A few days after his unexpected meeting with Diah, Rian was back to his usual routine.
The farm was getting busier by the day.
Vegetables were being harvested almost nonstop, orders kept coming in, and his workers had become much more organized.
But with the vegetable business finally running smoothly, Rian's mind started wandering toward another idea.
Fish.
More specifically...
Gourami.
That morning, Rian stood at the back of the farm with Pak Supri. He held his notebook in one hand while looking over an empty patch of land.
After staring at it for a while, he finally pointed toward it.
“Pak Supri, leave this part empty. I want to use it for a fish pond. Nothing too big for now. I just want to test things out first before we spend a lot of money.”
Pak Supri followed Rian's finger and looked at the empty land.
“A fish pond, Boss? So we're really getting into fish farming now?”
There was a hint of surprise in his voice. Until now, Rian had mostly been focused on vegetables, so suddenly hearing his boss talk about raising fish caught him off guard.
Rian nodded.
“Yeah. Gourami. But I'm not going all-in right away. We'll start small with regular fingerlings and see what happens. Also, find me one or two workers who actually know how to raise fish. I don't want to watch a couple of YouTube videos and suddenly think I'm a fish farmer.”
Rian chuckled at his own words.
Pak Supri laughed too.
“That's probably for the best, Boss. I'll look for someone who's actually experienced. Preferably someone who's handled gourami from the fingerling stage all the way to harvest.”
“Exactly. I don't mind learning, but I'd rather learn from someone who knows what they're doing instead of learning after killing half the fish.”
Rian gave a serious nod.
Pak Supri couldn't help laughing again.
“Don't worry. I'll find someone.”
“Good.”
Rian pointed toward another section of the land.
“And for the pond itself, let Pak Joko handle it. He's already worked on the warehouse and the drainage system here. I trust his work.”
Pak Supri nodded.
“Got it. I'll tell him. Though... have you decided how big the pond is going to be?”
Rian suddenly went quiet.
He looked at the land.
Then at his notebook.
Then back at the land.
“Not yet.”
Pak Supri stared at him.
“Not yet?”
Rian gave him an awkward smile.
“That's why we have a construction guy.”
Pak Supri burst out laughing and shook his head.
“Boss, sometimes you really are something else.”
“Hey, I know what I'm good at.”
Rian closed his notebook with a grin.
“I'm good at making money. Building ponds? That's what I pay other people for.”
Pak Supri laughed even harder.
“Well, at least you're honest.”
With the basic plan settled, Rian went back to the house.
On the table, he had already prepared several things.
Gourami fingerlings.
Feed specifically for the fingerling stage.
And, of course, one small bottle.
The serum.
Rian sat down and opened his notebook.
This was the part that interested him the most.
If the serum could produce such ridiculous results in plants, what would happen if he used it on fish?
He didn't dare pour a large amount directly into the pond.
That would be stupid.
The serum was too valuable to waste, and he had no idea how fish would react to such a strong concentration.
So he started with something much safer.
A single drop.
Rian scribbled some numbers in his notebook.
“For the first pond, one drop should be enough. Then I can use serum-infused water for the feed. Maybe one part serum to thirty parts water...”
He stopped writing and stared at the calculation.
His imagination immediately went wild.
Fast growth.
Bigger bodies.
Better meat.
Higher quality.
Rian's eyes slowly lit up.
“If this works...”
A grin spread across his face.
“We could have gourami so good that people would think they're eating some kind of divine fish.”
From the sofa, Jojo opened one eye.
“Meow.”
Rian looked over.
“What?”
Jojo stared at the notebook.
“You're already imagining how much money you're going to make, aren't you?”
Rian grinned.
“Obviously.”
Jojo sighed and put his head back down.
“Meow.”
“What now?”
“I hope the fish don't end up making more money than me.”
Rian stared at him for a second.
“You don't make any money.”
Jojo immediately raised his head.
“Meow!”
“You're an expense.”
Jojo looked deeply offended.
Rian laughed.
“Go back to sleep.”
Jojo grumbled before dropping his head onto the sofa again.
Rian looked back at his notebook.
The experiment had to be done carefully.
One pond.
Regular fingerlings.
Regular feed.
A tiny amount of serum.
If it worked...
Then they could scale everything up.
---
A few days later, construction on the pond began.
Pak Joko arrived with several workers and started measuring the area. Pak Supri handled the workers and made sure the pond wouldn't interfere with the vegetable fields.
Rian occasionally came by to check the progress, but he mostly stayed out of the way.
He trusted people who knew what they were doing.
Once everything was underway, Rian went to deliver another batch of vegetables to Dimas.
As usual, Dimas came out to greet him.
“Finally. You're here.”
Dimas smiled as he looked at the boxes being unloaded.
“Same as always?”
He opened one of the boxes and inspected the vegetables.
Rian nodded.
“Same as always. Fresh and expensive.”
Dimas laughed.
“Expensive, sure. But my customers don't complain. They sell fast.”
He picked up a vegetable, looked it over, and nodded with satisfaction.
“That quality of yours is getting ridiculous. I barely have to check anymore.”
Rian grinned.
“Good. That means you trust me.”
“Of course I trust you.”
Dimas put the vegetable back into the box.
“Your stuff sells itself.”
Rian smiled proudly.
“That's what I like to hear.”
They continued talking while the workers unloaded the rest of the shipment.
Everything was going normally.
Until one of Dimas's workers casually asked,
“Boss, next week's shipment is vegetables again?”
Rian was checking his delivery notes when he answered without thinking.
“Mostly vegetables. Though I might start sending fish too in a couple of months. I'm trying out gourami farming.”
