The weather cooperated, and they went out fishing for another three days straight. By then, everyone could clearly see that the squid were dwindling, their numbers dropping sharply with each passing day.
Their daily catch fell from six or seven hundred jin to five hundred, then to just over three hundred. On the third day, rain forced them to stop after catching only a hundred jin.
Bean-sized raindrops came pelting down. Ye Yaodong and Father Ye were soaked from head to toe, but they were still spreading nylon sacks over the catch to keep the rain off it.
"What a load of fucking bullshit. As if catching less every day wasn't enough, now it's raining too. It's only two, and we've got several hours going to waste. Who knows how long it'll rain?"
Father Ye felt it was a shame too. Luckily, they had dived down that morning and gathered some pen shells, which would help make up for today's losses.
"Don't wait for the rain to stop. Let's head straight back. It'll be past three by the time we get there anyway. Who knows when this rain will let up?"
Ye Yaodong nodded and went straight to steer the boat. He picked up his two brothers-in-law and called Xiao Xiao and A-Zheng over to head back together. The waves were high in the rain, and visibility was poor. Having another boat along meant they could look out for each other.
His two brothers-in-law didn't feel particularly disappointed. They had already gathered just about everything by the afternoon anyway. Besides, with the squid catch visibly shrinking by the day, they had been spending every afternoon prying shellfish off the rocks or foraging along the island's shore.
Perhaps because of the heavy waves, they had caught quite a few crabs that