Chapter Summaries

Ye Yaodong returned from a successful day offshore with abalone, small green lobsters, and sea cucumbers, then secretly kept several sea cucumbers for his family. The chapter ended with Lin Xiuqing discovering their true price after the family had already eaten them.

• Ye Yaodong and Father Ye finished retrieving their fishing pots, and Ye Yaodong sorted the catch while setting aside seafood for his family.
• Ye Yaodong met A-Zheng and Xiao Xiao at sea, and their boats headed back to shore after they hauled in their net.
• A-Zheng, Xiao Xiao, and the onlookers were surprised by Ye Yaodong's abalone and sea cucumbers, but he kept the source of his catch secret.
• Father Ye tried to return the sea cucumbers Ye Yaodong had kept, but Ye Yaodong explained he had set them aside for Younger Sister, the Old Lady, and A Qing.
• Lin Xiuqing steamed the sea cucumbers with eggs for the family, then learned their actual price from Ye Yaodong's sales slip and pounded him in dismay.

Ye Yaodong refused his aunt’s invitation to join a savings circle and tried to keep Lin Xiuqing’s pregnancy secret until the baby arrived. As rain kept the family home, the boys felt the baby kick and argued over whether they would have a brother or sister, before Ye Chengyang’s fart ended the bedtime excitement.

• Ye Yaodong refused his aunt’s offer to join a savings circle, despite her assurances that it required only ten yuan a month.
• After his aunt left, Ye Yaodong scolded his sons for opening the door and reminded them not to reveal Lin Xiuqing’s pregnancy before the birth.
• Rain kept Ye Yaodong from going to sea, and he and Lin Xiuqing worried that her belly seemed unusually large.
• Ye Chenghu and Ye Chengyang felt the baby kick and argued over whether it was a boy or a girl, prompting Ye Yaodong to send them to bed.
• Ye Chengyang farted under the quilt, and Ye Yaodong shook it out while the family laughed.

Ye Yaodong faced threats from Lin Jianqiang, who demanded money and hinted that he knew about Lin Xiuqing’s pregnancy. After giving him fifty yuan, Ye Yaodong followed him to an illegal gambling den and reported it, hoping to have him locked up before he could threaten the family again.

• Lin Jianqiang warned Ye Yaodong that authorities were cracking down on pregnancies and asked to borrow a hundred yuan.
• Ye Yaodong told Lin Xiuqing and his family about the threat, and Lin Xiuqing prepared to leave for her parents’ home.
• When Lin Jianqiang returned that evening, Ye Yaodong gave him fifty yuan and stalled his request for more.
• Ye Yaodong followed Lin Jianqiang to a gambling den in East Bridge Village and confirmed he was gambling there.
• Ye Yaodong rode to the Border Defense Station to report the gambling den and get Lin Jianqiang locked up.

Ye Yaodong waited for the threat to subside, then took a net hauler out to sea with Father Ye and used it to bring in a large catch of silver pomfret. He also freed his fishing pots, gathered seafood, and hauled a diesel engine from a shipwreck, leaving them to see whether it could be repaired.

• Ye Yaodong learned that Lin Xiuqing's cousin's husband had been arrested for gambling after Ye Yaodong reported him, giving the couple a brief reprieve from his extortion.
• Lin Jishang delivered the net hauler, and Ye Yaodong had it carried aboard and tested before paying for it.
• Ye Yaodong and Father Ye used the machine to haul in several nets, including a catch of over a hundred jin of silver pomfret.
• Ye Yaodong dived to free four stuck fishing pots, tied a rope around the diesel engine in the shipwreck, and collected abalone and sea cucumbers.
• Ye Yaodong and Father Ye used the net hauler to bring the engine aboard, then headed home after meeting Xiao Xiao and A-Zheng on the way.

Ye Yaodong’s family hid their new boat equipment as inspectors arrived, and Lin Xiuqing went into labor during the search. She safely gave birth to a healthy baby girl, while Secretary Chen diverted the inspectors until the birth was over.

• Ye Yaodong’s friends helped unload a salvaged diesel engine and Net Hauler, and he told them the equipment was broken and needed repairs.
• A-Guang warned Ye Yaodong that inspectors were checking homes just as Lin Xiuqing’s water broke and labor began.
• Ye Yaodong’s sisters-in-law, Mother Ye, and Old Lady helped Lin Xiuqing while A-Guang asked Secretary Chen to divert the inspectors.
• As the inspectors approached, Lin Xiuqing gave birth, and Secretary Chen led the group away without inspecting the house.
• Mother Ye brought out the newborn girl, who weighed seven jin and two liang, and Ye Yaodong proudly introduced her to his sons.

