Super Zoo

The two wolfdogs squatted on the side, looking bewildered as they watched the bald men screaming and running past them, followed by a large swarm of dark objects.

The wasps quickly caught up with the bald men. On the distant riverbank, there were constant wails and howls of misery. The bald man who had been leading the charge was the first to suffer, being stung several times on his bald head, which swelled with large welts, making him look like a descending Buddha from afar.

Under Suming's deliberate control, the wasps stung the men in non-lethal areas. Although the venom released wasn't deadly, it was enough to give them an unforgettable lesson.

In the blink of an eye, the ruffians were stripped of their defenses and had fled without a trace.

The two wolfdogs, realizing their master had disappeared, looked at each other and then stood up, trotting over to Suming, wagging their tails and sticking out their tongues to lick Suming's face.

"Stop licking, that's all slobber, pretty disgusting."

Suming rubbed the wolfdogs' chins, got up from the ground, dusted the mud off his body, and showed Nangong Yan a grin, "A bunch of idiots, they don't even know to hide when they see wasps, with that intelligence, they can only be thugs."

"Are you okay?"

Nangong Yan circled around Suming, inspecting him to make sure he hadn't been stung by the wasps, then she pulled out a pack of tissues, took one out, and handed it to Suming to wipe his face.

Suming acted as if nothing had happened, casually holding the leads of the two wolfdogs in his hands.

"Hey, you're not thinking of..." Nangong Yan's eyes widened as she looked at the two wolfdogs.

"If they want to follow me, what can I do? I'm actually in need of some guard dogs."

Suming shrugged, squatted down, and seriously asked the wolfdogs, "I'm asking you, are you following me willingly?"

The two wolfdogs' tongues hung out long, panting with big huffs of breath.

"Oh my... you really are the king of beasts!" Nangong Yan said, exasperated.

The old man who had been fishing, still shaken up, interjected, "You two, better leave quickly. If they come back with more people, we won't be able to get away!"

They had left with two people, but returned with three, plus two large wolfdogs.

The Wrangler had two rows of five seats. When Suming arrived, he had removed the rooftop, so the two wolfdogs sat in the cargo area, leaning their front paws on the edge of the car, curiously looking out as they lay there.

Suming chatted with the old fisherman while driving.

The old man's name was Zhu Chenggui, who was already in his sixties. He used to live by the reservoir. Back then, there was no Huating Reservoir; Zhu Chenggui and all the mountaineers nearby lived off the land, farmed a few acres, raised fish, and in winter went into the mountains to hunt and gather winter bamboo shoots and walnuts; life was not bad.

Later, when the reservoir was developed and a large relocation project ensued, all the villagers nearby were moved out. Zhu Chenggui received a sum of money for settling down and moved to the city to live.

Having spent the first half of his life in the mountains and lacking education, he couldn't find any decent work after moving to the city. He could only work as a security guard at a factory, earning very little. With rent to pay and a life to live, he could barely make ends meet. After decades, he hadn't married, and the subsidy he received for settling was running out. Unwilling to buy groceries, he would occasionally come to the reservoir to fish to supplement his living.

From this perspective, Zhu Chenggui was actually coming to the reservoir to "steal fish."

Suming, struck by a thought, asked, "You know how to fish, but do you know how to raise fish?"

Zhu Chenggui cracked a smile showing his yellowed teeth, somewhat pridefully, "Sure, what mountain people don't know how to raise fish? We used to have a fish pond at home, made quite a bit of money every year, but it was all filled in when they built the reservoir."

"That's perfect, I have a lake. You help me take a look, see if fish can be raised there."

The old man glanced at the time, somewhat hesitant, "I still have to work the night shift, I need to be back before nine o'clock tonight!"

"Don't worry!" Suming floored the gas, and the Wrangler sped off like a wild beast.

Suming first dropped Nangong Yan home on the way, then returned to the zoo with the dog and Zhu Chenggui, heading straight for Shuijun Lake.

"The water area is certainly vast, probably over a hundred acres. If farmed well, you could get over ten thousand pounds of fish per acre!"

"Over ten thousand pounds per acre?" Suming was startled. What an idea, it would be like the lake was full of fish, with fish bumping into fish, and you could flip a fish with any random stone you throw.

