```

The Reeve's Shad had grown to a length of one and a half feet and were exceeding the breeding density. Liu Juyi noticed that when feeding them, some fish would leap out of the water in their bid for food. This was not a good sign, as if they jumped onto the shore, it would result in significant losses.

The task of catching the Reeve's Shad could not be delayed.

After helping Xu Qingxue out of her predicament, Wang Xiaoqiang began to work on catching the Reeve's Shad. Before starting, he first visited the seafood market in the Provincial Capital to understand the market situation for Reeve's Shad.

He had no idea until he asked, and was startled by the discovery: it was almost impossible to find Reeve's Shad for sale at the market in the Provincial Capital. In other words, there were none available.

However, one shop owner mentioned that they did sell Reeve's Shad, which were flown in from the United States every three days, and the price was quite steep, at three thousand five hundred yuan per jin!

Hearing this price, Wang Xiaoqiang was secretly pleased, but he feigned disappointment as he left. He then drove to the Dihao Hotel, found Wang Dakui, and inquired about the price.

Wang Dakui said that the Dihao Hotel also obtained small amounts of Reeve's Shad every now and then, supplied by a breeder surnamed Feng. Of course, all of them were dead; fresh, live Reeve's Shad were simply unattainable.

"How's the flavor of the fish?" Wang Xiaoqiang asked.

"Not bad, but it's a far cry from Yangtze River Shad. The taste is basically on par with that of American marine products..."

Wang Xiaoqiang then asked, "What's the purchase price for you guys?"

Seeing how thorough Wang Xiaoqiang's questions were, Wang Dakui stared at him in surprise and asked, "What about it, Little Qiang, don't tell me you have Reeve's Shad?"

"I actually do."

"You raised them yourself?"

"Yes!"

"Little Qiang, you're amazing!" Wang Dakui raised his thumb: "Boss Feng said that those are difficult to raise... Despite the high price of Reeve's Shad, he has only started making a profit after two years, before that it was a losing business..."

Wang Xiaoqiang just smiled and agreed, "They are difficult to raise, pampered like a pampered young lady of ancient times..."

"Little Qiang, how many have you raised? How big are they now? Are you planning to sell them?" Wang Dakui asked with some anticipation. Considering the excellent quality of the Wild Mountain Eggs, he believed that the Reeve's Shad Wang Xiaoqiang raised would also be remarkable.

"About a thousand or so," Wang Xiaoqiang said. "They are all one and a half feet long, and I can guarantee they're all alive..."

"That big!" Wang Dakui exclaimed in surprise.

The Reeve's Shad brought by Boss Feng were all around a foot long. They didn't dare to keep them too long for fear of death, as the loss of one fish could cost thousands of yuan. Therefore, they would sell them off as soon as they could make a profit. However, Wang Dakui was skeptical about the living fish Wang Xiaoqiang mentioned: "Still alive... you must be boasting.

If you can really bring the fish here alive, I'll pay you four thousand per jin."

"Really?"

"Hey, since when have I, Wang Dakui, ever spoken falsely."

"Then I'll go back and bring the fish right away!" Wang Xiaoqiang could hardly wait.

```

"Hurry up, I've never tasted live Reeve's Shad before. I'll just wait here to eat your live Reeve's Shad," Wang Dakui said with a face full of hope, as if he was seeing the plump flesh of the shad.

Having agreed, Wang Xiaoqiang then went back to catch the Reeve's Shad.

Reeve's Shad are easily startled and quickly die if they leave the water, so catching them must be done as carefully as breeding them.

Such difficult work was obviously not a one-man job for Wang Xiaoqiang; after some thought, he realized he needed at least three people to complete the task. Counting himself, Liu Juyi, and then he temporarily transferred the fishing expert Zhao Dabao from the Chicken Farm to the fish pond.

They borrowed a small fishing boat from the village, and there was a ready-made fishing net at home. They prepared a water bag, filled it with water, and placed it by the fish pond. Then, Liu Juyi was in charge of collecting the fish, while he and Zhao Dabao went into the pond on the small fishing boat to catch fish.

Whenever they drew up a net, they immediately rowed to the shore to deposit the fish into the water bag. Even so, it was still not possible to guarantee the Reeve's Shad wouldn't die, which is why live Reeve's Shad were hard to come by.

Fortunately, this was the Reeve's Shad nurtured by Spiritual Energy, and before they started catching, Wang Xiaoqiang had already infused the water bag with the vital Wood Element Spiritual Qi, ensuring that 100% of the caught Reeve's Shad would survive.

Now, within Wang Xiaoqiang's body resided four Five Elements Spirit Springs, and his Inner Spiritual Qi was vast, seemingly inexhaustible.

Of the four Spirit Springs, one was located at his forehead, one at his heart, one in his lower abdomen; these three Spirit Springs lay dormant within his body.

The other Spirit Spring, however, would move from time to time, following some pattern, though Wang Xiaoqiang was unclear of the specifics.

If Wang Xiaoqiang were an experienced traditional Chinese physician or had read the "Emperor's Inner Canon," he would have observed that this Spirit Spring moved according to the 24-hour biological clock of the human body, constantly shifting among his internal organs.

For example, during the Noon Hour, when the heart meridian was dominant, and the heart had the heaviest burden, the Spirit Spring would move to the heart, releasing Spirit Qi to assist the heart's function.

Similarly, during the hour of the Rooster, when the kidney meridian was dominant, the Spirit Spring would move to the position of the kidneys.

It's certain that Wang Xiaoqiang will never suffer from heart disease or kidney deficiency later in life. Or more broadly, he will never fall ill again!

To ensure the Reeve's Shad stayed alive all the way to the Provincial Capital, Wang Xiaoqiang didn't dare catch too much at once; he set the net twice, catching a total of sixteen.

After the Reeve's Shad were caught and placed into the water bag, Wang Xiaoqiang noted that they were all of a remarkably uniform size, each one just over a foot and a half long. However, startled by the process, they appeared agitated, incessantly slamming against the water bag.

Watching Wang Xiaoqiang mobilize people for fishing, only to end up with a mere dozen or so fish, both Liu Juyi and Zhao Dabao were incredibly surprised. They felt somewhat played, yet they were well aware that Wang Xiaoqiang was serious and diligent when it came to important matters and would never deceive them.

Liu Juyi, already acquainted with the temperamental and precious nature of these fish, was unsurprised and asked no questions. Zhao Dabao, though mute with amazement, kept his thoughts to himself.

Wang Xiaoqiang drove the small truck over, and together the three of them hoisted the water bag full of Reeve's Shad onto the truck.

Wang Xiaoqiang then drove the truck straight to the Provincial Capital.

Upon arriving outside the back kitchen, Wang Xiaoqiang found Wang Dakui sitting on a chair at the kitchen door as if he was waiting for someone.

Seeing Wang Xiaoqiang's truck pull up, Wang Dakui immediately stood up, walking over excitedly, and only then did Wang Xiaoqiang realize that he was waiting for him at the door.

To be precise, he was waiting for the live Reeve's Shad.

Wang Xiaoqiang parked the truck, and as he jumped down, he noticed Wang Dakui had already rushed to the back of the truck, staring into the water bag at the Reeve's Shad, his eyes widened like brass bells. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it at qidian.com and cast monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read at m.qidian.com.)

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