Chapter Summaries

Ye Yaodong and his relatives caught a large haul of cuttlefish and returned to shore with several hundred jin. He refused A-Cai’s offer to buy the catch because a buyer had already ordered dried cuttlefish, leaving him committed to drying and selling it himself.

• Ye Yaodong and Eldest Maternal Cousin caught another large school of cuttlefish, then spent the afternoon waiting near the island and casting their nets.
• Ye Yaodong retrieved his fishing and shrimp pots and explained to Eldest Maternal Cousin that he used different gear depending on the catch and his needs.
• Ye Yaodong’s boats met up with his father’s boat and A-Zheng and Xiao Xiao’s boat, and they returned to shore with a combined catch of about a thousand jin of cuttlefish.
• A-Cai brought a handcart to help unload and offered to buy Ye Yaodong’s catch, but Ye Yaodong said he was keeping his and his father’s cuttlefish to dry for a buyer who had already placed an order.

Ye Yaodong arranged to dry the squid from his and his family’s boats for Boss Zhou, while calming villagers eager to supply more and reassuring A-Cai that he was not taking all the buying station’s business. After estimating the dried-squid yield and potential profits, he became excited about earnings he had not yet secured.

• Villagers offered to dry and sell their squid to Ye Yaodong, but he said his own boats’ catches were enough for now, easing A-Cai and A-Gui’s worries.
• Ye Yaodong and his eldest maternal cousin unloaded eleven baskets, and villagers helped push the squid to A-Cai’s station for weighing.
• Ye Yaodong recorded the catches from his and Father Ye’s boats and arranged to borrow A-Cai’s scale again for his brothers’ catch.
• As villagers helped carry the squid home, they discussed dried-squid prices and confirmed that about five jin of fresh squid yielded one jin dried.
• Ye Yaodong calculated his costs and imagined earning thousands from dried squid over half a month, despite having no deal with Boss Zhou yet.

Ye Yaodong brought home a large catch of squid and arranged to buy more fish for drying after his father-in-law reported new orders. As catches and workers strained the space at home, he planned to seek land for a small workshop, while the buyer’s squid order remained unconfirmed.

• Ye Yaodong and Father Ye brought 1,122 jin of squid home, and villagers helped unload it while Lin Xiuqing arranged to have it cleaned and dried.
• Ye Xiaoxi smeared squid ink over herself and Lin Xiuqing before the family took her inside to clean up.
• Ye Yaodong’s father-in-law called to report another dried-fish order, and Ye Yaodong arranged for him to buy a few thousand jin of fish for delivery the next morning.
• Ye Yaodong considered hiring more workers and asking Secretary Chen for land to build a small workshop, then discussed the plan and fish delivery with Lin Xiuqing.
• Ye Yaodong spoke with A-Guang about drying squid and visited A-Zheng before returning home to find four women and his brothers processing the growing catch.

Ye Yaodong and Lin Xiuqing planned to buy land for a workshop and warehouse, then worked out how to handle their growing catch and price their dried squid. Ye Yaodong left to arrange help from Lin Xiuqing’s family and offer buyers a price that left them room to profit.

• Ye Yaodong proposed buying the plot across the road beside Eldest Brother’s house for a future workshop and warehouse, and Lin Xiuqing agreed.
• Ye Yaodong and Lin Xiuqing discussed the immediate drying problem and decided to ask Lin Xiuqing’s brothers, sisters-in-law, and A Yuan to help with cleaning and guarding the catch.
• Lin Xiuqing calculated that their little over two thousand jin of fresh squid would cost about six hundred and seventy yuan to process and produce roughly three hundred and eighty to four hundred jin dried.
• Ye Yaodong suggested pricing the dried squid at two yuan eighty per jin, but Lin Xiuqing argued that two yuan fifty would leave buyers room to profit and encourage repeat purchases.
• Ye Yaodong agreed to quote two yuan fifty, call the buyers and Lin Xiuqing’s relatives, and left by bicycle to settle the arrangements.

