Back to 1980: Farming the Sea and Expanding the Island

Everyone watched patiently as Lin Chuan recited the numbers, while Hai Yue rapidly drew numbers on her abacus.

"They're out. There are a total of 466 jin of seashells. 396 are of the best quality, at 16 cents per jin, for a total of 63.36 yuan."

Seventy catties of ordinary seashells, at 1.3 yuan per catty, totaling nine yuan and 1.3 yuan, for a total of seventy-two yuan and forty-six yuan.

Five crabs, weighing one pound and eight ounces, cost a total of one dollar and sixty-two cents.

The onlookers were very envious. Their strong laborers earned 1.2 yuan a day in work points, while Lin Chuan's work was equivalent to more than two months' income for them.

"It seems that Lin Laoduo's frequent worship of the river god has been effective."

"I'll go pray tomorrow too..."

Seeing the large sum of money Lin Chuan had just received, some villagers who had followed him and also dug up a lot of seashells were also very happy.

Although they didn't dig as much as Lin Chuan, even if it was only a few dozen kilograms, it was still an unexpected gain for them, especially since Lin Chuan had raised the price by two cents.

......

As the sun rose high at noon, the crowd dispersed in twos and threes, chatting amongst themselves, and Lin Chuan and his companions also walked back, laughing and talking.

"Hey, monkey, this is yours." Lin Chuan smiled and handed thirty-seven small bills to the water monkey.

The water monkey was taken aback when it saw the big unity. Although it knew that money would be divided, it seemed that Lin Chuan had taken too much.

He immediately refused, saying, "Brother Chuan, this is too much."

"Yeah, Chuanzi, I heard from Xiaopu that you found the hidden sand dam, so how come you got so much money?" Wang Haiyue agreed from the side.

"These are the shells the monkeys should take. They're from the sand dune we found together, and the shells we dug out together."

Besides, you and the monkey also contributed a lot, so it's perfect for our two families to split the profits equally. Right, Grandpa?

"That's right, Xiao Chuan did the right thing. It's yours, so keep it." Old Master Lin replied with a smile, holding the bouncy Xiao Man's hand and smoking his pipe.

"But..."

"There's no 'but' about it. You're not young anymore, what's with all this dawdling? I'm not giving you any of this bucket of clams, you can take them all home."

Without saying a word, Lin Chuan shoved the small bills into the water monkey's arms and said impatiently.

The water monkey looked at his older sister, and seeing that she didn't say anything more, scratched his head and accepted the money. "Thank you, Brother Chuan."

"No need to thank me, the best is yet to come," Lin Chuan said with a laugh, putting his arm around the water monkey.

At noon, the sun was high overhead, warming everyone's bodies.

At the crossroads, Lin Chuan's family waved goodbye to the water monkey and then walked home along the small road.

As soon as I stepped into the house, I heard the sound of spatulas clattering in the kitchen, as Lin's mother was busy preparing lunch.

Lin Chuan approached his mother with a smile, explained the reason, and handed her the money he had earned from selling clams.

Lin's mother took the money, her rough hands gently stroking it, her eyes filled with surprise and relief, her lips parted in a wide smile.

Lin Chuan turned to look at the fresh conch and plump clams in the bucket, and a surge of impulse welled up in his heart.

He addressed the people in the room with a confident smile: "We've had this unexpected surprise today, so how about I show you all what I've got?"

"Brother, when did you learn to cook?" Xiaoman asked with a puzzled look. She was the one who tended the fire and cooked in the kitchen.

My older brother rarely washes dishes except when he's eating, so how come he suddenly knows how to cook? He tilted his head, his eyes full of doubt.

Lin Chuan reached out and gently pinched Xiaoman's little nose, teasingly saying, "I know a lot of things, so don't underestimate me."

"You'll do it? When did you learn that? Never mind, I'll do it." Lin's mother also looked unconvinced.

"Don't worry, Mom, I'll show you what I'm capable of today," Lin Chuan said confidently. "Just you wait and see!"

In his previous life, Lin Chuan lived alone for a period of time, and since he couldn't get used to takeout, he had to cook for himself.

