"Success"

Xiao Cai took a small spray bottle from the inner pocket of his down jacket and sprayed some reagent onto the keypad of the combination lock.

After a dozen seconds or so, he quickly saw clear fingerprints on four of the buttons.

The digits with fingerprints were: 0, 1, 3, and 9.

Next, using his gloved hand, he carefully pressed the buttons and began testing the password.

0139...

Wrong password!

1039...

Wrong password!

1093...

Wrong password!

He stopped, his hands trembling uncontrollably, his chest heaving as his breathing grew increasingly rapid.

He had stopped because this type of combination lock had a special protection program. It could not receive four consecutive incorrect password attempts within five minutes, or it would automatically lock.

Without lingering at the entrance, he went to the corner by the mixing room and cautiously looked toward the entrance of the indoor farm. He did not see Zhang Xincheng, but he did see another fish keeper rushing inside.

After thinking it over, he quickly set down the feed bucket and hurried toward the indoor farm as well.

Once inside, he saw Zhang Xincheng on the phone, while the other fish keeper, Zhang Xiaodong, stood nearby rubbing his hands, which had been reddened by the cold.

Just then, Zhang Xincheng finished his call and turned to look at them. "There was a circuit malfunction just now. I've already called Lao Zhao over to fix it. You two keep feeding the fish. Don't stay too late."

"Okay, Manager."

"Got it."

Xiao Cai and Zhang Xiaodong left the indoor farm one after the other, then went their separate ways toward the fishponds on either side.

What Xiao Cai did not see was the gloom filling Zhang Xincheng's eyes as he watched his retreating back.

When he passed the corner again, Xiao Cai glanced back at the entrance to the indoor farm, then checked the time on his phone. Exactly six minutes had passed.

He hurried back to the entrance of the mixing room.

Taking a deep breath, he used his gloved hand to try again.

0931...

Wrong password!

Damn it! There's no time left! Xiao Cai cursed inwardly. Cold sweat covered his forehead, and his undershirt was already soaked through.

0319...

Beep! Click...

Xiao Cai was overjoyed. He quickly entered the mixing room and immediately locked the door behind him.

Inside the mixing room, his eyes swept across the bottles, jars, and various ingredients on the shelves as he searched nervously.

Before long, he delightedly discovered a bucket of prepared feed. This bucket was specially used by Zhang Xincheng and the others, and there was a padlock on its lid.

Good thing it's here. If it had been locked up, that would've been troublesome. Xiao Cai rejoiced as he pulled a cleaned Nestle Coffee plastic bottle from the inner pocket of his down jacket and deftly filled it with feed.

Then he shook the feed bucket, smoothing away any traces.

Next, he spotted several record books on the workbench and carefully began flipping through them.

Since Zhang Xincheng had placed the feed formula record book right on top, Xiao Cai found it immediately.

Great! I'm going to strike it rich. Xiao Cai hurriedly took out his phone and photographed all three pages of feed formulas, taking several extra shots to avoid any blurry pictures.

He put the record book back where it had been.

He carefully opened the door, peered through the crack to check the surroundings, and, seeing no one there, quickly slipped out and shut the door again.

Only after finishing all this did he let out a breath of relief. He went to the fishpond, picked up the feed bucket, and vigorously scattered fish feed into the water.

Watching the eels continuously surface beneath the water, he felt as though piles of cash were bubbling up before him. He could barely suppress the smile on his face.

That evening, as the sun set.

Jiang Miao brought Shu Ya to the aquaculture base once again.

The power at the aquaculture base had also been restored.

Inside the manager's office.

Jiang Miao moved aside a painting in the manager's office. The other side of that wall was the mixing room. Behind the painting was a one-way transparent glass window, and inside was a high-definition surveillance camera connected to the backup power supply.

Therefore, even if the other cameras at the farm failed, this one would not.

After plugging in a data cable, Jiang Miao quickly copied out the footage.

As they watched the surveillance footage replaying on the laptop, Zhang Xincheng clenched his fists. "That traitor. Fine, fine... then don't blame us. A Miao, call the police!"

But Jiang Miao shook his head. "No rush. It's the New Year—we should spare the police comrades some trouble. Let that surveillance camera keep recording. Ten days from now, we'll discover the irregularity while clearing its memory as part of routine maintenance."

