Back to 1980: Farming the Sea and Expanding the Island

The next day, Lin Chuan had just finished recording the information of the villagers who went to work that day.

Li Chunjiang, Wu Jiayong, and Zeng Youwei quickly stepped forward. Lin Chuan had noticed them lingering nearby earlier, neither registering nor leaving.

He put away his pen, looked at the three men with a calm expression, and wondered what tricks they were up to.

Li Chunjiang, with a beaming smile, said first, "Xiao Chuan, I heard that the Canhong Island you're managing is under construction. Do you see if you need any manpower? The three of us have plenty of strength and are thinking of going to lend you a hand."

When Li Chunjiang said this, he didn't blush or skip a beat, as if the conflict with Lin Chuan had never happened.

Wu Jiahe and Zeng Youwei, who were behind him, looked away and embarrassed. They were clearly reluctant to accept that Li Chunjiang had kept them waiting for Lin Chuan.

Lin Chuan raised an eyebrow slightly, finding the matter quite interesting.

In their previous lives, although they weren't irreconcilable enemies, they would always turn away and walk away when they met in public, not bothering to even glance at each other.

Looking at the group, Lin Chuan's heart stirred. Putting everything else aside, Li Chunjiang's shamelessness and style of doing things, even though he went astray in his previous life, he was still a talent in some ways.

Moreover, the conflict between the group is not irreconcilable. Now that Li Chunjiang has taken the initiative to make amends, it is a good opportunity to ease tensions.

If properly trained, these three could become qualified salespeople, which would be feasible.

Lin Chuan's mind raced, and he immediately stood up and said with a smile, "Chunjiang, the island is short of manpower. It would be great if you could come and help."

"Wait for me a moment, let me pack these things, and then we'll set off together."

"Alright, Xiao Chuan, you go ahead and get ready. We'll wait for you outside." Li Chunjiang said with a smile, and then the three of them went outside to wait.

"Brother Jiang, you said you wanted to talk to Lin Chuan, but you mean you're going to help him? He's deducted our work points before," Wu Yong couldn't help but complain.

"Yeah, Brother Jiang, it doesn't matter where you work, why insist on working for Lin Chuan?" Zeng Youwei chimed in.

"What do you know? Haven't you noticed that a lot of the things that have been happening in the village lately are related to Lin Chuan?"

"Even if that's true, so what!"

"I think Lin Chuan is about to make a fortune! We guessed before that he would become a millionaire."

Now they're building greenhouses and buying boats; it's definitely going to be a done deal in the village.

I've seen him several times these past few days, chatting and laughing with that college student agricultural technician who came down from above. I reckon there must be something good going on." Chunjiang's eyes gleamed.

After a pause, noticing that Lin Chuan hadn't come out of the house yet, he lowered his voice and said, "It hasn't been long, and the Wang family and the Li family have both gotten rich because of him."

"If we follow Lin Chuan's lead, it won't be long before we're also millionaires."

Li Chunjiang spoke with absolute certainty; he had long wanted to mend his relationship with Lin Chuan, but had never had the opportunity.

Yesterday, I heard that Lin's father had asked someone to help him on Canhong Island, and I immediately knew that this was a good opportunity.

So early this morning, he pulled Wu Jiayong and Zeng Youwei to wait for Lin Chuan at the brigade headquarters, saying that he had something to discuss with him.

He couldn't say it outright, for fear that the two of them would be unwilling and cause an unpleasant situation, which would be terrible if Lin Chuan refused again.

Now that Lin Chuan had agreed, he quickly explained to the two of them that helping out on Canhong Island wasn't free work; they would be paid.

......

On Canhong Island, Lin's father didn't mind having three more helpers. In his opinion, it was normal for young people to fight, and he had been in many fights when he was a child.

Today, Lin's father didn't go dig the soil; instead, he followed behind Li Shen, watching and learning, and then directed everyone to start working.

Lin's father stood beside the marked white line, holding a measuring tape and a wooden stake, giving instructions.

"Old Wang, you take five men and start digging from the east end! Old Chen, you six dig from the west end towards the middle! Make sure the soil is compacted!"

"Don't worry, Lao Lin!" a dark-skinned middle-aged man grinned. "We might not be good at building houses, but we can definitely dig holes!"

The group chuckled and then got to work.

Lin Chuan also chuckled and assisted from the side.

The foundation has been dug out in its basic shape, and the materials from one acre of land will be divided into two sheds for construction.

A large rectangular pit, measuring eight by forty meters, extends along the planned line.

Technician Li Shen and his two apprentices were measuring at the edge of the pit.

Seeing Lin Chuan approach, he pointed to the bottom of the pit and said, "Mr. Lin, there are a few places where the soil is uneven and needs to be compacted further, otherwise the framework will settle unevenly once it's erected."

"Okay, Technician Li, I'll take care of it right away."

Lin's father squatted down, grabbed a handful of soil, and asked, "To what standard should this soil be compacted?"

"It should leave no obvious footprints when stepped on, and it shouldn't break apart when shoveled." Li Shen took out a level from the toolbox. "Now we need to start marking the points and prepare to erect the framework."

Lin's father nodded in agreement.

On the other side, Lin Chuan was helping to support a newly erected main beam when he suddenly heard Li Shen exclaim "Eh!"

"What's wrong, Technician Li?"

"This beam..." Li Shen frowned, pointing to a steel pipe, "is a bit bent. We should see if we can replace it with a different one."

Lin Chuan leaned closer to take a look, and sure enough, there was a slight curve in the middle of the six-meter-long steel pipe.

It's hard to spot without careful inspection, but it poses a hidden danger to the overall structure.

Lin Chuan frowned. It was already difficult enough to get these steel pipes; if all else failed, he would have to make do with wood.

"Let me think of something," Lin Chuan said, moving the steel pipe to the stove next to him.

He said to the water monkey, "Monkey, get some charcoal, the kind that's thoroughly burned. Also, get a wet towel and a straight stick."

Soon, the water monkey used tongs to pick up several pieces of glowing red charcoal.

Li Chunjiang and Wu Jia also came to help. Following Lin Chuan's instructions, they suspended the bent part of the steel pipe and supported it with bricks underneath.

Lin Chuan evenly spread the charcoal fire under the bend in the steel pipe, and the intense heat distorted the air.

"You can't heat it until it's red-hot; you have to roast it slowly," Lin Chuan said, watching the steel pipe change color.

After baking for about three minutes, Lin Chuan indicated, "It's ready."

He took a straight piece of wood, placed it against the inside of the bend in the steel pipe, and said to Li Chunjiang and Wu Jia, "Push slowly in the opposite direction."

"One, two, three, push!"

The steel pipe made a slight "creaking" sound, and its curvature was straightened little by little at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"Stop!" Lin Chuan shouted, while simultaneously ordering the water monkey to remove the charcoal fire.

Next, apply a damp towel to the heated area. Once the towel is removed, the steel pipe is straight as before.

Li Shen watched from the side, gesturing with the steel pipe for a long time, looking at Lin Chuan with amazement.

"Mr. Lin, you have this skill too."

"I read it in a book, I know the principle, but this is the first time I've tried it." Lin Chuan wiped the sweat from his forehead and smiled. "Luckily, I didn't mess it up."

"Amazing! Ogawa can even do this!"

"Scholars are just different; they're so smart!"

This little incident unexpectedly enlivened the atmosphere at the construction site. Li Chunjiang and the Wu family couldn't help but admire Lin Chuan's knowledge immensely.