Lin Chuan first brought the basin of water containing clams to him and carefully dripped a few drops of oil into it.

As the clams slowly wriggle in the water, they are gradually expelling sand.

Taking advantage of the break, Lin Chuan turned around and picked up the conch shell. The shell had a unique luster and was cool to the touch.

I carefully washed the conch thoroughly, and then gently lifted it out along the opening to remove the conch meat intact.

The snail meat is as smooth as jade. It is neatly sliced ​​into thin slices, placed in a bowl, sprinkled with a little fine salt, and drizzled with a little cooking wine.

Add two slices of ginger and gently stir to ensure that each piece of snail meat is soaked in the seasoning.

After the clams had mostly spit out their contents, Lin Chuan scooped them into a bamboo basket to drain.

Then he said to Xiaoman, who was tending the fire, "Xiaoman, add two more pieces of firewood."

"Okay, brother!" Xiaoman replied cheerfully, adding two pieces of firewood to the stove. The flames leaped up with a "whoosh," making her little face glow red.

Lin Chuan picked up the iron ladle next to him and poured a lot of rapeseed oil into the iron pot. When the oil was heated until it was slightly smoking, he threw in the chopped green onions and ginger all at once.

With a sizzling sound, a pungent yet tempting aroma instantly filled the small kitchen, causing Lin Chuan to cough twice.

"Brother, it smells so good!" Xiaoman tilted her head and exclaimed in surprise.

"That's right, look who made it," Lin Chuan said with a smug smile.

Watching Lin Chuan use rapeseed oil so lavishly to cook, Lin's mother's brows gradually furrowed into the character "川" (Chuan).

In this era of scarcity, every drop of oil was precious.

Normally, when cooking, people carefully add only a few drops of oil; I've never seen anyone use so much oil like Lin Chuan.

Her lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but then she hesitated and stopped.

Finally, she shook her head helplessly, turned and walked out of the kitchen, muttering, "This child, she really doesn't know how to manage a household..."

Before long, a plate of tempting stir-fried clams and a plate of conch meat were ready.

"Dinner's ready!" Lin Chuan called out loudly.

The sorghum rice was already cooked for lunch, and Lin's mother added a dish of pickled vegetables, making a sumptuous lunch ready.

Many people don't know what alkaline frost is. If you are on the mudflats after the tide has receded, you will see a place with white alkaline frost covering the surface.

The patches of grass stalks inside had a rosy red hue; that was *Erigeron sarcodactylon*.

The older generation calls it "yellow-bearded vegetable," because it specifically chooses to take root in this bitter soil, and when the wind blows, the red waves can spread to the horizon.

It is very alkali resistant; the more salt it contains, the more vigorously it grows. Especially in late autumn, the entire mudflat can turn red as if it were on fire.

The island's residents often squat by the beach to pick tender shoots. The grass leaves are plump and pale green, and they can be blanched in boiling water and then mixed with sauce to eat.

At the dinner table, Lin Chuan served snails to the old man. Watching Xiaoman eat with relish, he couldn't help but smile, his face beaming with satisfaction.

The aroma of sorghum rice mingled with the salty and savory flavor of pickled vegetables. Lin Chuan picked up a pinch of pickled mustard greens with his chopsticks and ate it with relish. "Grandma, your pickled mustard greens are really crunchy."

Unfortunately, Lin's father rarely came home for lunch because he had to take care of the cattle and sheep. He would leave a portion for Lin's mother to take to him. Or he would bring extra dry food in the morning to eat at noon.

"Right? I also like to eat the pickled jujubes made by my mother. The supply and marketing cooperative even sells them for 1 cents a pound." Xiaoman shoveled rice into her mouth, eating happily.

Seeing the family enjoying their meal, Lin's mother still felt a little sorry for the oil that had been used.

After everyone had almost finished eating, she couldn't help but put down her chopsticks and look at Lin Chuan with a serious expression:

"Xiao Chuan, it's not that I'm criticizing you, but although today's meal was delicious, you were too wasteful with the oil."

You know our family's financial situation; we're careful with the oil we use.

From now on, you shouldn't go into the kitchen to cook anymore. I'll do the cooking; every little bit helps."