Back to 1980: Farming the Sea and Expanding the Island

"Xiao Chuan, how about this? I'll let Accountant Zhao take over the village's scorekeeping duties again, so your workload will be lighter."

"You don't need to keep a close eye on the greenhouse cooperative's affairs all the time; just give some pointers when you have time," Li Jianguo said.

Lin Chuan lowered his head and pondered for a moment. The job of a scorekeeper was indeed a burden for him at the moment.

I've already made contact with Su Yanqiu. The main value of the scorekeeper has been lost, and I was planning to resign during the year-end review anyway.

Lin Chuan silently considered for a moment, then nodded and said, "Uncle, I can agree to cooperate, but there are conditions."

"Tell me!" Li Jianguo looked intently at Lin Chuan, his expression filled with anticipation for resolving the matter.

"First, a formal cooperation group needs to be established, and all participants need to sign an agreement to clearly define their respective rights, responsibilities, and benefits."

Lin Chuan's expression was serious and his tone firm, "This is the foundation for protecting everyone's interests, and we cannot be careless about it."

"Secondly, I provide technology and guidance, but this isn't for free; I want a stake in the technology."

Lin Chuan frowned slightly, emphasizing the value of the technology, "After all, this technology took a lot of effort to develop."

"Third, there must be a unified standard for quality. Any vegetables that do not meet the standards must not be allowed to be sold on the market."

"We have to ensure that all the vegetables we sell are of presentable quality." Lin Chuan's eyes were sharp, knowing full well the importance of quality for long-term development.

"Fourth, sales must be centrally arranged by me to avoid vicious competition among everyone and damage the market."

As Lin Chuan spoke, he gestured with his hands to explain the pros and cons to Li Jianguo.

"Fifth, and most importantly," Lin Chuan said, looking directly into Li Jianguo's eyes, emphasizing his words.

"Everyone must follow orders. What to plant, how to plant, and when to harvest are all up to me."

Anyone who makes decisions without authorization will be immediately dismissed, without hesitation.

Li Jianguo listened attentively, nodding silently as he listened, and even gesturing in the air as if taking notes: "These... should all be negotiable."

"Also," Lin Chuan added hastily, as if suddenly remembering something, "the first batch can't be spread out too wide."

"Let's build two or three greenhouses first to test the waters. Once we've succeeded and gained experience, then we can expand the scale. That's a safer approach."

"That's a safe bet!" Li Jianguo nodded vigorously in agreement, then asked, "So... how many tech shares do you plan to take?"

Lin Chuan pondered for a moment, then slowly said, "Twenty percent of the total profits."

"Twenty percent..." Li Jianguo quickly calculated in his mind, weighing the pros and cons. "That's not much. I'll tell everyone."

With the matter mostly settled, Li Jianguo stood up to take his leave.

As he reached the door, he suddenly stopped, turned back to look at Lin Chuan, and said sincerely, "Xiao Chuan, thank you."

"Thank me for what?" Lin Chuan asked, somewhat puzzled.

"Thank you for thinking of everyone," Li Jianguo said with deep emotion. "You have the whole of Qingpingzhou in your heart."

Lin Chuan laughed: "Uncle, look at what you're saying, we're all from the same village. We have the same goal, isn't it to make Qingpingzhou better?"

After seeing Li Jianguo off, the family sat back down in the main room.

Lin's father finally couldn't hold back any longer: "Xiao Chuan, are you really going to agree? 20%... isn't that too little? That's all technology you've been working on for so long!"

"Yes, Xiao Chuan, if everyone in the village builds greenhouses and grows vegetables, will our vegetables still sell for six cents?" Lin's mother also looked worried.

"So we must have unified planning and unified sales," Lin Chuan explained patiently with a smile. "Besides, no matter how capable I am, my energy is limited, and I can only manage a few greenhouses."

But if the whole village grows it, and it becomes a large-scale industry, then we can talk about bigger orders.

