In the 1970s, I Reel in Giant Fish, and My Beautiful Wife Helps Me Get Rich

[Period setting + beachcombing + giant catches + educated youth + making a fortune + beautiful wife + satisfying power fantasy + no saintly self-sacrifice]

Gu Chaosheng opens his eyes and finds himself back in 1972.

In his previous life, he was a spineless educated youth assigned to a poor fishing village by the sea. He starved for three years and died of illness on an earthen bed.

Now given another life, he returns with thirty years of beachcombing experience and a memory of every reef in these waters.

On his first day at sea, while others pry snails from cracks in the rocks, he flips a five-pound giant green crab into his basket!

On the third day, as the tide goes out, while others dig for razor clams in the mudflats, one stroke of his shovel turns up a century-old oyster king as tall as a man!

On the seventh day, when they head out to sea, everyone else returns with empty nets, but he hauls in a wild yellow croaker weighing 200 pounds, astonishing the whole village!

From then on, Gu Chaosheng's beachcombing exploits are unstoppable.

Lobsters, abalone, sea cucumbers, giant groupers... He brings home deep-sea behemoths that most people never see even once in their lives, every few days.

The prettiest girl in the village, Song Tanning, comes to see him of her own accord. "Educated Youth Gu, my father says that if you're willing, he'll let me marry you."

The production brigade leader panics. "Xiao Gu, with skills like yours, could you teach the whole village?"

The commune director slaps the table. "I want this educated youth!"

Gu Chaosheng smiles as he looks down at the poor, forgotten bay beneath his feet.

"In my previous life, you called it Poor Man's Bay. In this life, I'm going to turn it into the richest stretch of golden coast in all of Southeast China."