The golden age began in 1977

Chapter 217 A Great Harvest from the Beach Net, This Time It's a Sure Win
The midday sun was very strong.

The seaweed roof of Liu Wangcai's house gleamed in the autumn sun, and the dried fish and strings of dried chili peppers hanging from the eaves swayed in the sea breeze.

Two stacks of firewood, one made of wheat straw and the other of corn stalks, leaned against the east wall, their fine straw dust tinged with the frost-white residue left by the sea breeze after the moisture had been dried.

Smoke billowed from the chimney on the kitchen roof, and billowing hot air shot out from the doorway.

Qian went in and greeted her, "Auntie, I'm here to freeload again."

Hearing this, Liu Wangcai's wife, who was squatting in front of the earthen stove and poking at the fire, laughed loudly: "You'd better come and freeload every day. No, how can you call this freeloading? Our Liu family is your maternal home. You're coming back to your maternal home."

Several women who had washed their hands and were about to go into the kitchen to help laughed along.

Inside the stove, pine wood crackled and sparks flew, scattering onto the dried squid drying beside the stove and releasing a smoky aroma of roasted egg whites.

"Chief Qian, don't stay here. Come on, let's go inside, hurry up and go inside." Liu Wangcai used his elbow to push open the creaking wooden door, where a newly starched blue cloth quilt was laid out on the kang mat.

Liu Wangcai's family is in much better shape this year than last year.

The old wooden table on the kang (heated brick bed) that had been used for thirty or forty years was replaced with a new one, which was coated with tung oil and looked shiny.

The blue cloth quilt was lifted, revealing the kang mat underneath.

The old kang mat, which had been patched more than a dozen times, has been replaced with a new one. The new mat has finely woven bamboo strips and feels smooth to the touch.

Another thing is that there's a new thermos in the room, and the interior walls are no longer covered in yellowish newspapers, but instead have been decorated with plastic stickers.

The changes weren't major, but you could still see the thriving atmosphere.

The overall layout of the house remained unchanged, and fishing nets still hung outside the windows, with sunlight filtering through the mesh casting diamond-shaped spots of light on the kang table.

Qian Jin sat down on the kang (heated brick bed) and said with a smile, "It's still warm."

"Then let's have some herbal tea and a watermelon." Liu Wangcai busied himself, bringing over a pot of prepared herbal tea and a large watermelon.

Qian Jin took a bite of watermelon and said, "Uncle, please tell my aunt that we still have to work this afternoon. We need to hurry up and eat before heading out to sea. Don't let her cook too much; just make sure she's full."

Liu Wangcai raised his hand and said, "You eat your food, don't worry, it won't delay anything, I know what I'm doing."

A soup of seaweed and pork ribs was simmering in the courtyard.

The steam made the wooden pot lid hiss loudly.

The salty and savory aroma, mixed with the smoke from the chimney, wafted in through the doors and windows, adding a touch of warmth and life to the house.

The muffled sound of chopping fish came from the kitchen.

Auntie swung her chipped cleaver, chopping the flounder on the cutting board into three pieces, the blood clinging to the skin dripping from the impact.

Liu Youyu said, "Oh dear, Third Aunt, what a fine fish! Why did you chop it up? You were giving the whole thing to the leader!"

"Go and talk to the captain," Auntie said without looking up.

Liu Wangcai smiled and said, "Has Yu settled things at home? Come over and sit down to have some tea with the leader."

"This is the biggest fish you caught today. Where do you have such a big plate at home? Cut it open."

"We have exactly three tables today, one dish per table."

There were many people eating lunch today.

The women who had gone out to sea returned home and tidied up before coming back.

So, in order to speed things up, a large iron pot was set up in the yard.

A steamer basket sat on the pot, and earthenware bowls were stacked into a pyramid inside the basket.

The top layer was covered with palm-sized prawns, their rostrums still adorned with strands of seaweed; the middle layer was stacked with various fresh seafood.

The flames surged, and soon steam carrying a delicious aroma filled the air.

The women brought their children over for lunch, knowing there would be fish, meat, and steamed buns, so they wanted to improve their children's meals.

Many children wandered around the stove, only to be shooed away by the adults with smiles.

In the courtyard and the kitchen, two earthen stoves were simultaneously spitting out flames.

Liu Wangcai's wife poured half a ladle of soybean oil into the iron pot. The oil droplets popped and crackled in the hot oil, making a crisp sound.

