Father Ye

Biodata

Background / History

Inheritance and boat restoration

Father Ye is the youngest of three brothers and was the last to marry. His father left him the old family house rather than building him a separate home, moving into a small room beside the vegetable patch with Ye Grandma. By 1982, Father Ye’s household had become overcrowded: each son’s family occupied one room, while he, his wife, and their unmarried daughter shared the fourth 6.

When his father died two years before the opening events, Father Ye accepted the dilapidated fishing boat because his mother could not bear to sell it. His elder brothers took the money from the estate instead. He then spent two years putting his earnings toward repairs so that he could fish with his sons 1 2 5.

He had also worked aboard a larger boat before the opening events. Lin Laoliu of neighboring West Mountain Village recognizes Ye Yaodong as his son and recalls working with Father Ye several years earlier 145.

Large yellow croaker windfall

The restored boat brought in more than two hundred jin of large yellow croakers, sold for 1,200 yuan at five yuan per jin. His brothers subsequently demanded a share, arguing that the boat had originally belonged to their father. Ye Yaodong challenged them to put their claim before the villagers, and Father Ye supported having the dispute judged publicly; the brothers withdrew 1 3.

When Ye Yaodong said the catch could have earned twice as much in the county town, Father Ye angrily blamed him for not accompanying the family. He eventually accepted that regretting a completed sale was pointless. Ye Yaodong’s explanation of declining croaker stocks also prompted him to reconsider his supposedly useless son’s knowledge 3.

His brothers later returned to request loans of three hundred yuan each, then proposed renting the boat. Father Ye refused to lend money needed for his own family’s housing. The visit ended in another quarrel after their remarks about a breakdown at sea were taken as a curse on his family 15.

Building houses and dividing the household

Father Ye and Mother Ye decided to use the croaker proceeds, supplemented by later fishing income, to build homes for their sons and divide the household. He secured approval from the People’s Commune for an uncultivable plot at the turnoff toward the beach 6 13.

During the family discussion, he tested which son would take responsibility for the parents in old age. His two elder sons offered, but their wives were visibly reluctant. Ye Yaodong and Lin Xiuqing volunteered together, although Father Ye doubted that his third son could support them. He settled on three houses, one for each son, stating that he and his wife could still work and support themselves 13 14.

He organized workers and building materials while continuing to fish with his elder sons in rotation 14 16 36.

The family later exchanged the partly built original site with Zhou Yechi for a replacement seaside plot and a six-meter wooden boat, with Zhou also covering the workers’ wages and meals and the replacement land’s cost. Father Ye took the boat out for a trial and had a village boatbuilder inspect it before the exchange was finalized at the People’s Commune. When Ye Yaodong asked to buy the boat for independent fishing, Father Ye remained doubtful that his newfound diligence would last 76.

By the later dispute over money handed to Ye Yaohong, the sons had established separate households. Father Ye nevertheless continued to intervene in serious family matters, angrily criticizing his elder daughters-in-law for handing over a thousand yuan without first discussing it with their husbands 275 276.

When Ye Yaodong subsequently expanded his dried-seafood business, his plans for a roadside workshop and warehouse included rooms for his parents. Father Ye learned of the proposal after villagers stopped him to ask whether the family would buy their cuttlefish 767.

Recognition of Ye Yaodong’s contributions

Father Ye gave Ye Yaodong rare praise after his group caught over seven thousand jin of Spanish mackerel. When Ye Second Sister-in-Law demanded that his earnings also fund the houses, Father Ye defended his right to keep independently earned money. He explained that shore-gathered food and construction work were contributions too, and that he—not the elder sons alone—was subsidizing the houses 42.

His support did not end his demands for responsibility: he ordered Ye Yaodong to help at the building site rather than disappear with friends. Later, hearing about another productive gathering trip softened his attitude, and he suggested renting a boat again when the tide was suitable 43 49.

His initial mistrust persisted even after they began fishing together. Before one trip, he worried that taking Ye Yaodong would leave him unable to rest because he did not trust his son to steer. During a later storm, he refused Ye Yaodong’s offer to take over the compass and navigation, choosing to remain at the helm in the rain 52 100.

Ye Yaodong’s purchase of a seventeen-meter fishing boat became a particular source of pride. At its launch, Father Ye happily accepted the reflected credit as villagers congratulated his son. By the following period, he acknowledged that Ye Yaodong had changed substantially, and his habitual anger over his son’s failure to work had largely become occasional grumbling 187 197.

He increasingly recognized both Ye Yaodong’s competence and the benefits his work brought the family. He watched approvingly as his son handled large fish like an experienced fisherman, enjoyed hearing villagers discuss the family’s early success during squid season, and happily joined conversations praising Ye Yaodong’s growing ability 240 345 469.

