Chapter Summaries

Ye Yaodong and his family waited for the children to leave for school before setting up the television with a bamboo-pole antenna. The television finally received a signal, and the family watched the afternoon news appear on screen.

• The children crowded around Ye Yaodong’s new television, while Father Ye asked how much Ye Yaodong had earned and declined his offer to buy the parents a television.
• Ye Yaodong persuaded the visiting children to go to school by promising they could watch the television after class and encouraging them to brag about it to their classmates.
• After the children left, Ye Yaodong unpacked the television as Lin Xiuqing and Father Ye helped prepare the antenna.
• Ye Yaodong connected the television while Father Ye adjusted the bamboo-pole antenna outside to improve reception.
• The television picked up the afternoon news, delighting Ye Chengyang, Lin Xiuqing, and the others.

Ye Yaodong’s family celebrated their new television while he went to inspect the two boats and consider how to arrange their future fishing work. He left still weighing whether the boats could trawl nearby waters while he continued diving to check his fishing pots.

• Ye Yaodong’s family crowded around the television, excitedly watching the central channel and learning how to operate it.
• Mother Ye returned with a desk, and the family moved the television onto it, briefly losing the picture before Ye Yaodong restored it with a few slaps.
• Ye Yaodong left his family watching television and headed to the beach to inspect the boats’ freshly scraped bottoms and recent paintwork.
• Ye Yaodong considered keeping his father on one boat and assigning the other to Brother A-Sheng and Eldest Maternal Cousin, but worried fixed wages might reduce their effort.
• Ye Yaodong wondered whether both boats could trawl nearby waters while he continued diving to check the fishing pots and shrimp pots.

Ye Yaodong settled on a temporary plan for the fishing boats, then took Ye Xiaoxi to play on the beach while the family watched their new television. He found a small giant grouper in a tide pool and prepared to catch it for dinner.

• Ye Yaodong decided to keep the current boat arrangement until jellyfish season and planned to rent the boats to the two partnerships after his large ship arrived.
• Ye Xiaoxi pulled down a basin, and Lin Xiuqing scolded her before Ye Yaodong comforted her and took her to the beach.
• Villagers came to see the family’s television, but the dogs and geese chased visitors away from the courtyard.
• Ye Yaodong caught a stone crab and tied its legs so Ye Xiaoxi could play with it safely.
• While searching tide pools with Ye Xiaoxi, Ye Yaodong prodded out a small giant grouper and pinned it down to catch it.

Ye Yaodong took Ye Xiaoxi beachcombing and discovered that Xiaohua could find seafood and lead him to a bed of mud snails. He left the snails for the moment and headed home to fetch a slotted spoon and bring out more dogs.

• Ye Yaodong let Ye Xiaoxi play in the sand while he searched the beach and gathered a modest haul of seafood.
• Ye Yaodong found two stone crabs among the rocks, and Xiaohua brought him a sea snail and a flat sole fish.
• Xiaohua tugged Ye Yaodong’s trouser leg and led him to a bay filled with mud snails.
• Ye Yaodong decided to leave the mud snails until he could return with a slotted spoon, then headed home to bring out more dogs.

Ye Yaodong took Ye Xiaoxi home after she got covered in sand, then returned to the shore with five dogs to forage at low tide. Xiaohua and the other dogs found seafood after Ye Yaodong showed them what to look for, and he finished gathering a bucketful of mud snails.

• Xiaohua caught up with Ye Yaodong and spat out a large blood clam, which he added to his bucket.
• Ye Yaodong carried the filthy Ye Xiaoxi home, where Lin Xiuqing prepared warm water to wash her.
• Ye Yaodong took five dogs to the beach and showed them the seafood he wanted them to find after they failed to understand his instructions.
• Xiaohua brought Ye Yaodong half a small white pomfret, and he praised her before gathering mud snails in a nearby bay.
• The other dogs returned with fish, mantis shrimp, and a cat's eye snail, and Ye Yaodong collected their finds while filling his bucket with mud snails.

Ye Yaodong returned from the beach with a bucket of seafood collected with help from the dogs, then joined his family as they watched their newly installed television. The family discussed plans to begin building the small workshop in three days, while the household and its dogs and geese kept curious villagers away.

