Chapter 353 - 329: The Top-Tier Ornamental Fish?

Chapter 353: Chapter 329: The Top-Tier Ornamental Fish?

’When Ling Xiaoru gets here later, I’ll just let her order for herself. I won’t be eating with her tonight.’

Not long after, Ling Xiaoru arrived. Li You explained the situation to her.

Ling Xiaoru nodded. "In that case, I’ll have the steamed mandarin fish and a side of rice."

As for alcohol, she decided against it.

She doesn’t drink alone. She only drinks when Li You is around.

After an order of steamed mandarin fish came out of the kitchen, Ling Xiaoru carried it, along with a bowl of rice she’d scooped for herself, and went upstairs.

Even though she was eating alone, she still wanted to go upstairs to eat while watching TV.

8:00 PM.

Li Zhong and Li Chi finished their dinner and prepared to leave.

Li You said to them, "Uncle Zhong, Uncle Chi, you don’t have to come so early tomorrow. There’s no rush on this job. It’s fine if it takes an extra day or two."

Both of them insisted they would arrive at 7:30. No later than that.

7:30 was acceptable. Li You said that was fine.

...

「The next day.」

In the morning, around 7:10, Li You went downstairs to open the shop doors.

He happened to see Li Zhong and Li Chi, who had already arrived and were walking over.

They had agreed on 7:30, but both had clearly come much earlier.

Still, it was much later than yesterday, which was an improvement.

He went out to greet them. "Uncle Zhong, Uncle Chi, good morning!"

"Xiaoyou, morning!"

After exchanging greetings, Li You went back to the kitchen and, just like yesterday, cooked them each a large bowl of beef noodle soup with extra beef.

After they finished eating and rested for a bit, they started the day’s work.

...

The days passed like this, and in the blink of an eye, a week went by.

The fish pond was nearing completion.

The now-circular pond had an area of about twenty square meters.

It was about one and a half meters deep. The rim, built from random stones, rose about 20 centimeters above the ground.

The stones were of various shapes and sizes, seemingly pieced together without any pattern, yet the overall effect was quite beautiful.

In the center of the pond was a rockery, one meter in diameter and about three meters tall. The mountain structure was well-proportioned, with rugged, oddly shaped rocks, making it look both realistic and beautiful.

A water circulation system had also been installed.

Once filled with water, a stream would constantly flow down from a spot on the rockery, like a waterfall.

It was sure to be quite beautiful.

At that moment, Li Zhong and Li Chi were putting on the finishing touches.

The work would be completely finished today. After letting it set for a few days, it would be ready to be filled with water to raise fish.

A crowd of customers stood around the fish pond.

This included a group of bosses from the town market, such as Deng Luping, Xie Hai, Zhao Yu, Wang Dongliang, and Yang Zheng.

Also present were the champion and runner-up of the last *King of Fighters ’97* tournament, Wang Ge Fei and Lu Xiangyun, among others.

All these customers were gathered around, watching.

Every one of them was quite happy.

They had watched the pond being built bit by bit, which gave them a sense of participation.

Many of them had indeed genuinely helped out.

Now that it was almost finished and looked so beautiful, they were naturally delighted.

As they watched, they were, of course, also chattering away.

Most of the talk was about how beautiful the pond was and how professional the two craftsmen were, praising their high level of skill.

Hearing the customers’ praise, Li Zhong and Li Chi were also quite happy and felt a great sense of accomplishment.

For a craftsman, there was no greater joy than hearing others praise their work.

It wasn’t until it was almost 12:00 PM that the spectating customers finally trickled into the shop to order lunch.

Li You also went into the kitchen to get busy.

At 12:30 PM, Li Zhong and Li Chi clocked out for their break.

Li You had already prepared their food and drinks.

After eating and resting for a bit, they went back to work.

By 4:00 PM, all the finishing touches were complete.

The fish pond was officially built!

"Congratulations, Host. Side quest ’Fish Pond in Front of the Shop’ completed."

"Reward for quest completion: One lottery draw, 20 ornamental fish (random species and sizes) (already delivered to the Spatial Fish Pond, Host may inspect at will)."

"Congratulations, Host, on receiving the ’Body Strengthening’ constitution enhancement for the third time. Your physical fitness has reached a new level."

Although he had expected the voice to come, Li You was still thrilled.

