Chapter Summaries

Ye Yaodong hauled in a huge catch of starfish and fish, sold it at the buying station, and returned home to Lin Xiuqing. After a playful evening with his sons, he asked Lin Xiuqing to help treat his aching back, then turned the request into an amorous advance.

• Ye Yaodong cleared jellyfish from his fishing pots and collected sacks of starfish and buckets of fish.
• He joined Xiao Xiao and A-Zheng in bringing their catches ashore, where Ye Yaodong sold 702 jin of starfish and the others sold 915 jin.
• Ye Yaodong gave Lin Xiuqing the sale receipts, ate dinner, and joked with her about massaging his aches.
• Ye Yaodong let Ye Chenghu and Ye Chengyang climb on his back, but they turned it into a noisy game until Lin Xiuqing sent them to bed.
• After the boys fell asleep, Ye Yaodong asked Lin Xiuqing to treat his back and rolled on top of her.

Ye Yaodong went to the pier after hearing that the village had turned out to collect starfish, but a crowd crush sparked widespread fighting. He got his family safely ashore, where they discovered Mother Ye had stayed in the fray to catch a tiger grouper, and Ye Yaodong warned everyone not to return to the water.

• Ye Yaodong woke late, learned the pier was packed with people collecting starfish, and hurried there despite Lin Xiuqing advising him to stay home.
• Ye Yaodong found Father Ye, Ye Huimei, and A-Guang making their way ashore as people shoved and fought across the water.
• Ye Yaodong helped his family reach shore, where they saw other relatives arrive wet and injured and learned a tiger grouper had sparked the brawl.
• Ye Yaodong found Mother Ye still in the water and carried her sack ashore; she revealed that she had caught the tiger grouper and avoided the fighting.
• Ye Yaodong and Father Ye told the family not to return to the water, warning that the crowd could start fighting again.

Ye Yaodong avoided the crowded fights over starfish, hauled in a profitable catch from his fishing pots, and later went out trawling with Father Ye. After finding his longline, they pulled up a strange, ugly black fish, leaving them unsure what it was.

• Ye Yaodong watched the pier crowds fight over starfish, then hauled in another half-boatload from his fishing pots and sold it.
• Ye Yaodong returned home, told Lin Xiuqing about the clashes, and arranged to go fishing with Father Ye before dawn.
• Ye Yaodong and Father Ye searched for their longline buoy while trawling, bringing up two sparse catches dominated by mantis shrimp.
• Ye Yaodong spotted the buoy, and he and Father Ye retrieved the longline without snagging its sinker rope.
• Ye Yaodong and Father Ye hauled up a strange black fish over forty centimeters long, with sharp teeth and a rod-like growth on its head.

Ye Yaodong and Father Ye hauled in their longline, catching toadfish, tarpon, and other fish, then cast a hand net over a school of tarpon. After eating lunch aboard, they resumed setting the net to make another couple of trawls before the weather turned.

• Ye Yaodong identified a black toadfish with a tiny male attached to its back, and he and Father Ye continued hauling in the longline.
• Ye Yaodong and Father Ye pulled up a large tarpon and spotted a school leaping nearby, then cast a hand net and caught four more.
• Father Ye’s next cast caught soft cuttlefish and prawns, while the remaining longline yielded more tarpon, toadfish, rays, and flatfish.
• Ye Yaodong and Father Ye ate their cold lunch in the cabin and rested before going back out to set the net again.

Ye Yaodong and Father Ye brought home a large catch of rabbitfish and starfish, though the fish were worth little. Their return was overshadowed by reports of violent clashes among people gathering starfish, and they saw an injured Lin Weiying arrive by boat.

• Ye Yaodong and Father Ye hauled in two large catches of rabbitfish, keeping some for their own meals and packing the rest to sell or dry.
• Ye Yaodong refused to chase a sailfish after recalling how dangerous large fish could be.
• The pair collected seven and a half sacks of starfish from their fishing pots before heading back to shore.
• Mother Ye told them that fights over starfish had spread from the water onto shore, and Ye Yaodong told her to keep Ye Huimei away from the pier.
• Lin Weiying arrived in a neighboring boat covered in blood, and Mother Ye asked what had happened.

Ye Yaodong sold his catch, learned that Lin Xiuqing’s father had injured his foot, and arranged to take his family to visit him. The chapter ended with Ye Yaodong hiring a tractor to carry his pregnant wife, their children, and their gifts to Anhe Township.