Ye Yaodong agreed to sell dried cuttlefish to Boss Zhou and arranged to expand production by buying land for a drying yard and workshop. He also called his brothers-in-law to bring more fish, while his parents learned about his plans and the villagers began asking whether they could sell him their catch.

• Boss Zhou accepted Ye Yaodong’s price of two yuan fifty per jin and asked him to produce at least five hundred jin the next day.
• Ye Yaodong called his brothers-in-law, and his wife’s older brother agreed to bring Lin Guangyuan and arrive the following day.
• Ye Yaodong asked Secretary Chen to submit a request for the vacant plot beside the road, where he planned to build a workshop, warehouse, and rooms for his parents.
• Ye Yaodong showed Mother Ye how much land he wanted and asked her to oversee the village committee’s measurements the next day.
• Ye Yaodong told Lin Xiuqing that Boss Zhou had agreed to buy the dried cuttlefish, and they discussed increasing production when the weather allowed.
• Villagers stopped Father Ye on his way over to ask whether they could sell their cuttlefish to the family, and Ye Yaodong later told his parents about the land and the fish arriving the next morning.

The Ye family organized the work of building a workshop and processing squid, while Ye Chenghai insisted on joining the night’s squid gathering. Ye Yaodong left for the island with Father Ye and Lin Guangyuan, but sent Ye Chenghai back with his parents.

• The family decided to fence the workshop site with bamboo poles and fishing nets and assign work to the relatives who were arriving.
• Lin Xianghui, two women, and Lin Guangyuan joined the family in cleaning and drying squid, while Ye Chenghai excitedly asked to go squid gathering.
• Ye Eldest Sister-in-Law tried to stop Ye Chenghai from going out to sea, but he ran off and slept at the old house with Lin Guangyuan.
• At the pier, Ye Yaodong found Ye Chenghai ready to join the trip and sent him back with Ye Yaopeng and Ye Eldest Sister-in-Law.
• Ye Yaodong warned Lin Guangyuan to stay on the beach and avoid the water, then set off with Father Ye and Lin Guangyuan to gather squid.

Ye Yaodong's family worked hard to collect cuttlefish, prepare thousands of jin of yellowtail scad, and develop the newly purchased land. When Ye Yaodong returned to shore, villagers crowded around him to ask about his boats, fish business, and land purchase, leaving him wishing he had kept the news quiet.

• Father Ye found more points of light in the seawater and took A-Sheng out to trawl while Lin Guangyuan and Ye Yaodong gathered cuttlefish and shellfish on the island.
• Ye Yaodong checked Lin Guangyuan's full sacks at breakfast and lunch, then continued fishing around the island.
• Mother Ye, A Qing, and the Lin sisters-in-law unloaded and cleaned a tractor-load of yellowtail scad while A Qing's brothers cut bamboo and began preparing the land.
• Villagers discussed Ye Yaodong's boats, dried-fish earnings, and purchase of more than a mu of land as fishing boats returned to the pier.
• Ye Yaodong stepped ashore for a handcart and was surrounded by villagers asking about his catch and land purchase, so he asked them to clear the way for unloading.

Ye Yaodong brought home a huge squid catch and weighed it while his family struggled to find enough space and labor to dry the seafood. He persuaded Mother Ye to accept fencing the newly bought workshop plot first and building it gradually, then his family began weighing the catch and preparing more room for the work.

• Ye Yaodong and Father Ye hauled twenty-four baskets of squid home after finding the buying station too busy to weigh their catch.
• Mother Ye warned that the family lacked space, drying racks, nets, and workers for the thousands of jin of squid and fish piling up.
• Ye Yaodong said he would ask Lin Guangyuan not to deliver another load the next morning and proposed receiving fish every other day.
• Mother Ye worried that fencing and building a workshop on the one-and-a-half-mu plot would consume the family's savings, while Father Ye and Old Lady supported building gradually.
• Ye Yaodong began weighing the squid as Lin Xiuqing recorded each basket's weight, and Mother Ye moved salted fish to the plot and went to find two more workers.

