Back to 1980: Farming the Sea and Expanding the Island

The river breeze after the rain carried a damp chill, blowing on Li Jianmin's face and chilling his heart as well.

"Let's lay another net!"

Li Jianmin shouted at the top of his lungs, gripping the gunwale tightly with both hands until his knuckles turned white.

Li Jianshe stood in the cockpit, looking out through the condensed window, and unconsciously sighed.

"Jianmin, that's about enough." Li Jianshe's voice came through the cabin door, sounding tired.

"Uncle! We haven't had enough fun yet!" Li Jianmin turned his head, his eyes red. "We spent forty yuan to rent the boat! Are we just going to go back like this?"

Li Jiaye squatted in the corner of the cabin and said in a muffled voice, "Brother, Brother Chuanzi already said that the fishing season is over..."

"Lin Chuan, Lin Chuan! Who else is in your mouth besides Lin Chuan!" Li Jianmin turned around abruptly, spitting out words.

"He said it was over and done with? Is he some kind of river god? He hauled tens of thousands of kilograms of fish here the day before yesterday! How come it's all gone in just two days?"

The atmosphere on the ship suddenly became tense.

Li Jianye and the two men from the village who came with him looked at each other without saying a word.

They had all pooled their money and were actually quite anxious. After several casts, they were only catching small, miscellaneous fish, and hadn't even recouped their investment.

"Let's try again," a man said in a low voice. "What if there are still some?"

Li Jianshe was silent for a few seconds, then waved his hand: "The last shot."

The net was cast, the nylon rope taut in my hand. Ten minutes, twenty minutes.

"Raise the net!" Li Jianmin was the first to jump up.

The winch creaked and groaned as it turned, slowly pulling the net up. First, it was empty, then a few pieces of water plants, and then skinny crucian carp.

Finally, a few small perch lay at the bottom of the net, curled up in the mesh, barely moving.

"That's it?" Some people couldn't believe it.

Li Jianmin rushed over, grabbed the two small fish, and slammed them onto the deck: "I fucking... I fucking refuse to believe it!"

The little fish bounced twice on the wooden board and then stopped moving.

Li Jiaye stood up, impatiently saying, "Brother Jianmin, Brother Chuanzi really didn't lie to us. If he knew there were still fish here, why didn't he come himself?"

"Why doesn't he come? He has a better place!" Li Jianmin sneered.

"Who is he now? A millionaire! He's on friendly terms with the big boss of the seafood company, why would he care about something like this?"

"You're wrong," Li Jiaye said, his face flushed. "Brother Chuanzi isn't that kind of person!"

"Then tell me, what kind of person is he?" Li Jianmin took a step closer. "With his hypocritical appearance, isn't he just trying to make us think he's benevolent so we'll listen to him in the future?"

"Let me tell you, Li Jiaye, you've been bewitched by him!"

"I don't!"

"Then tell me! Why...?"

Before he could finish speaking, the boat suddenly lurched.

Li Jiaye instinctively dodged backward, his elbow colliding with Li Jianmin's chest. Li Jianmin, who was already standing on the ship's railing, was thrown backward by the impact.

"Be careful!"

Li Jianshe rushed out of the cockpit and grabbed Li Jianmin by the collar.

Li Jianmin's body was already halfway up the river, and he was about to fall into the water. Everyone on the boat was terrified.

Li Jiaye was so frightened that his face turned deathly pale, and he stretched out his hand but dared not move.

Li Jianshe gritted his teeth, veins bulging on his arms, and forcefully pulled Li Jianmin back.

The uncle and nephew fell onto the deck. Li Jianmin was still in shock and was panting heavily.

Li Jianshe slowly got up, his voice a little hoarse, "To make a living on the river, you have to rely on three things: first, your skills to find fish; second, whether God will give you food; and third, your conscience to cooperate."

His gaze swept over his eldest son and finally landed on Li Jianmin, who was slumped on the deck: "If you're not skilled enough and can't find the right spot, who's to blame? If you're unlucky and it rains, and the fish season is over, who's to blame?"

Lin Chuan has already done everything he could, saying all he could. Who's to blame now?

Li Jianmin kept his head down, his fists clenched tightly.

"Close the net." Li Jianshe stopped looking at him, turned and walked towards the cockpit. "Go home."

The engine roared back to life, and the fishing boat turned around and headed towards Jiangxin Village.

On the deck, no one spoke; only the monotonous chugging of the engine and the rushing sound of the river water lapping against the hull were heard.

At the Sanhe Commune bus station, Lin Chuan got off the bus carrying snacks that his grandparents had given to Xiaoman.

Lin's mother and the woman who got off the bus with her said goodbye loudly.

"Hey, Lin Jifen! Where have you been all this time?" a voice came from behind.

Lin Chuan turned around and saw a middle-aged man wearing a dark blue Zhongshan suit and carrying an old briefcase getting out of another car. It was Technician Zhang from the commune's agricultural technology station.

Technician Zhang had previously visited Jiangxin Village to give lectures on agricultural knowledge, and Lin Chuan had taken notes while he was there, so they were quite familiar with each other.

"Uncle Zhang," Lin Chuan greeted with a smile, "I went to Qixing Village to see my grandfather and he just came back. What brings you here?"

"Going to the county for a meeting." Technician Zhang adjusted his glasses, looked at Lin Chuan's family, and laughed, "I've heard that your Jiangxin Village has been quite lively in the river lately."

So, has anyone in your village become a "ten-thousand-yuan household"?

"Technician Zhang, it's been a long time," Lin's father said with a smile. "It's all just rumors. It's not that easy to become a millionaire."

"Yeah, yeah. I think it's all nonsense. How can you become a millionaire so easily?" Technician Zhang said a few words of small talk.

Suddenly remembering something, she smiled at Lin Chuan and said, "By the way, Chuan, there's something you'll definitely be interested in."

"What is it?" Lin Chuan asked curiously.

"The county is sending an agricultural technician to your village, you know? The person has been chosen, a top student who just graduated from the provincial agricultural university, named Su Yanqiu."

To be honest, he used to be the one to go to Jiangxin Village to provide guidance. I didn't expect that because of Lin Chuan's application, a college student would be sent instead. That's quite unusual.

Lin Chuan's heart skipped a beat.

Su Yanqiu.

He knew that name all too well. This man was his wife's brother, the one who had led him away from Jiangxin Village and guided him out of the village.

That man who always wore glasses, spoke gently but was extremely serious in his work. Sadly, he drowned while rescuing someone during an expedition.

Lin Chuan was overjoyed. He never expected that the butterfly flapping its wings would bring his brother-in-law to his side.

"Su...Yanqiu?" Lin Chuan tried to keep his voice calm. "When are you coming?"

"It should be in three days," Technician Zhang said. "The higher-ups are taking this very seriously; they specifically requested that he go to your village."

"Why is that?" Lin Chuan asked with some confusion. He was indeed curious. After being reborn, the only thing he had changed was that he caught more fish in Jiangxin Village.

There was virtually no contact with the outside world, so it's really hard to know how this new change came about.

Technician Zhang laughed, "You really are partly to blame for this."

"Me?" Lin Chuan was shocked and said in disbelief.

"That's right," Technician Zhang nodded affirmatively. "You don't know, the county was very satisfied with the application that your Captain Li submitted."

Technician Zhang then explained with a smile: "At the beginning of this year, the state issued a document to make 'comprehensive utilization of tidal flat resources' a key research project."

The entire area around the Yangtze River estuary is within the scope of the investigation.