Chapter Summaries

After a typhoon battered the village, Ye Yaodong checked the damage and waited with his family for the sea to calm. The tide finally receded the next day, and the Ye family headed to the beach to gather seafood.

• Ye Yaodong stayed awake through the storm, made room for Lin Xiuqing and the boys, and slept on benches while rain leaked into the house.
• At dawn, Ye Yaodong went to the shore with the villagers and saw the high waves and damage left by the typhoon.
• After the radio confirmed the typhoon had made landfall, Father Ye discussed repairing the roofs, delaying construction, and waiting to fish until the sea was safer.
• Ye Yaohua and Mother Ye proposed going shore gathering, but the tide stayed high and the family remained away from the shore that day.
• At noon the following day, the tide receded, and the Ye family went to the beach to gather seafood.

Ye Yaodong and Lin Xiuqing searched the beach after the typhoon, collecting seafood and spotting a huge fish that might be a Dussumier's thryssa. The chapter left them trying to identify and catch the valuable fish.

• Ye Yaodong spotted a large sea bass in the waves and scooped it into his bucket.
• Lin Xiuqing found a large trumpet snail, and the couple gathered clams as the tide receded.
• Ye Yaodong's second brother and sister-in-law joined them, and Ye Yaodong picked up two mud crabs.
• Lin Xiuqing called Ye Yaodong over to a huge, still-moving fish that they suspected was a Dussumier's thryssa.
• Ye Yaodong explained that the fish was prized for sashimi in Japan, while his second sister-in-law wondered how much it would sell for.

After the typhoon, Ye Yaodong and Lin Xiuqing found a giant Dussumier's thryssa stranded on the beach and brought it to A-Cai's buying station. A-Cai measured it at 1.2 meters and weighed it at 115 jin and 8 liang, then tried to bargain over its price.

• Ye Yaodong and Lin Xiuqing found a huge Dussumier's thryssa on the beach, and the Ye family helped load it into a sack.
• Ye Yaodong agreed to go fishing with Father Ye the next day after the family praised his recent luck.
• Father Ye and Ye Yaodong carried the fish to A-Cai's buying station, where A-Cai measured and weighed it.
• A-Cai offered 25 cents per jin, and Ye Yaodong argued that the fish's exceptional size made it worth more.

Ye Yaodong talked A-Cai into raising the price for the Dussumier's thryssa and Lin Xiuqing’s other catch, earning a forty-yuan receipt. The couple headed home pleased with their growing savings, while Ye Yaodong teased Lin Xiuqing about going out to sea with Father Ye the next day.

• Ye Yaodong persuaded A-Cai to pay thirty fen a jin for the Dussumier's thryssa by invoking their friendship and reminding him of the earlier Spanish mackerel deal.
• A-Cai calculated the value of the fish, sea bass, and mud crabs, and Ye Yaodong asked him to round the total up to forty yuan.
• Ye Yaodong checked the receipt and gave it to Lin Xiuqing to keep, while Father Ye took the clams home and went to look for the others.
• Ye Yaodong and Lin Xiuqing carried their buckets home, happy about the money they had earned.
• Ye Yaodong teased Lin Xiuqing about missing him when he went out to sea with Father Ye, and she pinched him after he joked about secret lovers.

Ye Yaodong and Lin Xiuqing returned to the shore and found A Bin pulled from the sea and not breathing. Ye Yaodong performed CPR until A Bin revived and an ambulance arrived, then Secretary Chen asked him to teach the villagers the technique.

• Ye Yaodong and Lin Xiuqing hurried back to the shore after seeing a crowd gathered by the water.
• Several young men brought A Bin ashore, and the villagers panicked when they realized he was not breathing.
• Ye Yaodong pushed through the crowd, explained that A Bin needed CPR, and began chest compressions and rescue breaths after checking for a pulse and airway obstruction.
• A Bin showed signs of life, but Ye Yaodong continued CPR with help from his brothers until the ambulance arrived.
• After the medical staff took A Bin away, Secretary Chen praised Ye Yaodong and asked him to teach the villagers CPR.

After saving Secretary Chen’s grandson, Ye Yaodong discussed teaching his sons to swim and teased Lin Xiuqing at home. His friends then dragged him out to go fishing for rice eels despite the flooded fields.

