Seeing that Professor Yu and the simple-minded middle-aged man didn't seem to mind, Xu An avoided the seats with controversial opinions and chose an ordinary spot to sit down. He happened to be sitting next to Uncle Dongliang, just one chair away from his second grandfather.
"If there's anything you don't understand, just ask. I'll answer what I can. If I can't, go back and think it over before making a decision. Let's try to resolve this as soon as possible. After all, this place is quite far from Xujia Village, and it's not safe to drive at night." Second Grandpa grabbed the teacup in front of him, opened the lid, and drank the tea in one gulp, speaking without any politeness.
Just by looking at his second grandfather's actions and expressions, Xu An felt that his second grandfather was the leader in this room, and that everything was decided by his second grandfather.
Confused, Xu An could only pick up his teacup and pretend to drink, glancing out of the corner of his eye at Uncle Dongliang sitting next to him. Uncle Dongliang was grinning foolishly, his mouth almost reaching behind his ears, seemingly used to the scene before him.
"Old village chief, you're still so impolite." The simple-minded middle-aged man didn't seem to mind his second grandfather's rather offensive behavior at all. Instead, his smile became more genuine. He turned to Professor Yu sitting next to him, his tone tinged with smugness: "See? I wasn't wrong, was I? This old village chief doesn't even respect me, but he's so polite to you. It shows how much he values you!"
Hearing what the simple-minded middle-aged man said to Professor Yu, Xu An's eyelids twitched so badly that he quickly drank several mouthfuls of water to calm down.
This simple-minded middle-aged man treated his second grandfather like an elder in his own family, someone with whom he had a very good relationship and could joke around freely. The weak and helpless Xu An could only silently sip his tea, listening intently to their conversation, trying to find some clues.
Fortunately, the banter between the group didn't last long, and they quickly got down to business. The large plate on the table, which had only contained a few pieces of pastry, was cleared away, and the simple-minded 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 of the documents was covered with dense annotations in blue, black, and red.
At first, it was a question-and-answer session between the simple-minded middle-aged man and the second grandfather; then it became Professor Yu and the simple-minded middle-aged man asking questions, while the second grandfather and Uncle Dongliang took turns answering; finally, it became Professor Yu and the simple-minded middle-aged man questioning Xu An together, while the second grandfather and Uncle Dongliang drank tea and watched the show.
Although Xu An was the one who proposed tidal flat aquaculture, his understanding of it came entirely from conversations he had with Xu Heping in his previous life. Therefore, when faced with questions he didn't understand, Xu An didn't make things up or insist that he didn't know.
Just kidding, Professor Yu on the other side is an expert in marine science. Making up stories in front of him is like an old man hanging himself—you're asking for trouble!
Xu An couldn't answer some of the more technical questions, but when asked about his future plans and expectations for the mudflats, he spoke fluently and eloquently, aided by his memories from his previous life!
Xu An had never raised pigs, but he had seen pigs run! At first, Xu An spoke seriously about the future plans for tidal flat aquaculture, how to sell the produce, where to sell it, how to process the products, and what the market would be for the processed seafood. But as he spoke, the content started to veer off course, drifting into a deep memory of the sea from his previous life.
In his previous life, the company's team building trips were mostly to famous beaches across the country. But what impressed Xu An the most was not the blue sky and white clouds, nor the boundless ocean or the beach where he could sunbathe, but an oyster farming base.
The car traveled along narrow, winding paths overgrown with weeds and riddled with potholes. The area was desolate, remote, and deserted. Xu An even wondered if he was about to be kidnapped and sold into coal mining. But after traveling several kilometers, the view suddenly opened up, revealing a small clearing with a dilapidated but habitable house. In front of the house was a small estuary with seven or eight simple boats, each capable of carrying ten people at a time, moored there.
Xu An and his companions set sail in this simple little boat, braving the wind and waves to reach the middle of the ocean. In the middle of the ocean were platforms built from thick bamboo poles. The oyster farm owner led Xu An and the others to these platforms, cooking oysters with seawater for a delicious oyster feast.
Perhaps with the passage of time, many interesting things from the journey have been forgotten, but Xu An always remembers that the oysters were eaten in less than twenty seconds from the moment they were scooped up to the moment they entered his mouth, and the taste was absolutely amazing. Xu An could even say that these were the best oysters he had ever eaten in his life, without a doubt.
Although Xujia Village engages in tidal flat aquaculture, and the farmed seafood will most likely be mudskippers, prawns, abalone, and the like, they can still be proactive. While others go out to sea to harvest oysters, we can go down into the mudflats to catch mudskippers! We can use landing nets to catch shrimp! We can go to the mangrove forest to pick mangrove berries!
Finally, take these ingredients to the restaurant next door to cook them. Stir-fry, deep-fry, braise, pan-fry, stew, braise, boil, steam, stuff, poach, stew, simmer, bake, roast, smoke, marinate, and marinate. They'll make everything for you, from candied to honey-glazed, braised, and fermented!
As they were talking, Xu An suddenly realized that they were discussing mudflat aquaculture, and he had gone off on a tangent. Xu An paused, and the scene that Xu An's words had conjured in everyone's minds vanished instantly. They all came back to their senses, their rationality returned, and they regained their ability to think.
Rationally speaking, what Xu An said was a bit far-fetched. Going down to the mudflats to catch mudskippers? Going to the mangroves to pick fruit? Traveling all that way to spend money and suffer like that? That's crazy! But emotionally, it seemed quite tempting. At least, after hearing Xu An's description, the simple-minded middle-aged man couldn't help but feel the urge to grab a hoe and go catch mudskippers.
(End of this chapter)
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