Chapter Summaries

Jiang Xia planned to expand her food workshop and offered Xu Ling a job making dried fish after Xu Ling agreed to date Zhou Guodong. The chapter ended with Xu Ling accepting the offer and promising to walk to work until she could buy a bicycle.

• Zhou Guodong and Father Zhou brought home young Blue Mussels, then hurried to tie them to wooden stakes during the ebb tide.
• Xu Ling told Second Wife of Male Cousin that she liked Zhou Guodong and had agreed to go to the market with him.
• Mother Zhou, Second Wife of Male Cousin, and Jiang Xia advised Xu Ling to date Zhou Guodong for a while before deciding whether to marry him.
• Jiang Xia decided to hire another worker as she planned to expand production at her food workshop.
• Jiang Xia offered Xu Ling a one-month probationary job making dried fish, with a sixty-yuan probationary salary and an eighty-yuan monthly salary afterward.
• Xu Ling accepted the offer and said she would walk to work until she could buy a bicycle.

Zhou Chenglei and Father Zhou showed villagers that their Blue Mussels had survived, prompting Zhou Guodong and others to rent sea areas to raise them. By evening, Li Xiuxian learned that the best beaches were already rented and was asked how much sea her family had leased.

• Zhou Chenglei returned Zhou Guodong's three hundred yuan so he could rent a sea area, then asked him to rent another two hundred mu for Zhou Chenglei.
• Jiang Xia and Mother Zhou visited the beach, where Zhou Chenglei confirmed the Blue Mussels had survived and begun growing.
• Villagers gathered to inspect the Blue Mussels, asked Father Zhou about raising them, and some helped with the work.
• Jiang Xia and Mother Zhou collected shrimp, crabs, and shellfish caught in the nets around the stakes as villagers watched enviously.
• Li Xiuxian heard that villagers had rented the good beaches to raise Blue Mussels, then was asked how much sea her family had rented.

Li Xiuxian discovered that the village’s available shoreline had been rented for Blue Mussel farming, while Zhou Chengsen blamed her for refusing to join Zhou Chenglei’s plan earlier. After checking on Lei Yuzhen with her parents, Jiang Xia learned that her father would be away for a month, and Zhou Chenglei went to find Zhou Chengsen.

• Li Xiuxian learned at the Production Team that villagers including Zhou Chenglei’s relatives and associates had rented the available sea for Blue Mussel farming.
• Tian Caihua told Li Xiuxian that her family had rented two hundred mu and was testing the mussel operation cautiously.
• Li Xiuxian urged Zhou Chengsen to rent sea, but he refused and said he had skipped the opportunity because she wanted profit without risk.
• Jiang Xia called Mother Jiang and learned that her parents were watching Lei Yuzhen’s procurement work and saw no serious issue unless she took kickbacks or colluded with suppliers.
• Father Jiang told Jiang Xia that he would be away in the Capital City for about a month and Mother Jiang would return the following week.
• Zhou Chenglei went to the Old House to find Zhou Chengsen.

Zhou Chenglei arranged for Zhou Chengsen to rent sea area to raise Blue Mussels, while Jiang Xia and Mother Zhou went to the fair to buy provisions. At the fair, Jiang Xia and Zhou Chenglei encountered Lei Yuzhen and her boyfriend A'Cheng, whose interest in Jiang Xia made Zhou Chenglei wary.

• Zhou Chenglei told Zhou Chengsen and Li Xiuxian that he had rented two hundred mu of sea area for them to raise Blue Mussels, and Li Xiuxian agreed to pay him six hundred yuan.
• Mother Zhou took Jiang Xia to the fair with Zhou Chenglei, where Jiang Xia bought nearly all the available vegetables and decided to get dried goods as well.
• Lei Yuzhen arrived at the fair on a motorcycle with her boyfriend A'Cheng and introduced him to Jiang Xia and Zhou Chenglei.
• A'Cheng looked Jiang Xia over with improper interest, and Zhou Chenglei's cold stare made him leave quickly.
• Jiang Xia asked Zhou Chenglei whether he knew A'Cheng, and Zhou Chenglei said he would ask around.

