Back to 1980: Farming the Sea and Expanding the Island

The classroom fell silent.

Everyone looked at Li Suanpan, then at Lin Chuan. The little boy, not understanding what was going on, shook his head and nodded along.

Lin Chuan put down the chalk and dusted off his hands: "Uncle Abacus is right. Everyone knows what the things are and everyone can do the work."

But if the team issues new farm tools one day, and the instruction manual says "Instructions for operating a double-furrow plow," and you don't recognize the character for "plow," wouldn't you have to ask someone to read it to you?

If a technician from the county comes to explain methods for increasing yield through rational fertilization, and you can't remember the word "fertilization," won't you forget it as soon as you hear it?

Li Suanpan choked for a moment.

"Immunization, literacy," Lin Chuan said with a smile, glancing around. "I'm not talking about people who don't recognize things, but those who can't read."

Once you recognize more characters, you can read newspapers, documents, and technical manuals yourself. Relying on someone else to read to you always feels a bit disconnected.

Some people nodded in agreement.

Li Suanpan was embarrassed. "You're so knowledgeable, why don't you tell me about Li Qiang? He can't tell where he is when he goes out. Tell him how to find his way home in the future."

Upon hearing this, Li Qiang, who was standing by the plate, was stunned for a moment, then felt a surge of embarrassment and anger. "Li Suanpan, what do you mean? You're the one who can't find your way home. I..."

"Quiet down, what's all the noise about? Listen carefully, study properly. If you don't want to listen, get out." Li Jianguo banged on the stool, glaring at the group.

Seeing that Li Jianguo was angry, Li Suanpan still sat down defiantly, and Li Qiang also glared at Li Suanpan before sitting down.

Lin Chuan smiled and said, "If you want to learn anything else, that's fine too. We'll take it slowly. Today, I'll teach you a few more words."

He walked back to the blackboard, picked up the chalk, and scribbled a few lines.

The four large characters "East", "South", "West" and "North" appeared on the blackboard.

Lin Chuan turned to everyone and smiled, "Do you all know why losing a battle is called 'defeat,' why dying is called 'returning to the west,' and why hosting a meal is called 'being the host'?"

"Defeat?"

"Gone to the West?"

"host?"

"Right, why is it like this? Why not lose to the west and lose to the east?"

"Was that just something you said offhand, or did you say the battle was lost in the north?" the aunt asked hesitantly.

"Impossible, absolutely impossible. There's always the one in the south who keeps losing battles! It's that guy, isn't it?" an old man said confidently.

"It's probably an old saying, it's always been said that way!"

"Yes, I think so."

"It seems like that's how it's sung in traditional operas too. Is there any explanation for that?"

When Lin Chuan asked the question, the men and women below also became puzzled.

Lin Chuan coughed and said with a smile, "Today we'll talk about the things in the east, west, south, and north."

"In ancient times, the earliest form of the character '北' (běi) depicted two people back to back, representing an action, such as holding something in one's hand. '北' also represents an action, meaning to be facing away from each other."

As Lin Chuan spoke, he demonstrated, and then continued, "Soldiers fight head-on, facing the enemy. But when they are defeated, they turn and run away, turning their backs to the enemy."

It's called "fleeing with one's back to the enemy," so the essence of defeat is "defeat and fleeing with one's back to the enemy," and it has nothing to do with the others.

After listening, everyone suddenly understood and found it interesting.

He hurriedly urged, "Then how about we treat you?"

"The act of hosting is related to the etiquette of our ancestors, who regarded the east as the place of honor."

The host would always sit in the main seat facing east, responsible for entertaining guests. Over time, sitting on the east side came to be the host's choice, and the person in charge of entertaining guests assumed this role.

Lin Chuan explained with a smile.

"As for passing away, it's because we are all farmers who cultivate the land, and we have to rely on the weather and the sun."

The sun rising in the east signifies hope, while setting in the west signifies death and the end. Coupled with the monks' concept of a Western Paradise, the idea of ​​"returning west" (or "going west") arises.

