Chapter Summaries

Ye Yaodong and his brothers witnessed a mirage showing a fishing boat sinking in enormous waves, then turned back early as fog rolled in. After reaching shore safely and selling their catches, Ye Yaodong went home reassured that A-Cai would pay him in three days.

• Ye Yaodong watched his brothers sort a good trawl and learned they planned to make longline hooks using small fish and shrimp as bait.
• Ye Yaodong and his brothers saw a moving mirage of a fishing boat capsizing and sinking in towering waves, then headed back when fog formed.
• The brothers retrieved Ye Yaodong's fishing pots, shared out seafood, and set aside gifts and food for his family and Lin Jishang.
• The brothers navigated through thickening fog and reached the coast safely, where they sold their catches.
• A-Cai told Ye Yaodong he could collect the money from the previous day's batch in three days, and he went home with his brothers.

After returning from a successful fishing trip, Ye Yaodong shared seafood with his family and quietly told his grandmother that he had nearly earned back the cost of his boat. He later brought seafood to Lin Jishang, then came home to find gifts from people he had rescued and watched Lin Xiuqing punish Ye Chenghu for getting filthy.

• Lin Xiuqing served Ye Yaodong pelican soup, and he took Ye Chengyang with him to deliver seafood to the Old House.
• Ye Yaodong gave his grandmother two Red Paste Crabs and privately told her he had nearly earned back the cost of his boat, asking her to keep the news quiet.
• Ye Yaodong brought a Tiger Grouper and Giant Trumpet Snails to Lin Jishang, declined a drink, and considered him a useful contact.
• Ye Yaodong lost track of Ye Chenghu, then found him muddy and warned that Lin Xiuqing might punish him when they got home.
• Ye Yaodong returned to find gifts from the people he had rescued at sea, and Lin Xiuqing caught Ye Chenghu and beat him for getting filthy and tearing his trousers.

After Ye Yaodong’s family shared their gifts and discussed his rescue at sea, the village gathered for a rare movie screening that lasted late into the night. Ye Yaodong left with his wife and children after finding A-Guang still with his family, apparently walking Ye Huimei and the others home.

• Lin Xiuqing gave Ye Chenghu and Ye Chengyang some canned fruit, then asked Ye Yaodong how he had rescued the woman at sea.
• Ye Yaodong told Lin Xiuqing he planned to attend literacy classes in East Bridge Village.
• A villager announced that a traveling projection team would show a movie, and Ye Yaodong’s family joined the villagers at the grain-drying ground.
• The projectionist screened Tunnel Warfare and The White-Haired Girl for the packed crowd.
• After the films, Ye Yaodong found A-Guang with his parents, grandmother, and younger sister, and left with Lin Xiuqing and the children while A-Guang stayed to walk them home.

Ye Yaodong collected payment for his catch and persuaded Lin Xiuqing to attend literacy class, then joined the class himself while his hand healed. After several lessons, he learned to recognize most seafood-related characters, though he still could not write them.

• Lin Xiuqing suggested buying Younger Sister a dowry gift, and Ye Yaodong admitted he felt awkward about her marrying his friend.
• Ye Yaodong collected 1,850 yuan from A-Cai for his catch after negotiating for a higher payment, and Lin Xiuqing was delighted that they had nearly recovered the cost of their new boat.
• Lin Xiuqing told Ye Yaodong to attend the village literacy class, and he went to the school the next evening.
• Ye Yaodong learned that the class was studying seafood characters and followed the lesson on crabs, squid, octopus, shrimp, and cuttlefish.
• Ye Yaodong attended lessons for several days and learned to recognize most seafood characters, then copied them onto paper after his injured hand improved.

Ye Yaodong returned to the sea after recovering from his arm injury and hauled in the catch from his fishing pots, finding the yields smaller in the cold weather. He met Xiao Xiao and A-Zheng offshore and watched them land a valuable money grouper.

• Mother Ye told Ye Yaodong that Huimei had agreed to marry A-Guang and that his family would offer the Three Rotations and One Ring and Thirty-Six Legs as betrothal gifts.
• Ye Yaodong decided to haul in his fishing pots himself, despite Lin Xiuqing urging him to sell the catch rather than keep indulging the family.
• Ye Yaodong set out for the pier and reassured his sisters-in-law that he was ready to resume working at sea.
• Ye Yaodong hauled in six strings of fishing pots and found a modest catch, including a conger eel, sea bass, shrimp, and octopuses, but no crabs.
• Ye Yaodong found Xiao Xiao and A-Zheng hauling longline hooks offshore and invited them to drink at his home that night.
• Xiao Xiao caught a large money grouper, and Ye Yaodong and A-Zheng celebrated its value and rarity.

