1983 Small Island, Starting From a Large Farmer

Chapter 687 Return to Meizhou Island

More than a year later, Li Duoyu came to Meizhou Island again and found that there was not much change compared to last year.

Because this island is relatively close to the "Golden" Gate, it was once an important coastal defense front line. There are many trenches and fortifications on the island.

In the past few years, there were even troops stationed. In addition, most of the island is plain, and most of the coastal area is shallow sea.

The geographical location determines that this island is unlikely to develop into a fishing village like Dandan Island that mainly focuses on fishing.

In addition, the previous military garrison on the island severely hindered local development. As a result, the islanders could only rely on fishing and growing sweet potatoes and other crops to solve their food and clothing problems.

Li Duoyu remembers clearly that whenever someone mentioned this island in the past, they would immediately think of the song "Only stones grow but not grass, and the sea breeze blows the stones away."

This ballad is about Meizhou Island. Due to the garrison, Meizhou Island used to be a restricted area. Except for the original islanders, it was impossible for outsiders to go to the island.

On the way to Meizhou Island, Chen Yuanshan also told Li Duoyu a lot of past events about Meizhou Island.

There are some conflicts mentioned, because it is not just the coastal fishermen who believe in Mazu.

Most of the fishermen in the overseas provinces were followers of Mazu. At that time, the fishing boats in the overseas provinces were better.

From time to time, I would come to Meizhou Island in the middle of the night, and then secretly go to the ancestral temple to worship Mazu.

It's a headache for the locals, because the other party is just a fisherman, and it's neither catch nor release.

It seems that because of this contradiction, the local government planned to demolish the ancestral temple directly so that fishermen from overseas provinces would not come here.

But when they heard that the ancestral temple was to be demolished, the local villagers and even the city became anxious.

Just at the critical moment, a journalist named Wang Miao heard about this incident.

Only then did he react to the above, and suppress the matter. Later, due to the relaxation of the relationship with the other side, Chen Yuanshan also talked about a lot of past events about Meizhou Island.

But Li Duoyu is still aware of this general environment. In fact, not only Meizhou Island, but also the entire coastal area of ​​Fujian Province was the same.

Without any big factories, everyone has been struggling on the edge of food and clothing. Fortunately, it is mountainous and close to the sea, so they will not starve to death.

If cross-strait relations had not eased and these major events had not been resolved, the overseas Chinese would not have been able to help Fujian Province even if they had the intention.

Now that I think about it carefully, I can only say that a stable environment is really important for development.

As soon as Li Duoyu's fishing boat docked, the vendors near Meizhou Island Pier immediately looked at the fishing boat.

After the ancestral temple was rekindled, the village near the dock was the first to benefit. Many villagers who fished and grew sweet potatoes started small businesses directly at the dock.

Stalls were set up on the pier to sell food, including candles, incense and paper money. Some sold dried seafood and even opened several seafood snack bars.

Some even served as wild tour guides, guiding pilgrims and teaching them how to worship Mazu.

When they saw the white fishing boat, they all had expressions of envy on their faces.

"Damn it, this boat is so beautiful. Whose overseas Chinese boat does this belong to?"

There were also many begging children already in place. A big boy said to one of the children: "We will gather around you later. You must cry."

In the past few years since incense was rekindled, this group of children have discovered a way to get rich, that is, just wear rags and rags, and then surround these tourists who are offering incense, and keep shouting, "Mazu will bless you, thank you for your good intentions." ”

Some tourists will feel that they are too pitiful and will give them some money. Some tourists will feel that they are too annoying and will just take some fun from them.

Especially those overseas Chinese are very generous with their money. In many cases, they directly give foreign exchange.

There was once a begging child who once received a hundred dollars in foreign exchange. Later, because of this money, two gangs of people who often begged started fighting each other.

After seeing this white fishing boat, the vendors at the pier were very happy. To them, this was definitely a big fat sheep that was easy to slaughter.

At this moment, a young man shouted: "Let me go, isn't this Mr. Li's ship?"

After hearing this, everyone looked at him and asked curiously: "Who is Mr. Li? Is he famous?"

"Li Duoyu!"

"Who is Li Duoyu?"

The young man looked at them with disgust: "You really have never seen the world. The representative of young entrepreneurs in our province is often in the newspaper. Those kelp shreds, grilled squid, and clove fish you are selling at the stall now , all produced by Mr. Li’s Minlong Company.”

