That night, Ye Yaodong and Father Ye went out to sea as usual. By coincidence, they ran into his eldest and second brothers as they were leaving.
Usually, for some reason, one party left earlier and the other later, so they missed each other most of the time and only occasionally met.
Having just woken up, none of them felt much like talking. They simply said, "You're up too..."
Then they pushed their handcarts toward the pier together.
Some people saw the branches already piled aboard their fishing boats and assumed they had discovered something. Worried about being beaten to it, they turned around and pushed their handcarts home, even though they had already reached the pier, afraid of falling behind.
Once one person went back, a whole crowd followed, and everyone began to feel a sense of urgency.
The squid season still hadn't arrived this year, and everyone was getting anxious waiting. Now that someone had taken the lead-and Ye Yaodong and his family, at that-everyone hurried to follow suit.
These days, they all thought he was extremely capable. They couldn't go wrong following his example.
Ye Yaodong and the others watched as the villagers at the pier greeted them, asked a few questions, then pushed their handcarts back home.
They merely turned their heads for a few glances, filled up their diesel engines, and bought an extra can of fuel to keep aboard before setting off.
The little mosquitoes circling overhead disappeared as the fishing boats pulled away.
The weather had only just warmed up, and the mosquitoes were already emerging. There were especially plenty of mosquitoes and other insects in their countryside, with patches of grass everywhere.
Not long after father and son reached their destination, they saw another boat approaching the area. It was too dark