"Heavy Losses"

February 11.

The day before the Lantern Festival.

Eleven o'clock, close to noon.

A police car and a news van drove one after the other through the gates of Hai Lu Feng's Eel Farming Base in Yan Cun Village.

Stepping out of the police car were Ma Qiang, deputy captain of the Economic Investigation Team, along with two ordinary police officers.

"Manager Zhang, President Jiang."

"Captain Ma, welcome!" Zhang Xincheng greeted them with a smile.

"Hello, Captain Ma. Please come in..." Jiang Miao also smiled and extended his hand.

The CCTV production crew carrying large and small bags, as well as the reporters, got out of the vehicle one after another.

The three parties quickly coordinated the interview arrangements.

Zhang Xincheng first took the cameramen inside the farm to shoot photos and footage for use in the news edit.

Meanwhile, Jiang Miao and Ma Qiang discussed the details of the upcoming interview questions with the reporters, including what questions would be asked and how they would be answered. Although it was a prerecorded segment, they certainly could not just improvise on the spot. Discussing it beforehand would make the filming smoother and faster.

It took more than two hours before the filming and interview were finally completed.

Jiang Miao invited the group to lunch at the company cafeteria, then had Li Zixuan and Ke Yong see them off.

That evening.

At the small villa in South Lake Village, Jiang Miao and Shu Ya lay on the living room sofa. He rested his head on Shu Ya's lap as he watched the evening television programs, while Shu Ya had no interest in them and read a professional book on edible mushroom cultivation instead.

Before they knew it, it was ten o'clock at night.

A faint rattling came from the window. The cold wind from the late spring chill was rather fierce.

Jiang Miao finally sat up, because the evening news was starting at that moment.

Only a few minutes after the anchor's opening remarks, the day's interview report was aired.

"Lingnan police recently solved a major economic crime case. The case caused direct economic losses of several hundred million yuan, while the indirect losses may amount to tens of billions. Please watch the detailed report from our reporter on the scene..."

The footage changed.

Zhang Xincheng hurried out of his office, followed by a police car with its lights flashing as it entered the premises. Then came interview footage of Xiao Cai, Sun Moon Lake, and the others wearing striped prison uniforms.

After those clips flashed past, the formal interview segment began.

"Five days ago, on February 10, a major economic crime case that shocked the local area occurred here. The criminal suspect, Cai Mouyu, stole a confidential formula and a bottle of confidential feed from Hai Lu Feng Agricultural Technology Company, then sold them to Wang Moufu, the owner of a company in Ryukyu, for 1.5 million yuan..."

The reporter swiftly and concisely introduced the details of the case.

Then came part of the investigation process: Zhang Xincheng discovered the problem and reported it to the police; Fang Hongbin immediately led a team to arrest Xiao Cai; and by following the trail, Peng City police arrested Sun Moon Lake and the others.

Next, Xiao Cai explained how he had gradually embarked on the path of crime, as well as how Sun Moon Lake had contacted him online and lured him into stealing Hai Lu Feng Company's confidential feed and formula.

The following footage showed the reporter's interview at the Lingnan Aquaculture Research Institute.

"Hello, Researcher Hu Fei. Does Eel Artificial Breeding Technology truly have such enormous economic value?"

Researcher Hu Fei nodded with a grave expression. "Yes. At present, eel fry on the market fall into three categories: one is imported wild glass eel fry, one is wild leaf-eel fry caught domestically at river mouths where rivers meet the sea, and the third is artificially bred glass eel fry produced by Hai Lu Feng Company."

In fact, the Lingnan Aquaculture Research Institute had noticed the glass eel fry produced by Hai Lu Feng Company as early as last November.

After all, as a researcher at the aquaculture institute specializing in Eel Artificial Breeding Technology, Researcher Hu Fei had immediately thought of artificial breeding technology when he saw these off-season eel fry.

"May I ask what differences there are among these three types of eel fry?"

"Our institute studied Hai Lu Feng's eel fry some time ago and found them to be healthier than wild ones. Their glass eel rearing survival rate exceeds 98 percent, far higher than the 80 percent survival rate of wild glass eels."

