Chapter 235: An Interlocking Chain

This area had no mangroves, not even a single one of the usual assorted marine plants. The crowd could only stand under the blazing sun, waiting for the two men to return from the sea.

At first, everyone waited quietly. But as time passed, perhaps as a way to distract themselves, most people began to whisper amongst themselves.

The fishermen who had put down their work to see what the fuss was about could no longer hold back. One of them, probably seeing that Xu An was young and approachable, sidled up to him, tugged on his clothes, and asked in a low voice, “What’s happening in the sea?”

Xu An turned to look at the man. His face was familiar—he’d probably seen him many times before—but he didn’t know his name. He answered vaguely, “We don’t know yet. We just got a call and came here to wait for news.”

In the brief moment they were speaking, three more fishermen ambled over, catching every word Xu An said.

Just as the three younger fishermen were feeling disappointed at not getting any gossip, a thoughtful expression appeared on the slightly older fisherman’s face. After about two seconds of silence, he suddenly spoke up. “I heard you all say the mud over here is scalding hot, right?”

“Yeah!” Xu An nodded. Seeing the old fisherman’s expression, he got the feeling the man knew something. “Uncle, do you know what’s causing this?”

The old fisherman suddenly looked out at the sea, his gaze growing distant. His eyebrows rose and then furrowed. His lips moved silently a few times before he finally began to slowly recount a tale from long ago.

“My father and my grandfather were both fishermen. When I was little, I’d listen to their stories about fishing at sea, and sometimes they’d mention a strange spring. Of course, ‘spring’ was just what they called it, not an official name or anything…”

The old fisherman’s voice wasn’t loud, but it wasn’t quiet, either. At the very least, Uncle Dongliang and a few others standing near Xu An heard him. They made a bit of a stir as they turned around, causing the other anxiously waiting people to look over as well.

“…That spring, it gave off steam all year round, no matter the season. My grandfather even tested it with some unwanted fish. He tossed one in, and it came out about halfway cooked… Everyone thought the spring was a bad omen, so they fenced it off with bamboo. I don’t know if that’s why, but afterward, the spring got smaller and smaller, the water got cooler and cooler, and eventually, it disappeared completely…”

‘Something like that actually happened?’

Upon hearing this, Xu An immediately turned to look at Second Grandpa, the oldest person from Xu Family Village present, hoping for confirmation. To his surprise, Second Grandpa was also frowning, a pensive look on his face. Instead, it was Uncle Dongliang, standing next to Xu An, who suddenly slapped his thigh and exclaimed in a moment of epiphany.

“I’ve heard about this! I was talking about it with some of my buddies over a late-night snack. One of their dads used to talk about it. Back then, his family couldn’t afford eggs, so every time he went out to sea, he’d hide an egg in his shirt. Then he’d head straight for this spring to cook it! He did this on the sly for over a year, and his grandma thought they had a burglar who didn’t steal anything but eggs!”

As he spoke, Uncle Dongliang even gestured to the old fisherman. “When everyone first noticed the spring, it was about as wide as a person could wrap their arms around. Then, over the next few months, it slowly got a little bigger every day until its diameter reached over three meters, right?”

“That part I’m not sure about.” The old fisherman shook his head and explained, “My dad only went to sea for two or three years before he stopped, and I’ve never been out myself. It’s all just stories I heard from my grandfather.”

“Dongliang, did you say a spring?” In his excitement, Professor Yu seemed to forget he was standing on a mudflat with muck nearly up to his knees. He lifted his foot to walk over and nearly fell face-first into the sludge. Fortunately, his four students had quick reflexes and grabbed him, saving him from taking a nosedive into the mire.

“Yes, but it’s just hearsay. I’ve never seen it myself.” Uncle Dongliang scratched the back of his head sheepishly. “From what the guy said, it must have been twenty or thirty years ago…”

“Then that must be it! That must be it!” Professor Yu muttered to himself, his whole face relaxing as if he had just solved a major puzzle. He turned to Second Grandpa, smiled, and grasped his hand. “Old Village Chief, your village is blessed! This is a tremendous blessing!”

Professor Yu’s words made everyone’s hearts leap into their throats. Their gazes were filled with anticipation, waiting for him to explain where this ‘blessing’ was coming from. But Professor Yu, unfazed by their stares, just tossed out a casual, “It’s a good thing, but let’s wait for the results before we say more.” Then he turned, smiled at the sea, and left the crowd to stare at each other in confusion.

‘Damn riddlers!’

But Professor Yu was the one keeping his lips sealed, and if he didn’t want to talk, no one could force him. They had no choice but to start murmuring among themselves while they waited for the two divers to surface.

At that moment, only Xu An had his head lowered, staring at the still-warm mud in his hands, lost in thought. As memories surged in his mind, a hint of joy appeared on his face and quickly spread until he was grinning from ear to ear.

