Back to 1980: Farming the Sea and Expanding the Island

Lin Chuan and his two companions' fishing boat had quietly glided past Baisha Shallow after casting their nets several times.

Upon hearing Li Jiaye's shout, Lin Chuan turned around and his eyes widened suddenly.

"Brother Chuanzi, there are so many birds! We're already here, why don't we shoot a couple before we go back?" Song Jiaye pointed at the flock of birds, swallowed hard, and looked at Lin Chuan expectantly.

Upon hearing this, the water monkey couldn't help but look at Lin Chuan.

Lin Chuan clapped his hands excitedly, "Forget about birds and monkeys, hurry, row over there! It's a school of fish, there must be a school of fish feeding there."

The water monkey's eyes lit up, and it immediately became excited. It quickly grabbed the paddle and rowed towards where the birds were circling.

As you get closer, you can see large numbers of small fish leaping out of the water and diving back into the river, and birds swooping down to snatch food.

The whole scene perfectly illustrates Lin Chuan's saying: "Small fish jump and birds flock together; when the boat passes by, the net must come first."

Li Jiaye also realized what was happening and excitedly shouted, "Monkey, hurry, hurry, hurry! School of fish, Brother Chuanzi's school of fish!"

The river is still rich in resources. When Lin Chuan saw the birds circling overhead, he immediately knew that there must be a large school of fish chasing and feeding on the smaller fish at the bottom of the river.

"Monkey, let me paddle. You're better at it. You can cast the net in a bit," Lin Chuan said, shifting his body to switch places with the water monkey.

"Okay, Brother Chuan." Water Monkey immediately responded, not wanting to be coy at this moment.

The closer they got, the more intense their gazes became, especially Lin Chuan, whose eyes were fixed intently on the reflections in the river. He then clenched his fist to confirm that the fish in the river were indeed perch.

Even if we're spending the rest of the time on the river, we can't let this great opportunity slip by.

The fishing boat rushed under the flock of birds, and the birds that had been circling around kept calling out and stopped diving.

The water monkey stood at the bow of the boat, holding a fishing net, its eyes filled with intense concentration.

Looking down at the murky water, he suddenly cast the net out. As soon as the net hit the water, it created a large splash.

Lin Chuan and Song Jiaye were both beaming with joy. "Monkey, this net is going to be more exciting than all the previous ones combined, right?"

"That's right, the feel of this monkey is different from the previous ones," Song Jiaye grinned and agreed.

After a short while, the three began to close the net.

Song Jiaye stared wide-eyed at the fishing net emerging from the water, his mouth agape, as if he could stuff a whole egg into it.

He exclaimed excitedly, "Brother Chuanzi, how come there are so many sea bass!"

The three of them widened their eyes, overjoyed, and pulled the fishing net up even more vigorously.

Panting, the water monkey laughed, "Brother Chuan, that was a really satisfying catch. I reckon it weighs about 80 to 90 pounds."

"Wow, Monkey, you're amazing!" Li Jiaye excitedly gave a thumbs up and said happily, "This is too much! Brother Chuanzi, let's quickly clean out the fishing nets. There must still be fish left. Let's cast a few more nets."

Lin Chuan nodded excitedly, "Keep going, keep going, let's have the monkey cast the net. You cast it accurately, we'll pull it in."

With this one net, the fishing boat was completely covered with a layer of water. Don't be fooled by the fact that it's an old boat; it can still carry nearly a thousand kilograms of weight, and it could definitely fit a few more nets in.

The water monkey nodded emphatically, found its position again, and immediately began casting its second net.

This net yielded another great harvest, so much so that several people were so happy they almost fell into the river.

After casting four or five nets, the fish gradually disappeared. The fish must have scattered, and even the birds circling overhead flew back to the island beach.

In just a short while, Lin Chuan estimated it had been about half an hour, and finally cast the net again, but caught nothing.

Lin Chuan looked at the boat full of perch, feeling both tired and happy, estimating that the boat must weigh five or six hundred catties.

The three of them just sat sprawled on the boat, not wanting to move at all. They looked at each other and burst into laughter.

"I remember one year the village's fishing team caught a lot of fish in the same way. That year, the village slaughtered two big fat pigs, and the meat was so delicious."

"I remember, I remember, my father was there too, and they were catching anchovies and small yellow croakers."

"At that time, the fish were probably foraging when the fishing team came across them," the water monkey chimed in.

"It's very possible that the anchovy is also a migratory fish, but they mostly live during the spring fishing season," Lin Chuan explained with a smile.

"Brother Chuanzi, does that mean we can fish like we did today again when the spring fishing season arrives?" Song Jiaye asked, his eyes shining.

"I don't want to go through all that trouble to fish this far anymore." Before the two could feel disappointed, Lin Chuan continued with a laugh, "Next time we'll have to get an oil tanker with trawl nets. Rocking this wooden boat is exhausting."

Upon hearing this, the two rubbed their aching arms and laughed along.

"Brother Chuanzi, let's go back."

"Return."

"Brother Chuanzi, how much do you want for these fish?"

"There should be quite a few."

"Brother Chuanzi, does having money mean you can eat lots of fatty meat?"

......

"Brother Chuanzi, where are we going to sell these fish?"

"Sigh, Brother Chuanzi..."

"If you keep nagging, I'll throw you into the river," Lin Chuan said irritably, rowing the oar helplessly.

I never expected Li Jiaye to be such a chatterbox.

After the initial surprise, all that remained was exhaustion. The water monkey had already lay down without making a sound, but this kid was still asking endless questions.

Upon hearing this, Li Jiaye immediately shrank back, leaving the water monkey grinning and mocking him.

......

A single boat drifts leisurely across the vast river.

Lin Chuan did not row back to Beishi Wharf; instead, he planned to go to Sanhe Wharf to process the full catch of fish.

There is currently no technology for preservation and storage, so these sea bass cannot be left unattended for long.

Once the time is up, these fresh fish will no longer be fresh, and small fishing boats don't have the ability to preserve them.

Logically, Lin Chuan's best option would have been to deliver the fish to Wang Hao at the aquatic product supply and marketing station.

However, Lin Chuan planned to take advantage of the regular migration schedule of the sea bass in the next few days to catch a large batch.

If they're lucky, the team might be able to pay off the work points they owe by the end of the year, but Wang Hao's prices won't be so good.

Upon arriving at the dock, Lin Chuan instructed the two men, "You two stay on the boat and keep an eye on things. I'll go to the village office to find someone to collect the fish."

"Okay, Brother Chuan." The two replied listlessly, they were really starving, it was probably three or four in the afternoon.

Lin Chuan was also starving. He shook his aching arms, got off the boat, and walked onto the beach.

With no interest in reminiscing about the dock scenery, Lin Chuan discerned the direction and headed towards the free market he remembered.

After walking for about twenty minutes, Lin Chuan arrived at a familiar yet unfamiliar shop: Li's Butcher Shop.

A pine wood table was set up on the meat stall, glistening with oil, and half a pig hung on an iron hook.

The porcelain basin was filled with clear water and covered with a clean coarse cloth.

Next to it, a small bamboo basket held cleavers and boning knives, the handles wrapped in neat strips of cloth, without a trace of oil.

Lin Chuan looked at the shop and grinned. He hadn't gone to the wrong place; this was the place. This clean meat stall was the only one of its kind in the entire Huiping Commune.

A butcher shop is, of course, a place that sells meat.

However, the butcher had a group of relatives who ran a fish stall. His small stall couldn't possibly handle consuming five or six hundred pounds of sea bass at once.