36: Find a bargain on the Fantasy album
Chen Kai took the box with the Guppy, placed it into the delivery box on the back of his little electric donkey, and drove home at a very slow speed.
In less than half an hour, he drove his Electric Scooter back downstairs to his building and carried the plastic fish tank back to his Rental House.
He casually placed the fish tank on the table and sat on the bed in his Rental House, pondering how to contact the Ornamental Fish Research Institute.
"Ding-dong."
Just then, a message suddenly came in on WeChat.
He curiously tapped to take a look and discovered it was a message from Tang Yunshu.
He clicked into the WeChat chat box to see what Tang Yunshu had said.
[Tang Yunshu: It's a miracle. The stock I bought at a low of 214 yesterday hit its lowest point today, and now it has risen to 284 per share. I think it can be sold now. I've made over seventy thousand; that's already a huge profit.]
Chen Kai faintly curled the corners of his mouth and typed a reply.
"Just keep monitoring it, don't sell."
[Uh... okay, I'll listen to you.]
Chen Kai then exited WeChat and opened TikTok to search for the Ornamental Fish Research Institute.
Unexpectedly, an official blue-v account actually popped up.
However, the account was nearly blank, with only one video, which was a recording of the interior environment of the laboratory.
"If I send a direct message... I'm afraid that won't work very well."
Chen Kai frowned; sending them a direct message might not guarantee they would see it.
By the time they saw it, the Guppy might already be dead.
No fish could survive for more than a week in his hands.
"Should I ask Liu Yunshang?"
He muttered this to himself and exited the search page.
Immediately after, the first video that appeared after exiting the search page was a bit nonsensical.
"Are this generation of netizens crazy? Why does a cup of moldy lemonade have one hundred thousand likes and twenty thousand comments? Isn't it just mold being colorful?"
Chen Kai puzzledly opened the comment section of this video.
Suddenly, he saw many laboratory accounts with blue-v badges leaving comments in the section.
There were also quite a few PhD students crying about their plight in the comments.
[Are you selling this cup of lemonade? I'll offer three thousand, and I'll send you a thermostat box. I'll pay for the shipping; send it to Kyoto Polytechnic.]
[Are you selling it? I'll offer five thousand, and I'll fly to your house to pick it up in person.]
[Are you still there? Are you still there? I'll offer ten thousand. I can pick it up or you can ship it; I'm not joking!]
[I'll offer fifteen thousand! Please, Sister Blogger, our professor made me get this cup of lemonade. Wuwuwu...]
[As everyone knows, there are some bacteria that won't grow in laboratory petri dishes but grow extremely well on the pots and pans at home...]
Chen Kai twitched the corner of his mouth. Spending fifteen thousand to buy a cup of moldy lemonade?
Hmm? Wait.
His eyes lit up. Wouldn't it be done if he also posted a TikTok?
But how should he film this fish to increase its popularity? Filming it directly definitely wouldn't get traffic; it would be the type people scroll past at a glance.
He thought for a moment, held up his phone, and recorded a video of the sides and back of this Guppy.
He edited the caption on TikTok: "Made my girlfriend angry, made a bet with her. One like equals one slap. Posting a fish shouldn't get any traffic, right?"
Based on the characteristic that contemporary netizens never tire of doing bad things and love to join in the fun, Chen Kai deliberately edited this caption.
He had previously scrolled past a video of a young couple where the woman was logging in to check her boyfriend's TikTok account, and the comment section warmed people's hearts.
[Brother, this wasn't the one last time, right? A new sister-in-law?]
[Is this the one you said you would win over in three days?]
[Is this lady your aunt? You were still chatting with me last night!]
[...]
After posting the video, he was bored, so he tried searching for Tingbai Appraisal.
Unexpectedly, he actually searched for a Tingbai Appraisal account with two thousand followers.
The most recent livestream showed the time as last night.
He watched the stream replay, and it really was that kid.
However, the more he watched, the more he felt something was wrong. "Not Brother, you only listened to the second half and spent the night watching legs, right?"
He shook his head helplessly. It was good enough that he had listened to what he said. Even a pig standing on a wind vent can fly. As long as it's in the Appraisal track of livestreaming, it should be able to get some traffic.
He glanced at the time; it was only one-something. He might as well put on his delivery uniform and go out to run a few orders.
...
At ten o'clock in the evening, Chen Kai dragged his exhausted body back to the Rental House.
He washed up, took a shower, and couldn't wait to walk to the table to see if the little Guppy was dead.
It was okay; it was still alive.
This thing being dead and being alive were definitely not on the same level. Chen Kai could only try his best to pray that it would stay alive and not die.
He checked the time, lay on the bed, and couldn't wait to take out his phone and click on TikTok to see how many likes he had.
"Yo, it's already 99+?"
Chen Kai said with some surprise. He had already prepared himself; if there were no views, he would go one by one to send private messages to these Ornamental Fish Research Institutes, casting a wide net to catch more fish. Even if the price was lower, he could accept it.
He couldn't wait to open the video; it had already gained two hundred thousand in traffic.
The conversion rate was surprisingly high: over thirty thousand likes and over six thousand comments.
He flipped through the comment section with anticipation, only to find that they were all people playing along with the joke; there was no sign of any laboratories.
[Oops, I was really careless. I switched to three accounts and gave you three likes. Geigei won't blame me, right?]
[The person above is too careless. I also accidentally liked it with two accounts.]
[Do you guys want the blogger to die in his house? That's too cruel! I couldn't bear to do such a wicked thing; I just put in two hundred yuan for a boost and brushed one thousand likes...]
[I almost thought you were a good person!]
Chen Kai exited the comment section and checked his private messages; they were completely empty.
There were only two messages asking if he had been beaten to death by his girlfriend.
He shook his head helplessly; he could only wait for tomorrow's intel. It would refresh in less than a dozen minutes.
Time quickly arrived at twelve o'clock. Chen Kai excitedly opened the Intelligence System, waiting for it to refresh.
[Ding!]
[Today's intel refresh: After eight o'clock tonight, at the small stall directly opposite Yunshang Pavilion, a 98% new Jay Chou "fantasy" album vinyl record is tucked inside the Wong Fei-hung disc pile. Suggested acquisition price: 50; suggested selling price: 12500.]
Chen Kai was stunned. The small stall opposite Yunshang Pavilion? The one where he got one item from the Forbidden City?
They even asked him if he wanted the sword of goujian!
He didn't expect there to be big goods at the stall.
Sure enough, antiques depend on luck and an eye for detail. But that Wong Fei-hung disc...
So he needs to go after eight o'clock in the evening? Maybe they just arrived to set up the stall.
Thinking about this, Chen Kai didn't set an alarm, preparing to wake up naturally.
Before sleeping, he took another look at the TikTok backend. There were a few hundred more likes and comments, but still no one had sent him a private message.
"Looks like I'll really have to go and send private messages one by one tomorrow."
"It just so happens I have nothing to do in the morning, and I'll go Score a Bargain at night."
"When in doubt! Sleep first and talk later!"