By the time father and son brought their boatload of catch ashore, the Pier was already deserted.
But someone was still there with a flashlight.
"Oh, you two are finally back! We were worried sick. Everyone was scared to death when you still weren't back this late."
"Damn, all the buying stations are closed? Bloody hell..."
"Have you looked at the time? Who would wait here this late? Who knows what you were doing, coming back so late. Couldn't you have come back earlier? The whole family's been on tenterhooks..."
Father Ye said impatiently, "What are you nagging for? Who wouldn't want to come back early if they could? How could we come back before we'd finished working and hauled in all the nets?"
"How did hauling them in take so long? If you couldn't finish, you could've gone back tomorrow."
"What do you know? Hurry up and fetch A-Cai to buy the catch. We'll wait here."
"All right, all right, I'll go right now." Mother Ye had no time to ask more questions or look around. At Father Ye's urging, she hurried off with her flashlight.
There was no need to sort the catch on the boat. They had already separated everything neatly by type as they brought it aboard. All they needed now was for A-Cai to come, weigh it, and take it away.
Seeing that they could only wait around, Ye Yaodong said to his father, "How about you keep an eye on things here while I go home for a look? I'll ride the bicycle back in a bit."
"Mm, go let them know we're safe."
"I'll come straight back." He also picked up the small fish and shrimp they were keeping for home.
Looking toward the little fishing village from the shore, he saw nothing