Jiang Xia and Zhou Chenglei stocked up at the market while Zhou Guodong and Xu Ling grew closer as they shopped together. Zhou Chenglei bought pigeons for Jiang Xia, whose pregnancy discomfort was worsening, and the chapter ended with Jiang Xia telling Xu Ling when work would begin.

• Jiang Xia and Zhou Chenglei shopped for provisions, and Zhou Chenglei bought a pair of ox horns without telling Jiang Xia why.
• Zhou Guodong paid for Sugar Lotus Seed and Sugar Lotus Root for Xu Ling, and a stall owner teased them about courting.
• Lei Yuzhen introduced Xu Ling and Zhou Guodong to A'Cheng, who looked past them in search of Jiang Xia.
• A'Cheng saw Zhou Chenglei protect Jiang Xia from a flapping pigeon, while Zhou Chenglei bought the entire cage to make her soup.
• Zhou Chenglei worried about Jiang Xia's worsening pregnancy symptoms and decided to take her for a prenatal checkup after Father Zhou went to sea.
• Jiang Xia met Xu Ling and Zhou Guodong at the market and told Xu Ling that work would begin the second day after the Qingming Festival.

Jiang Xia and Zhou Chenglei prepared for her pregnancy as her feet swelled, while Zeng Yuan saw their closeness and left heartbroken. After returning to the village, Jiang Xia took the phone to respond to invitations for the Spring Canton Fair, which Zhou Chenglei had refused on her behalf.

• Zhou Chenglei soaked and massaged Jiang Xia’s feet, then stewed pigeon soup and began preparing horns to carve her an Ox-Horn Comb.
• Father Zhou sailed for the open sea, and Zhou Chenglei took Jiang Xia for a prenatal checkup; Doctor Gao explained her pregnancy-related swelling and taught Zhou Chenglei how to massage her feet.
• Zeng Yuan saw Zhou Chenglei attentively learning to massage Jiang Xia’s feet, then left, bitter that he would not look at her.
• Jiang Xia and Zhou Chenglei thanked the owner of Fuman Restaurant for helping Jiang Dong and promised to remember him when they had good fish.
• Factory directors called to invite Jiang Xia and Zhou Chenglei to work as translators at the Spring Canton Fair, but Zhou Chenglei refused because of Jiang Xia’s condition.
• Jiang Xia took the receiver after Zhou Chenglei refused the Canton Fair invitation.

Jiang Xia tried to persuade Zhou Chenglei to attend the Spring Canton Fair while she stayed with his mother, but he refused to leave her. Wen Wan sought interpreting work at the fair and was turned down, while Jiang Xia continued planning to go herself and joined Zhou Chenglei for a trip out to sea.

• Jiang Xia told Zhou Chenglei that she planned to attend the Spring Canton Fair with him and rest at the hotel, but he insisted that neither of them would go.
• Mother Zhou offered to care for Jiang Xia while Zhou Chenglei attended the fair, but he still refused.
• Wen Wan called Factory Director Peng about interpreting at the fair, but he told her he had already found someone.
• Jiang Xia kissed Zhou Chenglei that night and asked again about going together, while he avoided giving her an answer.
• The next morning, Jiang Xia said she would go out to sea with Zhou Chenglei, and he declared that neither of them would attend the fair.

Jiang Xia and Zhou Chenglei returned to sea after the New Year and tested light fishing for squid with Zhou Guodong. The chapter ended as Jiang Xia and Zhou Guodong spotted an astonishing sight on the water’s surface.

• Jiang Xia and Zhou Chenglei met Li Qingmin and Li Qingjie at the pier, where the brothers hurried to leave early and fish for themselves.
• The three Zhou brothers arrived, and Zhou Chenglei offered to take them to the reef island where they could collect Blue Mussel fry.
• Zhou Guodong joined Zhou Chenglei and Jiang Xia’s boat as Zhou Chenglei prepared to try squid fishing with a light.
• Jiang Xia and Zhou Guodong quickly caught small squid while Zhou Chenglei illuminated and moved the light over the sea.
• Jiang Xia spotted something on the surface and tugged at Zhou Chenglei, while Zhou Guodong exclaimed in surprise.