Their working relationship eventually shifted from criticism to cooperation. When Ye Yaodong’s expanding workload became difficult to manage, Father Ye concentrated on helping solve the problem rather than accusing him of overreaching. They discussed hiring help, and Father Ye insisted that the family pay the usual rate 543 546.

He later defended Ye Grandma’s decision to slaughter a chicken to nourish Ye Yaodong, telling Mother Ye that their third son worked harder than the elder two and that their own savings had benefited from his success. He also secretly reserved a batch of donated shrimp pots for Ye Yaodong without telling his elder brothers, and accepted his need for a few days’ rest without the usual lecture 634 679 680.

By the needlefish-fishing trip, Father Ye was increasingly treating Ye Yaodong as the person to consult before acting, often without noticing the change himself. This confidence did not remove his paternal anxiety: he still watched the time and paced aboard the boat while waiting for his son to surface from a dive 820 827.

Assistance to other fishing families

Father Ye and Ye Yaodong encountered Ma Lifang calling for help during a storm after Lin Yongshou was dragged underwater when his foot became caught in a net rope. They helped bring her boat back to shore, with Ye Yaodong steering it. Father Ye explained the accident to the dockside crowd while local women accompanied Ma Lifang home 100.

On another occasion, he called across to ask about a fisherman from East Bridge Village who had been pierced through the shoulder by a sailfish. He asked Mother Ye to find someone ashore who could notify the injured man’s family 227.

During the return from the jellyfish-fishing expedition, he helped arrange a tow for a boat that had broken down. His harsh scolding of its crew followed his alarm at discovering that they had fallen behind without signaling sooner 511.

Unusual catches and encounters

Father Ye frequently accompanies Ye Yaodong on profitable or unusual fishing trips, working at the helm, hauling gear, and sorting the catch.

• Large croaker: He was delighted by an exceptionally large croaker and anticipated the fame it would bring the family. At the dock, it weighed fifty-five jin and five liang, and A-Cai agreed to broker its sale for a two-percent commission 99 100.
• Yellowtail amberjack: His attempt to help pull in a large hooked amberjack snapped Ye Yaodong’s bamboo rod, allowing the fish to escape. He awkwardly accepted responsibility and promised to make a replacement rod; they subsequently landed a smaller amberjack from the longline 188.
• Floating yellow croakers and electric rays: Father and son gathered roughly one or two thousand jin of small yellow croakers floating belly-up, then found electric rays in their trawl. Father Ye recalled hearing village elders describe a similar event decades earlier 208.
• Oarfish: They found a four- or five-meter oarfish stranded on an island beach. Father Ye recognized it from local accounts and feared that its appearance might foretell an earthquake or tsunami 240 241.
• Horseshoe crabs: After the family buried human remains they had found, they collected a large gathering of horseshoe crabs around their boat. Father Ye and Mother Ye wondered whether the catch rewarded the burial 270.
• Squid: Father Ye suggested sinking bundles of branches to attract spawning squid. He and Ye Yaodong also found fresh squid stranded on a beach by the receding tide 318.
• Pen shells: He helped haul and cook pen shells harvested by Ye Yaodong from the seabed, offering to take turns diving to reduce his son’s workload 348.
• Whale shark: A whale shark following their boat frightened him badly enough that he burned three fingers against the hot engine while trying to escape. Ye Yaodong fed it leftover bait, after which it departed and left remoras behind. Despite his injured hand, Father Ye agreed to remain out and try Ye Yaodong’s proposed remora-assisted fishing method 423 424.
• Typhoon catch: He and Ye Yaodong collected fish and shellfish blown near their homes during a typhoon. They tied themselves to the courtyard gate with straw rope before collecting more nearby, including large silver pomfret blown down around them 442.
• Mullet and sea pigs: They joined Uncle Lin in catching mullet associated with a group of sea pigs, and their own trawl brought up two sea pigs 599.
• Blackback skate: While working with Ye Yaodong and Ye Yaosheng, Father Ye hauled in an enormous ray that Ye Yaodong identified as a blackback skate. All three helped support it for lifting aboard 643.

Jellyfish-fishing expedition

Father Ye accompanied Ye Yaodong on a distant jellyfish-fishing trip. Ye Yaodong cited his father’s experience and their compass when reassuring his elder brothers about the seven- or eight-hour journey 484.

At their temporary base, Father Ye agreed to watch the boat overnight and guard their belongings during the day. At sea, he accepted Ye Yaodong’s decision not to harvest sea turtles and helped collect jellyfish after they discovered a dense concentration around an island 491 496.

