Back to 1980: Farming the Sea and Expanding the Island

Lin Chuan smiled and shook his head, stepped onto the boat, and gently flicked her nose: "You talk too much. Hold on tight, let's set sail."

Xiaoman wrinkled her nose, snorted, and turned her head away, but the corners of her mouth were turned up.

Liang Wenwu watched Xiaoman and Lin Chuan interact, his eyes filled with envy, and he was no longer so reserved.

Two wooden boats left the dock one after the other.

Lin Chuan's boat carried him, Xiao Man, Li Jiaye, and Liang Wenwu, while the boat with the water monkey carried Lin's mother, the old man, and Lin Xuewu.

The wooden oars sliced ​​through the clear, cool river water, making a rhythmic "ooh-nai, ooh-nai" sound that carried far in the tranquil morning light.

As the boat sailed on the river, the morning mist had completely dissipated, the autumn sun shone high and far, and the river stretched out in a vast expanse.

In the distance, early-setting fishing boats are casting their nets, the white nets drawing graceful arcs in the air.

A few seagulls followed the stern of the boat, occasionally swooping down to snatch small fish from the water.

Xiaoman and Liang Wenwu lay on either side of the boat's edge, their little hands reaching into the river water.

The river water was cool and refreshing; the feeling of it slipping through my fingers was wonderful. Xiaoman quickly launched into her endless stream of "why" questions.

"Brother, are our spinach seedlings about the size of a fingernail by now? Are they growing faster than the celery?"

"Are celery very sensitive to cold? Won't it get cold in the greenhouse at night?"

"Brother, do you think sparrows might sneak in through the gaps in the plastic film and steal the seedlings? They're so naughty! They stole our rice that we used to dry!"

Lin Chuan rowed the boat slowly from behind, the river breeze ruffling the black hair on his forehead. He answered patiently.

"Spinach sprouts a little faster than celery and is more cold-resistant. But right now they're just sprouting and are quite delicate."

"The shed is covered with cotton cloth at night, and I've calculated that the temperature can be maintained. If it gets colder in a few days, we may have to think of other methods."

"We definitely need to protect ourselves from birds, and we need to repair any damage to the plastic film promptly. Once the seedlings get bigger, we might have to make a few scarecrows."

Xiaoman listened attentively, occasionally letting out an "oh," as if she was trying hard to digest the knowledge in her little head.

Liang Wenwu listened intently, his eyes shining. He thought that Brother Xiao Chuan knew a lot, even more in detail than the knowledge taught by school teachers.

Lin's mother, on another boat, looked this way and laughed, raising her voice: "You silly girl, you have more questions than the cadres who come down from the production team to inspect the work!"

Xiaoman turned around, wrinkled her nose in Amu's direction, and said, "I just want to know! I can only help if I know!"

After about half an hour of sailing, the outline of Canhong Island became increasingly clear.

The mudflats to the north, which they had simply repaired, came into view.

Two brand-new plastic greenhouses, reflecting the sunlight, stand out like two giant pearls in the center of the barren island where yellow and green meet.

"We're here! We're here!" Xiaoman pointed excitedly.

The boat docked at a makeshift wooden pier.

Lin's father, Lin Wanghai, was already busy near the greenhouse, using a shovel to repair the drainage ditch outside the greenhouse.

Hearing the noise, he straightened up, shaded his eyes with his hand, and looked over with a smile.

"Dad!" Xiaoman was the first to jump off the boat. The boat rocked and she stumbled, but was caught by Lin Chuan, who jumped off right after her.

"Slow down," Lin Chuan instructed.

"Okay!" Xiaoman steadied herself and ran towards Lin's father. "Dad! We're here! How are the seedlings?"

Lin's father wiped the sweat from his brow with the towel draped around his neck and smiled at the large group of people: "Wow, it's quite lively today. Wenwu is here too? Welcome, welcome."

Liang Wenwu greeted him somewhat shyly, "Hello, Uncle Lin," but his eyes couldn't help but drift towards the two large greenhouses that were gleaming in the sunlight.

