Back to 1980: Farming the Sea and Expanding the Island

Technician Zhang paused, then said with a hint of mystery, "Your village is in a good location, right in the survey area. You also happen to be reclaiming and managing that Canhong Island, and your reclaiming application is well-written."

The county was looking for a typical place to pilot the program, and sure enough, you just submitted your application report and the higher-ups have already taken a liking to it.

Su Yanqiu's trip had two purposes: first, to guide agricultural development; and second, to conduct research and environmental assessment. If conditions were suitable, the county planned to establish a long-term "tidal flat management observation point" on the island.

Lin Chuan's mind raced.

Comprehensive utilization of tidal flats... Investigation of tidal flats in the Yangtze River estuary... Observations...

Fragments of memory are pieced together in my mind.

He remembered.

This year, the State Science and Technology Commission and the Ministry of Agriculture jointly issued an emergency notice called "Comprehensive Survey of Tidal Flat Resources in the Yangtze River Estuary-Hangzhou Bay," requiring coastal provinces and cities to report their experimental sites.

The Provincial Academy of Agricultural Sciences took the lead in establishing the "Yangtze River Estuary Tidal Flats Survey Team," but it lacked personnel, particularly technicians willing to spend long periods of time on deserted islands, enduring wind and sun to conduct observations.

That is, now, agricultural research institutes (centers) in each county will be allocated quotas.

He remembered that Qi County had been allocated two places, but the conditions were too harsh. A person did come from their village, but he didn't pay much attention at the time. Not long after, no one came.

Looking back now, either the observation point was moved in the previous life, or no one was willing to stake it out, so it was eventually dropped.

After all, Jiangxin Village is a special place. Not only is it inconvenient to travel, but it also doesn't have electricity. Before the perch incident, the villagers were barely able to fill their stomachs.

Two slots? For grassroots staff members of the mudflat survey team.

Although their official positions are registered at the county level, they are actually involved in provincial-level projects, have access to cutting-edge technologies and information, and receive fixed subsidies and resource support.

Lin Chuan was thinking rapidly, his palms slightly sweaty.

"Uncle Zhang," he tried to make his tone sound like mere curiosity, "this kind of observation point requires the cooperation of locals, right?"

"You're a smart kid!" Technician Zhang looked at Lin Chuan with surprise and admiration, nodded and smiled, "Look at the situation, the observation point needs someone to be stationed there long-term to record data and manage the experimental field."

He patted Lin Chuan on the shoulder: "This is tough work, and nobody usually wants to do tiring work. You need to be resourceful and try to build good relationships with the college students who go to your village."

You're a high school graduate; you might have a chance. You could apply for seeds, technology, and subsidies.

Zhang Jike was actually quite sorry that Lin Chuan hadn't been able to go to university. From his previous interactions with Lin Chuan, he found him to be a nice person with a quick mind, so he thought he'd help him if he could.

"I understand," Lin Chuan said with a smile, taking a breath. "Thank you for the guidance, Uncle Zhang."

"Alright, Lin, it's getting late, I'm leaving now." Zhang Jiye smiled and said goodbye to Lin's parents before turning and leaving.

Lin Chuan watched Technician Zhang walk away, his heart filled with mixed emotions.

Su Yanqiu is coming. How should I approach him, his future brother-in-law? How should I behave?

One should neither be too eager and appear opportunistic, nor too indifferent and miss opportunities to connect.

Furthermore, he doesn't know Su Yanqiu at all now; all his knowledge comes from memories of his previous life. How can he naturally establish a relationship without arousing suspicion?

For a moment, Lin Chuan was somewhat at a loss.

"Xiao Chuan, what are you daydreaming about?" Lin's mother came over. "Hurry up, or we'll miss the ferry back."

"It's nothing." Lin Chuan snapped out of his thoughts and smiled. "I was thinking about how to build the sweet water well properly."

"So urgent?" Lin's father asked.

"Hmm." Lin Chuan looked towards the center of the river. "There are some things that need to be prepared in advance."

