Chapter 180 - 166: Haven’t Seen a Pig Run, but Have Eaten Pork (Part 2)

Chapter 180: Chapter 166: Haven’t Seen a Pig Run, but Have Eaten Pork (Part 2)

"Old Village Chief, you’re here! Uncle Dongliang, you’ve come too." The good-natured middle-aged man stood and invited the three of them to sit, greeting each in turn. His gaze finally landed on Xu An. "So this is the young man who first proposed the mudflat aquaculture project? What was your name again?"

"This is my grandnephew, Xu An," Second Grand-uncle said, briefly introducing him. He didn’t, however, introduce the man across from them. Without any hesitation, he casually grabbed a chair, pulled it out, and sat down. He turned to a somewhat nervous Xu An and Uncle Dongliang and said, "Sit."

Seeing that Professor Yu and the good-natured middle-aged man didn’t seem to mind, Xu An avoided the seats of honor and chose an ordinary spot, happening to be one chair away from Second Grand-uncle and right next to Uncle Dongliang.

"Ask whatever you’re not clear on. I’ll answer what I can. For what I can’t, you all can go back and think it over before making a decision. Let’s try to get this settled quickly. After all, it’s a long way from here to Xu Family Village, and driving at night isn’t safe." Second Grand-uncle grabbed the teacup in front of him, lifted the lid, and drained the tea in one go as he spoke bluntly.

Just from Second Grand-uncle’s actions and demeanor, Xu An got the feeling that his grand-uncle was the one in charge in this room, the one calling all the shots.

Unsure of the situation, Xu An could only pick up his teacup and pretend to drink, glancing at Uncle Dongliang next to him out of the corner of his eye. Uncle Dongliang was grinning like a fool, his mouth stretched nearly ear to ear, looking completely used to the scene unfolding before them.

"Old Village Chief, you’re as blunt as ever." The good-natured middle-aged man didn’t mind Second Grand-uncle’s rather forward behavior in the slightest; in fact, his smile grew a bit more sincere. He turned to Professor Yu, who was sitting next to him, a hint of smugness in his tone. "See? Was I wrong? This old village chief doesn’t even give me the time of day, but he’s so polite to you. It just shows how highly he thinks of you!"

Hearing what the good-natured middle-aged man said to Professor Yu made Xu An’s eye twitch. He had to quickly take several sips of tea to calm himself.

The way the good-natured middle-aged man treated Second Grand-uncle was like how one would treat a close family elder—one he was comfortable enough with to joke around with. Feeling small and helpless, Xu An could only sit there quietly, sipping his tea and straining his ears to catch any clues from their conversation.

Fortunately, the banter didn’t last long, and everyone soon got down to business. The dishes on the table, which held just a few small pastries, were all moved to the side. The good-natured middle-aged man took a thick stack of documents from his briefcase and placed it on the table. Xu An could clearly see that every page was covered in dense notes in blue, black, or red ink.

At first, it was a back-and-forth between the good-natured middle-aged man and Second Grand-uncle. Then, it transitioned to Professor Yu and the middle-aged man asking questions, with Second Grand-uncle and Uncle Dongliang taking turns to answer. Finally, Professor Yu and the middle-aged man began questioning Xu An directly, while Second Grand-uncle and Uncle Dongliang sat back, sipping their tea and enjoying the show.

Although Xu An was the one who proposed the mudflat aquaculture project, his knowledge on the subject came entirely from conversations with Xu Heping in his past life. Therefore, when faced with questions he didn’t understand, Xu An didn’t try to make things up; he simply admitted that he didn’t know.

’Are you kidding me? Professor Yu is a marine expert. Trying to bluff my way through in front of him? I’d have to have a death wish!’

Xu An was indeed unable to answer some of the more technical questions. But when the questions turned to future plans and expectations for the mudflats, Xu An, empowered by his past-life memories, became incredibly articulate, speaking with a passionate, unstoppable flow!

Xu An had never raised a pig, but he’d seen one run! At first, he stuck to the topic, properly discussing the future plans for the aquaculture project: how to sell the products, where to sell them, how to process them further, and the market for those processed seafood products. But as he spoke, he started to go off-track, veering into a profound memory of the ocean from his past life.

In his past life, his company’s team-building trips most often took them to famous beaches around the country. But what left the deepest impression on him wasn’t the blue skies and white clouds, the boundless ocean, or the sunbathing beaches, but an oyster farm.

The car had traveled down a winding, narrow path riddled with potholes and flanked by overgrown weeds. It was so desolate and remote, with no signs of human life, that Xu An had even wondered if he was being trafficked to a coal mine. But after a few more kilometers, the view suddenly opened up. A small clearing appeared before them, and in it stood a dilapidated but lived-in house. In front of the house was a small inlet where seven or eight simple boats, each capable of holding ten people, were moored.

He and his colleagues had taken one of those simple boats out to sea, riding the waves out into the middle of the ocean. In the middle of the ocean were platforms constructed from thick bamboo poles. The owner of the oyster farm had taken Xu An and the others out on the water, cooked oysters for them right there with seawater, and served them a grand oyster feast...

Perhaps with the passage of time, he had forgotten many of the amusing details of that trip, but Xu An would never forget how it took less than twenty seconds for an oyster to go from being harvested to being in his mouth. The taste... it was the very definition of fresh. Xu An could even say they were the best oysters he had ever eaten in his life. Bar none.

Even though Xu Family Village would be doing mudflat aquaculture, most likely raising products like Jumping Fish, prawns, and abalone, they could still be creative! Other people go out to sea to harvest oysters, but we can go down to the mudflats to catch Jumping Fish! We can use hand nets to catch shrimp! We can go to the mangrove forest to pick mangrove apples!

And then we can take all these ingredients to a restaurant right next door to be cooked! They can be stir-fried, deep-fried, steamed, or braised. Simmered, roasted, smoked, or pickled. Glazed with honey, spun with sugar, marinated in wine... We’ll prepare them in every way imaginable!

...

As he was speaking, Xu An suddenly came to his senses. They were supposed to be discussing mudflat aquaculture. ’Have I gone a bit too far off-topic?’ He paused, and the vivid scene his words had painted in everyone’s minds instantly vanished. The others snapped back to reality as well, their reason returning and their ability to think critically restored.

Logically speaking, what Xu An was describing was a bit absurd. ’Go down to the mudflats to catch Jumping Fish? Run to the mangrove forest to pick fruit? People would travel all this way and pay to suffer? They’d have to be crazy!’ But emotionally, it was undeniably appealing. At the very least, after hearing Xu An’s description, the good-natured middle-aged man couldn’t help but feel an urge to grab a hoe and go catch some Jumping Fish himself...