Ye Yaodong weighed the family’s large squid catch while the women cleaned it and his nephews helped with the work. Ye Chenghai and Lin Guangyuan tried to persuade him to falsify the catch weights for pocket money, but he refused, and the chapter ended with the family planning to add more goslings to the vacant lot.

• Ye Yaodong weighed his own catch, his brothers’ catch, and Lin Guangyuan’s catch while A Qing recorded the amounts.
• Ye Chenghai and Lin Guangyuan plotted to underreport their catches so they could keep some of the money, and the other boys joined in after overhearing them.
• Ye Yaodong put the boys to work washing squid, then refused Ye Chenghai’s request to skim fifty jin and agreed only to help Lin Guangyuan save some pocket money.
• Ye Yaodong thanked his brothers-in-law for building up the vacant lot and suggested they use dogs to guard it overnight.
• Ye Yaodong asked Mother Ye to find more goslings to raise, and she said she would ask around the next day.

Ye Yaodong checked the newly fenced drying workshop and discussed the work with his brothers-in-law while his family processed the day's catch. News arrived that four men from another village had been killed at sea, leaving Lin Xiuqing worried about Ye Yaodong's dangerous work as he insisted that people by the sea had to make their living from the sea.

• Ye Yaodong inspected the drying racks and praised Lin Xianghui and Lin Xiangyang for preparing the workshop, then asked them to keep watch there.
• Ye Chenghai and Lin Guangyuan joked about collecting squid and sea turtles until Ye Chenghai returned with news of four missing villagers found stabbed and floating in the sea.
• Mother Ye confirmed that the four dead men were two brothers and their sons, and the villagers speculated that they had been killed during squid season.
• Villagers urged Ye Yaodong to move to town or the city to avoid danger at sea, and Lin Xiuqing grew anxious about his work.
• Ye Yaodong said his roots were by the sea and that every livelihood carried risks.

Ye Yaodong watched Ye Xiaoxi cheer on her brothers’ fight before discussing the dried squid and fish sale with Father Ye. He planned to call Boss Zhou to arrange a collection and leave A Qing in charge while he was away.

• Ye Yaodong heard villagers discuss fishermen who had died at sea, then washed while watching Ye Xiaoxi.
• Ye Xiaoxi clapped and shouted as Ye Chenghai and Ye Chenghe fought, then tried to follow them when they ran from their sister-in-law.
• Ye Yaodong brought Ye Xiaoxi home, stopped her from climbing out of her cage, and watched her play with the fire tongs.
• Father Ye asked whether Boss Zhou would collect the dried squid and fish, and Ye Yaodong said he would call to arrange it once the goods were ready.
• Father Ye advised Ye Yaodong to give A Qing the agreed prices and instructions because she would handle the workshop during his absence.
• Ye Yaodong finished eating and went to call Boss Zhou, leaving Father Ye to watch Ye Xiaoxi.

Ye Yaodong prepared for the sale of his dried squid and continued expanding the family’s drying operation. After villagers mobbed the Big Jiefang Truck’s driver to offer their own goods, he considered arranging future collections in the city instead.

• Ye Yaodong told Lin Xiuqing that Boss Zhou would collect their dried squid and fish, and that Father Lin would bring back another truckload of fish.
• Ye Yaodong went to sea while Lin Xiuqing and the family worked late cleaning and drying the catch.
• Ye Yaodong returned the next day to find Father Lin’s yellowtail scad being processed and learned that the squid sale had gone smoothly at first.
• Mother Ye and Lin Xiuqing told Ye Yaodong that village women had crowded the truck driver, grabbed at him, and tried to sell their own squid to his buyer.
• Ye Yaodong agreed to call and discuss having future goods collected from the city shop instead of bringing the Big Jiefang Truck into the village.