• Lin Jinyang told Ye Yaodong that a sailfish had pierced his father’s shoulder before falling into their boat, and Ye Yaodong stayed to help summon the man’s family.
• Ye Yaodong sold his catch for more than seventy-eight yuan and returned home to learn that Lin Xiuqing’s father had broken his foot in a fall.
• Ye Yaodong reassured Lin Xiuqing and agreed to take her and their sons to visit her father the next day, bringing dried seafood and other gifts.
• Ye Yaodong checked his fishing pots at dawn, found only one bag of starfish, and received a sea bass and Bombay duck from Mother Ye for the trip.
• Ye Yaodong had hired a tractor to carry the family and their belongings, and they boarded after he secured the house.

Ye Yaodong brought Lin Xiuqing and their sons to visit her injured father, carrying gifts and helping her parents feel reassured about the family’s new boat. On the way up the mountain to pick tangerines, he and Ye Chenghu caught two softshell turtles, planning to cook one and let the boy keep the other.

• Ye Yaodong took Lin Xiuqing and their sons by tractor to visit her parents, bringing dried seafood, sea snake liquor, and other gifts.
• Mother Lin welcomed them, and Ye Yaodong chatted with Father Lin while Lin Xiuqing stayed home with their younger son and told her parents about their larger boat.
• Ye Yaodong took Ye Chenghu up the mountain to help pick tangerines, while the younger boy cried after being left behind.
• Ye Chenghu spotted a softshell turtle by the river, and Ye Yaodong caught it and handed it to him.
• Ye Chenghu spotted another softshell turtle in the water, and Ye Yaodong caught it, deciding to stew one and let his son play with the other.

Ye Yaodong and Ye Chenghu climbed the hill, finding wild duck eggs and a giant softshell turtle that they left in the river. They joined Ye Yaodong’s relatives to pick mandarins, while Ye Chenghu watched over the little softshell turtles.

• Ye Chenghu fell on the hill and dropped his softshell turtle, then went to wash it in the river as Ye Yaodong followed him.
• Ye Yaodong crushed one wild duck egg and found two more, then spotted a giant softshell turtle in the river and decided to leave it alone.
• Ye Yaodong and Ye Chenghu continued uphill, collected a fallen pomelo, and met Ye Yaodong’s brother-in-law and the children picking mandarins.
• Ye Yaodong learned that a canning factory had raised the mandarin price and joined his relatives in harvesting the fruit.
• Ye Chenghu sat among the mandarins to watch the softshell turtles while the other children returned to work.

Ye Yaodong and his relatives spent the day picking tangerines, while Ye Chenghu played with softshell turtles and mourned a broken duck egg. The chapter ended with the family sharing a noisy dinner at Lin Mother’s home, where Ye Yaodong served his wife a starfish and Lin Mother fussed over the food he had brought.

• Ye Chenghu helped pick tangerines but repeatedly checked on the softshell turtles he had surrounded with fruit.
• Ye Yaodong and the others found the turtles after they escaped, and Ye Yaodong put them in a basket before the family ate lunch.
• Ye Yaodong, his brothers-in-law, and the rest of the family picked tangerines through the afternoon, then carried the fruit down the hill as the children played.
• Ye Chenghu broke one of his wild duck eggs while running home, and the adults stopped the children from going to the river to look for eggs and the large softshell turtle.
• Ye Yaodong told Lin Xiangyang about the enormous turtle in the river, and Lin Xiangyang connected it to the village legend of a river-guarding turtle.
• At dinner, Ye Chenghu gave Lin Mother his remaining duck egg, and Ye Yaodong opened a starfish for his wife while Lin Mother told him not to bring so much food next time.

Ye Yaodong spent the evening with Lin Xiuqing's family, where one of the children was bitten by a softshell turtle and Mother Lin later stewed one. The next morning Ye Yaodong went to help pick mandarins, while his sons woke to find a turtle missing and cried that he had broken his promise.

• Ye Yaodong helped Lin Guangyuan free his bitten hand from a softshell turtle by singeing it with a match.
• Ye Yaodong promised Ye Chenghu and Ye Chengyang that the turtles would not be eaten, but Mother Lin secretly stewed the larger one after everyone went to bed.
• Ye Yaodong and his brothers-in-law ate the softshell turtle soup and discussed catching more turtles for the children.
• Ye Yaodong rose at dawn and went with Mother Lin's family to pick mandarins on the mountain.
• Ye Chenghu and Ye Chengyang woke, saw that one turtle was gone, and cried that Ye Yaodong had broken his promise.

Ye Yaodong tried to manage his sons’ excitement over the turtles while helping his in-laws pick tangerines and pomelos. After the family spotted wild ducks by the river, he promised to return after lunch to look for eggs and see whether they could catch any.

