Miss Ji was as fiery as they come. Though she was small and thin, with a dark yellow pudding-style bob on her head and a whole head shorter than Xiang Yu, she had endless energy and endless tricks up her sleeve.
She showed Xiang Yu around from the snow-capped mountains to the peach orchard, introducing their peaches, wild mountain mushrooms, natural scenery and more like she was listing off treasures she knew by heart.
Xiang Yu was actually brimming with curiosity, itching to find a spot to claim the reward she had earned, but this place was out in the middle of nowhere, and she did not know a single soul around. Ji Kailing was so worried about failing to give her a proper welcome that she stuck by Xiang Yu's side the entire time, making sure she did not slip away. There was not even a public restroom in the whole village, so Xiang Yu could not even make up an excuse to duck away to use the bathroom.
Word had it that the last developer had run off right when he stepped away to use the toilet, leaving behind a mountain of debt and never coming back, dealing a crushing blow to the local economy that was already barely scraping by.
When they reached the village entrance, Xiang Yu spotted a big, enthusiastically hung banner that read "A Warm Welcome to Toad Valley for All Our Guests".
The slogan was as striking as could be, every line clearly crafted with the determination to become a memorable catchphrase.
Director Ji only gave a reserved little smile, looking neither smug nor proud as she dutifully stepped into the role of tour guide and led Xiang Yu to see the peach orchard.
This was a peach mountain contracted by the local villagers, and it had once hosted a Peach Blossom Festival. But when Xiang Yu actually stood right in front of the mountain, she was struck speechless by the sight.
When she was little and reading Journey to the West, Xiang Yu had read the part where Tang Monk and his disciples passed through the Seven Absurdities Mountain, where there was a 800-mile-long Dung Lane made of rotting persimmons that was nearly impossible for people or horses to pass through, stinking to high heaven. The scene in front of her now was exactly the same.
Thousands of peach trees leaned crookedly on the steep hillside. Overripe peaches kept plopping down one after another, rotting in the mud and giving off a strange mixed stench that combined the smell of fermented wine, rot, peach sweetness and damp soil.
Toad Valley had wildly different weather even a few miles apart. The rain on the mountainside gradually picked up. Standing deep in the old woods, Xiang Yu looked up to see the towering snow-capped mountains shrouded in mist, her feet sinking into soft, fermented-smelling soil, and a strange, fishy, damp wind blowing against her face. It felt exactly like she had stepped into a bizarre otherworld from a horror tale.
It was easy to imagine that on a clear, sunny day, the view of snow-capped mountains and peach forests side by side would be absolutely breathtaking.
The top of the mountain was covered in snow all year round, and meltwater from the snow caps formed streams that gave the peach orchard plenty of water to grow. At the same time, the foot of the mountain had a warm climate, the snow-capped mountains reflected sunlight to extend the hours of daylight, and the big temperature difference between day and night helped the peaches build up plenty of sugar.
Toad Valley truly was rich in natural resources, with a relatively mild, humid mountain climate that brought 500 to 800 millimeters of rainfall a year, and plenty of mineral deposits in the ground.
The hot springs were sulfur springs, to say nothing of that, and each of the other pools had their own unique charm. Word had it that deep in the snow mountains, there were meltwater pools with that iconic Tiffany-blue hue.
But those dreamlike, magical spots deep in the snow mountains had only ever been visited by snow leopards and antelopes. The villagers of Toad Valley were stuck at the foot of the mountain with piles of rotting peaches and nearly 100-degree Celsius hot springs, and their lives were already far from easy.
Those legendary "blue eyes" and "green butterflies" were nothing but old folk tales passed down for generations, about as credible as Mother Goose nursery rhymes.
After tramping down from the peach orchard with mud caked on their feet, Director Ji finally led Xiang Yu to the destination they had been hinting at for ages: the long-awaited hot spring pool.
Xiang Yu had never seen anything that looked more like a water prison in her life.