He found that a bamboo pole fitted with a rebar hook worked better than a hand net for hauling large jellyfish. While helping clear the surface, he also inspected the underwater formation that Ye Yaodong identified as an ocean trench 497.

When the group decided to change their base, Father Ye consulted Father Pei about the timing. He later helped carry their processed jellyfish away along village paths in the dark 501 503.

On the homeward journey, their boat joined others in retrieving floating cargo from a damaged smuggling vessel. Father Ye steered while the crew opened packages, then eagerly took a turn opening a sack after Ye Yaodong relieved him at the helm. Following their return, relatives’ interest in joining future profitable trips left him weary; he deferred decisions until the following year and warned that the work also involved danger 510 514.

Diving and underwater discoveries

Father Ye’s interest in the seabed initially conflicted with his fear for Ye Yaodong’s safety. When his son remained submerged long after freeing stuck fishing pots, Father Ye feared that he could not return and considered going into the water to look for him. Once Ye Yaodong surfaced, he struck him with a stick and angrily insisted that collecting seafood did not justify leaving him waiting in fear 300.

He subsequently monitored the time and the movement of the diving equipment’s air hose, repeatedly urging Ye Yaodong to avoid unnecessary dives. Nevertheless, the valuable shellfish his son brought up made him curious about trying the equipment himself 301 348 364.

Ye Yaodong initially refused to teach him, citing his age and rheumatism, even while offering to teach Xiao Xiao and A-Zheng. Once his son explained that the refusal was protective rather than a slight, Father Ye stopped arguing 365.

Over time, he became more accustomed to supporting dives. When Ye Yaodong proposed going down after a large shark and looking for shrimp pots, Father Ye supplied a stronger rope and felt reassured by his son’s accumulated experience. He eventually tried diving himself, but suffered a leg cramp underwater. He stayed calm, waited for it to ease, and surfaced; Ye Yaodong then scolded him for disregarding the earlier warnings 736 742.

He also accompanied Ye Yaodong near the shipwreck while Captain Chen’s group worked there. Learning that the recovered cargo included Western Han gold ingots left him stunned when he realized the value of the chest his son had found 400.

On a later trip, Ye Yaodong brought up two chests from a gap in a reef. Father and son guessed that pirates had hidden them there. They hauled the chests aboard, finding one light and full of rattling fragments and the other very heavy. Father Ye hacked off the heavy chest’s corroded lock, and Ye Yaodong opened it; its contents had not yet been revealed in the supplied account 827.

Seizure of the Luzhou Island boat

Although wary of the aggressive fishing crews from Luzhou Island, Father Ye helped Ye Yaodong seize an unattended boat while its crew was searching an island. He kept watch and handled their own boat as his son boarded and started the other vessel. The operation left him sweating, stammering, and warning that they should never do such a thing again 295 707.

Afterward, he helped sort the catch while they waited offshore until dark. He described the family as traditionally law-abiding fishermen, but also recognized that his own participation left him poorly placed to lecture his son 708.

Personality

Father Ye is hardworking and deeply frustrated by Ye Yaodong’s longstanding idleness. His anger can become physical: he chases his adult son with a shoe and strikes him with a broom. Nevertheless, he immediately stops when his mother intervenes, reflecting his deference to her 4 5.

He values family reputation and brotherly affection, initially tolerating his elder brothers’ demands rather than immediately breaking with them. Those loyalties have limits: he refuses to surrender money needed by his children and angrily rejects remarks that threaten the family’s good fortune at sea 1 2 15.

His judgment of Ye Yaodong changes slowly rather than all at once. Even while recognizing useful work and defending his earnings, he continues to expect backsliding. His fairness is practical: he counts food supplied to the household as a financial contribution, not merely cash income 42 43 49.

Later, his criticism increasingly coexists with genuine trust. He becomes willing to discuss solutions calmly, defend Ye Yaodong’s need for nourishment, and accept occasional rest. By the later fishing trips, he often follows his son’s judgment rather than automatically opposing it 543 634 680 820.

His protectiveness can appear as stubbornness or scolding. He initially insists on steering through dangerous weather rather than trusting Ye Yaodong, and his fear during a prolonged dive erupts into a beating after his son returns safely. Even after becoming accustomed to the diving routine, he remains anxious when Ye Yaodong stays underwater 100 300 827.

He is proud of his family’s success and enjoys favorable attention from the village. He anticipates the prestige of a giant fish, shares in the congratulations at his son’s boat launch, and listens happily when villagers discuss the family’s earnings 99 187 345.