One of the aunts quickly picked up the can and asked: "These cans and shredded squid I sell are all produced by him?"

The young man nodded and said, "Yes, these are produced by Mr. Li's Minlong company. I am working for him now."

Someone reacted: "Is it the one from Dandan Island?"

The young man nodded and said, "That's right."

"You told me earlier. You said the guy from Dandan Island, we must know about it. But you said Mr. Li, how did we know?"

Everyone looked at the figure on the fishing boat and still didn't want to believe it: "Mr. Li, why do you look so young? You feel like you are not even thirty yet."

"You know a hammer. People are called young and promising. By the time they reach your age, you won't know how big their business will be."

Seeing Li Duoyu standing on the bow of the boat and throwing the rope, the young man wearing flip-flops trotted over immediately.

"Mr. Li, I'll help you fix it. Just throw the boat rope over and I'll tie it up."

When Li Duoyu saw this young man, he felt that he looked familiar, and then asked, "Are you the little Zheng from the processing plant?"

The young man scratched his head and said, "Mr. Li remembers me. Yes, I am Xiao Zheng from the fifth group of the processing plant. During this period, the Mazu celebration was held and I was called back by the villagers to help."

Li Duoyu really wanted to complain, but with your Putian accent, it would be difficult to forget you.

There are different pronunciations in the eight towns in Fujian Province. If you want to know where you are from, listening to the accent is the fastest way.

Li Duoyu asked: "Are you busy lately?"

The young man replied: "It has been really busy recently. There are many overseas Chinese and leaders coming, and the village does not have enough people to receive it."

After Li Duoyu stepped onto the pier, the vendors setting up stalls nearby were particularly enthusiastic towards him for some unknown reason.

Several people smiled and said hello:

"Hello, Mr. Li."

This made Li Duoyu a little confused. Was he so famous? Even people on Meizhou Island recognized him.

One of the eldest ladies running the stall even said, "Mr. Li, would you like to have a bowl of the sweet potato porridge that was just cooked?"

"Sister, no need, I ate when I came here."

Li Duoyu glanced at the Minlong food displayed on the street vendor: "Sister, are these things easy to sell here?"

"It sells very well."

The eldest sister laughed so hard that her eyes almost closed: "Especially the overseas Chinese, they buy them in whole pieces. Tourists also like them very much, so now we are all out of stock."

"The sales are so good."

"That's for sure. The food produced by your Minlong company is just better than other people's products. I have sold Ludao brand products before, but they are not as delicious as your Minlong products. Now I sell your products instead."

"The reviews are so high."

Li Duoyu was also very happy that his product was recognized. He took out a note with him, took out a pen from his pocket, and wrote a delivery order to his eldest sister.

"Sister, if the goods are not enough to sell, just take this note and go to the above address to find a manager named An Yuliang to get the goods. He will arrange it for you separately."

After getting the note, the eldest sister's hands were so excited that she was shaking. Normally, if she wanted to get the goods, she wouldn't know how many times she would have to turn them around.

Those channel dealers have been increasing prices, especially after the TV commercial was broadcast, the price of canned cloves increased again.

Therefore, the profit from her place has become very low. Now that I have received Mr. Li's note, I have a first-hand source of goods. This is simply a windfall!

She didn't know what to say. With her excited heart and trembling hands, she said incoherently: "Mr. Li, my name is Cai Jinhua. Would you like to sit down for a while and I'll make you some tea. Come to my house for dinner in the evening."

Li Duoyu waved his hand.

"Don't be so polite."

The surrounding vendors were so envious that their eyes were red. Some people really wanted to slap themselves twice. If I had taken the initiative just now, maybe they would be the ones who got the note.

You missed the opportunity to make a fortune. As long as there is a supply of goods, you can simply double your money and make more money! At this moment, the group of children in ragged clothes came out with bowls again, intending to surround Li Duoyu and talk nicely to him.

There was a six or seven-year-old child with runny nose and tears: "We don't have anything to eat, buy us some food."

But as soon as they came on stage, Xiao Zheng scolded them back: "Get out! Go aside quickly. You are eating better than me, and you are pretending to be a beggar."

As a villager, Xiao Zheng knew very well that this gang of beggars had always been organized by someone behind the scenes, and their purpose was very clear.