• Ye Yaodong followed the dogs along the shore as they brought him seafood, then headed home with a bucketful of catches.
• Lin Xiuqing admitted she had become so engrossed in the television that she had forgotten to cook, and she and Ye Yaodong divided up dinner preparations.
• Mother Ye returned alone and explained that villagers already knew about the television but were reluctant to visit because of Ye Yaodong's dogs and geese.
• Ye Yaodong learned that work on the small workshop would begin in three days and suggested moving geese and dogs there for security.
• The family watched Xinwen Lianbo together while Father Ye adjusted the antenna, and children outside stayed away from the courtyard.

Ye Yaodong’s family enjoyed their new television, and relatives and neighbors gathered to watch it despite his plan to keep the viewing small. As Xinwen Lianbo began at seven, the courtyard filled with people eager to see the broadcast.

• Ye Yaodong turned off the television after the children had watched for hours and sent them home to eat, bathe, and finish their homework before the seven o’clock broadcast.
• The family ate grouper that Ye Yaodong had found while walking along the beach, and Ye Second Older Brother and Ye Second Sister-in-Law visited to admire the television and decided they could watch at his house instead of buying one.
• Ye Chenghai brought his parents over to see the television, and the families discussed their modest fishing catches and the Mazu Procession starting the next day.
• Ye Chenghu hurried to finish his homework while Ye Chengyang and the children from next door bathed and completed their tasks so they could return to watch.
• Ye Yaodong moved the television into the courtyard, where his family, neighbors, A-Guang, and other friends gathered as Xinwen Lianbo began at seven.

Ye Yaodong and his family hosted neighbors to watch their new television, but he became fed up with the crowd after someone sneaked inside and the drying squid trays were knocked over. He and Lin Xiuqing sent everyone home so the family could spread their fish and squid outside to dry, leaving the television unwatched for the night.

• Ye Yaodong photographed the neighbors gathered around the television and listened with them to the news and weather forecast.
• Mother Ye grew excited when Ye Yaodong found the drama Huo Yuanjia, while Ye Xiaoxi drank Malt Milk and returned to watch.
• Ye Yaodong confronted a shifty-looking man who slipped inside, claiming he had come to get tea.
• Ye Yaodong noticed that Bamboo Woven Trays holding squid had fallen over and called Lin Xiuqing to help deal with them.
• Ye Yaodong and Lin Xiuqing explained that the family needed the courtyard to dry fish and squid, then ushered the neighbors out.

Ye Yaodong’s family aired their dried squid and fish while the children helped, then let everyone watch television for a short time. The children went home disappointed when Ye Yaodong turned it off, and he and Lin Xiuqing ended the night bickering over chores and their sons.

• Ye Yaodong’s family carried dried squid and fish outside to air, and Lin Xiuqing turned off the television to get the children working.
• Ye Chenghai rallied the children to help after Ye Yaodong threatened to move the television inside and keep it for himself.
• Father Ye offered to stay overnight and watch the drying seafood while Ye Yaodong let the children watch television again after they finished working.
• Ye Yaodong turned off the television and sent the children home when it was late, despite their protests.
• Ye Yaodong refused to let Ye Chenghu and Ye Chengyang watch more television and sent them to bed with Ye Xiaoxi.
• Ye Yaodong and Lin Xiuqing discussed moving the television inside and teased each other about cleaning up the geese’ droppings.

Ye Yaodong joined East Mountain Village’s Mazu blessing procession, carrying her palanquin as the villagers set out to visit neighboring villages. The procession left the village amid growing crowds and fervent prayers, with Ye Yaodong swept up in the excitement of openly expressed faith.

• Ye Yaodong arrived at Tianhou Palace, ate breakfast with the volunteers, and offered incense before Mazu’s statue was bathed and dressed.
• The procession assembled with banners, a suona band, a dragon dance troupe, and Ye Yaodong among the eight men assigned to carry Mazu’s palanquin.
• A-Zheng teased Ye Yaodong with lit firecrackers as the procession began moving, then chatted with him about the cheap television Ye Yaodong had bought.
• The procession moved slowly through East Mountain Village and drew crowds from nearby villages, while Ye Yaodong’s shoulders began to ache from carrying the palanquin.
• When the procession entered the first neighboring village, an elderly person knelt to welcome Mazu, and villagers joined in chanting, “May Mazu bless us with favorable weather.”

Ye Yaodong’s Mazu Procession drew huge crowds as villagers knelt to welcome the palanquin, and Lin Xiuqing captured the scene on camera. After a punishing day carrying the palanquin, Ye Yaodong returned home to find his shoulders bruised, where Ye Xiaoxi sweetly comforted him.

