Back to 1980: Farming the Sea and Expanding the Island

After the sun sets, the setting sun casts its rays on half the wall, where an old cat leaps back and forth on the withered grass atop the wall.

Old Master Lin and Old Master Li squatted by the wall outside the gate, coldly watching the group of community members gathered around, silently smoking their pipes, their front door tightly shut.

Lin Chuan, Shui Houzi, and Li Jiaye's families moored their wooden boats at the small dock to the south, each carrying large and small bags as they said goodbye.

They agreed to continue fishing tomorrow; today is October 29th. The spring tides of November are just a few days away, and Lin Chuan isn't sure if any sea bass will still be migrating out to sea after the spring tides.

Even if there were, it's unlikely that there would be so many gains again.

As soon as Lin Chuan and his parents arrived at the gate of their courtyard, they saw that the gate was closed and a lot of old women and old men were crowded outside the courtyard wall.

The sight startled the three men. Someone nearby, with sharp eyes, spotted them carrying bags of various sizes and immediately perked up, calling out from afar, "Back from guarding the stall!"

"Huiqin looks radiant; it seems she's really making money!"

"That's right, Xiao Chuan is a talented kid, and he's getting more and more handsome!" The people who gathered around greeted him with smiles, their eyes filled with undisguised enthusiasm.

Lin Chuan walked briskly ahead, responding to the enthusiastic grandfathers and aunties with a smile without making a sound.

Old Master Lin's expression softened slightly. He opened the door and first stopped the villagers who rushed over, letting the bewildered Mr. and Mrs. Lin into the house.

He pulled Lin Chuan aside and recounted in detail what had happened that morning at the team headquarters, where Li Suanpan had led the disturbance and accused him of speculation and profiteering.

Wei Liao said in a deep voice, "Li Suanpan and his gang didn't get any advantage, and who knows what bad things they're up to."

Lin Chuan was startled. Luckily, he had made preparations in advance, otherwise he really wouldn't have been able to explain himself. He hadn't expected that there would be people in the commune and team who were jealous and reported him.

Lin Chuan nodded, looking at the enthusiastic villagers, knowing that this matter couldn't be discussed here.

He immediately smiled at everyone and said, "I know what you all think, uncles, aunts, grandfathers, and grandmothers."

"I just got home, so how about we talk it over at the team headquarters after everyone gets off work tonight?"

Everyone wanted to join Lin Chuan's cooperative, but they couldn't force him. So, seeing Lin Chuan's words, they all smiled and agreed.

Before anyone could say anything more, the old man immediately stepped forward and stared at them with a cold expression.

Seeing this, the man knew that this was the only way, so he immediately smiled and said nice things to Lin Chuan, saying that they would talk again in the evening.

Lin Chuan and the old man went back into the house. Lin Shoutan put his things away and, upon hearing the old man's words, angrily picked up a hoe and was about to go out to confront Li Suanpan.

"That son of a bitch Li Suanpan is a real scoundrel. Not only does he want Xiao Chuan's scorekeeper job, but he also reports Xiao Chuan for speculation and profiteering. I'll beat that son of a bitch to death."

Lin's mother was furious, but she still held onto Lin's father, knowing that once his stubborn temper flared up, he really wouldn't be able to stop.

"Alright, it's all over now. The captain even scolded him. Do you really want to fight him to the death? Is his life worth it?" It took a lot of persuasion from Lin Chuan to calm him down.

On the other side, the old man and Mr. Li also silently put down their shovels.

Just as the tension inside the house subsided, footsteps sounded outside the courtyard.

Knowing what was going on, Wang Pusheng's family and Li Jianshe's family also came to Lin Chuan's house to discuss the matter.

During this period, there was no shortage of criticism directed at Li Suanpan and those few who were jealous and reported him.

Lin Chuan smiled and poured tea for the group, comforting them, "Uncle Wang, Uncle Li, if they're jealous, let them be jealous."

Let them make a scene if they want; they don't need to expect any benefits.

"That's right, Xiao Chuan is right. Those troublemakers will definitely not be allowed into the cooperative. If Li Suanpan comes, I'll beat him to a pulp."

