The Sea Queen of 1985

Chapter 47: Chapter 47: The Ornamental Fish Business is Booming

”So what are Brother Jianguo’s plans?” Han Xiaorui asked. If Yang Jianguo had better opportunities, she didn’t want to hold back his career.

Wu Cuicui sighed. ”He’s still the captain of Jinshan Bay. Second Uncle wants Jianguo to gain a few more years of experience and run for village party secretary. But there’s not much money in it. We’re in a real bind right now.”

Hearing this, Han Xiaorui smiled. ”Sister Cuicui, when you get home tonight, please tell Brother Jianguo something for me. I want to build an ornamental fish farm in our village.”

”If he’s interested, I’ll make him the manager. You know me, I still have to fish every day and don’t have time to manage it.”

Wu Cuicui’s eyes lit up. ”Interested? Of course he’s interested! Jianguo was even thinking about going to the docks to work as a porter, but I couldn’t bear to see him do that.”

No matter what kind of farm it was, it meant a job in the village without having to go elsewhere. Wu Cuicui accepted on Yang Jianguo’s behalf right then and there.

”I’ll come over to your place after dinner. We can discuss the details then.” Han Xiaorui was confident she could persuade Yang Jianguo to help her.

Starting a farm in the village first required finding a site. Deciding on a piece of land and getting the village’s approval were all hurdles to clear.

To get it done right, she needed someone from the village who had some influence.

”Okay, I’ll make tea and wait for you tonight,” Wu Cuicui said with a smile, taking her daughter home.

Pingping and An’an were sad to see her go, and they only broke into smiles after Yang Minmin promised she’d come back to play with them on Sunday when she was free.

Meanwhile, as soon as Wu Cuicui got home, she hurriedly pulled Yang Jianguo into their room.

”The kids are still around, you know. Aren’t you being a little eager?” Yang Jianguo had been busy all day and teased his wife when he came home and saw how frantic she was.

”Always talking nonsense.” Wu Cuicui gave him a light smack on the back. ”I have something serious to discuss. Xiao Rui wants to open an ornamental fish farm in our village, and she wants to ask you to be the manager.”

”A farm?” Yang Jianguo looked doubtful. ”I remember she just had Lingling go look at a location a few days ago. Didn’t she just open an ornamental fish shop?”

Wu Cuicui answered, ”That’s right, a farm, built right here in our village. Renting land, constructing the facility—all of that needs someone to organize it. You know people in the village and the county, plus you have plenty of old classmates. I think you can do this.”

”I can do it, sure, but what if it loses money?” If Yang Jianguo were managing a factory for someone else, he wouldn’t care if it lost money. He would only care if he got his salary.

But Han Xiaorui was the mother of his daughter’s friends, and he felt a responsibility toward her. He couldn’t let her lose all the money she’d earned through her hard work fishing!

Hearing this, Wu Cuicui also hesitated. ”Xiao Rui is coming over after dinner. You can ask her for the details then. If it doesn’t look promising, we’ll just drop it. We can’t let her lose money.”

During dinner, Wu Cuicui couldn’t taste her food. She kept looking outside, until, finally, Han Xiaorui arrived.

After hearing Yang Jianguo and Wu Cuicui’s concerns, Han Xiaorui smiled. ”I managed to get a formula for ornamental fish feed. The fish at my shop in the city are thriving.”

”I’m earning good money from fishing every day, so I have the capital to start a farm. Besides, fishing resources are becoming scarcer, and the government is going to implement a fishing ban starting next year.”

”The days of being able to fish year-round will be over. We’ll still need an income during the months of the ban. Whether it’s raising ornamental fish or edible fish, we have to get into aquaculture.”

It suddenly dawned on Yang Jianguo. ”So that’s your plan. We heard about this issue during a village meeting a while back.”

”My second uncle’s big boat can go far out and catch plenty of fish. You’re lucky and have excellent skills, so you do well, too. But the number of other fishermen in the village is dwindling. Since they can’t make enough money, they’re starting to look for other ways to make a living.”

Han Xiaorui nodded. ”If you don’t plan for the future, you’ll have problems in the present. Instead of scrambling when the time comes, I want to start figuring things out now. We can’t wait until we can’t fish anymore to start organizing.”

”You have a point, Xiao Rui,” Yang Jianguo agreed. ”Since you have the technical expertise, I’ll handle the logistics for you. No charge.”

”I can’t let you do that!” Han Xiaorui quickly refused. ”I’m treating this as a proper business; there’s no reason for you to work for free. I can offer you a salary of 150 yuan a month and a 2% commission on sales at the end of the year. The other option is no salary or commission. I’ll provide the capital and take an 80% stake, while you provide the labor and take a 20% stake. We’ll split the profits at the end of the year.”

Hearing this, Wu Cuicui grew excited. One hundred and fifty yuan a month was a high salary, and there was a commission, too. For every hundred yuan in sales, he’d get two yuan.

If they made ten thousand in sales, that would be a two-hundred-yuan commission. That was a lot.

She leaned toward the first option, as it was a guaranteed income.

”I’ll take the second option. If I’m busy but we aren’t making money, I’d feel bad taking your money. I’ll only feel right taking my share if we’re profitable,” Yang Jianguo insisted. ”I’ll start sorting out the facility tomorrow. Just make a list of what you need, and I’ll get it.”

Han Xiaorui already had the necessary information prepared. She had listed everything that was needed and gave him 5,000 yuan. ”Brother Jianguo, buy whatever is necessary. Just give me the receipts later.”

This time, Yang Jianguo didn’t refuse. ”Alright, it’s settled. We’ll ask Second Uncle to witness the partnership agreement.”

Leaving the matter in Yang Jianguo’s hands, Han Xiaorui felt at ease. The next day, she went out to sea to fish and earn money with a clear mind.

Wu Lingling and Xu Wenwen handled the grand opening of the ornamental fish shop all by themselves.

Han Xiaorui simply had no time!

The shop was located near a school entrance, with an elementary, middle, and high school all in the vicinity. Students adored these kinds of colorful little creatures.

The smallest fish tanks—20 cm long, 10 cm wide, and 15 cm high—had a wholesale price of 0.2 yuan each and sold for 0.5 yuan.

A package of five of the tiny, colorful ornamental fish—each only 2 to 4 centimeters long—and a small tank sold for just one yuan.

Most of the children who attended school nearby came from high-income families, with parents working in the power bureau, the finance department, or as doctors.

Most of the kids had pocket money. For those who didn’t, it hardly mattered. When their grandparents came to pick them up, they’d tug on their arms, crying and begging for a fish.

On the first day, these smallest-sized fish tanks sold the best.

They sold a full 68 sets and, of course, 68 portions of fish food, for a total of 138 yuan.

Wu Lingling meticulously kept the accounts. She would head home in the evening to take care of the fish, overjoyed with her new daily routine.

When Han Xiaoqing brought Pingping, An’an, and Cai Wenjun to their classes, she would also bring over twenty ornamental fish to put in the large fish tank in the two-story building.

Kids in the city had a special fixation on raising small animals.

Raising chickens, ducks, or geese was difficult in the apartment buildings provided by their parents’ work units. But raising fish was much simpler.

Word spread like wildfire. The next day, sales doubled. They sold 148 sets, and even many of the medium and large-sized tanks sold, along with even more ornamental fish.

On the third day, they sold two hundred fish tanks and even more ornamental fish, and the profits grew higher each day.

Wu Lingling and Xu Wenwen, who had once worried the shop might close due to poor business, were now all smiles. Their daily commissions were nothing to scoff at!