Chapter Summaries

Ye Yaodong and his family gathered fish and other sea life washed ashore by the typhoon, but a prank at the windows frightened them badly. When Ye Yaohua was knocked down by a wave, Ye Yaodong warned his brothers to stay close, and the chapter ended with more silver pomfret washing ashore.

• Ye Yaodong and Father Ye collected silver pomfret as Ye Chenghai spotted them and called the others outside to help.
• Ye Yaodong shone his flashlight at the children’s faces pressed against the windows, frightening Father Ye and his brothers into dropping their buckets and rushing inside.
• Ye Yaodong found a sea cucumber, but a wave knocked Ye Yaohua into the water as he tried to retrieve it.
• Ye Yaodong warned Ye Yaopeng and Ye Yaohua not to approach the waves, and the three brothers watched a large red fish get swept back out to sea.
• Ye Yaodong identified the red fish as a deep-sea alfonsino before more silver pomfret washed ashore.

Ye Yaodong and his brothers gathered fish washed up by a typhoon, drawing nearby neighbors into the dangerous but profitable search. After a huge wave scattered more seafood ashore, Ye Yaodong caught the enormous red deep-sea golden-eye bream as it drifted within reach.

• Ye Yaodong warned Ye Yaopeng and his other brother to stay back from the sea as they filled buckets with washed-up fish.
• Neighbors came out to investigate, discovered the fish scattered near their homes, and joined the brothers in gathering seafood.
• A huge wave knocked the group down and covered the ground with fish, shrimp, and crabs, including a large sea bass that drew everyone’s attention.
• Ye Yaodong stayed near his rope while the others rushed for the sea bass, then seized the red deep-sea golden-eye bream when the waves pushed it toward him.

During a typhoon, Ye Yaodong and Father Ye tried to collect fish washed ashore, but a wave swept Ye Yaopeng and several others into the sea. Ye Yaodong helped haul people in with fishing nets and a rope, then reunited with his brothers and led them away from the water as fish washed ashore.

• Ye Yaodong pinned down a large Goldeneye Bream, and Father Ye came outside to help collect fish.
• A large wave swept Ye Yaopeng and several others into the sea, prompting Ye Yaodong and Father Ye to rush over.
• Ye Yaodong joined his rope to Father Ye's, cast fishing nets into the waves, and helped pull two people toward shore.
• Ye Yaodong swam into the water searching for Ye Yaopeng, then spotted him and Ye Yaohua walking ashore together.
• Ye Yaodong, Ye Yaopeng, and Ye Yaohua embraced, and Father Ye scolded them before leading them away from another wave.
• A wave swept fish onto the shore, and Ye Yaodong kicked a large sea bass back into the sea, calling it bad luck.

After a wave nearly swept Ye Yaopeng and Ye Yaohua away while they chased a big sea bass, Ye Yaodong and the others tied ropes around themselves and continued gathering fish washed ashore by the intensifying typhoon. They returned home with seven baskets of fish, where their family learned how close they had come to disaster and urged them to stay inside.

• Father Ye scolded Ye Yaodong and his brothers after learning they had crowded around a big sea bass and been swept into the sea.
• Ye Yaodong and Ye Yaohua tied ropes around their waists and gathered fish and seafood near the courtyard while Father Ye warned them to stay close.
• Father Ye told Ye Yaodong that two men caught in a fishing net had choked on water, and one had briefly lost consciousness before being revived.
• As the typhoon grew stronger and waves washed more fish ashore, Father Ye called Ye Yaodong and Ye Yaohua inside with their buckets.
• Ye Yaodong and Father Ye brought seven full baskets of fish indoors, and Mother Ye and the Old Lady learned that the brothers had nearly been swept away.
• Lin Xiuqing urged Ye Yaodong and Father Ye to bathe and warm up, while Father Ye planned to sell the fish after the typhoon passed.

During a typhoon, Ye Yaodong’s family and Lin Guangyuan played and slept through the storm. The next morning, Mother Ye discovered that the waves had washed a huge number of shellfish ashore, and Ye Yaodong hurried to the beach to see the catch.