His thrift reflects the difficulty of earning money at sea. He dislikes seeing saleable seafood set aside for family meals and believes that working hard while young prevents hardship in old age. However, he eventually argues that improved finances should allow the family to feed Ye Yaodong well rather than begrudge him food 210 529 634.

Despite his own harsh discipline of his son, he disapproves of wife-beating. When another fisherman strikes his wife over something lost at sea, Father Ye intervenes verbally and points out that the husband himself dropped it 190.

He observes local religious and maritime customs. He joins the family’s incense offerings during a period of vegetarian observance, burns talisman papers after the discovery and burial of human remains, and fears the traditional association between oarfish and natural disasters. He and Ye Yaodong also catch themselves making inauspicious remarks about fishing gear or weather 136 240 241 270 680 736.

Appearance & Health

• Appearance: He has a weathered, darkened face and a broad forehead with a receding hairline. During the shipwreck fishing trip, he is shorter than the soldiers accompanying them 224 364 402.
• Hands and strength: Decades of physical labor have left him with thick knuckles. He remains strong enough to haul heavy gear and large jellyfish, although sustained work increasingly taxes him 364 497.
• Rheumatism and back discomfort: Rheumatism sometimes limits his activity, and prolonged bending causes lower-back discomfort. His age and rheumatism are Ye Yaodong’s reasons for initially refusing to teach him to dive 271 365 368.
• Burned fingers: Contact with the running diesel engine during the whale-shark encounter blisters the index, middle, and ring fingers of his right hand 423.
• Underwater cramp: During a later dive, he experiences a leg cramp but avoids panic and returns to the surface after it eases 742.
• Exhaustion: A later stretch of uninterrupted work from dawn to dusk leaves him unable to keep up with the workload. Ye Yaodong recognizes that his father needs rest and nourishment rather than being expected to match a younger man’s endurance 797.

Abilities & Skills

Fishing and boat navigation

Father Ye operates the family fishing boat and takes his sons out trawling 5 12.

• Knows how to steer and read a compass; Ye Yaohua urges Ye Yaodong to learn these skills from him 12.
• Arranges for his elder sons to alternate trips because trawling needs only two people, allowing them to rest 12.
• Recognizes that fishing income depends on weather and cannot be guaranteed 15.
• Has taught his elder sons familiar coastal fishing grounds, which they continue to use after establishing their own fishing routines 373.
• Handles longline baiting, trawling, gill nets, fishing pots, shrimp pots, landing nets, and handlines during trips with Ye Yaodong 188 365 407 542 686 700.
• Casts a hand net accurately and spreads it fully. His experienced cast into a dense concentration of fish impresses Ye Yaodong during a shark encounter 736.
• Suggests sinking branch bundles to attract spawning squid 318.
• Bleeds fish and handles dangerous catches, including removing a ray’s tail before disentangling it from a net. He warns Ye Yaodong to kill a venomous stonefish before handling or discarding it 188 402 541 643.
• Uses hooked bamboo poles to lift large fish and jellyfish aboard, judging the pole more effective than a hand net for the largest jellyfish 402 497.

Boat maintenance and safety

Father Ye finances the gradual restoration of the inherited boat and checks its condition before use 5 16.

• Hired an experienced boatbuilder to inspect it before its first return to the water 16.
• States that he would not gamble with either his own safety or his sons’ 16.
• Tests the six-meter boat obtained through the land exchange and has a village boatbuilder inspect it 76.
• Advises Ye Yaodong to choose a trustworthy deckhand, emphasizing that valuable catches can create dangers from human greed as well as from the sea 184.
• Recognizes local threats from predatory fishing crews and cautions that larger boats may steal nets, engines, or entire smaller boats 295 679.
• Guards boats and supplies when the family works away from home and helps arrange towing when a companion boat breaks down 491 511.
• Advises Ye Yaodong to inspect the progress of his newly commissioned boat regularly once construction begins 634.

Handicrafts and practical work

• Bamboo work: Shaves bamboo and weaves flat baskets. He formerly handed his woven goods to the Production Team, later sometimes sold them at market, and eventually made them for family use 184 700.
• Fence construction: Helps Ye Yaodong lash a fence together, supplying experience his son lacks 136.
• Fishing-rod making: Offers to make a replacement bamboo rod after breaking Ye Yaodong’s rod during the amberjack encounter 188.

Language and local knowledge

Father Ye speaks the local dialect but cannot speak Mandarin. Some of Ye Yaodong’s expressions and newer terminology consequently leave him puzzled 363 364.

