Super Zoo

Suming had previously let Gu spread the news, buying up various rare fish species, so when the fishermen caught the knife fish, they immediately used the radio to inform Gu.

Fishermen, when they head out to sea, would carry a radio with them for easy communication with each other, so that if any ship encountered danger, they could call for help from the nearby fishing vessels as quickly as possible, and it also allowed them to chat during normal times.

Every ship's radio was tuned to a common channel. When it was heard that someone had caught knife fish, the whole channel was filled with joy and congratulations.

"Whose family is it, having such good luck?"

"Listening to the voice, it seems to be Mr. Liao's boat!"

"I've been here for three days now, and not a hair of a knife fish in sight!"

"Twelve fish weighing over five kilograms, wow, that's more than four taels each! The current price is two to three thousand per kilogram. Old Liao, with this catch alone, you've made over ten thousand, you've struck it rich!"

"I said it yesterday, thank goodness we didn't let the chefs kill the Overlord Turtle, the River Goddess really blessed us today! Our catch at home isn't bad either, we netted over four hundred kilograms this morning..."

"Gu, are you buying or not, just say the word! If you're not buying, I'll take them for two thousand five hundred per kilogram!" some fishermen simply couldn't wait and asked.

The knife fish was one of the four delicacies of the Yangtze River, and in recent years, it could no longer form a large-scale phenomenon, the yield was very scarce, and an unlucky fisherman might not even be able to catch one in an entire season. The price of knife fish fluctuated greatly with the seasons, as high as four to five thousand at times and as cheap as a little over a hundred at other times.

However, in the past two years, there have been rumors that the state would soon classify knife fish as a restricted species for fishing -- in other words, in the future, it might not be possible to eat legally caught wild knife fish. Therefore, the price of wild Yangtze knife fish soared this year, with fish around one tael costing upwards of a thousand, basically one thousand more for each additional tael. When it came to fish weighing four to five taels, the prices skyrocketed even more.

The knife fish was small in size, and being four taels was already considered a large one. Two years before last, Huayin County caught a knife fish weighing almost seven taels, known as the king of knife fish, which reportedly sold for sixty thousand yuan.

Gu looked towards Suming, and Suming quickly nodded his head, then loudly said through the radio transceiver, "Old Liao, is it? I'm Mr. Su from Yangchuan City, I'll take your net of knife fish, and I'll give you three thousand per kilogram, what do you say?"

The voice on the radio immediately came through, mingled with the sound of the river wind, "Oh, it's Mr. Su, hello, hello, we even met at Gu's place yesterday! If you want them, no question about it, I'll keep them for you. I weighed them, a total of five kilograms and two taels, let's call it five kilograms!"

"Alright then, thank you!" Suming continued to speak cheerfully on the radio, "Everyone, I'm the one who asked Gu to buy the fish, what else have you guys caught? I have a reservoir, and I'll buy them to raise them there."

Once Suming announced his public purchase, the radio became instantly lively.

"Roughly fifty-some kilograms of black carp..."

"I've got about forty to fifty kilograms of yellow catfish here, Mr. Su, are you buying?"

"Large silver carps and bighead carps..."

"How about eels? Just my rotten luck, all morning, only one eel that can show its face, the rest are all little miscellaneous fish. But it's not a small one, nearly three kilograms!" It was unclear whether this fisherman had bad luck, or the eel had bad luck, hiding in a hole near the shore, it was somehow bizarrely scooped up.

A wild eel weighing three kilograms was indeed a rarity, and Suming laughed heartily, "You've got a deal, I'll take the eel." An eel that could grow this big was an exception, and he didn't plan on raising it, just buying it to try something fresh.

The radio was abuzz for a good while. About thirty fishing boats from Huayin County on the river reported their catch, and it sounded like the hauls were all decent, with each household averaging around three to four hundred kilograms of fish. Suming selected a few species with higher economic value, knife fish, black carp, and yellow catfish.

As they were speaking, someone suddenly shouted with excitement, "Chinese paddlefish! Blessed by the River Goddess, two Chinese paddlefish! Wow, nearly one meter long! Mr. Su, are you buying these?!"

Suming was stunned for a moment, then laughed. "You guys are too bold, openly selling Chinese paddlefish! A national first-class protected animal, be careful you don't end up in jail!"

Chinese paddlefish and Chinese sturgeons both belong to the sturgeon family and are close relatives, but they look very different. The Chinese sturgeon's snout, or mouth, is somewhat flat and round, while the Chinese paddlefish, commonly known as elephant fish, sword fish, or piano fish, has a long, shuttle-shaped body, sporting a long sword-like snout that can make up a third of its total body length.

Sturgeons have one thing in common: they are large. The Chinese paddlefish is one of the champions among them, considered the largest freshwater fish, growing up to seven or eight meters long, almost the size of a great white shark. Moreover, this creature is fierce and most of its body is covered in hard, bony plaques. Describing its long snout as a 'sword' is no exaggeration as a forceful thrust in the water could penetrate a wooden fishing boat.

The Chinese paddlefish is highly valuable, with its roe processed into fish roe sauce, which is the world's most expensive caviar, costing up to five to six thousand US dollars per kilogram on the national market.

But, like wild Chinese sturgeons and Chinese alligators, the Chinese paddlefish is a national first-class protected animal, on the brink of extinction, and private trading and killing of them are not allowed.

"So what do we do, Mr. Su, we've already scooped them up?" the voice on the radio said.