• Ye Chengyang, Ye Chenghu, and Lin Guangyuan played noisily during the storm until Mother Ye and Lin Xiuqing made them go to bed.
• The family slept through the typhoon, and by morning the wind had stopped while heavy rain continued.
• Father Ye and Mother Ye went out to check the tide and search for anything washed ashore.
• Mother Ye found the beach covered with scallops and rushed back to wake Ye Yaodong and Lin Xiuqing.
• Ye Yaodong ran to the shore and saw a broad arc of clams, scallops, mussels, and other shellfish washed up along the beach.

After a typhoon washed a huge line of scallops and other shellfish onto the shore, Ye Yaodong and his family rushed to gather them before the villagers arrived. Ye Yaodong set fishing nets and pot traps along the shallows to catch the live scallops as they fled, and he was still arranging the traps when the chapter ended.

• Ye Yaodong found his parents gathering scallops and other shellfish from the shore, where many scallops were swimming back into the sea.
• Ye Yaodong ran home for a dustpan and gloves, and Lin Xiuqing joined him as villagers began arriving to gather shells.
• Ye Yaodong planted poles and tied Lan Da's and Second Zhou's fishing nets across the shallows to trap fleeing scallops.
• Ye Yaodong explained his net trap to Lin Xiuqing, who understood that he was catching scallops as they swam toward the sea.
• Ye Yaodong brought four strings of pot trap nets from home and began laying them along the beach while Lin Xiuqing helped carry them.

After a storm left the shore strewn with seafood, Ye Yaodong and Father Ye set fishing pots while villagers rushed to gather the valuable finds. A fight over a grouper revealed that one of the women was Wang Lizhen, the woman Ye Yaodong’s cousin Ye Yaosheng had moved in with to support her household, and the chapter ended as Father Ye joined the crowd trying to break up the brawl.

• Ye Yaodong set fishing pots along the shore and collected stranded fish, shrimp, crabs, and sea snails with Father Ye.
• Villagers flocked to the beach and eagerly searched the storm-littered shoreline for shellfish and valuable fish.
• Wang Lizhen and Fatty’s wife argued over a grouper, and the dispute escalated into a fight after Wang Lizhen kicked over the other woman’s bucket and insulted her.
• Ye Yaodong recognized Wang Lizhen as the woman his cousin Ye Yaosheng had moved in with to help support her family.
• Father Ye went to help separate the women while Ye Yaodong hesitated to join the brawl.

Ye Yaodong broke up a fight over a leopard coral grouper, then returned to the shore to gather scallops with Lin Xiuqing. He began scooping live scallops from the water with a sieve, finding the method satisfying but hard on his back.

• Fatty arrived and pulled his wife away from Wang Lizhen as the women fought over a leopard coral grouper.
• Fatty gave the grouper to Wang Lizhen, who put it in her bucket and ran off while his wife angrily berated him.
• Ye Yaodong urged the villagers to stop watching and hurry to gather shells before others took them all.
• Ye Yaodong rejoined Lin Xiuqing at the shore, took a sieve from the handcart, and showed her how he could scoop up live scallops.
• Ye Yaodong carried the sieve to the fishing pots and repeatedly scooped scallops into a sack, though the work strained his back.

After the typhoon, Ye Yaodong scooped up live scallops along the shore while the villagers gathered the huge amount of shellfish washed in by the storm. He returned home with his family’s haul and found the children waiting to tease the adults about their wet clothes.

• Ye Yaodong scooped fleeing scallops from the shallows while the women scraped shellfish off the beach.
• Ye Yaodong explained that he had set fishing pots near shore after the typhoon and planned to haul them in after the tide receded.
• Ye Yaodong told Fatty that his New House had stayed dry, though he had brought his parents over for safety.
• The villagers gathered nearly all the shellfish along the shore before half the morning had passed.
• Ye Yaodong and his family brought their haul home, where the children mocked the adults for their soaked trouser seats.

After a typhoon, Ye Yaodong confronted Old Wang for taking scallops from his nets and secured a basket of shellfish as compensation. He then hauled in both nets with Father Ye and the villagers were astonished by the large catch.

• Ye Yaodong and Father Ye went to retrieve their nets after learning the shore had been picked clean of shellfish.
• Ye Yaodong caught Old Wang scooping scallops from his net, struck him, and accused him of stealing.
• Old Wang's family denied the theft, but Ye Yaodong showed that their marked basket was full of scallops from his net.
• Ye Yaosheng and Father Ye helped settle the dispute, and Old Wang's family reluctantly gave Ye Yaodong a basket of shellfish as compensation.
• Ye Yaodong and Father Ye hauled in the nets with help from Xiao Xiao, revealing a heavy catch that surprised the watching villagers.

