Back to 1980: Farming the Sea and Expanding the Island

Lin Chuan was taken aback by his mother's words, but then he understood her good intentions and nodded with a smile: "Auntie, I understand. I'll listen to you from now on."

Then Lin Chuan continued, "Mother, have you started pickling alkaline sedges this year?"

"I just picked some alkaline wormwood and buried it in the damp sand in the corner of the yard to keep it moist. I haven't started pickling it yet."

"That's perfect, Amu. I've seen a new method for pickling alkaline sphagnum in a book before."

We can try this new method; maybe we can get more money selling it to the supply and marketing cooperative.

Lin Chuan's eyes lit up. While eating the alkaline porridge, he couldn't help but think of the taste of alkaline porridge from later generations.

Later generations improved the pickling process of alkaline nutmeg, which basically eliminated the astringency and improved the crisp texture.

With his mother's skills and the ideas she provides, it can definitely be reproduced.

"That's great, but is the new recipe difficult? Our tools at home are rudimentary, so it might be difficult to marinate it."

Lin's mother trusted her son's words, but she was somewhat troubled by the thought of her own pickling jars.

"Don't worry, Mother, this method is very simple, and our family's conditions are sufficient," Lin Chuan said confidently.

"Okay, I'll gather more alkaline wormwood later."

"I'll pick some when I get back this afternoon," the old man said after finishing his meal and putting down his chopsticks. He didn't eat much.

"I'll go too."

"You can't go. This afternoon, come with me to make your duck feed."

"Oh, brother, you've finished feeding the animals?" Xiaoman was pleasantly surprised to hear her older brother's words.

Lin Chuan smiled and said, "It's not that it's already finished, it's just that we're looking for raw materials. You can come along this afternoon."

"Mmm!" The little girl nodded repeatedly, squinting her eyes and laughing carefree. Once she mastered this recipe, there would be even more duck eggs at home.

Lin Chuan remembered that there was a semi-wild sweet sorghum field on the western edge of the mudflats.

Sweet sorghum is a plant that is tolerant of poor soil and highly adaptable.

Its characteristics are highly compatible with the sandy soil, mild climate, and drought resistance requirements of the river island.

The middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River are also its main production areas, and it is also a staple food supplement for the islands in the river and a major source of snacks for children.

As an artificially bred species, there is naturally no wild sweet sorghum on Jiangxinzhou Island.

Every year after harvesting the sweet sorghum, the team reserves enough seeds for sowing the following year, while most of the stems and leaves are dried and stored as winter feed for the collective pasture.

Lin's father feeds the cattle and sheep in the team, and the stems and leaves are an important food source for them to survive the winter.

A small amount of fresh, tender straw would be distributed to the commune members as "sweet stalks" to eat, and I believe many people craved this when they were young.

Although it's not as sweet as sugarcane, it's still full of juice when you bite into it, making it an important source of sweetness for everyone in their childhood.

After lunch, everyone went about their own business.

Lin Chuan was about to report to the team that the scattered sweet sorghum was not entirely wild.

If you cut them down like you would wild reeds, one or two plants are fine, but if you cut them down too many, there will always be controversy.

It's better to report it to the production team. That area is unwanted anyway, and the team won't care.

Even if someone gets envious later, they won't cause trouble.

When Lin Chuan arrived at the team, he explained to the team leader his purpose in cutting down the sweet sorghum to feed the ducks, and the team leader readily agreed.

At the same time, he was given the team's official document on the management of Canhong Island. This was the team's document; he would have to go and get the county's documents himself.

However, starting today, in accordance with the national policies of "urgently addressing soil erosion and flood-prone areas" and "provincial management measures for silted-up wastelands,"

Canhong Island will be governed by Lin Chuan, with a 30-year usage right and no rent.

At the end of each year, Lin Chuan needs to report the results of the year's governance efforts, including how many acres were planted and how many acres were greened.

After saying goodbye to the village chief, Lin Chuan called Shui Houzi and they walked home together, chatting and laughing all the way.

A shrill shout shattered the afternoon tranquility: "Li Jiaye, you stop right there! I'll tear your mouth apart, you good-for-nothing!"

Lin Chuan and the water monkey exchanged a glance and turned to look in the direction of the sound.

Then I saw Aunt Gui holding a bamboo broom, her eyes wide open, veins bulging on her forehead, and her hair standing on end, chasing her second son, Li Jiaye, who was running around wildly in front of the yard.

Li Jiaye's gray cloth jacket was stained with mud on the back, and one of his shoes had even flown off as he ran. He dodged and cried out, "Mother! I wasn't alone! Liang Wendong and Sun Renfu called me there!"

Lin Chuan looked at the water monkey and asked curiously, "Monkey, I remember Li Jiaye, he seems to be fifteen years old this year, right?"

I haven't seen him on the mudflats before, is he still in school?

"Yes, I was still in school in the first half of this year, and I did quite well, getting 100 points." The water monkey grinned as he spoke.

"You studied so well, how come I don't remember you?" Lin Chuan asked, somewhat puzzled.

If he remembered correctly, it was many years later that some children from Jiangxin Village graduated from high school, and even fewer went on to university.

"Hehe! Brother Chuan got a total of 100 points in all his subjects."

Upon hearing this, Lin Chuan choked on his words, looking at Li Jiaye, who was running away with his head in his hands, with amusement.

"You dare mention those two brats again!" Aunt Gui angrily swung the broom, scattering grains of rice everywhere.

"I'm saving up my egg-laying speckled chickens! They're scrambling for food in the coop this morning, but they're gone by noon!"

"If your third aunt hadn't seen the three of you building an earthen stove outside, and if I hadn't tricked you like that, it really would have been you. Otherwise, I would have thought it was a weasel that had carried you away!"

"Mother, so you were just kidding me. I shouldn't have said anything." Li Jiaye was clearly very annoyed.

These words made Aunt Gui tremble with anger, and she pointed at Li Jiaye for a long time without being able to say a word.

He then took a deep breath, his face contorted, and he charged at Li Jiaye, swinging the broom in a wide arc as he swung it at him.

Startled, Li Jiaye took two hard blows, let out a wail, and darted out of the alley to hide.

Being just a teenager, he ran incredibly fast. Seeing that his mother was serious, he could only run for the time being.

Aunt Gui couldn't catch up with Li Jiaye, so she went home angrily. But Lin Chuan saw that she was still angry and might give Li Jiaye a beating when he got back.

He and the water monkey watched the spectacle with great interest. When the show ended, they prepared to go back to making feed.

But just after passing through two alleys, a ragged young man suddenly appeared in front of Lin Chuan, startling the two of them.

It was none other than Li Jiaye, who had just scurried out like a rat.

Li Jiaye grabbed Lin Chuan's hand and pleaded with a bitter face, "Brother Chuan, you have to help me. Look at my mother's attitude, I'm going to get beaten up when we get back."

Seeing Li Jiaye's disheveled appearance and the water monkey's smile that had just faded, Lin Chuan couldn't help but burst into laughter again.

"Brother Chuanzi, if you want to laugh, wait until later. You're a cultured young man and also my dad's teacher. Could you go back and talk to him for me?"

Li Jiaye was at a loss. He thought about it and realized that there was no one who could help him right now. Even his grandmother, who usually doted on him, didn't speak up for him today.

Grandma would often secretly give him eggs to eat, but today he only ate a chicken, so why was he beaten so badly? He really couldn't understand it.

Lin Chuan chuckled softly, "Let go of me first, and tell me properly what you've done."