After hauling up the first net of fish and finding nothing particularly good or unusual, Ye Yaodong left his father to sort the catch and steered the boat toward the submerged reef.
A pale band of dawn had already appeared on the horizon, and the sea was clearly visible even without the headlamp.
That submerged reef had indeed risen again.
He felt a little excited. Could it have just broken the surface and still be rising?
He slowly steered closer, taking care to keep the hull from striking the reef.
Once they drew near, he could clearly see that many abalones and sea snails were clinging to the reef again.
But it was not very high. Its highest point was only about a meter above the water, with most of it still submerged, and there were no small green lobsters around it anymore.
"Dad, come take a look. Is this reef rising or sinking?" He could not see any obvious movement and could not be sure.
Father Ye hurriedly dropped the fish he was handling and ran to the bow for a closer look. "How come it doesn't look like it's moving to me?"
"That's what I thought too."
"There's too little of the reef above water, and nowhere around it to stand. Those abalones and sea snails won't be easy to pry off."
Ye Yaodong frowned too. There really was nowhere to stand. Last time, when the reef had sunk to roughly this level, they had given up and boarded the boat early.
"Why don't we wait here a while and see whether it moves again?" Father Ye suggested. The abalones were simply too valuable for him to give up on them.
What if it sank straight down?
Ye Yaodong gave it some thought. "Dad, let's tie a hook