Four or five fishing boats, a group of teenagers—that's all there is to Bonnie and her planting team.
"Alright, that's all for today. Everyone's tired. Let's have a good meal when we get back, get some rest tonight, and continue tomorrow."
"Sigh, we're still not strong enough, so it was mostly Bonnie who did it."
Lin Hai felt a little frustrated. He was good at diving, but his strength was limited, especially in the sea, where he simply didn't know how to use that strength.
"You're still young, you've already done well. You need to build up your strength little by little. It's not too late to feel discouraged when you're over twenty."
Their average age was less than fifteen years old. In later generations, they wouldn't even have graduated from junior high school, and most of them would still need their parents to pick them up and drop them off at school. They would still be outsmarting their parents for more time to play mobile games, or whining to their mothers for a bite less of vegetables.
"Alright, now that you put it that way, we're all really ashamed. We're all adults, we have the strength but no swimming skills, and we haven't been able to help much, have we?"
Even the usually witty Li Gang was a little frustrated; they hadn't been of much help today. They couldn't reach the designated spot, and even if they did, they had to swim back up for air before they could even swing their hammers a few times.
Han Weidong also fell silent. He wasn't good at everything either. In the past, he had been praised too highly in Beijing.
"What are you doing? Is this a self-criticism meeting? You are all already very good, really. None of us were born with good skills, we all developed them through practice. Once you know your shortcomings, you can improve by learning from your strengths and working hard."
Bonnie was surprised that these carefree boys knew how to reflect on their actions. It's not easy for them!
"Han Weidong, you guys learn to swim and dive with Lin Hai and the others. Lin Hai, you guys learn to train your physical fitness with Han Weidong and the others. Learn from each other's strengths, help each other, and becoming a 'white streak in the waves' is not a dream!"
"Sister Bonnie, who is 'White Streak in the Waves'? Is she from our island? I've never heard of her."
Lin Hai scratched his head, wondering who the "White Streak in the Waves" was.
"I told you to read more books, but you all ignored me. Who is this 'White Streak in the Waves'? I really want to crack open your head and see if it's filled with mush."
"Ha ha……"
Looking at the furious Bao Ni and the bewildered Lin Hai, Li Gang couldn't help but burst into laughter, instantly dispelling his earlier frustration.
"Brother, tonight I'll tell you all about who the White Streak in the Waves is!"
"We want to hear it too! We've never heard of it before, and we don't know where Sister Bonnie knows her?"
Bonnie really wanted to grab a handful of straw and shut the speaker up; they just couldn't talk to each other!
This little incident livened up the atmosphere, and everyone was no longer disappointed.
After the boat docked, Bonnie didn't go to eat with them. She wanted to check on how Grandpa and the others were doing with the rope weaving and whether they had made enough bamboo rafts.
"Grandpa, how's the work going? We'll need straw ropes and bamboo rafts in a few days."
“Baoni, with us veterans on the field, we’re not just two, we’re at least one and a half.”
Third Grandpa said with a smile, "I'll never admit I'm old."
"That's great! I knew it; no one but the elders could have done this. I'll remember that, and I'll recommend you for credit once our experiment is successful!"
"It's fine to ask for credit, but just buy us a bottle of your grandpa's good wine. We old folks don't need one bottle each, just one bottle for each of us."
Everyone present was a member of the Lin family, related by blood or marriage. They had all watched Bao Ni grow up and were very familiar with her. They had no other hobbies than a drink, but in those days, even getting enough to eat was difficult, let alone having spare money to buy alcohol.
"This is easy to solve. There's no need for a victory celebration. The day I leave the island, I'll buy two bottles of good wine so you can have your fill. On the day we succeed, one bottle for each of us, how about that?"
"If we're talking about people on our island, Bonnie is the most promising, open-minded, and daring. Alright, we old guys will live and work hard for your sake, and wait for the day Bonnie succeeds."
"good!"
Putting everything else aside, the old men's craftsmanship is truly excellent. The straw ropes are woven quite beautifully, with no visible seams; they're all hidden inside. Such ropes are very sturdy and won't break easily.
The bamboo rafts were also made neatly and cleanly, with each raft made from bamboo of roughly the same thickness.
"Okay, with my grandpas backing me up, I can just charge forward without any worries!"
Don't worry!
Everything is ready except for the final push. The preparations have been done well, and we can start planting seedlings in May!
Why are you home?
Bonnie led Sanqi home, only to find Gu Ye washing clothes in the yard.
"I went to the fleet on business today and haven't been back to the station since. How's everything going for you?"
"Today was the first day of driving the piles, and those guys were discouraged and their morale is low!"
Bonnie didn't have any good ideas other than encouragement. Strength can't be gained overnight, and diving skills can't be developed overnight either.
"I'll bring some people to help you with this tomorrow, and we'll also give you some pointers on underwater operations."
"Will it work? Won't they accuse you of abusing your power?"
Bonnie thought of Old Jiang, a serious man who was particularly law-abiding and whose motto was "Don't abuse your power," and he always kept his word.
"How is this an abuse of power? The military is involved too! They can't just take the benefits without doing any work. Besides, this is about the military and civilians being one family!"
"Thank you, Commander Gu. On behalf of the island's people, I thank the military for their support and assistance!"
"What are you thanking me for?"
After chasing the chicks over, Sanqi overheard a tail and quickly chimed in.
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