Back to 1984: Earning Money, Raising Kids, and Keeping the Household Busy

Chapter 57 Things have changed

The two children stared at the turtle and began to make all sorts of wild guesses.

Lin Qin glanced at it and then ignored it, telling Chen Wenjun to go take a shower.

He then sorted out the bucket of fish and said, "Should we bring the fish trap up first? Otherwise, it might get washed away by the flood and we won't be able to find it."

Chen Wenjun nodded, "Go get it done first, so you don't get covered in it again later."

The couple had only set up the fish trap for a day and thought they wouldn't have caught anything, but it turned out to be full of snakehead fish.

The more unusual something is, the more it indicates that things are about to change.

The couple didn't dare to be careless. After collecting their catch, Chen Wenjun quickly rowed the boat to the harbor and joined the other fishing boats.

Only after doing all this did he feel at ease enough to take a shower and eat.

It was still a bit stuffy in the first half of the night.

Lin Qin and her two children didn't sleep very soundly.

Hearing a crackling sound in her drowsy state, Lin Qin slowly opened her eyes, opened the window, and a clear river breeze immediately blew in. The two children, who had been sleeping soundly with sweat on their heads, turned over and slept even more soundly.

Lin Qin sat by the window, listening to the pattering rain outside and feeling the cool breeze. Her eyelids grew heavier and heavier, and she fell asleep soon after lying back down.

I slept until after 7 a.m.

The heavy rain outside showed no signs of letting up, and the sky at seven o'clock was about the same color as at six o'clock.

Hearing the commotion, Chen Wenjun came in and said, "The rain is too heavy, the roads are impassable, and we can't push the cart. We can't go to the market today. We'll see how the weather is later. If the rain continues like this, we won't be able to go to Boss Zheng's place either."

Lin Qin was still half asleep and nodded blankly, "We fish when it rains, so we won't be idle."

Chen Wenjun was taken aback for a moment, then laughed, "It really is! You take the kids to play! I'll go to Grandpa's and buy two more fish traps."

Since the fishing boats were all in the harbor, it would be convenient for him to go and find Grandpa Chen. Besides, on rainy days, everyone stays home, so he wouldn't have to worry about not being able to find him.

When Chen Wenjun arrived at Grandpa Chen's house after passing several fishing boats, he found that the family had indeed not gone out.

Grandpa Chen was an old man in his sixties, still quite healthy, though his hair was completely white. When he saw Chen Wenjun, he was very happy. “You don’t have to go out to sell fish in this weather? Why didn’t you bring your wife? I heard from your aunt that you married a woman from the mainland. You’re really something!”

Chen Wenjun chuckled, "Grandpa, it's raining, and she's on the boat taking care of the children. I've come to buy two fish traps from you."

"You want more traps? Didn't we take six before? Isn't that enough?"

Chen Wenjun came over and picked them up several times, making a total of six.

Zhou Shuifang, who was standing nearby, asked curiously, "I haven't seen your boat lately, where did it go?"

Chen Wenjun didn't hide anything and told everyone that he had bought the deserted island.

Grandpa Chen and his family all put down what they were doing and looked at him in shock.

"Which island? You handled such a big matter without making a sound?" Chen Yongding, the son of Grandpa Chen, was so excited that his voice rose considerably.

Chen Wenjun scratched his head sheepishly, "I emptied my savings buying the deserted island and building the house. I was thinking of setting up a few more traps and saving up money to see if I could finish building the house this year."

"Once it's built, I'll let everyone know and invite them over. But the house isn't even built yet, so there's no point in telling them!"

What if people misunderstand and think he wants to borrow money?
Grandpa Chen pouted unhappily, "If you come and say something, we might be able to help you. If you don't say anything at all, does that mean you don't consider us one of your own?"

"No, no! Grandpa, I just came to you because I was short of a fish trap!" Chen Wenjun hurriedly explained.

Grandpa Chen was speechless for a moment before asking, "Where is your island? How much land did you buy?"

"The one next to Qingyun Temple, it's only a little over a hundred acres."

Grandpa Chen and his family were completely stunned.

"Over a hundred acres? Are you farming or building houses?" Chen Yongding was completely bewildered. Chen Wenjun laughed, "My father-in-law knows how to farm. He just wants to clear land on the island for farming. He doesn't need that much space to build houses!"

