1983 Small Island, Starting From a Large Farmer

According to the folk customs of Dandan Island, whether it is the 'head of the family' or the 'deputy head of the family', they can only take turns once in a lifetime, and they must still stay in the village.

Those who have gone to school like Chen Dongqing are not qualified to be elected as the leader. They must have talents working in the village.

 For most people on Dandan Island, the Toujia thing is much more powerful than the “one-only-buy-in-a-lifetime” diamond.

 Once villagers have the opportunity to become the head of the family, everyone will do their best to do their responsibilities. Some people even try to make the head of the family a good one, and make all the activities of this session beautiful.

And Chen Bian, who threw the Yin cup three times, is not to mention how depressed he is now. He probably won't be able to live a good life this year.

Logically speaking, he has no chance to be the leader in his life, unless the people in his village are willing to give him the opportunity to be the leader.

This reminded Li Duoyu of some things from his previous life. Many people on the Internet really don’t understand why they value these “feudal superstitions” so much. They think they are ignorant and want to ask the gods for everything.

 But this is not without reason. First of all, it has to do with their geographical location. Their province is one of the worst coastal living environments.

 The geographical environment of eight mountains, one water and one farmland meant that we were destined not to be able to grow much food.

In addition, there are typhoons every year. To exaggerate, there are several typhoons a year. Whether you can eat or not depends on God's approval or not.

　　Many people starved to death during the sea migration order, and were harassed by Japanese pirates and pirates all year round. It can be said that their ancestors have been living in dire straits.

But it cannot be said that everything is bad. It is this harsh geographical environment that has made their province an indisputable place for military strategists since ancient times.

Every time there is a war, many outsiders will flee here, and they bring not only the population, but also the beliefs of various places.

 In a sense, their province has relatively well preserved some ancient folk culture.

Of course, these are not enough to make local people worship "gods". The fundamental reason is that life is too hard.

Like those who go fishing along the coast, they often go out in the morning and are fine, but they may not even find the body the next day.

As for those who went to Nanyang to make money, it is possible that an entire boatload of people disappeared.

But in order to survive, they have no choice but to place their spirits in the gods to avoid being tortured by reality and collapse.

 For coastal fishermen, Mazu is not just a god, but a belief and spiritual sustenance for them to live a better and stronger life.

In addition to Mazu, there are many similar "gods". Those who are often bitten by poisonous snakes in the mountains will believe in "Servant God".

Those who are afraid that their children will die young and be difficult to raise will go to pray to their neighbor Chen Jinggu.

It is said in many places that poor people come out of poor mountains and harsh waters, but it is different here. What comes out of poor mountains and harsh waters is that "you will win only if you love to work hard."

 In the 16th century, a businessman named Chen Zhenlong next door to Dandan Island took risks and introduced sweet potatoes from Luzon into the country, which solved many food and clothing problems.

Countless ancestors who went to Southeast Asia returned to China to donate money and open schools when their motherland was in crisis.

Feudal superstition is really out of the question. To outsiders, they seem to be very pedantic and superstitious, and would spend a lot of money on such illusory things.

 But generally those who say this have not understood them in depth and do not understand how important these folk beliefs are to the local people.

 But no matter what outsiders say or understand, it doesn’t matter. The most important thing is that once wandering or patrolling starts again, the entire Dandan Island, men, women, old and young, will be particularly excited and happy.

 After the news spread that the "security patrol" will be carried out next year, the older generation took out the gongs and drums that had been hidden for many years on the same day and started "dong dong banging".

There are also fisher girls who dug out Mazu clothes that had been hidden for almost twenty years. When they first wore these clothes, they were still young girls.

 When I took it out from the bottom of the box again, my face was already covered with wrinkles, but after washing the clothes, I could still leave them for the children to wear.

The "big boss" elected by Li Duoyu is the representative of the annual worship activities of Dandan Island believers.

 It is very rare for two villages to jointly organize an event, and it may be the only one that does so this time.

  It will be difficult to talk about next year, so he, the big boss, has a very "status".

 But the greater the status, the more things he has to do. He is not only responsible for organizing all the temple sacrificial activities in Thean Hou Temple that year.

There are things like "paying homage to ancestors, offering incense", "inspecting security", "inviting operas", etc., as well as daily incense burning, birthdays of important gods, annual sacrifices, daily cleaning and management of palaces and temples, etc.

But Li Duoyu didn't know how to deal with many things at all. After all, people of his and Xiaoying's generation had never experienced many temple fairs.