Ye Yaodong settled the delivery arrangements for the dried squid and planned to learn the warehouse route himself before delegating future trips. After hearing about the day's earnings and the shop's takings, he reflected that his first day's squid sales had paid for a plot of land.

• Ye Yaodong called the buyer and arranged to deliver the goods directly to his warehouse in the city, agreeing to lower the price slightly for upcoming batches.
• Ye Yaodong told A Qing that her second brother should take his place at sea while he and her eldest brother delivered the next load and learned the route.
• Ye Yaodong asked Father Ye to keep watch over the boats and reassured his family that the villagers' small-scale sales would not threaten their business.
• Father Lin told Ye Yaodong that the truck had collected 362 jin of dried squid for 905 yuan and discussed the family's potential earnings.
• Father Lin handed over the shop's recent takings to A Qing and planned to return to the city the next morning with vegetables and salted squid eggs.
• Ye Yaodong calculated that the first day's squid earnings had paid for one and a half mu of land, which he had bought for 600 yuan.

Ye Yaodong and Lin Xiuqing reviewed their finances and discussed their growing fishing business, while Ye Yaodong enjoyed their unsalted dried squid and gathered a batch that had finished drying. He planned to deliver it later that day, and Lin Xianghui reported that other households were drying squid ahead of an expected buyer.

• Ye Yaodong and Lin Xiuqing celebrated having over thirteen thousand yuan left after expenses and discussed the boats, shops, workshop, and risks of fishing near Zhejiang Province.
• Lin Xiuqing urged Ye Yaodong to rest, and the family continued making unsalted dried squid to build a reputation for its taste.
• Ye Yaodong stayed ashore to make a delivery and tasted steamed dried squid before checking the drying racks at the workshop.
• Ye Yaodong found a batch of squid that had dried completely and began collecting it in a burlap sack.
• Lin Xianghui joined Ye Yaodong and said several households were drying squid in anticipation of a buyer, while Ye Yaodong weighed whether to buy any extra stock.

Ye Yaodong returned from delivering dried squid to the city and found a large catch waiting to be cleaned at home. A-Guang arrived with news about a friend of Uncle Zheng who had ordered a 26-meter boat, leaving Ye Yaodong to hear what the boat had to do with four men who died at sea.

• Lin Xiuqing and the Old Lady gathered and weighed the dried squid and yellowtail scad while Village Committee officials measured land for new homes nearby.
• Ye Yaodong delivered more than a thousand jin of dried squid to the city, stocked his shop with yellowtail scad, and discussed the growing market with Father Lin and his wife's older brother.
• Ye Yaodong returned home to find a large load of squid waiting to be cleaned, so Lin Xiuqing went to recruit extra helpers.
• A-Guang visited Ye Yaodong and told him that four men had recently died at sea, then brought up Uncle Zheng's friend who had ordered a 26-meter boat.

Ye Yaodong heard that a large boat ordered by a family struck by deaths at sea was being put up for sale, and A-Guang asked him to invest alongside his family and Uncle Zheng. Ye Yaodong brought his brothers and father into the decision, but Ye Yaopeng grew worried about the boat's bad luck and the risks of investing.

• A-Guang told Ye Yaodong that the families of four men who died at sea could not complete payment on their boat and wanted to sell it.
• A-Guang explained that his family wanted to buy the boat but needed partners, with his family taking half the shares and Uncle Zheng taking one share.
• Ye Yaodong proposed asking Ye Yaopeng and Ye Yaohua to invest before deciding how many of the remaining shares he would take.
• Ye Yaohua said he would feel reassured if Ye Yaodong invested too, while Ye Yaopeng hesitated over the cost and whether the boat was unlucky.
• Ye Yaodong and A-Guang recalled that A-Guang's family had also bought previous boats from people facing misfortune, and A-Guang argued that the unfinished boat was unrelated to the deaths.

