logged off the forum and did not bother with it anymore. After leaving the internet cafe, she went to a supermarket and bought several fishing nets and a pair of rain boots.

While Huo Sining was getting ready for her night-time exploration of Yellow River, she was unaware of the commotion on the fish forum due to her post, which had stirred up many long-time silent users.

That inconspicuous post had been bumped up from the mass of quickly sunken threads and quickly stood out, taking the top spot on the forum.

“Holy crap, what did I just see? First-gen German? Is that for real?”

“No contact information provided, how’s anyone supposed to buy? Don’t believe it, guys—this person is just fishing for replies!”

“The resolution is so poor, it must be on purpose, though the stripes do look straight. Sure it’s purebred?”

“I feel like this is Photoshopped. First-gen German Red Pine, isn’t that thing the stuff of legend?”

“Judging as a high-quality German fish, indeterminable if it’s first-gen. The above poster who doesn’t know might as well not blabber!”

…

A bunch of people started arguing on the forum. Some breeding experts, however, lit up when they saw the photos.

Although the photos were unclear, the straight stripes and color ratio on the fish made the experts quickly see the point.

It was just that the person who made the post, whether out of carelessness or intention, had not left any contact information.

Several became restless; they anxiously sent private messages to the original poster, wanting to inquire about the authenticity of the post, but their messages went unanswered.

Now some were annoyed. This was just teasing people’s appetites, posting a bizarre thread that drew a large crowd, and then disappearing oneself.

“The original poster doesn’t dare to show up, definitely just baiting for replies, not even brave enough to answer PMs!”

“Damn scammer, deceiving for replies, wish death on the whole family!”

“Looks like the poster has kicked the bucket; if there’s anything important, burn incense for them.”

What was originally a bustling thread quickly devolved into a mess of curses and off-topic banter.

Still, there were those who refused to believe this was the end and thought of a more direct approach.

“You’re telling me to conduct a search on an account?”

Jin Chenyu frowned. He had just returned to S City from Rongcheng and had barely gotten off the plane when he received a call from his cousin. The reason was absurd, all because of a forum post.