37: Let's auction it off! The competition for the guppies is fierce!
The next morning, Chen Kai woke up naturally; his biological clock, honed over many years, had already formed the habit of getting up before nine o'clock.
He forced himself to stay in bed for another half hour, then stretched out like he had been infected with a zombie virus.
Only then did he get up, sitting on the edge of the bed to survey the entire room.
Once he paid off his debts and saved up a bit more money, he could rent a bigger place.
This old, dilapidated unit was something he'd rented for cheap back when he was delivering food; its only advantage was the low rent, though it had another drawback that wasn't exactly an advantage: it discouraged people from doing anything drastic.
There wasn't even enough space to cosplay as a sunshine doll.
He sat on the edge of the bed, lit a cigarette, and picked up his phone, planning to take advantage of the morning to sell the Guppy.
He had too much life on his hands—hundreds of millions, in fact—and he couldn't let this 7,900 die on his watch.
"Click."
After lighting the cigarette to wake himself up, he opened TikTok, preparing to DM those Ornamental Fish Research Institute locations and laboratories one by one.
Even if it meant being sent off for breeding, at least the little Guppy would get some action, and he would get paid.
However, he was prepared for the price to be heavily suppressed; reaching out proactively would definitely not be as profitable as having others come knocking on his door begging to buy it.
As soon as he opened TikTok, he found that his notifications were blowing up: dozens of DMs, over seven million views, over 300,000 likes on the video, and tens of thousands of comments.
"What the f*ck?!"
Chen Kai hurriedly opened the video's comment section, where the comments had somehow split into two factions.
One faction was terrified he wouldn't die.
The other faction was marveling at how awesome the fish was.
[Brother, are you still alive? You should be able to handle these 300,000 punches, right? If you're still alive, I'll throw in another 200 Doujia; if you're dead, I'll contribute 200 for the funeral. It's not much money, but it's the thought that counts.]
[Blogger: You gave me steamed buns and punches; I remember it all clearly! (Cat with a bruised face emoji JPG.)]
[Damn, this colorful Guppy is pretty badass. The fins actually mutated. I'll take it for 500 yuan.]
[Are you bragging? I'll take it for 20,000! If you're actually selling, pretend I didn't say anything!]
[Blue-check Medaka Research Institute: I'm actually buying this fish for 5,000. Since the blogger is also in Jiangnan City, I can come pick it up in person.]
[Blue-check Guppy Research Institute: I'll offer 5,500. Blogger, remember to check your DMs!]
Chen Kai rubbed his hands together in excitement; this saved him from having to ask them one by one.
Prices are different when people are begging to buy versus when you're proactively trying to sell. If you sell proactively, even if a laboratory is tempted, they'll put on an act, pretending they aren't interested while still being willing to buy.
Naturally, the money wouldn't be very high either.
He quickly exited the video and checked his DMs.
Sure enough, four or five institutes, fish farms, and university laboratories with blue checks had DMed him with offers.
Among them was the Ornamental Fish Research Institute mentioned in the intel!
He looked at the offers from each; they were basically around 6,500, but all included a line saying they were willing to negotiate if it wasn't enough. Two of them were determined, stating that regardless of what other institutes offered, they were set on getting it.
[Guppy Research Institute: This genetically mutated Guppy is of great research value to us. Is the fish still available? Is 5,800 okay? If not, we can still negotiate.]
[Erwazi Guppy Fish Farm: Hello, is the fish available? We'll offer 6,200 for this fish to use as a stud. Is that price okay? If not, we can negotiate.]
[Ornamental Fish Research Institute: Are you selling the fish? I'll offer 6,800. I'll match whatever anyone else adds. Sell it to me!]
[...]
Chen Kai replied to them one by one, and these blue-check accounts all responded immediately.
They offered better prices and promised to give him a few for free if they managed to develop a new variety.
But Chen Kai was a worldly man; he really wasn't that interested in these fish or birds.
He replied to the messages one by one until his hands felt a bit sore.
He simply created a group chat for them to bid freely!
Only with competition can there be a price.
He pulled all these blue-check accounts into the group and typed a '1' in the chat.
"I won't reply individually, it's too tiring. The fish is still here; I'll film a video for you all in a moment."
"The fish is for sale. My target price is 8,000. See who can accept that."
After sending the message in the group, he filmed a video of the Guppy looking lively in the small fish tank.
He filmed the video with more attention to detail, carefully capturing the size and patterns of the fins.
In the bottom right corner of the TikTok group, it showed that all six people had read it almost instantly.
The corners of his mouth curled up slightly. With 8,000 as the starting price, even if no one wanted to pay a higher price, he could still sell it at the price recommended by the system.
Plus, these six accounts were at each other's throats in the group, almost ready to fight; the price might even go higher.
[Guppy Research Institute: The quality is this good? Are you all peers? Sorry, but I really need this fish. I'll offer 8,200!]
[Erwazi Guppy Fish Farm: Nonsense, tell us something we don't know. I'll offer 8,500! Giving it to you for research isn't as good as letting the little fish get some action. I have plenty of colorful Guppies here to pair it with.]
[Ornamental Fish Research Institute: Do you even know how to pair them? This fish is wasted on you. I'll offer 8,700!]
[Medaka Research Institute: 8,800. If it goes higher than this, I'm out.]
[Guppy Research Institute: I'm the professional one. I'll offer 9,000. Who's going to fight me? Whoever fights me, I'll add 200 more!]
Chen Kai watched the tense standoff in the group and rubbed his hands together in excitement.
He really was a f*cking genius.
It didn't matter who he sold the fish to; what mattered was getting a good price.
[Ornamental Fish Research Institute: Are you bragging? Our three mentors said we'll take it for 12,000. Are you still going to match it?]
[Guppy Research Institute: Are those three old geezers doing this on purpose? Damn it, 12,200!]
...
In the end, the price stopped at 13,500, and this Guppy went to the Ornamental Fish Research Institute.
The Guppy Research Institute lost by a narrow margin of 50 yuan.
The other five accounts left the group in frustration, leaving only him and the Ornamental Fish Research Institute in the group.
[Brother, give me your address and card number. We'll pay upon delivery, but we'll give you a 3,000 deposit first.]
Chen Kai thought about it and sent the address of his Rental House and his card number.
He really didn't dare to use a courier service, fearing that they might find some flaw once it arrived and use it to deduct money from him.
"You'd better come before noon. I don't have much experience in keeping fish."
[OK, we're heading over now, half an hour.]
[Did you receive the money? It's been transferred to your card.]
Chen Kai checked the text notification, unable to hide the excitement in his heart.
The system recommended a selling price of 7,900, but he didn't accept the system's suggestion and sold it for nearly double that price.
Less than half an hour later, an unknown number called his phone.
"Hello, brother, I'm from the Ornamental Fish Research Institute. I'm downstairs at your place. Can you bring the fish down?"