The moment the words left his mouth, Rian froze.
He slowly raised his head.
Dimas was staring at him.
“Fish?”
Rian's expression stiffened.
“...You didn't hear that.”
Dimas immediately laughed.
“Of course I heard it! You just told me you're raising gourami.”
He stepped closer, his eyes suddenly lighting up with interest.
“What kind? Regular gourami?”
“Yeah. Regular fingerlings for now.”
Dimas's expression changed immediately.
The businessman in him had already started calculating.
“So you're really getting into fish farming?”
Rian sighed.
“I guess the secret's out.”
Dimas crossed his arms and grinned.
“Then give me exclusive rights.”
Rian immediately shook his head.
“No.”
The answer came so quickly that Dimas actually blinked.
“Damn, you didn't even think about it.”
“Because I already know the answer.”
Rian leaned against one of the boxes.
“I don't even know if the experiment is going to work yet. Why would I give you exclusive rights to something that doesn't even exist?”
Dimas rubbed his chin.
“Fair point. But if it does work, I want first dibs.”
Rian thought about it for a moment.
“That I can do.”
Dimas's grin returned.
“Seriously?”
“Yeah. I'll give you priority.”
Rian pointed a finger at him.
“But don't confuse priority with exclusivity. I'm not locking myself into one buyer. If the fish turns out amazing, I'll sell to restaurants, hotels, distributors, whoever offers a good deal.”
Dimas nodded slowly.
He understood.
Rian wasn't being difficult.
He simply didn't want to put all his eggs in one basket.
“Fine. Priority is good enough.”
Dimas extended his hand.
Rian shook it.
“Deal.”
But just as they were about to move on, Rian remembered one more thing.
“Oh, and there's something else.”
Dimas looked at him.
“What?”
“If the fish turns out as good as I expect, don't be surprised if the price is around five hundred thousand rupiah per kilo.”
Dimas froze.
His hand slowly dropped.
“...Five hundred thousand?”
“Per kilo.”
Rian nodded casually.
“It could be higher.”
Dimas stared at him like he'd just announced that he was selling fish made of gold.
“Rian, that's gourami. Not lobster.”
Rian laughed.
“I know.”
“So why are you putting that price on it?”
“Because I'm not planning to sell ordinary gourami.”
Rian's smile became a little more confident.
“If the experiment works, it'll be a premium product. The growth, meat quality, texture... everything should be different.”
Dimas narrowed his eyes.
“You're really confident.”
“Not confident.”
Rian shook his head.
“Curious.”
He tapped the notebook against his palm.
“I'll know in about two months.”
Dimas nodded slowly.
“Two months, huh?”
“Yeah. I'll give you an update then. If the results are bad, I'll just admit it didn't work. If they're good... you'll be the first person I call.”
Dimas smiled.
“Then I'll wait.”
He shook Rian's hand again.
“But if that five-hundred-thousand-per-kilo fish really exists, don't blame me if I come fighting for the supply.”
Rian laughed.
“Just bring your wallet.”
Dimas chuckled.
“Now you're talking like a businessman.”
Rian shrugged.
“I learned from people like you.”
After finishing the delivery, Rian left.
Dimas stood there for a while, watching his car disappear down the road.
Five hundred thousand per kilogram.
He knew regular gourami wasn't worth anything close to that.
But then again...
Neither were Rian's vegetables supposed to be as good as they were.
Dimas slowly smiled.
“Rian... what the hell are you growing in that farm?”
---
By late afternoon, Rian was back at the farm.
The pond was already starting to take shape.
Pak Joko and his workers were finishing the walls while Pak Supri stood nearby, checking the construction.
Rian walked over and looked down into the empty pond.
“How's it looking?”
Pak Supri wiped the sweat from his forehead before answering.
“Pretty good, Boss. Pak Joko made the walls strong, and we've got the drainage planned out too. Tomorrow we should be able to finish most of the remaining work.”
Rian nodded with satisfaction.
“Good. But don't put the fish in right away. I want the pond completely ready first. Let's make sure everything is clean and stable.”
“Got it.”
Pak Supri smiled.
“I also found someone with experience raising gourami. I'll bring him over tomorrow so he can check the pond and help us get everything ready.”
Rian's face immediately brightened.
“Perfect. Let him do most of the talking. I'll listen.”
Pak Supri chuckled.
“That's a rare thing to hear from you, Boss.”
Rian turned toward him with a deadpan expression.
“What do you mean?”
“You usually talk like you already know everything.”
Rian stared at him for a moment.
“About vegetables, maybe.”
He pointed at the unfinished pond.
“But with fish? I know absolutely nothing.”
Pak Supri laughed.
“At least you're honest.”
“That's why I hire people who know more than me.”
Rian smiled before looking back at the pond.
The water hadn't been added yet.
The fish hadn't been released.
The serum hadn't even touched the pond.
Everything was still just an experiment.
But Rian's imagination was already running.
Huge gourami.
Thick meat.
Perfect texture.
Premium quality.
Five hundred thousand rupiah per kilogram.
Maybe even more.
Rian smiled to himself.
If this experiment worked, his business would enter an entirely new field.
Not just premium vegetables.
Premium fish too.
And somewhere in the back of his mind, he could already imagine Dimas's face when the first harvest arrived.
Beside him, Jojo stared into the empty pond.
“Meow.”
Rian glanced down.
“What?”
Jojo flicked his tail.
“If those fish end up being worth more than me, I'm filing a complaint.”
Rian burst out laughing.
“Relax. Nobody's buying you.”
Jojo immediately turned away with an offended expression.
“Meow!”
Rian laughed even harder.
The first fish-farming experiment had officially begun.