After seeing this, Aunt Li, who was quick-witted, was very envious: "You use a ladle to scoop out the cooking oil? You live such a life..."

"To entertain Chief Qian, we have to lay bare all our resources," Liu Wangcai's wife said casually.

Several steamed fish have already been arranged on a plate; today's fish is served with a hot oil dressing.

Bright green scallions and red dried chili flakes are placed on the fish, soy sauce is poured on top, and then boiling oil is poured over it. With a "sizzle", a rich aroma rises up, attracting the children watching to sniff hard.

The large iron pot in the yard was used for steaming seafood. The blue crabs were steaming until their shells turned red, the conch were swaying from the steam, the clams were opening their mouths, and the mantis shrimp were curling up...

Liu Wangcai arranged for Liu Youyu to take care of Qian Jin while he went out to deal with the octopus himself.

The old captain pinched the octopus's whiskers with his cracked fingers, and the blade cut diagonally into the Gaohuang acupoint, causing the ink to surge immediately.

Qian Jin leaned against the window and exclaimed, "What excellent craftsmanship!"

Liu Wangcai laughed heartily, then turned to Qian Jin and said, "This is called gutting, don't complain about how dirty it is."

After he finished dealing with his tasks, his wife called out, "Old man, shall we start serving the dishes?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Youyu opened the wine bottle and poured wine.

Qian Jin blocked the rim of the teacup and said, "We still have to go out to sea to work this afternoon, so why don't we just skip the tea?"

Liu Youyu looked at Liu Wangcai.

Liu Wangcai laughed and said, "This afternoon we're going to do net fishing on the beach. We don't need to go out to sea. You can come and watch. It's not dangerous at all."

"Accountant, why are you looking at me like that? Fill it up!"

Liu Youyu moved the money away from his hand and chuckled, "Come on, boss, have a drink."

It's not just men who drink it; women drink it too.

More than twenty teacups were arranged in a square on the kang table.

Liu Youyu had a strong opinion about this: "Men drink a couple of sips of wine to relieve fatigue, why are you women drinking this?"

Quick-witted Aunt Li immediately retorted, "What are you talking about? Who says only men can drink alcohol? Women can't drink?"

"You men can relieve fatigue by drinking, but we women can't?"

Liu Youyu was speechless after being rebuked, and could only mutter, "I just said something casually, and look at you, you have ten sentences waiting for me."

"One glass of wine per person? You guys are really something, this is good wine."

He felt distressed.

Qian Jin brought a lot of wine to the team, but the team leaders didn't share it privately. It was all used to entertain leaders or as gifts for guests. They didn't usually drink this kind of bottled wine.

same.

The women's men couldn't get any more water.

They came to ask for wine not for themselves, but to share it with their men so they could relax and have some fun.

The first dishes served were cold dishes, such as cold peanut salad, kelp salad with chili peppers, and jellyfish salad with cucumber.

Then came the main dish: braised sea cucumber with scallions, with whole dried salted peanuts stuffed inside the sea cucumber—a unique local way of eating it.

Sea cucumber itself has little flavor, but after being stuffed with dried salted peanuts, the peanuts become more and more fragrant with each chew. Combined with the soft and chewy texture and fresh taste of the sea cucumber, it's both delicious and nutritious.

Liu Wangcai tentatively asked Qian Jin, "Boss, there are no outsiders here, shall we eat now that the food is served?"

Qian Jin raised his glass: "Yes, let's eat quickly, everyone must be hungry."

"I had a bite on the island, it was alright," said Aunt Li, who was quick-witted and easygoing. At the same time, she quickly picked up some fried ribbonfish with her chopsticks and gave a piece to each of her son and daughter.

The child happily gnawed on the golden fish chunks with his bare hands, then looked up and smiled, "Mom, the fish bones are all fried crispy, it's so delicious."

Hearing this, Qian Jin remembered something and said, "Captain, next time I come, I'll bring you a few pressure cookers. You can use them to cook ribbonfish, and I'll teach you how to make crispy fish to sell."

"Good, good, good, that's great!" The old captain was overjoyed and quickly raised his glass. "What are we all standing around for? Toast the leader!"

While they were drinking at their table, women in blue cotton shirts at the other two tables were eating heartily from large bowls.

The chopsticks were either stuck with plump pieces of pork or chicken nuggets, and the squirrel's cheeks were bulging out like they were stuffed with pine cones.

