Back to 1980: Farming the Sea and Expanding the Island

The sun was high in the sky, and the scorching sunlight poured down on the dock without reservation, making the ground scorching hot.

The fish buyers' enthusiasm had completely dissipated, and Lin Chuan and his companions were exhausted, their stamina nearly depleted.

The fishing boat still had over 100 kilograms of perch left unsold, and many other miscellaneous fish were also sold off at a loss.

Song Baocheng, who came over later to call everyone to eat, also felt embarrassed and packed a few sea bass to take home.

Seeing that they were so hungry, the crowd that had come to buy the sea bass dispersed.

Seeing this, Lin Chuan understood that the market for over a thousand catties of perch in Huiping Commune had already reached saturation.

He made a quick decision and suggested suspending the sale. Of the remaining sea bass, only ten would be taken back to Li Xinru; the rest would be taken back to the island after lunch and sold to the villagers at a lower price.

Several villagers had been watching the commotion, and Lin's mother had even brought over some miscellaneous fish. Although they were called miscellaneous fish, each one was quite plump and delicious.

Lin's mother and Haiyue rowed the boat to the side and tied it up, then covered the fish on board with something to make sure they were completely covered.

People come and go at this dock. If it's left unattended and exposed like this, there won't be a single fish left when you come back.

Lin's mother originally intended to stay behind and watch over the place alone, but Lin Chuan persuaded her to stay.

The remaining people sat down to rest around the stone pillar.

The three fathers simultaneously took out their pipes, lit them while avoiding the wind, and began to smoke with relish.

Perhaps they were really too tired, Lin Chuan, the other two, and Li Xinru lay down on the ground, looking at the somewhat quiet dock, and no one spoke.

Occasionally, a gust of wind would blow across the dock, stirring up some sand and dust that made it difficult for the people to open their eyes.

"Zichuan, your work as a fishmonger is much more tiring than mine as a butcher," Li Xinru said, breaking the silence with a hint of teasing in her voice, still having some energy left.

Lin Chuan sat up, nudged Li Xinru's pregnant belly with his toe, and laughed, "Thank you for today."

"Hey! Is this how you thank me?" Li Xinru rolled her eyes and sat up.

"What else do you want? I'll introduce you to someone else, but Jialing won't agree, hahaha."

"Get lost, I'll tell Jialing later and he'll deal with you."

Water Monkey and Li Jiaye grinned and laughed on the side. Every time they came, they found this fat guy very interesting.

"Brother Lin, the boat is all moored, let's set off." Song Baocheng said as he walked over after seeing that Lin's mother and Haiyue had moored the boat.

Lin Chuan replied, "Okay, Dad, Uncle Wang, Uncle Li, let's go."

Not long after Lin Chuan and his group left, five more people rushed over.

Seeing the empty stall, he stopped someone and asked, "Where are those fishmongers?"

The man, seeing that it was Zhao Chenghu who had stopped him, felt a little intimidated and quickly replied cautiously, "He's been gone for a while."

Zhao Chenghu frowned. "They had so many fish, and they sold them all so quickly?"

The passerby quickly added, "They came up with a group-buying method for selling fish, and many people rushed to buy them together, so they sold out in no time."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Chenghu felt a tightness in his chest, his eyes filled with regret.

"It's all that bastard Zhang Chenghua's fault! That son of a bitch owes me money and won't pay it back. He also ruined my important business and let me miss a chance to make a fortune," a short, fat man behind Zhao Chenghu said angrily.

"That's right, Brother Tiger, it's all Zhang Chenghua's fault. He got away again this time. We absolutely can't let him get away next time." The others echoed his sentiments.

Zhao Chenghu narrowed his eyes and snorted coldly, "That son of a bitch surnamed Zhang will fall into my hands sooner or later."

Xiao Gao said that the three boats at the dock today had at least two thousand catties of sea bass. Now that all his money has gone to waste, his gambling debts plus this loss will be added to the equation, and next time he'll even have to pay for his wife's losses too.