Ye Yaodong watched A-Zheng and Xiao Xiao haul in valuable fish, then brought seafood home and hosted drinks with friends. A-Guang announced his engagement, and the evening ended with the children jokingly collecting gifts while Lin Xiuqing took charge of Ye Chenghu’s money.

• Ye Yaodong admired A-Zheng and Xiao Xiao’s money grouper, Greater Amberjack, Dogfish, and Large Yellow Croaker before returning home with seafood.
• Ye Yaodong and Lin Xiuqing discussed A-Guang’s engagement plans, including wedding clothes and household gifts.
• A-Guang arrived for drinks, and Ye Yaodong chased him around the house after hearing he was getting engaged.
• A-Guang told the group his engagement was set for the second day of the twelfth lunar month and that his wedding date was still undecided.
• A-Guang gave Ye Chengyang and Ye Chenghu two yuan and eight mao each for calling him Uncle, but Lin Xiuqing kept most of Ye Chenghu’s money.

Ye Yaodong and Father Ye went out to fish and discovered a huge mass of small yellow croakers floating belly-up, which they gathered by the boatload. When they hauled in their trawl, they found a school of electric rays that had likely stunned the croakers, and they prepared to retrieve the longline.

• Ye Yaodong and Father Ye set longline hooks and began trawling after reaching Ye Yaodong's chosen fishing spot.
• They encountered dense patches of small yellow croakers floating on the sea and scooped up roughly one or two thousand jin.
• Father Ye recalled that the village elders had described a similar event decades earlier, and Ye Yaodong planned to ask the old lady about it.
• After collecting the croakers, they hauled in their trawl and found a school of electric rays, including one about a meter wide.
• Ye Yaodong realized the electric rays had likely stunned the croakers and suggested there might be more below, but they went to retrieve the longline first.

Ye Yaodong freed the longline after its sinker stone became stuck on a reef, catching prawns and fish along the way. The haul included a large amount of cheap blue mackerel, so he and Father Ye decided to take the catch home rather than return for more fishing.

• Ye Yaodong dived to investigate the stuck sinker stone and caught a black seabream and a large prawn.
• Ye Yaodong found the stone wedged in a reef and spotted abalone, sea snails, and sea cucumbers, but could not dive deep enough to reach them.
• Ye Yaodong found the other end of the line, recovered two flounder, and cut the trapped section free with Father Ye's help.
• Ye Yaodong used a hand net to catch several jin of prawns before climbing back aboard.
• Ye Yaodong and Father Ye hauled in the longline and found that most of the catch was blue mackerel, alongside cuttlefish and other fish.
• Father Ye and Ye Yaodong decided to keep the blue mackerel for drying and bait, then headed straight back.

Ye Yaodong returned early with a huge haul of small yellow croakers and shared the catch and his plans with Lin Xiuqing. He decided to look for diving gear in town, while Mother Ye arrived just after he kissed Lin Xiuqing in broad daylight.

• Ye Yaodong and Father Ye unloaded 1,632 jin of small yellow croakers they had collected after electric rays stunned them, and Ye Yaodong sold the catch along with the rest of the haul.
• Ye Yaodong brought home blue mackerel and told Lin Xiuqing how they had gotten the croakers; she said his younger sister's engagement and wedding dates had been set.
• While eating the meal Lin Xiuqing prepared, Ye Yaodong decided to visit the Taiwanese goods shop in town to look for diving equipment.
• Ye Yaodong kissed Lin Xiuqing to stop her from scolding him, and Mother Ye walked in to help gut the fish.

Ye Yaodong brought Grandma two sets of padded clothes made by Lin Xiuqing, and Grandma was moved after trying them on. As Ye Yaodong sat with her, she began telling him about strange events she had witnessed at sea.

• Ye Yaodong delivered the padded clothes to Grandma, who first scolded him for spending money before secretly wiping away tears and putting on the new jacket.
• Ye Yaodong praised Grandma in her new clothes, and A-Guang and Ye Huimei returned from town with a bicycle they had bought.
• Grandma said both outfits fit perfectly and changed out of them to keep them clean.
• Ye Yaodong told Grandma about the small yellow croakers he had found at sea, and she recalled a mass fish stranding near the pier decades earlier.
• Grandma explained that people had blamed the old fish stranding on cold and warm currents meeting, and Ye Yaodong asked her to tell him about other unusual events.

