Back to 1980: Farming the Sea and Expanding the Island

"Brother Chuan, now that you've found the location, why don't you come back and dig again tomorrow?" Water Monkey asked, puzzled.

"Tomorrow? I have important things to do tomorrow. The island is here and won't run away. We can dig the well after we've finished our business."

"Brother Chuanzi, can I still go with you tomorrow?"

"I'll go too."

"Sure, you can help me out," Lin Chuan said with a smile.

As evening approached, before it was even dark, the moon had already quietly climbed above the clouds.

Li Jiaye, who was humming a little tune and walking home happily, suddenly heard an angry shout. He was so startled that he shuddered and his smile froze instantly.

"Li Jiaye, where have you been? Look at you in this state!"

Turning back to look at his mother, Li Jiaye stammered, "Mother, I... I went with Brother Chuanzi and the others to Canhong Island to dig a sweet water well, and to catch moorhens and fish..."

"Digging a well? Always making excuses! You don't do any housework and just run off to mess around. How are we going to wash these clothes!" His mother wouldn't listen and started scolding him.

Wang Fengmei, Li Suanpan's wife who was with Aunt Gui, perked up upon hearing about Canhong Island and immediately stopped Aunt Gui from continuing to discipline her son.

"Kids will be kids, it's normal for them to act up."

Then, he hurriedly asked Li Jiaye, "Jiaye, you said you and Lin Chuan went to Canhong Island to dig a sweet water well. How about it, did you find one?"

Li Jiaye glanced at his still angry mother and muttered under his breath, "They must have dug it up."

"If you find it, you find it; if you don't find it, you don't find it. Can't you tell whether it's a sweet water well or not? You're so clever."

Looking at Aunt Wang's frown, Li Jiaye was also somewhat dissatisfied: "They dug out sweet water, but then it became salty."

However, Brother Chuanzi said he already knows the location of the sweet water well and will go to the island to dig it in a few days.

"It's salty now." Upon hearing that the sweet water had turned into salty water, Wang Fengmei's furrowed brows immediately relaxed, and she then laughed, "I thought Lin Chuan could really dig out a sweet water well."

"We've already found the place with the sweet water, and Brother Chuanzi said we can definitely get it," Li Jiaye said, unconvinced.

Wang Fengmei smiled upon hearing this, then changed her tone and said, "Family business, you too, look how tired your mother is every day."

You can't dig up sweet water on Canhong Island, and even if you did, it wouldn't concern you, right?

"Look at the mess you've made of these clothes! Your mother will have to wash them when we get home."

After saying that, Wang Fengmei smiled at Aunt Gui and said, "Aunt Gui, this child is still young. He needs more education. He will grow up eventually. You don't need to worry too much."

"Young? He's only a few years younger than Lin, who's already a scorekeeper, while he's still stuck at home begging for food. He's a real handful. I think he just hasn't been disciplined enough."

Aunt Gui glanced at Wang Fengmei and pretended to pull Li Jiaye's ear.

Li Jiaye hurriedly dodged away and said, "Mother, I know I was wrong."

"The roasted moorhen and sea bass we had today were so delicious! I'll bring you some more next time."

"You dare to run away? Just wait till I get back and see how I deal with you."

......

The next morning, in the reed marshes, the river wind, carrying wisps of cold mist, lashed against their faces, causing the three people on the boat to involuntarily shrink back.

"Brother Chuan, I've checked the net, it's all fine. Grandpa Lin has patched up all the holes neatly," Water Monkey said with a smile.

"Brother Chuanzi, have you ever been to Shanghai?" On the wooden boat, Li Jiaye asked curiously while rowing the famous boat with all his might.

"Shanghai? Why are you suddenly asking about Shanghai?" Lin Chuan asked, somewhat surprised.

"I heard it from my cousin. She came back from Shanghai yesterday to visit my uncle."

She said Shanghai is so beautiful, and there are skyscrapers over 100 meters tall. How tall must they be? Li Jiaye's eyes were full of longing.

"Oh! I was wondering if your sister Xiaoyu brought you any candy." Lin Chuan joked with a smile.

When Jia Ye mentioned his cousin, Lin Chuan immediately recognized her as Li Yu, the eldest daughter of Captain Li Jianguo.

She graduated from junior high school, is very capable, and is now married and living in Shanghai.

"I ate it, it was so sweet." Li Jiaye licked his lips, savoring the taste.

"What does a 100-meter-tall building look like?" the water monkey couldn't help but ask.

"Haha, then you'll see for yourselves when the time comes."

"Yeah, Brother Chuanzi, let's go to Shanghai together to see the skyscrapers sometime," Li Jiaye said excitedly.

Lin Chuan smiled and nodded in agreement with Li Jiaye.

He recalled that the county town had started building a gravel road this year, and that it would take only two hours by car to reach Shanghai from the county town.

The fishing boat passed through the reeds and reached the river surface. The waves rose and fell, causing the three of them to rise and fall with it.

Li Jiaye put the oar on the small fishing boat, and the plank made a dull "thump".

Rubbing my hands, which were numb with cold, I realized the morning breeze was still quite chilly.

The water monkey took the wooden paddle and started rowing.

In the morning, after finishing his work, Lin Chuan led the two people who had been waiting for a while to push the old man's fishing boat out.

In fact, even in this era of material scarcity, there are hidden resources everywhere.

It's just that people lack the corresponding knowledge, and many things have not yet been developed, and these can all be said to be Lin Chuan's help.

In just a few days, Lin Chuan had already come up with ways to improve or utilize the resources.

For example, the duck feed for my sister, the pickled alkaline fungus for my mother, and the sweet water resources of Canhong Island.

Most importantly, he almost missed out on this seasonal bog, the spotted bass, if he hadn't seen the water monkey catching them.

......

Meanwhile, the members of the island's sideline group were also happily weaving, but Lin Chuan once again became the center of attention.

"Huiqin, I heard Xiaochuan went to Canhong Island to dig for sweet water. How did it go? Did he find any?"

Shen Huiqin moved the reeds swiftly in her hands. Without even looking up, she said, "They must have found a sweet water source. It's just that the location hasn't been decided yet. We'll go dig the well when Chuanzi has time in a few days."

"You already know the location, why don't you just print it out? What are you waiting a few days for?" An aunt next to me raised her eyebrows, her tone full of disbelief.

"Hey, Aunt Huiqin, Lin Chuan really dug it up? Didn't they say it would turn salty again?" Another young new bride asked, somewhat puzzled.

She had overheard some of the discussion, and now, hearing Shen Huiqin say this, she was a little confused.

Wang Fengmei paused in her work, covered her mouth and laughed: "Sister Huiqin, not to be rude, but I heard from Jiaye yesterday that the water they dug up was sweet at first and then salty. I guess it was just a lucky guess that they tasted some rainwater."

"Sweet water doesn't grow naturally on Canhong Island. Maybe Xiao Chuan is just greedy and trying to fool you."

"Yes, Huiqin," an elderly woman chimed in. "A few years ago, the team organized several trips to Canhong Island to dig, and the deepest one was twelve feet deep."

It was still brackish water that came out, and they even broke two shovels in the end. Could this young upstart really be that capable?

Her words struck a chord with some people. Upon hearing this, Wang Fengmei smiled and spoke again, her words carrying a hidden barb: "Aunt Huiqin, I'm not trying to discourage you."

Even if there really is sweet water on that deserted island of Canhong, it would take a lot of effort to manage it. Your family alone can't handle the strain.

Xiao Chuan is so young, yet his mind is too wandering. He should just stick to being a scorekeeper, otherwise he'll end up with nothing and even lose work points.