Ange looked at the prices for the fish fries for each of the species, and after much thought, he decided to buy 30,000 tails of each of the Four Major Chinese Domestic Fish fry. This totaled only 800 Happiness Points. It was cheap.
He also bought 30,000 tails of Mandarin Fish fry. The total price was 200 Happiness Points, which was also cheap.
He bought 15,000 tails of Cod fry. The total price was 300 Happiness Points, which was not expensive.
He bought 10,000 tails of Sturgeon fry. The total price was 10,000 Happiness Points. This was a bit expensive.
He bought 10,000 tail of each of the four fish fry of the Jiangnan Four Fish: Hilsa Herring, Reeves's Shad, Catfish, and Noodlefish. This totaled 400,000 Happiness Points. Holy moly, that was ridiculously expensive.
The price of these four types of fish fry was even more expensive than the price of ordinary mature fish meat!
After selecting the types and quantities for aquaculture, Ange did not buy them immediately but added them to the Shopping Cart.
Unlike tree seedlings, live fish fry cannot be stored in the System Backpack. They had to be taken out immediately after purchase. However, there was no place to raise them at home, and they could easily die. So, Ange planned to buy them when it was time to release them.
After selecting the fish fry, Ange started choosing shrimp and crabs.
Farming some shrimp and crabs would not only allow them to eat them but would also serve as food for the farmed fish. This was killing two birds with one stone!
For shrimp, Ange finally chose three types: White Shrimp, Prawn, and Crayfish.
White Shrimp were small shrimp, Prawns were medium-sized, and Crayfish were large.
White Shrimp fry cost 1 Happiness Point for 3,000 individuals. Ange bought 600,000 individuals, totaling 200 Happiness Points.
Prawn fry cost 1 Happiness Point for 2,000 individuals. Ange also bought 300,000 individuals, totaling 150 Happiness Points.
Crayfish fry cost 1 Happiness Point for 1,000 individuals. Ange still bought 300,000 individuals, totaling 300 Happiness Points.
After adding the shrimp fry to the Shopping Cart, Ange selected the crab fry.
In the end, Ange only chose two types of crab fry: Swimming Crab and Mitten Crab.
The Swimming Crab was as cheap as the White Shrimp. 1 Happiness Point could buy 3,000 individuals. So, Ange bought the same quantity as the White Shrimp: 600,000 individuals, totaling 200 Happiness Points.
The Mitten Crab fry cost the same as the Crayfish: 1 Happiness Point for 1,000 individuals. Ange bought 300,000 individuals, totaling 300 Happiness Points.
Ange was mainly raising the White Shrimp and Swimming Crab to serve as food for the fish, since they were cheap.
After all the fish, shrimp, and crabs for aquaculture were chosen, Ange's family of five ate dinner together.
As usual, they chatted, played games, watched shows, and then went to the Cooking Training Room for cooking training.
Finally, they all went back to their rooms to sleep.
The next afternoon, the other Pokémon went to plant trees. The planting of Pinap Berry and Mellon Berry was nearing its end and might finish that day.
Ange, Munchlax, and Sobble stood by the Nebel Lake with Poliwrath and several Poliwhirl. This was directly opposite Ange's house. A large pile of items, including nets and some posts, was stacked at their feet.
Since they were going to farm fish, they naturally had to set up a fish farm. Otherwise, if the fish were released directly into the Nebel Lake, all the fish fry would probably swim down the waterfall into the Nebel River and then downstream, ending up somewhere unknown. They might also be eaten directly by other aquatic organisms or Pokémon.
"All right, we can start," Ange said.
"Poli poli~"
The Poliwhirl nodded at the news. Some carried the posts and jumped into the water. Others dragged the nets into the water. Then they all swam away.
Poliwrath also jumped into the water.
Ange took a Fishing Boat out of his System Backpack and put it in the water. Then, he jumped onto it with Munchlax and Sobble.
Since he was starting to farm fish, how could he not have a Fishing Boat? Ange had just bought this Fishing Boat today. It was easy to operate and very smart. Even if Ange had never sailed a boat, he could easily control it.
The technology of the Pokémon world was truly strong!
However, such a Fishing Boat was not cheap. It cost Ange 300,000 Happiness Points, and it was only a small boat.
Ange could not afford a large or medium-sized Fishing Boat.
He had spent a large sum of Happiness Points on merging the Secret Fortress last time. Now, buying fish fry and the Fishing Boat cost him another large sum. His Happiness Points were about to run out.
Happiness Points were so easy to spend. Just buying one or two big items wiped them out.
The Fishing Boat slowly sailed toward the center of the lake. Munchlax sat on the boat, curiously touching everything. This was the first time it had been on a boat.
