Chapter 74: Attending the Exhibition
Translator: Aristophaneso Editor: Caron_
Jing Hai City was an internationally famous city. For this year’s Aquarama, many ornamental fish enthusiasts from all over the world would be attending, and even the ornamental fish magnates and the manufacturers for aquarium equipment would be showing their faces.
The trio arrived at Jing Hai a little past 4 pm, and Chu Xian followed Jin Hua into the hotel.
The car stopped at the hotel entrance, and Jin Hua walked over with an expectant look. “We’re here. Let’s see your fish!”
Chu Xian smiled and nodded, opening up the trunk of his car. In the big glass tank were two Arowanas: a pure, blood-red Arowana and a Long Back Golden Arowana swimming around gracefully.
“This! Arowana! Blood Red Arowana and Long Back Golden Arowana! Amazing!” Jin Hua exclaimed, unable to resist leaning in closer to examine the elegant and majestic dragon fish.
Jin Sen also looked over curiously, and his eyes widened in surprise.
“What do you think, Brother Jin? Pretty good, right?” Chu Xian asked with self-satisfaction.
“Pretty good! They’re perfect! There are only a few Arowana in the world that are so elegant. I have no idea how you got your hands on such precious Arowana!” Jin Hua exclaimed with astonishment and wonder.
“I have a friend,” Chu Xian replied, noticing Jin Hua’s confusion. With some hesitation, Chu Xian continued slowly. “I met him while traveling. Since he’s getting old, he gave these fish to me and informed me of some cultivating methods. I bought a fish farm at Fengtai Lake, and in the future, I’ll try to cultivate some of these fish, but it won’t be easy.”
Jin Hua nodded, and although there were a lot of holes in Chu Xian’s explanation, he didn’t ask anymore. In the end, everyone had their own secrets.
“Looks like there’s going to be another giant in the ornamental fish game. Haha, I’m already tempted to buy just by looking at these beautiful Arowana!” Jin Hua joked.
“Hehe. I don’t know how much these two are worth, but I’m just trying to establish my brand for now and attract future buyers!” Chu Xian smiled.
“They’re worth at least three million, but the exact price is difficult to say. If there are suitable buyers, you might even break the record selling price for Arowana.”
Jin Hua was an enthusiast, not an expert, so he wasn’t able to judge the proper value of the Arowana.
Chu Xian paused for a moment, thinking. It would be very difficult to break the Arowana record of five million RMB. Even if his Arowana were valuable, no one would pay five million for a fish if they didn’t have at least hundreds or thousands of millions RMB.
Waving over a porter, Chu Xian asked them to help him bring the fish up to his room.
“Here’s the ticket to the event, but this is just for a visitor. You’ll have to bring your fish over tomorrow to buy a booth.”
Jin Hua said at dinner, handing Chu Xian a sky-blue ticket. Chu Xian took it with some surprise, asking, “You need a ticket to attend?”
“Of course. The Aquarama is an international exhibition. If they didn’t limit the number of attendees, the place would too packed. Anyway, the standard of the exhibition is very high, and all the fish and equipment are the best in the world.”
“Oh.” Chu Xian nodded and looked over the information on the ticket.
“China’s Jing Hai City is hosting the 18th Aquarama Exhibition of ornamental fish and aquarium equipment. The Exhibition will be held at the Jing Hai Seaworld. It will start on July 1st and last three days. The first day will be dedicated to a general exhibition for equipment and fish, the second to equipment design and fish competition, and the third to the championship competition.”
“I’ve only been to an Aquarama exhibition once. The first day, you can visit any booth. The second will be for a general competition, and the third will be the competition for the best ornamental fish in the world. I’m confident that your two Arowana will take first place,” Jin Hua said.
Chu Xian smiled confidently.
After dinner, the three men wandered around. This was Chu Xian’s first visit to the most prosperous city in the country.
The next morning, they drove over to the exhibit and arrived half an hour early.
“Sorry, gentlemen. The Aquaram isn’t open yet. Please wait another half hour,” a guard said, stopping the three men.
“Hello. Who should I speak to so I can register for the competition?” Chu Xian asked.
“Over there, where the sign is.” The guard pointed.
“Okay, thank you!” Chu Xian nodded then walked over to a room, knocked on the door, and walked in.
“Would you like to participate in the competition?” a beautiful Singaporean woman asked in a heavy accent.
“Hello. I want to register for the exhibit. Are there any spots left?” Chu Xian asked, walking over to the woman.
“Yes. Here’s a map of the exhibition. Any of the empty places are available for you to pick,” the pretty woman replied with a smile, handing Chu Xian a map.
Chu Xian’s face darkened a little as he looked over the map. Jin Hua and Jin Sen came over and peered at the map as well. Jin Hua took a look before patting Chu Xian on the shoulder and said, “The Aquarama is the biggest ornamental fish exhibition in the world. Many people attend and it’s reasonable to expect that there aren’t many good spots left.”
“En.” Chu Xian nodded speechlessly before he picked out one of the available spots and paid fifty thousand RMB.
That’s right – fifty thousand RMB for a booth and not even a very good one at that. If his position had been in the center, the price could have been upwards of a hundred thousand RMB.
[F***. With a hundred booths, they make ten million just to let people exhibit their stuff. They really know how to make money.] Chu Xian thought to himself, shaking his head speechlessly. What he didn’t know was that even a visitor’s ticket was five thousand RMB itself.
This was typical of the Aquarama. Only qualified fish farms and businesses could enter the business, and as the world’s best, of course the price was high.