The expeditionary force began to dominate Southeast Asia by recruiting defeated soldiers

Chapter 643: Amazing Profits, Private Capital Enters Deep-Sea Fishing

Five "Nanyang-1000" ocean-going fishing vessels, dragging their slightly tired but majestic bodies, slowly approached the newly built dedicated fishing terminal of Yangon Port one by one.

The moment the hatch cover was opened, the employees of Nanhua Fisheries Company, the hired craftsmen, and the onlookers who were waiting at the dock all gasped and exclaimed in amazement.

In the cabin, densely packed and shining silver, piled up like mountains, were huge sea fish that the people of Southeast Asia had only seen in picture books before.

Especially those big ones that are specially placed at the top, with streamlined bodies and shining metallic blue-black luster, are even more eye-catching.

"Oh my god, this... is this a fish? I'm afraid it's a spirit, right?"

An old immigrant from Yunnan Province rubbed his eyes, unable to believe it.

The experienced master hired by Nanhua Fisheries came forward with his apprentices to inspect the goods, his voice changing with excitement:

"Oh my goodness, this is a yellowfin tuna. Judging by its head, it's usually about 1.5 to 1.6 meters long and weighs between 150 and 200 kilograms."

He instructed his apprentice to measure one of the fattest ones:

"This one... is 1.8 meters long and weighs an estimated 230 kilograms. It's top quality."

According to the chef's experience, the meat yield of tuna of this size is about 60% to 70%.

In other words, a 200-kilogram tuna can produce at least 120 kilograms of high-quality fish meat.

Among them, the large and middle belly parts, which are most suitable for making sashimi, account for 15% to 20%, or 20 to 30 kilograms, which is more valuable than gold in the market.

The dock immediately turned into a busy and orderly processing plant.

The workers follow the training procedures and lift the tuna to a special bleeding tank for careful processing.

"Hurry, the bleeding must be thorough, otherwise it will affect the quality of the meat and its shelf life!"

"Be careful, don't break them, these are all gold nuggets!"

On the other side, large quantities of bonito, mackerel, and sardines are transported directly to the canning factory next door via conveyor belts.

There are also baskets of lively and large prawns, almost as long as an adult's forearm, which are sorted out separately and prepared to be made into high-end canned food.

In the office, Guo Xiu listened to his subordinates' preliminary statistical report:

"Mr. Guo, according to preliminary counts, the total catch of the five boats is estimated to be over 1,100 tons.

Among them, high-value tuna and large grouper account for about 15%, exceeding 160 tons; large and medium-sized commercial fish such as Spanish mackerel account for about 40%;

Sardines, bonito, etc. account for about 35%; shrimp, crabs, etc. account for about 10%."

"According to current international market estimates, the value of just 160 tons of high-end tuna and grouper, frozen and shipped to Singapore, John's homeland, and even the West Coast of White Eagle, could exceed $600,000."

"Most of the remaining nearly 1,000 tons of commercial fish will go to canning production lines and fishmeal processing plants. Even if we calculate conservatively based on canned food and fishmeal prices, the output value is over $200,000."

"After deducting all costs for the voyage, including fuel, supplies, crew salaries, and equipment depreciation, preliminary estimates indicate that the net profit from this single voyage...is no less than 250 million Nanyang dollars."

250 million Nanyang dollars, that's five hundred thousand dollars.

In '45, that was a huge sum of money.

It is enough to buy one or two more "Nanyang-1000" fishing boats.

The first voyage achieved amazing profits.

-----

The processing and sales of fish are even more eye-opening.

In the newly built modern processing plant of Nanhua Group, workers in white work clothes operate skillfully on the assembly line.

The tuna is cut into different parts and the best parts are flash-frozen, ready for air or refrigerated transport to high-end markets.

Large quantities of sardines and bonito are sent into the roaring canning production line, where they are cleaned, headed and gutted, canned, injected with special brine or olive oil, sealed, and sterilized at high temperature... Boxes of "Panda Brand" canned fish quickly come off the line.

The most eye-catching is the canned shrimp production line.

In addition to the traditional original flavor of boiled food in salt water, the food research and development department of Nanhua Group has also ingeniously launched the "five-spice" and "spicy" flavors.

"Can this be delicious?" a local Malay-Chinese worker asked curiously.

"Let's give it a try. I heard this is an improved recipe from the southwest of the Republic of China. Maybe it can open up new markets."

The master chef in charge of seasoning is full of confidence.

These "Panda Brand" canned foods, whether fish or shrimp, have the words "high-quality protein" and "rich in nutrition" prominently printed on the packaging, and quickly became a hot commodity.

Among the people, the popularity of marine fish has also brought about interesting collisions.

Many immigrants from the Republic of China who first came to Southeast Asia felt both curious and surprised when they ate sea fish with almost no bones for the first time.

"This fish is good. The meat is thick and there are no small bones. The child won't worry about it getting stuck in his throat when eating it."

A mother with her children praised the freshly-cold mackerel fillets she bought at the store.

"I heard you can eat it raw? Just dip it in soy sauce? This... is this okay?"

A mature and prudent northern immigrant looked at the poster of tuna sashimi with doubt.

But after trying it, people are often conquered by its delicious taste.

Local Nanyang Chinese have developed more fusion dishes based on their original eating habits, such as cooking grouper heads with curry and steaming sea fish with coconut milk, allowing seafood to be integrated into local dining tables more quickly.

Just then, a bigger piece of good news came.

The White Eagle Navy's logistics department, which was busy with the Pacific War, placed a long-term, large-scale military supply order directly to the South China Group through the liaison office after learning that Nanyang could provide a stable supply of large quantities of high-quality protein.

"Panda Brand" canned fish and frozen fish fillets are regularly purchased as supplies for warships and overseas bases.

This order is not only profitable, but also elevates the success of Nanhua Fisheries from a commercial level to the level of strategic cooperation.

The news spread like wildfire.

Those private shipowners and chamber of commerce bosses who were hesitant about the "Nanyang-1000" fishing boats and even secretly laughed at Li Zhenbang and Guo Xiu's "messing around" are now regretting it.

They swarmed in, surrounded factory director Li Zhenbang, who had just breathed a sigh of relief, and surrounded the headquarters of Nanhua Group.

"Director Li, Brother Li, do you have any ships left? Our Chaoshan Chamber of Commerce is ordering two, no, three!"

"Mr. Guo, Mr. Guo, would you like to sell us that fish-finding sonar? We're willing to pay a high price."

"Joint venture, Mr. Guo, let's consider it. We'll provide the money and the people, and Nanhua will provide the technology and management."

Faced with this sudden admiration, Zhang Chi couldn't help but laugh when listening to the reports from Guo Xiu and Zhang Guangsong.

"It seems that this first crab tastes good. Now we don't have to beg them to buy a boat anymore, right?"