"Director Qian, try this." Liu Wangcai picked up a steamed, translucent prawn with a crescent-shaped tail, which looked very pretty.

Qian Jin bit into the shrimp shell, and sweet juice gushed out. He took a careful bite and found a sweet taste in the shrimp meat fibers.

He thought of the frozen ribbonfish and shrimp he usually ate in the city. To be honest, if you want to eat seafood, you have to come to the fishing village.

Only when you eat in a fishing village do you realize how fresh and delicious seafood should be.

He broke open another swimming crab.

It's crab season again.

Liu Wangcai and the others opened the crab shells one after another, and then placed the crab shells in front of Qian Jin without prior arrangement.

Because they scooped out the orange-red crab roe and put it inside the crab shell.

Qian Jin waved his hand: "No, no, I can't eat crabs to fill my stomach. Comrades, that's enough. Crabs are cold in nature, and eating too many won't do."

"Then you can dip it in minced ginger." Liu Youyu immediately handed him a small bowl of minced ginger. "It's warming."

Liu Wangcai's wife lifted the lid of the earthenware jar from the outside.

The savory aroma of kelp and pork rib soup was immediately carried into the house by the sea breeze.

Some children started shouting, "It tastes like pork ribs!"

The women winked at their children, signaling them to be bold and grab the ribs when the pork rib soup was served.

When the food was actually served, they smiled helplessly.

The bowl was quite large, filled with soup and seaweed. A dozen or so chopsticks immediately went in to stir it, and in the end, there wasn't a single piece of pork rib left for each person.

Liu Wangcai's wife succinctly stated, "We bought two jin of pork ribs at the market, but it wasn't enough for the leaders."

The rib soup bowl on Qian Jin's table was full of rib meat.

Upon hearing this, he immediately waved to Aunt Li and the others who were quick-witted:
“Change the basin. These children are the future of our production team and our country. They need to eat meat to grow. If I, a grown man, were to compete with them for meat, wouldn’t that make me a corrupt official?”

The women laughed and said no, no, they were really craving the pork ribs, but none of them actually went to exchange the bowl.

They knew that Qian Jin had contributed a great deal to the production team, and they had no objection to the fact that the team would give him the best food.

Qian Jin personally got off the kang (heated brick bed) and brought up the basins from the two tables, picking out the ribs and distributing them to the two tables.

Liu Wangcai called out to him.

Qian Jin said, "It's not like I don't have meat to eat in the city, why are you giving me this?"

"I'm the boss, I'm higher-ranking than you, so you have to listen to me at the dinner table!"

Put the soup bowl back.

The children quickly started eating, while the women chuckled awkwardly.

Liu Wangcai's old face drooped long.

Qian Jin said, "The kids don't get to eat more than two pieces of pork ribs all year round. It's time for them to satisfy their cravings."

"Come on, let's have a drink. This afternoon I have to go fishing with you guys using nets. I've never seen anything like it before."

Liu Wangcai raised his glass and said, "Then you'll see when the time comes, it'll be very interesting."

"Director Qian, have some soup." The women's director ladled him a bowl of pork rib soup, the kelp knots floating in the thick broth like jellyfish. "They said you're a director now? What kind of director?"

Qian Jin scooped up a spoonful and blew on it to cool it down. It was salty and savory with a hint of sweetness: "The director who deals with foreign devils."

"Our country is about to undergo economic reforms, and we'll be responsible for doing business with foreign devils. Hmph, those foreign devils are all very cunning; they're just waiting to fool us Chinese."

"Just you wait and see how I handle them!"

He had seen it on short videos before.

In the early days of reform and opening up, enterprises across the country rushed to import production lines and technologies from abroad, only to be severely deceived.

He has already found relevant books in the mall and is just waiting to publish articles in the newspaper explaining anti-fraud stories and techniques.

Upon hearing this, everyone unanimously agreed.

Being able to deal with foreign devils is a heroic deed, and the common people admire such people the most.

Salted edamame paired with wine, the men at the main table drank until their cheeks were flushed.

After several rounds of drinks, Liu Zonghang, who was already quite drunk, took advantage of the alcohol and started dancing the Soviet sailor dance he had learned in the army.

This caused a burst of laughter from the young women and wives.