• Ye Yaodong promised to teach Ye Chenghu and Ye Chengyang to swim and warned them not to enter the water without an adult.
• Ye Yaodong pretended to teach Lin Xiuqing first aid, then flirted with her until she escaped to help with dinner.
• A-Guang, Xiao Xiao, and their friends arrived to congratulate Ye Yaodong for saving Secretary Chen’s grandson and summoned him outside.
• Ye Yaodong objected that the recent typhoon had flooded the fields and made fishing for rice eels impractical, but his friends took him along.

Ye Yaodong went rice eel fishing with his friends in the flooded fields after the typhoon and caught a bucketful, including an unusually large eel. The group headed home at sunset, with Ye Yaodong set to cook his catch for his family.

• A-Zheng stopped Ye Yaodong from heading home and explained that Xiao Xiao had found fresh eel holes in the rice fields.
• Ye Yaodong changed into rubber boots and joined his friends, who supplied simple fishing rods and earthworms.
• Xiao Xiao, A-Wei, and the others began catching rice eels while Ye Yaodong found a large one on his first try.
• Ye Yaodong avoided two burrows with foam at their entrances because they held brooding eels, then kept fishing until his bucket held five or six jin.
• The friends compared their catches and agreed that Ye Yaodong would wash the dishes next time they drank because he had caught the most.
• As the sun set, Ye Yaodong and his friends packed up and headed home so he could stew the eels for his family.

Ye Yaodong shared his rice eel catch with his family, prepared to go fishing that night, and joked with the villagers about letting Lin Xiuqing manage their money. The evening ended with him falling from his reclining chair after a group of children pushed it, and he chased Ye Chenghu in anger.

• Ye Yaodong brought home rice eels, and Father Ye agreed to take him out to sea that night.
• Ye Yaodong and Lin Xiuqing collected the fish-sale money and bought fish for the workers' meal.
• Ye Yaodong gave rice eel meat to Lin Xiuqing and his grandmother while the family ate.
• Ye Yaodong joked with the villagers that Lin Xiuqing held all his money, then changed the subject when they pried into his earnings.
• The children tipped Ye Yaodong's reclining chair over, and he chased Ye Chenghu after the boy blamed the prank on a bet.

Ye Yaodong went out to sea with Father Ye for his first post-typhoon trawling trip, learned the gear and took the helm. Their first haul was packed with rays, and Ye Yaodong steered as they set the next net while watching the sunrise.

• Ye Yaodong joined Father Ye at the wharf and headed out to sea after Mother Ye packed food and gave him two eggs.
• Father Ye explained how to deploy the winged trawl, then let Ye Yaodong take the helm while the net dragged.
• Father Ye and Ye Yaodong hauled in a catch of nearly a hundred jin of rays, along with red seabream, shrimp, and crabs.
• Father Ye let Ye Yaodong steer and shoot the next net after their first haul covered their costs.
• Ye Yaodong kept the boat on course as the sun rose over the sea and thought about bringing Lin Xiuqing out to see it.

Ye Yaodong and Father Ye hauled several profitable nets, mostly full of rays, and stocked up on cheap yellowtail scad. Their final net held an unexpected prize: a large red grouper.

• Father Ye and Ye Yaodong hauled in a second net full of rays, including two Chinese fanrays and a great blue shark.
• Ye Yaodong set a third net that brought up over a hundred jin of cheap yellowtail scad, which they planned to dry or salt.
• After eating, Ye Yaodong steered the boat and set another net while Father Ye rested.
• Father Ye and Ye Yaodong hauled in a fourth net bursting with rays.
• Their final net contained swimming crabs, mantis shrimp, assorted fish, and a large red grouper.

Ye Yaodong and Father Ye returned from a profitable fishing trip with hundreds of jin of rays and a large red grouper, drawing attention from the village. At the fish buyer’s stall, Ye Yaodong asked A-Cai to agree on the grouper’s price before weighing it.

