Recaps

Wei Donglai sold his catch and continued saving toward buying a boat, then visited his mother and found Aunt Xu thanking him for saving her grandchild. After accepting Aunt Xu’s gifts, he left his mother’s home amid her renewed urging that he find a wife.

• Wei Donglai sold most of his catch for 11 yuan and 5 mao, bringing his savings to a little over sixty yuan as he planned to buy a small wooden boat.
• Wei Donglai cooked breakfast, dried the salted redfish, and set his fish traps near a reef using crushed oysters and mud snails as bait.
• Wei Donglai brought chestnuts to his mother’s home and found Aunt Xu there with gifts to thank him for helping save a child.
• Aunt Xu told Wei Donglai that Xu Qingqing had accepted one hundred yuan in compensation and insisted he take her gifts, threatening to kneel until he agreed.
• Li Yue'e urged Wei Donglai to find a wife, and he took some meat from the gifts before leaving.

Wei Donglai, Li Changfeng, and He Dongliang visited Li Guowang to learn how to catch mud dragons. Li Guowang agreed to take them to the mangroves the next morning and revealed that He Yougui had been paying him less than the current market price.

• Wei Donglai scolded Li Changfeng and He Dongliang for arriving late after their night of drinking, then fed them lunch.
• Li Changfeng said his second uncle loved liquor, so Wei Donglai bought liquor, cigarettes, and brown sugar to bring to Li Guowang.
• Li Guowang agreed to show the three how to catch mud dragons the next morning and told them to bring mud sleds.
• Li Guowang learned that restaurants were paying 4.50 yuan for mud dragons, more than the 3.70 yuan He Yougui had paid him, and decided to sell his catch directly in town.
• Li Guowang forged two more mud dragon forks and explained that he used shredded tobacco and chili peppers to drive mud dragons from their holes.

Wei Donglai shared chicken and a hearty meal with Xu Qingqing and her siblings after discovering how little food they had, then set out with Li Changfeng and Li Guowang the next morning to harvest mud-eels. The three gathered at Li Guowang’s house, ready to head onto the tidal flats.

• Wei Donglai checked his fish traps, caught three dogfish, and sold them at the dock.
• Xu Qingqing brought Wei Donglai chicken soup, but he saw that she and her siblings had little food and brought the meal back to share with them.
• Wei Donglai divided the chicken among Momo, Yiming, and Xu Qingqing and urged the children to eat his cooking.
• Xu Qingqing thanked Wei Donglai as he left, and he hurried away after noticing her beautiful smile.
• Wei Donglai set his traps the next morning, fetched a mud horse, and joined Li Changfeng and Li Guowang at Li Guowang’s house before heading to the tidal flats.

Li Changfeng, He Dongliang, and Wei Donglai raced their mud sleds across the tidal flats, but Wei Donglai held back before speeding past them to win. Li Guowang then taught them how to find and draw mud eels from their burrows, while he set gill-net traps among the mangroves.

• Li Guowang brought the group onto the tidal flats with mud-eel tools and old gill nets for catching crabs.
• Li Changfeng and He Dongliang started the sled race early, but Wei Donglai conserved his strength and overtook them near the finish.
• Wei Donglai won the race and reminded Li Changfeng and He Dongliang to pay their wager of two packs of cigarettes.
• Li Guowang showed the three men how to identify mud-eel burrows and use tobacco mixed with chili to draw the eels out.
• The group split up to search for burrows as Li Guowang set gill-net traps around mangrove roots.

Wei Donglai learned how to catch mud eels from Li Guowang and tried the technique in the mangroves. He caught two mud eels but lost a larger one, while Li Changfeng bet four packs of cigarettes that he could beat him.

• Li Guowang showed Wei Donglai, Li Changfeng, and He Dongliang how to use tobacco and a fork to catch mud eels.
• Wei Donglai found three burrows, and Li Changfeng claimed to have found eight, prompting He Dongliang to doubt him.
• He Dongliang proposed another bet, and Li Changfeng wagered four packs of cigarettes against Wei Donglai.
• Wei Donglai found another burrow, then returned to catch mud eels from the burrows he had baited.
• Wei Donglai caught two mud eels but lost a larger one in the deep mud.

