I Have a Penglai Immortal Island

With the conflict resolved, Zhao Zhao noticed her popularity on the island had reached new heights. The naughty little Yang Yang seemed to have heard an exaggerated version of the events and now idolized her, showing endless enthusiasm. He found her words more compelling than his mother's; when his mother forbade him from playing at the pier, he wouldn't listen, but now Zhao Zhao could direct the little rascal without even needing to offer him treats.

Yaoguang joked that Yang Yang resembled a bird more than it did, always chirping "coo coo! coo coo! coo!"

Zhao Zhao spent a few more days at home chiseling stones, producing many unique pieces, with no two pots alike. She found immense joy in the creative process. It wasn’t until Da Linzi's muttering that she remembered the Yaoguang was still out at sea, yet to return.

Calculating the time, it had been over half a month since they set out with no news, which made her uneasy. She called the ship using the satellite phone.

Xiong Haiming excitedly reported that the ship was eight-tenths full and that they were sailing back slowly to avoid tiring out Siren.

Then came the endless praise for Siren, emphasizing how amazing it was at finding fish and how understanding it was... until Zhao Zhao felt dizzy from listening and interrupted, “Uncle Haiming, Siren can keep up with Yaoguang. You don’t need to worry about it, just proceed at normal speed.”

Uncle Haiming finally stopped, “Ah, I know Siren is amazing. I just worry about tiring it out and its friends not following. Oh, I almost forgot to tell you, Siren made some friends at sea, a group of dolphins. They seem to get along well. I thought it would be great to bring them back to keep Siren company. Orcas are social creatures, and Siren must feel lonely by itself. I worry if we go too fast, the dolphins won't follow us back to the East China Sea.”

You guys are something else.

Knowing everything was going well, she decided to let it be.

After doing some calculations, she realized that if this trip was another full load, her savings would reach billions. She could start the offshore fish farm, and it was a good time to start piling for the winter. They could wait until the fishing ban was over to get busy again.

She didn’t bother the two bosses about it and went directly to Secretary Liu to discuss leasing the sea area east of Jinshi Island. She started from the coastline, and the island would receive a portion of the leasing fee. Compared to Baxian Mountain, the designated sea area was a much larger investment.

Secretary Liu and Accountant Xiong had already figured out how to spend the money—repair the pier.

The fish farm required a huge investment, and there wasn’t a single large fish farm near Chonghai. Further north in the coastal waters of Dongsheng Province, there were many leased shallow seas for sea cucumber farming, which required less investment and space. Unfortunately, the water temperature around Chonghai wasn’t suitable. When the town government clerks heard she wanted to lease ten thousand mu of sea area for a fish farm, their expressions were hard to describe—definitely not envy; they probably thought she was a bit crazy.

A bottomless pit like this wasn’t something anyone but billionaires could manage. Seriously, who would throw a billion into a fish farm? The risk was too high, and no billionaire in their right mind would do it. Yet today, a seemingly insane rich beauty showed up.

However, leasing their barren coastal waters was still a source of fiscal revenue. The clerks were enthusiastic, and the leaders even more so. It took just two days to get everything sorted, and she secured a ten thousand mu sea area extending east and northeast from the eastern coastline of Jinshi Island.

The total contracted area was over fourteen thousand mu, with a seventy-year lease. The initial payment covering the first ten years was over eight million yuan, meaning she now owned nearly one-third of Jinshi Island’s coastline and nearshore waters.

The eight million wasn’t a big deal; what really hurt Zhao Zhao’s pocket was the piling and netting costs.

Overseas Fish Farms

Some large fish farms overseas don’t use nets, but that wasn’t suitable for her medium-sized fish farm given its geographic location, so nets were necessary. She opted for a ridiculously expensive net, and calculating the area to be enclosed on three sides, it was hard not to feel the pinch.

“Yaoguang, look how my hand is trembling as I place the order~”

Yaoguang was unsympathetic, “Why don’t you set up a reinforcement array and buy a cheaper net?”

Zhao Zhao replied, “My half-baked isolation array is just getting somewhere. You want me to set up a large reinforcement array? That would kill me!”

