Chapter 146 Returning from the Voyage (Additional Update) (Ch 817796143)

Valentine’s Day.
February 14th, there are only two days left until New Year’s Eve.
However, the Magong Fishing Port welcomed three large live fish transport ships, each with a displacement of approximately 5,000 tons.
The aquaculture division of Hailufeng Company dispatched dozens of employees and temporarily sealed off a part of the fishing port.
Zhang Xincheng came in person to receive it.
“Mr. Zhang, we have accomplished the mission.” Lu Deqing, the manager of Qilu Ocean Fishing Company who contracted this mission, said with a smile.
“Thank you for your hard work.” Zhang Xincheng took out a check and handed it to Lu Deqing: “This 100,000 yuan is our company’s Spring Festival red envelope for your company’s seafarers. You can stop the ship here. Our company has already bought the tickets for you to go home.”
Lu Deqing was not polite and took the check quickly: “Thank you, Mr. Zhang.”
Zhang Xincheng smiled as he looked at the live fish being unloaded: “Don’t worry, we will unload the fish as soon as possible, and then count the number of live fish, and we will give your company the final payment.”
“That’s right, that’s right.” Lu Deqing was very worried all the way. They were transporting these live fish all the way back from the northeastern waters of Hokkaido in the North Pacific Ocean. They were afraid that if they were not careful, the fish would die halfway, which would cause them a great loss.
Although Hailufeng Company contracted their three large ocean-going fishing vessels and three large ocean-going live fish transport vessels, the contract fee was 18 million yuan for three months.
But there are requirements for this. The final payment will only be made if at least 10,000 fish survive.
If the number exceeds 10,000, a reward of 200 yuan will be given for each piece that exceeds the limit.
A specially dispatched live fish transport vehicle quickly took over the live fish unloaded from the boat. Due to confidentiality considerations, the surrounding area was separated by several layers of red and blue waterproof cloth, plus a special movable awning, to prevent nearby residents from taking pictures.
After the water tank of the transport truck was filled with hundreds of fish, it was quickly transported to the breeding farm on the beach in Nanhu Village.
Zhang Xincheng accompanied Lu Deqing and others, and personally checked every live fish that was unloaded.
Over the next five hours.
Dozens of them were busy unloading all 17,282 live fish and safely transferring them to the Nanhu Farm and placing them in professional breeding ponds in the indoor farm.
Seeing the last live fish being put into the water tank of the transport truck, Lu Deqing breathed a sigh of relief: “Huh… Mr. Zhang, shall we make a decision on this?”
Zhang Xincheng nodded: “No problem.”
The two men checked the number of live fish and, after finding no problem, began to settle the balance of the contract and related bonuses.
“Manager Lu, I just had someone transfer the money over. Please call your company to see if they have received it.”
“Okay.” Lu Deqing was a little impatient. After all, after the payment was settled, they could go back home to celebrate the New Year. He picked up the phone and called the company.
He chatted for a while, then hung up the phone with a smile on his face: “Mr. Zhang, we have received the payment. Our chairman asked me to wish Mr. Jiang a happy new year on his behalf.”
“Please also wish General Manager Li a happy new year on behalf of General Manager Jiang and me.” Zhang Xincheng said as he handed a bag of white truffles and morels from Hailufeng Company to Lu Deqing: “It’s just a small gift, don’t refuse it.”
“Then I will obey your order. Thank you for your New Year’s gift. I wish your company great financial success and smooth sailing in the coming year.”
“I also wish Manager Lu a harmonious family, good health and smooth sailing.” Zhang Xincheng smiled and patted the other person on the back.
Considering time issues, Lu Deqing and others quickly bid him farewell.
After all, they also received the final payment of the contract and a reward of 1.4564 million yuan. Now every crew member is eager to return home. Zhang Xincheng arranged a minibus to take Lu Deqing and his crew, carrying the gifts given to them by the Hailufeng Company, to the airport in Echeng, ready to fly home for the New Year.
The other side.
The beach south of Nanhu Village.
There is an indoor farm with an area of ​​100 acres, which is located in the windbreak forest on the coast. It was purchased in October last year. After more than four months of transformation, it has become a high-standard indoor farm. This farm, like the indoor farm at Shiomachi Farm, can control water temperature, salinity, oxygen content, water flow rate, and the proportion of trace elements in the water.