Qian Jin sat next to Liu Wangcai, listening to the equally drunk old team leader recount the hardships the production team had endured over the years:
"During the typhoon of 1963, all seven of our ships were destroyed..."

"Later, we gradually acquired a few boats, but they were all small and dilapidated. Over the years, we haven't been able to catch much with these small, dilapidated boats. The young members of the commune are no longer willing to do fishing because they can't earn work points..."

"With these two propellers, well, the little wrecked boat has been transformed into a speedboat. Now, all those young lads will be scrambling to climb aboard..."

Listening to his rambling, Qian Jin became worried: "Can we still go out to sea? How dangerous is that?"

Liu Youyu, who was chewing on fish bones, looked up and laughed: "What's the big deal? No problem."

Qian Jin pointed to Liu Zonghang, who was dancing: "What about him? Can he still drive a boat?"

Liu Youyu was unconcerned: "Yes, I can. I'll go out for a sea breeze and wash my face with seawater later, and I'll be wide awake!"

Liu Zonghang sat down and said with a smile, "Don't worry, leader, I'm not drunk. I just had a good time. I feel like there's hope for our team in the future!"

They ate and drank until after 1 a.m., when the old team leader waved his hand, smearing grease from his hands all over Liu Youyu's face.
"Let's gather the troops, and now we're going to catch fish!"

At noon, the scorching sun baked the beach outside the production team until it was scalding hot.

A group of middle-aged people in their forties and fifties boarded the ship in an orderly manner.

Fishermen of this age have both physical strength and experience, making them ideal for fishing at sea.

The roar of the propellers broke the calm sea surface, the black propellers churning up white waves and startling several white gulls that were foraging for food in the shallows.

They braved the thorns and brambles, their members exclaiming in surprise, and then they quickly and successfully arrived at Dragon Snake Island.

The seawater surrounds the island and ripples.

Qian Jin gazed at the scenery on the island and sighed inwardly.

gorgeous.

As the Red Guard No. 1 approached the mudflats, Liu Wangcai called to the men to disembark: "Comrades, let's get to work?"

The men responded in agreement and then took their fishing gear and disembarked.

The key points are the three large beach nets.

This is a long, narrow net woven from fine nylon thread, with bamboo poles tied to both ends, specifically used to catch fish in mudflats.

Twenty-three commune members carried bamboo baskets and walked towards the mudflats. Their liberation shoes crunched over the intertidal zone where seashells were piled up, startling a swarm of fiddler crabs into a frenzy.

At the very front was Liu Youguang, an old acquaintance of Qian Jin.

He lived up to his name today, coming to work with his back bare.

Its bronze back was covered with calluses and scars, all from the ropes used in fishing trips, resembling the chafing of centipedes.

The men's exposed shoulders and arms all had scars, more or less; being a fisherman was no easy job in the past!
Liu Wangcai, who was walking ahead, suddenly stopped, bent down, grabbed a handful of wet sand, and squeezed it. The grains of sand that slipped through his fingers looked like gold dust in the bright sun. "Come on, comrades, this is about it." His dark face shone in the sea breeze, and fine grains of sand were embedded in the wrinkles around his eyes.

Qian Jin asked curiously, "If you grab a handful of sand from the mud and look at it, you can tell if there are any turbot in the water?"

The old captain laughed: "That's experience. You can not only tell if there are flounder, but also if there are bighead carp, flounder, and the like."

The beach net was very large, so the twenty-odd burly men only brought three.

It was enough to cover half an acre when it was spread out, and the mesh spacing was just like a child's fingers held together.

Six men stepped barefoot into the warm, shallow water, their trousers rolled up to their thighs, revealing their sun-darkened skin.

Qian Jin bowed in their manner, but Liu Wangcai pulled him away, saying, "Boss, you don't need to rush. Take a look first. Beach net fishing sounds simple, but it's not. You need to study it more."

He also shared his experience with Qian Jin: "When setting the net on the beach, you have to step on the sand. When you step on the sand, you have to listen to the sound. Listening to the sound of the sand grains rubbing together is more accurate than watching the fish jump."

"Listen up, everyone!" Liu Wangcai stood on the beach, pointing out the layout with his copper pipe. "Eight men in a group, one net per group. Youyu will take some men to the eastern shallows, Tiezhu will be in charge of the western reef area, and I'll lead some men to guard this large puddle!"

The members quickly divided into groups and took action.

