Back to 1980: Farming the Sea and Expanding the Island

After leaving Wang Pusheng's house, Lin Chuan carried the half-empty basket and headed towards Uncle Li's house.

Uncle Li's door was half open, and the courtyard was quiet. Lin Chuan called out "Third Aunt," and a response came from inside the house.

Third Aunt lifted the curtain and came out, her hands still covered in flour, apparently from making steamed buns. Seeing it was Lin Chuan, she quickly wiped her hands on her apron: "Little Chuan's here! Come in and sit down."

"No need to sit, Third Aunt." Lin Chuan took two rice cakes out of the basket and handed them over. "I made these the day before yesterday. You and Third Uncle can have a taste."

"Oh dear, I can't accept this!" Auntie San took the rice cake with a smile on her face. "Wait here, Auntie will get you something."

He turned and went inside, returning shortly with a small cloth bag, which he stuffed into Lin Chuan's arms without a word: "Homegrown peanuts, freshly roasted, smell delicious!"

"Thank you, Auntie." Lin Chuan accepted it with a smile without refusing.

"Where's Uncle San? Isn't he home?"

"They went to the mudflats to see if they could catch some seafood to have as an extra dish for dinner," Auntie said with a smile.

After leaving Uncle Li's house, Lin Chuan found himself with a few more things in his pockets. He turned a corner, eating peanuts along the way, and headed towards Captain Li Jian's house.

I must say, these peanuts taste really good.

The team leader's house is the most lively.

Li Jianguo was disciplining his son in the yard when he saw Lin Chuan arrive, at which point he stopped.

Li Jianmin looked displeased and went back to his room in silence.

"Xiao Chuan's here! Come in quickly!" Aunt Li greeted him warmly. "Perfect timing, I just fried some fried dough sticks, have a taste!"

Several people were sitting in the main room: Accountant Zhao, Warehouse Keeper Lao Chen, and a few experienced workers from the team.

Several sheets of paper were spread out on the table, and teacups were steaming, clearly indicating that they were discussing something.

"Xiao Chuan, have a seat." Li Jianguo pulled over a chair. "You can listen to what's going on."

Lin Chuan took the rice cakes out of the basket, and Aunt Li took them, thanking him repeatedly. She then turned around and went to the kitchen to get a plate of fried dough sticks and brought them out.

Li Jianguo lit a cigarette and took a deep drag: "Where were we? Oh, the household responsibility system."

Two years ago, some small villages in Anhui spontaneously started a household contract responsibility system after experiencing natural disasters.

It wasn't until September 1980 that the higher authorities issued documents such as "Several Issues Concerning Further Strengthening and Improving the Agricultural Responsibility System" and related policies.

The first mention of "contracting production to households" and "contracting work to households" affirms that it is a responsibility system under the leadership of the collective economy, which also marks the legalization of the pilot program.

This wind has now reached their county and Qingpingzhou.

Accountant Zhao picked up the thread: "In the fishing village of Yinyang Commune, they implemented a 'contracting production to the boat' system, which can be considered a pilot project for the whole county."

I heard it's working well; the fishermen are incredibly enthusiastic, setting out before dawn and practically living and eating on the boat.

"Yes." Old Chen, the storekeeper, tapped his pipe.

"Now everyone's chanting that slogan, 'Pay enough to the state, keep enough for the collective, and the rest is yours,' which sounds pretty inspiring."

Li Jianguo frowned and took another drag of his cigarette: "It's exciting, but the situation in Qingpingzhou is different."

They are a pure fishing village, while we are a semi-agricultural, semi-fishing village with such a large mudflat.

If we really have to divide it, how? Boats are easy to divide, land is easy to divide, but how do we calculate the mudflats? How do we calculate the reed marshes?

"And then there's Canhong Island." Accountant Zhao glanced at Lin Chuan, "The island Xiao Chuan is currently managing. If the land is contracted out to individual households, who will own that island?"