• Ye Yaodong carried the palanquin through a dozen villages as crowds joined the procession and villagers knelt to welcome Mazu.
• Ye Yaodong rested at Tianhou Palace, drank offering water, and endured his friends rubbing it onto his sore shoulders.
• Ye Yaodong asked Lin Xiuqing whether she had photographed the procession, and she told him she had captured villagers kneeling at the next village.
• Old Lady worried about Ye Yaodong’s red shoulders, while Lin Xiuqing prepared hot water and tea oil for him.
• Ye Xiaoxi blew on Ye Yaodong’s sore shoulder and kissed him, and Lin Xiuqing admitted she had watched television all day.

Ye Yaodong endured the second and third days of Mazu’s blessing procession, carrying the palanquin through villages, town, and the docks despite his aching shoulders. Back in the village, he joked with Lin Jishang about making money in the city, and a villager mistakenly took their talk of shoe-shining work seriously as the procession continued toward the seaside.

• Ye Yaodong returned home after the second day’s procession with sore shoulders, and Lin Xiuqing massaged them while they discussed the next day’s route.
• Ye Yaodong carried the palanquin through town and along the docks as crowds welcomed the procession with firecrackers and fireworks.
• Father Ye offered to switch places with Ye Yaodong on the return journey, but Ye Yaodong decided to keep carrying the palanquin.
• Ye Yaodong encountered Lin Jishang in the village and joked that he pulled a rickshaw and might take up shoe-shining in the city.
• A nearby villager believed Ye Yaodong’s claims about shoe-shining and urged Lin Jishang to learn the trade.
• Ye Yaodong resumed carrying the palanquin as the procession stopped at village households for incense before heading toward the shore.

Ye Yaodong completed the final Mazu procession and helped install her statue in Tianhou Palace, where the village honored his contributions by unveiling the merit stele. After the villagers finished worshipping and shared a celebratory meal, he went home exhausted with painful blisters.

• Ye Yaodong and the other carriers brought Mazu's palanquin along the beach and escorted her to Tianhou Palace.
• The village chief praised Ye Yaodong for salvaging and donating the Bronze Ding, then invited him to unveil the merit stele.
• Ye Yaodong credited the whole village as he unveiled the stele, and the villagers carried Mazu into the hall and placed her on her sacred seat.
• The villagers worshipped Mazu, offered incense, and then gathered around the merit stele while Ye Yaodong ate dinner and joked that Mazu had inspired his sudden hard work in a dream.
• Ye Yaodong left without checking the stele and returned home, where Lin Xiuqing prepared his bath and he asked for a needle to pop the blisters on his feet.

Ye Yaodong rested his sore shoulders while his family dried and stored their fish and squid, and watched construction begin on his workshop. When Rat asked for work, Ye Yaodong hired him, then reflected on how much a wife could shape a man's fortunes.

• Lin Xiuqing explained that work had begun on the workshop, and Ye Yaodong agreed with moving the foundation line slightly farther out.
• Ye Yaodong rested after three exhausting days at sea while his family brought the dried fish inside ahead of forecast rain.
• The next morning, the sun came out, and Ye Yaodong's family spread the fish and squid outside to dry while he watched the workers and visited Mazu Temple's Merit Stele.
• Rat approached Ye Yaodong to ask for work because jobs at the town wharf were scarce.
• Ye Yaodong hired Rat for the workshop construction at the same wages as the other workers, and Rat immediately joined the crew carrying gravel.

Ye Yaodong and Father Ye changed the workshop plan to stone walls after rain destroyed the new adobe walls, then waited for the sea to calm before returning to fishing. Once at sea, Ye Yaodong arranged for his crew to trawl while he and his father headed toward the submerged reef so he could resume searching for pen shells.

• Heavy rain washed down the workshop’s newly built adobe walls, so Ye Yaodong and Father Ye told the foreman to use stone instead.
• Ye Yaodong told Lin Xiuqing that Father Ye had fitted iron plates inside the four boats so they could bring the Mazu statues aboard on an auspicious day.
• After three days of rough weather, Ye Yaodong returned to sea and compared his catch of tiger prawns with Father Ye’s deep-sea fish.
• Ye Yaodong arranged for Eldest Maternal Cousin and Ye Yaosheng to trawl while he and Father Ye handled the pots and searched near the submerged reef.
• Ye Yaodong told Father Ye that hauling the pots was only an excuse and steered toward the reef to look for more pen shells.

