Back to 1980: Farming the Sea and Expanding the Island

"I know an old carpenter named Lu. He used to work at the county gardening bureau, specializing in building pavilions and towers. Now he's retired and just stays at home."

Master Chen continued, "He has the ability to get old timber. When old houses are demolished in the county town, he can tell the quality of the beams and pillars that others use as firewood."

Lin's father became interested: "Can you buy it?"

"It depends on fate," Master Chen said honestly. "Old Lu has a strange temper; he doesn't sell to just anyone. But your well water is good; if he knew, he might be willing to help."

Master Chen looked at the sweet water well and sighed, "I'll give you an address, remember it: the third house in Huai Shu Hutong, Xiguan, the county town. Mention my name, and he should be able to see you."

Mr. Lin repeatedly expressed his gratitude, saying, "Thank you so much, Master Chen!"

"No need to thank me," Master Chen waved his hand and laughed, "I'm off to repair the boat. You guys are busy; there's so much traffic on the river. You have good water here, I'll come back for some more water another day!"

"Master Lu..." Lin's mother murmured, her eyes brightening as she said, "If we can really get some good timber, we'll build a decent pavilion for this well."

"No rush," the old man said. "Let's clear the land first and build the greenhouse that Xiao Chuan mentioned. We'll discuss the pavilion when Xiao Chuan comes back."

The afternoon's work was digging up rotten soil.

The swamp area is located in the southwest of the island; it is a depression covered with reeds.

Water Monkey and Li Jiaye took off their shoes and socks and stepped into the knee-deep black mud. The mud reached their calves, and it was difficult to pull themselves out.

"This mud is so fertile!" The water monkey dug up a shovelful of black, oily humus.

The two men filled bamboo baskets with mud, which Lin's father and mother then carried on shoulder poles to the burnt land, spreading it evenly. The old man then used a rake to mix the ashes and compost.

This was truly hard work; each basket of mud weighed dozens of kilograms, and it took dozens of trips back and forth, leaving everyone panting. By the time the sun was setting, they had only finished tending less than two acres of land.

Lin's father wiped the sweat from his forehead and shook his aching arms: "Let's keep going tomorrow. At this rate, it'll take a month or so."

......

Huiping Commune, Li Xinru's Butcher Shop.

Li Xinru glanced at the books Lin Chuan was carrying, flipped through them curiously, and immediately lost interest when she saw that they were all agricultural books.

He casually tossed the book aside and said, "Chuanzi, why did you buy all these books? Even if you still want to go to university, you should at least buy some corresponding textbooks."

Lin Chuan pursed his lips and gestured with his chin to one of the books, saying, "I want to read it, but I can't right now. See that book on greenhouse vegetable cultivation techniques?"

I've leased a deserted island, remember? I'll be doing this on the island from now on.

Li Xinyue was stunned for a moment, then grabbed Lin Chuan and hurriedly asked, "Wait, wait, what did you just say? You've leased a deserted island?"

"Didn't I tell you?" Lin Chuan was startled by the tugging, then realized what was happening, scratched his head and laughed, "Hey, I really forgot to tell you."

"Are you serious?" Li Xinru's eyes widened in surprise as she stared at Lin Chuan. "You can privately contract land on your island? How much did it cost? You didn't invest all the money you earned from fishing, did you?"

"What's with that look? Why would I lie to you?" Lin Chuan said, somewhat speechless. "You should read more newspapers and less of those... you know. Learn about the policies; they're all there. Why are you making such a fuss?"

Upon hearing this, Li Xinru immediately became angry and glared at Lin Chuan, saying, "How dare you say that? If it weren't for you, Jialing wouldn't have known about the books I hid. You owe me the books."

"Tch, that's what you deserve, what does it have to do with me?" Lin Chuan chuckled, unable to resist gloating over his brother's misfortune.

"You...you're really not human." Li Xinru was immediately furious when she saw Lin Chuan's appearance.

"Alright, alright, I'll play with you another book another day." He saw that Li Xinru, this fat woman, was about to jump out and cause him trouble.