They just come up and surround each other all the time, making it difficult for them to walk, and some even steal money carelessly.

In the past two years, due to the large number of pilgrims and overseas Chinese, these little beggars have really made a lot of money. Some of them have really difficult families.

But some children, whose living conditions are good to begin with, deliberately dress in rags and come out to beg.

Privately, he started smoking at a young age, and even smoked imported cigarettes. Even before his hair was fully grown, he was still eating and drinking all day long. He also started a gang and fought everywhere all day long.

After being scolded by Xiao Zheng, these little beggars were very smart and understood that they could not mess with the boss at the moment.

Xiao Zheng said: "Mr. Li, are you here for the meeting too?"

"Yes, I'm here for a meeting."

"Then I happen to know where they are meeting, and I will take you with me."

Chen Yuanshan, who came with him, originally wanted to show Li Duoyu the way and introduce some people to him, but he didn't expect that as soon as he landed on the shore, there were people there.

It’s good to have money!

On the way to the ancestral temple, Li Duoyu looked around. Compared with last year, there were still some changes.

There are a lot of newly built houses near the pier, but they are still incomparable to Dandan Island. After all, the development is relatively late.

Although local organizations attach great importance to Mazu culture, they seem to be more willing to spend funds on the facade of the ancestral temple.

Although it's not September 9 yet, some pilgrims have already come to pay their respects in advance. There is a public toilet along the way, and they have already started queuing up.

Especially on the women's side, it felt like there were more than twenty people in line, and there were many women outside shouting: "Is it okay inside? Hurry up!"

Li Duoyu couldn't help but ask: "Are there very few public toilets on our island?"

Xiao Zheng replied: "Yes, recently there are more pilgrims, and our villagers are complaining that the public toilets are occupied by pilgrims, and they have no place to go to the toilet during the day."

"Didn't they build one or two more?"

Xiao Zheng scratched his head: "I don't know about that."

Li Duoyu frowned slightly. There are so few public toilets. If tens of thousands of people go to the island collectively on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, the scene of queuing to go to the toilet will be really spectacular.

It's okay for men, just find a stone or go to the beach, but women will suffer. If they have diarrhea, it's not impossible to poop in their pants.

Led by Xiao Zheng, they came to a building with a red star hanging on it. It looked like a house used by the garrison in the past, and now it was temporarily used as a meeting room.

There was also a simple banner with some words on it.

[Mazu Millennium Festival Preparation Group]

Although Li Duoyu is a director, he is not a staff member of the Millennium Festival Preparation Group this time.

The preparatory group was led by the city, and there were various working groups in it, including one responsible for replanning and building the ancestral temple.

There were people responsible for building the statue of Mazu, and there were people responsible for reception, and there was also a circle of overseas Chinese.

It can be said that the leaders above also attached great importance to this event. It is said that on September 9, the big leaders are likely to come in person, so Li Duoyu is at best just a small kalami, not an important person.

After arriving at the conference room, there was a meeting table in the shape of a Chinese character "Hui", and many people were already seated.

After Li Duoyu came in, he found a seat at the back and sat down, but he didn't expect that as soon as he sat down, someone waved at him and said:

"Hi, Duoyu, you are a director, your seat is here!"

After seeing this person, Li Duoyu was a little speechless. He always felt that every time he participated in a big event, it was easy to bump into this Lin Akuan.

Li Duoyu originally just wanted to be low-key, but he didn't expect that he couldn't be low-key at all. Lin Akuan is really a human with a trumpet in his mouth.

After greeting Li Duoyu, he immediately introduced Li Duoyu to the surrounding overseas Chinese.

"Let me introduce you to the young entrepreneur representative of our province. He is very young and has become the largest aquaculture company in our province in just a few years.

The grilled eels and canned anchovies I gave you are all produced by Mr. Li.

He is also a director of our ancestral temple. It is said that the Tianhou Temple on Dandan Island is also very spiritual. When Mr. Li was the boss last year, he directly led the economy of the entire island to take off."

Li Duoyu's face was a little red because of his praise, and these overseas Chinese were also looking at Li Duoyu up and down.

"Young and promising."

Then, they took out their business cards: "Mr. Li, my name is Zhang Weigang, I work in the steel industry, let me meet you."