Back to 1980: Farming the Sea and Expanding the Island

Wang Fengmei suddenly stopped in her tracks, her ears immediately perking up.

She leaned closer and asked, "What happened?"

A woman turned around and saw it was her. She lowered her voice mysteriously and said, "Fengmei, don't you know?"

Lin Chuan sold vegetables at Huiping Commune today. I heard... he earned this much!" The woman held up two fingers and flipped them over.

"Twenty?" Wang Fengmei frowned.

"Two hundred!" The woman lowered her voice even further, as if she were revealing some earth-shattering secret.

"My husband told me when he came back; he was selling meat at the market, and he saw it with his own eyes!"

Another woman quickly added, "That's not all!"

The commune's guesthouse has already signed a contract with them; they'll be ordering food every day from now on! The money's flowing into their house like water!

Wang Fengmei's head buzzed, as if she had been hit by a heavy hammer.

Two hundred yuan? You earn two hundred yuan a day? And every single day?

I heard last time that Lin Chuan made some money fishing, but he used it all to buy boats and build greenhouses.

That fishing opportunity only comes once, and there's never been another chance like that. But now you can actually earn two hundred a day?

She and her husband toiled for a month, barely earning seventy yuan. The Lin family earned in a single day what her family earned in three months?

"Impossible!" she blurted out. "What kind of vegetable can cost that much? Is his greenhouse made of gold?"

"Oh dear, those are out-of-season vegetables! Winter leafy greens are a rare treat!"

The woman curled her lip. "It's grown in a greenhouse; I heard the technique was taught by experts from the province. That celery sells for six cents a pound!"

"I'd heard about Xiaochuan's greenhouse project, but I never imagined it would be so profitable!"

Six cents...

Wang Fengmei's mind raced as she did the math. A pound of pork only cost a little over 80 cents, but a pound of celery almost cost the same as a pound of meat?

Thinking of the radishes and cabbages in her own plot of land, wilted and frozen, Wang Fengmei felt a pang of bitterness rising in her heart.

"Why should I..." she murmured.

"It's because they're capable," the woman said, her tone tinged with a complex mix of emotions. "But then again, if only we could build a greenhouse..."

These words were like a spark that fell into the pile of dry, stifling firewood in Wang Fengmei's heart.

Wang Fengmei carried a basket straight to her own yard, and as soon as she entered, she threw the basket on the ground.

Li Suanpan was mending fishing nets in the yard. Without looking up, he casually asked, "What's wrong now? Didn't you buy any cloth?"

"What are you buying cloth for!" Wang Fengmei's voice was much sharper than usual. "Do you know how much money that kid Lin Chuan made selling vegetables today?"

Upon hearing Lin Chuan's name, Li Suanpan finally looked up and asked, "How much?"

"Two hundred! Two hundred a day! Those greenhouses can grow summer vegetables in winter, and a pound of celery sells for six mao! Guesthouses are fighting over them! Contracts are already signed!"

Li Suanpan's hand trembled, and he almost pricked his finger with the shuttle: "How much?! Two hundred? Who told you this nonsense?"

"It's all over the village! Everyone in Huiping Commune saw it!" Wang Fengmei became increasingly angry as she spoke. "What kind of crops can they grow on that dilapidated island? If only we had greenhouses..."

"We have land!" Li Suanpan threw down the shuttle, his mind racing. "Our private plot may only be one acre, but it's far more fertile than the land on his island!"

"But we don't have any money!" Wang Fengmei exclaimed, her eyes wide. "The greenhouse is the key! We can grow vegetables in winter, provide shade in summer, and make money all year round!"

Just then, the neighbor next door heard the commotion and poked her head in: "Fengmei, you've heard about it too?"

"I heard about it! I'm furious!" Wang Fengmei slapped her thigh. "We're all from Qingpingzhou, why does his family get all the good things?"

Soon, the news spread like wildfire throughout the village.

More and more people gathered under the old locust tree.

The rumored figure kept expanding as it was passed around: from two hundred to three hundred, and then from three hundred to "one day is equivalent to a year's work for us".

"...I heard the cost of a greenhouse is only two or three thousand yuan, and you can break even in just one month!"

"What if we made one too..."

"Easy for you to say. Do you even have that kind of skill?"

"Lin Chuan knows how! Let him teach us!"

Why should someone teach you? Teaching a student can lead to the master starving.

"Then let the production team handle it! This is a collective matter; he can't hog it all!"

Night fell, but the crowd's emotions grew increasingly heightened. Someone shouted, "Let's find the captain! Let the captain stand up for us!"

......

The Lin family had just finished washing up and were about to rest when they heard footsteps outside the courtyard gate.

Then came a soft knock on the door.

Lin's father put on his coat and stood up: "Who is it?"

"I am Jian Guo."

Lin Chuan was somewhat surprised; it was so late. He followed his father to open the door.

Li Jianguo was seen squatting in the shadows by the threshold, with several cigarette butts lying at his feet, indicating that he had been waiting for some time.

"Uncle Jianguo?" Lin Chuan quickly ushered him in. "Why didn't you knock?"

Li Jianguo stood up, his face showing the fatigue of staying up all night, and forced an apologetic smile: "I guess you guys haven't been back from the island for long."

I wanted you to have a meal and catch your breath first. No rush, no rush. Xiao Chuan, thank you for bothering you so late.

"Come in and sit down," Lin's father hurriedly invited.

Inside the main room, the oil lamp was lit. Li Jianguo rubbed his hands, remaining silent for a long time.

"Uncle, just say what's on your mind." Lin Chuan had a rough idea of ​​what was going on.

Li Jianguo sighed and recounted in detail what had happened at the village entrance that evening.

After he finished speaking, the main room fell silent.

Upon hearing this, Lin's mother was furious: "What are they trying to do? Our family has just started to see some improvement, and they..."

"Huiqin," Lin's father stopped her, but his expression was also unpleasant.

The old man smoked his pipe, his expression revealing his dissatisfaction.

Lin Chuan was silent for a moment, then smiled and asked, "Uncle, what do you mean?"

"Me?" Li Jianguo smiled bitterly. "I'm being put on the hot seat. On the one hand, I understand everyone's desire to live a good life."

On the other hand, I know you took a risk and put in a lot of effort to succeed. But Ogawa..."

Li Jianguo paused, then said seriously, "Our Qingpingzhou is too poor. The transport fleet is full, and there are no new ships available, so no one can get in."

It's normal that people are envious when they see that the investment in greenhouses is not as high as that of transportation teams, but the returns are also higher.

But if it can make more people rich, then that's certainly a good thing.

"Uncle, do you mean you want me to lead everyone in building greenhouses?" Lin Chuan asked.

Li Jianguo nodded and said, "That's right. My idea is that the production team should take the lead in setting up another cooperative, with everyone investing shares, and you contributing the technology to lead the work together?"

"Uncle, you know I'm so busy right now that I can't keep up with everything." Lin Chuan guessed that was the case and immediately gave a wry smile.

When Lin Chuan first mentioned building greenhouses, Li Jianguo was very interested, but he had concerns about such an investment and wanted to wait and see how it went.

Now that the results are in, and with the villagers making a fuss, it's no wonder they hit it off immediately.

Lin Chuan certainly didn't object to the villagers wanting to live a better life, and was even willing to support them.

But he has too much work to do right now. He has to keep records as a scorekeeper, teach classes in literacy classes, and reconcile accounts with Wang Haiyue for the transportation team.

The most energy-consuming part was the development of Canhong Island.

Fortunately, it's almost Chinese New Year now, so the scorekeepers and teachers have less work; otherwise, even the healthiest person would be exhausted.