At this time, Jiang Miao was also inside the farm.
Batches of live fish arrived.
More than a dozen employees in the farm skillfully transferred the fish from the water tank in the transport vehicle to the special breeding pond.
These fish have a bright red surface.
This is the famous Pacific sockeye salmon, also known as red salmon or blueback salmon, with the scientific name Oncorhynchus nerka. It is a migratory fish in the waters of the North Pacific.
Some people may not be familiar with this fish, but if you mention it by another name, many people may understand it.
That’s “Salmon”.
To be precise, salmon refers to a part of salmon.
Sockeye salmon is relatively rare in China. Except for a small number of rivers in the Northeast where migratory sockeye salmon can be caught, it can only be found in Japan and America.
The salmon in China is generally Atlantic salmon and King salmon imported from Northern Europe, Chile and New Zealand, all of which are farmed salmon.
However, sockeye salmon has not yet been artificially bred and farmed, and mainly relies on fishing. The largest fishing country is America. The Alaska region of America is the main production area of ​​wild sockeye salmon, accounting for 80% of the global catch. In addition to being sold in North America, this sockeye salmon is mainly sold to Japan.
Jiang Miao checked the status of these sockeye salmon through the identification panel.
Even with high-standard maintenance, these sockeye salmon are generally in poor condition after thousands of kilometers of bumpy sea transportation.
In order to keep these sockeye salmon alive, Jiang Miao immediately went to the farm and the specially equipped laboratory, where he quickly prepared a lot of drugs and nutrients.
After seeing off Lu Deqing and others, Zhang Xincheng arrived at the farm and saw Jiang Miao busy preparing medicines and nutrients, so he did not come to disturb him.
It was not until three o’clock in the afternoon that Jiang Miao finished preparing the medicines and nutrients. He stretched himself and then instructed the farm employees how to feed the pigs.
Seeing that he had finished his work, my brother-in-law came over.
“A Miao, here is a list of species, take a look.” Zhang Xincheng was not idle this afternoon. He led people to count the species of salmon and the number of each species.
The list clearly stated: 3,257 salmon, 2,809 sockeye salmon, 4,585 coho salmon, 3,671 pink salmon, and 2,960 king salmon.
There are 17,282 in total.
These salmon are all native species of salmon in the North Pacific Ocean.
The king salmon that is currently being farmed commercially was introduced to New Zealand from the North Pacific.
Although Jiang Miao said he wanted to develop the salmon farming industry, he did not go abroad to purchase seedlings in a big way.
At present, the country does not have the traditional salmon seed technology at all. The only salmon seed technology it has is the rainbow trout, which has both good and bad reputations.
If you buy salmon seedlings from salmon farming companies in Norway, Chile, Denmark and New Zealand, the other party will discover Hailufeng’s actions and you will either be blackmailed with a high price or be directly rejected.
That is why Jiang Miao sent people to Qilu Province in November last year to find a fishing company that had special fishing boats and live fish transport ships and often fished in the waters near Hokkaido, and let the other party go to the North Pacific Ocean to catch various salmon.
The reason why they offered a high contract fee of 18 million is mainly because the North Pacific Ocean is very dangerous in winter, and without a high price, the other party does not want to take the risk.
The reason for choosing to fish in winter is to avoid the sea water temperature being too high and to take advantage of the weather to increase the survival rate of salmon during transportation.
Even with good weather and the crew’s round-the-clock watch over the fish, more than half of the salmon still died.
The salmon that died on the way were frozen in the freezer on the transport ship. They have now all been unloaded and are ready to be distributed to employees as a Spring Festival benefit.
For Hailufeng Company, it was a matter of luck that it was able to obtain this batch of live salmon and gather all the core species of Pacific salmon.
However, these salmon have now arrived at specially prepared farms, and with the presence of Jiang Miao, a cheating player, the mortality rate will be kept extremely low.
Next, we just need to let them rest and recuperate and replenish various nutrients. Since the salmon caught this time are close to sexual maturity, they can lay eggs this year.
Generally speaking, dog salmon will begin to migrate to the rivers where they were born to spawn in late summer and early autumn, that is, between July and October.
