Lin Xiuqing

Biodata

Background / History

Lin Xiuqing comes from a town neighboring Ye Yaodong’s village and is the same age as him. When he was twenty, his parents arranged an introduction outside the nearby villages, where his reputation for idleness was already well known. Attracted by his handsome appearance, she agreed to marry him after their first meeting 2.

Her initial happiness faded after she discovered that he avoided work and spent his days eating, socializing, and roaming outside. She remained married to him amid the strong stigma surrounding divorce. After joining the Ye household, she learned to make fishing nets so she could save money despite her husband’s lack of earnings 2 7.

In Ye Yaodong’s previous life, she supported him for decades, and he remembered her chiefly as an exhausted, overworked middle-aged woman. She lost their unborn daughter after falling while picking tea; he cannot remember the year of the accident. Her later death from bowel cancer became a major source of his remorse. After returning to the past, he wants to prevent another dangerous pregnancy and improve her diet, though his belief that her illness was connected to her diet is not established as a medical fact 2 16 49.

Separate Household and Improving Marriage

As Ye Yaodong begins working consistently, Lin Xiuqing increasingly supports him in front of others. When her father visits, she explains that he now alternates fishing trips with his brothers and helps build the houses whenever he is not at sea. Their growing closeness becomes visible to the family as they work together, chat, and laugh 96 98.

The extended household divides, and the couple subsequently moves into their own home. During their Mid-Autumn visit to her parents, Ye Yaodong announces that they will move on the twentieth day of the lunar month and invites Father Lin to the housewarming feast. The family distributes sugar cake to friends and relatives when they move 122 186.

Her parents live in Anhe Township, Jinjia Town, approximately a half-hour bus ride and another half-hour walk from the Ye family’s village. The Lin household grows fruit and tea, and her brothers also catch freshwater fish and shrimp. Visits to her natal family become occasions for festival gifts, shared work, and renewed family ties rather than the infrequent visits of Ye Yaodong’s earlier behavior 122 124 126 129 272 513 611.

Pregnancy and Ye Xiaoxi’s Birth

During the early Mid-Autumn celebration at her parents’ home, Lin Xiuqing becomes nauseous while eating fish and realizes that her period may be late. She tells Ye Yaodong that night that she thinks she is pregnant. Both worry about the consequences of another child under the birth restrictions, and they agree to discuss the matter further after returning home 130.

By the time their move approaches, her prolonged missed period has convinced her that she is pregnant. Other people looking at her abdomen makes her feel unsafe. Later, the family tries to keep the pregnancy secret until the birth, and Ye Yaodong warns their sons not to tell anyone. The couple also worries when her belly appears unusually large 139 303.

She gives birth to a daughter, Ye Xiaoxi. The nickname Xiao Jiu, or Little Nine, reflects the girl’s position as the ninth child among the cousins. Lin Xiuqing explains that Ye Yaodong chose Xiaoxi to follow the water-related naming pattern used for the other children 309.

During her postpartum confinement, she is delighted by Ye Yaodong’s unusually attentive care. He limits his fishing activity, brings back fish and shrimp for her meals, and gets up promptly when the baby cries. She contrasts her daily fish soup and improved nourishment with the circumstances after her sons’ births 309 330 343. By Ye Xiaoxi’s first birthday, Lin Xiuqing’s parents are managing the family’s city shop and return for the celebration 632 689 693.

Household Business and Village Committee Opportunity

Lin Xiuqing becomes the custodian of the household’s cash and receipts as Ye Yaodong’s fishing income grows. She supports investments in productive fishing equipment but repeatedly objects to expensive purchases made without consultation. His unilateral purchase of a three-thousand-yuan shop leads to a serious argument, after which she explicitly demands that he discuss future decisions with her before acting 115 172 194 213 465 466 540.

Secretary Chen offers her a Village Committee position and assures her that it can be held for several months if she is too busy to start. Later, Ye Yaodong urges her to give it up because childcare and household duties already overwhelm her. She values the security of the job and resents being told that their growing wealth makes its wages unnecessary. She eventually agrees to speak with Ye Huimei about taking it, while leaving open the possibility of retaining the position or discussing it with Secretary Chen if Huimei cannot do so 407 693 702.

Alongside domestic work, she participates in selling salvaged goods, receiving dried-fish orders, coordinating stock collection, paying relatives, and monitoring business profits. As the seafood enterprise expands, her concerns shift from simply saving money to managing large payments and avoiding excessive cash being tied up in inventory 513 516 522 561 563 619 652 794.