Li Jianshe nodded, took a sip of tea, and looked at Lin Chuan, continuing, "So, Xiao Chuan, many people in the team want to join the cooperative. What are your plans?"

In his opinion, he didn't want anyone else to join in, but since his brother had already said it in public, he couldn't say anything more.

If he really refused, he was afraid that too many people would be envious and he might do something irrational.

Upon hearing this, everyone else looked at Lin Chuan. It was Lin Chuan who started this whole thing, and it was also Lin Chuan who made the preparations, which prevented two disasters from happening.

Naturally, no one treated Lin Chuan as a junior, but rather as a leader.

Lin Chuan thought for a moment and then said thoughtfully, "Uncle, actually I was thinking about this when I was at the commune today."

Huiping Commune is so small; we struggled to sell less than 2,000 jin of fish today. We don't have refrigeration equipment; if we catch too much fish and can't sell it, it'll be stuck with us.”

"Then shall we take it to the county town to sell?" Aunt Gui, who came with us, hurriedly asked.

"It's not a big deal for us to put in some effort to transport it to the county town, but the problem is who to sell it to? If Lin Chuan hadn't secured two major clients today, I doubt we could even sell a thousand catties using this piecemeal method," Wang Pusheng said in a deep voice.

"This..." Upon hearing this, the group realized it was indeed true and instinctively looked at Lin Chuan.

Lin Chuan was taken aback by everyone's stares, and laughed, "I'm not Sun Wukong, so I can't transform for you, can I?"

"Then what do we do? If the commune can't sell them, why do we keep trying to profit from them?" Li Jiaye was dumbfounded.

"It's not that there's nowhere to sell it, it's just..." Lin Chuan was thinking of an explanation.

Just then, there was another noise outside the door. Everyone looked over and saw Wang Hao push open the door and walk in. He looked at everyone with a startled expression.

He immediately cupped his hands in greeting and said with a smile, "Congratulations! Congratulations on your bountiful fish harvest! May all of you uncles and aunts prosper!"

After saying those polite words, Wang Hao quickly introduced the people behind him to Lin Chuan.

"Chuanzi, this is Zhao Chenghu. Zhao is a purchasing agent for our county's aquatic products company. I heard you caught a lot of perch in the river, so I'd like to get to know you."

Lin Chuan looked at the person who had arrived, his expression hardened, and then he stood up and greeted him with a smile.

"Thank you, Mr. Zhao, for visiting my humble abode. It is a great honor."

Seeing this, Lin's father quickly took the kettle and went to the main room with Wang Pusheng and Li Jianshe.

Zhao Chenghu was pleased to see Lin Chuan's good attitude and immediately reached out to shake Lin Chuan's hand, smiling, "Congratulations, congratulations, Branch Manager Lin! I hope we have a pleasant working relationship!"

Lin Chuan smiled and led Wang Hao and the others into the main room to sit down.

Lin's mother quickly wiped the eight-immortal table in the main room and brewed freshly picked wild tea in a rough porcelain jar, with steam rising from it.

Zhao Chenghu sat in the main seat with an air of authority, with Wang Hao beside him, his eyes occasionally glancing at Lin Chuan.

"For a young person like Lin Jifen to have such abilities is truly a case of the younger generation surpassing the older."

Zhao Chenghu took a sip of tea, and deliberately made a sound as he put down the cup, tapping the bottom of it against the edge of the table. "I heard that after these two trips of sea bass fishing, you've made enough to earn a living of ten thousand yuan."

Two trips? Lin Chuan's heart skipped a beat when he heard this. The villagers knew that they had a good harvest today, but they didn't know that he had fished once before.

These people seem to have come prepared.

Lin Chuan smiled calmly: "It was just luck. Besides, I've already sold out of the sea bass. It's a waste of time for Zhao, the purchasing agent."

Zhao Chenghu looked at Lin Chuan and said with a smile, "I don't think it's just luck. The aquatic product company basically knows the distribution of fish spawning seasons and the habits of fish species in the Yangtze River basin."

Spotted bass are notoriously easy to catch in October and early November. The fact that you've caught so many in one or two tries means you've either found their hiding places or clearly observed their habits.

Neither of these reasons can be explained by luck.