His physical fitness had risen another level, and Li You could clearly feel it.

He was stronger now, his body lighter, more flexible, and more agile. He felt he could jump higher and run faster.

Although he had never practiced martial arts or learned any fighting techniques, he felt that if he got into a fight now, he could easily take down a whole group of people.

Of course, he wouldn’t go looking for a fight.

’Stay low-key, gotta stay low-key.’

Besides the special "Body Strengthening" reward, there was also one lottery draw and twenty ornamental fish of random species.

’What kind of species will there be? This is really something to look forward to.’

Just as Li You was about to open the Spatial Fish Pond to take a look, he heard Li Zhong say to him, "Xiaoyou, the pond is officially finished now. Why don’t you see if there are any problems?"

’Right, now’s not the time to look at the ornamental fish.’

’I’ll look later.’

Li You replied, "Not at all, Uncle Zhong. I think every part of it is perfect. There are no problems at all."

Li Zhong said, "That’s good. In about a week, you can fill it with water. Just turn on the water supply switch when the time comes."

Li You nodded. "Okay. Uncle Zhong, Uncle Chi, please come inside and rest for a bit. Let me settle your wages first."

After hearing this, both of them said there was no rush to get paid.

Li You smiled. "It has to be settled sooner or later. Might as well be now."

Including today, the two men had worked for a total of eight days. Li You had already prepared their wages—2,400 yuan each.

Inside the shop, Li You gave each of them their pay.

Both men were very happy after receiving the money.

The work over the past eight days hadn’t been tiring. Not only had they earned 2,400 yuan, but they had also been eating good food and drinking good alcohol every day. It was an indescribably comfortable experience.

And there was still good food and drink to look forward to tonight.

Originally, both of them had said they would skip dinner tonight and head back home.

But Li You insisted that they must stay for dinner before leaving.

They had basically worked a full day, so they should definitely have dinner.

In the end, the two men didn’t refuse.

It was still early, and customers were playing in the arcade game area again. They decided to go watch the customers play for a while.

The two men went to the arcade game area and once again became engrossed in watching.

This was Li You’s chance to open the Spatial Fish Pond. He wanted to see what species the twenty ornamental fish from the quest reward were.

Soon, he saw them.

In a corner of the Spatial Fish Pond, there was a school of about twenty fish of various sizes, all with beautiful colors.

Two of the fish were particularly large, nearly a meter long, and a stunning blood-red color.

They weren’t just beautiful; they were also majestic and imposing. Their shape was faintly reminiscent of the dragons from legend.

Their heads were upturned, giving them a regal air.

’Could these be Blood Red Dragon Fish?’

Li You was pleasantly surprised because he knew of this type of fish.

It was one of the most top-tier and prized ornamental fish in the world.

Of course, it was also one of the most valuable. A single Blood Red Dragon Fish had once been sold for the astronomical price of four million.

This fish had barbels, pectoral fins like a dragon’s claws, and a body covered in red scales. When still, it was magnificent and dignified. When it moved, it could be as swift as a fleeing rabbit, resembling a divine dragon, or it could swim slowly and gracefully, exuding a noble, kingly aura.

"System, are these two Blood Red Dragon Fish?" Li You asked.

"Yes, Host. And they are two Blood Red Dragon Fish of exceptionally high quality. Their quality is superior to any other Blood Red Dragon Fish in the outside world," the System replied.

This made Li You even more delighted.

’They really are Blood Red Dragon Fish. And the best quality ones in the world, at that?’

The value of these two Blood Red Dragon Fish would undoubtedly be extremely high.

If they were taken to an auction house, a conservative estimate would be at least 10 million.

It sounded incredible, but the world of the truly wealthy was often incomprehensible.

Li You couldn’t understand it either. He really couldn’t fathom why a single ornamental fish could sell for the astronomical price of four million.

But for Li You, this was a good thing.

Because he now had two Blood Red Dragon Fish of his own.

And they were the two best-quality ones in the world.

’Twenty ornamental fish of random species, and I randomly got two with such immense value?’

Li You wasn’t sure if he was just incredibly lucky, or if this was just a standard move by the System.

But that wasn’t important.

What was important was that once these two Blood Red Dragon Fish appeared before his customers, wouldn’t they cause a massive sensation?

Li You was filled with anticipation!!

...