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Xu Yin did want to visit Tongcheng, where her brother and sister-in-law now lived, though. 

It was much bigger than their small county village, and she could buy some things that were not available there and earn some college living expenses. 

Xu Yin sorted out the money she had in her hands: the earnings from making clothes, which her mother had given her without keeping any; plus the small 200 yuan she had saved; the big red envelope her brother and sister-in-law had given her; the bonus she received for representing the town at the labour model recognition event in the county; the grant she received from No. 6 High School after being admitted to Tsinghua University…

When she added it all up, she had 405 yuan on hand, which was quite a substantial sum. After all, even the monthly salary for an eighth-level worker in the factory was less than 100 yuan.

Mother Xu helped her pack a pile of food: dried mushrooms that her uncle had picked and sun-dried after Qingming and a package of seaweed and dried shrimp that her sister-in-law’s family had sent. Even though they weren’t expensive, it might not be easy to buy these things in Tongcheng.

Thinking back to the descriptions of Tongcheng she had read in books, she remembered that it was an inland provincial city without access to the sea on any side. Even now, the transportation infrastructure of the city had yet to become very developed. Getting seafood was probably still inconvenient for them.

An idea struck her. 

If she could bring back goods from here that weren’t available in Tongcheng and make a profit, why couldn’t she do the reverse? 

She decided that she would head to her sister-in-law’s family, and she would also visit her grandmother’s house and buy some seafood and mountain products to take with her. After all, she had an expandable backpack and wasn’t afraid of not being able to carry it. If necessary, she could also store some in the system inventory.

So, the next morning, despite her mother’s puzzled look. She seemed to want to say, ‘Do you really need to go when we have so much seaweed and dried shrimp at home?’.

Xu Yin rode her small electric scooter and set out on her journey.

Xu Yin’s sister-in-law’s maiden surname was Li. It was the most common surname in Houhai Village.

Father Li and Mother Li would both be 65 years old this year. They had three sons and three daughters. Except for Xu Yin’s sister-in-law, their daughters were all married within their village.

Although the three sons live in separate families, they still live nearby and could be called should anything happen.

When they heard that their daughter’s sister-in-law was here, they felt very surprised. They immediately put a pause on what they were doing and warmly welcomed them into the house.

“Yinyin, have you had breakfast?” Mother Li asked.

If she hadn’t eaten yet, Mother Li would cook a bowl of noodles and soft-boiled eggs for her. This was the highest standard of hospitality in the region.

Xu Yin hurriedly replied that she had already eaten. 

Despite this, Mother Li insisted. She asked her eldest daughter-in-law to make a soft-boiled egg, without the noodles, but with two eggs and a generous amount of rock sugar.

Xu Yin was a little overwhelmed by their warmth, but she knew it was their sincere hospitality. 

Fortunately, she had come prepared. She took out two bottles of sorghum liquor, two cans of orange slices, and two pounds of brown sugar from her unobtrusive expandable backpack. 

She had purchased the sorghum liquor at the local supply and marketing cooperative, and the brown sugar and canned goods were things that she’d previously stored in her system inventory.

The Li family members were hesitant to accept these gifts, but Xu Yin took the opportunity to express her intention. 

“I also have a favour to ask of you. If you don’t accept these gifts, I wouldn’t feel comfortable asking. You see, in a few days, I’m going to visit my brother and sister-in-law in Tongcheng. It’s far from the sea, and it’s hard to find any seafood there. I wanted to buy some and take them there to sell them. If we don’t have any at home, could you please ask your neighbours if they have any to sell? You can price it at the usual market rate, and I’ll just consider it as buying fresh seafood at your place.”

“This isn’t any trouble. I’ll take you to see what we have. If we have it, don’t bother buying it. It’s for my son-in-law and grandsons. How could I let you spend money?”

As she spoke, Mother Li took Xu Yin to their storage room.

The variety of seafood that the Li family had sun-dried was quite extensive. There were seaweed, dried razor clams, dried oysters, dried mud snails, and more, all collected during their seashore outings. 

For one, this morning, they had gathered quite a few small sand crabs, about four to five pounds in a basket. After cleaning them at home, Mother Li had salted and marinated them with wine. In a few days, she planned to sell them at the market stall.

If she had known that Xu Yin was coming, she wouldn’t have preserved them. After all, freshly stir-fried seafood was much more flavourful.

After looking around for a while, Xu Yin couldn’t help but ask, “Do you have larger seafood? Like big prawns, yellow croakers, hairtail fish, squid, or blue crabs, for example? I’ve brought enough money; you can rest assured.”

Mother Li paused for a moment and then chuckled. “We can’t get those things here.”