Wei Donglai caught a huge mud eel after a struggle, then joined Li Changfeng, He Dongliang, and Li Guowang as they compared their catches. Li Changfeng insisted his eel was the biggest, and Wei Donglai challenged him to reconsider after hinting that he might have caught a larger one.

• Wei Donglai wrestled a huge mud eel out of the mud and put it in his bucket.
• As the tide came in, Wei Donglai left the mangroves and met Li Changfeng and He Dongliang, who were covered in mud.
• Li Guowang showed the group his bucket of mud eels and three mud crabs, while He Dongliang revealed that he had caught two mud eels.
• Li Changfeng admitted he had caught only one mud eel but argued that it weighed nearly two jin and was the biggest.
• Wei Donglai challenged Li Changfeng to rethink his claim, and He Dongliang encouraged them to bet again.

Wei Donglai outcaught Li Changfeng and Li Guowang in mud eels, then joined them for a generous lunch at Li Guowang’s home. After lunch, Li Guowang planned to take the three young men to town, while He Dongliang said he would visit his girlfriend afterward.

• Wei Donglai revealed that he had caught seven mud eels, including one larger than Li Changfeng’s, and Li Guowang scolded Li Changfeng for insisting his own catch was better.
• Li Guowang agreed to take Wei Donglai, Li Changfeng, and He Dongliang to town after lunch and invited them to eat at his home.
• Wei Donglai gave Li Guowang the smallest mud eel to add to lunch, and the four men shared the meal and liquor.
• Li Changfeng teased Li Guowang about his wife, so Li Guowang and Zhang Xiufen each slapped him.
• He Dongliang said he would visit his girlfriend after the trip and joked that Wei Donglai and Li Changfeng might stay awake because they were both single.

Wei Donglai and his companions sold their mud eels to Manager Gong at Full of Fragrance for a high price. As they prepared to leave town, Wei Donglai caught a man who stumbled while carrying a towering load.

• Manager Gong first dismissed the group, then apologized after learning they were selling mud eels and offered to buy the catch.
• Wei Donglai and the others accepted Manager Gong's prices and received payment for their mud eels.
• He Dongliang said goodbye to the group, and Li Changfeng promised to repay Wei Donglai with eight packs of cigarettes after catching more mud eels.
• Near the tractor, Wei Donglai warned a man carrying a large stack of goods, then caught him when he tripped over a stone.

Wei Donglai found a dirty Hainan huanghuali box while helping a scrap collector, then focused on catching mud eels to save for a small wooden boat. After several profitable days, an unexpected development interrupted the trio’s plans.

• Wei Donglai took the huanghuali box from the scrap collector after helping him, then gave Li Guowang cigarettes and liquor to thank him for the tractor rides.
• Wei Donglai sold a poor fish-trap haul for 2 yuan and 3 mao and decided to concentrate on mud eels to save for a boat.
• Wei Donglai, Li Changfeng, and Li Guowang caught mud eels the next day, and Wei Donglai’s share sold for 11 yuan and 3 mao.
• Over the next three days, Wei Donglai’s mud eels earned 24 yuan and 3 mao, 33 yuan and 2 mao, and 19 yuan and 7 mao, while his fish traps brought in 5 yuan and 4 mao total.
• As the three prepared to continue catching mud eels, something unexpected happened.

Wei Donglai went mud eel hunting with Li Changfeng and Li Guowang, but discovered someone was stealing the eels from his baited holes. He caught He Jiahao taking a mud eel from another hole and kicked him from behind.

• Wei Donglai, Li Changfeng, and Li Guowang went to the mangroves, where they found many more people catching eels and mudskippers because prices had risen.
• Wei Donglai found mud eel holes and used tobacco to drive out the eels, but two later holes had already been disturbed.
• Wei Donglai examined the tracks and concluded someone had stolen the catch from his holes.
• Wei Donglai baited another hole and hid nearby to catch the thief in the act.
• He Jiahao crept to the baited hole, snared the emerging mud eel, and put it in his fish basket.
• Wei Donglai approached He Jiahao from behind and kicked him in the backside.

