My Manor

"Well! This fish tastes good, but there are too many bones. Don't foreigners dislike eating fish with bones?" After taking a bite, Jiang Hai asked Du Famen, who was sitting across from him, while picking out the fish bones.

This fish tastes incredibly fresh and quite good, but the bones make it troublesome to eat.

"Haha, that's why I wanted to fry it this way. After the bones become crispy, the taste is still excellent." Hearing Jiang Hai's words, Du Famen laughed and explained that while the fish is best braised, it was fried for this reason.

"What kind of fish is this?" Jiang Hai asked, still not used to eating fish with bones, as he continued to pick them out.

"This is Yangtze River knife fish," Qi Li, who had been quietly picking out fish bones and eating, suddenly interrupted and replied.

"Yangtze River knife fish? Is this really the Yangtze River knife fish?" Jiang Hai couldn't help but express surprise upon hearing Qi Li's words.

The Yangtze River knife fish has become very popular in recent years, with prices ranging from dozens of yuan per catty to hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands.

Before going abroad, Jiang Hai had heard of the Yangtze River knife fish and even visited the seafood market to check it out. However, he had only found knife fish there, not the Yangtze River knife fish. Knife fish wasn't expensive. Later, he learned that what people called the Yangtze River knife fish had no relation to the actual knife fish. The so-called "knife fish" actually refers to the hairtail fish, which can grow over a meter long and is highly abundant. It is one of the most productive marine fish species, found mainly in the Western Pacific and Indian Oceans, as well as being farmable.

Jiang Hai's manor is located in the Atlantic Ocean, and there is a similar fish, though rare. The taste of hairtail fish is average, and the meat is so-so, which is why Jiang Hai doesn't usually catch it. The hairtail fish at his manor is nearly one and a half meters long. He has no idea how big they can grow, but he isn't interested in eating them.

However, the Yangtze River knife fish isn't the same as the hairtail fish. It's a freshwater fish, scientifically named long-jawed anchovy.

Although this fish is very valuable in China, it's not the only species of its kind. Similar fish are found in Asia and even globally—in the Yangtze River Basin in China, Malaysia, Borneo, Phuket Island, and even the Amazon River Basin. Yet, apart from China, Jiang Hai hasn't heard of these fish having much of a market abroad.

Now that it's been mentioned, Jiang Hai is intrigued. He's wary of breeding pufferfish due to their toxicity, but breeding this fish seems straightforward.

Is artificial breeding difficult? Not in Jiang Hai's dictionary. With the help of spiritual energy, anything can be done.

"It looks like I'll need to build a river in the manor," Jiang Hai muttered after thinking for a while.

Initially, he wanted to build a freshwater river to breed eels, but that was just an idea. After all, he couldn't justify building a river just for eels, which would be expensive.

Though Jiang Hai isn't short on money, he doesn't want to waste it unnecessarily—no one in Boston eats eels.

Foreigners don't eat eels either. Jiang Hai remembered watching a food competition between Chinese and French chefs, where the French chefs had no idea how to cook eels. Despite the differences in Western cuisine across regions, if French and Italian cuisine dominate, what market would there be for eels in the U.S.? Jiang Hai doesn't like to only export; he prefers to import as well. But now, it seems building a river might not be such a bad idea.

He could raise valuable freshwater fish and sell them to Qi Li.

Once the Yangtze River knife fish is introduced at the restaurant, the price would likely skyrocket.

Building a river doesn't need to be complicated. There are plenty of small rivers around the Boston area that could be diverted, or Jiang Hai could dig one himself—groundwater is abundant, and it wouldn't cost much. He doesn't mind the expense.

After committing the name of the Yangtze River knife fish (Coilia longigerensis) to memory, Jiang Hai turned his attention to other matters.

While he was pondering, he noticed a cooked fish that resembled the American redfish but was slightly different. He picked it up and took a bite. The taste was surprisingly good.

