1983Fishing and Farming between Mountains and Seas

Chapter 22 Take Them to the Island
Seeing the obvious suspicion in Liang Ziqiang's tone, Lin Baixian became anxious:

"I usually like to make jokes, but this time I'm talking about serious matters. As long as it's serious matters, I've never been vague, right?!"

Liang Ziqiang thought about it and it made sense. This kid was usually jumpy and unruly, but he was quite reliable when it came to serious matters. As a friend, he was nothing to complain about.

"Then tell me about it." He said as he went back to the house and got a big watermelon to cut.

"How come there are watermelons in your house? I've never seen you grow them! Oh, right, they must be from your wife's house!" Lin Baixian immediately changed the subject, "Your wife is so good to you!"

Liang Ziqiang put the melon down and raised the knife:

"If you say another word, I'll stop cutting the melons and cut you first!"

Lin Baixian looked bewildered:
"Which one?"

"That last sentence!"

"Damn you old ..."

Lin Baixian was halfway through repeating when he suddenly realized that there seemed to be a problem...

"It's an old habit, I can't change my catchphrase, I must pay attention next time!" He smiled awkwardly, "It's like this, my cousin is doing clothing business in the city, I told you about this before, right?"

"Well, what next?" Liang Ziqiang decided to keep his dog head on his head for the time being, and continued to cut the melon with the knife.

"He made some friends in the city, some of whom came from very well-off families. Recently, a few of his friends had nothing to do and suddenly wanted to go to the island. My cousin was not familiar with the island, so he recommended me to them and asked me to be a guide to take them to the island!"

Lin Baixian explained the cause of the matter in detail.

"And then you pulled me in?"

"They took the initiative to ask for another guide. The requirements are quite high. He must be familiar with the ocean and have strong swimming skills. Who is more qualified than you? How about it? We can each earn ten dollars in half a day!"

Fearing that he could not impress Liang Ziqiang, Lin Baixian immediately added:
"You say you're going to the island with them, but you don't actually have to do anything. If you come across fish or shellfish around the island, you can just bring them back. It's like using their boat for free. After a trip out to sea, plus the guide fee, it's double the income. What, you're having a problem with money?!"

Liang Ziqiang was thinking whether it was more cost-effective to go to the beach and push the stilt fishing net or take the ten yuan as a tour guide. If the stilt fishing net was lucky, it might earn more than ten yuan, but it was a bit mysterious; the good thing about the ten yuan was that it was a steady income.

When Lin Baixian told me that I could go fishing on the island without any restrictions, my last bit of hesitation disappeared in an instant.

What does he lack most now? Money! Who wouldn't go for double income?

"Where are the people? Where have those people in the city gone?" When Liang Ziqiang looked at Lin Baixian again, his face was already filled with enthusiasm.

"..." Lin Baixian couldn't get used to others being more enthusiastic than him. He was confused for a moment, then he reorganized his thoughts and said:

"They're already at the beach. They've already discussed renting a boat. They're just waiting for us to go over there!"

"Okay, wait for me, I'll get two buckets!"

Liang Ziqiang turned around and went to get the bucket. When he came out again, Lin Baixian was stunned.

Liang Ziqiang was seen carrying two large buckets, which contained a large scoop net, bent iron tongs, and an iron chisel for cracking oysters.

Under his arms, there were several large snakeskin bags.

On his shoulders, he carried a fishing net for hand-throwing...

You call this "just bring two buckets"? Even professional seafarers don't have as much equipment as you do...

"Well... forget about the hand-cast net, they have it on the rented boat!" Lin Baixian reminded kindly.

"Really? Fine then, I'll just listen to you and not bring this."

Liang Ziqiang listened to the advice, put down his hand and cast the net, and took everything else with him before going out. "Don't be so anxious! Don't you have to eat two pieces of melon before leaving?"

Lin Baixian has already begun to strongly regret revealing the matter of the island too early. If he had known, he should have waited until he had eaten the melon before speaking!