Wei Donglai caught He Jiahao stealing mud eels from his baited burrows, then bought mudskippers and gathered shellfish with Li Changfeng and Li Guowang. He planned to order a small boat and try fishing offshore, while Li Changfeng reconsidered following him and Wei Donglai urged him to go to Guangzhou instead.

• Wei Donglai caught He Jiahao taking mud eels from burrows he had baited, reclaimed his fish basket, and beat him until he promised not to do it again.
• After finding more burrows already raided, Wei Donglai stopped searching and bought two jin of mudskippers from an older man on the mudflat.
• Wei Donglai gathered scallops and spotted babylons while waiting for Li Changfeng and Li Guowang, whose mud eel catches were small.
• Li Changfeng asked for a share of Wei Donglai's catch and took several large scallops after learning He Jiahao might have raided his burrows too.
• Wei Donglai said he would stop catching mud eels and order a small wooden boat the next day so he could try fishing offshore.
• Li Changfeng briefly considered buying a boat and joining Wei Donglai, but lost confidence after Li Guowang warned him about the hardship; Wei Donglai told him to focus on going to Guangzhou.

Wei Donglai shared food and candy with Xu Qingqing’s family, then joined his own family for dinner after helping sell their catch. The chapter ended with Wei Hai declaring that Wei Donglai ranked first among his favorites and Grandpa second.

• Wei Donglai sold two earth dragons, bought food, and brought candy and fish to Xu Qingqing’s home for Yiming and Momo.
• Xu Qingqing explained that Yiming had recovered enough to return to school, and Wei Donglai left Momo the candy to share with him.
• Wei Donglai brought meat and roast duck to Li Yue'e’s home and said he wanted to discuss something over dinner.
• Wei Donglai met Wei Guoqing and Wei Fangchun at the dock, helped sell their catch for nearly 50 yuan, and returned home with them.
• Wei Hai begged Wei Donglai for a popsicle, then ranked him first and Wei Guoqing second among his favorites.

Wei Donglai persuaded his parents to let him pursue fishing at sea instead of taking a meatpacking plant job, arguing that his recent success and ambition made the risk worthwhile. His father agreed to help him look for a boat the next day, and his mother consented after Wei Donglai promised to bring her a daughter-in-law within a year.

• Wei Donglai told his family that catching pike conger had earned him over a hundred yuan and asked his father to help him order a small wooden boat.
• Li Yue'e objected to Wei Donglai going to sea and urged him to take the meatpacking plant job instead.
• Wei Donglai argued that he could earn more at sea, was willing to work hard, and did not want to rely on a fixed wage.
• Wei Guoqing warned Wei Donglai about the hardships and risks of going to sea, then agreed to respect his choice if Li Yue'e approved.
• Wei Donglai promised Li Yue'e he would work hard and bring her a daughter-in-law within a year, and she agreed to let him go to sea.
• Wei Guoqing arranged to take Wei Donglai to Carpenter Zhou's the next day to look at boats, and Li Yue'e allowed the family to drink with dinner.

Wei Donglai chased a suspicious figure away from Xu Qingqing’s house and realized she thought the man had come to harass her, reminding him of his own past misconduct toward her. The next morning, he accompanied Wei Guoqing to River Source Village to ask carpenter Zhou Huaimin to build him a wooden boat.

• Wei Donglai spotted a figure skulking by Xu Qingqing’s wall, chased him through an alley, and lost him.
• Wei Donglai warned Xu Qingqing to be careful, but she told him the figure had probably wanted to harass her, and he remembered that he had done something similar to her before.
• Wei Donglai met Wei Guoqing the next morning, learned his father had been scolded by his mother for drinking too much, and got smacked for snickering.
• Wei Guoqing and Wei Donglai traveled to River Source Village with liquor and candy to ask Zhou Huaimin to make a small wooden boat.
• Xu Lianyun welcomed Wei Guoqing and praised Wei Donglai’s appearance as they discussed the boat request.

Wei Guoqing and Wei Donglai visited Zhou Huaimin and bought a Borneo ironwood boat for 200 yuan. After sharing lunch and drinks with their hosts, they arranged to collect the boat the next day and headed home with Wei Guoqing tipsy.

