The aquarium that Welder Zhao went to was an old shop. It had been operating steadily in Binhai City for more than ten years and had won a good reputation. It had built up a good relationship with everyone, and its scale had gradually expanded. If it wasn't for the Palytoxin incident that caused such a big commotion that even the province was alerted, the shop would not have ended up closing down.
Because the scale of the aquarium was quite large and the aquatic creatures themselves were relatively small, even if they were sold at a very low price, the items in the shop would not be sold out so quickly.
Welder Zhao asked for the location of the shop and rode his electric scooter to the shop in no time.
Just like what was said in the group, even though it was late at night, the shop was crowded. The front door was sealed by the Joint Law Enforcement Department, and the back door was wide open. From time to time, fishers came in and out of the shop, returning with a full load.
After all, the shop was doing a secret clearance, so they did not dare to be too arrogant. They did not even dare to turn on the lights in the shop. Whether it was the staff or the fishers who came to buy things, they all carried flashlights or used their phones to illuminate the shop. It was almost like they were working underground.
Many people came by car. They even brought the fish tanks, equipment, and fish out one by one, as if they didn't need money.
Welder Zhao saw the scene and became even more anxious. He was afraid that if he was late, all the good things would be taken away.
He had not raised saltwater fish for a long time, so he only knew some common marine creatures. At that time, the shop was dark and messy, so there was no time to carefully observe the appearance of the fish. Plus, his presbyopia could not see the words on the fish tank labels, so he could only judge the grade of the fish based on the price.
The staff were yelling about the clearance sale, and they did not bargain or write tickets. They were busy processing the customers' payments, so they did not have time to care about him.
Seeing that there were more and more fishers, and the items in the shop were decreasing, Welder Zhao gritted his teeth. Based on the amount of money he could afford, he chose a dozen or so fish that he had never seen before and paid the staff.
Because Welder Zhao did not have a car, it was not convenient to bring the delicate fish home. The staff promised to send a car to his house the next day, so he could rest assured.
When Welder Zhao heard that, he felt that it was not appropriate. When he left, he did not say that he was going to buy fish. Wouldn't he be exposed when the goods were delivered the next day? However, he could not bear to part with the fish, so he thought of a way. He left Electrician Wu's address and asked the shop assistant to send the fish to Electrician Wu's house tomorrow.
The next day, when the shop assistant delivered the fish to their door, Electrician Wu was very confused. His wife thought that it was the edible fish that their son and daughter-in-law had bought online and almost took it to the kitchen to stew.
Electrician Wu guessed that it was most likely Welder Zhao's doing. He called him to ask, and it turned out to be true.
Welder Zhao complained and told Electrician Wu what had happened. After he had returned home from the aquarium yesterday, he had asked his family a few questions and had vaguely expressed his intention to buy fish. However, his family had unanimously opposed it. They believed that the Palytoxin incident had only stopped for a few days, and they did not want him to go and play with marine life again so soon. They did not want the neighbors to gossip.
He had no choice. He could only ask Electrician Wu to temporarily leave the fish at Electrician Wu's house. After a few days, they would stay out of trouble and then bring the fish back to his house.
Wu Diangong didn't want to agree, but what else could he do? He couldn't just throw away the fish that he had spent a lot of money on, right? Although he was not as stingy as Welder Zhao, he was still diligent and thrifty.
Speaking up to this point, Electrician Wu took a deep breath and finally stated his true intentions.
He said, "Store Manager Zhang, to be honest with you, Zhao is not reliable. I've been worried for the past few days. I don't recognize the fish that Zhao bought, and I'm worried that there might be some dangerous fish mixed in …"
Electrician Wu was once bitten, twice shy. He was full of respect for marine life, and he was worried about the unfamiliar fish.
He continued, "I have a child at home, and he's at the age where he's naughty and mischievous. Although I explicitly forbid him from getting close to the fish tank, he's still a child, and he'll go crazy when he starts playing … I came here to look for you because I want you to help me check whether or not these fish are dangerous. If they are, I'll throw them out, no matter how expensive they are!"
Zhang Zian finally understood. It turned out that Welder Zhao was playing with fire again. He dared to buy fish that he didn't recognize in the dark, and he even left them at someone else's house. Wasn't he asking someone else to take an arrow for him?
Electrician Wu took out his phone in embarrassment. "Store Manager Zhang, I know that you're now a celebrity in Binhai City, and you have a lot of things to do. I didn't want to trouble you to come all the way here, so I was going to use my phone to take a picture of the fish for you to identify, but my crappy phone … The picture looks like a ghost … I really can't take it …"
He had heard that the dog in Zhang Zian's shop had won an award at a foreign film festival, and it had also solved the Palytoxin incident and appeared on TV. Things were different now. He was now a celebrity in Binhai City. How could he have the time to come all the way here to identify the fish for him for free? Even if Zhang Zian found an excuse to refuse, he had nothing to say. He was already mentally prepared.
Zhang Zian took the phone and looked at it. The picture was indeed not clear, and he could not tell the species of the fish. In fact, even if it was a high-end phone, due to the slow shutter speed and the reflection of the glass of the fish tank, it was not easy to clearly take a picture of the fast-swimming fish.
He returned the phone to Electrician Wu, thought about it, and said, "I understand what you mean, Master Wu. I happen to have time today, so I'll go to your house to take a look."
"Really? How can I … "Electrician Wu was surprised and happy. He said uneasily," I didn't buy those fish from your shop, but I troubled you so much. Sigh … It really makes me feel uneasy … "
"It's okay." Zhang Zian smiled. "Actually, I'm almost done with my work, and now I'm finally free. I was planning to find a chance to go to your area to visit an acquaintance, so I can go to your house on the way. It doesn't cost much, so you don't have to be too polite. There's nothing to feel uneasy about."
Electrician Wu stood up and rubbed his hands. His eyes glanced at the electric bicycle parked outside the shop. "That's great! Then … Should we go now, or … "
He had an electric bicycle, but Zhang Zian didn't. If he went with him now, he could only sit on the back seat.
When he was in the capital, Zhang Zian sat on the back seat of the auxiliary police's electric bicycle to track human traffickers. That was an emergency, so it was understandable. But now was not an emergency, and it was against the traffic laws to carry an adult on the back seat of a non-motorized vehicle.
Zhang Zian had always prided himself on being a law-abiding citizen. Now that he had a little fame, he had to take care of himself even more. He couldn't do things that were obviously against the laws and regulations. Even if he did, he couldn't do it in broad daylight. It would be embarrassing if he was caught by the traffic police.
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