Ye Yaodong and Lin Xiuqing welcomed their daughter safely, and the family gathered around to help care for her. They left her name undecided until they could consult a fortune-teller, while Ye Yaodong began learning how to help with the newborn.

• Ye Yaodong brought the baby to Lin Xiuqing, who was relieved that the birth had gone safely and quickly.
• Mother Ye arranged food and confinement wine, while Ye Yaodong doted on his daughter and Lin Xiuqing nursed her.
• Ye Yaodong and Lin Xiuqing agreed to wait until the next day to have the baby's birth date and time read before choosing a name.
• Ye Yaodong fed the two boys, and Mother Ye reminded him to notify Lin Xiuqing's family, buy red-dyed duck eggs, and visit Secretary Chen about the fine.
• When the baby dirtied her diaper, Old Lady changed her while Ye Yaodong prepared warm water and watched; the family then discussed whose features the baby had inherited.

After Lin Xiuqing gave birth to a daughter, Ye Yaodong cared for his exhausted family and thanked Secretary Chen for helping them during the county crackdown. He paid the family’s 500-yuan fine and learned that Lin Jianqiang had been sentenced to ten years in prison.

• Ye Yaodong and Lin Xiuqing welcomed their newborn daughter, while Ye Yaodong sent their sons to sleep separately and spent the night tending to the baby.
• Mother Ye told the family that Lin Jianqiang had been arrested for gambling and theft, and Ye Yaodong learned he might face prison.
• After a sleepless night, Ye Yaodong bought supplies and gifts, then visited Secretary Chen to thank him for delaying the officials during the birth.
• Secretary Chen told Ye Yaodong that Lin Xiuqing’s sterilization could wait until after her postpartum confinement and that their fine would remain 500 yuan.
• Secretary Chen revealed that Lin Jianqiang had received a ten-year sentence, and Ye Yaodong paid the family’s fine at the brigade office.
• Lin Xiuqing ate postpartum meals prepared by Mother Ye, while Ye Yaodong finished the food she could not eat.

About ten days after Lin Xiuqing gave birth to Ye Xiaoxi, her parents visited and learned how attentively Ye Yaodong was caring for her. Ye Yaodong then gathered villagers to turn his boat onto its side and scrape shellfish from its hull, where the children discovered a large number of sandworms.

• Father Lin and Lin Mother visited Lin Xiuqing, brought food and baby clothes, and heard that Ye Yaodong was handling the nighttime diaper changes.
• Ye Yaodong gathered young men and cousins to tip his boat onto its side after the tide receded so he could clean its hull.
• Ye Yaodong warned the children to keep away until the boat was safely propped, then invited them to collect the shellfish he scraped off.
• The children filled sacks with blue mussels and other shellfish while Ye Chenghu chatted with Ye Yaodong and Ye Chenghai.
• Sandworms emerged across the beach, and Ye Yaodong excitedly gave the children an extra sack to collect them.

Ye Yaodong took the children to the beach, where they caught sandworms and gathered shellfish while he cleaned the hull. He returned home with the haul and a handcart, then promised the children fried sandworms before bringing them back from the beach.

• Ye Yaodong and the children caught a large quantity of sandworms, and he promised to fry some for them.
• Ye Yaodong scraped shellfish and barnacles from the boat hull while the children gathered seafood nearby.
• Ye Chengyang fell and spilled his basket of sandworms, but Ye Yaodong caught one to stop his crying.
• The children finished gathering, and Ye Yaodong returned home to get a handcart and told Mother Ye he planned to share the shellfish and sandworms with the family.
• Ye Yaodong loaded the haul onto the handcart and persuaded the children to leave the beach by promising fried sandworms at home.

Ye Yaodong and his family cleaned and cooked the sandworms and shellfish the children had gathered, then shared a hearty meal with Lin Mother and Father Lin. Lin Guangyuan was allowed to stay a few more days, and he pursued Ye Yaodong about taking the children to the beach at night, convinced that his uncle’s blink had promised it.

• Mother Ye scolded the children for demanding fried sandworms, but Ye Yaodong promised to cook them a basinful as a reward for their work.
• Ye Yaodong, Mother Ye, Lin Mother, and the children cleaned the sandworms and sorted the shellfish before Mother Ye fried some for everyone.
• Lin Guangyuan asked to stay a few more days, and the family persuaded Lin Mother to let him remain.
• The children discussed searching the beach at night, but Lin Mother warned them not to go without an adult, and Ye Yaodong gave Lin Guangyuan a wink.
• After lunch, Mother Ye packed sandworms, oysters, barnacles, and mussels for Lin Mother and Father Lin, and Ye Yaodong escorted them to find a ride home.
• Lin Guangyuan followed Ye Yaodong and insisted that his wink meant they would go to the shore that night, while Ye Yaodong denied making any promise.