Ye Yaodong heard an old woman recount the village’s devastating red tide before refusing to lend Wang Meiying money for Yang Laosi’s gambling debts. After Wang Meiying left, she went to Ye Second Older Brother’s house, where a loud argument prompted Lin Xiuqing and Ye Yaodong to go see what was happening.

• The old lady told Ye Yaodong how a red tide thirty years earlier killed marine life and kept villagers from eating seafood for a month.
• Ye Yaodong declined A-Guang’s invitation to drink, went to find his sons, and caught them having a peeing contest.
• Wang Meiying waited at Ye Yaodong’s house and asked him to lend her money, but he refused and warned her not to return to borrow again.
• After dinner, Ye Yaodong heard Ye Second Sister-in-Law loudly scolding Ye Yaohua next door, and Lin Xiuqing went to check on them.
• Ye Yaodong followed Lin Xiuqing to make sure she would not get caught up in the argument.

Ye Yaodong persuaded Lin Xiuqing to buy a bicycle, caught A-Guang courting Ye Huimei, and headed out to sea with Father Ye. After traveling several nautical miles, he noticed a boat from their village following them.

• Wang Meiying borrowed money from Ye Yaohua, and Ye Second Sister-in-Law beat him for lending out the household money without telling her.
• Ye Yaodong persuaded Lin Xiuqing to agree to buying a cheap bicycle by arguing it would make getting to class and town easier.
• Ye Yaodong caught A-Guang holding hands with Ye Huimei and kissing her cheek, then warned him to keep his hands to himself until they were married.
• Ye Yaodong borrowed A-Guang's bicycle, rode to literacy class, and returned home before leaving for a night fishing trip with Father Ye.
• Ye Yaodong noticed a boat from their village following them several nautical miles out to sea.

Ye Yaodong and Father Ye fished while A-Wei and his uncle followed their boat, aggravating them and cutting into their longline catch. After they moved to trawl elsewhere, a swordfish suddenly raced past their boat.

• Ye Yaodong and Father Ye noticed a fishing boat trailing them and continued setting their longlines and trawl net.
• The pair hauled up a catch of sole fish, then recognized A-Wei aboard the boat that had been following them.
• Ye Yaodong confronted A-Wei and his uncle, who denied deliberately following them and argued that anyone could fish those waters.
• After hauling in a shrinking longline catch, Ye Yaodong moved the boat a nautical mile away to trawl, but A-Wei's boat followed.
• Father Ye spotted a swordfish racing past the boat, and it appeared again.

Ye Yaodong and Father Ye watched A-Wei and his uncle get attacked by swordfish, then followed them to a small island to help. After one exhausted swordfish became trapped among the rocks, Ye Yaodong prepared to approach it with a fish spear.

• Ye Yaodong and Father Ye lost their chance to catch a swordfish when A-Wei and his uncle netted it, but it stabbed their boat and escaped.
• A second swordfish attacked A-Wei's boat, and Ye Yaodong steered clear before following the damaged vessel toward an island.
• A-Wei and his uncle reached the island safely, while Ye Yaodong and Father Ye waited nearby and gathered shellfish from the rocks.
• The swordfish eventually stopped attacking, but one remained trapped in a rocky hollow after a wave swept it in.
• Ye Yaodong asked Father Ye for the fish spear and prepared to climb over to the trapped swordfish.

Ye Yaodong caught two swordfish and brought A-Wei and his uncle back to the pier, where the fish and his other catch earned him 328 yuan. He went home pleased with the day’s haul, but developed a fever as the wind picked up.

• Ye Yaodong speared the swordfish trapped among the rocks, then hauled it aboard with Father Ye.
• A-Wei's uncle offered the swordfish stuck in his boat as payment and apologized, while Ye Yaodong agreed to take them back to the pier.
• Ye Yaodong killed the second swordfish by spearing its eye and, with Father Ye, got it aboard.
• Ye Yaodong took the uncle and nephew’s catch aboard and headed for the pier, keeping watch on them as he shivered in the cold.
• The two swordfish weighed 303 jin, and Ye Yaodong sold them with his other catch for 328 yuan.
• Ye Yaodong returned home with the money and discovered that he had a fever as the wind picked up.