• Ye Yaodong and Father Ye found a red grouper weighing nearly three jin among their catch and kept it separate to protect its value.
• Father Ye told Ye Yaodong to sort the catch and head back before the tide grew too low.
• Uncle Lin praised Ye Yaodong’s recent hard work, then learned that the boat had caught hundreds of jin of rays and a large red grouper.
• Villagers gathered to watch as Ye Yaodong and Father Ye unloaded their large catch, and Mother Ye urged them to take it to be weighed.
• A-Cai admired the red grouper, and Ye Yaodong asked him to settle the price per jin before weighing it.

Ye Yaodong and Father Ye sold their catch after Ye Yaodong bargained A-Cai up to a higher price for the Red Grouper. Their haul earned ninety-six yuan and five fen, and the family kept the cheap Yellowtail Scad to eat; after returning home, Ye Yaodong woke from a nap and Lin Xiuqing sent him out to watch the children while she bathed.

• Ye Yaodong negotiated with A-Cai until he agreed to pay eight yuan per jin for the Red Grouper, which weighed two point eight jin.
• Father Ye told the villagers that Ye Yaodong had steered and hauled the nets, and A-Cai weighed the rays at eighteen fen per jin.
• Ye Yaodong and Mother Ye decided to keep the Yellowtail Scad rather than sell it for three fen per jin.
• A-Cai weighed the rest of the catch, bringing the total to ninety-six yuan and five fen, while Lin Jingye prepared to sell his own catch.
• Ye Yaodong and Father Ye returned home with the fish they had kept, ate warm dough-drop soup, and slept until dinner.
• Ye Yaodong woke and clung to Lin Xiuqing, but she told him to go watch the children while she bathed.

Secretary Chen brought his family to thank Ye Yaodong for saving his grandson, and the Ye family accepted their generous gifts after initially refusing. Secretary Chen also warned them that Lin Jishang had tried to buy their house plot, leaving the family alert to further attempts to interfere with their building plans.

• Secretary Chen and his family visited the Ye household with expensive gifts to thank Ye Yaodong for giving his grandson first aid.
• Father Ye and Mother Ye repeatedly refused the gifts, but eventually accepted them after Secretary Chen insisted.
• Ye Yaodong asked after the boy, and Secretary Chen's wife said he had returned home and was recovering.
• Secretary Chen told the Ye family that Lin Jishang had asked to buy their house plot, but the plot certificate had already been issued and registered.
• Father Ye thanked Secretary Chen for the warning, and Secretary Chen's family declined the Ye family's invitation to stay for dinner.

After Secretary Chen’s family left, Mother Ye sold their gifts and secretly gave the proceeds to Lin Xiuqing, while urging Ye Yaodong to work harder. As the brothers continued building their houses, Lin Jishang and two men arrived to ask about buying the plot, and Ye Yaodong refused to consider selling it.

• Ye Yaodong let the children hope for tea cakes and canned oranges, but Mother Ye put the gifts away to save for future gift-giving.
• Mother Ye exchanged the cigarettes and liquor for money and secretly gave the proceeds to Lin Xiuqing, explaining that the gifts had been meant for Ye Yaodong.
• Mother Ye urged Ye Yaodong to work harder, and he defended his friends and the help they had given with the houses.
• While working on the houses, Ye Yaodong saw Lin Jishang arrive with two unfamiliar men asking for him.
• Lin Jishang said his mother's cousin wanted to buy the plot, and Ye Yaodong rejected the request because construction was already underway.

Ye Yaodong urged his family to consider selling their unfinished house plot at a high price and building on vacant land by the beach instead. The family waited for Lin Jishang and his companions to make an offer, then went inside with them to discuss the sale.

• Lin Jishang and two men asked Ye Yaodong's family to sell their house plot, and the family claimed it had excellent feng shui to encourage a high offer.
• Ye Yaodong told Lin Xiuqing he wanted to build farther back from the shore, and she considered the advantages of living near the beach.
• Ye Yaodong and Ye Yaopeng advised Father Ye to hear the offer before deciding, while Ye Yaohua hoped the plot's feng shui would raise its price.
• Lin Jishang and his companions arrived after dinner, and Father Ye led the Ye family men inside to talk with them.

The Ye family traded their original building plot to Zhou Yechi for a new seaside plot and a six-meter wooden boat. After the deal, Ye Yaodong asked to buy the boat so he could fish independently, leaving Father Ye doubtful that he would follow through.

