Back to 1980: Farming the Sea and Expanding the Island

"Uncle, it's about the team's fishing boats."

Lin Chuan leaned forward and continued, "After the fishery production cooperative is established, I want to rent boats from the team in the name of the cooperative."

There are two rental options: the first is forty yuan in cash paid to the team per day; the second is no rental fee, but forty percent of the day's catch goes to the team.

Seeing Li Jianguo's serious expression, Lin Chuan took out half a pack of Peony cigarettes from his pocket—something he had bought specifically after selling the fish yesterday—and handed one to him with a smile.

"Uncle, please try this. I bought it for my grandfather yesterday."

Li Jianguo glanced at Lin Chuan, said nothing, took the cigarette and let Lin Chuan light it.

He quickly calculated in his mind that forty yuan a day in rent was equivalent to the work points of three strong laborers for ten days.

If the catch is divided among 40%, it becomes unstable. If there is no harvest, it's better for the team to catch the fish themselves.

However, there is one point: if the fishing boat is rented out, it will not take up a quota in the fishing team. Other production teams also do this, so it is not particularly outstanding.

This way, they can avoid the centralized purchasing by the aquatic product station and sell their products on the free market, negotiating prices.

Although you might earn more, you have to find your own sales channels and bear the risk of not being able to sell the products, so cash is a safer option.

Li Jianguo smoked a Peony cigarette, lost in thought.

Currently, aquatic product supply and marketing stations pay 2-3 cents for ordinary-sized catches, while high-quality and valuable cuttlefish and shad are paid around one yuan.

If you were to negotiate the price elsewhere, it would increase by at least half again.

It is currently the autumn fishing season for anchovies and white shrimp. The anchovies at this time are not as large as those during the spring fishing season, but the fish schools are relatively concentrated.

The team's fishing group is currently catching these fish.

However, all these high-quality fish were taken by the supply and marketing cooperative, and what remained in the production team were just ordinary catches. They were fine to distribute to the team members, but it was not easy to sell them.

Lin Chuan offered a fair price, which was actually a good thing for the team, and most importantly, it didn't affect the team's fishing plan.

After silently calculating for a moment, Li Jianguo stubbed out his cigarette on the sole of his shoe and made the decision:

"Boats can be rented, but they must be steered by someone from the team's fishing squad. Those boats are the team's treasures, and nothing can go wrong with them."

The rent will be calculated at forty yuan per day. Once you've completed the application, I'll have the accountant stamp it for you. The rent will be settled daily and deposited into the team's account.

"Okay, Uncle, I'll write the application and hand it to you in a bit." Lin Chuan smiled happily, feeling relieved.

This fishery production cooperative was decided by Lin Chuan, his family, and the three members of the Wang family last night.

These days, the label of "speculation and profiteering" carries a heavy weight. By attaching oneself to the production team, one gains collective endorsement, allowing one to act legitimately and avoid gossip.

The number of members has been temporarily set at five: Grandpa Lin and Grandpa Wang will be in charge, and they have a wealth of experience.

Lin Chuan, Shui Houzi, Wang Haiyue, and Li Jiaye were responsible for fishing on boats.

After Li Jianguo left, Lin Chuan began writing the application.

The cooperative in Linchuan currently operates three fishing boats, and the scale will gradually increase in the future. Right now, it is just right for two people to operate one boat. The Li family and the Shui Houzi family each have an old fishing boat.

The Li family's fishing boats are in very good condition, while the Shui Houzi family's fishing boats are frequently out to sea and perform very well.

Now that we have enough boats and enough manpower, the two old men can't stay on the boat all the time, and Lin Chuan himself doesn't plan to keep going fishing.

The development of Canhong Island is the priority, but currently only he understands the current sea bass season, so he needs to lead the team.

Around noon, Lin Chuan put away the draft of the cooperative's application. He glanced at the sun and got up to go home.

Yesterday, I arranged for Li Jiaye to meet with Li Jianshe and the Shui Houzi family at my home to discuss the matter.

When Lin Chuan got home, he saw his grandfather and Grandpa Wang basking in the sun in a corner of the room, sheltering from the cold wind and reminiscing about their youth.

Lin's mother also finished work early and came back to take care of things, preparing hot tea on the stone table next to her.

The midday sun cast dappled light through the old locust tree in the courtyard, giving off a lazy vibe.

Lin Chuan moved a chair over and sat down next to him, smiling, "Grandpa, why don't you smoke the Peony cigarettes I bought for you?"

Grandpa Wang took a satisfying puff of his pipe, which made a "smack" sound. "Xiao Chuan," he said, "your grandpa and I have smoked dry tobacco our whole lives. Your lotus-flavored pipe is tasteless and unappetizing."

"Exactly, tobacco leaves don't suit my taste as well. From now on, don't buy those fancy but empty stuff. Just bring a pound of shredded tobacco; it's better than anything else."

"Okay, I've got it. I'll bring you cigarettes next time," Lin Chuan replied with a smile.

Just then, a knock came at the door. Turning around, I saw that it was Li Jianshe with Li Jiaye.

The former was also holding a large pipe in his hand, while the latter was carrying a bamboo basket with five eggs inside, and his steps were lighter than usual.

"Uncle Lin, Uncle Wang, Xiao Chuan!" Li Jianshe greeted with a smile as he stepped into the courtyard. "We've come to hear the rules."

Lin Chuan hurriedly went to greet him, took the bamboo basket and said politely, "Uncle Li, you've come all this way, why did you bring anything?" He then handed the eggs to his mother and turned to invite the two of them to sit down.

The two sat down at the stone table, and Li Jianshe said with a smile, "Jiaye brought money and meat back yesterday, which startled your Aunt Gui. She thought the kid had caused trouble again and gave him a good beating."

Lin Chuan handed the tea to Li Jianshe, and upon hearing this, he couldn't help but look at Li Jiaye's droopy face, almost wanting to laugh.

This guy seems to have run into some bad luck lately, he gets beaten up every few days.

Hearing this, Old Master Wang grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth, and said, "Jiaye has been a troublemaker since he was little, just like you when you were a kid. Your auntie used to beat you quite a bit back then."

These words made Li Jianshe's face flush. After all, his son was still alive. "Hey! Uncle, why bring up things from back then?"

He then picked up the tea Lin Chuan handed him, took a sip, and said, "Xiao Chuan, I heard from the family business that you're planning to set up a fishery production cooperative? Is there any reason for that?"

No sooner had he finished speaking than Wang Pusheng arrived with Wang Haiyue and Shui Houzi, carrying a string of freshly dried fish for Old Master Lin.

Lin Chuan smiled and went forward to exchange pleasantries. He put his things aside, then called for Shui Houzi to bring a chair, and they started chatting around the corner of the courtyard.

Lin Chuan took out the plan he had written that morning and placed it on the stone table. "Here's the thing, Uncle Li, Uncle Wang. I've been thinking, let's calculate it based on 'shares + effort'."

As he spoke, Lin Chuan pointed to the paper and asked Li Jianshe, "Uncle Li, how is your boat? Is it still usable?"

Li Jianshe took a puff of his cigarette and confirmed, "Yes, it's possible. Although we usually go with the fishing boats and don't use our old fishing boats much, they're still in good condition."

Lin Chuan nodded and continued, "In that case, the Wang family, the Li family, and my family will each have one wooden boat, and each will be counted as one share."

I understand the migration routes and habits of the spotted sea bass, so I consider myself a shareholder. This stock is a technology stock, on par with shipping stocks.

The remaining share is divided according to manpower; those who cast the nets and steer the boat receive 10% more than those who haul in the nets and sort the catch.