Back to 1980: Farming the Sea and Expanding the Island

The next morning, after finishing his work at the commune, Lin Chuan headed straight for the dock. The morning mist hadn't completely dissipated, and dew clung to the ridges of the fields, making them wet and cold to the touch.

After discussing it with his family yesterday, he plans to go to the county town today to find materials for building the greenhouse.

Their commune had most building materials, but for things like plastic film, they had to go to the plastic factory in the county town.

The villagers of Jiangxin Village rarely go to the county town unless absolutely necessary, mainly because the round trip is too much trouble.

There are two routes to the county town: one is by water, going through Qinglong Wharf, and the other is by land, taking a commune bus. However, going by water takes a detour and the boat fare is more expensive.

No matter which route you take, you have to go to Sanhe Wharf, as there are no direct ferries from their island.

After buying my ticket and squeezing onto the train, the bus jolted along the way, making my internal organs feel like they were about to shift.

Outside the car window, the countryside of 1980 unfolds, with fields connecting villages, and the area is still dominated by villages and farmland.

The villages in the distance are scattered in a pleasing manner, with wisps of smoke rising from their chimneys, giving people a sense of tranquility and peace.

Unlike later generations, where small factories were everywhere, even villages were filled with various processing plants, and the air quality was terrible.

It took him about an hour to get to the county town; this was his first time in the county town since his rebirth.

The streets were wider than those in the commune, with three- or four-story brick buildings on both sides, and slogans painted on the walls.

The sound of bicycle bells rose and fell, and occasionally a truck would chug by, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Lin Chuan inquired along the way and, based on the information he received, rushed to the state-owned plastics factory in the county.

The location of Qixian No. 2 Plastics Factory is not easy to find; it is hidden deep in an alley. It took asking seven or eight people to find the place.

Lin Chuan glanced at the gate in the distance, rubbing his aching legs, and suddenly felt a surge of energy. He thought to himself, "I'll buy a 28-inch motorcycle after this is all over. Walking like this is really tiring."

"Hello, sir!" Lin Chuan greeted with a smile, knocking on the door of the guardhouse and offering a lotus-shaped cigarette.

An elderly couple sat in the guardhouse. The old man opened the door, glanced at Lin Chuan, this unfamiliar young man, didn't take the cigarette, and asked warily with narrowed eyes, "What are you doing here?"

"Grandpa, I'm from the Qingpingzhou production team in our county." Lin Chuan said nonchalantly, handing over the certificate from the aquatic products cooperative and adding with a smile, "Take a look."

The old man took the certificate, glanced at it, and his expression softened: "What's the aquatic products cooperative doing at our plastics factory?"

Seeing this, Lin Chuan offered another lotus flower and explained with a smile, "Grandpa, it's like this, a new instructor has come to our production team."

"They said our factory has a new technology for growing crops, something like... what kind of film was it?" He deliberately frowned as he tried to recall, glancing at the old man's face.

This time, the old man accepted the cigarette, his smile relaxing slightly. "It's thin-film technology, isn't it?" he chuckled.

"Yes! That's it!" Lin Chuan quickly agreed. "Our captain heard this technology is good, so he sent me to take a look and see if our team can use it."

"Your team leader has good taste." The old man lit a cigarette and took a puff. "Our factory only mastered this thin film technology last year, and there aren't many people using it, yet you've come knocking on our door."

"Go inside. The sales department is on the second floor of the building ahead. Talk to them."

"Okay, thank you, sir!" Lin Chuan said, then turned and walked inside.

He had read the information in his previous life and knew that the plastic film mulch technology was only introduced from Japan in 1978 and was still in the trial stage in 1980.

He wasn't sure if he could buy it in this small county town, so he had been trying to find out by talking to the old man. Fortunately, it wasn't a wasted trip, and his anxiety finally subsided.

As Lin Chuan entered the factory gate, he went straight to the second floor, where there was only one young man in the sales department.

Lin Chuan smiled and handed over a lotus flower, getting straight to the point about the agricultural film. "Comrade, I've come to inquire about the agricultural film at your factory."

