Back to 1980: Farming the Sea and Expanding the Island

"A loan? This..." Li Jianshe hesitated, his eyes flickering in the dim light.

Wang Pusheng paused for a moment, then fell silent, his brows furrowing slightly, as if weighing the pros and cons.

Lin Chuan looked at his father and explained earnestly, "Dad, loans aren't as scary as you think."

On the contrary, it's quite beneficial for us. Hundred-ton ships generate high profits from cargo transport, and as long as we manage it well, repaying the loan won't be difficult.

Moreover, it will also help the future development of our island.

Lin's father listened to Lin Chuan's explanation, his brows furrowed tightly, his eyes filled with worry: "Are you telling the truth?"

"Dad, you'll understand if you do the math. Let's not buy a new one, let's buy a second-hand one, a repurposed wooden one."

I estimate we can get it for 20,000 to 30,000. We'll just take the route from Lianxing to Shanghai; it's not far.

"This is too much money," Lin's father muttered softly, his face full of conflict.

"Listen to me," Lin Chuan continued with a smile, "Based on a freight rate of two yuan per ton per kilometer, a trip would cost about two hundred yuan."

This is under full load conditions; even if a boat is only seven or eight tenths full, it would still have over a hundred passengers.

Lin Chuan's understanding is that, under the current circumstances, it's already good enough if the vehicle isn't overloaded; it's rare to find a vehicle that isn't fully loaded.

Lin Chuan turned to Li Jianshe: "Uncle, if it were a 100-ton motorboat, how much time and fuel would it take to travel this distance?"

After a moment of thought, Li Jianshe slowly said, "I think such a ship should be equipped with two engines of around 150 liters each, so that it can reach a speed of 15 kilometers per hour."

Based on the route you described, it would take seven or eight hours to go there, and more than ten hours to go round trip.

"The fleet's boats are currently refueling for 48 cents a liter. These boats are gas guzzlers; a round trip uses about a hundred liters of fuel."

Lin Chuan nodded, quickly calculating in his mind, and said, "If we change the people but not the boat, and make one trip a day, we can earn five or six thousand a month."

The costs are fuel and labor. Fuel costs about ten yuan a day, and you can break even in about six months.

That's equivalent to earning back the cost of a boat in six months. Even if it's slower, we won't lose money in a year, right?

"Is it really as good as you say?" Mr. Lin asked, his face full of surprise.

Wang Pusheng nodded silently. "Xiao Chuan is right. Some people over there already have their own boats."

Li Jianshe hissed, not paying attention to the fact that he had been burned by the pipe before he came to his senses.

His eyes gleamed with excitement: "Xiao Chuan, I think it's doable. Even if it takes a year to deliver goods, it's still better than toiling in the fields for a living."

"Xiao Chuan, your idea is good, but where are you going to borrow so much money?"

"Li Suanpan had tried to get a loan from the credit union before, but the maximum amount he got was only fifty yuan." Wang Pusheng shook his head with a wry smile.

Lin Chuan also knew about this matter. The rural cooperative credit unions left over from the People's Commune era launched the "Member Production Cost Loan" policy.

The credit limit is generally 30-200 yuan, with a term of six months to one year.

"Uncle, I know what you're saying. I don't plan to go through the credit union's policy." Lin Chuan smiled and said, "Do you still remember the aquatic product cooperative?"

Our Qingpingzhou is an island in the middle of the river, and transportation has always been a problem. We can set up a transportation cooperative and attach it to the production team.

The government has always had support policies for agricultural machinery, and we can easily get the project approved through the village.

We'll then use agricultural machinery loan policies to buy the boat, and we'll do it legally and compliantly. We won't be afraid of fines, we won't have to resort to illegal means to haul goods, and our safety is guaranteed.

In fact, when Lin Chuan first started developing Canhong Island, he planned to use agricultural machinery loans to raise start-up capital. However, after the profits from the sea bass, he temporarily put this idea aside.

"Is this true?" Wang Pusheng's eyes lit up, and Li Jianshe couldn't help but smile.