The main spawning time for sockeye salmon is in July-August.
Pink salmon spawn earlier, around June to August.
Coho salmon generally spawn in the fall from October to December.
King salmon usually spawn in the fall, around September to November.
In terms of time, the spawning order is pink salmon, sockeye salmon, black salmon, king salmon, and coho salmon.
These species of salmon not only have different spawning times, but also some differences in the amount of eggs they lay. Each female salmon generally lays between 1,000 and 5,000 eggs.
Pink salmon lays the least eggs, between 1,000 and 2,000; red salmon lays about 2,000 to 3,000 eggs; sockeye salmon lays about 3,500 eggs; coho salmon lays about 4,000 eggs; and king salmon lays relatively more eggs, about 5,000 eggs per fish.
That is to say, even if Jiang Miao has a way to make their fish egg hatching success rate as high as over 95%, to ensure there are enough breeding fish and achieve large-scale frying, at least two generations of artificial breeding are needed.
Moreover, the growth cycles of these species of salmon are different.
For example, king salmon requires a breeding cycle of 5 to 7 years;
Pink salmon only needs 2 to 3 years to grow.
Of course, this is the growth cycle in the wild environment. If artificial intervention is carried out and sufficient nutrition is supplied, the breeding cycle can be greatly shortened.
For example, if New Zealand’s king salmon is required to be put on the market quickly, the breeding cycle can be shortened to about 30 months.
Jiang Miao plans to raise a batch of pink salmon first. After all, their growth cycle is relatively short. With reasonable human intervention and adequate nutrition, the breeding cycle can be shortened to about 8 months, and they can start laying eggs.
In the evening, the sun sets.
The sea breeze stirs the casuarinas in the windbreak.
Not far behind the Nanhu Breeding Farm is the villa of Jiang Miao and others. In the backyard of the villa, several people are having a barbecue.
Since He Youwei and her brother He Dangdao still need further observation, the siblings did not return to Beijing during the Spring Festival. Today they came here together to have barbecue.
Shuya looked at the fish and said, “Is this the salmon you spent 20 million to get?”
“Teacher, these salmon cost 20 million?” He Youwei was stunned. After all, several fish worth 20 million were something she had never seen before, even with her family background. It was indeed beyond her expectations.
Seeing that He Youwei had misunderstood, Shuya smiled and explained: “Youwei, you misunderstood. We caught several boatloads of fish.”
“I see. But this is quite expensive. The price of salmon on the market nowadays shouldn’t be high, right?” He Youwei said as she spread a layer of barbecue sauce on the grilled chicken wings.
“This is for seedlings.” Jiang Miao cut open a thawed sockeye salmon. The fish meat inside was very red, but he didn’t like eating it raw, so he cut it into two slices and fried it on a baking tray.
When He Youwei heard that it was for seedlings, she suddenly realized that Jiang Miao would not spend 20 million to catch a few boats of fish for no reason: “Teacher, didn’t I hear that a Norwegian company plans to invest in a salmon breeding base in Shanmei? Are we cooperating with them?”
Jiang Miao shook his head: “No, that project is most likely a PPT. It has been talked about for several years, but there is no news of its implementation yet.”
“I see.”
“A Miao, is this also salmon? The color is so light! Isn’t salmon flesh all orange-red?” Shuya asked as she looked at the pink salmon he was cutting.
“This is Pacific pink salmon. As the name suggests, the fish flesh is pink in color. The taste is not as strong and greasy as King salmon and Atlantic salmon. The taste and flavor are more refreshing.”
After a while, my brother-in-law and sister also came over with their families.
The grilled salmon tastes pretty good, especially when eaten hot. The five types of salmon each have their own unique flavors and characteristics.
Watching my family eating.
Jiang Miao held a soda water and stood in the pavilion with his brother-in-law, looking at the red clouds in the sky.
My brother-in-law sat on the stone bench in the pavilion and took a sip of hot sugarcane soup: “A Miao, what arrangements do you have for salmon farming?”
“The first batch of salmon to be farmed will be pink salmon. In June and July this year, it will lay approximately 3 to 4 million eggs.” Jiang Miao casually talked about the situation.