Appearance

• Short hair and a pretty face: Described when Ye Yaodong first sees her after returning to the past 2.
• Youthful appearance: Her fresh-faced younger self contrasts sharply with his memories of her later exhaustion 16.
• Visible blushing: Her face or ears redden when he waits for her before eating, stares at her, or teases her 12 16 31.
• Practical hairstyle: When Ye Yaodong suggests that she grow her hair long, she initially questions the idea because long hair would take too long to dry 130.
• Fair feet: During a beach outing, her bare feet are described as fair and tender 536.

Personality

Lin Xiuqing is hardworking and careful with money. Childcare and household chores limit her paid work, but she continues weaving nets and gathering seafood. She prefers selling valuable catches rather than eating them, recognizing that even a few yuan can represent several days of her own labor 7 11 28 49.

Years of disappointment make her skeptical of Ye Yaodong’s promises. His willingness to carry their son, share food, apologize, and work surprises her, but she does not immediately accept that he has changed. She can soften when he genuinely helps or shows affection, yet his departure with friends after agreeing to watch their child reinforces her distrust 5 7 12 17 22.

She protects both her children and her husband’s dignity. She intervenes when the children bury Ye Chengyang in sand and redirects a conversation when Ye Father publicly criticizes Ye Yaodong. Within the extended household, she avoids unnecessary conflict and keeps substantial earnings private rather than invite jealousy 5 30 42 50.

Her thrift can become self-denial. When purchasing winter-clothing materials, she provides for the rest of the family, including the Old Lady, but buys nothing for herself. Even after their finances improve, major commitments prompt her to resume low-paid net-making to contribute toward their obligations and Ye Chenghu’s school expenses 193 194 478. The outstanding balance on a thirteen-thousand-yuan boat order similarly makes her eager to earn even small additional sums 611 619.

She is cautious rather than wholly opposed to investment. She favors a boat that can generate earnings through work over handing money to Eldest Cousin without knowing what will happen to it. She also understands the distinction between helping relatives through an emergency and indefinitely subsidizing them 172 213. Later, she warns that buying more squid could leave too much of their money locked up in unsold stock 794.

As trust grows, she becomes more openly affectionate and playful. She embraces Ye Yaodong while reflecting on how much he has changed, thanks him for his hard work after a long trip, and teases him during a beach outing 271 513 536. Nevertheless, she remains easily embarrassed by public affection and his sexually suggestive remarks, and she objects when his behavior delays her work or disregards her wishes 360 465 466 522 532 647.

She values financial security and meaningful paid work even when the household becomes prosperous. Her reluctance to surrender the Village Committee position shows that she does not regard growing family wealth as sufficient reason to abandon a secure opportunity of her own 693 702.

Abilities & Skills

Fishing-Net Making

She learned net-making during the years after her marriage and uses it as home-based paid work 7.

• Produces approximately five or six gill nets per day, alongside childcare and chores 7.
• Earns a few tenths of a yuan daily—less than one yuan 7.
• Makes fewer nets than her sisters-in-law because her children and other responsibilities interrupt her work 7.
• Eventually stops making nets for a period, then resumes to help meet a large year-end payment and save for Ye Chenghu’s school fees and clothing 478.

Shore Gathering and Catch Sorting

She regularly gathers shellfish at low tide and separates catches according to their sale value 8 11 49.

• Uses a spatula blade to scrape sand for clams 8.
• Learns from Ye Yaodong to locate clams by their airholes and successfully tries the method herself 8.
• Recognizes that rising water limits gathering time and sends their younger son ashore while she continues working 11.
• Selects large sea snails, pen shells, and wild abalone for sale, leaving less valuable shellfish for household meals 49.
• Accepts keeping oysters for the family when shucking the large sack would require everyone’s help 49.
• Collects giant clams during typhoon weather and spots a stranded Dai Fish. Ye Yaodong shields her from a wave while they retrieve it 54.
• Finds a large trumpet snail and calls attention to a huge living fish suspected to be a Dussumier’s thryssa during post-typhoon gathering 62.
• Catches a spotted grouper during a later outing with Ye Yaodong and helps scrape around airholes while he demonstrates a salt-based gathering method 536 537.
• Helps clean fishing pots and sort catches by size, and calls the children over to assist with the work 436 468.

Literacy and Arithmetic

Her schooling enables her to read and check transactions with an abacus; although initially described as having completed primary school, later dialogue identifies her as a junior-high graduate 41 715.

• Independently verifies the Spanish mackerel sale: 7,628 jin for 1,601 yuan and 88 fen 42.
• Calculates slowly because she has little abacus practice and wants to avoid mistakes 41.
• Recounts both the fishing proceeds and her shellfish-sale money before putting them away 50.
• Encourages Ye Yaodong to attend the free evening literacy class while his injured hand heals 205.
• Explains unfamiliar newspaper characters to him, working so absorbedly with him that they nearly forget to prepare lunch 250.
• Offers to help him write an anonymous letter because he may recognize characters that he cannot yet write 715.

