Chapter Summaries

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.

Ye Yaodong and his crew used a cabin light to attract a school of needlefish, bringing several hundred jin aboard before continuing their trawling. After needlefish appeared in the morning haul too, Ye Yaodong decided to postpone diving for the crates another day.

• Ye Yaodong told Father Ye that a light at the edge of his boat had drawn needlefish aboard, and Father Ye moved his own light to try the same method.
• As the school passed, Father Ye's boat caught only a few fish, while Ye Yaodong and Eldest Maternal Cousin waited until it was safe to move away.
• Father Ye joined Ye Yaodong's boat, and Ye Yaodong and Eldest Maternal Cousin sorted and stacked several hundred jin of needlefish before setting the net.
• At dawn, Ye Yaodong found two needlefish in his trawl, while Father Ye caught four, so Ye Yaodong decided not to let Dongzi dive for the crates that day.

Ye Yaodong waited through two rainy days to retrieve the chest on the seabed, while A-Guang brought his family a basket of cherries. When the weather forecast promised clear skies, Ye Yaodong and Father Ye prepared to go out to sea and haul up the chest.

• Ye Yaodong watched the rain continue and reassured himself that the chest would be worth the wait.
• A-Guang brought over cherries from trees he had planted for Huimei, and Ye Yaodong shared them with the children watching television.
• Ye Yaodong planted a cherry pit that Ye Xiaoxi had given him, adding wood ash to the soil.
• After two days of rain, Ye Yaodong saw the sky clear and heard the forecast predict better weather for the next day.
• Ye Yaodong and Father Ye agreed to go out to sea, and Ye Yaodong prepared the gear and reminded his father to bring a longer rope.

Ye Yaodong returned to the submerged reef to locate the hidden crates and tie them up for recovery. He found several crates, secured two of them, and surfaced to have Father Ye haul them aboard.

• Ye Yaodong brought extra rope to Father Ye's boat and descended at the reef, avoiding the fish and catching two small green lobsters along the way.
• Ye Yaodong found the concealed crevice by looking down from above and squeezed inside to reach the crates.
• Ye Yaodong uncovered the crates and discovered that one was light while another was heavy.
• Ye Yaodong tied ropes around two crates and saw that seven or eight more lay beneath them.
• Ye Yaodong began climbing back up so he could tell Father Ye to haul the secured crates aboard with the machinery.

Ye Yaodong and Father Ye hauled two chests from a reef, convinced they had found pirate treasure hidden near the island. They opened the heavy chest first, but the chapter ended before they saw what was inside.

• Father Ye anxiously waited for Ye Yaodong to surface, and Ye Yaodong returned with two chests tied to ropes.
• Ye Yaodong told Father Ye he had found the neatly stacked chests in a reef gap and had caught two small green lobsters along the way.
• Ye Yaodong and Father Ye guessed that pirates had hidden the chests underwater near the island.
• Father Ye and Ye Yaodong hauled up the chests, finding that one was unexpectedly light and rattled with fragments while the other was very heavy.
• Father Ye hacked off the heavy chest's corroded lock, and Ye Yaodong threw it open.