Chapter Summaries

Ye Yaodong and Father Ye hauled in their fishing pots as they prepared to leave the waters temporarily to avoid trouble with the Haiqing Village fishermen. After freeing several stuck pots, Ye Yaodong searched the reef and found a coconut snail, a sea cucumber hosting a pearlfish, and a concealed hollow among the rocks.

• Ye Yaodong and Father Ye discussed collecting the pots and squid eggs before moving to different fishing grounds to avoid the men from Haiqing Village.
• They hauled in the pots, finding fish, small green lobsters, sea cucumbers, and a large sea bass before the sixth pot became stuck.
• Ye Yaodong geared up and dived into the cold water, where he freed seven or eight pots caught near the submerged reef.
• Ye Yaodong failed to catch a small green lobster but found and bagged a coconut snail.
• Ye Yaodong found a sea cucumber with a pearlfish inside it and put the sea cucumber in his mesh bag.
• Ye Yaodong stirred through nearby seagrass and uncovered a concealed hollow among the rocks.

Ye Yaodong collected abalone, sea cucumbers, coconut snails, a small green lobster, and a venomous wolf-fang eel from the submerged reef. After returning to the boat, he joked with Father Ye about diving and working, then sorted his catch while Father Ye hauled in the fishing pots.

• Ye Yaodong found two huge coconut snails, gathered sea cucumbers, and pulled a small green lobster from a reef crack.
• Ye Yaodong caught a wolf-fang eel in his hand net, intending to take it home to help A Qing's milk supply.
• Father Ye helped Ye Yaodong aboard and noticed his coconut snails and bulging mesh bag.
• Ye Yaodong refused to teach Father Ye to dive, and they traded jokes and complaints about work.
• Ye Yaodong emptied his catch into a seawater bucket while Father Ye returned to hauling in the fishing pots.

Ye Yaodong freed the fishing pots stuck around a submerged reef and revealed his diving equipment to Xiao Xiao and A-Zheng. He offered to teach them to dive, while reassuring Father Ye that he would not teach him because of his age and rheumatism.

• Ye Yaodong dove to free the last stuck fishing pots while Father Ye hauled them aboard.
• Xiao Xiao and A-Zheng arrived, and Father Ye told them Ye Yaodong was underwater retrieving the pots.
• Xiao Xiao and A-Zheng realized Ye Yaodong had been gathering sea cucumbers, abalone, small green lobsters, and pen shells around the submerged reef.
• Xiao Xiao and A-Zheng explained that two boats had tangled their trawling net, so they had come early to try catching squid.
• Ye Yaodong surfaced wearing diving equipment and explained that it let him stay underwater for ten or twenty minutes.
• Ye Yaodong offered to teach Xiao Xiao and A-Zheng to dive if they kept his equipment secret, then told Father Ye he should stay out of the water because of his age and rheumatism.

Ye Yaodong taught A-Zheng and Xiao Xiao to dive, and they enthusiastically collected abalone and other seafood around submerged rocks. Xiao Xiao proposed sharing the catch as partners, and Ye Yaodong agreed to give each of them a third of it.

• Ye Yaodong taught A-Zheng and Xiao Xiao how to use the diving equipment and warned them about diving safely.
• A-Zheng surfaced with two sea cucumbers, and Xiao Xiao returned underwater with a mesh bag full of abalone.
• A-Zheng and Ye Yaodong joked about A-Zheng’s debt and the IOU while they waited for Xiao Xiao.
• Xiao Xiao suggested that they take turns diving and share the valuable catch because multiple divers could collect more.
• Ye Yaodong agreed to split the catch into three equal shares, with him providing equipment and A-Zheng and Xiao Xiao providing the labor.

Ye Yaodong and his friends made a large haul of abalone, sea cucumbers, and small green lobsters after several dives, then returned to catching squid and gathering squid eggs. Father Ye urged Ye Yaodong to bring his brothers to the promising diving grounds, and Ye Yaodong agreed to seek them out the next day.

• A-Zheng and Xiao Xiao made several dives with Ye Yaodong, filling their baskets with abalone, sea cucumbers, and small green lobsters.
• Ye Yaodong ended the diving after his friends took two more turns, and they agreed to divide the catch into three shares.
• After eating noodles, Ye Yaodong and Father Ye returned to their marked buoys and collected squid and squid eggs.
• Father Ye asked Ye Yaodong why he had not invited his older brothers to dive, and Ye Yaodong explained that their boats were elsewhere.
• Father Ye suggested Ye Yaodong fish near his brothers the next day and later bring them to the diving grounds, and Ye Yaodong agreed.