"This is a large yellow croaker. It's very expensive lately—finished ones sell for nearly 1,000 yuan per catty, while the smaller ones go for about 800 yuan," Qi Li explained after noticing Jiang Hai's satisfied expression.

"This one's not bad either. You could raise it," Jiang Hai said, surprised by the price. The taste of large yellow croaker is superior to that of the typical American redfish, although it's about the same as the American redfish Jiang Hai raises, or perhaps even slightly inferior.

But no matter how well American redfish sells, it only goes for about 60 yuan per pound in China or 10 US dollars per kilogram in the U.S., much less than cod. In contrast, this yellow croaker, a member of the Sciaenidae family, sells for ten times the price of American redfish per pound. Raising these could be profitable, and Jiang Hai's interest was piqued.

If Jiang Hai were to raise a million fish, others might get them to 80 taels in a year, but Jiang Hai could easily get them to two kilograms. At 80 US dollars per kilogram, two kilograms would fetch 160 US dollars. Raising a million fish would bring in 160 million US dollars.

What if he raised two million fish? Or even three million? Jiang Hai had always believed that land-based industries were where he'd make the most money, especially with cattle, which were valuable. But his cattle are nearly at their capacity, so he now needs to find ways to make money from other sources. Sea fish could be a lucrative avenue. If he can raise valuable fish like the Yangtze River knife fish and bluefin tuna, supplying island countries and China would generate income comparable to his land-based ventures.

Jiang Hai had initially chosen American redfish because the U.S. doesn't have many fish varieties. They focus on native species and don't easily allow foreign species to be introduced. But what if one day these fish lose value, like the current situation with Asian carp?

Looking at the food in front of him, Jiang Hai's thoughts kept racing. Initially, he had asked Minister Qin to introduce domestic species, thinking of things like goats or pigs. But now, he realized how naive that idea had been.

"Anyway, this fish tastes great, but because it has so many bones, I've ranked it tenth among today's ingredients. Let me show you the ninth one." Patting Jiang Hai on the shoulder, Du Famen led him toward the barbecue area.

The barbecue chef was from Arabia, and the ingredients were also sourced from there.

"This is the ninth delicacy of today—camel hump." When Jiang Hai arrived, a waiter respectfully presented three skewers of roasted meat on a plate.

"Camel hump?" Jiang Hai hesitated. He knew that Arab barbecue was famous, but camel hump was something he hadn't encountered before.

He had heard of it—camel hump was one of the four delicacies of the Manchu-Han banquet, a highly prized dish in ancient times. But imagining the appearance of a camel's hump made him doubt he could eat it.

"Try it, it's delicious!" Du Famen encouraged, taking a bite himself before smiling.

Seeing him eat it, Jiang Hai hesitated but took a bite. To his surprise, the taste was exceptional.

Camel humps are where camels store energy, nutrition, and water. They contain no bones, only meat and fat. The lean meat is tender, and the fat, after roasting, turns to grease—but not greasy at all. In ancient times, nobles loved it. Though few people eat it nowadays, camel hump is rich in protein, fat, calcium, iron, and vitamins A, B1, B2, and niacin.

The gelatinous fat, known as peak oil, is sweet and warm in nature, non-toxic, and has medicinal properties. Jiang Hai was quite satisfied with this rare delicacy.

However, he wasn't planning to raise camels—this was too much trouble, and he already had more than enough meat.

"This is the ninth one. The second-ranked item is Kobe beef. But your beef is just as good, so I'm sure you're probably tired of it by now." Du Famen smiled, pointing to a row of skewers. These meats had been brought from Japan at a hefty price.

Though Kobe beef is common for Jiang Hai, he decided to try a skewer. It tasted similar to his own beef, with subtle differences. The beef from his cattle was the best, but the Kobe beef wasn't bad either.

Qi Li ate a piece, nodded in approval, but in her heart, she had made up her mind—she would do whatever it took to get Jiang Hai, not just for his skills, but also for his cattle.

(To be continued...)