The reporter continued, "Then where does its value lie?"

Researcher Hu Fei had clearly gone over the script already and immediately spoke at length. "With marine pollution and overfishing, the Pacific eel population has declined sharply. Last year, the total catch of Pacific eel fry was less than 35 tons, whereas at its peak, wild eel fry catches reached around 200 tons..."

"Under such circumstances, without artificial breeding technology, Pacific eel populations may face extinction in the future, and it will become difficult for us to eat eel again."

The reporter asked again, "According to relevant information, several research institutions in Japan also possess Eel Artificial Breeding Technology. Is there any difference between their technology and Hai Lu Feng Company's?"

"There is a major difference." Researcher Hu Fei paused briefly. "The technology of Japan's research institutions cannot achieve low-cost mass production, while Hai Lu Feng Company's technology has already achieved low-cost mass production. In other words, the former is merely a laboratory product, while the latter is a mass-produced factory product."

"Then, Researcher Hu, how much do you believe Hai Lu Feng Company's technology is worth?"

"It is difficult to say precisely. However, judging by the current wholesale market price of glass eels and Hai Lu Feng Company's sales volume of tens of millions of eel fry per month, its annual revenue could reach at least one billion yuan. As for profits, I do not know the company's production costs."

"Alright. Thank you, Researcher Hu, for clearing that up."

The footage changed again, returning to the Salt Town Aquaculture Base.

Holding a microphone, the reporter asked Jiang Miao, "Chairman Jiang, what impact will this case have on your company?"

"The main impact is the leak and large-scale spread of our technology, which will cause our company to lose its leading advantage. Other companies can use the confidential formula to develop similar technologies. I estimate that new competitors could emerge in as little as six months." Jiang Miao wore an expression of helplessness and anger.

"Can legal means be used to protect your company's invention patents?"

Jiang Miao shook his head and said helplessly, "Although we have applied for quite a few domestic and international patents, as long as the other party does not openly sell the confidential feed, or adds substitute materials to the original confidential feed, they can avoid patent restrictions. What is more, if they are foreign fry-breeding companies, it will be very difficult for us to investigate and gather evidence. Filing lawsuits overseas would also be fraught with difficulties."

However, Jiang Miao then changed his tone. "But our company will not give up on using legal means to defend our legitimate interests. We have already joined forces with Japan's Kagoshima Eel Company to file lawsuits against Ryukyu's Xihai Company in various regions."

"I deeply sympathize with what your company has suffered."

The shot returned to the host, signaling the end of the news segment.

The detailed news report was also uploaded simultaneously to the CCTV News app and website.

Many Shanmei locals saw that evening's news, then shared the story on their Moments and QQ groups.

It immediately caused a huge uproar across the local area.

Many people cursed Xiao Cai for being ungrateful and betraying his own side, saying he had brought shame upon his hometown.

Fortunately, the report did not state where in Shanmei Xiao Cai was from. Otherwise, someone might have splashed paint over the entrance to the Cai family home.

The Cai family also saw the news being shared through Moments and completely abandoned any thought of causing trouble for Hai Lu Feng Company and Jiang Miao. They even began considering moving away from Ma Gong as soon as possible.

Clearly, they were afraid. That technology was worth so much; putting themselves in Jiang Miao's shoes, they could not help worrying that he might send someone after them.

So they discussed it through the night and planned to move to relatives' home in the urban district for the next few days, not daring to remain in Ma Gong Town.

In fact, over the past few days, word of the matter had already spread throughout Ma Gong Town, and many neighbors had been gossiping about it behind their backs.

Especially those with family members working at Hai Lu Feng Company—they showed the Cai family no goodwill at all.

After all, the matter had affected Hai Lu Feng Company's profits, which indirectly affected its employees. Naturally, those employees and their families were unhappy with the Cai family, and after hearing that they had gone to make trouble at Hai Lu Feng Company's headquarters a few days earlier, they despised them even more.