The Fishing Boat floated in the lake. Ange sat in the bow, Munchlax sat in the stern, and Sobble sometimes jumped into the water to chase the Fishing Boat and sometimes climbed back up to spray water for fun. They were having a great time.
As for the Poliwhirl, they had reached the center of the lake. They were diving into the water, burying the tall posts into the lake bottom one by one.
Ange was going to use nets to enclose the half of Nebel Lake closest to his house for farming fish. The posts the Poliwhirl were burying were used to hang the nets.
The mesh of these nets was very fine. If the water area was enclosed with them, neither the shrimp fry, crab fry, nor the fish fry could pass through.
Only enclosing the part near Ange's house would prevent his fish farming from affecting the ecology between the upper and lower reaches of the Nebel River, and it would not affect the fish migration in the coming year.
The Poliwhirl were all very strong. Their bodies were bulging with muscle. The posts were very thick, each thicker than Ange's waist, but they carried them and swam in the water without any difficulty.
In addition to the posts, the nets were also very heavy, and they were even heavier in the water. However, the Poliwhirl still moved freely while dragging the nets.
The nets Ange bought were very strong, made of a special material. Even if a large Water-type Pokémon fiercely crashed into them, they would not be easily damaged.
Ange's nets were not only used to separate Nebel Lake from the fish farm, but also to divide the fish farm into small sections.
The fish fry, shrimp fry, and crab fry were still small and not suitable for Polyculture. If they were put together, the only consequence would be that they would kill each other: fish eating fish, fish eating shrimp, and shrimp eating fish. Then, Ange, the Aquaculture Farmer, would lose everything.
Munchlax saw the Poliwhirl grunting and burying the posts, diving into the water for a while, and swimming out to the surface for a while. Suddenly, it plunged into the water with a splash and quickly swam toward the Poliwhirl.
Indeed, Munchlax's swimming skills were excellent, and its movements were very agile.
"Munch, Munch~" I want to help! I want to help!
Munchlax said enthusiastically after swimming to the Poliwhirl.
The Poliwhirl looked at it suspiciously. "Poli poli~ Poli poli~" Can you do it?
"Munch Munch~" No problem.
Munchlax patted its chest to promise. After speaking, it plunged into the water, mimicking the Poliwhirl.
Poliwhirl thought for a moment and followed it into the water.
Munchlax was indeed capable. It was also very good at swimming, completely unlike a land Pokémon in the water. With the joint efforts of Munchlax and Poliwhirl, a post was quickly buried.
Seeing this, Ange shouted from afar to Munchlax, "Munchlax, that's awesome!"
"Munch~"
Munchlax happily waved to Ange.
Sobble, squatting on the gunwale, looked at Ange, then at Munchlax. Suddenly, it also splashed into the water and quickly swam to another Poliwhirl.
"Sobb~ Sobb~" I'm here to help.
It said, copying Munchlax.
"Poli?" Poliwhirl was stunned by its words. Then, it laughed heartily. "Poli poli,Poli poli~" Good boy, stop messing around and go play.
Hearing Poliwhirl say this, Sobble was very unconvinced. So, it held the post with both hands and pushed hard, trying to straighten the post lying horizontally on the water.
"Sobb, Sobb~"
It gritted its teeth, closed its eyes, and used all its strength, but the post remained completely still.
"Poli poli poli~~~"
Poliwhirl burst into laughter.
"Sobb, Sobb~"
Sobble was so angry that it clenched its fists and punched the post hard. The result was that its hand hurt terribly.
"Sobb..."
Tears welled up in Sobble's eyes.
"Poli poli poli~~~"
Poliwhirl laughed even more. It proudly showed off its muscles. Then, in front of Sobble, it gently set the post upright.
"Sobb, Sobb~"
Sobble was truly upset and started crying.
Poliwhirl was still proudly showing off its strength, completely unaware of the severity of the situation. Sure enough, not long after, Poliwhirl started crying along with Sobble.
"Poli poli poli~~" This is what's going on!
Poliwhirl asked, wiping its tears.
"Sobb~" I won't tell you!
Sobble said angrily. Then, its body suddenly became transparent and disappeared next to Poliwhirl.
Poliwhirl did not know that Sobble's tears contained a very strong tear-inducing ingredient. It was said to be as potent as 100 onions. Since it was so close to Sobble, how could it not cry?
At this time, Poliwhirl's companions noticed the situation here. Seeing Poliwhirl humiliated, they also mocked it mercilessly.
The laughter would not disappear; it just transferred.
Everyone joked around while working. The atmosphere was light and pleasant.
