Salary is money, and whenever money was mentioned, Suming felt like he had forgotten something important.
What could it be? Something related to money?
Scratching his head, Suming left Mr. Song's office, pondering all the money-related ventures he was involved in.
First, he made a trip to the medical clinic.
At the clinic, only Nurse Liao was on duty. Just as he entered, Suming caught a glimpse of her bending over, searching for something, and her oversized nurse's uniform sketched an alluring half-circle behind her, swaying tantalizingly.
Hearing footsteps, Liao turned her head, and upon seeing Suming, her usually reserved face flushed red, as if it was programmed to do so.
"It's nothing important, just came to ask how the feed business has been doing lately." Suming rolled his eyes, wondering if he didn't look trustworthy enough since this girl would clutch her waistband so tightly every time she saw him.
Gripping the belt cinching her nurse's uniform, Liao stuttered through an update for Suming.
Lately, the feed business had been going smoothly; the sellers were making so much money their hands were cramping from counting it all.
It wasn't that there was too much money to count but rather that the customers purchasing the feed usually paid in small change, resulting in a whole box of low-denomination bills by the end of the day.
"You're making money, so go ahead and find yourself a proper boyfriend. Don't waste it!" Suming glared at Liao, thinking he wished she would get married soon, so he wouldn't feel like a thief every time he visited the clinic...
"Oh..." Liao replied with her head down, clutching her waistband even tighter.
With the feed business in good shape, he then went to Whisperwind Pavilion to meet with Zhou.
Seeing the 'God of Wealth' arrive, Zhou was all eagerness, offering tea and cigarettes.
Just seeing the cigarettes Zhou offered – fifteen yuan a pack – Suming knew that the boating business was doing well too, considering Zhou used to smoke four-yuan packs.
"Mr. Su, you speaking like that makes me feel like an outsider. I'm living the good life here, and it's all thanks to your clout..." Liang Shi scratched his head and laughed sheepishly. Anyone smart enough to make it to grad school was no fool; he might seem a bit slow at times, but that didn't mean he didn't understand basic social niceties.
Suming smiled slightly and waved his hand. His original intent in approaching Liang Shi wasn't to have him take care of the fish. Liang Shi volunteering was simply an unexpected bonus.
He inserted two fingers into his mouth, directed a strong whistle toward the lake surface.
Before long, large splashes appeared on several spots of the water, as five big fish, each weighing over a hundred pounds, popped their heads out from all directions, creating waves as they swam towards the shore.
The appearance of the big fish instantly drew the attention of tourists near Shuijun Lake. There were exclamations and commotion everywhere, as people standing on the shore stretched their necks to peer into the water and pointed excitedly.
The fish soon swam under the bank where Suming stood, with the leading big black carp opening its round, large mouth, and smacking its lips at Suming, begging for food.
A big black carp weighing one hundred and eighty pounds could swallow a soccer ball with its mouth, but Suming didn't carry fish food that big around with him, so he waved his hand and smiled, "Today, there's nothing for you to eat, and it's not just today. If you want to live well in the future, you'll have to rely on your own hard work. You can't keep living off others like this!"
Though he spoke thoughtlessly, Liang Shi blushed slightly and scratched his head, taking it personally.
"Look at me, I should really watch my mouth. The words I just spoke weren't directed at you!"
Suming paused, then laughed and pretended to fan his mouth a few times before pointing to the big fish and explaining, "What I meant was this: these guys spend their days doing nothing in the lake; why not put them to use and develop a 'ride the fish' attraction? It could increase income and add to the entertainment options for the guests. What do you think?"
Suming had thought about the idea of a fish-riding attraction when he first discovered the big fish, but the conditions weren't ripe at the time; then the struggle for the finless porpoises' ownership rights occurred and delayed the project. Now he was relatively free, and having Liang Shi, a fishery expert, it was the perfect time to get started.
"Ride the fish?" Liang Shi looked at the several fish, then at Suming, and had an epiphany: "Oh, I see. You mean like what you did in the reservoir that day."
"Right, I want you to help manage it," Suming nodded.
Liang Shi pondered for a moment and said, "The key is, how do we make the fish obey? The last time, you wrestled with the fish, and you only managed to control them using water plants as reins—that was just luck. It's not like we can always take such risks when riding fish, and fish aren't horses. If we were to put 'reins' through their gills, they wouldn't live more than a few days."
Fish gills are like human lungs—if a person occasionally gets water in their lungs, it's not a big deal, at most causing a choking cough and an inability to exert themselves, but if they're continuously choking on water, of course, they'll be dead as a doornail.
Liang Shi added, "There's a lot of mucus on the back of a fish, slippery and slimy, and they have a large row of fins too; riding them normally wouldn't be feasible."