Company Established

Magong Town, Yan Cun Village.

The sun blazed overhead, and the air carried a faint salty tang of the sea.

Jiang Miao hauled up another large bucket of eels.

"Phew... A Miao, are you really going to start an Eel Farm?" The middle-aged man smoking beside him was his brother-in-law, Zhang Xincheng.

"Brother-in-law, I've already made up my mind. I can't keep delivering takeout forever. While I'm still young, I want to take a shot."

Zhang Xincheng sighed. "Sigh, Eel Fry are not only scarce this year, but expensive too. Raising eels might as well be replaced with raising shrimp."

"Brother-in-law, I have the technology to solve the Eel Fry problem. Come help me!"

"You have the technology?" Zhang Xincheng frowned deeply, clearly unconvinced. After all, everyone in the industry knew that farmed eels could not be bred. "A Miao, really? You've developed eel breeding technology?"

Jiang Miao nodded. "I've made some progress, but I need a site right now."

"Wouldn't this fish pond work?" Zhang Xincheng asked, pointing at his own pond.

Jiang Miao shook his head. "It can't be outdoors, or I won't be able to control the temperature and salinity."

"Is that so? How confident are you?"

"Seventy to eighty percent."

Hearing that, Zhang Xincheng steeled himself. "Let's do it. A Miao, I still have three hundred thousand yuan here. I was originally saving it to buy A Dong a house."

Jiang Miao smiled and shook his head. "Brother-in-law, I won the lottery a few days ago. Money isn't a problem."

"What?" Zhang Xincheng's eyes widened. "You won the lottery? Why didn't I hear about it?"

"Too many people have loose lips. There are too many jealous people in the village. I haven't even told my parents. I know you're not the type to blab, brother-in-law, so help me keep it secret."

Zhang Xincheng nodded. "True enough, there are indeed too many jealous people around here. So how much are you planning to invest?"

"At least ten million."

"Looks like you've really struck it rich, kid."

"A little over ten million is only enough for one apartment in Peng City, but it could buy more than ten here in Hai Lu Feng. Still, the real estate market hasn't looked too good these past few years. I'm planning to go into agriculture instead, since it matches my field."

Zhang Xincheng thought for a moment. "You'll need at least fifty mu of fish ponds... I've got it. Lin Jianshe from the next village invested in an eighty-mu fish farm a few years ago, specifically for raising eels. He got into a car accident last year and lost a leg. No one is managing the fish farm now. I'll go talk to him."

"I heard that section of fish ponds still has around fifteen years left on the lease. It's also beside the highway, and there's about three mu of vegetable land."

Jiang Miao thought that sounded good as well. "Brother-in-law, help me negotiate with Lin Jianshe. Take those three mu of vegetable land too. Keep it under fifteen hundred yuan per mu; you decide."

"Under fifteen hundred? No problem. I'll talk to him. He has two sons still in school, and his investment from the past few years hasn't paid back yet. He'll definitely be willing to transfer it."

"Then I'll leave it to you, brother-in-law!"

"We're family. Why be so polite?"

The two chatted for a while.

Jiang Miao then carried the plastic bucket and rode home.

The dozen or so glass tanks in the house had been put back into use.

The aerators ran continuously, sending small bubbles gurgling through the artificial seawater.

Since they were already White Eels in the Maturity Stage, their feed did not need overly precise mixing.

Jiang Miao placed the twenty-odd newly caught eels into the tanks.

Using the Appraisal Panel, he checked their condition one by one. Only after finding no major issues did he attach labels and write down the date.

After lunch.

Jiang Miao ordered a large batch of veterinary nutrients on Tao Net.

He had carefully studied the three essential kinds of algae and discovered that the nutrients provided by two of them could be replaced with artificial supplements.

As for the remaining type of algae, Jiang Miao had found a substitute as well. However, there was no artificial product for it, so he could only use Duck Bill Grass.

