Back to 1980: Farming the Sea and Expanding the Island

The next day, as soon as the morning light pierced the thin mist over the river, Li Jianguo changed into his half-new Zhongshan suit, buttoning it all the way up to the top.

Standing at the entrance of the brigade headquarters, watching Li Jianshe and Wang Pusheng pack the last document into a canvas bag, he said in a deep voice, "Let's go."

The three of them boarded the earliest ferry and headed towards the commune.

Having figured things out, Lin Chuan went to the island with his father, mother, and grandfather to continue tidying up the greenhouse.

Outside the shed, Lin's father was using a hoe to tamp down the windbreak soil along the edge of the shed. The soil was mixed with gravel, making it more compact than ordinary soil.

Lin's mother stood at the entrance of the shed with a bamboo basket on her shoulder, which contained sifted seeds, a few pieces of old cotton cloth, and ashes from the previous burning of wasteland.

Inside the shed, Wang Daopu and Li Jiaye were diligently raking the sandy soil that had just been turned over, following Lin Chuan's instructions.

Both of them had beads of sweat on their foreheads and would occasionally raise their hands to wipe the mud off their faces.

"Brother Chuanzi, I've leveled it all as you said. This sandy soil is different from the soil where we used to grow sweet potatoes. It's really hard to rake it."

Li Jiaye straightened up, spat into his palm, and rubbed his aching back.

"Brother Chuan, we've leveled it all out. What's next?" Water Monkey straightened up and looked at Lin Chuan, asking.

Lin Chuan squatted in the ground of shed number one, rubbed the sandy soil between his fingers, and then brought it to his nose to smell it. After confirming that there was no strong salty or fishy smell, he nodded in satisfaction.

In his previous life, he had seen a lot of agricultural planting data in the laboratory and was very familiar with the nature of the land on this island.

Although the soil is well-aerated, it has poor water and fertilizer retention capacity, resulting in low yields of ordinary crops. It definitely needs improvement.

"Distribute the seeds first." Lin Chuan straightened up and took the bamboo basket handed to him by his mother. Inside were two packets of seeds.

"As we agreed before, celery will be grown in greenhouse number one and spinach in greenhouse number two."

"Brother Chuan, this roc is really amazing. It's only been in there a short time and it's already getting hot. It must be so comfortable to stay here in winter," the water monkey laughed.

"This film can retain heat, making the temperature inside the greenhouse seven or eight degrees higher than outside. That's one of the advantages of greenhouses," Lin Chuan explained with a smile.

"Hmm," the water monkey nodded, looked at Lin Chuan and hesitated for a moment, but finally couldn't help but ask, "Brother Chuan, aren't you worried about Uncle Jian Guo?"

Yesterday, his father came home furious and berated Zhao Chenghu, calling him a scoundrel and refusing to eat a single bite of food.

This was the first time in so many years that he had seen his father so angry, and he felt both angry and worried.

Seeing Lin Chuan as usual this morning, unlike his father who was furious, I felt relieved.

Perhaps it was too hot in the shed, and the matter had been weighing on his mind, so after much thought, Water Monkey finally asked the question.

Li Jiaye, who was standing nearby, also perked up his ears. His family situation was similar. Although his father had eaten, his face remained dark, and he had even scolded his older brother.

Lin's mother glanced over here but didn't say much.

Lin Chuan glanced at them and chuckled, "You two are really keen on this. Why don't you two go on board to haul cargo too?"

"It's not Brother Chuan, I'm worried..." Water Monkey scratched his head and said.

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. Let's just wait patiently for news from your dad and Uncle Jianguo," Lin Chuan said with a smile, trying to comfort him.

"Yes, I trust Brother Chuan," Water Monkey said solemnly.

"Brother Chuanzi, me too..." Li Jiaye quickly nodded in agreement.

Lin Chuan smiled and nodded, and as he spoke, he had already divided the seeds, handing a packet to Wang Daopu and Li Jiaye respectively.

