Back to 1980: Farming the Sea and Expanding the Island

"Comrade, I'll take all these books." Lin Chuan walked to the cashier with the books in his arms.

The cashier was a young woman wearing glasses. She glanced at the book price, then looked up at Lin Chuan: "That'll be seven yuan and twenty cents in total. Anything else?"

Lin Chuan thought for a moment: "Do you have any books on green manure planting?"

The girl rummaged under the counter and found a thin booklet: "Green Manure Crop Cultivation Techniques," for seven cents.

Lin Chuan paid the money and put the book in his bag.

Although memories from the previous life remain, professional skills still need to be systematically learned, and these books are the foundation for greenhouse construction.

He also bought notebooks, drawing pencils, and measuring tapes, intending to go back and make detailed plans for Canhong Island.

As Lin Chuan left the bookstore, pondering his next move, the sign for the "County Construction Company" across the street caught his eye.

Lin Chuan recalled hearing in his previous life that some organizations disposed of scrapped materials. After thinking for a moment, he crossed the street and headed towards the compound.

The gatekeeper was an elderly man with graying hair, sitting in a wicker chair reading a newspaper.

Lin Chuan glanced inside casually and saw some old scaffolding steel pipes piled up in the corner of the warehouse. These steel pipes caught his eye.

If these steel pipes could be used to build the frame of the greenhouse, it would be much sturdier than using bamboo poles.

He quickly stepped forward, offered her a cigarette, and said with a smile, "Hello, sir, I have something to ask you."

"What's up?" the old man asked readily, taking the cigarette.

"I'd like to buy some old steel pipes to build a shed. I was wondering if you have any. I heard that your construction company sometimes deals with scrap materials..." Lin Chuan explained his purpose with a smile.

The old man squinted and sized him up: "Which unit do you work for?"

"Qingpingzhou Production Team," Lin Chuan said truthfully.

The old man took a drag of his cigarette, pointed towards the warehouse, and said, "There's a batch of old scaffolding steel pipes over there. They've been used for almost ten years, they're rusty, and they're almost ready to be scrapped. Do you want them?"

Lin Chuan was overjoyed and quickly nodded, "To be honest, our production team really needs it. What do you think..."

The experienced craftsman looked him up and down and chuckled, "There are quite a few people who make these steel pipes. I can't make the decision on this; you need a certificate from your employer to buy them."

Lin Chuan's heart stirred. Since someone was interested, there was room for maneuver.

He immediately handed over the entire pack of cigarettes and said with a smile, "Master, do you know who's in charge of this? Could you please introduce me?"

The old man glanced at the cigarette and pointed to the building behind him: "Go ask in the office."

"Alright, thanks for the guidance, Master." Lin Chuan smiled and walked into the house.

The conversation went very well; the normal price for scrap iron is about four and a half to five cents per kilogram.

Lin Chuan also charged based on scrap iron prices, but he raised the price by six cents per pound. A six-meter-long pipe weighs about twenty pounds and costs one dollar and twenty cents per piece.

A greenhouse of one mu (approximately 0.16 acres) requires about fifty frames, and the cost of steel pipes is less than sixty yuan, with connectors not exceeding one hundred yuan.

Compared to bamboo poles, they are not only cheaper but also much more durable.

Lin Chuan was very happy after reaching an agreement with the person in charge. They agreed that he would come to pick up the steel pipes once he got the necessary permits from his team.

Carrying the heavy books, Lin Chuan caught the bus back home.

My feet were sore from running around all day. I had originally planned to visit the agricultural machinery factory to check out water pumps and diesel engines, and then go to the seed station, but I'll have to leave that for next time.

......

On Canhong Island, the old man stood upwind, holding a long bamboo pole with a rag soaked in kerosene tied to the end.

Lin's father, Shui Houzi, and Li Jiaye each guarded a section, carrying buckets of water and wet burlap sacks. The autumn wind swirled up bits of withered grass, stinging their cheeks.

"Light it!" the old man commanded.

The bamboo pole was extended towards the dry pile of weeds, and with a "whoosh," flames leaped up. The autumn wind fanned the flames, and the fire quickly spread in all directions.

