Chapter 124: Do You Know About the Jumping Fish?

Chapter 124: Chapter 124: Do You Know About the Jumping Fish?

The mudflats in the southeastern corner of Qianhai Town were vast. How vast? So vast that when the tide was fully out, you could stand on the road, gaze into the distance, and barely see the horizon.

On the way over, you could see many fishermen already walking on the mudflats, swinging their hoes now and then to turn over the silt, searching for Jumping Fish.

On the mudflats, one could also see the figures of many women moving through the mangrove forest on the southern side, where they were picking *lanqian*.

As soon as they arrived, Li Xindong carried his bicycle to the shore, locked it up, and went down to the mudflats with his tools to get busy. Xu An, meanwhile, stood by the side of the road, looking out.

In his past life, he had only heard that the village had started a Jumping Fish farm right here on these southeastern mudflats.

They ran it for three years and made a lot of money. Every family in Xu Family Village built a new house and bought a new electric scooter. The village even built a small public square where Aunt Hong and the others could do their square dancing after dinner. The standard of living had improved significantly.

’If they could have kept it going, Xu Family Village would have eventually been able to afford cars for everyone.’

But it wasn’t just Xu Family Village that had leased these mudflats. More than ten villages of various sizes, like Ma Family Village and Yan Family Village, had leased it together. Xu Family Village only occupied a small part of it.

Compared to Xu Family Village, the other villages had larger populations, formed cliques, and caused all sorts of trouble. In the end, no one would yield to anyone else, and they all started sabotaging each other.

One day, someone would tear a corner of your greenhouse cover to let the seabirds feast inside. The next day, someone would block the seawater inlet to your aquaculture plot so the tide couldn’t get in. The day after, they’d find some rotten fish and shrimp and toss them into your enclosure...

After all this back-and-forth, everyone got angry and focused their energy on one thing: causing mischief.

’I don’t care if I benefit or not. As long as I can see you suffer, I’ll be happy.’

Among so many villages, it wasn’t as if there were no honest people. But usually, the hardworking and capable folks had no say in these matters.

In the second year, the profits were only seventy percent of the first year’s, which only intensified the darker side of everyone’s nature.

By the third year, all sorts of tactics were being used openly. People even stooped to despicable acts like pouring pesticides into the aquaculture plots.

No one dared to provoke Xu Family Village, that was true. But mudflat aquaculture was a business where everyone’s fortunes were intertwined.

When the tide came in, the pesticides that were initially poured into just one plot were carried by the seawater into every other plot, and eventually out into the ocean.

For several days in a row, the ebbing tide left behind countless dead fish and shrimp on the mudflats, and the stench was overwhelming...

And so, the new rural development project—one that had been booming in its first year and had even been interviewed by the city’s television station—came to an unceremonious end.

Now, in August 2012, these mudflats were still unclaimed. They were so clean, so clear, and the scent of the sea was so pure...

’The Jumping Fish farm was a huge success three years later. So starting it three years early should be fine, right?’

Xu An pulled out his phone and started searching for case studies on Jumping Fish farming. He found that several other coastal cities in the country had long since started mudflat aquaculture.

Besides mudflat farming, there was also shallow-sea net pen culture, deep-sea bamboo raft farming, and floating ball suspension culture...

The ocean had truly become humanity’s Sea Ranch...

’The only question left now is how to tell Second Grandfather about this reliable development model at the right time, in the right place, and in the right way?’

’If I can connect mudflat aquaculture to the current push for rural industry support, get policy backing, and achieve some results, couldn’t Xu Family Village have a much better future than it did in my past life?’

’September first. There’s still half a month. I have to find a way to let Second Grandfather know about the feasibility of mudflat aquaculture as soon as possible.’

Xu An put his phone back in his pocket and was about to leave when he looked up and saw the women picking *lanqian* in the mangrove forest.

Thinking about the taste of cooked *lanqian*, Xu An couldn’t help but swallow. He called out to the woman closest to the shore.

"Auntie, how much *lanqian* have you picked? Are you selling? How much a pound? I’d like to buy some to try!"

"I’m selling! Twenty yuan a pound, how much do you want?" The Auntie stopped picking and laboriously pulled her feet from the mud, walking towards Xu An one step at a time.

"How much have you picked? I’ll take three to five pounds."

"I’ve got it. Wait a moment."

The Auntie walked to the shore, said that, and left. She reappeared in front of Xu An less than three minutes later, holding an old-fashioned steelyard scale.

"Six pounds in total. Want it all?"

"I’ll take it all." Xu An generously bought the entire batch.

When he returned home carrying the *lanqian*, Granny Xu saw it in his hands and a look of disgust crossed her face.

During the great famine years ago, the people by the sea had eaten *lanqian* as a staple.

They would wash it, soak out the bitterness, steam it, and eat it plain. Most of the time, they didn’t even add a pinch of salt. Even though it was awful, they had to force it down to survive.

Granny Xu had been one of those people back then. It was during that time she grew sick of eating *lanqian*, and now she couldn’t control her expression whenever she saw it.

That memory was simply too deeply ingrained.