His knowledge includes local maritime legends, older fishing accounts, and village connections. He recalls elders describing floating stunned fish, recognizes the oarfish’s traditional reputation, and can identify acquaintances and extended family connections unfamiliar to his son 208 241 452.

Equipment / Items

• Inherited fishing boat — An old vessel a little over ten meters long, suitable for coastal fishing but unable to venture far offshore. Father Ye regards it as his property, not communal household property 3 42.
• Water pipe — A prized possession he frequently smokes at home, filling its bowl with tobacco and lighting it with matches. He continues using it during later family discussions and fishing trips 2 5 49 634 686.
• Six-meter wooden boat — Received by the family as part of the exchange for their original building plot. Father Ye tested and inspected it before Ye Yaodong asked to buy it for independent fishing 76.
• Ye Yaodong’s seventeen-meter fishing boat — His son’s vessel, whose purchase and launch he celebrates and aboard which he subsequently helps fish 187 188.
• Sun-protection hat — Uses a hat with attached face-covering cloth during the boat seizure, although he finds the covering uncomfortable 707.
• Coir raincoat — Wears it when going outside to investigate fish blown against the house during a typhoon 442.

Relationships

• Mother Ye / Chen Lixiang — Wife and partner in household decisions. They jointly plan the new houses and the separation of their sons’ households 6 7 14. Their later interactions combine habitual bickering with understated affection: he becomes embarrassed when Ye Yaodong teases him about buying a silk scarf for her, and the couple pose together beside a bicycle for a family photograph. He also absorbs her complaints while defending the family’s decision to feed Ye Yaodong nourishing food 508 614 634.
• Ye Grandma — Mother, who lives with his family. He helps plant her small crop plot and obeys her intervention when she protects Ye Yaodong 4 24. He later encourages her to accept clothes Ye Yaodong buys for her and supports her wish to slaughter a chicken for her hardworking grandson 211 634.
• Ye Eldest Uncle and Ye Second Uncle — Elder brothers. Their attempts to claim fishing proceeds, borrow money, and rent his boat strain their relationship 1 2 15.
• Ye Yaopeng — Eldest son, fishing partner, and helper with construction arrangements 14 16 33. Continues fishing in waters Father Ye introduced to him, while Father Ye increasingly works alongside Ye Yaodong 373.
• Ye Yaohua — Second son, who alternates fishing trips with Ye Yaopeng and reports Ye Yaodong’s building-site work to their father 12 42. Like Ye Yaopeng, continues using fishing grounds learned from Father Ye 373.
• Ye Yaodong — Third son. Their relationship combines harsh discipline, concern over his ability to support his family, and growing recognition of his work 4 6 42 49. They become regular fishing partners and increasingly solve problems together. Father Ye eventually defends his son’s efforts, secretly favors him with donated shrimp pots, and defers more often to his judgment, while continuing to worry about his diving and safety 543 634 679 820 827.
• Ye Huimei — Daughter, initially unmarried and sharing a room with her parents before the household division 6. Later family discussions identify her and A-Guang as a couple who were inadvertently left out of the family photography arrangements 614.
• Lin Xiuqing — Third daughter-in-law. She supports Ye Yaodong’s offer to live with and care for his parents 13. Father Ye later reminds his son that he is fortunate to have a capable wife who manages things for him 542 643.
• Ye Second Sister-in-Law — Second daughter-in-law. Father Ye rejects her claim that Ye Yaodong’s different work unfairly burdens the elder brothers 42 43. He later rebukes her and Ye Eldest Sister-in-Law over money handed away without consulting their husbands 275.
• Ye Eldest Sister-in-Law — Eldest daughter-in-law. Father Ye intervenes when he encounters public family arguing and criticizes her and Ye Second Sister-in-Law for their careless handling of money 275 471.
• Ye Yaosheng / A-Sheng — Nephew who joins Ye Yaodong’s fishing crew. Father Ye supports paying him the standard wage and works alongside him hauling and sorting nets 452 546 643.
• Father Pei / Pei Guoyuan — In-law and fellow fisherman. Father Ye consults him when arranging the jellyfish expedition’s change of base; Father Pei also alerts him when a companion boat falls behind after breaking down 198 501 511.
• Uncle Lin / Lin Jingye — Fellow local fisherman whom Father Ye greets at sea. They later encounter him catching mullet alongside sea pigs and join the fishing 198 599.
• Lin Laoliu — Fisherman from West Mountain Village who previously worked with Father Ye aboard a large boat 145.
• Captain Chen and accompanying soldiers — Accompany the family’s fishing near the shipwreck. Father Ye is delighted by their willingness to help without accepting payment and joins them in handline fishing 400 407 410.

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