The dry grass crackled in the flames, and thick smoke billowed up.

"Watch the wind direction!" the old man shouted, staring at the fire. "Xiao Pu, it's burning too fast over there, use sacks to smother it!"

The water monkey hurriedly used a wet burlap sack to pat out the flames that were shooting out of the firebreak, while Li Jiaye carried a bucket, ready to splash water at any time.

This is part of the Lin family's plan to burn the land, clearing out about twenty acres for the first phase of development. Burning is the fastest method, and the ashes can fertilize the soil, but it also carries significant risks.

People in Jiangxin Village on the opposite bank saw the thick smoke and gathered at the dock, pointing and gesturing.

"The Lin family really burned down the wasteland!"

"They're moving really fast. I heard their sweet water well is even sweeter than the ones in our village."

"Their family really hit the jackpot. They made so much money fishing, and now they've even found sweet water on this deserted island. They're going to be able to cultivate so much good land."

"Who says otherwise? My husband even went to the island to dig a well, and we didn't notice!"

Aunt Liang glanced at Wang Fengmei beside her, smiled, and leaned closer: "Aunt Fengmei, I heard your family went to dig a well at Zuiwaihong yesterday? How did it go? Did you find any water?"

The others immediately became interested upon hearing this, "How is it? How is it? Did you get any sweet juice?"

Wang Fengmei's face darkened, and she retorted irritably, "If you want to know, just go dig it up yourself and you'll find out."

Seeing this, everyone knew that it had failed, and their enthusiasm immediately waned. They then started talking about other deserted islands, saying that so-and-so's family had gone to dig a well these past few days and had returned with dark faces.

Ever since the sweet water well in Linchuan was settled, the villagers have been getting excited, and many are thinking about digging wells on other deserted islands.

If we could dig up some sweet water, we could go to the captain to get a mission to occupy the island, but unfortunately it was all for nothing.

The fire on the first patch of land on the island gradually died down.

The old man used a bamboo pole to clear away the ashes to check if the fire was complete. Beneath the black ash, the earth revealed its true form.

The sandy loam soil, mixed with shell fragments, gleams light brown in the sunlight.

"The soil is alright." Lin's father grabbed a handful and rubbed it in his hands. "It's just too thin, not fat at all."

"That's why we need to transport compost," the old man continued. "The black soil over there in the swamp is fertile; we'll dig it up and mix it in."

As they were talking, the sound of oars echoed across the river. A small fishing boat was rowing towards the island.

"Someone's coming!" the water monkey shouted, pointing into the distance.

As the boat docked, a man in his fifties stepped off. He had dark skin and rough hands. As the man approached, the old man recognized him as Master Chen, the boat builder from Pingchuan Island.

"Brother Lin!" Master Chen called out from afar, "I saw smoke on the river, and I knew it was you guys burning stubble!"

The old man stood up to greet him: "Master Chen, what brings you here?"

"I was repairing the Zhang family's boat and just stopped by to take a look." Master Chen smiled and glanced around the island, his gaze landing on the direction of the sweet water well. "I heard you've struck sweet water? I've come to ask for a taste."

Mr. Lin hurriedly led him to the sweet water well. Mr. Chen didn't stand on ceremony, took down the gourd ladle hanging on the edge of the well, scooped up a full ladle, and drank half of it down with a "glug glug".

Wiping his mouth, Master Chen's eyes widened in surprise: "Wow! It's really sweet! It seems the rumors in the village were true. Brother Lin, you're so lucky!"

"Just lucky," the old man said, handing over a pipe and smiling.

Master Chen took the pipe, lit his welding smoke, took a puff, and looked around. Seeing the simple rain shelter, he shook his head: "Such good water, just left exposed like this? What a waste."

"There's nothing we can do," Lin's father said with a wry smile. "The trees on the island are all crooked and twisted; there's no decent timber. We can't find any wood to build a decent pavilion."

Master Chen squinted and thought for a moment: "Timber... I do know a thing or two."

Upon hearing this, the group all turned to look at him.