"Dad, was everything alright in the shed last night?" Lin Chuan asked as he walked over.

"It's nothing, I'm fine. I got up twice in the middle of the night to check, and the temperature never dropped below 15 degrees Celsius."

As Lin's father spoke, he pointed to the greenhouse, "The celery seedlings are starting to sprout, and the spinach is growing denser. I did find a few snails, so I caught them."

"Snails?" Xiaoman's sharp ears immediately picked up on the keyword. "Bad things! They only eat tender leaves! Brother, let's go catch snails!"

The group chatted and laughed as they picked up their tools and headed towards the greenhouse.

As soon as Lin Chuan lifted the heavy straw curtain door of the celery shed, a warm, moist, and earthy aroma wafted out, a stark contrast to the chill of the riverside outside.

"Wow! It's so warm!" Xiaoman exclaimed. Liang Wenwu also opened his eyes wide with curiosity; he had never been inside such a warm house in autumn.

The shed was bright, with sunlight streaming in evenly through the clean plastic film.

The ground was covered with perfectly level vegetable plots, the black soil fine and moist.

Upon closer inspection, a very fine, fuzzy green layer had indeed sprouted on the surface of the ridges; these were the young shoots of celery that had just broken through the seed coat.

Lin Chuan walked to the greenhouse pillar, took down a thermometer hanging on it, and looked at it against the light: "Twenty-two degrees. Not bad, just right for seedling growth."

Xiaoman leaned closer, stood on tiptoe, and earnestly read out the measurement: "Twenty-two... degrees. Brother, is this the best temperature?"

"Yes, celery and spinach seedlings prefer temperatures between 15 and 25 degrees Celsius; it can't be too high or too low."

Lin Chuan hung the thermometer back up and began checking the film for any damage. As he checked, he explained, "If the temperature is too high, the seedlings will grow too tall and weak; if it's too low, they won't grow and will be more susceptible to disease."

Liang Wenwu nodded as if he understood, but felt that everything Brother Xiao Chuan said made sense.

Li Jiaye was already squatting by the spinach patch, pointing to the tiny holes on a few leaves: "Brother Chuan, look, these must have been caused by the snails that Uncle Lin didn't catch properly last night!"

Xiaoman immediately became alarmed, squatted down next to Li Jiaye, her face almost touching the ground, and searched carefully: "Where is it? Where is the bad snail?"

Lin Chuan also squatted down to examine it: "Hmm, it was scraped by a snail's radula. Sandy soil is damp and attracts these things easily."

"It's alright, we can handle it manually. We can't use chemicals, otherwise the vegetables won't be clean."

As he spoke, he left the shed and returned with several sharpened bamboo strips and a small earthenware jar, saying, "Use these to gently pick up any snails you see and put them in the jar. Be careful not to damage the seedlings."

"I'll do it, I'll do it!" Xiaoman immediately took the tools and began her great mission of eliminating pests.

Liang Wenwu was also given a small bamboo stick, and like Xiaoman, he carefully brushed away the soil around the seedlings to search for them.

The two children quickly became engrossed in the activity, letting out a soft exclamation every time they spotted a snail crawling slowly.

As if they had discovered a treasure, or as if they had completed a major mission, they carefully picked it out and put it into the bottle.

Lin Chuan then began to demonstrate watering.

He took out the watering can, which was made from an old kerosene drum and was already filled with water drawn from the sweet water well.

He adjusted the spout's fine opening, turning the water into an extremely fine mist that was evenly sprinkled onto the vegetable patch.

Lin Chuan explained as he demonstrated, "Sandy soil doesn't retain water well, so you need to water it frequently, but only in small amounts each time."

After catching a few snails, Xiaoman came over and said, "Brother, let me try!"

Lin Chuan handed her the spray bottle and instructed her on how to control the pressure.

At first, Xiaoman's movements were clumsy, and the water flow was sometimes strong and sometimes weak. But with Lin Chuan's guidance, she quickly became quite proficient.