• Ye Yaodong calmed Ye Chenghu’s tantrum by claiming the surviving turtle was his, but Ye Chenghu later told Ye Chengyang that his own turtle had been eaten, making him cry until Lin Xiuqing promised to catch him another.
• Ye Yaodong and his family spent two days picking tangerines, then Ye Chenghu fell from a pomelo branch and was scolded and spanked by Ye Yaodong.
• Ye Chenghu sneaked off to climb trees with his cousins until Ye Yaodong threatened to stew the turtle, prompting him to obey and help fill a sack with pomelos.
• The children asked Lin Xianghui to search the riverbank for wild duck eggs, and Ye Yaodong followed them to keep watch.
• A flock of wild ducks landed upstream, and the children urged their fathers to catch them, but Ye Yaodong said they had no equipment and suggested they return after lunch to look for eggs.

Ye Yaodong showed the Lin children how to trap wild ducks by propping up a bamboo basket with a stick and baiting it with rice, and they caught several ducks and found an egg. While gathering river shellfish afterward, he and Lin Xianghui discovered a white bead among the mussels, leaving them to examine their find.

• The Lin children hurried Ye Yaodong to the river after spotting wild ducks, and he set a basket trap baited with rice.
• Two ducks walked under the basket, and Ye Yaodong trapped them, tied their wings and feet, and handed them to Lin Guangyuan and Lin Dongxue.
• The children took turns trapping more ducks while Lin Xianghui set a shrimp trap and found a wild duck egg.
• Lin Xiangyang arrived with a softshell turtle, and he scolded the children when they asked to skip school again the next day.
• Ye Yaodong collected freshwater snails, clams, and river mussels along the bank with Lin Xianghui.
• Lin Xianghui spotted a white bead among the mussels and reached to grab it.

Lin Xianghui found two pearls in a freshwater mussel while Ye Yaodong and the children gathered river food and wild ducks. After Ye Chenghu slipped into the water while watching a huge softshell turtle surface, Ye Yaodong took him home, where Lin Xiuqing scolded her husband but Mother Lin defended him.

• Lin Xianghui discovered two pearls inside a freshwater mussel, and Lin Xiangyang eagerly joined him in searching for more.
• Ye Yaodong checked his own mussels without finding pearls, then went to see the children, who had caught six wild ducks.
• Ye Yaodong gathered ten wild duck eggs upstream before the children called out that Ye Chenghu had slipped and a huge softshell turtle had surfaced.
• Ye Yaodong checked that Ye Chenghu was unhurt and took him home to change, while Lin Xianghui ended the children's outing and scolded Lin Guangyuan for not watching his cousin.
• Lin Xiuqing blamed Ye Yaodong for failing to watch Ye Chenghu, but Mother Lin defended him and urged her daughter to stop nagging.

Ye Yaodong helped Lin Xianghui and the Lin family with their harvest before deciding to return home with Lin Xiuqing and their children. As they left, Lin Mother loaded them with food and supplies, and Ye Chenghu promised his cousins they would visit again.

• Lin Xianghui showed the family two pearls he had found, while the children described catching eight wild ducks and other river creatures.
• Ye Yaodong joined the Lin family in harvesting sweet potatoes, earning his brothers-in-law and their wives’ growing approval.
• Ye Yaodong and Lin Xiuqing agreed to leave the next day, and she massaged his shoulders before Lin Mother called her away.
• Lin Mother gathered dried vegetables, fruit, pumpkins, and other provisions for them to take home, despite Ye Yaodong’s attempts to refuse.
• Ye Yaodong hired a tractor to carry the family and their many supplies home, and Ye Chenghu said goodbye to his cousins and promised to visit again.

Ye Yaodong and Lin Xiuqing returned to White Sand Village with their children and the many supplies Lin Xiuqing’s mother had packed. Ye Yaodong prepared to resume fishing that night, while Ye Chenghu eagerly bragged to his friends about their trip.

• Ye Chenghu perked up when the tractor reached White Sand Village and called to his friends that he had returned from his grandmother’s house.
• Lin Xiuqing unpacked the food and produce her mother had sent, including an unexpected sack of sweet potatoes.
• Ye Yaodong brought a wild duck to the Old House and discussed checking his fishing pots, gathering bait, and trying the newly made gill nets that night.
• Ye Yaodong found Ye Chenghu boasting to other children about catching wild ducks and softshell turtles, then dragged him home for lunch.
• Ye Yaodong and Lin Xiuqing discussed their dried seafood supplies and planned to raise more chickens for eggs in spring.