Ye Yaodong hauled in a large catch of live scallops with borrowed nets and took it to market before the villagers could flood the pier with their shells. A-Cai agreed to ship the early seafood sooner, leaving Ye Yaodong hopeful it would sell for a better price.

• Ye Yaodong and Father Ye carried two nets of scallops home while villagers questioned them about the typhoon’s washed-up fish and their catch.
• Ye Yaodong’s family sorted the seafood, and Ye Eldest Sister-in-Law chased and beat Ye Chenghai after the children scattered clams.
• Ye Yaodong returned the borrowed nets with two watermelons and received thanks from the neighbors he had rescued during the typhoon.
• Ye Yaodong and Father Ye brought their fish and scallops to the pier, where Ye Yaohua and Ye Yaopeng reported strong prices for their fish but uncertainty about scallop prices.
• Ye Yaodong asked A-Cai to ship his early catch before the market was crowded, and A-Cai said there was enough seafood for a tractor-load that could fetch a good price.

Ye Yaodong and Father Ye sold their catch for over 120 yuan and returned home to sort the shellfish gathered by the family. Father Ye then went to inspect the Old House after the typhoon, with Ye Yaodong following him.

• Ye Yaodong and Father Ye sold their catch to A-Cai, who said the evening scallop purchases would receive a different price and ship on the next truck.
• Ye Yaodong and Father Ye discussed the damage the waves could cause and joked about Father Ye's savings before racing home.
• Mother Ye told Father Ye to inspect the Old House and air it out, while the Old Lady defended Ye Yaodong against Mother Ye's teasing.
• Father Ye set off to check the Old House, and Ye Yaodong followed him.

After the typhoon, Ye Yaodong and Father Ye inspected the damage and found a stray pig rooting through their vegetable patch. They decided to call Mother Ye and wait to see whether the pig’s owner came looking for it.

• Ye Yaodong and Father Ye walked through the village, seeing piles of shellfish and damage from the typhoon, including escaped pigs.
• At the old house, Ye Yaodong opened the doors and windows while Father Ye rejected his offer to help them move to a better home.
• Ye Yaodong spotted a pig in the vegetable patch after part of the back fence had fallen over.
• Father Ye said the pig had damaged their vegetables and told Ye Yaodong to fetch Mother Ye while he watched the pig and repaired the fence.

Ye Yaodong and his family discovered a stray pig in the Old House’s backyard after the typhoon, and the Old Lady proposed a fair way to resolve competing ownership claims. The pig was sold to Ye Yaohua’s family, while a separate village dispute over another pig turned violent.

• Ye Yaodong returned home with a muddy boot and told Mother Ye that a stray pig had wrecked the Old House’s vegetable patch.
• The Old Lady suggested selling the white pig and splitting the proceeds between the two families that had lost pigs, and Ye Yaohua’s family offered to raise it.
• Ye Second Sister-in-Law reported that the two claimants had nearly fought, but the village committee settled the matter by selling the pig at a reduced price and arranging compensation for the damaged vegetables.
• Ye Yaodong later heard that another family had been beaten after keeping a black pig that belonged to someone else.
• The Old Lady urged Ye Yaohua to raise more pigs for income, while Ye Yaodong reflected that she treated the family kindly despite her reputation for favoring him.

Ye Yaodong and Father Ye finished sorting their large haul of shellfish, but a massive queue formed at the pier as buyers discovered villagers had mixed small shellfish and empty shells into their loads. The buyers threatened to lower prices for everyone, leaving Ye Yaodong and Father Ye waiting to learn how their honestly sorted goods would be handled.

• Ye Yaodong and Lin Guangyuan sorted shellfish slowly while the pier’s delivery queue grew to hundreds of meters.
• Ye Yaodong’s family and relatives finished sorting their shellfish and stored it in the yard rather than joining the line.
• Ye Yaodong and Father Ye went to the pier and found buyers arguing with villagers over small shellfish and empty shells mixed into their loads.
• A-Gui found a load containing nearly thirty percent adulterated goods, and the buyers announced that market prices had been cut.
• Ye Yaodong and Father Ye realized that dishonest loads had delayed purchases and threatened the price of their own goods.

