Back to 1980: Farming the Sea and Expanding the Island

Lin Chuan was overjoyed upon hearing the news, even more so than when he had caught sea bass in the past two days, and eagerly awaited the arrival of the agricultural technician.

Li Jianguo exhaled a smoke ring, a smile on his face, and then asked, "The classrooms in the team have been cleaned up. When will you start your job as the literacy teacher?"

"Starting work?" Lin Chuan was stunned for a moment, then realized what was going on and said with a bitter face, "Uncle Jianguo, as you can see, I'm so busy that I wish I could split myself in two."

Could we please find someone else to be the literacy teacher? I remember there are several educated people in our village.

Upon hearing this, Li Jianguo glared at him and said, "You, the literacy teacher, explained everything in advance. How can you just change it like that? I don't agree."

"Well, you see I don't have time to teach everyone basics? And I doubt most of you will have time to attend classes either," Lin Chuan said, scratching his head with a hint of helplessness.

"Winter is almost here, there's plenty of time. The literacy classes are held in the evenings anyway, so it won't interfere with daytime hours," Li Jianguo replied immediately.

Then, without room for argument, he said, "You kid, you're not getting away with slacking off. We'll let it slide for the next couple of days. Once the sea bass season is over, the literacy class will officially begin."

"Uh... okay, then I'll attend a few classes then." Lin Chuan reluctantly agreed, knowing that there was no way to avoid it.

"You're a teacher, so you decide for yourself. Remember to pick up the textbooks from the commune school, and bring back your literacy teacher's certificate as well."

Having said that, Li Jianguo didn't linger and got up to leave. His family also owned wooden boats, so naturally he wouldn't let this opportunity pass him by.

Lin Chuan was quite helpless and could only finish his work and go home to rest early.

......

The next day, at the same time as the day before, Lin's mother knocked on the door to wake Lin Chuan.

Lin Chuan picked at his sleepy eyes, yawned, and got up to wash.

There were already quite a few people in the courtyard, talking quietly with Lin's father.

Seeing this, Lin Chuan greeted them with a smile: "Uncle, Brother Xuewu, Uncle Liang, good morning!"

The people in the courtyard responded with smiles when they heard the noise.

Those who come to Lin Chuan's courtyard are all people who have a good relationship with Lin Chuan's family.

After quickly washing up, Lin Chuan didn't keep everyone waiting and they headed towards the small dock to the south.

In the early morning, a bright moon hung high in the sky, its light like water, slanting down.

The night sky is so beautiful tonight, it's been washed clean and clear. Only at times like this can you truly appreciate such beauty.

Lin Chuan looked at the night sky, and the corners of his mouth unconsciously turned up.

Upon arriving at the dock, the small dock was already filled with small wooden boats, one after another, their hulls gently swaying with the river water, making a "creaking" sound that was particularly clear in the quiet night.

Guided by the moonlight, the oil lamp from yesterday was not lit today.

"Uncle Chen, you've come too." Lin's father said with a smile when he saw someone.

"What? Can't this old man go up the river? Even if Lin Laoduo came, he might not be able to beat me at casting nets."

"Then I'll go back and tell the old man," Lin's father joked.

"You little rascal, you're so slippery," Old Master Chen said with a laugh, scolding Lin's father.

Then he remarked with emotion, "It's been so many years since it's been this lively. Back then, it was your father and Li Maotou who led everyone to make a living on the river."

Now that Xiao Chuan is leading the team, we owe your family a debt of gratitude that's hard to repay.

"Uncle, what are you talking about? What do you mean by not paying back? We're all from the same village. You helped us a lot when we were in trouble," Lin Chuan said with a smile.

Grandpa Chen smiled and shook his head: "You're not bad, lad, better than your father. I just don't know how your fishing skills are."

If Brother Lin were still in good health, I'd really like to have another match with him.

"Uncle Chen, if Second Uncle heard this, he would definitely challenge you to a contest," Lin Chuan's uncle interjected with a smile.

