Back to 1980: Farming the Sea and Expanding the Island

Shen Huiqin finally stopped what she was doing, looked up at Wang Fengmei, and thought about what her son had said when he went home yesterday.

His eyes were calm but firm: "I know my son. He's not the kind of person who messes things up recklessly."

Since he says he's found the location of the sweet water, I believe he can definitely dig it out.

As for reclaiming the deserted island, that's a matter of putting in more effort. If it succeeds, it will be a blessing from the River God.

"Heh, judging from Huiqin's posture, it's possible that Chuan boy might actually manage to dig out some sweet water for her," the old aunt who had spoken earlier chuckled.

Wang Fengmei pursed her lips and didn't say anything more, but she thought to herself: Wait a few days until you can't get any sweet water out of her, then let's see how stubborn you can be.

......

Of all the people who believed in the sweet spring, the water monkey was the one who most trusted Lin Chuan to dig it up.

No matter what Lin Chuan said, he was always the most steadfast; otherwise, Lin Chuan wouldn't have asked the water monkey to help take care of his parents in his previous life.

"By the way, Brother Chuan, my sister told me to let her know when you're digging the well, and she'll come too."

"Okay," Lin Chuan readily agreed.

At the other end of the wooden boat, Li Jiaye huddled up, his bright eyes fixed on the river.

"Brother Chuanzi, are you telling the truth? You really can catch perch in the river. My dad has only ever caught a few in the reed marshes."

"Yes, I did. I went down to the river with my dad before, and we encountered it during the high tide. We caught quite a few fish that time."

"Spotted sea bass are very valuable; the supply and marketing cooperatives buy them for the same price as hairy crabs," the water monkey replied.

"Whether it works or not, we'll find out by trying. Monkey, do you remember which website you and Uncle Wang used?" Lin Chuan said with a smile.

"I remember, every time the tide came in, my dad, my sister, and I would go to that place to fish."

Generally, you can only catch fish during the high tides of October and November; very few are caught at other times.

Lin Chuan's lips twitched. This little rascal was really honest. "If you say that, aren't you afraid that others will also go to that place to set up internet cafes?"

The water monkey chuckled as it listened, "Don't worry, there are only a few families in the village with fishing boats."

The Yangtze River is so vast, and they all have their own designated salvage areas. The team has planned missions, so they don't go to those areas.

"Really? Monkey, it seems you've figured out a pattern in the sea bass's migration."

"Migration? What's that? Does it mean the perch swim back and forth?" Li Jiaye asked curiously.

Lin Chuan was surprised and explained, "The spotted sea bass likes to inhabit places where shallow seas and freshwater meet, which is our area."

They have a peculiar behavior: in winter, they like to swim to the deep sea to escape the cold.

When the water temperature rises in spring, they will return to freshwater areas to forage and reproduce; this behavior is called migratory behavior.

Every year at the end of October, when the weather gets cold, they begin to move;

Until early November, when the monkeys and Uncle Wang could catch them in their nets during the high tide, the monkeys would flock to the sea in large groups.

"Oh, I see." The water monkey seemed to understand.

Li Jiaye's eyes lit up instantly. "Does that mean if we find where the spotted bass migrate, we can catch a lot of them right away?"

"You reacted quite quickly," Lin Chuan said approvingly with a smile.

"But Brother Chuan, the place my dad used to fish in was mostly during high tide. Isn't that where the perch migrate?"

"Not necessarily. Spotted perch only migrate to two places: tidal channels and the junction of shallow and deep water."

"Brother Chuanzi, how can we be sure?" Li Jiaye scratched his head.

"Have you ever heard of a mantra?" Lin Chuan looked at the two of them and smiled mysteriously.

"Brother Chuan..." "Brother Chuan, tell us quickly!" The two men's eyes lit up, and they urged him impatiently.

Seeing their anxious expressions, Lin Chuan laughed and then cleared his throat.

"You all need to listen carefully, I'll only say it once."

"To find the dragon and divide the gold, look at the winding mountains; each winding mountain is a barrier."

If the water appears yellow but isn't clear, and it's so black you can see the bottom, we won't stop.

The ditch is five meters wide and deep enough for a boat to pass through; the bend at the entrance is a good spot.

Small fish hop around, birds flock together, and as the boat moves past, the net must go first.

Upon hearing this incantation, the water monkey and Li Jiaye were immediately stunned, as if they had suddenly heard some unparalleled secret manual.

He muttered to himself, looking at Lin Chuan with a face full of admiration.

Lin Chuan put on a big act, silently gazing ahead, trying hard to suppress the upward curve of his lips, leaving behind an unfathomable back view for the two guys to admire.

In the eyes of Shui Houzi and Li Jiaye, the rising sun shone on Lin Chuan, making him appear exceptionally dazzling, and even the fishing boat beneath his feet seemed to shimmer.

This mnemonic was naturally made up by Lin Chuan, except for the first line which was used to show off and set the tone.

The last three sentences are a summary of some characteristics that fishermen discovered in the 1990s.

If you understand what they're saying, you might actually have a chance to find the sea bass's migration route.

The two were engrossed in Lin Chuan's incantation, filled with anticipation for the upcoming sea bass catch.

A gentle breeze ripples across the river, creating shimmering waves. If the temperature were a few degrees higher, it would be incredibly pleasant.

Looking at the rippling river, Li Jiaye muttered to himself, "If only we had a diesel boat, it would be fast and less tiring."

He was maneuvering the fishing boat across the river, but after a short while, he switched to a water monkey to row.

Upon hearing this, the water monkey immediately became angry and said irritably, "Li Lao Er, how dare you say that? You've only paddled a short distance, and you have the nerve to complain about being tired?"

Upon hearing this, Li Jiaye looked embarrassed and quickly explained, "Water Monkey, I was just worried about you and afraid you'd get tired."

"I'm not tired. I paddled there, but you have to paddle back."

Shui Houzi took the opportunity to divide the work first. If it were just him and Lin Chuan on the boat, he wouldn't mind rowing. But since Li Jiaye was also there, he naturally had to do his part.

"Oh!" Li Jiaye glanced at Lin Chuan, too embarrassed to refute.

Lin Chuan! He couldn't be bothered to row. He'd already invited the two of them; why should he row himself? Young people have plenty of energy; they should be allowed to do what they want.

While reciting the incantation, Shui Houzi and Li Jiaye pondered which parts of the river matched Lin Chuan's description.

Of the three people on the boat, Shui Houzi has the most experience on the river, followed by Lin Chuan, while Li Jiaye has the least.

Lin Chuan knew that the spotted perch preferred to migrate through areas with buffer zones, and would make brief stops in three different places during their migration.

One is at the bend at the entrance of the tidal channel, where the water flow is slow and it is convenient to rest.

Another one is the seagrass area in the shallows, which is for hiding from predators. The sea bass that the water monkeys found yesterday should be from this area.

The last place is around the reef, where you can look for small fish to eat. These are also the places where fish are most concentrated.

He thought he should row forward first and try to find some deserted islands, shallow beaches and meadows.

The further you go, the more suitable the water temperature and salinity become for sea bass to survive, and you might just have an unexpected catch.

The water monkey muttered to itself, as if it had thought of something, and said to Lin Chuan uncertainly, "Brother Chuan, 'The water's color is yellow, but not clear.' I seem to remember a place where the water is yellowish."

Upon hearing this, Li Jiaye's eyes lit up immediately, and he asked eagerly, "Where is it? Where is it? Let's go and see right away."