Liu Youyu's group was the first to go into the water. The three of them lined up in a fan shape and slowly lowered the more than 30-meter-long beach net into the water.

The row of sinkers at the bottom of the net immediately sank into the mud and sand, while the floats at the top of the net formed an arc on the water's surface.

"Stomp! Stomp harder!" Liu Youyu shouted the command.

Several men began stomping on the net, causing the murky water to churn.

Startled, the turbot hiding in the sand instinctively tried to escape, but ended up crashing into the net.

This scene prompted cheers from the men in their group who were treading on the sand.

Good haul!

Qian Jin was itching to see it.

This is much more fun than fishing.

He said to Liu Wangcai, "Uncle, I want to go too, let me go."

Seeing his excited expression, Liu Wangcai didn't try to dampen his enthusiasm and led him to the middle of the fishing net.

"When stepping in the sand, you should land on your heel first." Liu Wangcai demonstrated by rubbing the sand with the soles of his feet, the veins on the back of his feet bulging like coiled earthworms, each step leaving a deep footprint.

Whirlpools appeared in the murky seawater, startling the sandworms in the sand dunes and causing them to wriggle rapidly, and also startling the crabs under the rocks to scramble up quickly.

Qian Jin followed suit, stomping on the ground until the soldiers grimaced in pain.

It's no problem to ask him to do heavy work; after all, he used to be a porter and has some strength.

But he really couldn't handle walking on the sand.

Because his feet were too tender.

Now, what they are standing on is not a sandy area but a mixture of mudflats and sand, which is an environment that various flounders like.

Sandy beaches allow them to camouflage themselves with their body color, while mudflats provide abundant food.

In this environment, there are many pebbles of different sizes, and it hurts to step on them!

He looked at the commune members, whose faces were normal and who were even chatting and laughing naturally. These people had thick calluses on their feet.

These are calluses formed from walking and working barefoot since childhood, much harder than the silkworm cocoons Qian Jin saw in the warehouse of the No. 6 State-owned Cotton Mill.

The undercurrent swirled in the murky water, and Qian Jin saw fine bubbles rising in the center of the whirlpool, much like beer after it had been shaken.

Liu Wangcai suddenly stomped his feet three times, the sound of his feet hitting the water's surface startling the flounder hiding in the mud and sand.

The seawater here is quite deep, reaching up to his waist.

His back swayed, causing the waves to churn and startling some seagulls that were skimming the surface of the sea as they foraged for food.

Qian Jin endured the pain and stomped on it as hard as he could.

Suddenly, a silvery-white fish darted out from the murky sand and fog in front of me. Its body was flat like a fan, and it was a sizable flounder.

This gave him a great sense of accomplishment: "Uncle, when are we going to close the net?"

Liu Wangcai laughed heartily: "What? You've seen the catch? Don't rush, comrades, keep stomping!"

Liu Youguang, who was in their group, said, "Today we're going to have a big harvest; we'll make a fortune from the fish."

"There's an old saying that goes, 'Step on three handfuls of sand and you'll find a fish.' I didn't believe it before, but this Dragon Snake Island has opened my eyes. There are so many turbot here!"

As the men stomped on the sand together, more turbot were startled and crawled out.

One of the turbot was very clever, or perhaps it was scared out of its wits. In any case, instead of diving into the deep water and getting caught like the other fish, it swam towards the shore in the opposite direction.

Qian Jin was about to catch it, but Liu Wangcai waved his hand and stared at the fish's trail.

The turbot has evolved very successfully; the patterns on its back closely resemble the underwater environment, and if you're not careful, it will escape if you don't keep track of it.

The flounder swam out a meter or two before burrowing into the sand.

Liu Wangcai slowly lifted his foot into the water, approaching it step by step, then suddenly bent down and pulled a struggling tussock out of the sand.

The water droplets flicked out by the fish's tail swayed wildly, and the opening and closing of its gills sounded like it was cursing.

Liu Wangcai swung his arm forcefully and threw it onto the muddy beach some distance away.

It hopped around in the mudflats, then jumped into a small puddle nearby, and quickly burrowed back in to burrow in the sand.

Qian Jin knew it couldn't escape.

Those are small puddles formed by the receding tide. Seawater can't be drawn in for a while, so they're essentially trapped.

"Raise the net!" Liu Youyu shouted from the other side of the mudflat, and several strong men pulled at the same time, dragging the heavy mudflat net out of the water.