Ye Yaodong hauled in his fishing pots after several days away and found that most of the fish and shrimp had spoiled, though he caught mantis shrimp, sea cicadas, and a green grouper. After seabirds attracted nearby fishermen to his boat, he returned to shore with a modest catch and sold most of it.

• Ye Yaodong checked his boat and engine, then headed out to retrieve his fishing pots and longline hooks.
• Ye Yaodong found three enormous mantis shrimp, then uncovered several jin of sea cicadas beneath a jellyfish.
• Ye Yaodong hauled in the remaining pots and sorted the catch, keeping fresh fish and shrimp while throwing most of the spoiled catch to seabirds.
• Nearby fishermen converged on Ye Yaodong's boat, mistaking the gathering seabirds for signs of a school of fish.
• Ye Yaodong left the other boats behind, sold most of his catch at the pier, and kept four large mantis shrimp and the sea cicadas.

Ye Yaodong bought bait for his next Longline Fishing trip, shared his catch with relatives and neighbors, and spent the evening eating with Lin Xiuqing and their sons. After hearing about his second sister-in-law’s argument over unpaid money, he went to bed with Lin Xiuqing before heading out to sea that night.

• Ye Yaodong bought a hundred jin of small fish and twenty jin of shrimp from A-Cai for bait, and A-Cai offered to save bait for him in the future.
• Ye Yaodong distributed most of his sea cicadas to relatives and neighbors, keeping some for his family and taking the rest to Uncle Lin Jingye’s house before dinner.
• Ye Yaodong and Lin Xiuqing prepared sea cicadas and Mantis Shrimp for dinner, while their older son guarded his Softshell Turtle from his father.
• Lin Xiuqing told Ye Yaodong that his second sister-in-law had failed to recover money from Cousin Meiying’s family and had been scolding Second Brother.
• After dinner, Ye Yaodong teased Lin Xiuqing about his burned mouth, and the two went to bed together before his planned night trip to sea.

Ye Yaodong and Father Ye went out to sea before dawn, where Ye Yaodong spotted giant trevally hunting seabirds and caught three large fish. A cast net tore during the haul, but they recovered the dead mullet that spilled out and planned to replace the borrowed net while keeping the damaged one.

• Ye Yaodong packed food and a coal stove for the boat so he could cook without waking Lin Xiuqing.
• Ye Yaodong and Father Ye spotted a giant trevally catching a tern, and Ye Yaodong caught it with his hand cast net.
• After Father Ye threw the tern back into the sea, Ye Yaodong spotted another giant trevally and cast the net again.
• The net held two giant trevally and many mullet, but its bottom tore as Ye Yaodong and Father Ye hauled it aboard.
• Ye Yaodong and Father Ye scooped the floating dead mullet from the sea and decided to mend the torn net and have a new one woven for A-Zheng.

Ye Yaodong and Father Ye made a profitable catch, set a gill net, and hauled in a large load of mullet before spotting a strange silver shape near an island. They discovered it was a stranded four- or five-meter oarfish, which Father Ye feared might herald an earthquake or tsunami.

• Ye Yaodong bled three giant trevally while Father Ye gathered the mullet they had caught.
• Ye Yaodong set a gill net, then he and Father Ye trawled up thirty-five to forty kilograms of mullet and a thicklip sweetlips.
• Ye Yaodong spotted a long, silver shape moving across the water and steered toward it with Father Ye.
• Ye Yaodong and Father Ye recognized the shape as an oarfish stranded on the beach of a nearby island.
• Ye Yaodong secured the boat and followed Father Ye ashore to inspect the oarfish, while Father Ye said its appearance could mean an earthquake or tsunami was coming.

Ye Yaodong and Father Ye found and brought a giant oarfish aboard, then continued fishing while discussing its earthquake omen and planning a future shellfish-foraging trip. As they finished hauling in the longline, Ye Yaodong pulled up an unusually heavy clump and realized something was wrong.

• Ye Yaodong identified the stranded fish as an oarfish, and Father Ye agreed to bring it aboard despite worrying that it signaled an earthquake.
• Ye Yaodong and Father Ye loaded the oarfish onto their boat and joked about how Ye Yaodong had learned to recognize it.
• Ye Yaodong spotted shellfish on the island and planned to return there with his mother and younger sister to forage during the spring tide.
• Ye Yaodong steered to their longline and hauled up a seasonal catch of mullet, toadfish, and other fish, including a giant trevally that Father Ye netted.
• As Ye Yaodong reached the final hook, he hauled up an unusually heavy clump and saw that it was not a single fish.