With rough seas keeping the village fishermen ashore, Ye Yaodong bought food for the Start of Winter and prepared a chicken at home. He warned Lin Xiuqing not to follow their sisters-in-law into lending money for high interest, then left for literacy class on his new bicycle.

• Ye Yaodong bought a leg of lamb, then took a rooster and twenty eggs from Mother Ye for his family.
• While Ye Yaodong prepared the chicken, he and Lin Xiuqing overheard their neighbors arguing over a loan and its overdue interest.
• Ye Second Sister-in-Law received the promised interest and boasted about the investment, encouraging Ye Eldest Sister-in-Law and Ye Yaopeng to join.
• Ye Yaodong learned that both sisters-in-law had each lent another five hundred yuan and urged Lin Xiuqing not to risk their savings.
• Lin Xiuqing served Ye Yaodong chicken soup and reminded him to take hot water to literacy class as he planned to ride his bicycle there.

Ye Yaodong discovered the shore and submerged rocks covered with starfish and began collecting them, filling A-Zheng and Xiao Xiao’s small boat. He called his family and the boat’s owners to help harvest the enormous catch.

• Ye Yaodong went to check his fishing pots despite the rain and spotted starfish blanketing the rocks near the pier.
• Ye Yaodong borrowed A-Zheng and Xiao Xiao’s small boat and spent hours filling it with starfish.
• Mother Ye found Ye Yaodong, then hurried back to gather the family and bring sacks.
• Father Ye, Ye Huimei, Ye Yaopeng, Ye Yaohua, and their wives arrived and began collecting starfish.
• Mother Ye returned with A-Zheng and Xiao Xiao, who recognized their boat already loaded with starfish.

Ye Yaodong and his family collected a huge haul of starfish, but news spread through the village and crowds soon descended on the beach. As villagers fought over an octopus and someone stole from Ye Yaodong’s boat, a brawl erupted between the families.

• Ye Yaodong shared the starfish grounds with his family, and his sisters-in-law summoned their relatives to collect as well.
• Villagers from Ye Yaodong’s village and a neighboring village crowded the pier, while Lin Xiuqing brought him lunch and agreed to guard his boatload of starfish.
• Ye Yaodong joined the villagers in gathering the remaining catch as they waded farther into the tide.
• A middle-aged woman and a man fought over a large octopus, and their families joined the argument.
• Lin Xiuqing shouted that someone was stealing from Ye Yaodong’s boat, so Ye Yaodong punched Zhang Laoliu and Father Ye joined the fight.
• Zhang Laoliu’s wife charged Father Ye, Mother Ye attacked her, and the two families’ confrontation escalated into a brawl.

Ye Yaodong and his family finished gathering and hauling their large starfish catch ashore after a dispute with a man caught stealing from them. As the buying station prepared to purchase the haul, Ye Yaodong warned Father Ye against investing in his eldest cousin’s high-interest business scheme.

• Mother Ye shoved the sesame-faced woman into the water during the quarrel, and village officials eventually separated the groups and ended the confrontation.
• Ye Yaodong stopped collecting starfish and, with help from Father Ye, A-Guang, and others, packed the boatload into sacks and carried it ashore.
• Mother Ye learned the buying station was paying two fen per jin, delighting the family as they prepared to sell their catch.
• A neighbor told Ye Yaodong that villagers were considering investing in his eldest cousin’s business after Ye Second Sister-in-Law promoted it.
• Ye Yaodong warned Father Ye that the promised interest might be a scheme and told him to keep Mother Ye from investing.

Ye Yaodong and his family sold the starfish they had gathered, then he took A-Zheng and Xiao Xiao out to retrieve their fishing pots. The pots were packed with starfish and fish, and Ye Yaodong found several natural sponges before the final pot brought up an enormous white jellyfish.

• Ye Yaodong and Lin Xiuqing counted their family’s sacks of starfish while waiting in line with the village.
• The family sold their catches, with Ye Yaodong’s 736 jin earning 14.72 yuan and Mother Ye’s group earning 13.84 yuan.
• Ye Yaodong told Lin Xiuqing to go home and invited A-Zheng and Xiao Xiao to help haul in their fishing pots before dark.
• Ye Yaodong found starfish and fish filling the pots, along with several natural sponges, while A-Zheng and Xiao Xiao helped sort the catch.
• Ye Yaodong hauled up the final pots after dark and found an enormous white jellyfish in one collection bag.