In 1983, a small island started 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 had not been much changes compared to last year.

Because the island is relatively close to Kinmen, it was once an important coastal defense front, and there are many trenches and fortifications on the island.

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

Due to its geographical location, it is unlikely that this island will develop into a fishing village like Dandan Island, which mainly relies on fishing.

In addition, the presence of troops stationed on the island previously seriously hampered local development, causing the islanders to rely on fishing and growing crops such as sweet potatoes to solve their food and clothing and livelihood problems.

Li Duoyu remembers it very clearly. Whenever someone mentioned this island in the past, they would immediately think of the folk song "Only stones grow, no grass, and the sea breeze blows the stones away."

This ballad is about Meizhou Island. Due to the garrison there, Meizhou Island could be said to be a restricted area in the past. 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 stories about the past of Meizhou Island.

Some conflicts were mentioned, because those who believed in Mazu were not just coastal fishermen.

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

From time to time, he would arrive at Meizhou Island in the middle of the night and sneak into the ancestral temple to worship Mazu.

It was a real headache for the locals because the other side was just fishermen and they couldn’t catch or release them.

It seemed that because of this conflict, the local authorities planned to demolish the ancestral temple directly so that fishermen from overseas provinces would not come.

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

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

This was then reported to the higher authorities, and the matter was suppressed. Later, due to the easing of relations with the other side,
In addition to these, Chen Yuanshan also talked about a lot of past events on Meizhou Island.

But Li Duoyu was still clear about the general environment. In fact, it was not just Meizhou Island, but 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, there are many mountains and the sea, so people don’t starve to death.

If it weren't for the easing of cross-strait relations and major events such as reform and opening up, overseas Chinese would not be able to help Fujian Province even if they wanted to.

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 the Meizhou Island Pier immediately looked towards the fishing boat.

Since the incense of the ancestral temple was rekindled, the first to benefit was the village near the pier. Many villagers who used to fish and grow sweet potatoes started small businesses directly at the pier.

There are stalls at the pier selling food, candles, incense and paper money. Some sell dried seafood, and there are even several seafood snack bars.

Some even acted as tour guides, leading the pilgrims and teaching them how to worship Mazu.

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

"Wow, this boat is so beautiful. Which overseas Chinese owns this boat?"

There were also many begging children who were already in place. A big boy said to one of the children, "We will surround you later, and you must cry."

In the past few years since the incense was rekindled, these children have found a way to get rich. They just need to wear tattered clothes, surround the tourists who come to worship, and keep shouting "Mazu will bless you, thank you for your kindness."

Some tourists would feel sorry for them and give them some money, while some tourists would just give them some money as a token of their appreciation because they are too annoying.

Especially those overseas Chinese, they are very generous, and often give foreign currency directly.

There was once a begging child who received over 100 yuan in foreign currency. Later, because of this money, two groups of beggars who often went there started fighting with each other.

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

At this moment, a young man shouted, "Oh my god, isn't this Mr. Li's boat?"

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

"Li Duoyu!"

"Who is Li Duoyu?"

The young man looked at them with disdain: "You really haven't seen the world. We are the representatives of young entrepreneurs in our province and are often in the newspapers. The kelp, grilled squid, and anchovies you are selling at your stall are all produced by Mr. Li's Minlong Company."

One of the ladies quickly picked up the can and asked, "Are these cans and the squid strips I'm selling 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 responded: "Is it the one from Dandan Island?"

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

"Why didn't you tell me earlier? If you're talking about the one from Dandan Island, we definitely know him. But if you're talking about Mr. Li, how would we know?"

Everyone looked at the figure on the fishing boat, still a little reluctant to believe: "Your CEO Li, how come he looks so young, he doesn't even look 30 yet."

"You know nothing. They are young and promising. When they reach your age, I don't know how big their business will be."

Seeing Li Duoyu standing at the bow and throwing the rope, the young man in flip-flops trotted over immediately.

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

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

The young man scratched his head and said:
"Mr. Li, remember me? Yes, I'm Xiao Zheng from the fifth group of the processing plant. The villagers called me back to help with the Mazu celebration during this period."

Li Duoyu really wanted to complain, it is quite difficult to forget you because of your Putian accent.

The dialects in Fujian Province vary from place to place. If you want to tell where someone is from, the quickest way is to listen to their accent.

Li Duoyu asked, "Are you busy recently?"

The young man replied: "It has indeed been quite busy recently. There are many overseas Chinese and leaders coming here, and the village does not have enough staff to receive them."

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

Several of them greeted with a smile:

"Hello, Mr. Li."

This made Li Duoyu a little dazed. Was he so famous that even people on Meizhou Island recognized him?

A lady at a stall even greeted him, "Here's some freshly cooked sweet potato porridge. Would you like to have a bowl, Mr. Li?"

"No need, sis. I ate when I came here."

Li Duoyu glanced at the Minlong Foods on the stall: "Sister, are these things selling well here?"

"It's selling very well." The older sister smiled until her eyes almost closed. "Especially the overseas Chinese, they buy them in bulk. Tourists also like them very much. We are now out of stock."

