Free Web NovelChapter 60: Chapter 60: Symposium
Jiang Miao, Shuya, and the others rested for a night in Pingzhou.
His sister, however, had to go back and take care of some business, so she took the high-speed train back to Shanmei City on her own.
「A quiet night passed.」
Early the next morning.
Just as dawn was breaking, his phone alarm started chiming.
Jiang Miao got up, pulled out his phone to swipe off the alarm, stretched, and rubbed his bleary eyes. Then, he tapped Shuya’s arm. "Ah Ya, time to get up."
"Ugh... I know."
A short while later, the two of them were up and getting ready.
Twenty minutes later, after checking his appearance in the mirror, Jiang Miao opened the door.
Ke Yong, Li Zixuan, and An Ning were waiting for him not far from the door.
The group drove toward Tianhe District in Yangcheng.
The reason Jiang Miao had come to Yangcheng this time was specifically to attend a symposium. The event was organized by the Lingnan Agricultural Research Institute’s aquatic research department and focused primarily on aquaculture technology and related industry issues.
The symposium was being held at the Ocean College of South China Agricultural University, located on Wushan Road in Tianhe District.
The pickup truck had just arrived at the main gate.
There, they saw student volunteers at the entrance, guiding attendees on where to park.
Soon, after parking the car with the volunteers’ help, Jiang Miao led his group, following the map they had been given.
"Huh? Isn’t that General Manager Jiang? Long time no see."
A somewhat surprised voice called out from behind. Jiang Miao turned around and saw Gu Haijing with his youngest son, Gu Yiming, and a few employees from Seaview Company.
He stopped and greeted them with a smile, "General Manager Gu, you’re also here for the symposium?"
"I am! Let’s walk together."
"General Manager Gu, do you know the specific agenda for this symposium?" Jiang Miao asked curiously.
Gu Haijing didn’t hold back and explained the situation. "I heard from a few friends that there are four main topics on the agenda for this symposium."
"Oh? I’d like to hear the details."
"First is a discussion on adding or removing species from the list of protected rare marine life. General Manager Jiang, since you developed the artificial breeding method for eel fry, you’ll probably be asked to speak about issues related to wild eels."
It suddenly dawned on Jiang Miao. "I see. The conference organizers did send us an email asking us to prepare some information on the artificial breeding of eels."
"Second is a discussion on the current state and future of the aquaculture industry."
"Third is about how to use aquaculture to support impoverished regions."
"And fourth is the presentation of the Technological Breakthrough Award, the Technological Innovation Award, and the Rising Star Enterprise Award. This part is handled by the Lingnan Aquatic Products Association. Your company will most likely win an award."
As he said this, an undeniable look of envy appeared on Gu Haijing’s face. Although his company had received similar awards, it had never won the Technological Breakthrough Award.
"Thank you for the clarification, General Manager Gu."
"Haha, don’t mention it. Everyone will find out soon enough anyway."
The group chatted and laughed as they strolled along the tree-lined paths of the Ocean College. ƒreewebηoveℓ.com
After walking for about twenty minutes, they arrived at the grand hall where the symposium was being held.
As soon as they entered, Gu Haijing took Jiang Miao around and introduced him to some of his old friends.
A pot-bellied boss said with a laugh, "So you’re the one who founded Hailufeng Company, General Manager Jiang. A pleasure to meet you. Here’s my business card. Let’s cooperate if there’s an opportunity."
"Hello," Jiang Miao replied with a smiling nod.
Another middle-aged boss, however, had a complex expression on his face. He said with a somewhat bitter smile, "General Manager Jiang, I’ve heard so much about you. We’ve actually worked together before."
"You are?" Jiang Miao couldn’t recall his name at that moment.
"It’s normal that you don’t recognize me, General Manager Jiang. I’m Zhang Xinming from Goose City Zhang’s Company. I’ve purchased a lot of eel fry from your company before," Zhang Xinming explained.
The moment Goose City Zhang’s Company was mentioned, Jiang Miao remembered. "Ah, so it’s General Manager Zhang. A pleasure, a pleasure."
But Zhang Xinming’s expression remained complicated. "General Manager Jiang, you’re truly impressive. Your company’s eel fry sales will probably exceed a billion yuan this year!"
"Thank you for the kind words," Jiang Miao said, not being overly modest. After all, everyone present was a leader in the Lingnan aquaculture industry.
