Chapter 15: Chapter 15: Market Conditions
Over half a month passed in the blink of an eye. Before the 2018 Spring Festival, Li Jinglan led his team on a whirlwind tour of Huaguo, East Japan, and Southeast Asia.
As he sold the eel fry, he followed Li Qingye’s instructions, operating under various shell companies and even hiring several agents in different regions to prevent any direct involvement from the Homo Sapiens Company.
East Japan.
Kagoshima Prefecture, Naha Island.
This was one of the three major eel farming regions in East Japan, with an annual production of around 3,000 to 7,000 tons of eels.
However, during the eel fry catching season from December 2017 to January 2018, the East Japan Fishing Company had only managed to catch a total of about 121 kilograms of eel fry. Even when combined with the 400-plus kilograms caught by Huaguo fishermen, the amount was pitifully small.
Last year’s catch had been in the tens of tons, but this year, it had absolutely plummeted.
Facing such a massive shortfall, the various eel farming enterprises were so anxious they were losing sleep.
Kagoshima’s largest eel farming enterprise, the Kagoshima Eel Corporation, was feeling immense pressure. This year, their company had only managed to secure 16 kilograms of fry—not even a fraction of what they had last year.
Just as they were scrambling in panic, Li Jinglan arrived with a few of his subordinates. He went straight to a dozen or so local eel farming enterprises and announced that his company had caught a batch of eel fry.
Upon hearing this news, the eel farming enterprises throughout Kagoshima Prefecture were instantly stirred into a frenzy.
A small-scale trade fair was quickly organized at a local hotel.
Watching the entrepreneurs buzzing around him like flies, Li Jinglan felt a rush he had never experienced before. It was like the heady feeling an outsider gets in Lingnan from being constantly called "handsome" and "pretty."
Saito Naoto, the president of Kagoshima Eel, looked like a playboy but was actually incredibly shrewd. With a glass of red wine in hand, it took him no time at all to get chummy with Li Jinglan.
"Mr. Li, you have to look out for me later," Saito said with a smile, slipping a gold card to him. "This is a VIP card for the Kagoshima Eel restaurant. Please accept this small token."
Recognizing the card’s design, Li Jinglan chuckled and accepted it. "You’re too kind."
The other entrepreneurs silently cursed Saito for being so sly.
Soon, the two thousand-plus portions of fry the Homo Sapiens Company had prepared for the East Japan market were snapped up by the entrepreneurs in attendance.
Saito, who had offered the gold card, was especially successful, securing 850 portions of eel fry for the Kagoshima Eel Corporation. Though it cost him over twenty million US dollars, in the current market, just being able to buy fry at all was a major win.
After all, eel fry were becoming increasingly scarce. Meanwhile, their farms incurred daily costs for maintenance, utilities, and employee wages—expenses that had to be paid whether they were raising eels or not.
Furthermore, the farm facilities would depreciate over time until they were completely obsolete—an almost irreversible process.
Although the agricultural associations in East Japan had set fixed production quotas for each company, there was still some room to maneuver.
For example, the Kagoshima Eel Corporation had a production quota of 3,000 tons. But with the annual decline in wild eel fry catches, the company had only produced close to a thousand tons last year, falling far short of its quota.
As a result, the limited supply of eel fry became critically important.
Whoever secured the largest share would naturally be able to dominate the East Japan market.
This seller’s market allowed the Homo Sapiens Company to generate over fifty million US dollars in revenue from the two thousand-plus portions of eel fry sold in East Japan.
And that wasn’t even counting the various gifts Li Jinglan and his team received.
Flushed with success, Li Jinglan decided to strike while the iron was hot. He and his team immediately flew to Huaguo’s Min Nan and Lingnan Provinces, as these two regions represented the largest markets for eel fry.
After all, their local production had long accounted for 70–80% of the global total. Although the price of eel fry had doubled or even tripled this year, it was still profitable for the farmers.
The farming companies and individual farmers in Huaguo quickly bought up 15,000 portions of eel fry.
Including the shares for other regions, Li Jinglan’s group sold a total of 20,000 portions of glass eel fry to various farming enterprises. Each portion contained roughly 5,000 individual glass eels and was priced at 24,000 US dollars.
This batch of fry alone generated 480 million US dollars in revenue.
This was largely thanks to the sharp decline in this year’s wild eel fry catch, which had driven up the wholesale price. As one of the few suppliers with stock, they didn’t even need to negotiate; the moment the fry were made available, they were gone.
Luzon.
Manila Port.
The five shell companies set up here by the Homo Sapiens Company were used to ship eel fry to Southeast Asia, East Japan, and South Korea.
Another five shell companies were established in Xiangjiang. They handled shipments to the Huaguo region, including the eel farming companies on Taiwan Island.
In the Harbor District of Manila Port, Li Jinglan had just returned and hadn’t even had a chance to catch his breath when he ran into Saito Naoto, president of the Kagoshima Eel Corporation, who had flown in from East Japan.
After a brief exchange, a pleased Li Jinglan accepted the other’s invitation, and they went to the Takasugi Sushi Shop together.
Inside the private room.
Saito poured a drink for Li Jinglan as he introduced the five other men present. "Mr. Li, this is the owner of the Takasugi Sushi Shop, Takasugi Hei. And this is Watanabe Mototsugu from the Furong Investment Company..."
"Mr. Li, not many companies managed to catch eel fry this year. You haven’t discovered a new wild eel spawning ground, have you?" Watanabe Mototsugu asked, half-joking.
Although Li Jinglan had had a few glasses of sake, he was no fool. He laughed and replied, "Haha, of course not. Your country was the first to study eels. If anyone knows where to find fry, wouldn’t it be you? Our company’s fishing boats just got lucky and happened to run into them."
"Haha, I was just kidding," Watanabe Mototsugu said with a laugh, changing the subject.
The others quickly raised their glasses to him, and the group fell into idle chatter.
After several rounds of drinks, Li Jinglan was helped out by his secretary. Saito, showing great concern for the fry supplier, personally saw him to his car.
On the second floor of the sushi shop.
Takasugi Hei and Watanabe Mototsugu, who had seemed dead drunk just moments before, were now completely sober. After brewing a pot of tea, Watanabe Mototsugu spoke, a thoughtful look in his eyes. "According to our intelligence, the vast majority of eel fry sold recently came from eleven companies: six in Manila and five in Xiangjiang."
"Have some tea," Takasugi Hei said, filling both of their cups.
"There’s also an interesting pattern," he continued. "All of these companies were founded within the last two years, and many are shell corporations with no traceable offices or fishing boats."
Takasugi Hei raised an eyebrow. "What do you make of it?"
"I suspect someone has mastered a low-cost method for the artificial breeding of eels," Watanabe Mototsugu stated his theory plainly.
But Takasugi Hei shook his head. "Speculation alone isn’t enough. We need more concrete intelligence."
Watanabe Mototsugu took a sip of tea. "I know. That’s why I’m going to focus on this Homo Sapiens Company. It’s the only one that actually owns fishing boats and farming bases."
"Then I’ll be counting on you, Mr. Watanabe," Takasugi Hei said grimly. "If you can confirm they have a low-cost eel breeding technology, headquarters will reward you handsomely."
Watanabe Mototsugu bowed immediately. "Yes, sir!"
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