Ye Yaodong bought maltose for the children and gave the last piece to the Old Lady, while agreeing to take Lin Guangyuan to the shore at night. The children planned to sneak out with them, despite being scolded, and left one another reminders to wake up.

• Lin Guangyuan persuaded Ye Yaodong to take him to the shore during the spring tide, and Ye Yaodong agreed on the condition that the boy could get up by himself.
• Ye Yaodong wandered through the fishing village, bought ten pieces of maltose, and shared them with the children at home.
• Ye Yaodong gave his last piece of maltose to the Old Lady, then agreed with Mother Ye that she would help care for A Qing while he went fishing another day.
• Ye Yaodong told his mother he would take Lin Guangyuan to gather things at low tide, and the Old Lady warned him to watch the boy carefully.
• The children were scolded as they went home for the night, but they made plans to wake one another and join Ye Yaodong and Lin Guangyuan.

Ye Yaodong took Lin Guangyuan and Ye Chenghai to forage on the shore during a spring tide, where they collected seafood and witnessed a strange glow in the water. As crabs swarmed onto the beach, the three raced to catch as many as they could before the tide carried them back.

• Ye Yaodong left home after midnight with Lin Guangyuan and Ye Chenghai to forage on the shore.
• The three collected snails, sea urchins, fish, clams, shrimp, and crabs among the rocks as the tide receded.
• Ye Yaodong and the boys watched a hazy glow rise from the seawater and fade away.
• They spotted huge numbers of stone crabs and swimming crabs crawling ashore and began catching them in sacks.
• The boys asked for a share of the catch, and Ye Yaodong agreed to split the proceeds while promising them treats.
• As the crabs began crawling back toward the sea, Ye Yaodong urged the boys to keep catching them.

Ye Yaodong and the two boys gathered crabs and sandworms on the shore, then discovered schools of anchovies drawn to his headlamp. The chapter ended with Ye Yaodong scooping up the fish while the boys watched and helped shine their lights.

• Ye Yaodong, Ye Chenghai, and Lin Guangyuan caught nearly half a sack of crabs before the crabs retreated into the sea.
• The three found masses of sandworms emerging on the beach and collected nearly another half sack.
• Ye Yaodong left the boys to gather sandworms while he searched the nearby rocks, finding cat's eye snails and two ghost-head crabs.
• Ye Yaodong noticed schools of fish leaping toward his headlamp and called for the boys to bring him a hand net.
• Ye Yaodong identified the fish as anchovies, also called haiyan, and began scooping them from the shallows.

Ye Yaodong and the boys gathered fish, crabs, and sandworms on the beach at night, including a valuable large yellow croaker. They returned home with a large catch, and Ye Yaodong planned to head out to sea the following night while Lin Guangyuan stayed behind.

• Ye Yaodong let Lin Guangyuan take over scooping anchovies while he searched the rocks with Ye Chenghai.
• Ye Yaodong caught a large conger eel and a female red paste crab to bring home for A Qing’s recovery.
• Ye Yaodong spotted and caught a stranded large yellow croaker, then promised Ye Chenghai extra pocket money for the find.
• Lin Guangyuan filled a sack with anchovies, and Ye Yaodong ended the beach gathering rather than collect more sandworms.
• Ye Yaodong pushed the handcart home with the catch, sorted it into baskets, and sent the boys to bed.

Ye Yaodong protected his valuable night-caught large yellow croaker, then talked with Lin Xiuqing about the catch and his plan to go fishing again. The next morning, Mother Ye caught Ye Chenghai sneaking out to the shore and beat him while Ye Yaodong tried to intervene.

• Ye Yaodong covered the large yellow croaker to preserve its golden color and went to bed beside Lin Xiuqing.
• Lin Xiuqing nursed Ye Xiaoxi as Ye Yaodong recounted their night’s catch and planned to go out to sea the following night.
• Ye Yaodong woke early, prepared breakfast, and went outside after hearing Mother Ye scold Ye Chenghai.
• Ye Chenghai denied going to the shore, but Mother Ye said his father had seen him leave with Ye Yaodong.
• Ye Yaodong asked Mother Ye to postpone the beating until after school, and Ye Chenghai urged her to save it for later.

