Pet King

The middle-aged customer finally decided to buy a one meter long aquarium, but Welder Zhao was still urging him from the side. “What’s the point in buying a one meter tank? Won’t you still be tempted to get a bigger one after a while?” he asked.

The middle-aged customer responded, “Then… the 1.2-meter one?”

Welder Zhao said, “If you want to buy one, then get the biggest one. Even if you’re not going for the 1.8-meter one, you must at least get the 1.5-meter one!

The middle-aged customer waved his hands again and again. “No no, it’s too big…”

“It’s not too big. My tank is 1.5 meters too, and it’s not even big!”

“It’s really too big…”

1.2 meters is 20 percent longer than one meter, but the price is much higher than just 20 percent because the area hadd increased by more than 20 percent. As the water capacity increased, the corresponding filtering equipment was replaced with some that had more power. Otherwise, the filtering effect would not be up to standard. In total, a 1.2-meter aquarium tank was 40 percent more expensive than a one meter one. If it was even bigger, it would be even more expensive.

Welder Zhao was obviously generous at the expense of others––anyway, it was not his money. If he was younger, he’d be one of the fiercest members on getting others to spend more… but his voice was loud, and the one with the loudest voice always won.

After some urging, the middle-aged man was really tempted. Finally, he decided to change to a 1.2-meter aquarium tank with a full set of aquarium equipment.

It was Zhang Zian’s first aquarium tank that he sold and it was even his own design. Being able to get the customer’s approval, his heart was filled with a sense of accomplishment.

“But Boss, why are the fish tanks here all so short? It’d be better if they were taller so they could hold more water and we’d be able to raise more fish,” the middle-aged customer said while he was paying.

None of the fish tanks in Zhang Zian’s shop, no matter how big or small––with the exception of a few fish tanks that were meant for display purposes only––had a height of more than 60 centimeters.

The netizens had answered the question for him—it was obviously because Zhang Zian was a cheapskate, and since he couldn’t cut corners on the length and width, he did it with the height.

Zhang Zian led him to an empty fish tank and gestured. “The height of this fish tank is 60 centimeters. Try putting your hand inside.”

The middle-aged customer was unclear about his intentions, but he still reached his hand into the tank and was surprised to find that his palm could not touch the bottom of the tank. His armpit was held back by the tank wall, but his fingers were able to touch the bottom.

“An ordinary person’s arms are not so long, so the maximum height of the fish tank is up to 60 centimeters. Otherwise, it would be too much trouble to maintain and clean the fish tank––your hand is unable to touch the bottom of the tank unless you are 2.2 meters tall, or if you put the fish tank on the floor,” Zhang Zian explained, letting the other person try it out was more convincing than just talking about it.

Including his shoe soles, the middle-aged man’s height was about 1.7 meters tall. He was not too short when compared to another middle-aged person of similar age. The length of his arm was within the normal range, but even so, his fingers could only barely touch the bottom of the tank. If he wanted to pick up something from the bottom of the tank, he would have to stand on his tiptoes.

Since the large aquarium tanks were all equipped with a base cabinet and there were various filtering devices in the base cabinet, it was obvious that the fish tank could not be placed directly on the ground. It was also impossible, however, to make the large fish tank too high, with the exception of a few display tanks or those customized according to the actual needs of customers.

The middle-aged man’s question was answered and just as he was about to express that he understood, he heard Zhang Zian add on, “In addition to the inconvenience of the maintenance, there’s another reason why the fish tank can’t be made too high… If the water’s too deep, the light at the top might not be strong enough to penetrate the seawater, which will result in the corals and other aquatic creatures at the bottom to not get enough light.”

Electrician Wu listened carefully, and Welder Zhao proudly said, “Look, although I made my fish tank myself, it isn’t too high. At most, it’s about 70 centimeters, and that’s because I’m tall. Does it mean that I have the subconscious understanding of raising fish?”

No one paid attention to him except for Electrician Wu, who continued to ridicule him. “If you were any shorter, the bobbit worm would have already climbed out. It would have burrowed under your blanket in the middle of the night, then…”

Electrician Wu suddenly remembered that they were in a public area with a young girl like Snowy present, which meant that some jokes were not suitable to be made. He swallowed the latter half of his sentence.

Welder Zhao said, “…Wu, would you die if you were to stop ridiculing me?”

Electrician Wu laughed and said no more.

Seeing them behave like that, Zhang Zian estimated that both Wang Qian and Li Kun would probably be the same way when they were older.

They had already spent a lot of time in the shop, and if they didn’t go home soon, their wives may call and urge them to go back for lunch.

Electrician Wu selected a few of his favorite high-end fish. According to his views, he advised Welder Zhao to buy his things at Zian’s shop too, instead of heading to another aquarium. It would save him the trouble of running around and limit the chances of being scammed.

Welder Zhao also picked a few fish, but he didn’t pay immediately. Instead, he told Zhang Zian to save them for him for the same price as the promotion. He wanted to visit the other aquarium to take a look, and if the fish there were better and cheaper, he would not get the fish from Zian.

Thinking reasonably, the request was very unreasonable. Electrician Wu was so frustrated that he sighed again and again, ridiculing that Welder Zhao didn’t know any better.

Zhang Zian felt that, although Welder Zhao was particularly fond of taking advantage of people, he was still a good person. He was bold and straightforward, so he agreed. “Well, today is the opening of the shop so everything can be discussed. I will accept this request of yours—but I’ll say this first, there is no next time!”

“Don’t worry! I’ll promise you now that there will never be a next time! Just let me take a look at that shop, and if the fish are not as good as yours, I will buy them from you next time!” Hearing that Zian had accepted his request, he felt that he had earned one hundred million dollars. He patted his own chest as he promised.

Electrician Wu was still ridiculing him. It was too embarrassing. He did not want to go out with Welder Zhao in the future.

After Welder Zhao saw Zhang Zian help the middle-aged customer with some of his small questions, he quietly pulled Electrician Wu to the side and whispered, “Wu, I heard that Carpenter Wang is going to restart his tank in a few days, and he might be taking out some fish… I’m thinking that maybe I can go over and ask for those fish, so I can buy less…”

“Restarting his tank?” Electrician Wu had heard of that before. It meant turning over the ecosystem in the aquarium, then restarting the whole process of creating a sustainable environment, then adding new fish.

There were many reasons for restarting the tank: some were problems with the fish; some were devastating disasters in the tank’s ecosystem; and some were purely because the owners had nothing better to do. All the various reasons were different.

“Yes, I’m going to visit him when the time comes and ask for a few fish,” Welder Zhao said and smiled.

“Is there a problem with the fish he raised?” Electrician Wu asked.

“That… I’m not too sure, but who cares! Since there’s a bargain, why not take it?” Welder Zhao said indifferently.

Electrician Wu vaguely felt that something was wrong, but he had no reason to persuade him, so Electrician Wu left him be.