Of course, Xu An’s method of preparation wasn’t as crude as it was back then. He found a small knife and gently slit the outer skin of the *lanqian*, removing and discarding the fuzzy core inside—the source of the bitterness.

After processing all the *lanqian* this way, he washed them twice and put them in a pot. He added enough water to cover them, put on the lid, brought it to a rolling boil over high heat, and then turned off the flame. Once the water cooled, he drained the *lanqian* and soaked them in fresh water. By repeating this process three times and letting them soak until the next morning, the bitterness would be completely gone.

Finally, when cooked with shrimp, they would become an incredibly fresh and sweet delicacy.

Just as Xu An finished preparing the *lanqian*, there was a sudden knock on the courtyard gate. A young, childish voice called out from outside: "Brother Anzi, Brother Anzi! Grandpa has something for you, he wants you to come to my house!"

"Alright, Shitou! You go on back, I’ll be over in a bit!" After pumping some well water to wash his hands and feet, Xu An dried them off, told Granny Xu where he was going, and then casually headed towards his Second Grandfather’s house.

The child who had just called for him was his Second Grandfather’s grandson, Shitou. He was in the third grade, did well in school, and took after his Second Grandfather in build. He was a head taller and much sturdier than his peers; from behind, you might even mistake him for a middle school student.

Second Grandfather’s house was no different from anyone else’s in the village. The style and the footprint were exactly the same.

The only difference was that outside his courtyard wall, Second Grandfather had planted lots of flowers and plants. Creeping figs and bougainvillea covered the wall, adding a touch of vitality to the small yard.

Xu An walked up to the courtyard gate and gently knocked the door knocker. "Second Grandfather, it’s Anzi. Shitou said you were looking for me?"

"Yes, just come right in."

With Second Grandfather’s permission, Xu An pushed open the gate and walked into the courtyard. As soon as he stepped inside, he saw Xu Guosheng, Xu Guoqiang, Fourth Uncle, Aunt Hong, and a dozen or so other people.

"What’s this?" Xu An asked, a little confused.

"A small meeting. Come over here and sit down." Second Grandfather beckoned for Xu An to sit next to him.

After sitting down next to his Second Grandfather, Xu An looked at the crowd of elders surrounding him and couldn’t help but sit up straighter, his expression serious.

Seeing Xu An take his seat, Second Grandfather tapped out his water pipe and set it aside.

"I’ve called everyone here today for an important matter, one that concerns the future development of Xu Family Village." Second Grandfather paused here, waiting until all eyes were on him before continuing, "The town has agreed to let Xu Family Village submit a future development plan. If it’s approved, we’ll be able to get talent support and low-interest loans from the city."

After hearing Second Grandfather’s words, a flash of surprise appeared in Xu An’s eyes.

’I never heard about this in my past life, and no one in the village ever mentioned it.’

But Xu An quickly realized what must have happened. ’This project most likely failed, which is why the villagers never brought it up.’

’In my past life, I was just an ordinary high school graduate, about to be a college student. I couldn’t offer any help or suggestions for Xu Family Village’s development, so naturally, I wouldn’t have been involved in a meeting like this.’

’But in this life, in just two short months, I’ve managed to build a thriving business, expanding from a single roadside stall to three shops. I’ve already earned the right to participate in discussions about Xu Family Village’s future.’

"After several days of research and observation, I’ve come up with three potential directions. The first is Xiudie’s greenhouse farming, the second is Heping’s parents’ fish pond aquaculture, and the last is Xu Guoqiang’s family’s bamboo weaving..."

"Greenhouse farming probably won’t work," Xu Guosheng was the first to object. "The initial investment is high, and we don’t have much farmland here. We can’t build many greenhouses, and they won’t be connected, which makes the labor costs too high."

"Fish pond aquaculture is also a long shot. Heping’s parents have been out looking for new partners for almost two months with no news. It’s hard to find a market for ordinary fish, and high-value fish are too difficult to raise..."

"Bamboo weaving is no good either. There’s a village in Beitun Town with over three hundred families who have been doing that for generations. They can make all sorts of fancy styles. With our clumsy hands, the most we can do is weave a simple dustpan to hold things."

"..."

Everyone chattered away, and in no time at all, they had completely shot down all of Second Grandfather’s proposals.

In the end, the conversation came back to square one. What industry should Xu Family Village develop? What special industry could they even have?

As the others grew more and more discouraged, Xu An’s eyes grew brighter and brighter.

’I was just worrying about how to bring up mudflat aquaculture with Second Grandfather. Isn’t this the perfect opportunity?’

’It’s like someone handing you a pillow just as you’re getting sleepy. How perfect!’

"Second Grandfather, do you all know about Jumping Fish?" Xu An didn’t state his idea directly, instead starting with a leading question.

"Of course, we do. I used to catch a lot of them when I was young. They taste pretty good, but they’re small and hard to catch." As he spoke, Second Grandfather smacked his lips a couple of times, as if savoring the memory of the taste.

"Then, Second Grandfather, have you ever heard of farming Jumping Fish?"

You can farm Jumping Fish?

Everyone in the courtyard turned their gaze to Xu An, waiting for his explanation.