Monks are a rare sight in their area, but everyone knows some basic common sense about them.

Now that I hear it from Duan Jue, Lin Chuan makes sense.

"The last one is hitting a brick wall," Lin Chuan glanced at Li Suanpan, chuckled, and continued.

"When we build houses, they are basically built facing south. In ancient times, in grand courtyards, a wall was specially erected in front of the gate to block the view of outsiders and the evil spirits from outside.

If you enter through the main gate without going around this wall, you'll run straight into the south wall. So, running into the south wall is a sign of people who are crazy and can't see things clearly.

Everyone must see things clearly in time and not blindly follow a dead end.

Everyone burst into laughter at Lin Chuan's amusing remark, except for Li Suanpan in the corner, whose face turned slightly red.

Lin Chuan ignored him and tapped the blackboard: "Alright, let's continue. The next word is 'sowing'..."

The warm light of the kerosene lamp illuminated everyone in the room. Outside the window, the sky gradually darkened.

By the time get out of class ended, it was completely dark.

Li Jianguo and the others were at the classroom door when he called out to Lin Chuan, "Xiao Chuan, come over for dinner. Your auntie cooked fish."

Lin Chuan looked at him, nodded, and didn't refuse. He knew that Li Jianguo probably had something to talk to him about.

In the main room of the team leader's house, on the octagonal table was a pot of crucian carp stewed with tofu, a plate of stir-fried greens, and a pot of warmed yellow wine.

Li Jianguo poured Lin Chuan a bowl: "You taught a good lesson today."

"Nonsense," Lin Chuan said with a smile, picking up his bowl.

"I'm not just talking nonsense." Li Jianguo shook his head. "You really put your mind to it. You combined teaching with the agricultural seasons and activities, and the stories were interesting, so everyone could learn from them."

Lin Chuan smiled, too embarrassed to admit that he had only glanced at the textbook. The two clinked bowls together and took a sip.

The liquor was a bit spicy, but as it went down my throat, my body warmed up.

"Uncle Jianguo," Lin Chuan put down his bowl, "you didn't just come to see me for a meal, did you?"

Li Jianguo picked up a piece of fish with his chopsticks, but didn't eat it right away. He glanced at the inner room where Li Jianmin's room was closed, but light was shining through the crack.

"How much of what's going on in the village?" Li Jianguo asked.

"I've heard some things," Lin Chuan said. "The rumors are pretty outlandish."

"It's more than just weird." Li Jianguo smiled bitterly, "Now people in other villages are saying that your family made this much money from one fishing trip." He held up three fingers and flipped them over.

"Thirty thousand?" Lin Chuan chuckled. "If I really had thirty thousand, would I still be here teaching literacy?"

"People's words are fickle," Li Jianguo sighed. "The more outrageous the rumor, the more people believe it. You know how many people are just jealous."

He paused for a moment, then said, "Jianshe told me about what happened today. You need to keep an eye on Zhao Chenghu."

Lin Chuan was somewhat puzzled. What happened today? And why was Zhao Chenghu involved?

Li Jianguo recounted the events of this morning with a wry smile.

Lin Chuan then realized what was happening, smiled, and nodded: "I understand, Uncle."

"Don't take it to heart," Li Jianguo sighed.

Lin Chuan didn't say anything, but picked up the wine jug and started pouring.

Looking at Lin Chuan and then thinking about his own son, Li Jianguo could only shake his head. Fortunately, his eldest son was a capable man.

"I've heard some rumors about Zhao Chenghu in the commune. He has some connections in the family. Try to avoid direct conflict with him and have as little contact with him as possible."

"I know, Uncle," Lin Chuan replied with a smile.

Zhao Chenghu is indeed a local tyrant. Although his family lives on the island, they don't rely on the seafood company for their livelihood. They won't have any further dealings with him, so there's nothing he can do about it.

Moreover, these people will be eliminated in a few years, so there's nothing to worry about.