Welder Zhao's community was built before the state-owned enterprises were restructured. Many of the old residents had lived there for 20 or 30 years, or even longer. They all knew each other and had a certain degree of cohesion. If something happened, everyone could take care of each other. If there was no one to take care of the children, the neighbors would also help. It was not like the new community where the neighbors didn't know each other.
However, the drawback of the old community was that any rumors would spread throughout the community the next day.
Welder Zhao saw that Carpenter Wang was also there to throw the garbage. He instinctively wanted to hide the bag behind him, but it was still seen by Carpenter Wang.
"Yo, a bobbit worm? Old Zhao, you're really brave. You actually dare to raise this kind of thing? "Carpenter Wang said in surprise.
Welder Zhao heard it. Could it be that Carpenter Wang knew the name of the bobbit worm so well?
Although he and Carpenter Wang knew each other, they were not familiar with each other. They used to work in the same factory, but in different areas. Their friendship was limited to meeting and nodding.
"Old Wang, how do you know this worm?"
He couldn't hide it anymore, so he asked with a smile.
"Look at what you're saying. I've raised saltwater fish for at least eight years. How could I not know this worm?" Carpenter Wang held his head high and looked quite proud.
"Oh, I didn't hear about it. It turns out that you're an expert in fish?" Welder Zhao was surprised.
"I wouldn't dare to call myself an expert. The knowledge of saltwater fish is too deep. I only know a little about it." Although Carpenter Wang's words were modest, his tone was not.
He pointed to the bobbit worm in the bag and asked, "Old Zhao, tell me the truth. Did you deliberately raise this worm, or did it follow the live stone into your fish tank?"
Welder Zhao's face turned red. He could only fool amateurs, but when he met a real saltwater fish player, he knew that he could not hide it. Who would be so bored as to raise such a worm?
"Ahem! You're right. The live stone I got was not very clean, and the worm got in, "he said truthfully.
Carpenter Wang nodded. "That's what I said. Fortunately, you discovered it early. If you had discovered it a few months later, your plastic bag would not have been able to hold it."
"I'm ashamed to say that I wasn't the one who discovered it. It was a young man who runs an aquarium …" Welder Zhao looked left and right, then lowered his voice and said, "To be honest with you, I spent a long time in my house and finally managed to kill the bug. It scared me a lot …"
"Oh? Tell me about it. "Carpenter Wang was very curious, and his gossipy heart was burning.
Since he was bored and his wife was cooking at home, Welder Zhao told her everything that had happened in detail. Of course, the part about himself was intentionally or unintentionally beautified.
Carpenter Wang listened attentively. When he heard that Zhang Zian and the others had boiled water and poured it on the reef, forcing the bobbit worm to appear and then being scalded to death, he shook his head disapprovingly.
"Old Zhao, with all due respect, in my opinion, Xiao Zhang's approach is questionable. He's probably a fake expert who doesn't know anything," he said confidently.
Carpenter Wang's way of speaking made Welder Zhao feel familiar. After thinking about it carefully, he recalled the faces of the old men who watched others play chess on the street. They all had the same expression.
"You mean …" Welder Zhao dragged his voice and tried to find out what was going on.
"You shouldn't have poured boiling water on it!" Carpenter Wang clapped his hands regretfully.
"Why?" Welder Zhao was stunned.
"Because the reef is a live stone. The internal bacteria and microbes form a small ecosystem that can help you improve the water quality. Although it's a bit troublesome to deal with the algae in the early stages, it'll save you a lot of trouble in the later stages. The experts in saltwater fish in our city all use live stones to raise fish … Tsk, after you poured boiling water on it, the live stones became dead stones, and the beneficial bacteria attached to the live stones were all scalded to death! Useless, useless, your whole tank of stones is useless … "Carpenter Wang shook his head repeatedly and sighed.
He spoke clearly and logically. Although Welder Zhao didn't understand, he thought it was impressive.
Welder Zhao had started raising saltwater fish a little earlier than Electrician Wu, but it was only a little earlier. He didn't know much about fish raising. After listening to Carpenter Wang's nagging, his trust in Zhang Zian was shaken a little.
"Then … Then what should I do?" Welder Zhao asked.
"There's no other way. Your tank of stones is useless. Throw it away as soon as possible. Go to the fish market or the aquarium to buy some live stones and reopen the tank!" Carpenter Wang's tone was unquestionable.
He thought about it and suggested, "Oh yeah, it's best not to go to that Xiao Zhang's aquarium. The young man is immature and incompetent. He's an amateur, but he likes to be in the limelight … If you want to continue raising fish, I'll introduce you to another aquarium. My live stones and aquarium equipment are all bought from that aquarium. It's an old shop with a lot of repeat customers, a good reputation, and affordable prices. Everyone in the aquarium circle in our city knows about it."
Hearing that, Welder Zhao was in a dilemma. He was grateful that Zhang Zian had brought people over to help him deal with the bobbit worm, which prevented the children from being in danger. Zhang Zian didn't even take a sip of water, let alone collect money. However, his deep-rooted beliefs made him trust an old shop with a good reputation more. Plus, the things in Zhang Zian's shop were a bit expensive … Besides, he was too embarrassed to reject Carpenter Wang's offer. After all, they lived in the same family compound and saw each other all the time. It would be inappropriate to make their relationship too awkward.
After weighing the pros and cons, he asked Carpenter Wang to write down the aquarium's address and promised to visit it when he had time.
The two of them added each other on WeChat. Carpenter Wang sent the address to him and patted his chest. "Zhao, don't hesitate. Trust me and go to this shop. In a few days, when your fish tank is ready, I'll introduce you to the large group chat of our city's Aquarium Club. There are a lot of masters and gurus there. You can learn from them and see more. You can gain more knowledge. It's much better than you messing around on your own! "
Welder Zhao looked forward to it. It was quite lonely to raise fish by himself. Other friends raised cats and dogs. They would take a few pictures of cats and dogs and post them on their WeChat Moments. Many people liked them, but when he posted a few pictures of saltwater fish and clam worms, not to mention likes, he didn't even get many comments. After all, it was a matter of social circle.
He also wanted to get a sense of recognition. He also wanted to communicate with other people who raised fish, so he nodded and agreed. "Then I'll have to trouble you, Wang. Thank you in advance."
"No need to say anything. You're too polite. We're neighbors, so there's no need to thank me!" Carpenter Wang threw the garbage in his hands at the designated place, waved at him, and said, "I'll go back first. I'll wait for your good news another day."
"Okay."
After Carpenter Wang's figure disappeared in the corridor, Welder Zhao remembered that he forgot to ask where to throw the worm carcass …
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