Ye Yaodong and A-Guang’s family debated whether a boat should be bought after a deadly accident involving its owners, while Ye Yaodong considered investing in it. After explaining the plan to Lin Xiuqing, he learned she was concerned about the cost of taking multiple shares.

• Ye Yaopeng and Father Ye warned A-Guang that the boat might be unlucky because its owners had died before it was delivered, and advised him to consult his father.
• Ye Yaodong argued that the unfinished boat was unrelated to the accident and told A-Guang to let his family decide whether to buy it.
• After A-Guang left, Father Ye and Ye Yaopeng urged Ye Yaodong not to invest, citing the risk and his other expenses.
• Ye Yaodong told his brothers he would consider investing only after A-Guang’s family decided, then hurried to tell Lin Xiuqing about the boat.
• Lin Xiuqing agreed the feng shui concerns seemed overstated but questioned whether Ye Yaodong could afford the fifteen hundred needed for each share.

Ye Yaodong convinced Lin Xiuqing to invest in shares of A-Guang’s unfinished boat, while his eldest brother declined to join. A-Guang and Uncle Pei proposed buying the boat through the shipyard, and Ye Yaohua agreed to take one share as A-Guang prepared to negotiate the purchase.

• Ye Yaodong persuaded Lin Xiuqing that investing in A-Guang’s boat would not jeopardize their finances and could help them earn more during the fishing season.
• A-Guang brought Ye Yaohua to meet Ye Yaodong, reporting that Ye Yaopeng and his wife had declined to invest and wanted to keep their savings.
• A-Guang explained Uncle Pei’s plan to have the original buyers recover their deposit from the shipyard, then buy the boat directly from the shipyard.
• Ye Yaodong offered to take the remaining shares himself if needed, while A-Guang and Ye Yaohua agreed that Ye Yaohua would take one share.
• A-Guang said he would meet Uncle Zheng the next day to negotiate with the original buyers and the shipyard, then report the deposit and paperwork to the investors.

Ye Yaodong reassured Ye Yaohua about investing in A-Guang’s fishing boat, then headed out to sea as the weather turned cloudy. When rain forced the boats to return early, he worried about the catch drying at home and saw nylon sheeting covering the small workshop as he approached shore.

• Ye Yaodong reassured Ye Yaohua that their investment with A-Guang was a reasonable risk and sent him home.
• Ye Yaodong used a handcart to bring water to the workshop, and Mother Ye teased him for being lazy.
• Ye Yaodong and the other fishermen noticed thick clouds before setting out to catch squid that night.
• Light rain began while Ye Yaodong’s boat was fishing, and he worried that the squid and fish drying at home might get wet.
• As the rain grew heavier and the catch dwindled, Ye Yaodong ended the fishing early, collected Lin Guangyuan, and called the other boats back.
• Ye Yaodong returned to shore with Father Ye, A-Zheng, and Xiao Xiao, then spotted nylon sheeting over the small workshop.

Ye Yaodong hurried to check the fish and squid drying near his home after rain threatened to spoil them, then returned to the pier to oversee the catch. He found that his family had covered the seafood in time, though the damp weather had softened some of it, and the chapter left the skies still overcast.

• Ye Yaodong told Father Ye to handle unloading and weighing the catches while he went to inspect the drying seafood.
• Villagers mocked Ye Yaodong’s decision to dry the seafood and predicted that the rain would ruin it, so he snapped back before leaving them.
• Ye Yaodong found that his wife's older brother and A Qing had borrowed nylon sheets and covered the seafood before the drizzle began.
• Ye Yaodong checked the fish and squid, finding that the older batch had softened in the damp air even though little had been rained on.
• Ye Yaodong returned toward the pier to check on the sale of the boats’ catch and passed the nearly completed Tianhou Palace.