The abnormally warm mud by itself had told him something was wrong, but he hadn’t had any real leads. Now, adding in what the fishermen had said about a spring that could cook fish and eggs, a slightly preposterous idea began to form in his mind.

‘Could it be… that so-called spring is a hot spring? A half-cooked egg—isn’t that just a hot spring egg?!’

‘But can you even have a hot spring in the ocean? Aren’t those things usually on land?’

He hastily wiped his hands on a clean spot on his clothes, reached into his pocket, and pulled out his phone. He opened the browser and typed “hot spring” into the search bar. A second before hitting search, Xu An hesitated. He went back and added the word “ocean” in front, then pressed enter.

The mudflats were a bit far from the cell tower, so it took a while for the webpage to load.

‘…Between 1977 and 1992, several geological survey teams conducted investigations in the area and confirmed the presence of a natural seaside hot spring. In 2009, development and construction began under the leadership of the local government…’

So they did exist! Xu An felt his breath catch in his throat for a full second.

The only slight difference was that the one in the article was an open-air hot spring, while the one on Qianhai Town’s mudflats seemed to be in the ocean. He wondered how difficult that would make development.

Suddenly, two sets of ripples broke the calm surface of the sea, followed by two sleek, black heads popping into view. The two divers who had gone down earlier were back, and they had returned with photos taken with professional equipment, as well as collected samples!

Uncle Dongliang stood next to Xu An, Second Grandpa stood next to Uncle Dongliang, and Professor Yu stood next to Second Grandpa. In two quick strides, Xu An darted behind Professor Yu, craning his neck and standing on his tiptoes to peek at the camera’s screen over the professor’s shoulder.

It was a large, raised fissure. In the photo, the fissure was not only bubbling but also emitting steam. Growing around it were strange marine plants with white stalks and bright red tops.

The rest of the photos were largely the same. Any differences were merely changes in angle or terrain; the basic structure remained unchanged.

After carefully reviewing all the photos, Professor Yu slowly let out a breath, his smile growing even wider. He grasped Second Grandpa’s hand again, and this time, he didn’t keep them in suspense. He announced loudly, “Congratulations, Old Village Chief! You have a spring here… a hot spring…”

The instant he heard the words “hot spring,” the big talk Xu An had spouted during a private dinner not long ago flashed through Second Grandpa’s mind.

‘…Tourism development… mudflat economy… mutual benefit…’

Before Professor Yu could finish, Second Grandpa displayed a physical vigor that defied his age. Even in the knee-deep mud, he moved with surprising speed, striding swiftly toward the shore with steps over a meter long. He reached the asphalt road, hopped straight onto Xu An’s small cargo tricycle, and sped off without a backward glance…

Only then did a slow-to-react Xu An realize that the keys that had been in his pocket were gone…

It was only then that both the villagers from Xu Family Village and the onlooking fishermen finally processed what had happened. The scalding spring that appeared in the middle of the sea a decade or two ago was actually a hot spring! The crowd immediately erupted, and all sorts of theories began to fly.

Professor Yu watched the old village chief disappear without a trace, a look of resignation on his face.

‘That old chief is certainly still full of vigor, and so decisive!’ he thought. ‘I hadn’t even finished speaking. While finding a hot spring is great, developing it requires a professional geological survey team to come and conduct a study. The whole process will take at least six months to get a final confirmation.’

Still, it was a relief to confirm the changes on the mudflats were due to a hot spring. His own research project, as well as the development of Xu Family Village’s mudflats, wouldn’t be derailed by this discovery. Everything could proceed according to the original plan.

Once Xu An snapped out of it, he couldn’t help but feel a pang of regret for the people of Qianhai Town from his past life. ‘An ocean hot spring! The goose that lays golden eggs! All because of some petty squabbles between a few villages, the entire population of Qianhai Town ended up begging for scraps while holding a golden rice bowl!’

‘But thinking about it now,’ he wondered, ‘could the low yields in those few villages from my past life have been caused by the presence of this very hot spring?’

‘The same circumstances… In my last life, without a capable expert like Professor Yu to investigate, this opportunity was completely missed. In this life, thanks to him, the spring was finally discovered and brought to light!’

Thinking about this, Xu An suddenly realized that perhaps he himself deserved the most credit. ‘Well, maybe Li Xindong deserves half the credit.’

‘If Li Xindong hadn’t gone to the mudflats to catch Jumping Fish, I wouldn’t have remembered that vague detail about farming them from my past life. I wouldn’t have proposed the idea to Second Grandpa, he wouldn’t have gone to another province for his inspection tour, and he wouldn’t have met Professor Yu—let alone lured him back here…’

‘It was a perfect chain of cause and effect, with every link connected!’