Silver light shimmered through the mesh of the net, where at least twenty or thirty turbot were struggling, their grayish-brown bodies slapping against the net ropes with a "slap slap" sound.

Crisp and pleasant.

Cheers from Liu Tiezhu could also be heard from the western reef area.

They've also netted, and it looks like their group has a bigger catch.

Sure enough, the group returned carrying fishing nets to pack them into boxes. Inside the nets were not only flounder, but also several plump sole and crabs crawling all over the place.

A young commune member excitedly lifted up a flounder weighing at least two pounds. The fish's tail flicked at him, like a slap in the face, making him gasp for breath.

This made the man who saw it burst into laughter.

Liu Wangcai's team also achieved brilliant results.

The captain personally set the net, choosing a spot right where the fish were migrating.

When the net was hauled up, the bottom of the net was so heavy that it was almost impossible to lift—fifty or sixty flounders were crammed together, like a net of flat silver sheets.

"Quickly, load them into baskets!" Liu Wangcai's face was beaming.

"Should we ship them back while they're still fresh?" Liu Youyu asked excitedly and happily.

Liu Wangcai laughed and cursed, "Go to hell! What kind of talk is this? Yes, we have motorboats now and we can travel faster, but don't these boats burn oil? Can we really waste oil like this?"

"First, find a place to dig a mud pit, pour them in, and once you have a boatload of them, pack them up and take them back."

Liu Youguang immediately called several strong men to pick up shovels and start working.

The mudflats were soft, and soon a shallow pit was dug out at the edge of the tide line, from which seawater seeped out.

The fishermen threw the flounder into the sand, and the flounder frantically scrambled to find a spot to settle down and then calmed down.

One of the fish that escaped the net leaped into the sea in a few quick movements.

Qian Jin said regretfully, "It's over, it's run away."

The old captain remained calm, still happily smoking his pipe: "They can't escape. These fish are different from mackerel and yellow croaker. Once they enter the water, they don't rush to run away; they quickly hide."

"This is a self-deceiving fish," someone joked.

In fact, this is an excellent instinct that turbot have evolved over tens of thousands of years. They are not fast swimmers, but they have excellent camouflage, so they have to hide in place to avoid predators.

Unfortunately, they encountered humans, their intelligent natural enemy, and this move turned into walking into their own trap.

This turbot quickly chose to nest in the sand after entering the water.

Liu Wangcai beckoned to Qian Jin: "Why don't you go and lift it?"

Qian Jin followed his example and slowly approached, bending down to reach out.

Liu Wangcai quickly said, "That's not how it's done, it has to be done like this!"

He paid for the demonstration from behind.

Qian Jin imitated him, plunging his entire palm into the sand, the warm seawater sensation rushing up his arm and straight to the back of his head.

With a flick of the wrist, the turbot swiftly escaped...

Liu Wangcai laughed: "Making a living by the sea isn't that easy, is it?"

Qian Jin still wanted to catch that fish, but at that moment his group finished packing up their nets and were about to go back into the water.

This meant he had no choice but to let the lucky fish go and follow it to prepare for another round of beach net fishing.

Liu Wangcai walked ahead, looking down.

Small bubbles, like strings of pearls, occasionally rise from the murky water, refracting a rainbow of colors in the sunlight, resembling glass marbles sold to children at a supply and marketing cooperative.

Liu Wangcai pointed out to Qian Jin: "These round bubbles are from razor clams, while flat bubbles are from tilapia breathing."

As he was speaking, he stepped on another large fish, which immediately darted into the deeper water.

Liu Youguang clicked his tongue: "This fish is quite big, probably weighing five pounds. It's a real pity that it got away."

Liu Wangcai said calmly, "It's no pity. There are schools of fish here, and plenty of big ones!"

They lowered the net and pushed forward, continuing to tread the sand to scare away the fish.

Net after net of fish were brought ashore.

Finally, the first ship was assembled.

Liu Wangcai gave the order, and the men scooped fish out of the mud, put them in fish baskets, and carried them onto the Red Guard No. 1.

Fully loaded with fish, the Hongwei-1 cut through the waves and sped away.

The men in the three groups continued working.

Hongwei No. 1 shuttled back and forth between Longshe Island and the production team.

Each trip was filled with fish baskets.

The propellers roared merrily, leaving long sprays of water behind the stern.

