anwhile.
As Hailufeng Company continuously released a steady supply of eel fry into the dostic market, their revenue soared, attracting considerable attention.
For instance, the Pearl River Delta offices of many large East Japanese eel farming companies gradually noticed sothing was amiss.
Among them, the Pearl River Delta office of the Kagoshima Eel Company was the first to spot the problem.
After all, they had purchased a batch of leptocephalus fry from Zhang’s Company, and the fact that Zhang’s was still pushing sales imdiately put the Kagoshima Eel Company on high alert.
Watanabe Kenjiro, accompanied by an assistant and a translator, arrived at the headquarters of Hailufeng Company.
Looking at the unremarkable company before him, he found it hard to believe this was the firm that had developed artificial eel breeding technology.
But facts speak louder than words.
The large-scale, off-season appearance of glass eels was definitive proof of a breakthrough in artificial eel breeding technology.
Seeing the three strangers at the entrance, Old Ke ca out and asked, "Can I help you?"
He then asked again in his less-than-fluent Mandarin.
The translator quickly stepped forward and said with a smile, "Hello, we’re from the Japan Kagoshima Eel Company. We’re here to visit your company. We made an appointnt with your online sales departnt the day before yesterday."
As soon as Old Ke heard they were from another company, he quickly called the secretarial office.
Li Zixuan, who had just taken over as secretary from Li Wenna, listened to Old Ke’s call, then went downstairs to greet the visitors while simultaneously calling his boss.
Soon, Li Zixuan led Watanabe Kenjiro and his two companions to a reception room on the first floor.
About ten-odd minutes later.
Jiang Miao and Ke Yong returned as well.
Li Zixuan quickly stood up and made the introductions. "Gentlen, this is our chairman, Mr. Jiang Miao."
"Boss, this is Team Leader Watanabe Kenjiro from the Kagoshima Eel Company’s Pearl River Delta office."
The two parties shook hands and sat down. Li Zixuan poured a cup of tea for Jiang Miao.
"Mr. Watanabe, I’ve already heard about your visit to our Hailufeng Company. You wish to purchase our company’s eel breeding technology?"
"Yes. I wonder what Chairman Jiang thinks about that?" Watanabe Kenjiro asked with a smile.
The translator repeated this in Mandarin on the side.
Jiang Miao smiled and nodded. "Certainly. The complete technology package is available for thirty million dollars. However, I am only licensing the Kagoshima Eel Company to use this technology in East Japan. This does not include other regions."
After hearing the translator’s explanation, a flash of astonishnt crossed Watanabe Kenjiro’s face. He clearly hadn’t expected it to be so simple, and the price was also within an acceptable range for him.
In reality, he didn’t know that Hailufeng Company’s eel breeding technology was extrely simple and couldn’t be kept secret for long.
Once dostic companies caught on, they would start poaching employees or stealing secrets. It was estimated that within two or three years, other companies would develop similar technology.
And as long as other dostic companies succeeded in imitating it, the Japanese, Koreans, and people from Southeast Asia would also eventually obtain the related technology through those companies.
Rather than wait for the technology to leak, it was better to sell it for a good price as soon as possible and maximize the profit.
A price of thirty million dollars for a regional technology license was certain to be within the Kagoshima Eel Company’s psychological expectations. If it were any higher, they might hesitate or even give up on the deal.
Watanabe Kenjiro didn’t agree imdiately. Instead, he made an international call back to East Japan.
Half an hour later.
The two parties established the preliminary terms for the technology transfer contract. Watanabe Kenjiro and his group would then temporarily remain at Hailufeng, waiting for the higher-ups on both sides to finalize the contract. He would then sign it on behalf of the Kagoshima Eel Company and return to East Japan with the technical data.
Just one week later, the Kagoshima Eel Company and Hailufeng Company finalized their contract discussions. Watanabe Kenjiro and Jiang Miao signed the contract, representing their respective companies.
The contract was dated January 1, ’25.
The reason for choosing this date was that Hailufeng Company’s revenue for the current year had already been planned out. This inco had to be counted towards the ’25 fiscal year to avoid higher taxes.
After receiving the initial paynt of fifteen million dollars, Jiang Miao provided the first part of the technical data. This information detailed how to raise the eels so that the males would reach the point of sex change.
The subsequent information—seawater temperature, salinity, and feed formulas for the breeding period—would only be sent after the other party had verified the preliminary technology.
After signing the contract, Watanabe Kenjiro hurriedly took the USB drive and boarded a plane back to East Japan.
「January 3rd.」
Early in the morning, just as the sky began to brighten, at the headquarters of the Japan Kagoshima Eel Company.
A dozen or so technicians were intently examining the newly returned technical data.
"So that’s how it is. It’s because artificially fard eels lack an accumulation of certain nutrients that the males can’t undergo their sex change. And among these essential nutrients, several are only found in natural freshwater environnts."
"This Hailufeng Company has already managed to replicate most of the necessary nutrients with artificial feed. The only one that can’t be replaced by an artificial nutrient is this Duckweed."
"It’s not just Duckweed. They also provided several alternative wild aquatic plants, all of which are relatively common in East Japan, just not as cost-effective as Duckweed."
The president of the Kagoshima Eel Company, Watanabe Junichi, asked anxiously, "Can we test the technology right away?"
An older technician nodded. "It’s incomplete, but we can perform the preliminary verification. It will probably take about three months."
Watanabe Junichi’s expression turned grave. "Then start imdiately. Although we’ve obtained the exclusive technology license for the East Japan region, once other companies discover how simple this technology is, they will certainly try to imitate it."
"No wonder they sold the technology so easily," said Vice President Watanabe Jiro, his face darkening.
"They’re a smart bunch. They know technology diffusion is inevitable, so they decided to maximize their profit. However, if the technology is sound, we also stand to make a fortune." Watanabe Junichi wasn’t angry.
For thirty million dollars, if they could maintain a lead for about two years, they could definitely earn the money back, given the potential of the East Japan market.
Of course, it wouldn’t be so easy to recoup the investnt just by selling eel fry, as other Japanese eel farming companies could still purchase eel fry from the international market.
Therefore, Watanabe Junichi planned to leverage the exclusive technology license for the East Japan region that Kagoshima Eel Company had secured. He would first make so money off the other Japanese eel farming companies to recoup so of their initial costs.
Adding in the profits from eel fry, the sale of mature eels, and revenue from their restaurants, Watanabe Junichi was confident he could recover the costs within two years.
However, everything hinged on the artificial eel breeding technology being problem-free and successfully going into production.
anwhile, back at Hailufeng Company, they received nurous partnership invitations from other Japanese companies. But Jiang Miao didn’t agree to them; instead, he directed them to the Kagoshima Eel Company.
After all, having signed a regional exclusive technology license, he couldn’t go back on his word.
Moreover, it would be a clear breach of contract. If Hailufeng Company licensed the technology to other Japanese companies, the Kagoshima Eel Company would win a lawsuit against them every ti.
To prevent the Kagoshima Eel Company from breaching the contract, Jiang Miao had insisted that they include a maximum penalty clause of 50% in the agreent.
The Kagoshima Eel Company naturally began receiving partnership requests from other Japanese companies. Watanabe Junichi knew these companies were being sent over by Hailufeng Company, and his impression of Hailufeng improved considerably.
At the very least, their collaboration now had a foundation for mutual benefit and a win-win outco.
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