Jiang Xia, Zhou Chenglei, and their companions used lights to catch an enormous school of Small Fish Fry, along with Small Tube Squid. They split up to fish from both boats and continued hauling in mixed catches as the squid season began.

• Jiang Xia and Zhou Chenglei's lights drew a vast school of Small Fish Fry, and the group hauled several thousand jin aboard.
• Zhou Guoxing and Zhou Guoye joined the first boat to help pull up the net, then returned to their own boat to lure fish with lights.
• Jiang Xia sorted Small Tube Squid from the Small Fish Fry as Zhou Chenglei lowered another net and prepared Bamboo Baskets for the catch.
• Zhou Chenglei and Zhou Kangping hauled up a net with more Small Tube Squid, and Jiang Xia brought over Bamboo Baskets to hold the mixed catch.
• Zhou Guodong and his brothers pulled up a large net of Small Fish Fry and Small Tube Squid from their boat.

Jiang Xia and Zhou Chenglei returned from a successful fishing trip with thousands of pounds of Small Fish Fry and a large haul of Small Tube Squid, which Jiang Xia sold at a negotiated price. After returning to the wharf, Jiang Xia got a call from Jiang Dong, who asked whether she had two hundred thousand yuan.

• Zhou Chenglei and Zhou Kangping hauled in four nets of Small Tube Squid as the sky brightened.
• Jiang Xia arranged to buy Zhou Guodong's Small Fish Fry and asked him to invite Xu Ling to start work.
• Zhou Chenglei brought the boat back to the wharf, where Jiang Xia negotiated a price of one yuan twenty per pound for most of their Small Tube Squid.
• The Zhou family and helpers sorted and loaded the Small Fish Fry, while Zhou Chenglei sold a shoulder pole of squid for one hundred and seven yuan.
• Jiang Xia returned Jiang Dong's call, and he asked whether she had two hundred thousand yuan.

Jiang Xia agreed to help Jiang Dong fund expanded production of his Pull Rod Boxes and Baby Carriages after he announced that both products had won awards abroad. Jiang Dong offered her company shares and part of the patent income, leaving their investment arrangement to be finalized at the Canton Fair.

• Jiang Xia agreed to transfer one hundred thousand yuan to Jiang Dong and offered to raise more by selling shares.
• Jiang Dong revealed that his Pull Rod Box and Baby Carriage had both won prizes in an overseas design competition and that he wanted to expand production for the Canton Fair.
• Jiang Xia encouraged Jiang Dong to focus on high-end markets and offered to sell more shares if he needed additional funds.
• Jiang Dong told Jiang Xia that he would count her one hundred thousand yuan as a company investment and give her shares and a share of patent income.
• Jiang Dong said he had already signed the investment contract on Jiang Xia's behalf and would return early from the Canton Fair to give it to her for her nephews.

Jiang Xia and Zhou Chenglei discussed making better fish-drying racks, while Zhou Chengsen returned with Zhou Ying and agreed to join a squid-catching trip. At the Purchasing Station, Zhou Chengsen’s decision to fish for squid at night left Li Qingmin and Li Qingjie regretting the catch they had handed over.

• Jiang Xia suggested making drying racks from stainless-steel mesh and fishing nets, and Zhou Chenglei agreed to buy materials and test both types.
• Zhou Chengsen returned with Zhou Ying, agreed to go squid fishing with Zhou Chenglei that night, and visited the pier.
• Zhou Chengsen took Small Tube Squid and other fish from the boat while Li Qingmin and Li Qingjie regretted not selling their squid at the City Pier first.
• Zhou Chengsen paid the Li brothers for fuel and told them he would hire someone else to attract squid at night, leaving them dismayed.
• Zhou Chengsen sold the squid for one yuan per jin because it was less fresh than Zhou Chenglei’s catch, and the Li brothers left dejected.

Jiang Xia and her family tested new Small Tube Squid flavors and prepared to buy squid in bulk and produce it for the next two months. After Zhou Chenglei and the others went out to sea to catch squid, He Xinghuan told Jiang Xia she no longer needed to split the earnings from Small Fish Fry and little squid with her fifty-fifty, leaving Jiang Xia wondering why.

