Tides of 1976: Tales of a Fishing Village

In 1976, the sea breeze carried a salty tang through Crescent Bay, a fishing village on the Jiaodong Peninsula. Lin Zijie, a modern man in a new life, suddenly opened his eyes and found himself transformed into a dirt-poor young fisherman from the village. He had a drafty earthen house, the vast sea before him, two honest older brothers, a dependable brother-in-law, and a close-knit group of childhood friends.

His knowledge of modern aquaculture and experience in deep-sea fishing became his greatest advantage. While others combed the shore for clams and tiny shrimp, he could pinpoint wild abalone in crevices between rocks and precious sea cucumbers hidden beneath the shallows. While others relied on luck to catch fish, he understood the tides and knew how to spot schools, bringing in plump sea bass and large yellow croaker one after another.

With the first seed money he saved from beachcombing and fishing, Lin Zijie teamed up with his brothers and brother-in-law, called in his childhood friends, and pooled their money to buy a small fishing boat. From mantis shrimp and swimming crabs in coastal waters to tuna and Spanish mackerel in the open sea, they braved wind and waves, returning with every net full of a bountiful catch.

The small fishing boat gave way to a larger motor vessel, and wooden boats were upgraded to steel-hulled ships. Their operations expanded from coastal waters to the open sea. Together with his family and friends, Lin Zijie forged a path to prosperity through the heaving waves. The neatly stacked catch in the hold bore witness to the family’s unity and harmony, while the vendors’ shouts rising and falling along the dock sounded the call to change their fortunes.

See how Lin Zijie uses his skills in an era of passion and promise, combing the shore and riding the waves, leading his family and friends to prosperity, letting the lights of their fishing village illuminate the sea and sky, and writing a stirring legend of village life!