"That's good, and there's a policy that allows agricultural machinery loans to be interest-free, but I'm not quite sure how to get it yet," Lin Chuan said, throwing out another piece of good news.

Upon hearing this, Li Jianshe perked up and immediately said, "I'll go ask your Uncle Jianguo to get this; he's quite familiar with it."

"Then the only remaining issue is the boat," Lin Chuan said with a smile, looking at Wang Pusheng.

"Uncle, you're familiar with this area. Why don't you go and look for a suitable boat? If you find one, we'll buy it."

Wang Pusheng nodded solemnly, "Don't worry, Xiao Chuan. I'll go to Chongming tomorrow to ask around."

Seeing that the purchase of the ship was basically settled, Li Jianshe and Wang Pusheng bid farewell with smiles on their faces.

Lin's father closed the door and turned to look at Lin Chuan with worry: "Son, even if this cargo ship is highly profitable, our family has invested so much in Canhong Island, we can't just give up."

"That's right, Xiaochuan, your father is right. We can't just do things haphazardly, or we'll end up neglecting both sides." Lin's mother put down her needlework, her face full of worry.

"Father, Mother, don't worry, our family can just contribute money to the transportation team," Lin Chuan explained to his parents with a smile.

"Canhong Island is the foundation of our family. If we manage it well, it's no exaggeration to say that it's a gold mine."

From now on, Uncle Wang and Uncle Li will be the main operators of this transport ship, and our family will just hold a share and receive a larger share of the income.

Moreover, I'm thinking that once the vegetables on the island are harvested and we have our own boat, we can sail it to Shanghai Port.

Shanghai is a big city, full of wealthy people. If we sell our vegetables to them, we're sure we can make more money.

Inside the house, the old man, listening to the conversation in the main room, silently took off the clothes he had just put on and smiled with satisfaction.

The next day, early morning.

After the people who had come to register for today's work dispersed, Lin Chuan was called to a meeting room by team leader Li Jianguo.

"Xiao Chuan, the agricultural technician sent by the county is arriving today. The team will be responsible for entertaining him. You can come with him."

The accommodation will be arranged next to your literacy classroom, so you can ask them for help more often.

After speaking, the team leader turned to Accountant Zhao, who was standing to the side, and earnestly instructed, "Comrade Su Yanqiu, sent by the County Agricultural Research Institute."

But since they are genuine college students, we must treat them with utmost hospitality.

Please show some respect. College students are easily embarrassed. Let me tell you all, don't say anything inappropriate or joking that might make people lose face.

"Hey, look at what you're saying. We're just curious to see what these college students are really like."

Does it mean they have an extra eye or an extra leg? We can't let them lose face!

"Even though he's not a college graduate from our village, we still cherish him like a treasure," said Li Xiulan, the women's director, with a smile in her eyes and a pursed mouth.

"Hey, if it has more legs, it'll just be a toad! We all have one nose, two eyes, and two legs, so it's not any different from us," Accountant Zhao chimed in.

"You think you can compare to college students? Even Xiao Chuan is better than you. Even if he's a toad, he's a golden toad painted with gold paint."

You, at most, have a few more tumors on your head, yet you pretend to be knowledgeable. Isn't that right, Xiaochuan?

Li Xiulan rolled her eyes at Accountant Zhao, then turned to Lin Chuan and teased him with a smile.

Lin Chuan awkwardly touched his nose, wondering to himself, "How am I supposed to explain this? How am I supposed to explain that I've become a toad?"

"Hey, why are you swearing at me like that..." Accountant Zhao's lips twitched, about to offer an explanation.

At this moment, Li Jianguo raised his voice and interrupted, "Alright, alright! Comrade Su Yanqiu will probably arrive around noon. Everyone, go do what you need to do."

Accountant Zhao pushed up his glasses with a hint of helplessness: "Captain, what's the standard for reception?"

"Follow the old rules, no special treatment, but we absolutely cannot be negligent either," Li Jianguo said, tapping his pipe as he spoke.