Recaps

Ye Yaodong returned from the jellyfish trip with money and salvaged goods, faced an anonymous smuggling accusation, and settled back into family life. As colder weather reduced fishing prospects, he and Father Ye used dolphins to find a huge catch and decided to prepare for gill-net fishing.

• Ye Yaodong and his companions escaped the pursuers, sent their earnings home, fished for several more days, and set sail for home with gifts and recovered cargo.
• Ye Yaodong returned to a joyful family welcome, shared his earnings with Lin Xiuqing, and helped stop relatives from grabbing the salvaged goods before selling most of them in the village.
• Ye Yaodong visited Lin Xiuqing’s family, celebrated Mid-Autumn with his own family, and discussed buying another boat before Mother Ye reported that someone had accused him of smuggling.
• Secretary Chen gave Ye Yaodong an intercepted denunciation letter, and Ye Yaodong and Lin Jishang discovered that their separate letters had been mixed up and intercepted.
• Ye Yaodong learned that Xu Laifu had been found with a hand cut off, but kept his distance from Lin Jishang as he sold cassette tapes and resumed fishing after weeks of rain.
• Ye Yaodong and Father Ye watched dolphins kill a shark, then hauled in an unusually large catch of mackerel and other fish stunned by the dolphins.
• Ye Yaodong and Father Ye followed dolphins herding fish, used sticks to attract them, and brought in a heavy netful before other boats crowded the fishing grounds.
• Ye Yaodong told villagers how the sticks had attracted the dolphins, then agreed with Father Ye to order gill nets as the weather cooled and brought yellowtail scad home for drying.

Ye Yaodong took Lin Xiuqing shellfish gathering, then teamed up with Father Ye to work gill nets that brought in a huge toadfish catch and several otters. With fishing halted by the weather, he dried the toadfish and tested selling them at the market, where the first batches sold well.

• Rat renewed his friendship with Ye Yaodong and asked about captaining A-Guang’s boat, but A-Guang eventually arranged for Rat to use it only through February.
• Ye Yaodong took Lin Xiuqing to an island, where they gathered shellfish, caught fish from reef pools, and collected bamboo razor clams and wild kelp.
• Ye Yaodong and Father Ye set fifty gill nets, caught large numbers of toadfish, and released an otter pup before Rat’s wife tried to catch it and was pulled into the water by the otters.
• Ye Yaodong and Father Ye hauled and reset their nets with Ye Yaosheng’s help, bringing in over twelve hundred jin of toadfish and several other catches, including three otters.
• Ye Yaodong decided to dry the toadfish instead of selling them fresh, hired family members and helpers, and sold the otters to A-Cai.
• Mother Ye caught Wang Laowu and Wang Jianqiang taking sand, and Ye Yaodong confronted them before the family unloaded it and settled the dispute.
• Ye Yaodong’s family cleaned and dried the toadfish while strong north winds kept them from fishing, and the dried catch weighed 1,056 jin and six liang.
• Ye Yaodong and Father Ye sold dried fish at the market before dawn, gave Brother Wu fish in thanks for lending his scale, and discussed reselling villagers’ dried fish despite their lack of time and storage.

Ye Yaodong secured repeated dried-fish orders from the military and organized purchases from relatives and neighbors to meet them. As the family built up its catch, he and Father Ye visited a shipyard to explore buying a larger boat, leaving the decision for later.

• Ye Yaodong and Father Ye sold their dried fish at the station, met Captain Chen and Group Leader Zhao, and arranged a military delivery.
• Ye Yaodong delivered 300 jin of dried fish to the base, then bought fish from his brothers and neighbors when Zhao Weimin ordered 1,000 jin for the next day.
• Ye Yaodong gathered dried fish from relatives and villagers, and Group Leader Zhao bought the full load and ordered 1,000 jin every five days until the New Year.
• Ye Yaodong asked village families to save their catch for him, bought fish at the pier, and reassured A-Cai that he would keep selling him fresh catch.
• Ye Yaodong’s family brought in heavy catches while Lin Xiuqing turned away villagers eager to sell dried fish, and Ye Yaodong began discussing a larger fishing boat with Father Ye.
• Ye Yaodong persuaded Father Ye to visit a shipyard, where Factory Director Wu explained that boat deliveries were booked about a year and a half ahead and showed them boats under construction.
• Ye Yaodong decided to consider the cost of a larger boat with A Qing after paying off the shop, then fell beside a ditch while riding his bicycle home.

Ye Yaodong ordered a 24-meter fishing boat with a marine radio, settled a dispute over A-Guang’s partnership, and secured two shops in the city market. After returning to fishing, he and Father Ye witnessed a huge sea creature, and the Zhou brothers later hauled a similar creature ashore as buyers considered whether to purchase it.

• Ye Yaodong persuaded Lin Xiuqing to approve buying a larger boat, then helped A-Guang resolve Rat’s dispute over their fishing proceeds.
• Ye Yaodong negotiated with Factory Director Wu for a 24-meter boat, fishing equipment, two engines, and a marine radio, then signed the contract and paid the deposit.
• Ye Yaodong continued buying and storing villagers’ dried fish, and he drew two shop locations in the New Market while keeping his second purchase quiet from some relatives.
• Ye Yaodong spent time with his family and made hoop-rolling toys for Ye Chenghu and Ye Chengyang before fishing with Father Ye.
• Ye Yaodong and Father Ye hauled two sea pigs in their trawl net, then saw a huge gray-black creature leap from the sea near Uncle Lin’s boat.
• The Zhou brothers brought a roughly thousand-jin sea creature ashore, and A-Cai contacted potential buyers while the Zhou brothers watched it.
• Ye Yaodong collected his fishing proceeds and headed back to the pier with his dogs, where A-Guang asked him about the sea monster.