Ye Yaodong had been busy hauling in the fishing net and had not paid close attention. Only after his father mentioned it did he look up and realize that the boat really did seem to have been sitting motionless for quite a while.
Normally, whether a boat was trawling or hauling in its net, it would travel at a steady speed. It only stopped briefly after the net was aboard, before setting it again.
"Could their boat have broken down? But I haven't seen them asking for help. We're right here. If something was wrong and they needed help, they'd definitely be waving a little red flag."
"True. Then have they finished trawling and started sorting things out? Sorting their catch? That can't be right."
"Yeah, after hauling in the net, they'd get it ready and set it again straightaway. Then one person could steer while the other finished setting and straightening out the net. Forget it. Let's leave them alone. As long as they aren't affecting us, they can drift or sit out there as long as they like."
"I'm just worried something might have happened. Plenty of people die at sea every year. A couple of days ago, I heard two bodies washed up by the pier, one after the other. People living nearby saw them, and a few households got together to drag them ashore and take them up the hill to bury them."
Ye Yaodong had heard about it from Lin Xiuqing at home too. One of the neighboring women had told her.
"Forget it. Better not to get involved. Who knows what sort of people are aboard that boat?"
Hopefully not someone nasty who'll just make trouble for me. His father was still too trusting.
"All right, then. We'll keep trawling. If we happen to