"Fine! Let that brat gloat for a few more days."

"I hope he sends out that feed and formula as soon as possible." Jiang Miao sneered as he closed his laptop.

Meanwhile.

After returning home, Xiao Cai hurriedly ate dinner, changed into a fresh set of clothes, and logged into QQ on his phone.

He found a QQ friend named Sun Moon Lake.

You there?

After a while.

Yeah. What is it?

I took care of what you mentioned last time.

Oh? You got it?

Not only did I get the stuff, I also got the ingredient list. But that costs extra.

Isn't one million enough? Don't get too greedy.

Cut the crap. I took a huge risk doing this. If you don't pay more, I'll sell it to another company.

How much do you want?

One and a half million. I want cash.

Are you kidding? Cash is too troublesome. Why don't you open a bank account in Hong Kong? I'll wire the money directly to you.

Too much trouble. You'll have to come personally to pick up the samples anyway, so just bring the cash with you. I don't want to go to Hong Kong.

After another while, the other side finally replied.

Fine! But that's a lot of cash. It won't be easy to exchange.

The trade will be in Shanmei City, on the eighth day of the first lunar month.

Okay.

Clearly, the other party did not want to drag things out either and intended to settle it quickly.

There were only half a month left until the Lantern Festival of 2025.

Once both sides had agreed on the time and place, they went offline.

Naturally, Jiang Miao and Zhang Xincheng were not happy about what had happened.

The two discussed how to strengthen their confidentiality measures.

After thinking for a moment, Jiang Miao looked at the base's layout map. "First, the ingredient room can't keep facing one side by itself. After Spring Festival, I plan to have my cousin bring over several container units and arrange them in front of the ingredient room. Then we'll move the monitoring room here. From then on, a security guard will need to be stationed here at all times."

Zhang Xincheng added, "The combination lock on that door needs to be replaced too. It'd be best to install one with facial recognition and fingerprint unlocking, along with a mechanical lock."

Shu Ya helped record their ideas.

Twisting a ballpoint pen between his fingers, Jiang Miao spoke with calm resignation. "As for other measures, there's no need for them for now. Other companies will eventually figure out Eel Artificial Breeding Technology anyway. Even if we increase our investment, we won't be able to keep it secret for much longer."

Zhang Xincheng felt equally helpless. Once other companies worked out several of the key nutrients, even if they only came up with a lower-spec version, they could use that foundation to gradually piece together a similar feeding formula.

With Japan's Kagoshima Eel Company involved as well, they probably would not be able to keep it secret for long.

After discussing the two preventive measures, Jiang Miao did not immediately call his cousin. Mainly because he could not mention this matter yet; besides, phone calls might be recorded, and he did not want to leave behind any hidden risks.

Once the time came on the tenth day of the first lunar month for their routine internal video cleanup, they could report it directly to the police.

But what had happened today also reminded Jiang Miao that the company's confidentiality measures needed to be strengthened.

He already had some ideas in mind.

After saying goodbye to his brother-in-law, he took Shu Ya home. Jiang Miao did not tell his parents about the matter, lest the two elders worry.

During dinner, his parents told him about some things that had happened in the village.

After hearing their account, Jiang Miao shook his head. "There's no need to get angry. We won't be living in the village much in the future anyway. Those jealous people can only make snide remarks behind our backs."

"Hmph, I just can't stand the look on their faces. When you were delivering food before, they mocked you endlessly. Now that you've made a little money, they all want a piece of the pie." His father was fuming.

Shu Ya hurriedly comforted him. "Please calm down. There's no need to damage your health getting angry over outsiders like them."

Huang Qiuyue looked relieved. "Exactly, old man. You used to want to keep living in the old house. Luckily, we didn't stay here. Otherwise, they'd come every few days to borrow money or ask you for favors. Your head would be splitting."

Jiang Dahai picked up his juice and took a sip. "Forget it, eat! It's the New Year. Let's not talk about such unlucky things."

"Let's eat." Jiang Miao placed a piece of braised goose into his father's bowl, then gave one each to his mother and Shu Ya.

"This goose is pretty good..."

"Uncle Han from next door raised it."