Ye Yaodong and Father Ye finished squid gathering, trawled for fish, and retrieved their longline hooks. They hauled up a battered fishing pot containing a valuable live blue East Star Grouper, leaving them delighted with their unexpected catch.

• Ye Yaodong and Father Ye stopped gathering squid and trawled nearby, bringing aboard a catch of Shuigu fish.
• While retrieving their longline hooks, they scooped up a black, mussel-covered marker float that Ye Yaodong had mistaken for possible ambergris.
• Ye Yaodong felt a heavy catch on the line, and he and Father Ye hauled up a torn fishing pot instead of a large fish.
• They found one mud crab and two orchid crabs caught in the pot, then discovered a live blue East Star Grouper in its fish-collecting bag.
• Ye Yaodong cradled the struggling grouper and prepared to vent its swim bladder so they could keep it alive.

Ye Yaodong and Father Ye finished hauling in their catch and prepared to head home after collecting squid. Ye Yaodong made one last dive, but an embarrassing mishap in the water drew laughter from a nearby boat.

• Ye Yaodong punctured the East Star Grouper’s swim bladder, while Father Ye saved the torn fishing pot to repair and tossed small live crabs and mantis shrimp back into the sea.
• Ye Yaodong and Father Ye hauled in the remaining longline hooks, sorted their mixed catch, and stacked the crowded boat’s gear.
• At the buoy, Father Ye kept scooping up squid while Ye Yaodong stopped fishing and agreed to dive once more before they left.
• Ye Yaodong surfaced behind the boat to relieve himself, then panicked when he saw what had floated up in front of him.
• A nearby boat arrived and its crew spotted Ye Yaodong bare-assed in the water, teasing him as he hurried aboard.

After Ye Yaodong and his companions joked around while heading back from a poor day of fishing, two boats carrying the father and his sons who had confronted them earlier came charging toward them. Ye Yaodong and his companions fled, leaving their fate uncertain as the chapter ended.

• Ye Yaodong climbed out of the water, changed clothes, and traded crude jokes with Xiao Xiao and A-Zheng while Father Ye urged everyone to head back.
• A-Zheng remembered that he had forgotten to tell Xiao Xiao something, but Ye Yaodong set off before he could explain.
• Ye Yaodong and his companions headed home alongside other fishing boats after catching little that day.
• Ye Yaodong recognized the father and his two sons approaching in one boat, while another boat with three people came toward them as well.
• Ye Yaodong told Father Ye to warn Xiao Xiao and A-Zheng to run, then opened the throttle and sped away with the others close behind.

Ye Yaodong and Father Ye fled from their pursuers at sea, then turned back to taunt them once their boats became separated. After Ye Yaodong and his companions toyed with the pursuers using hit-and-run maneuvers and a slingshot, they headed home near nightfall, leaving the frustrated men behind.

• Ye Yaodong and Father Ye sped toward shore while two boats pursued them, but one pursuer fell far behind.
• Ye Yaodong turned back with Xiao Xiao and A-Zheng to confront the isolated boat, which fled before they could surround it.
• Ye Yaodong repeatedly charged at the pursuers and sped away, while Xiao Xiao and A-Zheng copied his hit-and-run tactics.
• Ye Yaodong used a slingshot to pelt one pursuer's boat with stones as Father Ye steered away.
• With the stones gone and darkness approaching, Ye Yaodong and the others headed back, leaving the pursuers angry and empty-handed.

Ye Yaodong’s group returned safely after shaking off the boats that tried to ambush them, then unloaded their catch and learned that Xiao Xiao and A-Zheng had found pen shells while freediving. At home, Ye Yaodong suggested a new way to cook the pipa lobsters Ye Huimei brought over, ending dinner by teasing Lin Xiuqing about their supposed benefits.

• Ye Yaodong and Father Ye decided to fish elsewhere the next day after A-Qiu and his relatives stopped chasing them.
• Xiao Xiao and A-Zheng told Ye Yaodong they had found pen shells while freediving near a small island, and they weighed their underwater catch at the buying station.
• Ye Huimei brought over pipa lobsters and explained that A-Guang’s aunt had found them hidden by two boatmen, who would no longer be kept on.
• Ye Yaodong asked Lin Xiuqing to prepare the pipa lobsters with scallion oil and suggested making spicy crab, though he admitted he could not cook it himself.
• Ye Yaodong served himself Sea Snake Wine, explained what pipa lobsters were, and offered to peel one for Lin Xiuqing, claiming it would promote lactation.