"Okay, then we'll bring the materials to the island tomorrow," Lin's father nodded.

After picking up Xiaoman from school and the old man who was visiting a friend, Lin Chuan chatted with Li Xinru for a while, picked up the things they bought, and the family boarded the ferry back to the island.

......

The old classroom that the brigade headquarters had cleaned up hadn't been this lively in many years.

Lin Chuan stood somewhat helplessly on the teaching desk above. He really didn't expect that when he returned to the village today, the village chief would inform him that the literacy class would officially start today.

The villagers have all been notified that classes will be held in the evening, and the oil lamp team will pay for it; he just needs to go directly.

Lin Chuan, having no other choice, hurriedly went to the classroom with one of his books. He had just looked through his books at home and realized that he had left the textbooks he had received last time at school because he was in a hurry to sell fish.

By this time, the long benches inside were already packed with people, most of the men smoking pipes, and the women holding babies in their arms.

A few teenagers were also peering through the window, standing on tiptoe and chuckling to themselves.

The dim light of the kerosene lamp flickered, illuminating the faded slogan "Serve the People" on the wall.

Lin Chuan stood behind the peeling paint on the podium in front of him, his palms slightly damp.

In his previous life, he at least did his homework before going on stage. Now, he's suddenly just talking like this, which is really nerve-wracking.

"Ahem, ahem." He cleared his throat, and the buzzing discussion below stopped for a moment.

Dead memories begin to come rushing back like boomerangs.

"Dear uncles, aunts, brothers, and sisters," Lin Chuan began, his voice exceptionally clear in the quiet classroom.

"Today, in our first literacy class, we won't talk about 'Heaven, Earth, and Man,' nor will we learn 'one, two, three' first."

Someone below whispered, "Then what should we learn?"

"Let's learn something we can use right away." Lin Chuan turned around, picked up half a piece of chalk, and wrote two big characters on the blackboard: "Spring Ploughing".

The voices below were uneven but very serious, and several babies echoed the adults, calling out in their childish voices.

Lin Chuan watched, a slight smile playing on his lips.

Li Suanpan sat in the corner against the wall, pursed his lips, and put his hands in his sleeves without moving.

Lin Chuan turned around and wrote down a few more words: plow, harrow, sow, fertilize.

"These are the tools we use to eat. Everyone sees and uses these things every day."

"Looking at these things, you can quickly recognize their names and write them down." Lin Chuan smiled as he stepped down from the podium and picked up the tools that the water monkey had brought and piled up against the wall.

Looking at everyone, he laughed and said, "You all know what this is called, right?"

"Look at what you're saying, plow it!" someone shouted.

"Good answer, it is the plow, the plow of plowing the land." Lin Chuan walked back to the blackboard and circled the character.

"Look, everyone, this character has 'ox' at the bottom and 'profit' at the top. We use oxen to pull the plow, and the plowshare needs to be sharp so that we can plow deep."

Then he picked up a rake, but before he could even ask any questions.

"Rake!" someone immediately replied.

"Good, you can answer first now, faster than your dad." Lin Chuan laughed and gave the little guy a thumbs up.

This immediately caused a burst of laughter from the crowd.

"Come on, everyone, keep looking here." After the laughter subsided, Lin Chuan circled the word "rake".

"On the left is the character '耒,' which is a farming tool. On the right is the character '巴,' which is used to 'bā' and break up clods of earth..."

Every now and then, a young man would take the opportunity to start a fight with his father, and the classroom gradually became lively.

Someone pulled out a crumpled notebook and began to trace the characters crookedly with a pencil stub. Several young wives whispered amongst themselves, quizzing each other, and giggling when they made mistakes.

Li Suanpan coughed.

The sound wasn't loud, but it was jarring in the gradually quieting classroom.

"Chief Lin," he began slowly, a half-smile playing on his lips, "what you've taught us, which of us who toil in the fields doesn't already know? Is it really necessary to go to all this trouble to learn how to write these things?"