Pet King

As Zhang Zian explained the differences in artificial sea salt, everybody listened carefully. Only Welder Zhao grew impatient and said, “Useless talk. This is a waste of money! When I started my saltwater tank, I didn’t spend a cent. And the fish are thriving!”

“What? Mr. Zhao, you didn’t spend anything on your saltwater tank?” Electrician Wu paused in surprise.

He knew that Welder Zhao was a saltwater aquarium fan and had started earlier than him. He checked it out at his place and felt they were nice. The tanks were big, with bottom sand and eco-bio-blocks. It looked very decent, but he could not imagine that he didn’t spend money on it.

“Of course!” Welder Zhao felt pretty good about himself. “Saltwater is taken from nature, free of charge. It can be used after it’s carried home and resting for a while. The eco-bio-blocks are chiseled from the rocks at the beach. The bottom sand is even simpler. Just take some sand from the beach and put it into the tank after a simple wash… Even the tank itself was built with scrap glass I collected. I cut and glued them together with a glass cutter and glass glue. It’s 1.5 meters long, worth at least 2,000 yuan if you bought it! Then I made a wood frame for my tank. It’s very solid!”

Electrician Wu was speechless after hearing this. “Zhao, you are too good at saving money…”

Zhang Zian suggested that it was a shame that Snowy was not there. Otherwise, if the online fans had heard, he could have his “Cheap Store Manager” tag removed forever…

Despite that both the rich and the poor were entitled to have fun in their own rich or poor ways, it was really too stingy… Not to mention that the DIY fish tank was most likely made of regular glass, not the super clear type, thus impairing the view. As for the coarse sand from the beach, there might be turd hidden inside.

Regardless of having cats, dogs, or fish, pets were supposed to make people happy and relaxed. It was entertainment––buying fun with money. Was there any fun left if one had to raise the fish under such a tight budget and wrack their brain to find free stuff all day?

Yet, this was Welder Zhao’s choice. Maybe he really enjoyed doing so.

If one was not a fish, how could they understand its joy?

Electrician Wu glanced at the package of the heating rod. It was all in German. He could not read a word…

He put the heating rod into a saltwater bucket, plugged it in, then tested it with a multimeter. At least for now, it was not leaking.

“Okay, I’ll take this heating rod. How long is the warranty?” he asked.

Zhang Zian stretched out three fingers. “Three months. As long as the damage is not intentional, I’ll get you a new one. If any leakage occurs within a year, I’ll get you a new one as well, as long as the warranty seal is kept intact.”

Electrician Wu paid for it generously. Then he suddenly remembered something and asked Welder Zhao, “Right, Mr. Zhao, I see that this boy knows a lot. Would you like to ask him how to deal with the worms in your tank?”

Welder Zhao was still babbling about his experience in saving money on an aquarium. He seemed frustrated at being interrupted and didn’t seem willing to bring it up. He said vaguely, “Ask? I don’t need to ask! It’s just a few stupid worms. I can take care of them. Just get some fish that feed on worms. In fact, I’m out with you today to get some fish! Just dump those fish in the tank, and they’ll clean up all the worms!”

Jiang Feifei grew curious and interrupted, “Mr. Zhao, are there worms in the tank? What kind of worms?”

“Nothing! Nothing! Right, even the tank lightings are not purchased. I used an old lamp…” Welder Zhao waved his hand and continued with his money-saving tricks.

Electrician Wu took out his own phone, waved at Jiang Feifei, took her to the side, and whispered, “Girl, do you want to know what kind of worm it is? In fact, I don’t know what worm it is, either. I suggested that Mr. Zhao ask an expert in case the worms harm the fish. But this guy is so proud and opinionated and thinks he knows everything. He won’t listen to me at all… When I visited his house, I filmed the worms in the tank with my phone. Would you like to see it?”

“Yes.”

The more Welder Zhao tried to hide, the more Electrician Wu acted mysteriously, and the more Jiang Feifei wanted to find out what it was.

Wang Qian and Li Kun dumped bucket after bucket of artificial seawater into the brand new tanks. Their arms grew tired quickly. They rubbed their arms and rested, then came closer to take a look.

Electrician Wu’s expression was complicated. He said hesitantly, “I suggest that you don’t watch it.”

“Why not?” The three of them asked in one voice, thinking that Electrician Wu was good at playing mysterious. He took it out but would not let them see it…

“Because…” Electrician Wu stuttered. “Because they are gross. Most girls are terrified of worms. I’m afraid that you’ll feel uncomfortable.”

“That’s fine, no worries,” Jiang Feifei guaranteed with confidence. “I go to the beach all the time and have seen plenty of disgusting marine creatures. Some creatures may seem disgusting to others, but they seem fun to me.” She was not bragging, just being honest.

After seeing that she insisted on seeing them, Electrician Wu sighed and unlocked the phone. He flipped out a photo from the library and said, “Here you go. These are the worms.”

Jiang Feife, Wang Qian, and Li Kun all crowded over, stretched out their necks, and started at the screen. Their faces froze instantly and their stomachs felt uncomfortable.

It was a close-up picture. Between the rocks and bottom sand in the tank, a dozen worms like centipedes were squirming around. To show the lengths of these worms, the photographer had used a ruler for comparison. Each worm was at least ten centimeters long.

“So gross. What kind of worms are they?” Wang Qian asked. “They are quite long.”

“I wish I knew.” Electrician Wu shook his head. “These are the smaller ones. His tank is big, with lots of rocks with cracks in between. There might be bigger ones hiding there…”

The three of them were getting breathless. If the smaller ones were ten centimeters long, then the big ones… would be how long? It was too disgusting.

“Master, take a look. What worms are they?” Li Kun asked.

Zhang Zian walked over and glanced at it. He said with certainty, “These are clam worms, or pile worms. They’re a type of sandworm. They may look gross, but they are not harmful. They can clean up the algae in the tank. Some people even eat clam worms… These are enough for a dish.”

The three of them became even more disgusted.

“Young man, these are clam worms?” Electrician Wu asked in doubt.

“Yes, that’s correct,” Zhang Zian confirmed once again.

“Will they harm the fish?” Electrician Wu asked again.

“No. Some fish like eating clam worms. If you find them gross, just get some fish that feed on clam worms,” Zhang Zian said.

After hearing their conversation, Welder Zhao said proudly, “Look, what did I say? Wu, you should trust me! What can I do about you… Why would you make a fuss when this can be easily solved by getting a few more fish? In fact, I kept them on purpose, so that they’ll grow bigger. Then I’ll get some more fish and save money on fish food!”

After hearing him, the others said to themselves that Welder Zhao was quite cheap to keep such disgusting worms.

Electrician Wu still didn’t feel certain. “Young man, how can you be so sure by taking one glance? Please look again carefully.”

“No need to look again. This is one type of clam worm. There are 80 types along the coast in China!” Zhang Zian smiled.

Electrician Wu gasped in fear. “But I feel these worms are ferocious… Mr. Zhao, don’t your fish disappear from the tank for no reason?”

“Nonsense! There’s no such a thing! It’s… It’s just my mistake in counting!” Welder Zhao blushed and argued.

Zhang Zian was astonished and interrupted their conversation. “Wait! The fish are disappearing from the tank? Really?”

Electrician Wu pointed at Welder Zhao. “That’s right. He complained to me the other day that the fish were missing after a few days and the remains were never found. They are not expensive fish, but it still makes him upset… You see, now he’s denying it again.”

Zhang Zian was almost sweating. He realized the situation was not good.