This wild vegetable was widely distributed across the country, so Jiang Miao did not order it online. Instead, he asked his mother to cut more than ten jin of it by the river that afternoon.

Not having to cultivate algae specifically really spared him a lot of trouble.

At two thirty in the afternoon.

Jiang Miao rode his Electric Scooter to the city again.

He met with the sales representative from the agency company he had arranged to meet. After preparing copies of his ID card and signing several documents in advance, he handed the company registration matter over to them.

The company name was simple: Hai Lu Feng Agricultural Technology Company. Its main businesses would be aquaculture and processing, fruit and vegetable cultivation and processing, agricultural technology services, agricultural technology research and development, and more.

But while the company had a name, it still lacked an office location.

The registration agency had also told him to settle that as soon as possible.

He did not return home. Instead, he headed to Magong.

He went straight to the entrance of a seaside resort on the southern side of Magong.

"Hello, is this Boss Li? This is Jiang Miao. We arranged to meet last night."

"Yes, it's me! Are you Boss Jiang?"

"That's me. I'm at the resort entrance."

"Alright, I'll come down right away."

Before long, a big bald middle-aged man hurried down. As he walked, he greeted Jiang Miao warmly. "Welcome, welcome! Boss Jiang, come upstairs to my office for some tea."

"Alright."

Inside the second-floor office.

"Boss Jiang, this place is pretty good, isn't it?"

"The location is good, but the foot traffic is too poor. Local spending in Magong can't support it, and the fishing ban season makes things worse. It's hard to cover expenses by relying on outside visitors alone."

Boss Li gave a bitter smile. "Exactly! But the price is negotiable. The rent is fifteen thousand yuan a month, and there are still seven years left on my current contract. Think it over, Boss Jiang. It's such a big place, and I'll give you all these tables, chairs, and kitchen equipment for free."

"How about this? One flat price: one hundred and fifty thousand a year."

"Deal. I'll print the contract right away." As though afraid Jiang Miao would run off, Boss Li agreed immediately.

Jiang Miao actually knew this resort's situation very well.

His sister had worked here as a cashier before. Before 2019, business at the resort had been barely passable, but it had gone downhill ever since. Now it could not even maintain a balance with its daily expenses.

Before long, the contract was printed.

Jiang Miao rented the seaside resort for one hundred and fifty thousand yuan per year, with a seven-year lease and a fifty-thousand-yuan deposit.

Since the resort was already in a semi-closed state, only Boss Li, his brother-in-law, and a disabled security guard remained.

After a preliminary handover, Jiang Miao took the keys and met the security guard, Old Ke. He gave him a few instructions.

This seaside resort was around 150 meters long and just over 100 meters wide, covering roughly 15,000 square meters.

At its center stood a three-story restaurant building, 100 meters long and 20 meters wide, with a floor area of around 6,000 square meters.

The restaurant's main entrance faced north, with a large parking lot in front. Behind the building was a broad open area with pavilions, previously used for outdoor dining. South of that open area was Magong's beach.

Jiang Miao photographed the lease contract and related documents, then sent them through WeChat to the sales representative at the registration agency.

With the company's office location settled, the next step was to find employees and put together a basic team.

After some rough calculations, he temporarily needed to hire an accountant, a logistics worker, a purchaser, and a legal officer. Together with Old Ke, the security guard, that made five employees.

That was only for the company side. The farm would need at least five or six people at the beginning, in addition to his brother-in-law.

After finishing all that.

Just as he got home, his brother-in-law Zhang Xincheng called.

"A Miao, it's settled. Eighty mu of fish ponds, three mu of vegetable land, and one mu of site land, eighty-four mu altogether. Thirteen hundred yuan per mu, but Lin Jianshe wants us to pay one year's rent upfront."

"That works."

"Alright, come over tomorrow at noon. I'll take you there to sign."

"Thanks for the trouble, brother-in-law."

"Don't mention it."