"The profit margins are even larger for places like county-level supply and marketing cooperatives, city-level vegetable companies, and even large markets in the provincial capital."

"That makes sense! A single tree cannot make a forest!" Lin's father nodded thoughtfully after hearing this.

"Also," Lin Chuan continued, "I was thinking that alkaline pine processing and duck eggs are some of our local specialty resources."

There are also fish and shrimp... these can all be sold on a large scale in the future. If the whole village becomes wealthy, the sales channels for these products will definitely expand even further.

Lin's father couldn't help but laugh: "You little rascal, you're thinking pretty far ahead."

"Distance doesn't matter." The old man tapped his pipe. "As long as the path is right, we can go no matter how far."

The next morning, the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, was the Little New Year.

Despite it being a joyous day, Lin Chuan's family got up early as usual and took a boat to Canhong Island.

As usual, Aunt Liang and Aunt Wang came to help.

Yesterday, Lin's mother offered them their wages, but the two refused to accept them no matter what. Lin Chuan had no choice but to provide them with plenty of vegetables.

With everyone working together, after the vegetables were harvested and bundled, Lin Chuan helped the two aunts back to shore.

Meanwhile, Li Jianguo was holding a village meeting at the brigade headquarters.

He knew in his heart that if this matter wasn't resolved before the end of the year, no one would have a peaceful New Year.

He listed out Lin Chuan's conditions one by one: establishing a cooperative, signing an agreement, holding a 20% share of the technology, unifying standards, and obeying commands.

The moment the words were spoken, the crowd erupted in uproar.

"Twenty percent? Why doesn't he just rob us!" A middle-aged villager shouted, his face flushed.

"We have to obey his orders completely? Why should we?" a woman echoed, her face full of reluctance.

"Wouldn't this just make me work for him?" another person muttered.

But some clear-headed people stood up and said: "They have the skills, they deserve to receive so much."

Without him, we wouldn't earn a single penny!

"It's good to sell everything uniformly. It saves us from doing things ourselves and we don't have to worry about being pressured to lower prices," an old man agreed.

"I think it's a good idea, it's better than just staring blankly like this!" a young man chimed in.

Seeing this, Li Jianguo said loudly, "Everyone, raise your hands in support!"

The scene immediately descended into chaos, with people spouting their own opinions and each sticking to their own version of events.

At a glance, the number of people in favor and those against is roughly equal, while another 30% are still hesitant and undecided.

"Quiet down, everyone!" Li Jianguo raised his voice, trying to calm the scene down. "The New Year is just around the corner, we're not in a hurry to decide on a date."

What I mean is, let's discuss this matter among ourselves before the new year, and then get started afterward.

The crowd gradually quieted down, and everyone listened attentively.

"In the days leading up to the Lunar New Year, everyone should go back and think things through carefully, and discuss it with their families. After all, this involves investing money and effort," Li Jianguo said earnestly, his gaze sweeping over the crowd.

"We'll have a formal meeting after the Lantern Festival."

Those who want to participate should come to the team headquarters to register, sign a contract, and leave their fingerprints; we'll make the rules final. Those who don't want to participate will not be forced!

This arrangement was reasonable, and the restless crowd gradually calmed down. With the year-end approaching, it's certainly not the time for any unrest.

"Furthermore," Li Jianguo said in a serious tone, "before that, no one should disturb Lin Chuan."

Anyone who tries to gossip or cause trouble before the new year, don't blame me for not letting them invest!

The crowd dispersed, discussing the incident.

Wang Fengmei pulled Li Suanpan home, muttering to herself, "We have to wait until the Lantern Festival...that's a huge loss of money!"

"What's the rush?" Li Suanpan was unusually clear-headed this time. "Take advantage of the New Year to find out what's really going on with greenhouses and how much they cost. Don't just rush in on a whim."

"You think you're so clever!" Wang Fengmei retorted irritably.