Back to 1980: Farming the Sea and Expanding the Island

Before the crowd on the dock could recover from the shock of the large ship, the sound of machinery came from the east side of the river.

A small motorboat is heading towards the dock.

"Another ship is coming?"

"Where is this ship from? Lin Chuan and his group didn't buy two, did they?" the man exclaimed in surprise.

"Where? Where?" People on the dock and on the boat craned their necks to look around curiously.

The small motorboat hadn't expected the entire dock to be almost completely occupied by large ships. It hesitated and slowed down on the river, its bow swaying erratically. It took quite a while before it finally docked at a gap away from the large ships.

As soon as the boat came to a stop and the gangplank was set up, Su Yanqiu was lifted ashore. Behind her were three people dressed in similar clothes, two younger and one older.

They were all carrying or shouldering wooden crates.

Lin Chuan, with his sharp eyes, spotted Su Yanqiu at a glance, his eyes lit up, and he quickly pulled Li Jianguo along to greet her.

Lin Chuan knew Su Yanqiu would come when he received the last letter, but he didn't expect it to be such a coincidence that she would arrive on the same day as the ship from the transport team.

"Comrade Su, hello, hello!" Li Jianguo quickly stepped forward to greet him.

Lin Chuan followed behind with a smile, greeting everyone.

"Captain Li, Xiao Chuan."

Su Yanqiu adjusted his glasses, a gentle smile on his face, and looked at the dock in front of him, saying, "I didn't expect it to be so lively here today."

As he spoke, he pointed to the transport ship in front of him and asked in surprise, "This is the ship you bought, right?"

"That's right, it's quite a coincidence, we just picked him up today." Li Jiaguo nodded with a smile.

"Comrade Su, who are these people?"

Su Yanqiu then remembered and immediately introduced, "Captain Li, this is Zhang Cheng, a technician from the Provincial Academy of Agricultural Sciences."

These two are Comrade Liu and Comrade Wang from our county's agricultural research institute. We're here to finalize the details regarding the observation points.

The words "observation point" were like a stone dropped into the river.

The villagers who had been discussing the large ship perked up their ears. A few who were standing nearby involuntarily moved closer.

Li Suanpan somehow managed to squeeze to the front row, standing on tiptoe, his eyes darting around at the wooden boxes and instruments that the people behind Su Yanqiu were carrying.

"Great news, great news!" Li Jianguo laughed loudly. "Let's go to the brigade headquarters to talk."

"No, Captain Li." Su Yanqiu waved his hand, glanced at the time, and said, "Time is tight. Besides the on-site investigation of Canhong Island, we also need to rush to other communes."

"By the way, I've also brought the relevant documents, seeds, and basic equipment. Today, we also need to finalize the location of the experimental field."

As he spoke, he looked at Lin Chuan and smiled, "Xiao Chuan, this time the province will set up an observation point on Canhong Island, and the Provincial Academy of Agricultural Sciences will be there to set up a sign."

Thank you for your assistance in this observation of the tidal flat management project. The county will also appoint you as a grassroots observer, with a fixed subsidy of fifteen yuan.

Su Yanqiu paused for a moment, then added, "Although there won't be a subsidy for official observers, the county will provide other subsidies to support them."

"Fifteen dollars?"

"Every month!"

"There are other subsidies as well!"

Someone in the crowd gasped.

They did absolutely nothing, just sat on the island and earned 15 yuan a month for free, which is equivalent to half a month's work points for them!

Li Suanpan's expression changed instantly. He took half a step forward, gurgled in his throat as if he wanted to say something, but then swallowed it back.

Several other women exchanged glances and whispered amongst themselves.

Lin Chuan laughed and said, "Brother Su, just follow the arrangements above. When are we going to the island?"

Fifteen yuan doesn't matter much to Lin Chuan right now; what matters most is having the sign of the Provincial Academy of Agricultural Sciences hanging on his island.

"Let's go now," Su Yanqiu said with a smile. "Get on our ship, and after we've finished looking around, we'll head to the next place."

Su Yanqiu and his companions paid no attention to the villagers' gossip. After chatting with Li Jianguo for a few minutes, they bid farewell to everyone, took Lin Chuan, boarded the boat, and left.

Seeing this, Lin's father, along with the water monkey, went to the small dock and rowed a wooden boat towards Canhong Island.

As I passed by Li Suanpan, I didn't stop and caught a glimpse of his lips being pressed together so tightly they were almost white.

The crowd on the dock had not yet dispersed when the small boat left the shore.

Li Jianguo was surrounded by several people asking him all sorts of questions. He waved his hand, his voice drifting intermittently across the water: "This is a provincial project... how it's selected is up to the higher-ups... what's there to be jealous of!"

Canhong Island looks different than when Su Yanqiu last visited.

The two greenhouses gleamed with a soft white reflection in the sunlight, and the open space next to them was neatly prepared, with the freshly turned soil showing a dark brown color.

On the roof of the thatched shed next to the sweet water well, a few washed clothes were hanging out to dry, swaying gently in the wind.

"This place is becoming more and more like a proper place," Su Yanqiu said, looking around as she stepped onto the island.

Zhang Cheng was a thin man around fifty years old. He didn't talk much. After arriving on the island, he immediately took out blueprints and tools from his bag, squatted down, and began to compare them.

The two young men looked around curiously, and when they saw the greenhouse, they couldn't help but walk over and touch the plastic film covering it.

"Xiao Chuan," Su Yanqiu walked to Lin Chuan's side, opened the canvas bag she carried with her, took out a document stamped with an official red seal, and said with a smile, "This is the official approval document, keep it safe."

Lin Chuan smiled and put the document away. He had already read the attachment that Su Yanqiu had sent last time.

"There are now policies to encourage the establishment of grassroots research sites. The funding is not much, but it is allocated annually, including instrument maintenance fees, data fees, and observer allowances."

We regularly provide seeds, fertilizers, and basic experimental equipment to support appropriate planting and breeding activities.

As for the profits, all profits belong to the individual; the site will support itself.

Lin Chuan nodded, indicating that he understood. Currently, it's basically all under government support; this situation will likely be abolished around 90 years from now.

"In these five acres of experimental fields, while ensuring the completion of the agricultural research institute's observation tasks, we can also grow our own things."

As long as it doesn't affect the core observation data.

For example, we can ask you to plant a salt-tolerant green manure field for soil improvement comparison, and you can intercrop some cash crops in the green manure field.

The observation points need to be maintained long-term; subsidies alone are not enough. We need to incentivize you to stay active.

Zhang Cheng then stood up, dusted off his hands, and walked over.

"Mr. Su, I think that piece of land to the east is quite nice." He spoke with a slight northern accent and quickly.

"The terrain is flat, close to a water source, and soil samples show a clear salinity gradient, making it representative. Five acres should be enough."

The group walked together to the plot of land he had mentioned.

This is a relatively flat sandy loam area located on the east side of the greenhouse, near the waist of the island.

The remaining reed stubble has been cleared away, leaving the ground bare.

"This will do." Su Yanqiu measured a few steps with her feet, then turned to Lin Chuan. "What do you think?"

"Okay." He looked around and nodded. "The drainage here is good, and it's close to the well, so watering is convenient."

"Alright." Su Yanqiu took out lime powder and small wooden stakes from the toolbox and began to draw lines on the ground.

Two young men came over to help, one pulling the measuring tape and the other driving the piles.

The lime line drew a neat rectangle on the land, standing out prominently against the brown soil.