Back to 1980: Farming the Sea and Expanding the Island

The next morning, after finishing his work at the team, Lin Chuan went to the commune.

This lesson can't be taught properly; I need to catch up quickly, and I also need to get my literacy teacher certificate.

The commune school was located at the eastern end of Huiping Commune, a row of neat red brick bungalows. The education office was in the innermost room.

Lin Chuan arrived at the door and gently knocked.

"Come in."

Pushing open the door, I saw a middle-aged female teacher wearing glasses organizing documents.

Upon seeing Lin Chuan, she smiled and recognized him: "You're here to pick up your textbooks, right? Wait a moment, let me look for them. Last time you left in such a hurry, I called you a few times but you didn't hear me."

Lin Chuan nodded and stood quietly at the door waiting.

The corridor was quiet, with the morning sunlight streaming in from the window at the end, casting long patches of light on the floor.

Suddenly, the door to the next room creaked open.

A young woman came out carrying several books, walking briskly.

She was wearing a light gray polyester shirt, dark blue pants, and had her hair in two braids.

Her profile was clearly visible in the sunlight; her skin was fair, her eyelashes were long, her nose was straight, and her lips were slightly pursed, as if she was thinking about something.

Lin Chuan paused, looking somewhat dazed.

Xia Wanxing.

Even after a very long time, even from just a profile, he recognized her at a glance.

Lin Chuan opened his mouth, wanting to speak, but for a moment he didn't know how to start.

Lin Chuan, Xia Wanxing, and Li Xinru were all high school classmates. Lin Chuan's academic success was entirely due to Xia Wanxing's help.

In their previous life, after graduating from high school, Xia Wanxing was admitted to the provincial normal college, while he returned home to work as a scorekeeper, and the two gradually had less and less contact.

He buried this memory deep in his heart, but when he suddenly saw the real person, his heart felt as if it had been gripped by something, then suddenly released, and began to pound wildly.

Memories of my previous life surged up.

Lin Chuan subconsciously took a step forward and opened his mouth again, but the sound got stuck in his throat.

What should he say now?

"Xia Wanxing, long time no see?"

With just that one moment of hesitation, Xia Wanxing had already turned the corner of the corridor.

The figure disappeared.

Lin Chuan stood there, his hand instinctively reaching for a cigarette, but since his rebirth, he hadn't touched one, so why would he have a cigarette in his pocket?

"Found it!" The female teacher in the office looked up and handed over a few books and a small red booklet. "The textbooks are all here, and this is your teacher's certificate."

Lin Chuan snapped out of his daze and quickly took the things, saying, "Thank you, teacher."

"You're welcome." The female teacher pushed up her glasses and said casually, "You two know each other? That's Teacher Xia's daughter. She's studying at a teachers' college in the provincial capital. Sigh, something happened at home, so she took leave to come back."

Lin Chuan was taken aback: "What is it?"

In my previous life, I never heard of anything happening to her family.

"I'm not sure," the female teacher shook her head. "It seems her father isn't in good health. This girl is filial; she rushed back as soon as she heard about it."

Lin Chuan nodded and didn't ask any more questions.

Holding his textbooks and certificates, Lin Chuan walked out of the school. The bright sunlight streamed down, but Lin Chuan didn't find it dazzling; he smiled nonchalantly. They were doing well in their previous life, why should he bother them?

Being able to start over, and having the prophet guide your family to a better path, is already a blessing from heaven. There's really no need to overthink things.

It was already noon when we returned to Jiangxin Village.

Lin Chuan didn't go home; he planned to go directly to the brigade headquarters to put the teaching materials away.

As he passed the aquatic product supply and marketing station, Wang Hao was waiting for him at the entrance and quietly pulled him aside.

"Chuanzi." Wang Hao looked around and lowered his voice, "Something's up."

Lin Chuan's heart stirred, and he followed him to a secluded spot by the dock.