Ji Kailing had rehearsed her lines over and over in her head, but when she stood in front of this embarrassingly run-down pool, all the words she had prepared just vanished from her tongue.
She gritted her teeth and decided to lead with their natural advantages instead. "Our West Sea region sits at a high altitude, and the climate in Toad Valley stays around 20 degrees Celsius all year round. It's perfect for soaking in hot springs no matter the season..."
To be honest, she was very surprised that someone would come to develop hot springs in June and July and plan to open in the middle of summer. Even though it was never hot in the village, summer was supposed to be the off-season for hot springs by any common sense.
Xiang Yu, who was also forcing herself to stay positive, was left speechless for a moment when she laid eyes on the pool that looked like a water prison.
She had mentally prepared herself on the way there, telling herself she could handle seeing rows of public-toilet-style hot springs without throwing up the yellow braised chicken she had eaten for lunch. But after seeing the original, unpolished state of the pool, she suddenly understood why tiling a hot spring pool made total sense...
The indoor bathhouse was dimly lit. What Director Ji had introduced as "original natural fertile soil surfaces and volcanic rock walls" looked more like a thick, stubborn layer of dark brown grime at first glance, and the walls of the pool were pockedmarked and worn beyond description.
The pool water was murky and yellow, and the heat source at the bottom would occasionally bubble up with thick, sticky air pockets that popped and released a faint rotten-egg stench.
Calling it a water prison was putting it nicely. It looked more like the nest of some strange creature.
Xiang Yu silently took back all the snarky comments she had made earlier about her superiors' questionable taste, and went to look at the other, less "original" pool that had been renovated to look more like a proper bathhouse — no, a proper hot spring pool.
The pool next to it, lined with white tiles, looked a little cleaner at first glance. There were bright red non-slip mats on the floor, and piles of straw mats and slippers stacked against the wall.
Because the hot spring steam was so heavy, all those things were damp and soaked through. Even though they had been scrubbed spotlessly clean, you could not help but suspect that the side facing the floor would be covered in mold.
After staying inside for a little while, a sticky, damp, suffocating feeling crept over you. Every breath you took felt like you were inhaling a thick, heavy fog that settled like a weight on your chest.
"Actually, there is no better place to soak in hot springs than here," Ji Kailing kept repeating the same few lines over and over, a little flustered. She scooped up a handful of the spring water, looked at its dull, grayish color and sighed helplessly. "I thought it was dirty at first too. But sulfur hot springs are never crystal clear, right? The ones that are perfectly clear don't have all the great benefits ours do, right?"
"Benefits don't really matter that much," Xiang Yu said in a low, deep voice, stepping on the same bright red non-slip mats you would find in the back kitchen of a restaurant. "Is there any spot in this village that we can actually take a decent photo of to show people?"
"Yes, boss, absolutely there is," Director Ji answered without a moment's hesitation. "The really beautiful spots are all up in the mountains. If we can pave a road up there, you will find absolutely stunning glacier hot springs at a higher altitude. I've seen them with my own eyes. The spring water gushes out from the middle of the glacier at nearly 100 degrees Celsius, and even though the ground is covered in snow all year round, the pool is wrapped in rising steam. Right across from it is the Goddess Peak. You can soak in the hot spring while watching the golden sunrise hit the snow mountain, and see the ice waterfall wrapped in mist. I can promise you, there are only three places in the whole world that have this view."
She patted her chest confidently. "Iceland, Alaska, and Toad Valley."
On a small scale, this was the livelihood that hundreds of Toad Valley villagers depended on. On a bigger scale, it was the pride of China's entire hot spring industry. You did not even need to ask what China's hot spring industry even was, or look at the messy white tiles and red non-slip mats under your feet.
Miss Ji's expression softened with a touch of regret. "Actually, the last developer we had said the same thing. It does not matter if the spots at the foot of the mountain look as plain as public restrooms. Once we get that Ice and Fire Wonderland project up and running, everything will be perfect."
"What on earth is that supposed to mean...?"
