His family had heard him talking to his friends, and no one had any objections.
They had already seen once how plentiful the resources on the isolated island were. Ye Yaodong could bring back several sacks of shellfish in one trip, and even after setting aside what could be sold, there would still be plenty left to feed the workers.
Before he left this time, Mother Ye specifically told him to bring more sacks and fill them up. Anything they could not finish could be dried. Dried blue mussels, for instance, could keep for quite a while and made delicious soups and noodles.
Ye Yaodong lifted the bucket in his hand to show her the several sacks folded inside. "I brought five. Is that enough?"
"Yes, yes! Take another couple of buckets along too."
Who would complain about having too much free stuff?
"All right..."
After everyone in his family had gone to work at the house plot, the others finally came straggling in.
"Just the four of us again. Fatty thought it'd be too sunny, so he's not coming. A-Wei's dad called him away at the last minute to carry watermelons down from the hills, and Rat headed to the town docks bright and early to haul cargo."
"Oh, let's go, then."
Having fewer people was fine too. If they had not come asking him to go shore foraging, he would have wanted to go alone and have the whole island to himself.
Sculling was slow, but once he got the hang of it, it was fairly easy. It was good exercise too, especially for his arms.
Xiao Xiao teased, "Who knew our Brother Dong could do everything? You even know how to scull!"
"Pfft, easy."
A-Guang said with some feeling, "Having a little boat of your own is