Grandpa Chen nodded repeatedly, “That’s true! None of us Tanka people know how to farm. It’s good that you found a farmer’s wife. Once the land is cleared, you can grow your own food and make a living!”
"Oh, right! I have a big fishing net here. You can use a bamboo pole to catch fish with it. Do you want it?"

Chen Wenjun's eyes lit up. "Where is it? Let me see."

Chen Yongding and Zhou Shuifang immediately went to the back cabin to retrieve their belongings.

Chen Wenjun took a look and realized it was indeed a large fishing net, requiring two people to carry it.

"Grandpa, how much did you pay for this fishing net?"

Zhou Shuifang laughed heartily, "Why buy? I wove these when I had nothing else to do. Your grandfather and uncle have to run the boat to deliver goods, and I can't manage it all by myself. Besides, these fishing nets are too big and difficult to clean. We only fish once or twice, so cleaning them is a hassle. If you want them, just take them."

Chen Wenjun quickly shook his head, "Even if I want it, I can't take it for free. Auntie, you name a price, and I'll go back and get the money."

Zhou Shuifang absolutely refused to accept it.

Chen Wenjun insisted on giving it to him and turned around to go back and get the money.

Even Grandpa Chen's family couldn't stop him.

Zhou Shuifang couldn't help but exclaim, "It seems Wenjun is living a good life now, he can even afford to buy a deserted island! Dad, do you think we should buy some land and build a house too?"

Grandpa Chen scoffed, "Why buy land? Can't people live on this boat? Besides, if we buy land, we have to buy farmland, right? Who in our family can farm?"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Shuifang immediately abandoned her thoughts.

“That’s right. Wenjun bought the deserted island to reclaim it because his father-in-law and wife know how to farm. It’s just right for us to make a living on the water. It wouldn’t be convenient for us to move ashore.”

Chen Yongding nodded repeatedly, "That makes sense!"

Zhou Shuifang was still a little confused. "How much money do you think Wenjun made from fishing? He could even buy a deserted island! I wonder how expensive that island is!"

Grandpa Chen said irritably, "Why ask so many questions? You weren't planning to lend him money to build a house."

When the topic of borrowing money came up, Zhou Shuifang immediately shut up.

Nobody's money comes from thin air. Her husband and father-in-law work hard to earn money, so she's reluctant to lend it out.

When Chen Wenjun came over again, Zhou Shuifang indeed didn't mention the deserted island at all. After exchanging pleasantries a few times, she finally accepted the twenty yuan that Chen Wenjun gave her.

At the same time, Chen Wenjun paid for the fish trap, and Grandpa Chen called his son to help deliver the fishing net to Chen Wenjun.

With the fishing net in hand, Chen Wenjun enthusiastically discussed the next plan with Lin Qin. "This rain is expected to last until the afternoon. The water level of the upstream river will rise, and many big fish will swim over. If we go to the inlet to block the net, we will definitely be able to catch a lot of eels."

Lin Qin's eyes lit up when she heard about river eels. These things are valuable and hard to catch. Only during floods can nets yield a large harvest. At other times, you can only catch one or two, which is not enough.

"Then we'll need to prepare more buckets to hold the fish!"

Lin Yi listened silently from the side, but couldn't help but pour cold water on their enthusiasm, "Fishing depends on God's blessing. It's not like you can catch as much as you want. The current is so strong now, the nets are not safe. You might end up not catching anything and just ruining the nets."

During floods, floating debris, wood, and branches are swept downstream along with the fish. Getting tangled in these things can be troublesome.

Chen Wenjun chuckled and said, "Dad! I'll stop them a bit more then, so our fishing nets definitely won't get damaged."

Lin Yi was curious about how Chen Wenjun operated it, so he decided to go and help.

After noon, the rain indeed subsided, and the water level of Nanxi rose at a visible speed.

Worried about Nanyu's condition, the couple quickly used their bamboo poles to go and check on him.

Upon arrival, it was discovered that the water level was still about 20 centimeters below the ground, and it had no impact on Nanyu.

The two men carried wooden planks to shelter from the rain and went to the island to check on the foundation. Seeing that everything was fine, they felt much more at ease.

(End of this chapter)