Ye Yaodong also walked over to where his sons had placed their earthenware jars. Watching them crouch there excitedly turning them over and reaching inside one after another, he wandered around and inspected each one too.
It felt quite novel. No wonder they were all so excited, rushing home as soon as school let out without lingering on the way, then running straight to the beach.
"Ah! There's one, there's one! I caught one..."
"I caught one too..."
Just then, Ye Chenghu excitedly pulled a big black octopus out of a jar, its arms waving and flailing. "It's huge! Huge! Dad, mine's huge! The biggest!"
His face flushed with excitement, and he was so worked up that he sprayed spit as he spoke.
This black octopus was rather large. It looked as though it weighed over two jin, and its head was bigger than his fist. Ye Chenghu was little, with small hands, so he could barely hold on to one of its arms. Its slime was also so slick that it kept slipping in his grip.
As the big black octopus writhed and struggled, a moment's inattention sent it dropping straight into the water.
Although the tide had gone out, some water still remained around them. As soon as the big black octopus landed in it, it waved its eight arms and scrambled about.
Ye Chenghu yelled and tried several times to catch it, but it slipped out of his grasp every time. The other children watching excitedly splashed into the water to catch it too, but their hands were all small, and the black octopus was especially slippery, its arms covered in slime. None of them could hold on.
Every time they caught it, it slipped away, leaving nothing but slime on their palms.
"Don't grab it! Don't