Ye Yaodong’s family sold their crabs and large yellow croaker, then cleaned sandworms and prepared anchovies for fish sauce. After an unproductive afternoon gathering sandworms on a crowded beach, Ye Yaodong warned the children about a venomous snail and went to bed early before his night fishing trip.

• Ye Eldest Sister-in-Law whipped Ye Chenghai for lingering at the door instead of going to school, while Ye Yaodong and his family sorted and tied the crabs.
• Ye Yaodong sold the crabs and large yellow croaker for nearly twenty-nine yuan and asked A-Cai to save him fifty jin of mixed small fish and shrimp for bait.
• Ye Yaodong’s family and their neighbors cleaned sandworms, and Mother Ye salted anchovies in a vat to make fish sauce.
• Ye Yaodong’s family gathered sandworms at low tide, but the crowded beach left them with only a little over twenty jin after several hours.
• Ye Yaodong stopped Ye Chenghu from touching a venomous chicken-heart cone snail and warned the other children not to pick up unfamiliar sea creatures.
• Ye Yaodong told Lin Guangyuan to stay home that night and went to bed early before heading out to sea after two.

Ye Yaodong found squid eggs while diving and discussed using branches to attract squid during spawning season with Father Ye. When the two spotted a beach covered in squid stranded by the receding tide near Oarfish Island, they hurried ashore to gather them.

• Ye Yaodong noticed squid eggs hanging from coral and told Father Ye that squid season had begun.
• Father Ye suggested sinking bundles of branches to attract spawning squid, and Ye Yaodong agreed to cut branches after they returned.
• Ye Yaodong and Father Ye hauled in their Longline Hooks and caught several squid, groupers, and Spanish mackerel, including one weighing over twenty jin.
• Ye Yaodong spotted white shapes washing onto the beach near Oarfish Island and turned the boat toward them.
• Ye Yaodong and Father Ye confirmed that the white shapes were fresh squid stranded by the receding tide and headed ashore with a sack to collect them.

Ye Yaodong and Father Ye gathered two sacks of squid stranded on the beach, then returned to shore with their catch and sold it to A-Cai. They left with some seafood set aside for the family, while Ye Yaodong planned to lure more squid the next day.

• Ye Yaodong and Father Ye picked up stranded squid as seabirds ate some of the catch and sprayed both men with ink.
• They loaded the squid onto the boat, and Ye Yaodong set aside squid, sea cucumbers, shrimp, crabs, and other seafood for his family.
• Mother Ye met them at the shore, learned they had gathered the squid rather than caught it, and helped carry their catch.
• Ye Yaodong and his parents brought the catch to A-Cai's buying station, where A-Cai weighed it and discussed the squid price.
• Ye Yaodong gave his mother the seafood he had reserved to take home to A Qing, the Old Lady, and the children.

Ye Yaodong took Lin Guangyuan and Ye Chenghu up the mountain to gather firewood, but the outing also turned into a search for edible plants and fruit. After the boys collected Lei bamboo shoots and sneaked plums and loquats, Ye Yaodong went to bring them back to pick wild peaches.

• Ye Yaodong persuaded Lin Guangyuan to join him and Ye Chenghu on a mountain trip, then revealed they had come to cut firewood.
• Father Ye cut branches while Ye Yaodong gathered them, and Lin Guangyuan discovered a patch of Lei bamboo shoots for the boys to harvest.
• Ye Yaodong and the boys collected bamboo shoots, and he bundled the cut branches while they worked.
• Ye Yaodong found Lin Guangyuan and Ye Chenghu secretly picking plums, warned them not to get caught, and let them gather more fruit.
• Father Ye told Ye Yaodong to take the boys to pick wild peaches while he finished cutting a tree.

Ye Yaodong and the two boys narrowly escaped being caught stealing loquats, then returned home with fruit, bamboo shoots, and firewood. After lunch, Ye Yaodong described making a toy boat from a squid bone, while the children eagerly anticipated another trip up the mountain.

• Ye Yaodong found Ye Chenghu and Lin Guangyuan picking loquats and startled them, causing Ye Chenghu to flee and leave Lin Guangyuan behind.
• A stranger shouted after the group for stealing fruit, and Ye Yaodong, Ye Chenghu, and Lin Guangyuan ran until they were sure they had escaped.
• The three returned to Father Ye with the loquats, and Father Ye told them not to steal fruit again before they headed home with the firewood and bamboo shoots.
• Ye Chenghai and the other children spotted the plums and loquats, and they hurried to peel bamboo shoots after Grandma promised them fruit.
• Ye Yaodong finished eating and collected squid bones to make toy boats for the children.