Chapter 4: Chapter 4: Methodical
The day after winning the 400,000 prize money.
Jiang Miao kept a low profile. He had worn a mask and sunglasses when he went to claim his prize yesterday. Although the staff at the lottery center had seen his ID, he figured the news wouldn’t get out too quickly.
Early in the morning, he took his ID and rode his electric scooter into the city.
Just as he reached the village entrance, he happened to hit a red light.
"Well, well! If it isn’t the college student. Off to deliver takeout again?"
A heavyset woman, whose belly looked as if she were ten months pregnant, was also waiting for the light on her electric scooter. She asked in a snide tone.
"That’s right! Are you having a third child, Auntie Eight?" Jiang Miao retorted with a grin. Suddenly, a panel materialized before his eyes.
[Status: Severe fatty liver disease, gallbladder polyps, diabetes... No exogenous drug components present... (Expandable)]
"Screw you! Can’t you say anything nice?" Auntie Eight snapped, flustered.
Jiang Miao frowned and took another look at Auntie Eight’s face and the whites of her eyes. He noticed her complexion was sallow, the whites of her eyes were slightly yellowed, and there were clear markings of acanthosis nigricans on her neck.
"Auntie Eight, how has your health been lately?"
Auntie Eight paused for a moment, then replied offhandedly, "Huh? I’m fine! I can eat two bowls of rice in one sitting."
"The community was organizing health check-ups recently, weren’t they? Didn’t you go, Auntie Eight?"
"Why would I? There’s nothing wrong with me," Auntie Eight said, full of confidence.
"Have your eyes been a little blurry lately? And have you been thirsty and urinating a lot?"
"Hey... How did you know that?" Auntie Eight asked, bewildered.
Jiang Miao sighed inwardly. Even though she’d been snide with him, he still felt compelled to warn her. "Auntie Eight, have Ah Jie book a doctor’s appointment for you in the next few days. You likely have diabetes, and there’s something wrong with your liver, too. Don’t put it off."
"What?" Auntie Eight was a bit alarmed. "Are you serious?"
"It’s up to you. I’ll get going now." Jiang Miao twisted the throttle and sped onto the main road.
A light breeze brushed across his face.
The early morning sun shone on the road.
After about an hour of stop-and-go on his electric scooter, he arrived at the administrative service center near the city’s high-speed rail station.
It was around nine o’clock.
He had made an appointment the previous night, so he went straight to the immigration services window to apply for his Hong Kong and Macau travel permit.
He finished the application process quickly.
Immediately after, he went to a nearby Bank of China branch and opened a new bank account.
Then, through WeChat, he sent 50,000 to his uncle, asking him to help convert it into Hong Kong Dollars. He would collect the cash directly once he got to Hong Kong.
Finally, he went online and bought a high-speed rail ticket to Peng City.
He planned to leave for Hong Kong in a few days.
At noon, he bought a box of white-cut chicken and went home.
Seeing Auntie Eight’s physical condition this morning made Jiang Miao worry about his parents’ health.
While they were eating, he secretly observed his parents.
The results weren’t too bad.
His mother had mild glucose intolerance, a slight fatty liver, and wear and tear on her knee joints.
His father’s condition was more severe: high blood pressure, high blood lipids, a mild fatty liver, and coronary atherosclerosis.
He planned to take his parents to the hospital for a check-up in the next few days. He’d have the doctor prescribe medication, which he would supplement with a lifestyle intervention plan of his own design.
Jiang Miao knew full well that the older generation in the countryside was bound to have health problems, especially farmers who performed heavy manual labor.
The "three highs" (hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and hyperglycemia), along with hyperuricemia, fatty liver disease, arthritis, and gallstones, were all highly prevalent among the farming population.
This was mainly due to their dietary habits and irregular daily routines.
For example, his dad sometimes got so caught up in his work that he’d forget the time, often not eating lunch and dinner on time. And the food he ate was high in oil, salt, and carbs.
At home during festivals and holidays, the vast majority of rice cakes, mooncakes, and pastries were eaten by his parents.