Zhu Chenggui said, "Mixed farming is the way to go. You farm the 'four major family fish,' and with good management, over ten thousand pounds per acre is easy."

The four major family fish are the traditional four kinds of freshwater fish, which are collectively known as 'black, grass, silver, bighead carps.' Carp is also common in Huaxia, even more so than the four major family fish, but due to the Tang Dynasty's avoidance of the 'Li' surname, the court banned fishing and consumption of carp, so it's not among the four major family fish.

These four aren't the most delicious of fish, nor do they command high prices, but they dominate the market and are the most commonly seen, with the widest distribution channels.

Although some specialty fish are valuable, their farming costs are high, too. The more precious the fish, the weaker its resistance to diseases and the stricter its requirements for growth environment and food. A slight inattention can result in complete loss, so for now, Suming wasn't considering them.

Zhu Chenggui continued, "The silver carp and bighead carp move along the water surface, while the black and grass carps stay at the bottom—one vegetarian, the other carnivorous. The mixed farming of these fish not only avoids mutual interference but also promotes each other, increasing yield."

"With mass breeding like this, there must be a significant cost for fry and feed, right?" Suming calculated briefly; he had less than two million left. Without being sure of making a profit, he couldn't possibly invest all his money in fish farming.

Shuijun Lake had over a hundred acres of water surface, but without much experience, he couldn't farm too much. Even at the farming density previously mentioned, investing in fish fry and daily feed for a third of that area wasn't a small expense.

Zhu Chenggui revealed a cunning peasant's smile, "You certainly need to buy the fry, but later on, the big fish produce the little fish, and then you have the fry in your lake, allowing you to gradually reduce the introduction of new fry each year. As for the feed, try to give as little as possible. Let me tell you, fish that grow on feed have a fishy taste and won't sell for much. In the past, when we farmed the four major family fish, no one would ever think of buying feed for them; feeding with feed would be like smashing one's own brand!"

"Then what do we feed them?" Suming asked, puzzled.

Fish grown on feed may not taste great, but they grow fast. What else to use if not feed? Natural growth is good, but it's too slow, sometimes taking years to gain a pound; there was no time for such delays!

Seeing Zhu Chenggui intentionally smiling without speaking, Suming quickly handed over a cigarette, and with a heh-heh laugh, Zhu Chenggui lit up and took a puff before speaking, "You don't need to feed them anything. The key is, you have to raise more black fish in the lake! As long as you have black fish, you don't need to feed the others; they'll grow quickly and well naturally!"

"Why is that?" Suming asked curiously.

"After you raise black fish, go buy some small mixed sea fish for them every now and then. The mixed sea fish are oily, and after the black fish eat them, their feces are oily and nutritious. The other fish will eat the black fish's feces. Since the feces are naturally produced and high in oil, the other family fish grow even better than the wild ones after eating it."

Listening to Zhu Chenggui's explanation, it seemed quite reasonable, so Suming inquired, "Are mixed sea fish expensive?"

"If you buy them in the market, a ton costs about one to two thousand yuan. If you collect directly from the fishermen, it's even cheaper. They usually can't sell those small fish."

"You wouldn't need to feed mixed sea fish every day; grow some aquatic plants, green algae, and mix in some loaches and snails, and that's pretty much it. If you do well over a year, I can't guarantee ten thousand pounds per acre, but harvesting three to four thousand pounds of the four family fish and two to three thousand pounds of black fish per acre is absolutely doable."

Having technical skills doesn't always equate to being a boss, and Zhu Chenggui was a typical example. He had the skills to farm fish but lacked the capital and space to do so. Suming was the opposite.

"But this water of yours..." Zhu Chenggui pointed at the somewhat blackish water of Shuijun Lake and shook his head, "is too poor."

"What should I do then?" Suming asked.

"When we used to farm fish, we had ponds that were just a few acres large. We would drain all the water from the pond when catching fish and then draw fresh water from the lake, so water quality wasn't an issue. Your lake is too big, emptying it entirely is definitely not an option. You can only start by raising fewer fish and growing more aquatic plants to restore the lake's ecosystem first. After a few years, when the water quality improves, you can start large-scale fish farming."

Suming slapped his forehead, after all that, it turned out he would have to wait a few years to start!

I've only leased it for three years!