The young salesman looked him up and down, took the cigarette, tucked it behind his ear, and said, "Yes, we do, but you need a special ticket to buy this."

Lin Chuan's heart sank; special tickets weren't so easy to obtain.

Just as I was pondering what to do, the salesperson lowered their voice and glanced towards the door:

"However, since you've found this place, if you're really in a hurry, there's another way, but the price is 30% higher than the bulk purchase price."

Lin Chuan's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly asked, "What are the specifications of this membrane, and what is the price?"

"We have widths of 2 meters and 4 meters, and thicknesses of 0.08 to 0.12 millimeters." Seeing his interest, the salesperson explained in detail, "The bulk purchase price is 3 yuan per kilogram, but if we don't go through formal channels, it's 4.5 yuan per kilogram."

"Do you have the specifications for building a greenhouse?" Lin Chuan then asked.

The young salesman was somewhat surprised to hear this, clearly not expecting Lin Chuan to know about greenhouses.

These days, very few people know about thin films; most of them are bought by state-owned enterprises. It's surprising that a young man from a production team knows about this.

Although somewhat curious, the young salesman didn't ask too many questions, but his attitude improved, and he smiled and said, "Sure, there's a greenhouse planting experimental area on Chongming Island that uses our technology."

Lin Chuan's eyes lit up upon hearing this. "Then can you build a greenhouse?"

"That won't work, but I can recommend them. They built the greenhouse last time," the young salesman said with a smile.

"Thank you, thank you! My name is Lin Chuan, from Qingpingzhou Production Team." Lin Chuan introduced himself again with a smile.

"Ma Baokun, salesman at the Second Plastics Factory." The young man reached out and shook hands with him.

Lin Chuan calculated that a greenhouse of one mu (approximately 0.16 acres) would require 1,000 square meters of plastic film. At a price of 2.6 yuan per square meter without a ticket price, the plastic film alone would cost 2,600 yuan.

The number made him frown. He had originally planned to build two greenhouses at once, but now he could only build one first.

Lin Chuan was somewhat helpless. He hadn't expected that building a greenhouse would be so expensive, and this was just the cost of the plastic film.

After finalizing the details with Ma Baokun, Lin Chuan headed straight to the factory recommended by Ma.

Fortunately, the place wasn't far away, and Lin Chuan walked for more than half an hour before asking for directions.

This place is a bamboo processing factory. As soon as Lin Chuan arrived at the factory gate, he saw piles of local bamboo.

These bamboo shoots are mostly 3-5 centimeters in diameter and 6-8 meters in length, which is exactly what he needs.

With Ma Baokun's name as an endorsement, it's easier to talk to him, and the price is relatively reasonable, 12 cents a stick.

Lin Chuan estimated that he needed more than 400 logs, so he simply bought more to make a total of 500 logs, and also bought a few cubic meters of wood.

We've reached an agreement with the technician at the bamboo and wood factory to pick up the goods tomorrow. The technician will then accompany us to the island to inspect the site and finalize the construction plan.

The deal for the timber and the film was finalized, but transportation became a problem.

Renting a car or a boat would be an expense and a hassle. Lin Chuan looked at the passing vehicles on the roadside and sighed inwardly: If only I had my own boat and car.

After all that fuss, it was well past lunchtime. Lin Chuan found a noodle shop, ate a bowl of hot soup noodles, and bought a meat pie to fill his stomach.

Afterwards, Lin Chuan went to the Xinhua Bookstore in the county. The bookstore was a two-story building in the center of the county town.

The shop window displayed "Selected Works of ***" and several engineering books. Lin Chuan pushed open the door and was immediately greeted by the smell of ink.

The agricultural books section was located in a corner on the second floor. There weren't many books on the shelves, so Lin Chuan carefully selected some from the agricultural books.

I selected several books, including the 1978 edition of "Vegetable Cultivation Technology in Plastic Greenhouses" and the 1976 edition of "Methods for Soil Improvement in Southern Tidal Flats".