• Zhou Chengsen asked Zhou Kang'an and Yongjian to help shine lights for squid at sea while Li Qingmin and the others continued fishing during the day.
• Jiang Xia, He Xinghuan, Aunt Fen, and Great-Grandmother adjusted the Small Tube Squid seasonings and settled on four flavors to test with customers.
• Jiang Xia sampled the new products with Zhou Chenglei, who favored the spicy and soy-sauce flavors, and she planned to buy squid in bulk and focus production on them.
• Zhou Chenglei, Zhou Chengsen, Zhou Chengxin, and their crews joined Zhou Guodong's family at sea, taking five boats out to attract squid with lights.
• He Xinghuan came to Jiang Xia after Zhou Chenglei left and said Jiang Xia no longer needed to split the Small Fish Fry and little squid earnings with her fifty-fifty.

Jiang Xia and He Xinghuan settled on a smaller share for He Xinghuan in the food-processing Small Workshop, while Jiang Xia continued planning new products. The next morning, Jiang Xia went to the dock to buy Small Tube Squid and waited for Zhou Chenglei's fishing boat to return.

• He Xinghuan refused to keep splitting the Workshop's profits equally, and Great-Grandmother settled the matter by giving her ten percent.
• Jiang Xia planned a Pull Rod Box and drafted a product proposal after the family discussed the Workshop's earnings and upcoming house construction.
• Jiang Xia woke to find Zhou Chenglei still away, ate the Chinese Yam Pigeon Congee he had left for her, and went to the dock after breakfast.
• Jiang Xia and He Xinghuan bought fifty-six pounds of Small Tube Squid and prepared to process it for Lord Hou.
• Jiang Xia spotted her family's fishing boat approaching the dock, and the two Li brothers hurried over.

Jiang Xia proposed that Master Jin help sell her processed small tube squid through the Supply and Marketing Cooperative, using her license and arguments about longer storage and wider distribution. Master Jin agreed to ask around, while Zhou Chenglei sold the boat’s Spanish mackerel and the Li brothers were left moving the catch.

• The Li brothers inspected the five boats’ large catches, and Zhou Chengsen told them to move the Spanish mackerel and small tube squid while he bought diesel.
• Zhou Chengsen asked Zhou Chenglei to watch the fish-sale money, then went home for breakfast and headed to work.
• Zhou Chenglei brought Jiang Xia a basket of small tube squid and accompanied her to the Purchasing Station to speak with Master Jin.
• Jiang Xia proposed selling her processed small tube squid through the Supply and Marketing Cooperative, and showed Master Jin her Non-staple Food Processing and Production License.
• Master Jin agreed to ask whether the arrangement was feasible, and Jiang Xia urged him to emphasize the benefits of processed squid.
• Zhou Chenglei brought the Spanish mackerel to the Purchasing Station, and Master Jin praised him for marrying a formidable wife.

Jiang Xia and Zhou Chenglei sold the day's Spanish mackerel and weighed the small tube squid caught by the families. After dividing the catch and arranging which flavors to process, Tian Caihua asked Jiang Xia if she could work making dried fish.

• Zhou Chenglei took the Spanish mackerel to the Purchasing Station while Jiang Xia watched the weighing, and the Li brothers decided to go out to sea and later discuss switching shifts with their hired workers.
• Jiang Xia and Zhou Chenglei brought the squid home, where Mother Zhou learned how much the families had earned from their Spanish mackerel catches.
• Jiang Xia and Zhou Chenglei weighed the families' squid and paid out the proceeds, while Tian Caihua grew envious of Li Xiuxian's and Guodong's catches.
• Tian Caihua hugged Jiang Xia and touched her belly, believing the babies' movements meant they had agreed to bring her good fortune.
• Jiang Xia counted the squid and assigned the women quantities for the different flavors to make, prompting Tian Caihua to ask if she could work making dried fish.

Jiang Xia assigned Tian Caihua to supervise the aquatic farm and prepare pearl-oyster nets, while she managed the busy food workshop and arranged sales of Small Tube Squid. Lord Hou bought the finished products and agreed to help source fresh squid, leaving Jiang Xia with a profit of around two thousand yuan.