Whether spent early or late, the money had to be spent. The best piling technology for the sea was with state-owned enterprises, so she decided to hire the best in China to stake out her area—no, to stake out her sea!

After seeing her bank balance significantly reduced, Zhao Zhao turned into a drama queen, clutching her heart every time she received a bank notification. Fortunately, Secretary Liu informed her that she could get some government subsidies for her fishery investment, which warmed her heart a little, but not much.

How did Yaoguang react? Yaoguang just treated it as a joke.

Lazy Zhao Zhao, when bored, could be quite the drama queen. Selling a single dish from her space would recover the costs, yet she insisted on being a miser, hoarding everything.

When the piling started in the sea, the Yaoguang finally returned to Chonghai. Zhao Zhao shifted her focus and hurried to sea to greet Siren.

As she set out, she observed the offshore waters south of Jinshi Island. The seabed had transformed dramatically. In just over a month, kelp had taken over the seabed, creating a green expanse. They had already sprouted, grown, and spread.

Compared to the length in her home pond, it was slower, since the pond used water from the Caspian Sea. In three days, the kelp had covered the pond, and she had cleaned it out entirely, otherwise, within a month, the aquatic landscape would have obscured the fish. The few fish would have required a stick to part the seaweed forest to be seen.

The speed of the kelp in the offshore waters was still impressive. China didn’t have such fast-growing and hardy seaweed, and spreading it would be a good thing. She had already seen an increase in small fish and shrimp, and she believed it wouldn’t be long before more herbivorous fish would be attracted, making the offshore waters of Jinshi Island bustling. Not only could tourists go fishing, but Siren wouldn’t go hungry outside either.

While she was happily daydreaming, Yaoguang looked into the distance and exclaimed, “The black-and-white one is back! Huh? And it brought back a bunch of freeloaders!” Though it didn’t usually care much about Siren and Gun Gun, always poking fun, it actually was very concerned. Those who frequented Yaoguang’s realm were part of its territory, though it maintained an aloof facade.

Zhao Zhao piloted Poseidon towards them. “I know. Uncle Haiming told me that Siren made some friends in the Pacific. Now Siren has friends to play with. Though it's smart, not an ordinary orca, it’s still lonely. Having friends to play with is good. We’ll feed these dolphins well and lure them to stay at Jinshi Island, which could also attract tourists.” She had already calculated her plans before Siren returned.

Siren soon approached with a group of friends, and Zhao Zhao was stunned: !!!

What she thought was a small win turned out to be a jackpot worth five million!

Zhao Zhao jumped into the water and started petting Siren. The friends Siren brought back were not ordinary dolphins—they were pink dolphins! Good boy, you are so capable.

These dolphins, called Chinese White Dolphins, were a national first-class protected species and endangered. If she could keep them, Jinshi Island could potentially become a natural reserve for them, a significant step towards her dream.

Baby white dolphins are gray, and turn pink-white when they mature. This group had twelve dolphins, with three still gray, meaning they were young, and the rest were pink.

Zhao Zhao played with Siren, and the dolphins, not shy, surrounded her. Zhao Zhao proudly said, “Come, everyone, get acquainted. We’re all friends now, and I’ll take care of you. See that majestic parrot over there? That’s your big brother from now on.” She pointed to Yaoguang.

Yaoguang the big brother couldn’t be bothered to respond.

“Since you’re all at Jinshi Island, stay here from now on. Come, let’s have a meal first.”

Generously, Zhao Zhao led them all into the inner sea, and followed them in herself.

She hoped that, like Siren, the white dolphins would become smart after being in Yaoguang’s realm, considering Jinshi Island their home, and return even after playing outside. Watching these creatures devour food, Zhao Zhao had a mischievous idea. She needed to let the outside world know that Jinshi Island now had white dolphins. A plan began to form in her mind.

She also went to catch white dragon eels. After catching them, she removed the white dragon scales, cut each one into three pieces, and soaked them in diluted spiritual spring water. With swift hands, she processed two boxes, then sailed the yacht to a spot on the south coast not far from the pier and threw the big fish frolicking in the inner sea back out.

