Back to 1980: Farming the Sea and Expanding the Island

At the Huiping Commune vegetable market, the dirt road at the entrance was covered with a thin layer of white frost, and the footsteps of passersby made a crunching sound as they walked on it.

More and more people are rushing to buy New Year's goods, and the sounds of shouts and footsteps are intertwined, creating a lively atmosphere as the end of the year approaches.

Shen Jialing had been waiting for a while.

She is a typical southern girl, but she has more of the straightforwardness of a northern girl.

Her long braid was tied with a red ribbon and hung down in front of her chest, the ends of which swayed gently with her movements.

It was cold, so she wore a light pink floral cotton-padded jacket with slightly tightened cuffs, navy blue corduroy pants, and black corduroy shoes.

He rubbed his hands together inside the sleeves of his cotton-padded jacket, stomped his feet lightly, and looked around like a clever little deer, searching for a familiar figure.

Suddenly, her eyes lit up, and she ran quickly toward a handcart that was slowly approaching from the roadside.

"Hey, young lady, take it easy," a hurried shout rang out.

An old man in a gray cotton-padded coat was carrying a trembling plate of tender tofu, which startled him so much that he quickly moved aside.

His other hand was still instinctively protecting the tofu above it. "It's a small matter if the tofu gets damaged, but if you, with your delicate skin, get hurt, this old man can't afford to pay for it!"

Shen Jialing didn't stop walking. She waved her hand magnanimously and called out, "Don't worry, sir, if I really damage it, you can just compensate me with two pieces of tofu!"

As soon as he finished speaking, his figure disappeared into the crowd at the entrance of the market.

The old man selling tofu stood there, stunned, then glared at the crowd with displeasure, muttering, "What's going on here..."

I was about to say something more when I turned around and saw that there was no one there.

"Oh, isn't this our great singer, Shen? What brings you here today?" Lin Chuan, pulling his cart, stopped and smiled as he watched Shen Jialing rush over.

Li Xinru, who was helping to push the cart, smiled at Shen Jialing with her chubby face and said, "Wife, you're here."

Then she turned and glared at Lin Chuan, saying, "Lin Zichuan, my wife is here to help you. What, you're not happy about it?"

Shen Jialing slowed her pace, raised an eyebrow, and looked at Lin Chuan with a half-smile, sizing him up as if scanning for a good place to strike.

Lin Chuan felt a chill run down his spine from the look in her eyes, and immediately chuckled dryly, "How could that be? I'd be more than happy to have Jialing come and help."

He quickly changed the subject, "Monkey, Jiaye, come and call everyone, this is your Fatty's wife, your Jialing sister-in-law."

"Hello, sister-in-law!" Shui Houzi and Li Jiaye exchanged a glance, unconsciously shrank their necks, and called out in unison.

Shen Jialing rolled her eyes at Lin Chuan, with a touch of the liveliness of a southern girl, then turned to Shui Houzi and Li Jiaye, a gentle smile on her face.

He nodded slightly, his tone cheerful yet polite: "Hello, I'm your classmate, Xiao Chuan."

As he spoke, he walked to the front of the car, lifted a corner of the cloth, and curiously took a look.

She couldn't help but click her tongue twice, then turned to look at Lin Chuan, her tone filled with surprise and admiration: "Lin Zichuan, you're quite something. You've accomplished so much without making a sound. You're a real hidden talent."

"That's right, don't you know who I am?" Lin Chuan chuckled, somewhat smug.

Since returning to this era, Lin Chuan has not yet truly met his old classmate, as they have missed each other several times due to other commitments.

Seeing this cheerful young woman again today, just like decades ago, Lin Chuan was immediately overjoyed.

"You're getting all worked up over just because I said a few words to you. Come on, your sister-in-law has already set up your stall, number six in the third row."

Li Xinru looked at Lin Chuan, pouted, and then turned to Shen Jialing with a shameless smile.

"Wife, you don't know, this kid has changed completely in such a short time, even I can't stand it anymore."

"You're no better than me." Shen Jialing glanced at Li Xinru. "Neither of you is easy to deal with. Don't think you can just let this go."

Lin Chuan's smile faltered upon hearing this, thinking it was about the book collection incident from last time, and he quickly said, "How did this get dragged into me again?"

"Jialing's book has nothing to do with me, and besides, so much time has passed; even if she was sentenced, her term should have been served by now."

"You've gone too far? Lin Zichuan didn't realize that. It's only been a short time since we last met, and your cunning is already showing."

Don't you have any idea what you left with Li Xinru the other day?

If you keep putting those indecent things in my house, I won't forgive you, no matter if you're on the island or across the sea.

Shen Jialing put her hands on her hips and began to berate him without any politeness.

Lin Chuan was pointed at by Shen Jialing and retreated repeatedly, looking bewildered and wondering to himself: When did I give Li Pangzi anything?

His gaze inadvertently swept over Li Xinru beside him, and he saw her secretly winking at him with a pleading expression.

He immediately understood; this old guy was trying to make him the scapegoat.

Lin Chuan immediately chuckled and mumbled, "Well... put something in there." As he spoke, his eyes kept darting towards Li Xinru, "I guess he put... something in there."

In his heart, he was cursing Li Xinru: "I knew it! Why was this guy so enthusiastic this morning? He was up to no good."

"Martial arts novels are one thing, but you're not allowed to buy any more of those miscellaneous magazines, and you're definitely not allowed to give them to Li Xinru anymore."

Shen Jialing was too lazy to pay attention to Lin Chuan's little tricks, and immediately interrupted him in an annoyed manner.

Li Xinru breathed a sigh of relief, finally relieved that her wife had gotten her revenge. She quickly smiled apologetically and said, "Yes, yes, wife, I promise I will never look at Lin Zichuan's things again."

"If he sends me these things again in the future, I will sever all ties with him."

Shen Jialing gave a soft snort and turned to walk into the vegetable market.

Lin Chuan rolled his eyes from behind, grabbed Li Xinru, and muttered, "You fatso, what's wrong with you? You didn't even tell me you needed my help."

"I know you too well. If I had told you in advance, you would have definitely caused trouble."

"I went through all the trouble of finding you a stall, and you're just taking the blame for it?" Li Xinru said irritably.

Lin Chuan touched his nose, his expression ancient and noble. If it were according to the previous life, it seems that things might really be different.

"Where did you get all those things you bought?" Lin Chuan asked curiously.

"There's a black market in the county town with lots of good stuff. I'll take you there to see it later," Li Xinru said, winking.

Water Monkey and Li Jiaye glanced at each other discreetly, their ears involuntarily perking up.

"Hurry up!" Shen Jialing urged from the front.

"Coming, coming," Li Xinru quickly responded, and she and Lin Chuan hurriedly followed.

The cart stopped in front of stall number six in the third row, and Shui Houzi and Li Jiaye quickly unloaded the goods, neatly stacking bundles of celery and piles of spinach.

The celery stalks are thick and straight with bright green leaves, while the spinach leaves are thick and glossy, making them stand out in the market full of radishes and cabbages.

Lin Chuan took a piece of wood off the board, on which he had written yesterday: "Off-season vegetables in greenhouses at the Shachuan Island Provincial Experimental Field".