I See through Everything

"Dad, you’ve overlooked an important piece of information. Hailufeng Company recently opened eight Jianghai Restaurants in various local towns, all specializing in fish dishes. What do you think the main ingredient for these Jianghai Restaurants is?"

"Egyptian Fish? Is that possible? Could it be eel?"

"The profit margin on eel dishes is too low. They’d be better off just selling their canned, braised eel." Lin Ruifeng’s eyes lit up with understanding. "Maybe I’ve figured out what Hailufeng Company is thinking. They might be planning to use the Jianghai Restaurants to get diners and other restaurants to accept their farm-raised Egyptian Catfish."

"So what does that have to do with us?"

"Dad, is it possible that we could also produce this fish?"

Lin Jili’s brow furrowed again. "Buy the technology? Hailufeng Company probably wouldn’t agree to that, would they?"

"They can agree to license the technology to foreign companies, so naturally, they can license it to domestic ones too. As long as the price is right, everything is negotiable." Lin Ruifeng didn’t think it was an impossible task.

As for ideas like stealing the technology, if Hailufeng Company were just a small business, there would be nothing to worry about.

The problem is, Hailufeng Company is fast becoming the leading local enterprise. Guotai is also a local company. Even if we dared to steal Hailufeng Company’s technology, we wouldn’t dare use it here. Otherwise, we’d be ’invited for tea’ in a heartbeat.

"So we try to acquire the technology?"

"Yes. I’m even willing to pay annual patent fees. If their Egyptian Catfish really have no muddy taste, just like their product description says, our two thousand-plus mu of fish ponds could produce 150,000 tons of Egyptian Catfish a year. If we turn it all into fish balls and fish tofu, we could sell it for 20 yuan a kilogram and still make a huge profit."

"That’s true. The Egyptian Fish they buy probably only need to be raised for another month or two. Even if the cost doubles, that’s only 6 yuan a kilogram. Add in the other ingredients and miscellaneous expenses, and the cost for a kilogram of fish balls wouldn’t exceed 10 yuan." Lin Jili was also starting to see the light:

"150,000 tons of Egyptian Fish can make roughly 150,000 tons of fish balls and fish tofu. If the gross profit per ton could reach 10,000 yuan, 150,000 tons would be 1.5 billion yuan. Holy crap! Technology is king. It’s practically a license to print money."

Lin Ruifeng shook his head. "From my observations of Hailufeng Company’s development, they won’t set the price too low. I estimate their bottom line for fish balls and fish tofu will be around 30 to 35 yuan per kilogram."

Hearing this, Lin Jili’s breathing quickened involuntarily. The potential profits were just too massive.

Lin Ruifeng continued to think aloud, "Therefore, my bottom line is to offer Hailufeng Company a patent fee of 15,000 yuan per ton of Egyptian Catfish. That would still leave us with a gross profit of 10,000 yuan."

"It feels like we’d just be working for Hailufeng Company," Lin Jili said with a wry smile.

But Lin Ruifeng felt such a high price was necessary. "You have to give something to get something. Otherwise, why would they ever license the technology to us?"

"That’s true."

"Dad, you need to find a way to set up a meeting with Jiang Miao."

"I’ve already asked Sea View to arrange it. We’re going directly to Hailufeng Company’s headquarters the day after tomorrow at noon."

"And Uncle Gu? Did he mention any of his preferences or things to avoid?"

Lin Jili nodded. "I asked about that. Jiang Miao and his wife, Lin Shuya, are both tech people, so they prefer to be direct and don’t like beating around the bush. He also doesn’t smoke or drink. That’s what makes it tricky. Now I have no idea what would be a good gift."

Lin Ruifeng, who had also been racking his brain, quickly had an idea. "How about we give them some local agricultural products? Dad, do you know of any famous agricultural products from around here?"

"Uh? Well, I know the peanuts from Wutong Village next door are good. They’re over ten yuan a jin. Your aunt even gave us fifty jin this year."

"Anything else?"

"Let me call your mom and ask."

Lin Ruifeng shook his head slightly and just picked up his phone to search for Shanmei’s local specialties.

He quickly found two agricultural products that seemed suitable as gifts.

They were Tiger’s Golden Needle and Kuichishan Oil Tangerine.

The Tiger’s Golden Needle, named after Tiger Village in Huangqiang Town, Hai Feng County where it originates, is a top-quality product. It’s known for its crisp, fresh, and sweet taste, lack of acidity, and high nutritional value. It is also a national geographical indication product.

As for the Kuichishan Oil Tangerine, it’s known for being large and round with smooth skin. The flesh is firm and translucent, with a pale or reddish-yellow color. It tastes bitter and astringent at first, but becomes increasingly refreshing and sweet as you chew, leaving a pleasant aftertaste. It is a famous, high-quality, and new agricultural product of Lingnan Province, and fresh fruit happens to be available in October.

As for other local specialties, they were either out of season or simply unsuitable.

For example, giving Jiang Miao the famous Chenzhou Oysters from the area next to Magong Town would be a truly brainless move.

Soon, his dad finished his phone call.

"We still have over thirty jin of peanuts at home, all sun-dried and in the shell."

"I also found two things: the Golden Needle and the Oil Tangerines. I’ll go buy them tomorrow."

Lin Jili paced back and forth, muttering to himself, "It feels like something is still missing... Right! We don’t just need a gift for Jiang Miao; we need to consider his family too."

The father and son were racking their brains for this collaboration.

After all, they were the ones asking for a favor, so naturally, they had to put in the effort to curry favor.

"His wife researches edible fungi. Why don’t we buy some expensive mushrooms?"

"Makes sense."

"For his parents, we should pick out some health supplements. But Jiang Miao seems to know medicine, so we shouldn’t get any of those weird supplements. Let’s just buy a stalk of wild ginseng!"

"You young people really have sharp minds. Does he have any children?"

Lin Ruifeng thought for a moment. "I don’t think so. After all, he just got married this year."

"Alright, let’s go with that! Ruifeng, you should gather these gifts as soon as possible."

"Okay."

Lin Ruifeng hurried off to find these items. The expensive edible fungi, in particular, had to be expedited by air freight to arrive in time, which meant they needed to be shipped out tonight.

Meanwhile, Jiang Miao, still in his lab, had no idea someone was preparing to send him gifts.