Yaoguang admired her, "If only you put as much effort into practicing as you do in befriending dolphins."

"."

Who says otherwise? She didn't want this either.

Zhao Zhao called Da Linzi, who was working hard at home, “National treasures have arrived at the southern offshore waters. Come quickly to see them!”

The outside world was vastly different from the inner sea. Siren, not yet satiated with the big white fish, had been thrown out and was now rolling around. The new white dolphins hadn’t yet learned this mischievous behavior.

How could this happen? I was invited to dinner but got thrown out halfway. How am I supposed to save face with my new friends?

Zhao Zhao jumped into the water to play with Siren and prepared a special treat with a spiritual water ball, “Sweetheart, stop rolling around. I'll make sure you get enough to eat later. These days, I need you to stay and help the new friends get familiar with the environment. Look, isn’t the seawater much cleaner than a month ago? Please stay and keep them company, and I’ll visit you whenever I can, with plenty of good food, alright?”

Da Linzi soon arrived in his rickety iron boat, looking just as inexperienced as her sister.

Once she arrived, Zhao Zhao opened her Panda live stream channel with the title #WhiteDolphinsArriveAtJinshiIsland#, a simple and eye-catching headline.

“Hello, everyone! Our live stream finally has something worth showing. Today, it’s not Little Bear practicing stances, nor Yaoguang eating nuts, and not even Gun Gun munching on fruit. Today, we celebrate the arrival of the panda of the sea at Jinshi Island!”

【Listen to that. I pity myself. What have we been watching lately? The other day, I watched Little Bear squat in horse stance for two hours without much movement.】

【What?】

【Wow, it’s true, white dolphins!】

Zhao Zhao panned the camera to the sea, “These are Chinese white dolphins, the pandas of the sea. They’ve arrived at Jinshi Island, and they’re Siren’s good friends, brought back from the Pacific.”

【Oh my god, it really is white dolphins. Don’t they usually appear in the South China Sea? Are they here for a vacation in the East China Sea?】

【Haha, well done, Siren!】

【Listen, once you’re here in our East China Sea, you better not leave.】

【Can I come tomorrow? I’m in Chonghai and I want to see them! Please, streamer, keep the national treasures here until I can see them.】

【They really are pink! I've only seen blurry pictures in the news before. This is the first time I’m seeing such clear footage!】

【I heard even in Qiongnan’s white dolphin reserve, it’s rare to see them. I thought they were nearly extinct. And now, there’s such a large group in the East China Sea. Our East China Sea is on the rise, first with orcas and now white dolphins!】

“Let me tell you how they got here. Everyone knows our boat recently went out to the Pacific. Siren went along and met these cuties there. Yes, these national treasures were roaming in the Pacific and met Siren. Actually, Siren and white dolphins belong to the same family, both are cetaceans. Surprised? They are relatives! In the Pacific, they recognized each other. The white dolphins asked Siren, ‘Where are you from? You look familiar.’ Siren said, ‘I’m from China. You look familiar too, like fish from our East China Sea. Come back with me!’ So, these dolphins found their homeland, played with Siren every day, and today followed our boat back to Jinshi Island.”

【I believe your nonsense】

【Give Siren a first-class merit, thank you】

【Such a rich live stream, national treasure 1 and national treasure 2 playing together?】

【Streamer, is this true? I believe you, but don’t trick me, I’m not well-read.】

【Everyone, I’ve booked my tickets. Tomorrow is Saturday, taking my daughter to see them. No aquarium has this.】

【If they stay, it would be great. I’d take my vacation to see them, but Jinshi Island is too far for me.】

【Befriended from the Pacific high seas, Siren deserves top credit. Shouldn’t the Marine Animal Research and Protection Association bring some treats to visit our Siren?】

【So pink! So pink! What do I do, I’m so excited! These are white dolphins! I’ve only seen news reports saying one appeared somewhere. I vaguely remember experts saying poor environment might lead to extinction in a few years. Is that true?】

 

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