“…”

After some explanation, Xu Yin realised that Houhai Village was just a small place connected to the bay, and at best, it was just a corner of the bay. In reality, it was quite far from the open sea. 

The local fishermen primarily relied on collecting small seafood from the seashore, which they then sold at the market in exchange for grains and meat. After all, the area had saline-alkali soil and couldn’t support crop cultivation.

While collective fishing boats could catch the large seafood Xu Yin mentioned, by the time they returned to shore, these catches were often purchased by large factories, supply and marketing cooperatives, and other state-owned entities. 

Personal small fishing boats generally only operated at the mouth of the bay, and the variety of seafood they could catch was extremely limited.

Even if they did happen to catch larger fish, shrimp, or crabs, they would typically take them to the city to find buyers and wouldn’t sell them in the village.

Xu Yin: “…”

She hadn’t expected this to be the case. 

Mother Xu had always complained about the modest seaweed and mud snails that her in-laws offered as gifts during festivals. No wonder they did; that was because they really didn’t have much else.

Suddenly, her heart felt a bit heavy. 

People said that when you lived in the mountains, you’d eat from the mountains, and if you lived by the sea, you’d thrive because of the sea, too. In theory, it sounded like the environment one lived in could provide them with everything they needed for a prosperous, comfortable life. However, only by truly immersing herself in this environment did she realise how challenging it could be.

“It’s much better than before now,” Mother Li said optimistically. “Especially this year, after leasing the mudflats, we don’t have to wait for low tide to go out and collect seafood. We’ve raised mud snails, clams, and razor clams, and we’ll sell them at a good price around the Chinese New Year. What we collect when the tide is in can be considered extra income. Yinyin, when you go back, tell your mother-in-law that we’ll be able to repay some of the money we owe before the New Year. Prices are high in January, and if we sell well, we can repay some more. It won’t take too long.”

Xu Yin hurriedly responded, “We’re not in a rush about the money. Let’s take it step by step. If we can establish mudflat aquaculture here, the village’s future will become more stable. The better days are ahead of us.”

“Exactly, we’re hoping for a stable livelihood. Gathering seafood at sea is all well and good on calm, sunny days, but when there’s a typhoon, we understand how difficult this job can be.”

Through their conversation, Xu Yin finally figured out the types of seafood available in Houhai Village: primarily small and easily gathered seafood like dried shrimp, mud snails, razor clams, clams, sand crabs, seaweed, and nori. They were quite affordable, and you could buy quite a lot for a small amount of money. Dried, they could last a long time.

However, other items that Xu Yin had hoped to buy, like abalones, scallops, large prawns, and blue crabs, were completely absent. Even if she had the money, she couldn’t find them. 

The local fishermen rarely encountered such seafood, and when they did, it would be an event so rare that it would attract onlookers.

“…”

Goodness! This place didn’t seem like a seaside at all. It felt more like a mock-up of a seaside.

It was her naivety. She had thought that being by the sea meant having access to all kinds of seafood. 

But, in the end, things turned out rather poorly…

If only they had a fishing boat… Not a small fishing boat that could only circle the mouth of the bay, of course, but a big fishing boat that could sail unfazed despite strong wind and large waves, and could travel far into the sea. Xu Yin would have access to all kinds of seafood that she desired. 

Thinking of this, Xu Yin became full of energy again.

“Auntie, how are the preparations for the fishing boat investment that was mentioned that time going? Have you bought the fishing boat?”

She was a nominal shareholder, too.

Although her investment was not large and, as a result, she didn’t have many shares, she was still a shareholder and had the right to care about the business she had invested in.

“What a coincidence. Yesterday I went to the town to set up a stall and heard someone talking about this,” Mother Li said as she clapped her hands. “I heard that the ocean-going ship has been purchased, and it seems that it will go to sea at the beginning of next month.”

“I’ve heard about it too.” The eldest daughter-in-law of the Li family had fried a bowl of soybeans and brought it to Xu Yin as a snack. She added, “But after travelling across the ocean, I don’t think it will come back so soon. It’ll probably take a couple of months. Maybe they’d come back by the end of the year. Who knows? If they come back at the end of the year, they’d be just in time to divide the New Year’s goods.”

Xu Yin was taken aback. “Dividing New Year’s goods?”

“Yes, that’s right. The son of our village commune secretary also invested in the fishing boat. He recently went to inquire and heard that there won’t be any money distributed in the first year, but they will distribute some things, and that will likely include the seafood they catch.”

“…”

In other words, she would have access to big fish, prawns, and crabs at the end of the year. 

Oh yeah! This trip wasn’t in vain!