Heading to the Beach

After Father Ye left, the eldest and second Ye brothers went to the dock to check on the boat.

The first day of the lunar month was approaching, and the tide had been receding quite far lately. If the boat ran aground, they would not be able to head out to sea tonight. They needed to move it farther out and buy a drum of diesel to leave aboard while they were at it. Tonight, they planned to put their good luck to use and go fishing again.

Yesterday's haul of large yellow croakers had been so exciting that they wished they could set out right away. But there was not enough time. Going out only to come back shortly afterward would just waste money on diesel.

The women of the household took their fishing nets and sat by the doorway, starting their daily net-making work.

The difference was that today, they were especially enthusiastic. Once the houses were finished, they could split into separate households and move into their new homes. Who would not be happy about that?

Lin Xiuqing was happy too. Even lips and teeth sometimes knocked against each other, let alone sisters-in-law living together. She wanted a little home of her own as well, and her hands moved faster as she wove the net.

Their fishing village was called White Sand Village. It was far from the county town, a walk of over an hour along mountain roads. The women had households to look after and could not go out to earn wages, so making fishing nets was their only way to make money.

The work paid little, but it was easy enough and could be done at home. Every woman along their coast knew how to weave and mend fishing nets. Most of the village men took odd jobs or farmed, while those who owned boats went out fishing, though they were relatively few.

Lin Xiuqing had learned to make fishing nets in the few years since she married into the family. After all, her husband did no work whatsoever, so she could only rely on herself to save some money.

Everyone had something to do, leaving Ye Yaodong the most idle person there. Even the old lady was helping them thread their netting shuttles and needles.

He shuffled over and squatted beside his wife, picking up the net she was weaving to ask curiously, "How many of these gill nets can you make in a day?"

Lin Xiuqing gave him a puzzled look. "Five or six. The children fuss, and there's so much else to do that I can't make any more. Your eldest and second sisters-in-law can make a few more than me."

"Then how much can you earn in a day?"

"A few tenths of a yuan. Less than one yuan!"

Ye Yaodong glanced disdainfully at the net and pursed his lips. Labor really was dirt cheap!

He turned his head, about to say something, when his second son, Ye Chengyang, came up and stuffed a piece of snake gourd covered in drool into his mouth. Startled, he landed on his backside and hurriedly spat it out.

"Pah! Ugh! That's disgusting! Eating it yourself is one thing, but you had to shove it into my mouth!"

Mother Ye shot him a sidelong look. "Your own son is being sweet to you, and you're turning your nose up at him."

"If you don't mind, Mom, I'll take a piece of gourd, cover it in my spit, and feed it to you! I'm your own son, so don't turn your nose up at me!"

"Don't be disgusting. How old are you, and how old is he? A little baby's drool is clean."

"He touches this and grabs that all day, then puts everything in his mouth. How clean could it be?" Ye Yaodong brushed off his backside and got up. Seeing his son about to step on the fishing net and make trouble again, he quickly picked him up and moved him aside. "Behave yourself. If you're naughty, I'll give you a spanking."

"Don't scare him. He's only a tiny little thing. What does he know? For once, you haven't run off anywhere today. Stay home and watch the children properly so your wife can weave more-"

"Lixiang! The tide's out! Put the nets down and come shore-gathering with me!"

Mother Ye's given name was Chen Lixiang, and she was the second child in her family. Before she could finish speaking, she was interrupted. Looking up, she saw her elder sister calling her to come along.

She had married within her own village. Families had so many children back then that, among the four or five hundred households in White Sand Village, half the village was related in one roundabout way or another.

"The first isn't until the day after tomorrow. Will there be anything to dig up today?" Despite saying that, she stuck her netting shuttle and needle into the net and stood up.

"We'll know once we go and look. It won't take long. I heard some people have already gone. Hurry up. I'll go take a look first."

"All right, all right." After answering, Mother Ye turned to everyone in the yard. "Put the nets away for now. Bring spatulas, tools, and buckets, and let's all go have a look."

Back then, most of them called it shore-gathering. Fewer people used the term tide-pooling.

Since Ye Yaodong had nothing to do anyway, he followed them.

Since coming back to life, he had not yet gone out to look around their little fishing village.

Holding their son, Lin Xiuqing gave him a puzzled glance. He seemed to be acting strangely today. "You're not going out today?"

"Where would I go? Do you really want me to go out?"

She turned her head away. Who wanted a husband who spent all day loafing around outside? "No. I was just asking."

"I don't feel like going out today. I'll go shore-gathering with you and see whether we find anything. It's been a while since I took a stroll on the beach, too."

It really had been a long time since he had enjoyed a leisurely walk on the beach. In his previous life, he had only occasionally taken his little grandson there to play during the fishing moratorium, when he was not out at sea.

Lin Xiuqing looked him over, then tilted her head up toward the sun shining overhead. Had it risen in the west? This really was a first!

Watching what she did, Ye Yaodong's mouth twitched. What was wrong with going shore-gathering with them?

He wanted to turn over a new leaf, and this was the attitude he got? How irritating!

He turned away and stopped talking, looking around at the shabby surroundings with fresh curiosity. Forty years had passed, and he had already begun to forget what the village had looked like in the eighties. Seeing it now brought those memories back.

The gravelly dirt road beneath his feet was not easy to walk on. One careless fall would surely leave his palms and knees bleeding. Weeds grew thickly along both sides, with a small drainage ditch running beside the road. Around them, low, single-story stone houses stood at regular intervals, along with some two-story brick houses with tiled roofs.

The brick houses with tiled roofs had been built in recent years. Before that, stone had been the popular material for building houses. After 2020, stone houses would become a rare sight. Even those that remained would be coated with cement putty and painted.

"Sigh..."

"Ah!"

Ye Yaodong was looking all around without watching his footing and accidentally stepped on his wife's heel. She stumbled and pitched forward, nearly sending the child flying out of her arms.

He quickly reached out to catch her, drawing both her and the child into his arms.

"Are you all right?"

"What are you doing? Don't you watch where you're walking? It's one thing if I fall, but what if the child gets hurt?" Still shaken, Lin Xiuqing soothingly patted the child's back. The little boy was remarkably fearless. He neither cried nor fussed and did not seem frightened, which put her somewhat at ease.

"Sorry, I wasn't watching carefully. This gravel road is hard to walk on. Give me the child. I'll carry him."

The sun really must have risen in the west. He had actually apologized and offered to carry the child. He had been acting strangely ever since he got up that morning. Lin Xiuqing gave him a suspicious look.

"What's gotten into you today?"

Ye Yaodong's heart tightened. Sure enough, the person who shared your bed knew you best. Better take it slowly.

He slipped both hands into his pockets, dropping his offer to carry the child, and said casually, "Nothing. Dad and Mom knocked some sense into me. Come on."

Lin Xiuqing: "..."

"What are you staring at? Hurry up and keep up. They're already far ahead."

"Oh, right..."