　　When I was a child, I had just learned to carry the flag, and then the ten years passed and the flag was confiscated.

 Speaking of which, Thean Hou Temple on Dandan Island is considered good. It was not "destroyed" and used as a warehouse. It was only sealed for ten years.

Wang Dapao was relatively conscientious in this regard. He did not take the lead in causing destruction back then. On the contrary, many palaces and temples in Shangfeng Town were destroyed, and some even smashed the statues of gods.

However, Li Duoyu, who became the boss, was completely confused and didn't know what to do at all. He just did whatever others asked him to do.

Zhang Jinsha completely became his mouthpiece, constantly coming over to call him, it’s time to say goodbye, if there is something that requires you to throw the Holy Grail, ask Mazu what to do next.

There is something else that he has no money to buy, so he needs to pay it in advance. To be honest, Li Duoyu doesn't think this leader has much power, but feels like a tool man.

The real people in charge of the affairs of the Tianhou Palace are Chen Yuanshan and Chen Huotan, both of whom are highly respected.

Even if Lao Li and A Niang go there, they are still juniors and have to obey their orders.

The villagers in Chenjiacun are quite spirited about Ah Q. They have been saying in the past two days that the reason why Mazu chose him to be the head of the family was to make him pay.

Li Duoyu quite agrees with this point. In the past two days, he has really come here to pay.

Once the patrol is restarted, there will be too many places where money will be spent.

 First of all, Thean Hou Temple needs to be renovated. For example, the tiles are broken and need to be repaired, the red paint on the wall is gone and needs to be repainted, and the paintings on the wall need to be repainted.

There are also various items needed for patrolling, including door banners, Mazu's umbrellas, shrines, clairvoyant and wind-eared idols that also need to be customized.

 After the Chinese New Year, you have to charter a boat to bring the Mazu spirits on the island to the ancestral temple to pay homage to the ancestors and offer incense. This is also a big expense.

After those ten years, the Thean Hou Temple on the island is now extremely poor. Daily expenses are a problem. How can there be money to do this?

Of course, it is impossible for Li Duoyu to come up with all the money. He is just putting it aside for the time being. When the time comes, after the donation is over.

 Once there is money in the accounts of Tianhou Palace, the part of the money he advanced will be returned to him.

  If Li Duoyu advances money for other matters, Aunt Chen Huiying will definitely have objections, but for matters related to Mazu, she will say: "It's okay. The more money you advance, the more blessings you will receive."

 Fortunately, the other two deputy heads are also very concerned about the affairs of Tianhou Palace, and Li Duoyu is also willing to be a money-splitting boy who only spends money and does little work. After all, he already had enough things going on. If the incident at Tianhou Palace was added to it, it would be impossible to turn around.

 The day of the twenty-ninth.

 Lao Li came to help replace him. Li Duoyu hurriedly ran out of the Tianhou Palace to get some air. His eyes were red from the incense in the past two days.

I have been listening to the sound of firecrackers, and I still have that buzzing sound in my ears.

Li Duoyu walked aimlessly, but without thinking, he came to the dock.

 Lao Jin's pork stall is doing very well, and there are so many people queuing up to buy pork. Someone shouted directly: "Lao Jin, leave me ten catties of ribs and five catties of pork belly."

“Now that the pork belly is gone, a pig will be killed tonight. If you really want it, come here early and line up.”

 “Can you reserve it for me?”

“There’s no way to reserve it. You have to queue up by yourself. I haven’t even finished killing the pigs, and others have already almost snatched them all.”

Seeing Li Duoyu pass by, Xiao Jin, who was helping his father sell pork, quickly greeted him: "Brother Yu, do you want to buy meat?"

 Lao Jin, who was wearing an apron and holding a butcher's knife in his hand, saw Li Duoyu, ignored the villagers queuing up, and ran over with a smile on his face.

“Big boss, congratulations, congratulations, I’ve left you a pig’s head and twenty pounds of pork belly to pay your respects to.”

Just as Lao Jin finished speaking, the villager who just shouted for pork belly said: "Duoyu, Mazu on our island is a vegetarian. Why are you worshiping a pig head? Give me the pig head and pork belly."

Lao Jin glared and said: "Stinky Tou, what do you know? Meat dishes are not for Mazu, but for Clairvoyants, Shunfeng Er, and shrimp soldiers and crab generals."

