Back to 1980: Farming the Sea and Expanding the Island

As baskets of vegetables were placed on the stall, an old man selling radishes next to him craned his neck to look, and his eyes widened at the sight of such fresh and tender celery.

"It's almost New Year's, why are you still using such tender green leafy vegetables!" The old man stood up, squinted, and picked up a stalk of celery to examine it closely.

The vendors at the nearby stalls also thought they were seeing things, so they rubbed their eyes and looked carefully.

"Old Chen, is it true?" Everyone was curious as they saw Old Chen holding a stalk of celery.

"Yes, yes, Old Chen, take a closer look, maybe it's not made of plastic."

"That's right, that's right, Old Chen looked carefully."

"Uncles and elders, how could this be fake?" Before Lin Chuan could speak, Li Xinru immediately shouted with a smile, "Look at this sign, everyone: 'Shachuan Island Provincial Experimental Field Greenhouse Off-Season Vegetables.'"

"See these vegetables grown in the provincial laboratory and greenhouses?"

"It's true, it's true." Old Chen chewed on a few leaves and nodded repeatedly to those around him.

With Li Xinru's shouts and Old Man Chen's affirmation, the surrounding people were immediately alerted.

The first group of customers quickly gathered around.

"Is this celery really from the twelfth lunar month?" An older woman wearing a blue headscarf leaned closer to look, reached out and pinched the celery stalk, then gently broke it in two.

"This celery is so tender!"

"Just picked from the shed," Lin Chuan immediately called out, breaking off a small piece and handing it to the crowd that had gathered around. "Everyone, have a taste. It's real celery, so tender and juicy."

An older woman hesitated for a moment, then took it, chewed it a couple of times, and her eyes lit up: "Sweet! Tender!"

She turned around and called out, "Old Zhang's family, come quick! There's celery here!"

This shout immediately attracted even more people.

"The spinach is fresh too, look at it." Lin Chuan quickly grabbed a handful of spinach, the tips of the leaves still covered with fine water droplets.

"Young man, how much are your vegetables?" an older woman carrying a cloth bag asked with satisfaction as she picked at a spinach leaf.

"Auntie, we usually charge three or four cents for celery."

Mine are grown in greenhouses, under demanding conditions, and in small quantities, so they cost two cents more per pound than usual.

Celery is 60 cents a pound, and spinach is 48 cents a pound.

Lin Chuan responded loudly with a smile.

"So expensive!" The elderly woman carrying the cloth bag was immediately startled.

While dealing with customers' questions, Li Xinru shouted, "Uncles and aunts, this vegetable is not expensive at all. You can't find this leafy green vegetable anywhere else."

Moreover, these are from the provincial experimental field, so they are juicy and sweet.

This celery is unique in the market; it'll be gone in a few days.

Water Monkey and Li Jiaye also joined in the shouting.

"Give me five catties of celery, let's make some celery dumplings for the New Year!" the old lady said loudly through gritted teeth.

"Alright! I see you're originally from Northeast China?" Lin Chuan said with a smile as he deftly weighed the items.

"I'm from Shandong, and I have some aged vinegar. My husband really likes it." The woman took out a handkerchief, unfolded it layer by layer, and handed over three yuan.

"Thank you, ma'am. Here's the five pounds of celery you ordered, plus a few spinach leaves. You can also poach an egg in it; it'll taste absolutely delicious."

Lin Chuan smiled, accepted the money, and handed over the dishes.

"Give me two pounds too, I'll add it to my dishes tomorrow."

"Me too!"

"Give me three pounds of spinach."

"Okay, okay, okay, everyone take your time, take your time," Li Xinru responded loudly.

"Uncle Wang, you're here too. What would you like to eat?" Shen Jialing asked with a smile.

"Wow, this vegetable is so tender! Jialing, has your family started selling vegetables now?"

"Uncle, this is my classmate's stall. I'm just helping out today since I have nothing else to do."

"Then I'll support you too, five pounds each of celery and spinach."

