Back to 1980: Farming the Sea and Expanding the Island

Liang Wenwu also tried it. The boy was stronger, so it was more difficult for him to control, and he ended up getting a lot of mud splattered on his shoes, but he had a lot of fun.

Lin's parents and Lin Xuewu went to shed number two to do the same inspection and maintenance work.

In the spinach patch, the green was more prominent, and many had already unfolded two round cotyledons the size of a fingernail, so tender that they looked as if you could squeeze water out of them.

The old man then carried a bucket to the sweet water well to fetch water for everyone's drinking.

More than an hour later, the initial inspection, water replenishment, and pest control work was completed.

Everyone gathered in the shady spot of the thatched hut next to the sweet water well to rest.

The well water was clear and sweet. Scooping it up with a gourd ladle and taking a sip was refreshing and invigorating, as if all the heat and fatigue from the journey had been washed away.

"This well water is truly a treasure; the more you drink, the better it tastes," Lin Xuewu exclaimed.

Lin's father took out a small earthenware basin from the small shack where they kept watch at night.

Lifting the lid reveals several sweet potatoes, roasted to a golden brown color and emitting a rich, sweet aroma.

"They were roasted in the ashes of the stove last night, perfect as a snack."

Liang Wenwu, Li Jiaye, Xiaoman, and Shui Houzi cheered and surrounded them.

The roasted sweet potatoes were piping hot. When you broke them open, the yellow flesh inside was steaming hot, and incredibly sweet and soft.

Xiaoman and Liang Wenwu ate until their mouths were covered in burnt bits of food, making them look like two little kittens.

During the break, Li Jiaye suddenly pulled a small gadget out of his pocket in a mysterious manner. It was a short flute made of thin bamboo tubes, with one end blocked and several small holes on the side.

"Look at my 'Moorhen Flute'!" he said, proudly showing off as he brought the flute to his lips, took a deep breath, and deftly pressed the finger holes.

Suddenly, a lifelike bird song rang out, sometimes short and crisp, sometimes melodious and long, and it really did sound a bit like the call of a moorhen.

"Li Lao Er, when did you get this?" The water monkey was dumbfounded and subconsciously touched his waist; the thing was still there.

"It's fine if you have one, but I can't have one too," Li Jiaye said smugly.

Xiaoman and Liang Wenwu's eyes lit up immediately, and they forgot about eating sweet potatoes and surrounded Li Jiaye.

"Brother Jiaye! How did you do that? Teach me!"

"Amazing! It sounds just like a real bird!"

Li Jiaye became even more pleased with himself and began to explain how to select bamboo tubes, how to make holes, and how to control one's breath.

Lin Chuan watched from the side. Li Jiaye was definitely good at this. In his previous life, he relied on this skill to make a name for himself, but he went astray.

Unexpectedly, things started to look promising at this time.

At noon, everyone cooked mixed grain rice on the island. Although the dishes were simple, the sweet water from the well made them taste refreshing.

The afternoon sun remained warm.

Lin's parents and Lin Xuewu continued to tidy up the land around the greenhouse, planning to clear out a small plot to try planting the green manure seeds given by Su Yanqiu.

Lin Chuan then smiled at the boys and said, "Come on, I'll take you to the eastern mudflats and see what good things our coastal treasure trove has to offer."

The group was naturally happy to go, and they walked eastward along the path they had made.

On the east side of Canhong Island, there is a relatively flat mudflat. After the tide recedes, the moist mud and sand are exposed, shimmering in the sunlight.

The ecology here is incredibly rich.

The little crabs swaggered around in the shallow puddles, but as soon as they saw people, they would quickly dart sideways into their mud burrows.

A small fish, locally called a mudskipper, hops around in the puddles.

The mud was covered with various beautiful seashells, including the fan-shaped shells of clams, the thick and rough shells of oysters, and some small spiral snails whose names I didn't know.

"The seashells here are so intact and beautiful, much better than those in Beitan." Xiaoman and Liang Wenwu exclaimed as if they had discovered a new continent.