A villager also explained: "Lao Jin is right. With so many ships on the sea now, Mazu will definitely be overwhelmed. We need to give the shrimp soldiers and crab generals more meat, otherwise they will not have the energy to help us."

 After hearing this, the villagers in line couldn't help but laugh.

Li Duoyu really didn't understand this very well: "Okay, then I'll pay the money first and leave it here for you. I'll come over to get it later."

 Lao Jin quickly waved his hand and said, "No, my little Jin went to work at your place, and I haven't even come to thank him properly."

Seeing that Lao Jin refused to accept the money, Li Duoyu became serious on the spot: "This won't work. One yard will be one yard. If you don't count the money, I won't let you have a pig head. I will go directly to the next village to buy it."

Seeing Li Duoyu's serious expression, Lao Jin frowned and had no choice but to say: "That's okay, add twenty pounds of pork belly to the pig's head, just give me thirty-five pounds."

Li Duoyu knew very well that the price was definitely low, but he didn’t want to continue to struggle with this matter, so he gave Lao Jin 35 yuan.

Lao Jin held a butcher's knife in one hand, smiled, and watched him leave. Originally, he wanted Xiao Jin to learn how to butcher pigs.

Unexpectedly, this child fell in love with the village director and was asked to work in the factory. No one on the island knows now. Anyone who can work in the Li Duo Fish Factory has a very promising future.

Li Duoyu then walked forward less than a hundred meters and came to the dock.

 There are still many fishmongers on the pier, and each of them shouts very loudly. There are also people with loudspeakers shouting over there:

“Whoever has cages or fish farmers, hurry up and sell the fish. The last purchase is at a high price. After this batch is over, the price of seafood will be halved tonight.”

“I’d like to inform you again, it’s twenty-nine and the price will be reduced soon. Everyone sell quickly.”

In the past two days, the fishmongers have united in a rare way and no longer undermine each other.

　　After Li Duoyu arrived, the fishmongers at the dock all said, "Oh, the boss is here to inspect our work."

Li Duoyu smiled awkwardly. He was still a little uncomfortable with this new title.

Ever since he became the boss, everyone no longer calls him Director Li, preferring to call him the boss.

 Lao Mi asked:

“Master, didn’t you bring in more seafood this year? Didn’t you raise a lot last year?”

Li Duoyu looked helpless: "I want to do it too, but I don't have time this year."

 Lao Mi said disgustedly: "I must have made a lot of money, so I won't look down on these small money."

Li Duoyu rolled his eyes at him: "How is it possible? If I have the goods, you can't try to lower the price today."

Lao Mi immediately said: "Then I'd better stop raising you from now on. I really won't make a dime from doing business with you."

Other fishmongers also followed suit and said, "There's no way, Duoyu is so good. It's really hard to make money from him."

Li Duoyu smiled and said, "Are you praising me or hurting me?"

"Of course I am praising you. You are the boss and the village director. How dare we harm you?"

After hearing this, everyone laughed, and Li Duoyu briefly chatted with everyone at the dock. Unexpectedly, Zhao Dahai and Zhao Erniu came over.

“Brother Yu, let me ask you something. We two brothers have bought a lot of live seafood. Should we sell it now or later?”

Li Duoyu looked at these two people and found that the two brothers were actually quite hard-working and knew how to imitate him.

Li Duoyu thought for a while and said: "I can't guarantee you this. If you want to take a gamble, sell it later. From my experience, the price may rise sharply tonight."

 “Thank you Brother Yu, we understand.”

The Zhao brothers originally wanted to endure it, but listened to Li Duoyu's words and waited until the last moment to release the live fish.

I don’t know what’s going on, but the fishmonger kept saying that the two brothers were really worried that the price of seafood would be halved tonight.

At about four o'clock in the afternoon on the 29th, the Zhao brothers sold all the grouper, snapper and sea bass they caught during this period.

However.

They finished selling the seafood, and within a few hours, the fishmonger who had just returned from Rongcheng shouted directly:

“Everyone, hurry up and catch fish. The sales volume this year is very good. The city sells seafood all night long, and the price may double.”

Hearing this, the Zhao brothers almost vomited blood. Although they made a lot of money this year and bought a lot of pork during the Chinese New Year, they felt that this year was not going well.

Zhao Erniu complained: "I told you to listen to Duoyu, but you didn't believe it. You must be stupid now."

Zhao Dahai hated it so much that his teeth almost broke: "Damn it, from now on, if many fish ask me to eat shit, I will eat it too." (End of Chapter)