Following Ange's instructions, the Poliwhirl quickly buried all the posts. The next step was hanging the nets.
Poliwhirl, Poliwrath, and Munchlax dragged the nets while swimming in the water, hanging the two ends of the nets between two posts. The fish farm gradually took shape.
Once the nets were hung and the fish farm was divided into different-sized areas, Ange took out heavy Metal Chains and threw them by the nets. He had the Poliwhirl tie the Metal Chains to the bottom of the nets.
These Metal Chains were called Anchor Chains. They were used to secure the bottom of the Fishing Nets. Without them, the fish in the fish farm would still escape from the bottom of the Fishing Nets.
Once the Anchor Chains were also tied, it was already late. Ange and the others worked on the finer details of the setup for a while. It was now evening.
The sunset's afterglow on the lake surface dyed Nebel Lake a warm orange.
Just then, clang, a Poliwhirl threw a huge, lively fish onto the Fishing Boat. It was a large Snakehead Fish, fully one and a half meters long. Who knows how long it had lived in Nebel Lake?
Munchlax had already returned to the boat. Seeing this, Ange quickly told it, "Munchlax, catch it quickly." As he spoke, he was also about to jump on it.
However, before Ange and Munchlax could jump on it, the quick-witted Sobble jumped on and hugged the large Snakehead Fish. It proudly asked Ange, "Sobb, Sobb~" Am I handsome? Am I amazing?
Its small body barely reached a fifth of the large Snakehead Fish. It looked incredibly comical hugging the fish.
Sure enough, the next second, the large Snakehead Fish slapped Sobble with its tail, sending it into the water.
"Sobb~" Ouch!
By then, Ange and Munchlax had already leaped onto the fish. Ange held the head of the Snakehead Fish, and Munchlax held the tail. Seeing the Snakehead Fish struggle, Ange punched it on the forehead.
The Snakehead Fish instantly stopped moving. It had been knocked unconscious by Ange.
Indeed, being strong and fit was a benefit.
Ange blew on his fist. He asked the Sobble, who had just surfaced, in a cool manner, mimicking Sobble's usual pose, "Am I handsome?"
Sobble: . . .
After the fish farm was enclosed, it still needed to be cleared. So, they could not immediately release the fish fry. The wild fish living in the water were one of the targets that needed to be cleared.
Although these fish were few in number, they posed a great threat to the fish fry, shrimp fry, and crab fry. Therefore, they had to be cleared out.
Seeing that it was getting late, Ange said to the Poliwhirl and Poliwrath, "Let's go home, or it will get dark. We can clean the fish farm tomorrow."
Poliwrath and the Poliwhirl all agreed. They quickly gathered around Ange's Fishing Boat and swam toward the shore with the boat.
After going ashore, Ange and Munchlax carried the huge Snakehead Fish together. As they walked, he said to the Poliwhirl and Poliwrath, "Tonight, we'll have Fish Soup!"
Snakehead Fish Soup was very nourishing!
"Poli poli, Poli poli~"
"Poli poli~~"
Poliwrath and the Poliwhirl cheered. Munchlax and Sobble were also overjoyed.
When Ange and the others returned home, the tree-planting Pokémon had already returned. They were gathered on the plaza in front of Ange's house, chasing and playing or chatting and laughing, waiting for Ange and the others to come back and make dinner.
Ange walked toward the house and said, "Everyone, wait a little longer. Dinner will be ready soon!"
After arriving home, he and Munchlax took a quick shower. Then, he went into the kitchen to get busy.
Ange assigned the task of gutting and cooking the fish to Sobble. Ange had taught it how to cook fish. Today was the time to test its cooking skills.
Sobble held a deep grudge over being slapped by the Snakehead Fish's tail. Therefore, it gritted its teeth while gutting the fish. The fish, over a meter long, was sliced into fillets with its Water Blade.
The Snakehead Fish in Nebel Lake was truly good. The meat was translucent, snow-white with a hint of pink. It was a delicacy!
Sobble not only had a talent for cooking congee, but it also had a talent for cooking Fish Soup. Steam was billowing out of the gigantic pot. Sobble stood by the pot, continuously adding seasonings to the Fish Soup. Soon, a rich aroma filled the kitchen.
Seeing that the Fish Soup was ready, Sobble fetched a small ladle and a bowl. It scooped a small bowl and tasted it.
"Wow~ It's... it's too delicious!"
Sobble was instantly conquered by its own cooking.
Carrying the ladle and holding the bowl, it ran along the stovetop to Ange. It held up the bowl and said to Ange with anticipation, "Sobb~ Sobb~" Ange, try this quickly.