Back to 1980: Farming the Sea and Expanding the Island

This was the first time Lin Chuan had ever been to such a bustling morning market since his rebirth.

As soon as the old man arrived at the commune, he separated from his family and said he was going to visit an old friend.

Along the way, the sounds of vendors hawking their wares and haggling mingled with the whistles of ships, creating a vibrant atmosphere of everyday life in the city.

Lin Chuan and his parents followed the flow of people toward the commune street. When they arrived at the entrance of the supply and marketing cooperative, it was already crowded with people.

Today is the first sunny day after the high tide, and there are an unusually large number of people coming to shop.

Lin's mother clutched her cloth coupons and industrial vouchers tightly, carefully selecting fabrics at the counter. Lin Chuan accompanied his father as they wandered through the daily necessities section, pondering what kind of new schoolbag to buy for Xiaoman.

"Chuanzi, what do you think of this green one?" Lin's father pointed to a canvas backpack on the shelf with the words "Serve the People" printed on it.

"It's a bit too big; Xiaoman will have trouble carrying it." Lin Chuan shook his head. "The maroon one over there is the perfect size."

As the father and son were discussing, Lin's father's eyes suddenly lit up, and he lowered his voice and said, "Wait here for me, I'll go take a look over there."

Lin Chuan followed his father's gaze and saw the innermost counter of the supply and marketing cooperative, the gold and silver jewelry counter.

This counter is usually deserted, since there aren't many people who can afford gold and silver jewelry these days.

Lin Chuan's heart stirred, and he smiled at his father, saying, "Dad, let's go take a look together, and I'll help you choose some."

"You keep an eye on your mother for me, don't let her find out." Lin's father waved his hand, a smile on his face. "Your mother says no, but she's thinking about it."

Looking at his father's expression, Lin Chuan nodded, but reminded him, "Then take a closer look and pick a style that my mother likes."

Lin Chuan didn't know much about this, and besides, there were only a few styles of jewelry in this small commune, so it was good enough that there were some to choose from.

"I know, I know," Mr. Lin replied, and walked quickly toward the jewelry counter.

Lin Chuan continued to choose a schoolbag, but couldn't find one with flowers and butterflies. Finally, he chose a grass-green canvas bag with flowers on it. Lin Chuan also bought a pencil case, pencils, and an eraser.

As I was paying, the saleswoman smiled and said, "Is this for your little sister? This backpack is of very good quality; it will last for years."

"Yes, my sister is in elementary school." Lin Chuan smiled as he paid.

When he returned with his things, Lin's father was already back, his face beaming with barely suppressed smugness, his right hand still in his pocket.

"Did you buy it?" Lin Chuan asked in a low voice.

Mr. Lin nodded and then shook his head, leaning closer to say, "He didn't have a gold bracelet, so I picked out a silver one. It cost eighty yuan. If your mother asks, just say fifty."

Lin Chuan couldn't help but laugh.

He knew his mother was frugal. Even if she was happy to receive the gift, she would probably nag for a long time if she knew that his father had spent eighty dollars on a silver bracelet.

On the other side, Lin's mother had chosen her fabrics: two pieces of navy blue polyester to make coats, two pieces of army green fabric to make trousers, and for herself, she chose the cheapest gray cotton fabric.

"Huiqin, you should choose a better one too," Lin's father said, unable to bear it any longer.

"I have enough clothes, and this fabric is sturdy and easy to work with," Lin's mother said with a smile, but her eyes lingered for a moment when she subconsciously glanced at another piece of floral fabric.

Lin Chuan saw this and went over to the sales clerk, saying, "Comrade, could you please cut that piece of floral fabric into two lengths as well?"

"Oh, no need..." Lin's mother quickly stopped her.

"Grandma, Xiaoman said she wants to see you in a floral dress," Lin Chuan said with a smile, making an excuse. "You and my little sister can both wear them."

Lin's mother's eyes were slightly red, and she didn't say anything more.