Lin Chuan was startled and, sensing the danger, quickly waved his hand to warn others. He knew he couldn't handle the fat man if he really got involved.

"real?"

"Guaranteed authentic." Lin Chuan nodded repeatedly. If he couldn't buy it, it was fine. He could always write one himself!

Lin Chuan's thoughts wandered a bit. He chuckled to himself, recalling that he had read books like "What a Big Star" in his spare time before.

If I hadn't expanded the island, I might have become a great writer.

"Fine, I'll remember that, Lin Zichuan. If you don't come with me, just you wait and see!" Li Xinru said, having received her promise. She snorted twice before giving up.

"Here are the spare ribs you ordered, and this pork belly—both are top-quality cuts." Li Xinru said while cutting the meat, "Speaking of which, you still haven't told me what's going on with your island!"

Lin Chuan, eyeing the meat, chuckled, "The country has a task to combat desertification. Doesn't our production team have a deserted island? I took one, with a 30-year term. The results of its management belong to me."

"Oh! Such a good thing? But aren't your places all deserted islands and saline-alkali lands? Will it work?"

"Just because others can't do it doesn't mean I can't," Lin Chuan said with a confident smile.

"Tch, look at you, so smug. I can't stand your cocky attitude. You'll be in trouble if you can't grow crops." Li Xinru rolled her eyes.

"Hey! You're just like your wife, saying sour grapes when you can't have them." Lin Chuan chuckled, then grabbed his things and ran off.

Li Xinru was furious upon hearing this. She pointed at Lin Chuan and shouted, "Lin Zichuan, if you've got the guts, then leave! Wait until my wife gets here, and see how she deals with you!"

Lin Chuan, of course, wasn't going to wait to suffer, so he happily boarded the boat and went home.

Back home, the busy people on the island hadn't arrived yet. Lin Chuan put his things away and went to the team to prepare to record his work points, and also to get the certificate from the team leader.

"Uncle Jianguo, I heard that an agricultural technician is coming to our team. Has he arrived yet?" Lin Chuan asked as soon as he saw the team leader.

"You're really well-informed, aren't you? I found out yesterday, and you found out today," Li Jianguo said with a laugh.

"Hey, I heard it from someone on the street." Lin Chuan smiled. "I heard he's a college student. Aren't you curious?"

"That's right, he's a college student. I was just about to tell you that he's arriving the day after tomorrow, and you'll come with me to pick up the new agricultural technician."

"They've come with a mission this time, and they'll probably stay in our village for a while. You should take advantage of this time to learn from them." Li Jianguo patted Lin Chuan on the shoulder.

Lin Chuan nodded repeatedly, grinning, "Don't worry, Uncle, I'll definitely take good care of the new technician."

"Okay, I'm leaving now. Remember to teach well tonight."

"Wait a minute, Uncle, I actually have something to tell you." Lin Chuan stopped Li Jianguo, who was about to leave, and said with a smile.

"Uncle, I'm currently managing Canhong Island. I recently looked into new technologies and am preparing to set up greenhouses for planting on the island."

Today I went to the county town and the county construction company to buy some scrap steel pipes, and I need our brigade to issue a certificate for them.

"Greenhouse cultivation? What kind of new technology is that? Tell me about it." Li Jianguo was clearly attracted by the new technology Lin Chuan mentioned, and pulled Lin Chuan to sit down and asked him more questions.

Seeing this, Lin Chuan smiled and explained.

After listening to Lin Chuan's words, Li Jianguo took out his pipe and started smoking, looking thoughtful.

After a long pause, he said, "From what you've said, the technology sounds good, but isn't the cost too high? Will this work?"

Lin Chuan nodded without saying much. Judging from Li Jianguo's meaning, if the cost wasn't high, he was considering promoting it in the village.

Shaking his head, Li Jianguo said with some emotion, "I'll give you the proof tomorrow. Work hard. Now that Canhong Island has sweet water, we can't waste this good land."