CHAPTER 55: CHAPTER 55: FOUNDATION COMPLETED

After Chen Wenjun left, Lin Qin also kept busy. In the afternoon, when the sun wasn’t as harsh, she took wild duck eggs and fish to the roadside to sell. From there, she could keep an eye on the fishing boats, and since the cabin door was locked, she wasn’t worried about anyone trying to break in.

Just as she set up her goods, a passerby came by to ask about the price, "How much for the duck eggs?"

Lin Qin quickly responded warmly, "These are fresh wild duck eggs, feeding on water plants, fish, and shrimp. They’re 20 cents each. Grass carp, crucian carp, and common carp are all priced the same—1.5 yuan per jin. Big snails are 0.15 yuan per jin, all large ones!"

"The price is indeed cheaper than the supply and marketing cooperative’s."

"Indeed! The cooperative’s goods aren’t as good as mine!"

The person carefully compared and bought a grass carp weighing more than a jin, and four jin of snails. After Lin Qin’s enthusiastic sales pitch, they also purchased six duck eggs.

As the first person left, two elderly ladies came over.

Lin Qin was now able to naturally chat with people while doing business.

Moreover, since she always greeted people with a smile and was easy to talk to, those asking about prices would often end up buying something.

As it was nearing the end of the workday, her small stall surprisingly did very well, with a crowd quickly gathering around.

Almost everyone was there for the wild duck eggs because, after all, two duck eggs at the cooperative cost 0.5 yuan, and here they were 0.2 yuan each and looked particularly fresh.

As for why people didn’t go down to pick them themselves, the reason was simple—not everyone knew there were wild duck eggs down there. Moreover, those coming to buy were almost all workers just off work, and no one had the leisure to go down just to find wild duck eggs.

Lin Qin chatted with everyone while selling.

Before she knew it, all the wild duck eggs were sold, and more than half of the fish were gone.

As the sky began to darken, Chen Wenjun was about to come back, so she hurried to pack up and go home.

When Chen Wenjun got home, Lin Qin couldn’t wait to show off her day’s gains.

"I sold the wild duck eggs for 8.4 yuan, and the fish for 16.7 yuan. I made over 20 yuan this afternoon. Did you sell all your stuff?"

Chen Wenjun nodded with a big smile, "Everything sold out. There was quite a lot of stuff, and after cashing out, there was 92 yuan, plus what you made and what was sold in the morning. We really did make a fortune today! I plan to buy ten tons of cement tomorrow to continue building up the foundation."

In principle, they were supposed to wait ten more days to resume work, but today they earned enough to advance their plans.

Lin Qin sighed, "I haven’t even warmed this money up in my hands, and it’s already going to be spent."

Chen Wenjun laughed heartily, "It’s not spent—just changed into something else. Once the house is built, we’ll save well. Life will get better and better."

"Alright, I’ll trust you this time!"

The couple laughed as they rowed the fishing boat to Nanyu.

Lin Qin took the opportunity to make dinner.

Lin Yi, seeing the boat arrive, shouted, "Qingxiang, Shaoyun, that’s enough for today."

Lin Qingxiang and his son set down their tools, brushed the cement dust off their bodies, and wiped the sweat from their faces with their elbows, panting tiredly as they headed towards the gap.

By the time they boarded the boat, Lin Qin had nearly finished making dinner.

Sweet potato porridge with snails, sauced small river fish, and a plate of pickled vegetables.

The exhausted father and son ate two big bowls of rice in a few bites, slowly sucking the snails, eating the snail meat and tossing the shell into the river, nodding in satisfaction, "Very fresh! Next time we have some free time, we should also go to the pond to pick some."

Lin Qin covered her mouth with a smile, "Uncle, if you like it, take some with you later. There’s plenty in Nanxi."

Lin Qingxiang nodded, not being shy with Lin Qin.

After the father and son disembarked.

Chen Wenjun rowed the boat back to Nanyu.

Lin Qin was getting ready to give the two kids a bath.

Ever since they started building the house, the two little ones had been running wild on the island, playing in the dirt, picking flowers, and chasing grasshoppers and other bugs, getting all dirty by the time they came back home.

Lin Qin went from initially scolding them to now being used to it and didn’t even bother to say anything anymore.

The two kids were well-behaved, knowing how dirty they were, and they did whatever Lin Qin asked them to do, being very cooperative.

As the fishing boat reached Nanyu, the two little ones were almost ready.

Lin Qin instructed, "We’ll be working on the island, so you go to the back cabin and sleep, no monkey business. Grandpa will also sleep after his bath. Play again tomorrow."

"Okay!" The two children agreed enthusiastically, bouncing off to the back cabin.

With energy like that, they’d probably keep going for a bit longer.

Lin Qin shook her head with a smile, giving Lin Yi a few instructions before heading to the island with the box and Chen Wenjun.

At this moment, the sky hadn’t completely darkened, and they could still see the paths on the island.

With Chen Wenjun leading the way, the two found a relatively hidden cavity halfway up the mountain, stashed the box inside, and then covered it with small stones, marking the spot.

Chen Wenjun dusted off his hands and smiled, "That should do it. We’ll toss some rocks down the mountain. Once the foundation is built, the back will only need red bricks, and no one will run up the mountain."

Lin Qin agreed with his idea.

The two worked on the island for another hour before heading back down the mountain.

In the following days, having tasted the fruit of their labor, the couple began keeping an eye on the weed clusters.

Lin Qin would go to the rock piles to find wild duck eggs both in the morning and evening, working with Chen Wenjun to catch fish in the weed clusters. When the catch wasn’t great, they’d still manage to cast a line from the boat, often with pleasant surprises. In the afternoons, they’d set up a stall by the roadside when workers got off work, making at least ten to twenty yuan.

After a month of this routine, the foundation, more than 200 square meters, on the deserted island was finally completed.

Lin Qingxiang and Lin Shaojun looked at the results of their month-long hard work, both wanting to sit down and have a drink.

Chen Wenjun handed over the sixty yuan he had prepared in advance to Lin Qingxiang.

Lin Qin, meanwhile, offered a bag of crucian carp weighing about seven or eight liang, a bag of snails, and eight wild duck eggs to Lin Shaojun.

"Why are you giving us so much to eat! You guys sell these for money; getting our wages is enough!" Lin Shaojun dodged, adamantly refusing to accept.

Lin Yi joined in to persuade, "Just take it. In our village, these things are worth something. Wenjun and Ah Qin catch a bunch every day, so take it quickly."

Lin Qin nodded vigorously, "Brother Shaojun, don’t push it back and forth with me again. Take this stuff, it’s still early. We’ll take the bicycles to the opposite bank to sell them. The weather doesn’t look great; it might rain. Let’s wait for clear weather to continue working. Next time we’ll have to hire bigger workers to help."

Mentioning selling bicycles piqued the interest of Lin Qingxiang and his son immediately. They followed Lin Qin’s idea.

The two accepted the items, hurrying to get the bikes hidden in the cave.

After a month, the bikes were dusty but thankfully hadn’t been exposed to sun or rain. After a good wipe, they still shone as good as new.

The father and son carried the bikes onto the fishing boat, looking back at Nanyu, suggesting, "There’s still a lot of cement and sand left. I think we can bring some rocks over and fix up this gap. Entering and exiting the island will just be through this gate, and once the gate is closed, we won’t have to worry about strangers coming in. Safe!"