Ye Yaodong shared a seafood meal with Lin Xiuqing and the children, then went out fishing with Father Ye and moved to a different fishing ground. After seeing large fish leaping from the water, he rigged up a makeshift handline, and the sea suddenly erupted as he baited it.

• Ye Yaodong told Lin Xiuqing about his earnings and the trouble at sea, then took the crying baby from her and got soiled.
• Father Ye burned talisman paper before setting out with Ye Yaodong, who baited the longline hooks while his father steered.
• Ye Yaodong and Father Ye set their lines in a different fishing area and later met Ye Yaopeng and Ye Yaohua hauling a good catch.
• Ye Yaodong sorted their catch, set aside squid to dry, and noticed large fish repeatedly leaping from the water.
• Ye Yaodong made a handline from a hook and small stick, but the sea erupted just as he baited it.

Ye Yaodong and Father Ye spotted a shoal of jumping mullet while trawling, but the fish repeatedly stopped and moved before they could catch them. They managed to cast two nets over the shoal before it vanished again, leaving them with a modest catch and hoping more fish remained.

• Ye Yaodong and Father Ye hurried to haul in their trawl net after spotting a large shoal of jumping fish, then identified them as mullet.
• The mullet stopped jumping just as the boat reached their location, and Ye Yaodong and Father Ye failed to catch any with the hand cast net.
• Ye Yaodong spotted the mullet churning the sea again farther away, and Father Ye steered the boat toward them.
• Ye Yaodong cast his hand net over the shoal and caught a netful as two other boats, including his brothers' boat, arrived and began fishing.
• The mullet disappeared again after Ye Yaodong cast a second net, leaving him and Father Ye with about seventy or eighty jin from two casts.

Ye Yaodong and Father Ye spent the afternoon chasing mullet schools, guided by seabirds, and brought in a large catch. They planned to fish the same stretch of sea over the next few days.

• Ye Yaodong and Father Ye caught two casts from a mullet school before it moved, then learned from Ye Yaopeng and Ye Yaohua that mullet had been appearing in the area for several days.
• Ye Yaodong spotted another school to the east, and he and Father Ye caught three netfuls before the fish disappeared.
• Ye Yaodong followed seabirds northeast to another school, where he and Father Ye caught two netfuls of smaller mullet.
• Ye Yaodong led the boats after more schools, and he and his family caught over two hundred additional jin after chasing several of them.
• Ye Yaodong and Father Ye ended the day with over four hundred jin of mullet and nearly eighty yuan in total sales, then planned to fish the area for the next few days.

Ye Yaodong sold a large catch of mullet, bought shade netting for the family homes, and discussed planting trees with Lin Xiuqing and the children. He planned to settle the squid accounts and ask Fatty to find osmanthus saplings the next day.

• Ye Yaodong told his brothers that he had followed seabirds to find the mullet schools, and they discussed looking for more fish while trawling.
• Ye Yaodong bought shade netting and helped his brothers put it up outside their houses.
• Ye Chenghu said he wanted to start school, and Lin Xiuqing agreed to send him in the second half of the year.
• Ye Chengyang cried when Ye Yaodong joked about stewing his pet softshell turtle.
• Ye Yaodong and Lin Xiuqing discussed planting trees, and the children suggested several kinds before they settled on osmanthus.
• Ye Yaodong said he would ask Fatty to find osmanthus saplings and planned to collect the squid money from A-Cai.

Ye Yaodong let several villagers follow his boat as he searched for fish, and they made a substantial catch before returning to shore. The villagers regretted that Lan Da and Lan Er had left early and asked Ye Yaodong to lead them again, so he shared his method for tracking fish schools.

• At dinner, Ye Yaodong and Lin Xiuqing discussed the coconut snail meat and her recovery after childbirth.
• Ye Yaodong spent several days fishing near Ye Yaopeng and Ye Yaohua's assigned plot, catching far more than the other villagers.
• Ye Yaodong agreed to let three villagers' boats follow him, warning that he could not guarantee they would find fish.
• After Lan Da and Lan Er left early, Ye Yaodong found several schools of mullet and a school of Spanish mackerel with the boats that remained.
• Back on shore, Lan Da and Lan Er regretted leaving, and the villagers asked Ye Yaodong to take them along again.
• Ye Yaodong refused to lead a larger group but advised the villagers to watch where seabirds flew after fish schools disappeared.