He quickly grabbed two slices of watermelon from the table, ate them, and ran out with Liang Ziqiang. After he got out of the door, he hurriedly said hello to Yuan Qiuying, and then followed Liang Ziqiang to the beach.

Near the big dock, there were indeed three men and two women looking towards Liang Ziqiang and Lin Baixian. The five people were in their twenties and were obviously city dwellers. Their clothes did not fit in with the villagers.

"Lin Baixian, is this the person you introduced?"

One of the young men, who was wearing bell-bottom pants and a floral shirt, took off his sunglasses and asked Lin Baixian.

Lin Baixian repeatedly said yes, and promoted it in a somewhat exaggerated voice:
"Liang Ziqiang is the best fisherman among the younger generation in our village. He is known as the 'know-it-all'. In fact, even the old fishermen may not be as skilled as him. Compared with him, I am just a piece of trash!"

Liang Ziqiang was sweating profusely as he listened.

When did I get the reputation of "Know-it-all on the sea"? This is the first time I've heard of it!

Lin Baixian turned around and introduced Liang Ziqiang:

"This is Brother Feng, my cousin's friend."

"My name is Lu Feng. You can call me Afeng or Brother Feng," Lu Feng looked at Liang Ziqiang and seemed quite satisfied with his physique.

"You should be a good swimmer, right? In case of any emergency, I mean just in case, it should be no problem to save a few people, right?" Lu Feng asked.

Finding a guide, to a certain extent, is actually finding someone who can help them at a critical moment. To be honest, when he saw Lin Baixian at first glance, the other party's thin body really couldn't give him a sense of security.

This is also the reason why they spent a little more money to let Lin Baixian find another capable assistant.

"That depends on the specific location and situation." Liang Ziqiang answered with reservation.

After all, they were heading to a bottomless sea. If the "what if" the other party meant someone suddenly fell off the boat into the sea, then it would be hard to say.

Even if Liang Ziqiang himself fell into the deep sea, he would still be doomed if he was not rescued in time. How could he go into the water to save others?
He doesn't want to risk his life for ten dollars!
Lu Feng saw his concerns and added:
"I mean, when we're on the island and playing around the island, if someone gets accidentally swept into the tide, that shouldn't be that difficult for you, right?"

The water is shallow near the island, so this is not a big problem.

Liang Ziqiang nodded and replied:
"The shallows near the island are relatively less dangerous. Ah Xian and I should be able to handle it, but we can't be careless. In short, it's best to be careful!"

Lu Feng didn't expect him to make a promise, and was not surprised by his cautious attitude. On the contrary, he felt that he was a mature and reliable person, so he didn't continue the topic and asked:

"The sea is not like the land. There are many strange things in it, and we can't figure them out. You should have an idea of ​​which things can be touched and which things cannot be touched, right?"

"That's no problem, I'll remind you all the time!"

Liang Ziqiang agreed to this very readily. After all, he had been dealing with the ocean since he was young, and some unimportant details might fade away, but what he needed to be vigilant about was almost engraved in his bones and was not so easy to forget.

A girl wearing a beige sun hat saw that they were still nagging but were still reluctant to get on the boat, so she started to urge them:
"The sun is getting bright. We won't be able to play for long if we dawdle any longer! Let's get on the boat and set off. Can't we talk about it on the boat?"

"Get on board!" Lin Baixian untied the rope tied to the mooring pile and jumped onto the boat first.

Afterwards, Liang Ziqiang and Lu Feng and his party also boarded the ship one after another.

The wooden boat went against the direction of the tide, as if cutting open the skin of the sea, and sailed towards the ocean amid splashes of water and light.

Liang Ziqiang never expected that his first trip out to sea after returning to the fishing village would be in this way and with this identity.

The sea, which he had not seen for forty years, slowly unfolded under his feet like a dream.

(End of this chapter)