"Canhong Island is part of the 'Four Wastelands' policy and has nothing to do with subcontracting to individual households. There are still several islands around here that no one has claimed yet. I would definitely support anyone who wants one," Li Jianguo said.

Silence fell over the room.

Lin Chuan listened quietly, but he understood perfectly well.

In the previous life, the household contract responsibility system was officially implemented in Qingpingzhou around the Spring Festival of 1982.

Back then, the team was in an uproar over how to divide the boats, land, mudflats, and even drying yards. The argument lasted all winter.

"We'll have to look into this further." Li Jianguo stubbed out his cigarette. "The documents from above say we can try it, but they don't say it has to be done next year."

Let's get a clear picture of the situation first, and not rush into anything.

The group discussed for a while, mainly about which brigade was doing what and what rumors were circulating about which group.

After listening for a while, Lin Chuan saw that the topic had circled back to the same point, so he got up to say goodbye.

When I came out of the team leader's house, the basket was empty and replaced with various return gifts: fried peanuts, fried dough sticks, a small bag of brown sugar, and two red-skinned eggs.

Lin Chuan walked through the alley. The winter sun finally pierced through the clouds and shone on the bluestone pavement, bringing an indescribable sense of comfort.

"Brother Chuan," the water monkey saw Lin Chuan and jogged over.

"Where have you been? I didn't see you at your house just now," Lin Chuan asked with a smile, handing over a handful of roasted peanuts.

"I went to Haifeng's place, and then I just went to your house. Aunt Lin said you went to deliver rice cakes."

"Hai Feng Hui is here?"

"Yeah, it arrived last night." The water monkey took the peanuts, stuffed half into his pocket, and then peeled off the remaining one and popped it into his mouth. "Delicious."

"How's it going? Is his work in the city going well?" Lin Chuan asked as they walked.

"I can't quite put my finger on it." The water monkey scratched his head. "Haifeng... seems like a completely different person."

"What's wrong? Haifeng is doing great! I heard he's working in a textile factory," Lin Chuan said with a smile.

The water monkey scratched its head, somewhat confused: "I can't really explain it, we just used to get along really well, always laughing and joking around."

Now when we meet, he talks less, sits there with his back ramrod straight, and speaks eloquently.

Their clothes are different from ours, but they look so smart!

"He told me about the textile factory," Water Monkey continued, "saying that the machines in the factory were roaring, and that people had to stand for eight hours a day, their eyes glued to the threads."

The monthly salary is 42.5 yuan, and you can earn more by working overtime. They also said their factory has a club where you can play billiards on weekends and occasionally watch movies.

The water monkey's tone was tinged with envy, but even more so with confusion: "Brother Chuan, do you think life in the city is good?"

"I'll talk to Uncle Jian Guo later and ask him to invite some staff to show movies on our island. Our island is really nice; we haven't seen a movie there in a long time."

Lin Chuan didn't say whether it was good or bad, as it depends on the person, and changed the subject with a smile.

"Really!" The water monkey's eyes lit up, and it exclaimed with delight.

"Give it a try."

Lin Chuan remembers that this July, a movie that people still talk about decades later was released.

This movie caused a great sensation, achieving very high box office with a ticket price of 25 cents, and it was also the first domestic romance film.

The film tells the story of Zhou Yun, who lives in the United States, returning to China for a trip and meeting Geng Hua in Lushan. The two fall in love at first sight.

After going through various twists and turns, they finally came together in a romantic love story.

The male and female leads in the drama fall in love amidst the beautiful scenery of Mount Lu. Zhou Yun's fashionable attire and the pure and beautiful feelings between the two left a deep impression on the audience.

It is said that there is a movie theater on the top of Mount Lu that shows only this one movie every night, and tourists can watch it for free.

Lin Chuan had never been to Mount Lu in his previous life, nor had he ever properly watched the entire series.

I watched the whole thing on short videos, and almost everyone knows the lines from the show.

Another movie, released two years later, was equally classic and remained incredibly popular decades later, especially for that line: "Old Xu, do you want a wife?"