Everyone had a rough idea of the price of eel fry and how much stock Hailufeng Company had shipped in the past few months.
Another general manager of an aquaculture company from Zhanjiang asked with a smile, "General Manager Jiang, I heard that Rokkaido Eel Company has started selling eel fry. Do you know if they’ll be selling them domestically?"
Jiang Miao shook his head. "We have a contract stipulating that Rokkaido Eel Company’s eel fry are only for sale within East Japan. Of course, that doesn’t stop scalpers, but I doubt anyone would go all the way to East Japan to import eel fry, right?"
Hearing this, everyone shared a knowing smile, naturally understanding the implication behind Jiang Miao’s words.
Rokkaido Eel Company had paid a one-time technology licensing fee of thirty million dollars. On top of that, labor, utility, and feed costs are higher in East Japan, so the total cost of their eel fry couldn’t be low, meaning the price wouldn’t be much cheaper.
Then Jiang Miao began to complain, "Profits from eel farming have dropped sharply in the last two years. Feed costs remain high, eating up a large portion of many farmers’ profits. This has significantly dampened their enthusiasm for farming."
Gu Haijing nodded in agreement. "That’s right! Even the price of regular fish feed has gone up by two or three thousand yuan per ton. There’s hardly any money to be made from low-cost, economical aquatic products anymore."
"We work so hard just to line the pockets of the feed mills."
"The feed mills can’t help it either. I’ve talked to a few of their general managers I’ve worked with before. The price of imported fishmeal has been rising for the past two years, so their profit margins aren’t high either."
Jiang Miao seized the opportunity to say, "I recently invested in a feed mill. I’m planning to produce fish feed to see if I can bring down some of those costs."
"Oh? General Manager Jiang, you should think twice about that!" Zhang Xinming kindly advised.
"General Manager Jiang, are you planning to produce for your own use?" Gu Haijing asked curiously.
Jiang Miao casually explained, "My initial plan is to invest in a fish feed mill with an annual output of 50,000 tons, so I’ll definitely be selling to external customers."
"50,000 tons? That’s a huge investment, General Manager Jiang!"
"If the fish feed you produce is high-quality and affordable, I’ll definitely place an order."
The other general managers also chimed in, saying they would consider purchasing fish feed from Hailufeng Company in the future.
Of course, Jiang Miao knew these men were just being polite. If Hailufeng Company’s feed price ended up being similar to the market price, they most likely wouldn’t buy it.
’It’s best to just listen to such talk and not take it seriously. You lose if you do.’
One of the bosses, a man with glasses who owned a hatchery, asked with a smile, "By the way, is anyone interested in farming Luo’s Shrimp? My company has bred a new batch of shrimp fry."
"Luo’s Shrimp? Those are pretty good; they’ve been quite popular these past few years. I wonder what the returns are like? Ma, you must have market and production value assessments, right?"
"I do. I’ll send you a copy later. Any friends who are interested, feel free to contact me..."
Some started talking business.
Some were venting their frustrations.
Some were calling over friends.
After introducing Jiang Miao to a few friends, Gu Haijing got caught up in his own conversations.
Jiang Miao was just about to look for his seat.
Then he was surrounded by a few middle-aged men who looked like researchers.
"You must be General Manager Jiang from Hailufeng Company, right? Hello! I’m Hu Fei from the aquatic research institute. I specialize in the field of artificial eel breeding research."
"Hello, Researcher Hu Fei."
"General Manager Jiang, would it be convenient to discuss some issues regarding the artificial breeding of eels?" Researcher Hu Fei added, "If it involves trade secrets, you can of course decline to answer."
Jiang Miao smiled and nodded. "Of course. Let’s exchange some ideas."
As the attendees continued to arrive, the grand hall sounded as if a thousand ducks had been let loose, a cacophony of different voices mingling together.
Time ticked by, and with less than twenty minutes until the symposium’s opening, the organizers began guiding the attendees to their seats.
Meanwhile, through the introductions from Gu Haijing, Hu Fei, and others, Jiang Miao had made an initial acquaintance with relevant figures from all over the Lingnan Region’s aquaculture industry.
After all, they were all practitioners, entrepreneurs, researchers, and officials in the same industry; most of them knew each other to some extent.
With one general manager making an introduction here and a researcher making a recommendation there, he had become a familiar face to most of the attendees in just over an hour.