"Okay, Uncle, I'll weigh it for you right away." Shen Jialing packed it up quickly.

The scales swayed incessantly, Shui Houzi collected money, Li Jiaye handed out vegetables, Lin Chuan weighed the food... Soon, the stall was surrounded by layers of people.

Amidst the hustle and bustle of the market, Lin Chuan's stall became the most lively spot.

He carried the bamboo basket in and out, and stacked up the small bills one by one.

Lin Chuan looked at the cart; half of the dozen or so baskets of vegetables he had brought in that morning had already been emptied.

Sunlight slowly crept over the eaves at the east end of the market, illuminating the bluestone pavement. The frost had melted, and the ground glistened with a damp sheen.

"Make way, make way!" A middle-aged man in a gray cotton-padded coat squeezed to the front of the stall, carrying a net bag in his hand. "How much celery do you have left?"

"There are still seven or eight bundles left," Lin Chuan said, looking up.

"If possible, I'd like them all."

The group of middle-aged women who had gathered around immediately became displeased upon hearing this. "Hey, what do you mean by that?"

"Exactly, don't you know about first come, first served?!"

"Exactly, we haven't even bought them yet, and you've already taken them all."

The middle-aged man pulled out a work ID and waved it: "It's from the commune's guesthouse. I need it urgently."

He then turned to Lin Chuan and asked, "Can you supply it every day from now on? Twenty catties of celery and fifteen catties of spinach, and can you lower the price?"

"We can supply it, but the amount of greenhouses we have now is only enough for this period of time. Once the market is over, it will be gone."

"That's okay, as long as we have it."

"Okay, please wait a moment, I'll talk to you in detail later," Lin Chuan said with a smile, glancing at Li Xinru beside him.

His second uncle came from a guesthouse and opened a fish restaurant in Hekou.

Lin Chuan also supplied vegetables to the fish restaurant this time, 15 jin per serving.

The supply will continue until the vegetables are no longer available.

This large order caused a stir in the queue. People at the back rushed to push forward, afraid of missing out.

"Don't push! Don't push!" Shen Jialing raised her voice, "There's plenty, there's still lots of spinach!"

These words failed to calm everyone. An elderly woman in a black cotton-padded coat at the back of the line muttered, "They're even robbing the guesthouses; how are ordinary people supposed to get anything to eat...?"

Liu Qingtian, who runs the radish stall next door, kept glancing sideways at this side.

He'd only sold a small half-basket of radishes today, and he was already seething with anger.

Hearing the discussion, he slammed his pipe on the stall and shouted, "Growing vegetables like this in winter? I think it's weird. I wouldn't touch it!"

There was a moment of silence.

Seeing that someone was listening, Liu Qingtian became even more enthusiastic: "We've farmed all our lives, and we've never seen celery grow so lush and vibrant in the twelfth lunar month. Did they use something they shouldn't have?"

Several customers in line looked at each other, clutching their money tightly, and hesitated.

Lin Chuan continued working, calling people spinach.

"Uncle," Lin Chuan said, straightening up after weighing the vegetables in his hand, looking at Liu Qingtian with a smile, "If you're worried, you can go to Shachuan Island to take a look."

The shed is right there, and so is the experimental field that the Provincial Academy of Agricultural Sciences has designated.

Lin Chuan pronounced the words "Provincial Academy of Agricultural Sciences" very clearly.

Liu Qingtian was taken aback, his neck stiffening: "Who knows if what you're saying is true or false..."

"It can't be fake." Li Xinru took over the conversation and shouted in a loud voice, "I'm from Li's Meat Shop in our market, I can testify."

The greenhouses on the island, and the experimental fields for the province, are located there.

After Li Xinru spoke up, the onlookers calmed down.

Indeed, Li's meat stall has always had a good reputation in the market.

Liu Qingtian recognized Li Xinru, and his face immediately darkened, but he still refused to back down: "That...that's too expensive! It's disrupting the market!"