Celebration

Once Zhang Xiuzhen had finished her work, she went inside and poured Wei Donglai a glass of water.

As Wei Donglai took the glass, he saw Zhang Xiuzhen bring over a small stool and sit beside the two of them to help clean the fish.

After a while, Wei Donglai heard Zhang Xiuzhen ask a question.

"A Lai, A Feng came home and told me quite a bit about what you said to him last time. Do you really think he'll do all right in Guangzhou?"

When a son traveled a thousand miles, his mother worried. That was true of every mother.

Seeing that Zhang Xiuzhen was uneasy, Wei Donglai smiled. "Aunt Zhang, reading ten thousand books is no substitute for traveling ten thousand miles. We're not children anymore. You can't shelter us for the rest of our lives. Don't we still have to make our own way?"

"But my A Feng has been silly since he was little, and he's never traveled far from home. I'm still a little worried."

Li Changfeng seemed to take offense at being called silly, and his face fell.

"Mom, how am I silly?"

Zhang Xiuzhen looked at him with disdain. "How are you silly? That question was pretty silly."

Wei Donglai nearly laughed out loud. There wasn't a thing wrong with what she'd said.

"Aunt Zhang, maybe silly people have silly luck. You don't need to worry too much about A Feng going to Guangzhou this time. His sister and brother-in-law are both there, aren't they?"

"Guangzhou has been developing well these past couple of years. It'll be good for him to go out and see the world. He can't stay cooped up in this little fishing village forever, can he?"

No sooner had Wei Donglai finished than Li Changfeng grew agitated.

"A Lai, what do you mean, silly people have silly luck? You think I'm silly too, don't you? I'm ending our friendship."

"What are you shouting for? Showing off how loud your voice is?"

Zhang Xiuzhen slapped A Feng's raised head down.

After thinking it over for a moment, Zhang Xiuzhen found herself agreeing with Wei Donglai.

"You're right, A Lai. A Feng really hasn't seen much of the world. I'm not asking him to make a lot of money when he goes out. It'll be enough if he can follow his brother-in-law, broaden his horizons, and learn a thing or two."

Hearing that, Wei Donglai knew Zhang Xiuzhen had taken his words to heart.

Beside them, Li Changfeng muttered under his breath, unconvinced, "Why don't you go out and broaden your horizons?"

Wei Donglai really couldn't answer that. Could he say he'd already seen enough?

Obviously, that wouldn't be convincing.

Zhang Xiuzhen also looked at Wei Donglai, eager to hear what he thought.

"I'll definitely go out and have a look someday, but more than that, I want to stay by my parents' side and take better care of them. I guess everyone has their own ambitions."

When Li Changfeng heard that, his eyes spun quickly. He wheedled at Zhang Xiuzhen, "Mom, I want to stay by your side too."

"Get out of here as soon as you can. I don't need you around. I've been sick of looking at you for ages."

Li Changfeng had still been dreaming of a scene of motherly love and filial devotion, but that single sentence dragged him straight back to reality. His chest felt as though ten thousand arrows had pierced his heart, the pain sizzling through him.

Wei Donglai couldn't help laughing aloud. It seemed Aunt Zhang was every bit a match for his own mother.

Amid their bickering, the three of them soon finished cleaning the basin of fish.

Zhang Xiuzhen didn't trouble them with the rest of the cleanup, and Li Changfeng's spirits, battered all day, were finally set free.

"A Feng, come on. Let's go look at the boat first."

Seeing that it was nearly five, Wei Donglai went along with Li Changfeng's wishes and headed to the dock with him. Once they'd seen the boat, they could pick up his two older brothers when they returned to port.

Li Changfeng got his wish and saw the new boat. Its ochre-red hull looked as though it had been draped in a layer of red light by the setting sun, making it even prettier.

"A Lai, this boat is really nice."

Wei Donglai was surprised. "You can tell that too?"

"No, I can feel it. It doesn't scratch my hands at all."

Wei Donglai laughed. He thought Aunt Zhang had been right after all. He was a little silly.

Once they'd looked and felt their fill, the two returned to the dock.

While his two older brothers were still out at sea, Wei Donglai went to the fishing tackle shop and ordered some equipment.

Hand nets, landing nets, fish baskets, crab traps, ground traps, and about five hundred meters of longline fishing gear.

He also bought a plastic fish tank separately, mainly for valuable fish. If he caught any, they'd at least have somewhere to stay alive a little longer.

After arranging to pick everything up the next morning, Wei Donglai and Li Changfeng sat on the dock, chatting as they waited for his family's boat.

"A Lai, before I leave, let's get A Liang and meet up again."

"No problem. Just let me know once you've settled on a time."

"I'll be lonely going to Guangzhou alone without you guys."

"No, you won't. By then, the riot of blossoms will be dazzling your eyes, and you might forget all about us."

"Am I that kind of person?"

"Aren't pretty girls your favorite?"

"I guess they are, huh? Hehe!"

As they talked, both of them gradually fell quiet. The subject of parting was never a welcome one.

Wei Donglai enjoyed his life now because he had once stepped outside, but he couldn't give A Feng the same advice. They hadn't been out into the world yet, and they shouldn't be locked up in this little fishing village either.

Seeing his family's fishing boat return to port, Wei Donglai patted A Feng.

The two got up and went to meet it where it was docking.

As they walked, Wei Donglai spotted his father, Wei Guoqing, who also noticed them.

"What are you two doing here?"

"A Feng wanted to come see the new boat, and since it was almost time anyway, I stayed to wait for my brothers to come back."

"Dad, why don't you go over to Uncle Guowang's and let him know? A Feng and I can help here."

Wei Guoqing nodded. "All right, I'll go see Guowang."

The fishing boat's catch was decent that day. Knowing Wei Donglai had brought the new boat back, his two older brothers had set aside some good things to cook that evening.

They also took a look at the new boat moored beside theirs and thought its quality really was good.

After sorting out the catch aboard the boat, they carried it straight over to Li Laosan.

It wasn't much money. After fuel costs, the two of them would each get seven or eight yuan.

Back home, Wei Donglai carried what his brothers had set aside into the kitchen.

There was a tiger eel and a red sea bream, both things they usually couldn't bear to eat.

With Wei Donglai joining in, the generous dishes were soon brought to the table one after another.

Everyone first congratulated Wei Donglai on getting his new boat.

Then Li Yue'e gave Wei Donglai some instructions.

"Get up a little earlier tomorrow morning. If you're going out to sea, say a prayer beforehand and ask Mazu to bless you with a smooth voyage."

"Mom, it's just a little wooden boat. There's no need to go to all that trouble, is there?"

"What do you mean, trouble? What's wrong with a small boat? As long as you're going out to sea, you must pray sincerely."

Wei Guoqing chimed in too. "Laosan, listen to your mother. For people who go out to sea, paying respects to Mazu is a good thing."

Since they both said so, Wei Donglai could only agree.

During the meal, Wei Guoqing also asked Wei Donglai how preparations for the fishing gear on his boat were going. When he learned Wei Donglai had already ordered it at the dock, he stopped worrying about it.

With Li Guowang and Li Changfeng joining them that evening, the atmosphere around the drinking table was especially lively.

As expected, they all drank too much. For once, his mother, Li Yue'e, didn't say much. She only reminded Wei Donglai of something.

"I've granted your wish to go out to sea now, so don't forget the promise you made me."

Wei Donglai knew his mother was talking about a daughter-in-law. He could only smile guiltily and agree.