When they were younger, these dietary habits, combined with long-term heavy manual labor, didn’t cause any obvious problems. But once they passed fifty, all sorts of ailments began to crop up.
Jiang Miao’s parents were approaching fifty. If they didn’t take this seriously and get it under control now, they would soon be caught in a vicious cycle.
「After two in the afternoon.」
He got on his scooter again and headed for his brother-in-law’s house in Magong Town.
「Half an hour later.」
「Magong Town, Salt Town Village.」
A three-story house stood beside a fishpond.
"Uncle, what are you doing here?" His young niece, who was watching over some drying shrimp by the door, stared with wide eyes.
"Xiaomin, where’s your mom?"
"My mom went to buy groceries."
"I’m going to check on the fishpond. When your mom gets back, let her know."
"Okay." Xiaomin nodded.
He casually picked up a few of the shriveled, sun-dried shrimp. Peeling off their shells as he went, he walked toward the nearby fishpond.
This large expanse of fishponds covered more than three mu. The embankments were planted with longan and mulberry trees, and the ground was overgrown with wood sorrel.
He followed a small path down to the fishpond.
He sprinkled the bits of shrimp shell he had peeled off onto the water’s surface.
Before long, several dark, snake-like shapes stirred beneath the surface.
Jiang Miao stared at these dark shapes. Five seconds later, a virtual panel appeared before his eyes.
[Common Name: Pacific White Eel (Expandable)]
[Composition: Carbon-based cells (Expandable)]
[Structure: Carbon-based multicellular organism (Expandable)]
[Status: Mature stage, pseudo-male, sub-reproductive state... (Expandable)]
[Purpose: A consumer and a food source in Earth’s ecosystem (Expandable)]
While he was unemployed at home, he had researched artificial eel breeding techniques. These eels were the ones he had specifically asked his brother-in-law to keep.
However, his previous research had obviously yielded no results. After all, without experimental equipment and funding, he could only raise and observe them in a fish tank.
The dozen or so tanks at home had originally held several dozen eels, but they had all ended up in their stomachs six months ago.
He crouched down and immediately expanded the "Status" column for the eels.
Soon he saw the answer he needed.
[...Sub-reproductive state. After an eel reaches sexual maturity, if it does not complete the accumulation of special nutrients, it will remain in this state for a long time...]
’So that’s how it is. Eels need special nutrients to become female.’
Jiang Miao identified some of the special components. Their source was algae from the Danshui water region. And, calculating from the amount of algae the eels consumed, they would be unable to accumulate the necessary special nutrients without eating algae in the Danshui water region for two to three years.
No wonder those artificially farmed eels couldn’t turn into females.
Of course, this was only one of the factors.
In addition, temperature, water salinity, and stimulation from male fish were also needed for the female fish to reach a state of ovulation.
According to Jiang Miao’s previous research, East Japan had already mastered artificial eel breeding. However, the cost was extremely high. This was because the Japanese approach involved using hormones to induce males to transform into females.
If they hadn’t accumulated enough of the special nutrients, even if male eels were forced to change sex, they would produce fewer eggs, and those eggs would be malnourished.
This was why the cost of eel fry at the laboratory stage was so high, and the yield so low.
Now that Jiang Miao knew the secret to eel reproduction, he could carry out targeted breeding and cultivation.
If he could successfully breed eels artificially, the economic value would be immense.
He went into the tin shed by the pond and grabbed a scoop net and a handful of old, expired feed.
He scattered the feed.
Instantly, a dozen or so eels surfaced.
He swept the net through and, in one go, scooped up five or six eels.
Half an hour later, Jiang Miao had caught about twenty eels and put them in a plastic bucket.
At this time, his older sister Jiang Xia returned from buying groceries.
"Ah Miao, you came over without even calling. Stay for dinner tonight!"
Jiang Miao shook his head. "No, it’s okay. I just came to get some eels."
"Why didn’t you catch more?"
"This is enough. I’m heading back."
"Be careful on the road."
"Bye, Xiaomin!"
"Bye, Uncle!"