"Haha, well said. It's getting late, Lin, let's go."

"Alright!" Lin Chuan replied loudly.

More than a dozen boats immediately responded and rowed towards the center of the river.

......

Sanhe Wharf was busier than ever before. Long queues formed at the seafood stalls.

"Are all these from Jiangxin Village?" Zhao Dezhu asked softly, looking at the scene before him.

"That's right, they must have gone fishing again yesterday, and quite a few people went with them," replied Qian Feng, the short, stout man who had been following behind Zhao Chenghu.

He went to Jiangxin Village with Zhao Chenghu yesterday and knew the situation, but he was still surprised to see the villagers flocking in today.

"It seems that what Lin Chuan said is true. These people carry wooden boats weighing three or four hundred catties, and even the least catties weigh over a hundred catties."

The places he mentioned must be even more. Tell Chenghu to coordinate quickly, and get the boat arranged by tonight at the latest.

"Okay, should we try to negotiate the price down?" Qian Feng asked.

"No need. The big profits are yet to come. There's no need to make things unpleasant over such a small amount of profit. Just buy it at the supply and marketing station's price," Zhao Dezhu said with a smile, his eyes darting around.

"Did Director Li and Captain Shen make an appointment for noon?" Zhao Dezhu turned around and asked Qian Feng.

"Everything is arranged. It's at Huiping Inn. Chef Chen's cooking skills are impeccable," Qian Feng said with a smile.

"That's good. Also, we made sure to inform Director Li in advance that if there's a sudden need to allocate extra ice, we need to make sure nothing goes wrong."

"I've given all the instructions, Brother Zhu," Qian Feng replied.

Zhao Dezhu nodded, stopped watching, and then left.

In the evening, at Lin Chuan's home, Lin Chuan, who was catching up on sleep, was woken up by his mother.

In the morning, after the harvest, there was indeed much less than yesterday; the cooperative caught about 1,200 jin (600 kg).

Thinking about the subsequent oil tanker catch, Lin Chuan took the initiative to lower the price by one cent for the 800 catties that Li Suanheng had taken.

Lin Chuan took advantage of the opportunity to collect textbooks and literacy teacher certificates to find a teacher from his alma mater, Huiming High School.

They also gave a fish to each of the school leaders and teachers, hoping to establish a connection with the school cafeteria and see if they could sell the remaining 300 jin (150 kg) to the cafeteria.

Unfortunately, the school canteen is managed by the General Affairs Office, and the ingredients are allocated by the county's food and aquatic product companies. The school is only responsible for acceptance and has no independent purchasing rights.

Lin Chuan was helpless, but fortunately at the last moment, the chef in the kitchen pointed him in the right direction: the county paper mill was doing well and he could give it a try.

Lin Chuan happily rode Li Xinru's old bicycle straight to the paper mill.

Lin Chuan was able to get a job at the factory through an introduction, after communicating with the finance department.

After communicating with the finance department, he realized that he had been thinking too simply.

Although he set up a cooperative, the source and sale of the fish can be clearly explained.

However, in the eyes of the factory's finance department, there was little difference between the cooperative's fishing team and individual fishermen.

Because there are no invoices, the factory's finance department will not allocate funds without invoices.

Fortunately, Lin Chuan was quick-witted. He realized that every factory's logistics department had a staff living supplies management committee, which must have its own welfare fund. Moreover, the paper mill was doing very well recently.

If the sea bass is sold as an employee benefit, it can bypass these rules and enter the factory.

After Lin Chuan negotiated with the logistics staff to offer some discounts, the remaining sea bass were taken over by the paper mill. This trip kept them busy until the afternoon before all the sea bass were sold.

Fortunately, through this opportunity, Lin Chuan also established a connection with the paper mill.

As for the other villagers' perch, those who could afford to buy them at the market had already done so yesterday, and a few clever ones didn't come to Huiping Commune.

Other villagers had no choice but to sell the seafood to the aquatic product supply and marketing station at a low price.