CHAPTER 24: CHAPTER 24: EYEING THE DESERTED ISLAND

At this moment, Lin Qingxiang also came out of the house. Lin Zhi immediately turned his attention to him, "Lin Qingxiang, that land belongs to our family. If anyone’s going to plant it, it should be us. You better return the land to me right now!"

Lin Qingxiang took out that contract, looking at him with a smirk, "Sure thing! I made a written agreement with Lin Yi, black and white on paper, that the land is mine for this year. If you want to rent it, I have no objections, just pay up."

"Pay up? Are you crazy for money?" Li Lian cursed from behind Lin Zhi, craning her neck.

Lin Qingxiang wouldn’t indulge them. He turned his head and said to the team leader, "Either you handle it, or I’ll call the police. It’s a new era of reform and opening-up, a perfect time to catch a few typical hooligans and tyrants!"

The team leader sized up Lin Zhi and his wife, and they seemed ready to make a big deal out of it, scaring the couple away.

Lin Qingxiang sneered, "Cowards! Want to fight with me?"

The team leader sighed helplessly, "Those two are just rotten apples in the village and unreasonable. Why bother with them!"

Lin Qingxiang smirked, not paying any mind.

Li Lian, who had walked away, was fuming, poking Lin Zhi’s lower back hard, "How can you be so useless! Those fields clearly belong to your parents, and the old couple only have our two grandsons. How could they possibly give the fields to outsiders at a bargain! Your brother acts so irresponsibly, your parents must be spinning in their graves!"

"Criticize my brother if you must, but why bring my parents into this? If you hadn’t stopped me from playing the game, my brother wouldn’t have secretly given the fields to Lin Qingxiang!" Lin Zhi was equally upset.

Li Lian got even angrier, "Blaming me now, are you? What kind of life are we living? Our two sons are about to get married, and we can’t even gather money to build a house. If you had any ability, would I have to live so frugally?"

The couple argued and cursed all the way home.

Meanwhile, Lin Qin and Chen Wenjun had already carried Lin Yi to the side of Nanxi.

Nanxi, as the largest river here, is the main source of domestic water for the city and its coastal counties. In the 1980s, many Dang people still lived on the river, mainly making a living by transporting passengers and goods with fishing as a supplement.

Flowing downstream along Nanxi, all the way to South Port, it was a large passenger and cargo terminal. In the economically burgeoning 1980s, various seafood and aquatic products, timber and tea, and smuggling mainly relied on waterway transportation.

There was also the ancient practice of log rafting, where boatmen risked their lives to pass through rapids and shoals. Usually, one trip could earn tens of dollars, but if an accident happened, more often than not, their lives would be lost to the water.

In the early years, Chen Wenjun, like other Dang people, ventured out. Back then Chen Ping’an hadn’t been born, and life was full of hope.

Since Chen Ping’an was born, a shadow loomed over this family. Before the child turned one, Chen Wenjun’s ex-wife ran away, and even his father-in-law’s family disappeared without a trace.

He was worried that if anything happened to him, the child would have no way to survive, so he dared not take risks anymore.

Additionally, shipping goods couldn’t afford delays, and young Chen Ping’an frequently fell ill, making it impossible for him to deliver goods on time, fearing he couldn’t afford compensation for delays. So, he could only rely on fishing to make a living and support the family.

Along the way, Chen Wenjun thoroughly explained his situation to Lin Yi.

Lin Yi listened while looking around at Chen Wenjun’s five-canopy boat with admiration.

Chen Wenjun first set the person down, quickly jumped onto the boat, and opened the door.

The Chen Ping’an inside the cabin didn’t excitedly call out "dad" as usual, until he heard Liu Yaya’s crisp call "Ping’an brother," his eyes lit up.

Immediately, he climbed out excitedly. Seeing Liu Yaya standing on the shore, he smiled with pure shyness.

Catching Lin Qin’s loving glance, he bashfully retracted his gaze and softly called to Liu Yaya, "Yaya, come over here. The little turtle is here."

"Okay!" Liu Yaya eagerly wanted to climb aboard.

Chen Wenjun set down the ladder for boarding, lifted Liu Yaya up, and then came back to help Lin Qin carry the person.

Lin Yi was full of curiosity about everything on the boat. On learning the aft cabin could house an entire family, he found it unbelievable.

It was still daytime, not yet time to sleep. Chen Wenjun settled Lin Yi down, opened the bamboo awning to show him the scenery of Nanxi.

He said cheerfully, "Uncle, you’ll rest on the boat from now on. Starting today, I’ll lay ground cages to catch fish. Lately, I’ve had good luck with fishing and have saved some money. Give me one or two years, and I promise I’ll save enough to buy land and build a house."

Lin Yi nodded in satisfaction. Regardless of whether Chen Wenjun could achieve it, at least he dared to make such a promise, which made Lin Yi feel at ease.

Chen Wenjun, seeing Lin Yi’s noncommittal demeanor, realized Lin Yi didn’t believe him and immediately said, "Come on! I’ll row the boat and take you guys to see a place."

"Where to? The sun is almost setting." Lin Qin sat cross-legged on the ground, curiously asking, occasionally glancing at the two children focused on playing with the little turtle beside her, feeling surprisingly at ease.

Chen Wenjun didn’t beat around the bush, pointing to a small island not far away, and said in a low voice, "Do you remember someone bought one of these deserted islands to raise geese? I want to buy that island to build a house."

Lin Qin stretched her neck out in shock, with her hands already reaching out of the boat, "You mean that one?"

"That’s right!" Chen Wenjun beckoned for Lin Qin to step outside with him.

Lin Qin instructed Lin Yi to stay with the two children and went outside with Chen Wenjun.

Outside, with a broader view, Lin Qin could roughly see the shape of the deserted island.

There were many such deserted islands on Nanxi, almost one every few miles, varying in size. The island in front of them was about two hundred mu, surrounded by water and entirely granite cavern landscapes and hilly terrain. The elevation was estimated at just over a hundred meters, easily seen at a glance.

Lin Qin frowned in disbelief, "This island doesn’t even have a place to land. Why buy it?"

"Don’t be hasty! I’ll take you there to see." Chen Wenjun said excitedly, rowing away without another word.

Lin Qin simply sat down cross-legged, enjoying the river breeze and the moment of tranquility.

The five-canopy boat was quite fast, and during Lin Qin’s momentarily absent-mindedness, they had already approached the deserted island, advancing around it until a gap appeared before Lin Qin’s eyes, causing her to stand up in excitement.

At that moment, Chen Wenjun also arrived beside her, pointing triumphantly at a gap obscured by a large banyan tree.

"I’ve already gone inside to look. Although this deserted island is surrounded by small hills, the vacant land in the middle is quite large. The area that can be cleared is about dozens of mu, although there’s a lot of weeds, and there might be snakes and biting venomous ants, so it might be a bit troublesome to clean up. But these are minor issues.

The main reason I’ve set my sights here is this place is the only way to land on this island. Other places can’t be approached by boat due to reefs, and even if approached, you can’t get up.

If we buy the island, we’ll trim this big banyan tree, use stones from the mountain to block this gap, and install a door, ensuring safety."