Household Management and Childcare

She handles the family’s clothing and much of the children’s daily care 12 16 21.

• Prepares clean clothes for her husband and keeps track of their storage 12 31.
• Changes, washes, feeds, and settles the boys to sleep 16 21 31.
• Patches worn clothing and uses hand-me-downs from the boys’ older cousins 25.
• Nurses Ye Xiaoxi and handles the baby’s care alongside household work and sales activities 316 360 516.
• Assists Ye Yaodong with washing and clothing when physical exhaustion leaves his arms too sore to manage comfortably 199 200.
• Organizes customary gifts and family obligations, including festival visits, wedding clothing, and parting gifts for guests 272 513 693.
• Disciplines the children for dangerous play, damaged clothing, and mishandling seafood, including the boys’ attempt to walk a lobster on a string and Ye Xiaoxi’s climb into her father’s used foot-washing basin 561 689 823.

Sewing and Knitting

She makes and repairs clothing for the household, initially borrowing other people’s sewing machines before Ye Yaodong buys one for her 68 193 194.

• Selects fabric and cotton filling, cuts cloth, and makes padded winter garments 193 194.
• Makes a thick outfit that Ye Huimei reserves for her wedding day 272.
• Makes Ye Yaodong a hat to take fishing 361.
• Knits with practiced movements, often continuing a conversation without looking down at her needles 530.
• Knits a sweater for Ye Chenghu and checks its size against his back 561.

Food Preparation and Seafood Processing

She cooks daily meals and processes a growing volume of fish for drying and sale 186 192 203 210.

• Helps her sisters-in-law clean and dry fish even after the household division 192.
• Prepares nourishing stews, including pelican meat cooked with tonic herbs and rice wine, and shares portions with the old household 203.
• Works on drying fish while also managing meals and childcare, sometimes favoring simple preparations because of the workload 210 407.
• Stays up with Ye Yaodong to protect dried seafood from rain and keeps stock under cover while the weather remains uncertain 800.
• Bundles dried squid as gifts for the Border Defense Station at Ye Yaodong’s request 800.

Financial and Business Management

She holds the household money, keeps the cash drawer locked, and monitors spending, debts, and business returns 213 619 652 794.

• Safeguards cash, sale receipts, and valuable items brought home by Ye Yaodong, including two pieces of nugget gold retained as a possible future source of money 115 295 330.
• Suggests selling surplus salvaged fabric and clothing, then helps sell the recovered goods while continuing to nurse and soothe the baby 513 516.
• Receives Zhao Weimin’s telephone order for 1,000 jin of dried fish, confirms the next-morning delivery, and waits for Ye Yaodong before deciding how to obtain enough stock 561.
• Suggests taking scales and a handcart when collecting dried fish so the available quantities can be checked without wasting time 563.
• Settles wages for her parents and sisters-in-law 693 794.
• Reports 11,230 yuan in net profit from dried-squid sales, with substantial stock still unsold, and persuades Ye Yaodong to limit further purchases to squid available at their own pier 794.

Equipment / Items

• Netting shuttles and needles — Used in the household’s fishing-net work 7.
• Spatula blade — Her tool for digging sand clams 8.
• Basin and bucket — Hold gathered shellfish and transport catches for sale 11 28.
• Abacus — Used at the buying station to verify the mackerel transaction 41 42.
• Sewing machine — Bought by Ye Yaodong without first consulting her. Although she initially protests at the expense, she is delighted to have a machine of her own and immediately tries it with fabric she has already cut 194.
• Locked cash drawer — Used to safeguard family money; she hides the key to control access 213.
• Knitting needles and wool yarn — Used to make sweaters for the family 530 561.
• Silk scarf — A gift from Ye Yaodong after his extended fishing trip 513.
• Household television — Initially another type of purchase she resists, but she later enjoys watching news broadcasts and acknowledges its appeal compared with the radio 522 806 809.