• Ye Yaodong guessed that Lin Jishang wanted the building plot as a discreet place for smuggling-related activity, and the family agreed not to discuss the suspicion.
• Father Ye agreed to give up the partly built plot in exchange for wages and meals for the workers, payment for a replacement plot, and a six-meter wooden boat.
• The Ye family chose a plot near the beach, and Father Ye had the boat tested by taking it out to sea and asking a village boatbuilder to inspect it.
• At the People's Commune, Zhou Yechi paid the expenses, Secretary Lin issued a new certificate, and the Ye family finalized the exchange.
• Ye Yaodong asked Father Ye to sell him the boat so he could fish on his own, but Father Ye questioned whether he would stick with it.

Ye Yaodong persuaded Lin Xiuqing that buying his father’s little wooden boat would let them fish independently and earn more reliably. His family agreed to sell it to him for 150 yuan, with the money going toward the family’s house-building funds.

• Father Ye asked his sons to consider whether Ye Yaodong should buy the boat, while Ye Yaohua hesitated under pressure from Ye Second Sister-in-Law.
• Ye Yaodong explained to Lin Xiuqing that owning the boat would let them set fish traps and collect their catch without relying on turns aboard Father Ye’s boat.
• Lin Xiuqing agreed to support the purchase after Ye Yaodong promised to work hard, while reminding him to keep helping with the family’s work.
• At lunch, Ye Yaopeng and Ye Yaohua said they did not want the boat, and Father Ye offered it to Ye Yaodong for 150 yuan.
• The family accepted Father Ye’s price, settling the boat sale and allocating the money to the house-building funds.

Ye Yaodong’s parents returned most of the money he and Lin Xiuqing had paid for the little wooden boat, helping them start out without burdening their household. With the boat and homemade pot trap nets ready, Ye Yaodong agreed to row his friends to the Isolated Island to gather seafood.

• Mother Ye secretly returned 100 yuan to Ye Yaodong and Lin Xiuqing, explaining that she and Father Ye considered the boat their contribution to their son’s fresh start.
• Ye Yaodong practiced rowing the little wooden boat and discussed making pot trap nets with Lin Xiuqing.
• Mother Ye agreed to help Lin Xiuqing make the nets, and Ye Yaodong joined his family in working on them after dinner.
• Xiao Xiao and his friends invited Ye Yaodong to the Isolated Island, and he agreed to take them in his boat.
• A-Zheng offered to bring an unused disc net in case the group encountered a big catch.

Ye Yaodong took his friends out in his newly purchased boat to forage on the isolated island and urged them to save up and buy a boat together. His friends agreed to start saving, while the group realized Ye had brought far more sacks than they had.

• Ye Yaodong brought five sacks and extra buckets as his family encouraged him to collect plenty of shellfish on the island.
• Ye Yaodong's friends joined him in the boat, and he confirmed he had bought it from his father as his private property.
• A-Guang, Xiao Xiao, and A-Zheng discussed pooling their money to buy a boat, and Ye Yaodong urged them to save and prove their commitment to work.
• Ye Yaodong said he planned to use pot traps while the house was being built and encouraged his friends to buy a boat together without worrying about others.
• The friends agreed to save for a boat, then noticed Ye Yaodong had brought five sacks and joked about whether his boat could carry them.

Ye Yaodong and his companions landed on an island to forage and found several sea turtle nests before turning to the reefs for seafood. They planned to try catching a sea turtle with a net on the way back, while the group continued collecting shellfish and crabs.

• Ye Yaodong chose an island with a broad stretch of exposed beach and found a buried sea turtle egg.
• Ye Yaodong dug up a nest containing seventy-eight eggs as his companions searched the beach for more nests.
• A-Guang followed disturbed turtle tracks and found another nest with eighty-two eggs.
• Ye Yaodong went to the reefs and caught mud crabs, stone crabs, stonefish, and white octopuses while the others stopped searching for eggs.
• A-Zheng suggested casting his Disc Net for a sea turtle on the way back, and Ye Yaodong agreed to try.
• Xiao Xiao pulled a large mud crab from between the rocks and excitedly showed it to the others.