On the third trip, Chunni brought several women with her. They were responsible for sorting the catch on the shore, classifying the fish by size and packing them into baskets.

"This one weighs at least three pounds!" Chunni held up a plump turbot, its gills still opening and closing. "Boss, how about you give each of your men a turbot tonight?"

"This fish has delicious meat. Except for one big bone in the middle, there are no small bones. You city folks love to eat it."

Qian Jin was speechless.

Mistake.

They should have driven, not ridden a motorcycle.

His original plan was to bring back a hundred or two hundred pounds of various small seafood. The heavy motorcycle 75 could easily carry that weight, and everyone could share four or five pounds of seafood.
Today's harvest was beyond his expectations; he managed to get a large quantity of turbot, which he could distribute to his men.

In this way, the weight increases.

Even if each person gets a three-pound flounder, the fish alone would weigh over a hundred pounds.

So he could only vaguely say, "Let's talk about it later, let's get back to work."

A woman asked, "Team leader, do we sell all our fish to the buyback station? Don't the commune members get any?"

Liu Wangcai was squatting on the ground, smoking and resting. Hearing this, he looked up, his face crinkling with laughter: "Share, why wouldn't we share?"

"What are we going to do with all that? Our team got a motorboat today, we have to celebrate! Tonight, we'll share a fish among the families, and every household can cook fish!"

Hearing this, the men worked even harder.

As the sun set, the mudflats had been basically swept clean.

The commune members were so tired they could hardly stand up straight, but they all had smiles on their faces.

Liu Wangcai squinted and counted today's harvest: a total of 128 baskets of turbot, plus 16 baskets of miscellaneous fish and 5 baskets of crabs, shellfish and various other small seafood.

This doesn't even include the clams and snails that the women collected while beachcombing in the morning.

The old captain's copper pipe gleamed in the setting sun. He watched the propeller bobbing gently with the waves and said with great satisfaction, "With this iron lump, our Liu family of Red Star is going to turn our lives around!"

On the return trip, the exhausted members of the commune slumped against the fish baskets.

The propellers roared smoothly as the bow cleaved through the golden waves.

Liu Youyu took out his notebook to keep accounts, turning the pages one by one with his fingers wet with saliva: "Since 1972, the most we've ever caught at one time was 463 jin of turbot and 78 jin of tongue sole. Today we've broken the production team record!"

Chunni and several other girls sat on the gunwale of the boat, their feet soaking in the seawater, singing newly learned fishing songs.

The song drifted across the sea in 1979, mingling with the roar of diesel engines and the crashing of the waves, and Qian Jin found it very beautiful.

The commune members chatted and laughed as the sea breeze blew, and he smiled as the sea breeze blew too.

When the production team's houses appeared on the sea level, several energetic men stood up and waved vigorously.

Liu Wangcai also stood up, patting his clothes which were covered in fish scales: "Let's go! Let's show the villagers our harvest!"

The old captain's eyes gleamed. "Let them all see the benefits of mechanization!"

It was nearing evening, and the setting sun had turned the sea golden.

The Hongwei No. 1 returned fully loaded, its bow low, waves splashing onto the pile of fish, their silver scales shimmering with tiny sparkles—the most moving sight for fishermen.

The crowd on the shore had been eagerly waiting.

When they all returned, someone lit a string of firecrackers, and the crackling sound echoed across the beach.

The fish that were transported back earlier have already been sent to the buyback station.

Liu Youyu asked, "How many kilograms?"

A young man shouted happily, "It totals over 4,200 jin! It really surprised Fatty Ren at the buyback station. He kept asking us if we'd stumbled upon a flounder's lair!"

Qian Jin waded ashore, and an old man came up and tightly grasped his hand, tears welling in his old eyes:

"You're so kind, leader! You brought this thing to our team this time. This thing can change the fate of our production team!"

Qian Jin shook hands firmly and said with a smile, "Uncle, you flatter me. Come on, let's go upstairs for tea and chat."

Liu Wangcai, without taking a break, instructed the women to give Qian Jin the gifts he was preparing for his return to the city:

Have the clams purged themselves of sand?

"I tied all the crabs up with straw rope."

"Take this fish back alive and let them deal with it themselves..."

Some women spent the afternoon helping Qian Jin with his work, skillfully cleaning up all the seafood he caught, such as fish, shrimp, and crabs.

Qian Jin knew that this was a sure thing!
(End of this chapter)