Meanwhile.
As Hai Lu Feng Company steadily released Eel Fry onto the domestic market, its revenue climbed steadily, drawing considerable attention in the process.
For instance, many major Japanese eel-farming companies had offices stationed in the Pearl River Delta, and they gradually began to notice the issue.
Among them, the Pearl River Delta office of Kagoshima Eel Company was the first to discover the problem.
After all, ever since they had purchased that batch of leaf eel fry from Zhang Corporation, the latter had continued promoting them, immediately putting Kagoshima Eel Company on alert.
Watanabe Takeo arrived at Hai Lu Feng Company's headquarters with an assistant and an interpreter.
Looking at the unremarkable company before him, he found it hard to believe that it could have developed Eel Artificial Breeding Technology.
But facts spoke louder than words.
The large-scale off-season appearance of Glass Eel inevitably represented a breakthrough in Eel Artificial Breeding Technology.
Seeing the three unfamiliar people at the entrance, Old Ke stepped outside and asked, "What do you need?"
He then repeated the question in halting Mandarin.
The interpreter hurried forward and said with a smile, "Hello. We are representatives from Japan's Kagoshima Eel Company. We came to visit your company today. We made an appointment with your company's Online Store Department the day before yesterday."
The moment Old Ke heard they were from another company, he hurriedly called the secretariat.
After taking over Li Wenna's secretarial duties, Li Zixuan listened to Old Ke's call, phoned the boss, and headed downstairs to receive the visitors.
Before long, Li Zixuan brought Watanabe Takeo and the other two to the reception room on the first floor.
About ten minutes later.
Jiang Miao and Ke Yong returned as well.
Li Zixuan quickly stood up and introduced them. "Gentlemen, this is our chairman, Mr. Jiang Miao."
"Boss, this is Team Leader Watanabe Takeo from Kagoshima Eel Company's Pearl River Delta office."
After both sides shook hands and took their seats, Li Zixuan poured Jiang Miao a cup of tea.
"I had already heard about Mr. Watanabe's visit to Hai Lu Feng Company. You want to purchase our company's eel breeding technology?"
"Yes. I wonder what Chairman Jiang thinks?" Watanabe Takeo asked with a smile.
The interpreter repeated it in Mandarin.
Jiang Miao smiled and nodded. "Certainly. The complete technology package will cost 30 million dollars. However, I will only authorize Kagoshima Eel Company to use this technology in Japan. Other regions are not included."
After hearing the interpreter's explanation, a flash of astonishment crossed Watanabe Takeo's face. He clearly had not expected it to be so straightforward, and the price was within a range he could accept.
What he did not know was that Hai Lu Feng Company's eel breeding technology was quite simple and could not remain secret for long.
Once domestic companies caught on, they would come to poach employees or steal trade secrets one after another. In another two or three years, other companies would likely develop similar technology.
And once other domestic companies successfully copied it, the Japanese, Koreans, and Southeast Asians would gradually acquire the relevant technology through those domestic companies.
Rather than wait for the technology to leak, it was better to sell it quickly at a good price and maximize the profits.
A regional technology license priced at 30 million dollars was certainly within Kagoshima Eel Company's expectations. If the price exceeded that, they might hesitate or simply give up.
Watanabe Takeo did not agree immediately. Instead, he made an international call back to Japan.
Half an hour later.
Both sides finalized the preliminary terms of the technology transaction contract. Watanabe Takeo and his group then remained at Hai Lu Feng while both companies' senior management finalized the contract. He would sign it on behalf of Kagoshima Eel Company and return to Japan with the technical materials.
Just one week later, Kagoshima Eel Company and Hai Lu Feng Company completed their final contract discussions. Watanabe Takeo and Jiang Miao signed the contract on behalf of their respective companies.
The contract was dated January 1, 2025.
The reason for choosing that date was that Hai Lu Feng Company's revenue for the current year had already been planned out. This income had to be counted in the annual financials for 2025 to avoid paying extra taxes.
After receiving the first installment of 15 million dollars, Jiang Miao gave them the first portion of the technical materials. These materials explained how to raise eels and bring male eels to the threshold of sex reversal.
The subsequent materials on seawater temperature, salinity, and feed formulas for the breeding period would only be sent after they had verified the preliminary technology.
After signing the contract, Watanabe Takeo hurriedly boarded a flight back to Japan with the USB drive.
January 3.
Early in the morning, just as dawn was breaking.
At the headquarters of Japan's Kagoshima Eel Company.
More than a dozen technicians were intently examining the technical materials that had just been brought back.
"So that's how it is. Farmed eels lack the accumulation of certain nutrients, which prevents male eels from completing sex reversal. Several of these essential nutrients can only be found in natural freshwater environments."
"This Hai Lu Feng Company has used artificial feed to replicate most of the necessary nutrients. The only one that cannot be replaced with artificial nutrients is this Duck Bill Grass."
"It isn't just Duck Bill Grass. They also provided several alternative wild aquatic plants. They are all fairly common in Japan, though they are less cost-effective than Duck Bill Grass."
Kagoshima Eel Company's president, Watanabe Junichi, asked anxiously, "Can we begin testing the technology immediately?"
An elderly technician nodded. "Although it is incomplete, we can conduct preliminary verification. It will take around three months."
Watanabe Junichi's expression turned solemn. "Then begin at once. Although we have obtained exclusive licensing rights for Japan, once other companies discover how simple this technology is, they will definitely continue copying it."
"No wonder they sold the technology so easily." Vice President Watanabe Jiro's expression was somewhat unpleasant.
"They are smart. They know the spread of the technology is unavoidable, so they intend to maximize their profits. But if the technology works, we can make a great deal of money as well." Watanabe Junichi was not angry.
If the 30 million dollars could maintain their lead for around two years, then considering the potential of the Japanese market, they could still earn the money back.
Of course, recovering the investment through eel fry sales alone would not be easy, since other Japanese eel-farming companies could still purchase eel fry from the international market.
Therefore, Watanabe Junichi planned to use Kagoshima Eel Company's exclusive Japanese license to make a profit from other Japanese eel-farming companies first and recoup some of the investment.
Combined with the profits from eel fry, sales of mature eels, and restaurant revenue, Watanabe Junichi was confident he could recover the costs within two years.
But the prerequisite for everything was that the Eel Artificial Breeding Technology had no issues and could be put into production smoothly.
Meanwhile, Hai Lu Feng Company received quite a few partnership invitations from other Japanese companies. However, Jiang Miao did not agree. Instead, he directed them to Kagoshima Eel Company.
After all, they had already signed an exclusive regional technology license, so they could not go back on their word.
Moreover, it was an obvious breach of contract. If Hai Lu Feng Company granted technology licenses to other Japanese companies, Kagoshima Eel Company would have a guaranteed case if it sued.
To prevent Kagoshima Eel Company from breaching the contract, Jiang Miao had required both parties to include a maximum penalty of 50% for breach of contract.
Kagoshima Eel Company naturally began receiving partnership requests from other Japanese companies as well. Watanabe Junichi knew those companies had been referred by Hai Lu Feng Company, and his impression of Hai Lu Feng Company improved considerably.
At the very least, this cooperation was built on a foundation of mutual benefit and mutual success.
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