"Tiger is right. If we transport two thousand catties of sea bass to the city, we might become a millionaire," the short, stout man said with a pained expression.

When he received Xiao Gao's message, he was the most proactive. Thinking of the wealth that was so close yet slipped away, he felt a pang of unease, like being scratched by a cat.

In April of this year, a newspaper published an article about a member in Lanzhou who was dubbed a "ten-thousand-yuan household" because he received a share of the income. Heaven knows how excited he was when he saw this title.

It's heartbreaking to think that something as prestigious and profitable as this could slip away so soon.

He couldn't help but feel resentful that Zhao Chenghu was wasting time and that Zhang Chenghua hadn't been caught yet, but he didn't dare to show it too obviously.

Zhao Chenghu was equally heartbroken, realizing he had missed a golden opportunity to make a fortune.

The profits from fishing are legitimate and they have nothing to fear from being investigated, unlike the money they make from gambling, which, although quick, they dare not spend legitimately.

I had the opportunity to go to Shanghai once, and that's when I learned what "fashionable" really meant. I was such a country bumpkin.

"Brother Tiger, what do we do now? What did Brother Zhao say?" another underling asked, somewhat bewildered.

Zhao Chenghu's eyes gleamed. "They can run away, but they can't hide. Since they've managed to get so many sea bass twice in a row, they'll definitely get even more. Let's go to Qingpingzhou to find Wang Hao."

......

After bidding farewell to Li Shanheng and Li Xinru, Lin Chuan and his group were pleasantly surprised when Chen Santong of Huiping Inn took in the remaining dozens of spotted sea bass on the boat.

Therefore, Lin Chuan did not wait to return to the team to divide the money from selling the sea bass. He immediately calculated the distribution with Wang Haiyue and Li Jianshe according to the previously agreed-upon plan.

The smiles on the faces of the three families never stopped after suddenly receiving more than a thousand yuan.

The remaining unwanted small fish were simply divided among the three families.

With the money, the three families strolled around the commune together. Lin's mother clutched the tightly wrapped handkerchief, her hands trembling uncontrollably, her eyes red and swollen.

Meanwhile, in Qingpingzhou, Li Laoshuan, who had been working as a soy sauce vendor at the commune, returned to the village. Holding up a spotted bass, he told everyone he met that the village was about to produce a millionaire.

When asked, he pointed to the spotted bass in his hand and shouted loudly, "Look at this! Lin Chuan and his men hauled three whole boatloads of these big spotted bass, two thousand catties! The Li Shanheng family from town alone took eight hundred catties."

At first, no one believed it, but as several people said the same thing, everyone started to believe it. The news spread like wildfire throughout the village in an instant.

When Li Suanpan's family heard this, they were so jealous their eyes turned red. They immediately led their men and rushed towards the team leader's house.

Before even reaching the village head Li Jianguo's house, Li Suanpan was already shouting at the top of his lungs, as if he wanted the whole village to hear him.

"Captain, Captain! The fish in the river are all caught by the fishing team. Why can Lin Chuan and his group catch fish privately and sell them to the commune for money? This is speculation and profiteering, and it harms the collective interest!"

The loud banging on the door woke Li Jianguo, who was taking a nap inside.

With a furious expression, Li Jianguo opened the courtyard gate and saw Li Suanpan's bloodshot eyes. Looking at the crowd surrounding him, Li Jianguo's heart skipped a beat.

He immediately said coldly, "What is it? Speak properly. What are you trying to do by shouting?"

Li Suanpan, startled by Li Jianguo's glare, stammered, "Team...Team Leader, that Lin Chuan..."

"Wait a minute, since everyone has something to say, let's all go to the brigade headquarters and have a meeting to discuss it. What kind of behavior is it to gather in front of my house?" Li Jianguo interrupted Li Suanpan immediately.

Immediately, Li Jianguo flicked his sleeves and took the lead in walking towards the main group, pondering the words Li Suanpan had just shouted.