Relationships

• Ye Yaodong — Husband. His neglect leaves her guarded, but practical help and new earnings gradually restore some hope. He also disregards her objections during their intimate encounters, using her concern about waking the children to discourage resistance 2 12 17 22 50. Their affection grows as he becomes more reliable, helps care for Ye Xiaoxi, and remembers her natal family’s needs 98 182 271 309 513. Financial disagreements remain significant: he buys a sewing machine and later a shop without prior agreement, and during the shop argument he pins her down and initiates sex despite her protests. She subsequently insists that major decisions be discussed beforehand 194 465 466. They increasingly work as financial and business partners, although she resents his pressure to relinquish the Village Committee job 561 693 702 794.
• Ye Chenghu — Elder son. She disciplines him for rough play, torn trousers, and repeatedly wearing through patched clothing 23 25. She saves toward his school expenses, knits him a sweater, and continues to scold him for dirtying or damaging clothes and leading mischievous games 478 561 689.
• Ye Chengyang — Younger son. She is his principal caregiver and closely watches his safety around water and during the children’s games 11 16 30. His innocent remarks about his parents can embarrass her 430.
• Ye Xiaoxi / Xiao Jiu / Little Nine — Daughter born in the restarted timeline. Lin Xiuqing nurses and cares for her while balancing household and business duties. She enjoys Ye Yaodong’s increased involvement in parenting, but later contends with the girl’s energetic mischief, including smearing chicken droppings in her hair and climbing into used wash water 309 316 516 745 823.
• Chen Lixiang / Ye Mother — Mother-in-law. Shows her extra consideration, secretly gives her money for gifts when visiting her parents, reserves seafood for those visits, and passes her proceeds from Ye Yaodong’s catches 23 33 49. Later helps with fish processing, although Lin Xiuqing worries that her public discussion of family successes attracts jealousy 522 574 787.
• Ye Father and Ye Grandma — Her husband’s father and grandmother. She supports Ye Yaodong’s offer to live with and care for them after the household division 13. The older generation remains closely involved in daily family life. She locks away the Old Lady’s New Year gift of savings and joins discussions about protecting the elderly woman’s care as her own workload increases 523 625 702.
• Ye Eldest Sister-in-Law and Ye Second Sister-in-Law — Fellow members of the shared household. Lin Xiuqing wants a separate home and is especially cautious about the second sister-in-law’s interest in their earnings 7 42 50. She continues helping them process fish after the split and joins Ye Yaodong in warning them against committing more money to Eldest Cousin’s investment scheme 192 272.
• A-Zheng and Xiao Xiao — Her husband’s friends. She resents their habit of calling him away from his family, but later accepts his celebration with friends after he earns money 17 50.
• Her parents, Father Lin and Lin Mother — Live farther away than her sisters-in-law’s parents, making casual deliveries of fresh seafood impractical. She plans to visit with Mid-Autumn gifts 33. The couple later visits them with generous gifts and invites them to the housewarming 122. Ye Yaodong proposes employing Father Lin at the city shop; Lin Xiuqing initially worries that he will feel uncomfortable or refuse. By later chapters, both parents are managing the shop, and she remains concerned about how they are adjusting 574 632 693.
• Lin Xianghui and Lin Xiangrong — Her brothers. They welcome Ye Yaodong into the natal household’s activities and share proceeds from fish caught during his visit. Lin Xiuqing accepts only the thirty-odd yuan from separate sales, leaving another hundred yuan for the brothers to split 124 129 130.
• Lin Guangyuan — Her nephew. He visits and spends time with the Ye children. She scolds him for joining their fruit-picking mischief and later quietly compensates his mother for seafood he has gathered 309 430 794.
• Ye Huimei — Sister-in-law. Lin Xiuqing makes clothing for her wedding and raises the question of buying a dowry gift. Later, she considers Huimei as a possible replacement for her Village Committee position 205 272 693 702.
• Secretary Chen — Village official who assures her that the offered Village Committee job can remain available while she is occupied at home 407.
• Zhao Weimin — Dried-fish customer whose repeat order she receives by telephone on Ye Yaodong’s behalf 561.

Story Role / Major Arcs

By Chapter 50, more than 400 yuan has come in that day—more than Lin Xiuqing earns from an entire year of weaving nets. The shellfish she sold account for over eight yuan, while seafood gathered during the preceding two days had brought another six or seven yuan. Holding the money gives her a renewed sense that their future has promise 50.

Later developments expand this role from safeguarding isolated fishing proceeds to helping manage an increasingly substantial family enterprise. After Ye Yaodong’s extended trip, she receives the remaining cash and learns that the trip earned a little over 8,000 yuan, with instructions to make up 800 yuan for his father 513. By the squid season, she can report 11,230 yuan in net profit from dried-squid sales alone, while distinguishing that amount from other income and the substantial inventory still awaiting sale 794.

Notable Quotes

“Practice makes perfect. Besides, there’s no real trick to it. You just scrape the sand.” 8

“Dad, Mom, come live with us!” 13

“So you don’t intend to live properly until then? Stop making excuses for being lazy.” 22

“I'm not an idiot. I know you help people through emergencies, not endless poverty.” 213

“In the future, whatever comes up, whatever decision you have to make, come home and discuss it first. Don't act first and tell me afterward. It's infuriating.” 466

“I don't know how to do anything else, so I'll weave as much as I can in my spare time. At least it'll help a little. Small amounts add up.” 478

“Thank you for all your hard work.” 513

“You'd be better off earning more money for me. That would make me happier. Nothing is as practical as money.” 703