Zhang Xincheng has already checked the relevant data. He stroked the prickly stubble on his chin and said, “For salmon in the seedling stage, 100 to 200 can be raised per cubic meter of water. After that, the activity space needs to be increased. When it comes to adult fish that are close to being put on the market, there are generally 3 to 5 per cubic meter of water. From this point of view, the area of ​​the farm required is not small!”
“That’s natural.”
“Based on the maximum number of 4 million, if there are 3 per cubic meter, about 1.33 million cubic meters of water will be needed.” Zhang Xincheng took out the calculator on his phone and calculated: “Assuming the breeding pond is 10 meters deep, then a high-standard indoor breeding farm of 133,000 square meters, about 200 acres, will be needed.”
“Brother-in-law, what do you think of Jilong Mountain?”
“What? Jilong Mountain? The mountain west of Magong Town?”
“That location is very suitable for building a terraced farm. It is close to the sea and is also an estuary. Both fresh water and sea water are easily available.”
“Stepped farms? Hydroelectric power generation again? Will it be too late?” Zhang Xincheng was a little worried. After all, there were only more than four months left before spawning.
Jiang Miao took a sip of soda water and then explained: “My idea is to surround the west side of Jilong Mountain, close to Cheung Sha Wan. The length is about one kilometer, the width is 300 meters, and the height difference is about 100 meters. It is semi-underground, 5 meters deep, and then a 7-meter dam is built. In total, there is a 10-meter depth that can be used.”
“The fry need three months of freshwater cultivation in the early stage. As they are still small, they can be raised in the freshwater pond of Nanhu Farm, which will take more than seven months.”
Zhang Xincheng estimated the amount of work to be done: “If that’s the case, then we should be able to complete it in time.”
Jiang Miao continued: “Considering the need to build a solid dam and ensure safety, a thick enough waterproof layer must be arranged to prevent water from seeping into the ground and causing landslides. Therefore, this area can accommodate a maximum of 1.6 million cubic meters of seawater.”
“Should this project still be handed over to the construction company?”
“Well, leave it to them and ask them to come up with a plan as soon as possible and apply for various procedures at the same time.”
Jiang Miao is not worried about funding issues because starting this year, Hailufeng Company will receive approximately 3.2 to 4 billion yuan in technology licensing fees every year.
The Jilongshan project is much smaller than the Zhuzaishan project and does not require a dam that is too high, so the entire project is estimated to cost only around 1 billion yuan.
Considering that there are four more types of salmon that need to be mass-produced in the future, the Jilongshan project is still not enough.
“We also need to increase investment and build a larger scale terraced farm in the southwest of Zhelang Peninsula near the sea, that is, in the area of ​​Tai Mo Shan and Maling Shan. The total area should be 2.5 million square meters, the aquaculture water volume should reach 20 million cubic meters, and at least 60 million salmon should be able to be raised at the same time.”
Gulp! Zhang Xincheng swallowed his throat and said, “A Miao, isn’t this too large? Adding the 6 million cubic meters of aquaculture water in Zhuzaishan, we can raise 80 million salmon.”
Jiang Miao shook his head. “Not much. Norway produces millions of tons of salmon every year. We can’t fall behind. Besides, the company still has to pay taxes even if we don’t invest. We might as well invest all the patent licensing fees for this year and next year into these two projects.”
The financial strength of Hailufeng Company gave Jiang Miao the confidence to make such an investment.
The PPT of a Norwegian company saying that it would invest in the construction of a salmon breeding base in Shanmei City sounded very exaggerated, but in fact, the project has always been in the demonstration stage.
But Hailufeng Company is serious about this.
It is estimated that by the time the Norwegian salmon farming company finishes its internal wrangling and comes to its senses, Hailufeng’s salmon will have already been put on the market.
If everything goes well, the first batch of pink salmon will reach maturity around the Chinese New Year next year. In addition to a portion left as spawning broodstock, there will be about two million pink salmon available for sale.
Pink salmon are the smallest of the Pacific salmon, so their average weight is only 1.5 kilograms. More than two million pink salmon equal almost three million kilograms, or about three thousand tons.
Moreover, these stepped farms can also be used as pumped storage reservoirs. Whether they are leased to Southern Power or used by the company itself, it is a worthwhile investment.
The two discussed for a while.
A few more details were finalized.
These projects will be arranged after the Chinese New Year.