While browsing trending news today, I was surprised to see my hometown trending. Usually, it's not a good thing for a small place to be trending, but this time it's good news. Hu Jiahao, a 17-year-old high school senior from Linhai, Taizhou, Zhejiang, became the second author of an SCI Q2 paper for discovering a new species of reptile—the Kuocang Mountain Ridge Snake.
The incident began in 2024 when experts discovered the carcass of a snake suspected to be a new species in the Kuocang Mountains. They searched extensively for a live snake but couldn't find one. Later, the experts met 16-year-old Xiao Hu, a local from Linhai, on social media. Upon learning of the discovery, Xiao Hu volunteered to help find the snake.
During the summer vacation of 2025, with his parents' support, he bought professional photography equipment and spent more than 40 days in the mountains looking for snakes. As a result, he found two live snakes and two dead snakes, took clear photos of them, and submitted them to experts, making an important contribution to the publication of the final paper. Therefore, he was listed as the second author.
I originally wanted to post the photos he took of the Kuocang Mountain Ridge Snake, but I was afraid it would make you uncomfortable while reading the article, as many people are naturally afraid of snakes (I am one of them). Actually, this snake is small, about 30cm long, non-venomous, docile, and does not attack humans.
I forwarded this news to my wife, and she looked it up online and said that many people doubted that a 17-year-old high school student could find such a "big bargain," and that he must be a young master from a sect who was grinding dungeons during his summer vacation.
I said that based on my common sense in my hometown, this was unlikely. The news said that Hu Jiahao attended Lingjiang Middle School in Linhai. The best middle school in the area is Taizhou Middle School, followed by Huipu Middle School, then Datian Middle School and Duqiao Middle School. Lingjiang Middle School is a lower-middle-class general high school in the area. This may be offensive, but it's the truth. Every year, only about 0-1 students can get into the special control line (formerly the first-tier university), and historically, very few have gone on to get into 211 or 985 universities.
Those families who can afford to send their children to Lingjiang Middle School are definitely not privileged families in our area; this principle is the same everywhere in the country. Therefore, I believe that Hu Jiahao achieved his academic success by relying on his own abilities, plus a significant bit of luck, by assisting experts in discovering a new species, and by the age of 17, he had already achieved remarkable academic results.
This is so dramatic, such a remarkable turnaround and so inspiring. Being the second author of an SCI Q2 paper is incredibly prestigious for a high school student, and it will have a huge impact on his future studies and career development.
Some netizens might think this is just a case of an outdoor enthusiast accidentally discovering a new species of snake, something that's incredibly rare. But the academic world recognizes this; many Nobel laureates have also stumbled upon something new in the lab, and they could live off their past achievements for life.
Now that I've come this far, I must share some photos of Mount Kuocang with you.
It's the highest peak in Taizhou, with a row of windmills at the summit, offering beautiful scenery. On a clear day, you can watch the sunrise and sea of clouds. Back in 2000, it competed with Wenling Shitang for the first sunrise of the new century in mainland China. There's still a sunrise monument at the summit. I've told you about this before; that night, my friends and I went to the summit. There's a small building there, and I climbed to the top. So, if the first sunrise of the new century truly shines on the summit of Kuocang Mountain, then I'll be the first person in mainland China to do so.
Here's an update on the situation with the US and Iran.
Iran continues its fierce counterattacks, launching missiles and drones at US and Israeli cities. Some were intercepted, and some were hit, but the effectiveness of the strikes was not reported. The US claims that Iran's missile launches have decreased by 80-90% compared to previous periods because a large number of Iranian missile launchers have been destroyed.
Tehran's air defenses are not yet completely paralyzed. Yesterday, the US military claimed to have shot down an F-15e, but denied this, as no photos of the wreckage have been released so far, making the claim less credible.
The US and Israeli forces are advancing in layers of attacks, aiming to destroy Iran's fixed air defense facilities, after which they can launch close-range bombing. At that point, Iran will only be able to defend itself with man-portable rocket launchers, posing a certain threat. Ukrainian ground soldiers have previously used rocket launchers to shoot down Russian aircraft.
The Strait of Hormuz remains impassable. Although the Iranian navy has been destroyed, the narrowest point of the Strait of Hormuz is only 33 kilometers wide. Iran's reliance on short-range missiles, drones, and unmanned surface vessels is sufficient to deter all merchant ships from daring to pass through.
Oil prices surged last night, reaching a high of around $95, and closed at $93 at 7 AM this morning. A new pool has opened on the blockchain casino, betting on how high oil prices can reach by the end of March. I've included a screenshot; you can see the probabilities for yourselves. Goldman Sachs says it could reach over $120, with an immediate probability of 42%.
A pessimistic outlook suggests that if the situation in Iran continues for 2-3 months and the Strait of Hormuz remains unreopened, it could trigger a new global oil crisis, which would be a heavy blow to several major oil-importing countries.
On Monday, war-related hot sectors such as oil and gas exploration, natural gas, shipping, and coal are likely to make a comeback, and those who held oil positions over the weekend are in for a treat.
I also saw a news report today saying that Xibei (a restaurant chain) is on the verge of collapse. Many store managers and head chefs have signed agreements to take a 30% pay cut. The headquarters has reduced its workforce from 500 to just over 200 people. Even the severance pay can't be guaranteed to be paid on time; it will be paid in installments over a year, with wages delayed, and employees are encouraged to resign voluntarily. Now, employees are already complaining and demanding their rights on Xiaohongshu (a Chinese social media platform). It's really chaotic.
The catering industry operates on thin margins, so most businesses rely heavily on leverage. If something goes wrong, the company is often on the verge of collapse within six months. Therefore, IPOs are very strict with catering companies; only one catering company has successfully gone public in the last 10 years due to the extremely high risk.
That's all for tonight, have a great weekend everyone!
Original Article: View Chinese Version