Ye Yaodong dived beyond the submerged reef and narrowly avoided being pierced by a huge school of needlefish. After the fish passed, he spotted boxes wedged in a crevice but surfaced before he ran out of time, leaving him eager to return and investigate.

• Ye Yaodong chose to dive beyond the submerged reef while Father Ye waited in the boat.
• Ye Yaodong moved aside when a huge school of needlefish rushed toward him, then hid in a reef crevice until they passed.
• Ye Yaodong noticed several boxes deeper in the crevice but surfaced because his dive time was nearly up.
• Father Ye welcomed Ye Yaodong back aboard and showed him two netfuls of needlefish.
• Ye Yaodong told Father Ye how close he had come to being skewered and credited Mazu with protecting him.

Ye Yaodong narrowly avoided a school of needlefish underwater and told Father Ye about wooden chests he had spotted in a rocky crevice. They decided to wait a few days before exploring, and the chapter ended after they completed two trawling hauls and met up with Eldest Maternal Cousin and Brother A-Sheng.

• Ye Yaodong and Father Ye discussed how he had evaded the dangerous needlefish and how Father Ye had caught them in the Hand Cast Nets.
• Ye Yaodong told Father Ye about four or five wooden chests in a submerged crevice, and Father Ye urged him to wait until the needlefish had moved on.
• Ye Yaodong and Father Ye agreed to return to explore the crevice in a few days, then set out to trawl.
• Ye Yaodong sorted several hundred jin of needlefish while Father Ye steered the boat and prepared the Fishing Net.
• Ye Yaodong and Father Ye completed two hauls after dark and met Eldest Maternal Cousin and Brother A-Sheng's boat on the water.

Ye Yaodong and Father Ye returned to the pier and learned that A-Guang had found a thirty-two-jin large yellow croaker floating beside his boat. A-Guang waited for a buyer to arrive while Ye Yaodong went back to unloading his own catch.

• Ye Yaodong and Father Ye arrived at a lively pier and heard that A-Guang had brought in an enormous large yellow croaker.
• A-Guang showed Ye Yaodong the fish and explained that he had spotted it floating beside the boat while taking a cigarette break.
• Ye Yaodong teased A-Guang about his luck, while Father Ye advised him to hold out for a good price.
• A-Guang said A-Cai had called potential buyers and was waiting for them to inspect the fish.
• Ye Yaodong asked A-Cai about the price for his needlefish, then urged Father Ye to help unload their catch.

Ye Yaodong watched as A-Guang secretly negotiated with Lin Jishang and took the large yellow croaker away before the expected buyer arrived. After the village speculated about the sale, Ye Yaodong went home and planned to retrieve the crates he had found underwater.

• Villagers crowded around to admire A-Guang's large yellow croaker while they waited for a buyer, and Lin Jishang quietly drew A-Guang aside to talk.
• A-Guang returned looking pleased, told his father something in private, and left with him carrying the fish; they told A-Cai to keep five yuan as commission.
• Lin Jishang denied buying the fish, and the villagers began guessing about his work and who had purchased the catch.
• Manager Wang arrived too late to inspect or buy the fish, and Ye Yaodong left A-Cai to explain what had happened.
• Mother Ye hurried out to investigate the rumored sale, while Ye Yaodong ate at home and thought about retrieving the underwater crates soon.

Ye Yaodong helped A-Guang photograph a large yellow croaker, then went out to sea excited about retrieving chests from the seabed. His boat was suddenly swarmed by needlefish attracted to its light, and Father Ye turned back to see what was happening.

• A-Guang told Ye Yaodong that he had agreed to sell his large yellow croaker for a high price and borrowed Ye Yaodong’s camera for a photograph.
• Ye Yaodong left his foot-washing water out, and Ye Xiaoxi climbed into the basin before Lin Xiuqing cleaned her up and scolded him.
• Ye Yaodong headed out to sea at night, eager to retrieve the chests he had found underwater.
• Needlefish drawn to the bulb on Ye Yaodong’s boat began leaping onto the deck, startling Ye Yaodong and Eldest Maternal Cousin.
• Ye Yaodong stopped the boat and explained that the needlefish were attracted to the light, while Father Ye turned back after noticing the boat had stopped.