These seeds were superior varieties that he obtained from Chongming through persistent persuasion; they had higher yields and better taste than the old varieties commonly used in the village.

I wanted to get some seedlings to plant directly, but unfortunately there weren't any available, so I had to buy seeds and grow my own seedlings.

"Monkey, you and Jiaye will be in charge of the celery in shed number one, and you and Dad will be in charge of the spinach in shed number two."

First, we'll soak the seeds, then prepare the land and make beds. I'll demonstrate the steps once, and you can follow along.

Lin's mother and father, who had just walked in, responded to each other, while the old man watched from the side, ready to lend a hand.

After all, farming often requires bending over. The old man is not in good health; he can only pass things around, but no one wants him to bend over to grow vegetables.

The old man had already boiled warm water and filled two large porcelain basins.

Lin Chuan first poured the celery seeds into a basin, with the water temperature around 30 degrees Celsius.

He stirred the seeds with his hand: "Soaking the seeds is crucial. The temperature cannot be too high or too low. If it is too high, the seeds will be scalded to death, and if it is too low, the germination will be slow."

Soak celery seeds for 4 hours; spinach seeds, with their thicker skin, need to be soaked for 6 hours, remembering to stir them several times during this process.

"Xiao Chuan, come over and check if the water temperature for the spinach seeds is right?" Lin Chuan responded and went over, dipping his finger into another porcelain basin to test the temperature.

He nodded and said, "That's perfect. Remember to stir it every half hour, Amu, so that the seeds are soaked evenly."

Wang Daopu and Li Jiaye came over to look and asked curiously, "Is there such a thing? In the past, when we farmed, we just scattered the seeds directly into the ground."

"That's an old method. The germination rate is low, and the seeds don't grow evenly," Lin Chuan said while stirring the seeds. "We need to farm scientifically. We have to follow the rules every step of the way to achieve high yields."

"Brother Chuan, should we keep the warm water for soaking the seeds at a constant temperature?"

"No need, just soak it at room temperature. The important thing is not to let the water cool down completely."

While the seeds were soaking, Lin Chuan began to prepare the land and make ridges according to the previously reserved locations and the location of the irrigation system.

"The beds need to be leveled and finely prepared, without large clods of soil, otherwise the seeds won't take root properly," Lin Chuan said as he worked, his movements skillful and efficient.

Four hours passed quickly, and the celery seeds were soaked.

Lin Chuan scooped out the seeds, wrapped them in damp gauze, and placed them in a warm place to germinate. Then he went to check on the spinach seeds that his father and the others had.

The two elders were naturally more skilled at doing things than Lin Chuan and the others; they just hadn't handled seeds like this before.

Now that I understand the ins and outs, I am more patient and meticulous in my work than Lin Chuan and his two companions.

"Mm." Lin Chuan checked the water temperature. "Soak it for another two hours, then wrap it in gauze to encourage germination."

When germinating seeds, keep the gauze moist, but not soggy or soaked in water, otherwise the seeds will rot.

During the break between soaking the seeds, Lin Chuan helped his father prepare the land and make ridges.

He used a hoe to mark out furrows, leaving shallow ditches about ten centimeters deep between them: "The ditches are for watering and drainage. Sandy soil is prone to waterlogging, so they can drain water promptly after rain."

Next, he evenly spread the wood ash on the furrow and raked it in: "Dad, wood ash can retain water, supplement potassium fertilizer, and also prevent insects. It's better than chemical fertilizer and doesn't cost any money."

Mr. Lin nodded, indicating that he understood.

In the following time, the group divided the work clearly. Lin Chuan and his father were responsible for refining and tidying up the furrows in shed number one, turning the soil clods into fine noodles.

Lin's mother then went to prepare fine soil to cover the seeds and a watering can for watering. The watering can was a modified old kerosene can by Lin Chuan, so that the water flow would be finer and would not wash away the seeds.