Ye Yaodong and Father Ye weighed their options after the buying stations lowered scallop prices because of empty shells and mixed sizes. After neighbors brought gifts to thank Ye Yaodong, he learned from Zhou Da that the city had an Aquatic Products Wholesale Market and began asking how it operated.

• The buyers announced lower prices for scallops, offering a reduced rate for unsorted loads and a higher rate for carefully sorted ones, and Ye Yaodong and Father Ye went home to consider their choices.
• Ye Yaodong teased the children with his smelly boots and let them wash his feet while they tried to persuade him to take them to see Shaolin Temple.
• Uncle Zhou and Uncle Yan visited Ye Yaodong with gifts to thank him for helping them during the typhoon.
• Ye Yaodong learned that the city had an Aquatic Products Wholesale Market and asked Zhou Da about its morning market hours and stall rental fees.

Ye Yaodong and the other fishermen debated taking their large scallop catch to the city’s Aquatic Products Market instead of waiting at the Pier, and agreed to discuss the plan after dinner. As the chapter ended, Ye Yaodong and Father Ye prepared to visit the Zhou family to hear the group’s decision.

• Ye Yaodong argued that taking their unusually large catch to the city market could earn more than selling it at the Pier, and the eldest Zhou brother explained how the market worked.
• Father Ye arrived, agreed that the group had little to lose by trying the market, and the fishermen decided to eat before making a final decision.
• Lin Xiuqing stored most of the gifts brought by the fishermen, then let the children share canned mandarins and biscuits while Ye Yaodong joked with them.
• Ye Yaodong told Lin Xiuqing that he would go to the city only if the others agreed to travel together, and the Old Lady worried about the late-night journey.
• Father Ye returned from the Pier and described the long, disorderly line and arguments among the waiting fishermen, so Ye Yaodong and Father Ye set out for the Zhou family to check the group’s decision.

Ye Yaodong and six neighbors prepared to take their catch to the city, secured a letter of introduction and a tractor, and set off after midnight. They left their families behind and began the dark, bumpy journey over the mountain road.

• Ye Yaodong persuaded the Lan brothers to join Zhou Da and the others on the trip to sell their catch in the city.
• Ye Yaodong and Zhou Da got Secretary Chen to write them a letter of introduction and approval to use a tractor, while Father Ye reported that his two other sons would stay in the pier queue.
• Lin Xiuqing packed food for Ye Yaodong, sewed a hidden money pocket into his undershorts, and warned him to be careful and return promptly.
• Ye Yaodong and the six neighbors loaded their marked sacks of catch onto the tractor and said goodbye to their families.
• The driver took the group along the dark, pothole-ridden mountain road as they talked and rode on sacks of shellfish.

Ye Yaodong and his companions arrived at the city’s wholesale seafood market and claimed stalls for their catch. After spotting a huge flounder that had drawn a crowd, Ye Yaodong moved their stalls nearby, hoping the fish would attract buyers to their goods.

• Xiao Zhou drove Ye Yaodong and the others into the city, where Zhou Da guided them to the wholesale market before its two o’clock opening.
• Ye Yaodong gave a hard-boiled egg to an elderly razor clam seller, who advised them to find stalls near the buyers’ entrance.
• Ye Yaodong and his companions split up, claimed two stalls, and learned that scallops sold for more at the wholesale market than at their buying station.
• Ye Yaodong went to inspect a two-meter Atlantic flounder at stall 158 and learned it had been caught in international waters.
• Ye Yaodong realized the flounder could draw buyers, so he and his companions moved their stalls to spots diagonally opposite it before the wholesale customers arrived.

Ye Yaodong sold his carefully sorted scallops at the wholesale market and learned that shops in a new market were available for 3,000 yuan each. He decided to buy one, though he still needed to raise the money, while the rest of his group sold their goods and celebrated their earnings.

• Ye Yaodong sold his scallops for 150.88 yuan after drawing buyers with the Bighead Butterflyfish and his well-sorted goods.
• Ye Yaodong read a notice seeking shop buyers and learned that shops in the new market cost 3,000 yuan, with a 500-yuan deposit.
• Ye Yaodong decided to buy a shop as a long-term investment, but realized he was 350 yuan short.
• Ye Yaodong inspected market prices and concluded that A-Cai and the other dealers made modest margins by trading in volume.
• Ye Yaodong bought seven steamed buns and returned to find that everyone in his group had sold their goods and was pleased with the trip.