Back to 1980: Farming the Sea and Expanding the Island

"I've come here to pick up Harry before, why didn't I think of digging it up?" The old lady slapped her thigh in anger as she looked at Lin Chuan's earnings.

"I've been here before..."

"Me too."

"Sigh...what a pity."

The other villagers who were watching, especially those who had been to this place before, were filled with regret.

"Auntie, it's all luck, it's all luck," Lin Chuan replied with a smile as he listened to the crowd's discussion.

Xiaoman and the water monkey, on the other hand, looked at the many elders with smug expressions, unable to suppress their smiles.

The commotion was naturally noticed by Li Chunjiang and his group, who then joined the crowd and gathered around.

Looking at Lin Chuan and his group, who had reaped a bountiful harvest, Li Chunjiang said sourly, "What's there to envy? So what if he dug out a hidden sand dam? When he goes to manage that wretched place, Canhong Island, he won't even have enough to buy compost!"

"Remnant Island? Someone actually went there to take on the pioneering quest!"

"It has to be the forestry clerk, with such high awareness! Unlike us peasants!"

"But I remember that deserted island, where you can't get sweet water, so how can you grow anything?"

"If you can't do it, then our Lin Jifen can't do it either!" Wu Jia stretched his neck to look at the big crab at the bottom of Xiaoman's bucket and secretly mocked.

As Li Chunjiang and his group mocked them, the initially peaceful atmosphere began to shift.

Lin Chuan stopped the water monkey from arguing, glanced at the group of people who were making sarcastic remarks, and then smiled at the uncles and aunts who were surrounding them:

"Uncles and elders, there are many clams and crabs here. Look over there, the razor clams are bubbling."

Lin Chuan pointed ahead and continued, "Everyone, hurry up and dig as much as you can while you still have time. Once the tide comes in, you won't have such a good opportunity next time."

Upon hearing this, everyone immediately realized what was happening and stopped crowding around Lin Chuan to watch the spectacle. Instead, they began searching and digging in the areas Lin Chuan had indicated.

The villagers' commotion also attracted the attention of Old Man Lin, who was on the other side of the mudflats.

"Grandpa, look! Big brother dug up a lot of clams!" Xiaoman's eyes were bright, and she spotted the old man rushing over at a glance.

He waved his hands excitedly and shouted loudly.

"Good, good, good, Xiaoman is really amazing." The old man walked over quickly, looking at the many gains, and responded happily.

With the old man joining them, the three of them immediately sped up their pace.

During this time, Xiaoman quickly ran back to find the bag and ran into Wang Haiyue on her way back. They managed to collect the pile of seashells before the tide came in.

Beishi Wharf has a dedicated purchasing point for aquatic products.

Jiangxin Village has its own fishing team, and the dock has been expanded so that fishing boats of 20 to 30 tons can be moored.

The entire Beihongdao Road is shaped like a large funnel, stretching for seventy or eighty kilometers. There are four wharves like this, with the Beishi Wharf in Jiangxin Village being the smallest.

Lin Chuan and his group arrived at the dock in high spirits, followed by a large crowd of people.

With today's harvest, the mudflat team completed their task ahead of schedule.

"Wow, what's going on with so many people today?" Wang Hao, the receiving clerk at the seafood supply and marketing station, was startled when he saw a group of people arrive.

He rushed out of the house and immediately asked Lin Chuan what was going on.

Lin Chuan watched as Wang Hao chuckled and draped his arm over his shoulder: "Rat, brother, you're really lucky today, you found a hidden sandbar."

"Heh," Wang Hao knew what the situation was with the hidden sand dam, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

He then looked Lin Chuan up and down, muttering to himself, "Chuanzi, you fell into the river and somehow your luck turned around? Did the River God really take a liking to you?!"

Lin Chuan chuckled, "Come on, let's weigh you!"

The villagers on the dock saw what was happening and came over to see what was going on. After they learned what had happened...

They all looked at Lin Chuan and the water monkey with envy and jealousy, and handed over several bags full of clams to Wang Hao to weigh.

Looking at the plump clams in the basket, Wang Hao gave Lin Chuan a thumbs up.

"These are all good stuff, Chuanzi. You should know the prices, right? Are these yours or from the team?"

"It's mine," Lin Chuan nodded.

"Okay, then that's unplanned. The supply and marketing station buys them for 13 cents each, but I'll give you an extra cent for these, how about that?" Wang Hao said with a smile.

"One cent?" Lin Chuan looked up and saw Wang Hao put his arm around his shoulder and walk forward. He chuckled softly, "Hey, Rat, this is top-quality stuff. If you take it to Sanhe Port, you can negotiate a price of two cents."

You only added one point? Tell me, are you planning to engage in speculation? That's very dangerous!

As the saying goes, there are no wrong nicknames, only wrong given names.

Lin Chuan knew that in his previous life, this old guy had used his position to not only acquire planned aquatic products, but also to engage in many unplanned ones. After the reform and opening up, he became a well-known aquatic product merchant in the area.

When Wang Hao heard Lin Chuan mention speculation and profiteering, he was immediately startled. "Hey Chuanzi, you can't say that!"

Speculation and profiteering are serious crimes nowadays, and you can easily be imprisoned for up to three years if you're not careful.

Wang Hao looked at the smiling Lin Chuan, then explained with a bitter expression, "Yes, you're right. If it were really transported to the free market, it's possible that the price could reach two cents a pound. I said possible."

"But Chuanzi, you need to understand that those are all sold in bulk, and if you sell there, you'll have to pay management fees, plus transportation will take up time."

"No, one point is too little. How about you add two more points, 16 cents a pound? It's not just clams here, there are also some scallops and razor clams." Lin Chuan raised his eyebrows and pulled Wang Hao closer, saying:

"Besides, you can ship it to Qinglong Port. The price there is at least 20 cents, maybe even 23 cents. And I won't add much. If all else fails, I can just ship it to Sanhe Port."

Qinglong Port is the port near the narrowest section of Beihongdao, and also the funnel-shaped mouth of the Yangtze River. It is also called Qinglong Port Channel or Qinglong Port Branch. The older generation likes to call it Qinglong Mouth.

The water there was so silted up that it was only two or three meters deep, and ships could only enter the port when the tide was high.

The old passenger and general cargo terminal, built in 1958, has two berths with a capacity of 1,000 tons, leading to Shangbao Town.

It's about 20 kilometers away from the island in the middle of the river, and few villagers go there, but the aquatic product supply and marketing station is different; their headquarters are there.

Wang Hao looked at Lin Chuan with some helplessness. He had been sent to Jiangxin Village for some time and knew Lin Chuan's stubborn temper.

"Okay, then we'll go with your price of 16 cents. But we agree that this price is only for the best quality; the regular ones will still be 13 cents."

"Okay." Lin Chuan patted Wang Hao and replied with a smile.

After the two finished their whispered conversation, Wang Hao officially began weighing the items.

"Brother, how much is it?" Xiaoman craned her neck and stood on tiptoe to look.

"You'll find out soon enough," Lin Chuan said with a smile. "Sister Haiyue, you do the abacus, I'll remember it."

"Okay."

Lin Chuan used to be good at using an abacus, but he's a bit rusty now, since he hasn't used one in a long time. He's still the scorekeeper, and it wouldn't be good if he made a fool of himself at this point.