Ye Yaodong planted osmanthus trees outside his home with help from Ye Yaopeng, while Mother Ye warned him to plant the banana trees on the mountain because they would bring bad feng shui near the house. After finishing the planting, the family went inside for dinner.

• Villagers praised Father Ye for his family’s boats and earnings, while Ye Yaodong pointed out that the household had been divided and each family earned separately.
• Ye Yaodong returned home and took over digging holes for the osmanthus trees Mother Ye had started planting.
• Mother Ye told Ye Yaodong that banana trees should not be planted beside the house and that he would have to take them up the mountain.
• Ye Yaodong joked with the children while digging, and Ye Yaopeng came out to help with the second hole.
• Ye Yaodong planted and watered an osmanthus sapling, and Ye Yaopeng planted the other before they called the children in for dinner.

Ye Yaodong and Lin Xiuqing refused Wang Chuyun’s offer to join a savings pool, then hosted A-Zheng and Xiao Xiao for dinner. Xiao Xiao repaid Ye Yaodong five hundred yuan, and the men ended the evening joking about Wang Chuyun’s rumored lovers and their own heights.

• Wang Chuyun asked Ye Yaodong and Lin Xiuqing to join a twenty-yuan monthly savings pool, but they refused because they had already joined several others.
• After Wang Chuyun left, A-Zheng and Xiao Xiao arrived, and the men discussed rumors about her affairs while Lin Xiuqing told them to keep their voices down.
• Ye Yaodong soothed Lin Xiuqing after teasing her by admiring Wang Chuyun, and she went inside while he stayed to host the men.
• Xiao Xiao repaid Ye Yaodong five hundred yuan, and Ye Yaodong counted the money, retrieved the IOUs, and had them torn up.
• A-Zheng and Xiao Xiao speculated about Wang Chuyun’s lovers, including Li Xiuming and Chen Wei, then traded jokes about being short.

Ye Yaodong and his family endured a prolonged plum rain season after a storm at sea killed two boatmen. When the skies finally cleared, Ye Yaodong joked with Lin Xiuqing and his sons, who hoped to collect seafood at the beach.

• Ye Yaodong drank with friends, then went to bed exhausted and struggled to wake for fishing.
• After Ye Yaodong returned from the sea, a violent storm began, and two boatmen died after one fell overboard and another tried to rescue him.
• As rain continued for around twenty days, Ye Yaodong bought a hair dryer to help Lin Xiuqing dry the baby's diapers and quilts.
• Ye Yaodong and Lin Xiuqing were intimate while the rain stopped, and the children knocked at their locked door.
• Ye Yaodong's sons teased him for claiming he had been asleep, then asked to collect seafood at the beach once the tide went out.
• The family saw a rainbow as the weather cleared.

After the rain, Ye Yaodong and his family gathered seafood washed ashore as villagers joined them, while his brothers hoped to return to sea soon. At home, the Old Lady angrily rejected Father Ye’s talk of retirement and made him promise to keep helping Ye Yaodong for several more years.

• Ye Yaodong stopped Ye Chenghu and Ye Chengyang from running too far into the surf, then sent Ye Chengyang home to fetch a bucket.
• Ye Yaopeng and Ye Yaohua joined their families in collecting seafood, and neighbors and other villagers soon crowded the beach to do the same.
• Ye Yaohua suggested going out to sea that night if the waves had calmed, while Ye Yaodong noted that the water was still rough and murky.
• Father Ye told Mother Ye he had saved enough to retire, and the Old Lady scolded him for abandoning Ye Yaodong when he still needed help.
• The Old Lady decided to move in with Ye Yaodong, but Father Ye pointed out there was no room, so she dropped the idea and instead demanded that Father Ye keep working with him.
• Father Ye promised to skipper Ye Yaodong’s boat for a few more years and agreed to take less money, while the Old Lady told him to leave Ye Yaodong a larger share of his savings.

Ye Yaodong decided to bring the Old Lady to live with him and went fishing with Father Ye after the seas calmed. Their nets brought in a rich catch, but their final haul became stuck underwater, leaving them unable to pull it up.

• Ye Yaodong reassured the Old Lady that she was welcome to move in and began planning to build another room for her.
• Ye Yaodong and Father Ye took the boat out after checking that the waves had eased, then found that the buoys and branches at the Submerged Reef were gone.
• Ye Yaodong and Father Ye hauled in a large catch, including bluefin tuna and bonito, and continued fishing through the day.
• As dusk fell, Ye Yaodong and Father Ye found their boat slowing and discovered that the net hauler could not pull up their final net.