Wang Hao, not wanting to be long-winded, saw that no one was around and immediately said, "These past two days, Zhao Chenghu has asked me to specifically inquire about and keep an eye on your family's affairs."

Lin Chuan raised an eyebrow. "Staring at me?"

"Yes." Wang Hao nodded with a wry smile. He thought Lin Chuan and Zhao Chenghu were cooperating well. Others might not know, but he did. Lin Chuan had caught quite a lot of fish on that trip.

Judging from the situation, it seems the two have fallen out, and it would be really uncomfortable for him to be caught in the middle again.

Lin Chuan narrowed his eyes, sizing up Wang Hao with a half-smile: "So you're just telling me like this? Aren't you afraid Zhao Chenghu will cause you trouble?"

"Yes, I am scared, but I'm in Jiangxin Village now, and Jiangxin Village isn't one to be trifled with," Wang Hao admitted frankly, then hesitated for a moment, "And there's one more thing, I feel that Zhao Chenghu and his gang are bound to get into trouble sooner or later."

"Oh? How so?" Lin Chuan asked with interest.

He knew Zhao Chenghu was doomed, but he didn't expect Wang Hao to have such foresight.

"Sending goods, do you know that?" Wang Hao asked hesitantly.

"Are they moving goods?" Lin Chuan's eyes flickered.

He knew what smuggling was, of course; it was basically the same as trafficking. But he hadn't expected that people in their small town and small dock would be doing it.

The most convenient way to transport goods is to send large ships to international waters, then have coastal vessels sail there and secretly bring the goods back for sale.

Whether it's large home appliances or small items like clothes and watches, there's a wide variety of products.

The most frenzied period was around 1983, when, with the opening up of the market, the volume of goods shipped in coastal areas expanded unprecedentedly.

Many coastal fishing villages made a fortune, but as the anti-smuggling teams cracked down harder, more people were arrested. It was a case of the bold getting rich, the timid starving, and the good swimmers drowning.

Lin Chuan had no idea that Zhao Chenghu and his men had already started shipping their goods.

Wang Hao nodded, his eyes darting around. Lin Chuan's expression hardened. "You've been there too?"

"No, no, I wouldn't dare do that." Wang Hao was startled. "Besides, I don't even have a boat."

He wanted to go, but he was too scared; he'd heard it had caused deaths. Although he'd never been, the radio he used was a knock-off.

"It's best not to go. I'm afraid you won't be able to handle it, and you might get double-crossed," Lin Chuan said, patting Wang Hao on the shoulder, half-jokingly and half-seriously.

Knowing Wang Hao's personality, Lin Chuan knew he wouldn't go. He hadn't seen anything like him in his previous life, and he was quite wealthy. It was just a prank to scare him.

"What about Zhao Chenghu? What are you going to do?" Wang Hao asked.

"Don't worry about it." Lin Chuan waved his hand. "Let them ask around. I don't have anything to hide. The boat rental fee was paid to the team, and there's a receipt. The cooperative also has its articles of association."

"So what are they doing...?"

"Trying to cause trouble," Lin Chuan sneered. "If you can't find a pretext, you'll come up with other underhanded tricks. Just keep an eye on things for me, and don't provoke them first."

"Okay." Wang Hao nodded. "It's good that you understand."

After Wang Hao left, Lin Chuan stood by the dock for a while.

When he got home, Lin's mother was chopping wood. Seeing him return, she put down the axe: "Did you pick up your textbooks?"

"I've taken it." Lin Chuan stepped forward and took the axe. "Mother, have the bricks and mortar been properly connected?"

"Your father has already made contact, and he should be arriving soon," Lin's mother replied.

"Okay," Lin Chuan said with a smile. "After lunch, I'll go to the island and mark out the area around the sweetwater well."

"Yes, we have meat at home. I'll go to the dock and get a fish tonight. That should be enough," Lin's mother said, nodding after thinking about the number of people she would be entertaining that evening.