Lin Xiuqing hurried back and handed the bucket to Ye Yaodong, panting from the run.
Ye Yaodong took it and scooped up a bucket of seawater, asking curiously, "Why didn't Mom and the others come along?"
She blinked. "I didn't tell them."
Ye Yaodong chuckled. She wasn't so silly after all.
"Didn't they ask what you wanted the bucket for?"
"I rushed in, grabbed the bucket, and ran out again. They called after me, but I didn't have time to explain, so I didn't answer."
"Oh!"
Only after watching the sea bass go into the bucket did Lin Xiuqing pull open the sack to check their catch again. There didn't seem to be much more in it.
"Didn't you look around some more? Did you find anything after I left?"
"With a big catch right here, how could I bear to go anywhere else? Besides, the tide's still going out. There's no rush. Let's leave the bucket here instead of carrying it everywhere. Nobody else will be out in this typhoon weather anyway."
She had just picked up the bucket, but put it down again at his words. Half a bucket of water really was rather heavy to carry.
Ye Yaodong had only taken a few steps before bending down to grab a stone crab. "I should've told you to bring the fire tongs too. They'd make catching crabs easier."
"You could've said so earlier," Lin Xiuqing said crossly.
"I forgot. Seeing that little mud crab with the missing leg reminded me." There were no mobile phones to call her on now.
They continued roaming the reef, turning over any rocks they could move, and gathered quite a haul. They caught five or six stonefish, not to mention the stone crabs-over a dozen in no time-and several red octopuses. Ye