I See through Everything

Soon, the symposium officially began.

Dong Baicheng, president of the Lingnan Aquatic Products Association, took the stage to give a speech.

"...I hereby declare the Lingnan Aquatic Products Industry Symposium officially open."

CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP...

The audience applauded accordingly.

"And now, please join me in welcoming Li Haiyang, Director of the Aquatic Products Research Institute at the Lingnan Agricultural Research Institute. He will be moderating the topics for this symposium. Please give him a round of applause!"

CLAP CLAP CLAP...

Enthusiastic applause erupted once more.

After taking the stage, the balding Li Haiyang went over procedural matters for more than ten minutes before getting to the main agenda. "We’ll now discuss this year’s changes to the list of protected marine species in the Lingnan Region," he said. "First, the three species added to the national protected list last year do not require discussion; they will be automatically added to Lingnan’s list."

He had already been speaking on stage for over ten minutes.

Sitting in the audience next to Jiang Miao, Hu Fei leaned over and whispered, "General Manager Jiang, you’ll be up to speak soon."

"...Given the breakthrough achievements in artificial eel breeding, we need to discuss whether wild eels should remain on the protected species list. Please welcome Mr. Jiang Miao, founder of Hailufeng Agricultural Technology Company and the inventor of this very technology, to deliver his presentation. Let’s give him a round of applause!"

CLAP CLAP CLAP...

Amidst the enthusiastic applause, Jiang Miao walked up to the stage.

Jiang Miao stepped up to the microphone. "Hello, everyone. I’m Jiang Miao, and I’m here to brief you on the current state of our artificial eel breeding technology."

"The artificial eel breeding technology developed by our company currently has a monthly output of around sixty million fry. That equates to roughly six tons of glass eels per month, or about seventy-two tons annually."

"When you factor in our licensees, Japan Kagoshima Eel Company and Gaul Brown Company, we project that the total annual production of glass eels will soon exceed two hundred tons."

"Therefore, artificially bred eel fry can, for the most part, replace wild-caught fry. This trend is all but confirmed."

However, Jiang Miao’s tone then shifted. "But personally, I’m not optimistic about the recovery rate of the wild eel population. This conclusion is based on the current intensity of fishing efforts around the world."

"In Western Europe, in particular, there’s a tradition of cooking and eating glass eels directly. This has kept their local price consistently high. Even with our company and the other two licensees supplying them at full capacity, we haven’t been able to drive the price in Western Europe down to a low-profit margin."

"As long as such high profits exist, the harvesting of wild eel fry won’t be curbed. The only way to stop it is to make catching wild eel fry unprofitable."

Everyone in the audience nodded involuntarily.

The world bustles with people coming and going, all for the sake of profit. It was a timeless truth.

"Therefore, I personally believe that removing wild eels from the protected species list requires a period of observation—at least ten years. If, after ten years, the wild eel population has shown significant recovery, only then can we consider removing them from the list."

"That concludes my speech. Thank you!"

CLAP CLAP CLAP... The audience applauded once more.

Li Haiyang soon took the stage again. "General Manager Jiang’s remarks hit the nail right on the head. Our institute’s consensus is also to keep wild eels on the protected list and observe the situation for about ten years."

Evidently, Jiang Miao had already discussed some of the details with the Aquatic Products Research Institute before his speech.

Following this, a few other relevant parties took the stage to speak. Their opinions were all largely the same: maintain the status quo and continue to observe.

A little over an hour later, the discussion on changes to the protected species list concluded.

The symposium moved on to the next item on the agenda: a discussion on the current state and future of the aquaculture industry.

Jiang Miao was once again invited to the stage.

This time, however, he was part of a panel. A total of ten industry entrepreneurs and five aquaculture experts were invited to the stage for a group discussion.

The role of moderator also switched, this time to Dong Baicheng, the president of the Lingnan Aquatic Products Association.

Dong Baicheng held the microphone and began, "In recent years, the aquaculture industry in the Lingnan Region, and indeed across the entire country, has seen steady and positive development. However, it still faces a number of significant problems."

"For instance, fish feed prices remain persistently high, causing a drop in the overall net profit for farmers. This, in turn, has dampened their enthusiasm for the business."

"There’s the issue of veterinary drug residue in aquatic products. Some small-scale farmers, in particular, use these drugs improperly, leading to products with residue levels that exceed safety standards."

"We also have the impact of extreme weather. Just last year, some farms suffered significant production losses due to excessively high temperatures."

"And finally, the quality of aquatic products sold online is highly inconsistent, which has had a severely negative impact on the reputation of certain products."

"..."

The other panelists then took turns sharing their own opinions and suggestions.

Given the serious atmosphere of the symposium, there were naturally no talk-show-style theatrics like public call-outs or sarcastic jabs.

Jiang Miao also shared some of his own perspectives and proposals.

"I believe that of the various challenges currently facing the aquaculture industry, the impact of rising fish feed prices is the most significant. Farmers are operating on razor-thin margins, or even at a loss. This is extremely detrimental to the healthy, long-term development of the industry."

Dong Baicheng asked with a smile, "I’ve heard that to counter the rising price of fish feed, you’re planning to build your own feed mill, General Manager Jiang?"

Jiang Miao nodded. "Yes. I’ve recently been researching how to produce fish feed at a lower cost. This project is crucial, as it’s tied to our company’s future development strategy."

"Building your own feed mill has its pros and cons, but in the current market, it’s a choice born of necessity," another company executive chimed in.

The others, to varying degrees, also hinted that they were considering building their own feed mills.

’Of course, Jiang Miao knew they were just putting on an act. More likely, they were using the symposium to deliberately spread a false narrative, hoping to pressure the major domestic feed producers into offering them lower prices.’

Dong Baicheng also played along with a good-natured smile before changing the subject. "Gentlemen, what other insights do you have regarding the future of aquaculture? Please, speak your minds freely!"

"Our company is quite optimistic about combining wind power generation with aquaculture," Gu Haijing offered, sharing some of his own thoughts.

"Actually, specialized aquaculture has a lot of potential, too. Things like farming crocodiles, giant water bugs, or horseshoe crabs."

’Jiang Miao listened as the various industry leaders aired their views. He didn’t speak up again, though. After all, it wasn’t good to be too much in the spotlight.’

Of course, if a question was directed at him, he would offer a brief, polite response.

Before he knew it, the morning had passed.

Dong Baicheng announced a three-hour recess. The symposium would resume for its afternoon session at 2:30.

Jiang Miao was just about to leave.

When another executive called out to him.

"General Manager Jiang, how about we grab a bite for lunch?"

"Is there something on your mind, General Manager Du?"

General Manager Du gave a wry smile. "I won’t beat around the bush, General Manager Jiang. When I heard you mention your intention to build a feed mill, I realized I might have some business to discuss with you."

"Oh? In that case, let’s find a restaurant nearby. We can talk over the meal."

"Excellent." General Manager Du turned to his secretary and instructed, "Book a private room at the Jinhe Peninsula Garden Restaurant."

His secretary took out his phone and began making the reservation. "Right away, General Manager Du."

General Manager Du then turned back to Jiang Miao. "Did you drive, General Manager Jiang?"

"My driver brought me."

"In that case, let’s meet at Jinhe Peninsula in the Yangcheng International Financial City."

"Alright."

Jiang Miao walked toward the college entrance, holding Shuya’s hand, with Li Zixuan following behind them.

Ke Yong and An Ning had already gone ahead to get the cars.

When Jiang Miao’s group stepped out of the Ocean College’s main gate, they saw Ke Yong waving at them.

A moment later, two pickup trucks sped off toward the International Financial City.