In the 1980s, making clothes was still quite troublesome. At that time, the way of buying clothes in China was just transitioning from "buying fabric to make clothes" to "buying ready-made clothes".

In the rural areas of Linchuan, due to the limited supply of ready-made clothing, the limited styles, and the high prices, the mainstream is still selling hand-pulled fabric.

The popular fabric was a type of synthetic fiber called "Queliang" that Lin's mother bought. It was brightly colored, wrinkle-resistant, and durable, making it the most popular choice.

Two years from now, with the deepening of reform and opening up and the development of the textile industry, the output and styles of ready-made garments will gradually become more diverse.

It wasn't until 1990 that inland areas became like coastal areas.

After selecting the items, Lin's mother paid for them with some reluctance.

After temporarily leaving his belongings at Li Xinru's meat stall, he took the gifts and the salted fish and perch that he had left there earlier to Qixing Village.

At the same time, on the river near Wangdao Island, Zhao Chenghu stood at the bow of the boat, his face so gloomy it seemed to drip water.

"That's all?" He looked at the shallow layer of spotted bass in the fish tank, his tone unfriendly.

Xiao Gao wiped the sweat from his forehead, somewhat helplessly: "Brother Hu, the rain stopped early this morning, and we started setting up the internet. That's all we've done this morning."

Yesterday the rain was so heavy that someone even fell into the river and almost couldn't be pulled out. We couldn't work at all. Even though the weather is clear today, the fish…”

"What happened to the fish?" Zhao Chenghu kicked the gunwale. "Lin Chuan and his crew caught tens of thousands of catties, and we've only caught this much after three days? Are you guys just sitting around doing nothing?"

"Brother Tiger, it's not that we didn't try our best. We caught about six or seven tons of fish in total," the captain explained with a bitter face.

"With the rain these past two days, we're starting to think that the sea bass season is probably over. You see, it's already November, and in previous years there would be far fewer sea bass at this time."

Zhao Chenghu glared at the two men, then turned to stare at the undulating river. He didn't believe in superstitions, or rather, he didn't want to believe them.

Hiring people and smoothing things over—this trip involved a considerable investment. They were hoping to make a fortune from this sea bass harvest, but two consecutive days of rain delayed the best fishing opportunity.

This made him feel somewhat embarrassed in front of his brother, Zhao Dezhu.

"Cast two more nets," Zhao Chenghu said through gritted teeth. "Let's try a different spot, towards that bay to the east."

The fishing boat started up again, the engine noise particularly jarring on the empty river.

An hour later, the net was pulled up again. Even less, only a few dozen kilograms of fish, including quite a few miscellaneous fish.

"That's it." Zhao Chenghu finally gave up, uttering the two words with a livid face.

On the boat back, he smoked one cigarette after another. Qian Feng cautiously leaned closer: "Brother Tiger, what's next...?"

"Go to Jiangxin Village." Zhao Chenghu stubbed out his cigarette. "Find Lin Chuan."

"Why would you want to see him?" Qian Feng asked, puzzled.

"Ask him what's going on with this sea bass season." Zhao Chenghu's eyes gleamed. "If he had known the season was almost over, why would he have encouraged us to rent a boat... Humph."

Qian Feng suddenly realized: "You mean, he deliberately tricked us?"

"It's hard to say," Zhao Chenghu said, gazing at the distant outline of the island in the middle of the river. "But we still need to get to the bottom of this."

The fishing boat headed towards Jiangxin Village, the river wind howling and rustling Zhao Chenghu's clothes.

He stood at the bow of the boat, his gaze fixed on the direction of Jiangxin Village, his heart filled with a mixture of doubt and resentment.

Feng stood to the side, not daring to breathe, secretly observing Zhao Chenghu's expression.

Meanwhile, Lin Chuan's family had already arrived outside Qixing Village.

Lin's father called out from afar, "Father-in-law, we've come to see you!" Lin Chuan looked at this scene and the corners of his mouth unconsciously turned up.