“Sales are so good.”

"Of course, the products produced by your Minlong Company are better than those of other companies. I used to sell Ludao brand, but they were not as good as your Minlong brand. Now I sell yours instead."

“It’s rated so highly.”

Li Duoyu was very happy that his product was recognized. He took out a note, took out a pen from his pocket, and wrote a delivery note for his elder sister.

"Sister, if the goods are not enough to sell, you can take this note and go to the address above to find a manager named An Yuliang to get the goods. He will make individual arrangements for you."

After receiving the note, the elder sister’s hands were shaking with excitement. Normally, if she wanted to buy the goods, she didn’t know how many times they would pass through her hands.

Those channel dealers have been raising prices non-stop, especially after the TV commercial was broadcast, the price of canned anchovies has increased again.

Therefore, the profit for her became very low. Now after getting Mr. Li's note, it is equivalent to having first-hand source of goods. This is simply a windfall!

She didn't know what to say. Her heart was agitated, her hands were shaking, and she spoke incoherently, "Mr. Li, my name is Cai Jinhua. Would you like to sit for a while? I'll make you some tea. Come to my house for dinner tonight."

Li Duoyu waved his hand.

"you are very welcome."

The surrounding vendors were so envious that their eyes turned red. Some of them really wanted to slap themselves twice. If they had been more proactive just now, they might have been the ones who got the tickets.

You missed the opportunity to get rich quickly. As long as you have the supply, you can double your money!
At this moment, the group of ragged children came out with bowls again, intending to surround Li Duoyu and say nice things to him.

There was a child of about six or seven years old, crying and saying, "We have nothing to eat, please buy us some food."

But as soon as they came on stage, Xiao Zheng scolded them back: "Get lost! Get out of the way! You eat better than me, and you are trying to act like a beggar."

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

They just come up and surround the other person, making it difficult for the other person to walk, and some even try to steal money.

In the past two years, thanks to the large number of pilgrims and overseas Chinese, this group of little beggars have made a lot of money. Some of them come from families that are really in financial difficulty.

But some children, whose living conditions are originally good, deliberately wear tattered clothes and go out to beg.

Privately, he started smoking at a very young age, and even smoked imported cigarettes. He ate meat and fish every day even before his hair fully grew. He also started a gang and fought everywhere.

After being scolded by Xiao Zheng, these little beggars were very smart and realized that they should not mess with this boss.

Xiao Zheng said, "Mr. Li, are you here for the meeting as well?"

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

"Then I happen to know where they are holding the meeting. I will take you there."

Chen Yuanshan, who came along, originally wanted to show Li Duoyu the way and introduce some people to him, but he didn't expect that as soon as he got ashore, there would be people following him around.

It's good to have money!

On the way to the ancestral temple, Li Duoyu looked around and found some changes compared to last year.

There are many newly built houses near the pier, but they cannot be compared with Dandan Island. After all, its development is relatively late.

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

Although it is not the ninth day of the ninth lunar month yet, some pilgrims have already come to worship in advance. There is a public toilet along the way, and people have already started queuing up.

Especially on the side marked for women, it felt like there were more than 20 people in line, and many women were shouting outside: "Is it ready inside? Hurry up!"

Li Duoyu couldn't help but ask, "Are there not enough public toilets on our island?"

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

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

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

Li Duoyu frowned slightly. There were so few public toilets. If tens of thousands of people went to the island together on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, the scene of people queuing to use the toilet would be really spectacular.

It's okay for men, they can just find a rock or go to the beach, but it's painful for women, it's possible that they will poop in their pants if they have diarrhea.

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

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

[Mazu Millennium Festival Preparation Group]

Although Li Duoyu is a director, he is not a staff member of the Millennium Festival Preparatory Committee.

The preparatory group this time is led by the municipal government, and it includes various working groups, including one specifically responsible for replanning and rebuilding the ancestral temple.

There are people responsible for building the statue of Mazu, people in charge of reception, and there is also a circle of overseas Chinese.

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

When we arrived at the conference room, we saw a U-shaped conference table with many people already seated.

After Li Duoyu came in, he found a seat at the back and sat down. Unexpectedly, as soon as he sat down, someone waved at him and said:

"Hey, Duoyu, you're the director, your position is here!"

After seeing this person, Li Duoyu was a little speechless. He always felt that every time he attended a big event, he would easily run into this Lin Akuan.

Li Duoyu originally just wanted to keep a low profile, but he didn't expect that he couldn't keep a low profile at all. Lin Akuan was 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 to you a representative of young entrepreneurs in our province. He is very young and it only took him a few years to build the largest aquaculture company in our province.

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 became the head of the family last year, he directly led the economy of the entire island to take off. "

Li Duoyu's face turned red due to his praise, and these overseas Chinese were also looking Li Duoyu up and down.

"Young and promising."

Then they took out their business cards and said, "Mr. Li, my name is Zhang Weigang and I work in the steel industry. Nice to meet you."

(End of this chapter)