757 The Gentleman is Poor (1/2)

Whaling was a long-standing activity of mankind, especially in countries with abundant fishery resources and cold seas. However, with human's indiscriminate killing, the number of whales continued to decrease. As a result, the international community had since banned whaling in the year 1986.

It was no exaggeration to say that every part of a whale was a treasure. Other by-products in modern society had their own substitutes––except for whale meat, which was irreplaceable.

Fishermen in developed countries were able to earn more than $80,000 for each whale they caught. Catching one a year would be middle class, and catching two would make the people reach a higher class. As for restaurants that served whale meat as delicacies, they would be able to double their profits earned.

Driven by high profit earning, even though the international convention had explicitly prohibited whaling for commercial purposes, it had repeatedly failed to stop whaling activities. Because the international convention required each respective country to abide by it, if an individual country decided close one's eyes to the matter, then nothing else could be done.

Some countries were whaling in the open, and some were whaling under the excuse of scientific research, while there were also those that did it in secret.

Zhang Zian had heard that some people in South Korea, under the reason of ”Bycatch,” had been whaling secretly, and as long as a customer was willing to pay, they would be able to enjoy fresh whale meat in the restaurant. So when he saw Sihwa pointing towards the northeast, he immediately recalled the rumors about South Koreans poaching whales.

Yet Sihwa didn't believe his words. ”A-jeoan, you're lying… right? Whales are so cute, the South Koreans would never poach whales! Something must have gone wrong somewhere!”

She refused to believe that her oppa would be holding up a fork and knife to taste the delicious whale meat with a bright smile on his face.

Zhang Zian wanted to refute, but he swallowed his words back after he opened his mouth because there was no evidence.

Sihwa pointed towards the northeast, but the northeast was a very large area––it included South Korea, Japan, and the far eastern regions of Russia. Those three countries were well-developed in offshore fishing and they all had a tradition of whaling.

There were certain species of whales that were not endangered and the whaling of such whales was permitted under certain circumstances.

Zhang Zian felt very angry; he clearly had an opportunity to bring a white whale back, but because he was a law-abiding citizen, he gave up on the opportunity. Now, someone else had secretly earned this money that he had given up on, so he was feeling really unhappy!

This cannot do. Don't even think about earning the money that I can't earn!

So he did not continue to dwell on which country was secretly whaling, but said, ”Sihwa, you don't want those whales to be hunted by humans, right?”

She nodded her head. ”Whales are really cute! The white whale accompanied me all the way until I got stranded ashore on the beach at Germany! When I was tired, it would float up to the surface of the water and let me take a rest on its back; when I was thinking about oppa, it would sing a song for me; when I was lost in the open sea, it would swim in front and lead the way—although it was stupid for leading me the wrong way and taking me all the way to Germany instead of South Korea…”

As she went on, she started to get depressed.

In fact, Zhang Zian felt as though she had no right to say that the white whale was stupid since it did at least lead her to the shore. If she had continued to swim foolishly, she probably would have swam all the way to Bermuda.

Now, even if you take ten thousand steps back and say, ”If the white whale did manage to lead her all the way to South Korea, it would probably be served up the dining table as a plate of whale meat…”

”Then, Sihwa, do you have any way to send messages to those whales?” Zian asked.

”I do. I can sing!” she said.

”They can hear you from such a distance away?” Zian continued asking.

She gave a look like she was looking at an idiot. ”Ajeo-an, are you looking down on me? I can hear them sing, so of course they can hear me sing, too!”

”You misunderstood me––I was just trying to confirm.” Zhang Zian laughed and said, ”Then can you make those whales that are being hunted swim here? We don't hunt whales around here, and of course, we don't have any interest in whale meat.”

”Really?” She stared at him suspiciously. ”Chinese people are very poor, right?”