What to do? That was an absurd question, wasn't it? If you've scooped them up, can't you simply release them back into the water? Suming chuckled, it was clear that the other party was somewhat reluctant.

Putting himself in their shoes, Suming could understand. It was like finding a piece of gold, only to be told suddenly that it must be handed over to the state. Nobody would want to give it up, especially when their livelihood depended on fishing.

"How about this, you keep the two fish on the boat and make sure they are well protected."

"Is there a reward for this?" the other side asked.

Everyone on the radio was laughing, and Suming also chuckled, generously saying, "Don't worry, I'll ask the relevant departments for a reward for you. I can't promise a huge amount, but twenty to thirty thousand should be doable!"

"That's fantastic, I'll revere them like my ancestors!" the fisherman who caught the white sturgeon laughed.

All law-abiding and honest people, if the state didn't give a penny in reward, the fishermen might risk secretly selling the two white sturgeon for hundreds of thousands, but with a reward of twenty to thirty thousand, there was no need to take the risk of jail time for trafficking a nationally protected animal.

Suming hung up the radio and immediately called Liang Shi. But before he could dial out, he stopped.

"Are you thinking about how to get those two white sturgeon to the zoo?" Zhao Yun saw right through Suming's thoughts at a glance.

Zhao Yun's guess was spot on. Protecting the white sturgeon was the priority, but as for who exactly would do the protecting, that was up for discussion. Now the director of the zoo, Suming's perspective certainly influenced his thoughts, and naturally, he wanted to secure more resources for the zoo.

After thinking for about fifteen seconds, Suming made a decision. First, he needed to ensure the white sturgeon were protected; as to who would end up keeping them, that was something he could slowly negotiate with Professor Chu later. If all else failed, he could resort to the same tactic he used with the Baiji dolphin. Old tricks still work if they're effective.

"What?! White sturgeon, and two of them? Mature ones, over a meter long?!" On the other end of the phone, Liang Shi's excited voice almost burst Suming's eardrums.

Suming moved the phone slightly away from his head before saying, "What are you shouting for, I'm not deaf!"

"Mr. Su, you don't understand, it's been years since anyone has found wild white sturgeon. There's only one left in the protection center. If we can't find another to breed with, the white sturgeon could become extinct! Bless the heavens, thank the heavens! Professor Chu is next door, don't hang up, I'm going to tell him the good news right now..."

Half a minute later, Professor Chu's voice came through the phone: "Su, it's Professor Chu here! Liang Shi wasn't very clear, can you tell me the details again?"

Suming had no choice but to repeat himself.

"Excellent, excellent, excellent, excellent, excellent! This is wonderful!" Professor Chu said the word 'excellent' five times, and added a short exclamation as if that wasn't enough to express his joy. Anxious and elated, he continued, "Now, Su, you must take good care of those two white sturgeon. I'm on my way over right now and will arrive by afternoon! Make sure you protect them well, and I'll credit you!"

"Professor Chu, I can't take credit for someone else's work. It was the fishermen of Huayin County who caught them. I've already told them that they'll get a reward of fifty thousand!" Suming deliberately inflated the promised reward.

Chu was not really stingy, but the research and protection funds allocated from above were just too little. Last time, for the Baiji dolphin family of three, the authorities ended up awarding only one hundred thousand, which had to be split among several units. Suming quoted a high price to give Chu room to negotiate.

Unexpectedly, Chu agreed without hesitation this time: "Fine! Even if the authorities won't pay, I'll pay out of my own pocket! No more talk, I'm heading to Huayin County right now, just make sure to protect them well!"

"Understood," Suming hung up the phone, then called Mr. Song and gave him a full update. Mr. Song was at the provincial capital, together with Liang Shi, attending the 'Baiji Dolphin Memorial Meeting'.

After his retirement, Song's temperament had become even more steadfast. Hearing the news, he immediately said, "What fifty thousand! The zoo will offer one hundred thousand. Su, you're a leader now, show some boldness! Our zoo's aquarium is empty, after all. I'll come over with Chu, and we'll discuss this matter on the way. Why should they always get the good stuff at their provincial capital? Our zoo is more than capable! In any case, you make sure to protect those two fish!"

"Got it, with those words from the leadership, I know what to do!" Suming said.

After confirming the reward money, Suming spoke up in the radio again: "I've secured the reward for you, a minimum of fifty thousand. I'll come to your boat now to see those two white sturgeon."

He had never seen a live white sturgeon and was quite curious.

"Shen, you've struck it rich this time, a year's earnings in one go!"

"Tsk tsk tsk, Mr. Su, next time we catch a class-one protected fish, can we also apply for a reward?" someone asked.

"Sure, no problem!"

As Suming was about to ask Gu to steer the boat closer to Shen's, he saw two speedboats suddenly shoot out from behind a sand mining vessel in the distance, creating big sprays of water on the river surface as they headed in opposite directions.

The speedboats were incredibly fast; just as Gu's fishing boat had turned around, within two minutes, the speedboats had each reached one of the Huayin County fishing boats, and several people jumped onboard the fishing vessels.
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"Huh? Aren't those Liao and Shen's boats? What are those from the sand mining vessel doing with them?" Suming was startled. Liao had caught the knife fish, and Shen had caught the white sturgeon.

"Oh no!" Gu smacked his forehead, "The radio's public channel isn't encrypted, every boat on the river could have heard that!"