Xiaoman picked up a palm-sized, beautifully iridescent empty clam shell and exclaimed in delight.

Before Lin Chuan and his group arrived on Canhong Island, almost no one came here, let alone these seashells that could be seen everywhere.

Unlike the beaches and islands of Qingpingzhou, which are frequented by people every day, the nicer ones are often picked up and used as decorations.

When he was in school, Lin Chuan often secretly picked up some pretty seashells and brought them to school to give away.

"Yes, there are plenty of these empty shells," Lin Chuan said with a smile, taking a look at them. "Later, once the mudflats in Beitan are properly planned, we'll raise these shellfish there too."

"Raising seashells?" Liang Wenwu asked curiously.

"Yes, just like planting rice seedlings, we plant clam seedlings in suitable mudflats and let them grow on their own," Lin Chuan explained simply.

On the other side, Li Jiaye broke off a thin, long reed stalk from somewhere.

He then took out the sewing thread and a bent safety pin that he had prepared beforehand from his pocket, and quickly made a simple fishing tackle.

He used a small bamboo stick to dig out a few sandworms from the mud as bait and threw them into a slightly deeper puddle.

Not long after, the tip of the reed stalk suddenly sank!

"Got it!" Li Jiaye exclaimed excitedly. With a flick of his wrist, a small, silvery mullet, about the length of a palm, was pulled out of the water and thrashed about in the sunlight.

"Wow! Brother Jiaye is amazing!" Xiaoman and Liang Wenwu's admiration was palpable.

Li Jiaye chuckled, skillfully removing the fish and placing it into a small wooden bucket filled with a little seawater, which Xiaoman handed him. "An extra dish for dinner!"

Lin Chuan looked at Li Jiaye, nodded, and smiled, "You're quite skilled. Looks like you've been fishing here a lot."

Li Jiaye scratched his head and chuckled.

When Xiaoman returned home that evening, her old schoolbag was bulging.

She packed a lot of seashells she had her eye on, and a small bunch of wild chrysanthemums with small purple flowers that she had picked on the island.

Lin Chuan told her it was called sea hibiscus.

There were also some small sand crabs that she caught, which she said she would take home to improve the diet of her ducks.

When Li Jiaye arrived, he looked annoyed. Liang Wenwu begged him to make a waterhen flute for him. Unable to resist, he had no choice but to go back and make it for him, which made Shui Houzi smile.

"Dad, look at this island...it's so nice. It's alive, it feels like home." Lin's mother said softly to Lin's father, looking at the children's rosy, dirty but happy faces.

Lin's father looked back at the greenhouse and then at the sweet water well, and deeply agreed: "Yes, this island looks alive."

On the return trip, Xiaoman, who had been excited all day, finally ran out of energy.

Leaning against Lin Chuan, her head bobbing up and down, her eyelids heavy, she mumbled, "Brother... will we really be able to eat our dishes during the New Year?"

Lin Chuan put his arm around her slender shoulders to make her more comfortable, and chuckled softly, "Sure! When the first batch of spinach is ready, I'll make you spinach and egg soup, with a couple of drops of sesame oil."

Xiaoman smacked her lips in her sleep, mumbled an "Mmm," and fell into a deep sleep with a sweet smile on her face.

Liang Wenwu was also dozing off by the side of the boat, while Li Jiaye was still wide awake, fiddling with his rail flute.

The water monkey rowed the paddle diligently.

In the evening, a more energetic Liang Wenwu excitedly gestured to his family at the dinner table: "It's so warm inside the greenhouse!"

It's like summer! Xiao Chuan knows everything—thermometers, watering plants, catching snails... He even said he'll raise seashells on the mudflats in the future!

As night deepened, Qingpingzhou gradually quieted down. Outside the window, the moonlight was perfect, and the sound of the river remained unchanged.

Only the occasional bark of a dog echoed quietly through the village, seemingly in response.