• Jiang Xia made Tian Caihua the aquatic farm supervisor and asked her to oversee harvesting, patrol the beach, and prepare Hanging Nets and larva collection devices.
• Tian Caihua accepted one thousand yuan for materials and hurried to town to buy supplies, choosing to make the nets herself before hiring help.
• Jiang Xia tended the Small Tube Squid production and planned to write Jiang Dong about developing a Dried Fish Production Line.
• Lord Hou tasted four Small Tube Squid flavors and advised Jiang Xia to produce more savory and spicy varieties and fewer sweet-and-sour ones.
• Jiang Xia and Lord Hou agreed that he would buy fresh Small Tube Squid at the City Pier and transport it to her, then take the finished products back.
• Lord Hou left with over one thousand jin of Small Tube Squid, and Jiang Xia calculated that she had earned around two thousand yuan after costs.

Li Xiuxian persuaded Zhou Chengsen to replace Zhou Kang'an and Zhou Yongjian with her brothers for the lucrative nighttime squid fishing, convinced that her family was more trustworthy. The next morning, she eagerly waited at the dock for her brother’s first return from the night’s fishing.

• Li Xiuxian asked Zhou Chengsen to switch the fishing shifts, arguing that her brothers were more trustworthy, and he agreed to stop accompanying Zhou Kang'an and Zhou Yongjian after that night.
• Li Xiuxian returned to her parents’ home, where Li Qingmin had fresh noodles made for her.
• The next morning, Li Xiuxian took Zhou Ying to the dock and saw Zhou Chenglei’s boat piled high with squid and fish, while her own family’s catch was smaller.
• Zhou Chengsen had Zhou Kang'an and the other worker unload and deliver the catch, then went home to eat before work.
• That night, Zhou Chengsen stayed ashore while Li Xiuxian’s brothers went squid fishing; the following morning, Li Xiuxian waited at the dock and ran toward her elder brother’s returning boat.

Jiang Xia learned that Master Jin had agreed to reserve most of the Small Tube Squid for her, and the villagers brought in a huge catch during peak season. Li Xiuxian grew suspicious of her brothers’ poor reported haul, then returned to the pier the next morning to hear Li Qingmin claim they had caught plenty.

• Zhou Chenglei told Jiang Xia that Master Jin would keep most of the day’s Small Tube Squid for them, and Master Jin loaded over a thousand pounds onto their tractor.
• Li Xiuxian saw that her brothers had brought back only one basket of squid, while the Li brothers privately knew they had sold most of their catch to Lord Hou at the City Pier.
• Zhou Chenglei and Zhou Chengxin discussed their large hauls as the Li siblings listened, and Li Xiuxian wondered whether her brothers’ low earnings were believable.
• Zhou Chengsen questioned Li Xiuxian about her brothers’ earnings, then refused to return to the village or go fishing with her.
• The next morning, Li Xiuxian ran to meet the boats, and Li Qingmin shouted that they had caught plenty of Small Tube Squid.

Li Xiuxian’s family complained about being excluded from Zhou Chenglei and Zhou Chengxin’s fishing trips, prompting Jiang Xia to rebuke them and demand an apology. When Li Qingjie apologized to Zhou Chenglei at the pier, Zhou Chenglei punched him.

• Li Qingmin brought in nearly eighty jin of Small Tube Squid, but Li Xiuxian was disappointed that his catch earned far less than other boats’ catches.
• Li Xiuxian urged Li Qingmin and Li Qingjie to follow Zhou Chenglei and Zhou Yongjian to sea, and Li Qingjie complained that the Zhou brothers did not want them following.
• Jiang Xia overheard Li Qingjie’s remark and angrily called the Li family despicable; she refused their apologies and told Li Xiuxian to have Li Qingjie apologize to Zhou Chenglei and Zhou Chengxin.
• Zhou Chenglei returned with a strong catch of Silver Pomfret and Small Tube Squid, noticed Jiang Xia’s mood, and asked what had happened.
• Li Xiuxian and the Li brothers came over, and Li Qingjie apologized to Zhou Chenglei, who seized him and punched him.