• Xu Lianyun welcomed Wei Guoqing and Wei Donglai, invited them to stay for lunch, and went out to get food.
• Zhou Huaimin showed Wei Donglai a finished boat made of Borneo ironwood and explained that its original buyer had balked at the 200-yuan price.
• Wei Donglai and Wei Guoqing insisted on paying Zhou Huaimin 200 yuan for the boat instead of accepting his offer of 160 yuan.
• Xu Lianyun served lunch and taught Wei Donglai how to make fish sauce while Zhou Huaimin drank with Wei Guoqing.
• Wei Guoqing and Wei Donglai arranged to return the next day for the boat, then set off with Wei Guoqing stumbling from drink.

Wei Donglai and Wei Guoqing were confronted by Old Madam Liu after her jade Buddha statue broke in a collision, and she demanded an exorbitant payment. The dispute drew a crowd and ended with her son Hong Dafu arriving, whom Wei Donglai recognized as his prison mate from a previous life.

• Wei Guoqing accidentally collided with Old Madam Liu, breaking her jade Buddha statue, and Wei Donglai offered to compensate her.
• Old Madam Liu demanded 100 yuan, while Wei Donglai argued that the ordinary marble statue was not worth that amount.
• Villagers gathered, and Old Madam Liu threatened Wei Donglai and demanded that he pay before leaving the village.
• Old Madam Liu's son Hong Dafu arrived with three young men, and Wei Donglai recognized him from prison in his previous life.

Wei Donglai defended Wei Guoqing against Hong Dafu and his men, then settled the dispute by paying five yuan for the broken items and taking the Guanyin statue. He and Wei Guoqing headed home, joking about the payment as the old woman remained furious.

• Wei Donglai challenged Hong Dafu to fight after Hong asked whether he had bullied his mother.
• Wei Donglai defeated Hong Dafu's three lackeys, and Hong backed down.
• Wei Donglai declared both sides at fault and paid Hong Dafu five yuan for the broken items.
• Wei Donglai took the Guanyin statue and left with Wei Guoqing while the old woman cursed and Hong slipped away with the money.
• Wei Guoqing asked why Wei Donglai had paid five yuan, and the two joked as they hurried home.

Wei Donglai returned home with a battered Buddha statue and asked Li Yue'e for money to buy a boat and fishing gear. After Wei Hai accidentally knocked the statue from his hands, Wei Donglai discovered a purple jadeite pendant hidden inside it, leaving his family amazed by the find.

• Wei Guoqing and Wei Donglai returned home, and Wei Guoqing appeased Li Yue'e with fish sauce after she asked whether he had been drinking.
• Wei Donglai explained the statue incident and asked Li Yue'e for about fifty yuan to cover the boat and fishing equipment he planned to buy.
• Wei Donglai prepared to leave with the statue, but Wei Hai ran into him and knocked it to the ground, prompting Li Yue'e to scold Wei Donglai.
• Wei Donglai picked up the shattered statue, found it was hollow, and pulled out a silk-wrapped object.
• Wei Donglai unfolded the silk to reveal a purple jadeite Buddha pendant, which Li Yue'e and his sisters-in-law examined and asked about.

Wei Donglai explained that the jadeite Guanyin was worth at least ten thousand yuan, alarming his family, who hid it and agreed to keep it secret. He then visited Li Guowang to arrange their plans to go out to sea, and later accepted Xu Qingqing’s invitation to dinner.

• Wei Donglai told Li Yue'e, Chen Fengying, and Xue Li that the Buddha pendant was rare, high-grade jadeite worth more than ten thousand yuan.
• Li Yue'e hid the pendant and made everyone promise not to tell anyone how they had found it, while Wei Guoqing declined to take responsibility for it.
• Wei Donglai visited Li Guowang, learned he had started making mudskipper traps, and arranged to meet him the next day after confirming they had a boat.
• Wei Donglai returned home, fell asleep, and woke to find Xu Qingqing inviting him over for dinner.
• Wei Donglai brought down his cured red fish, but Xu Qingqing told him to save it because she had already prepared plenty of dishes.

Xu Qingqing struggled with feeling unable to repay Wei Donglai for his help, and he reassured her by giving her work to do once he began fishing. The next morning, Wei Donglai went with his father and Li Guowang to collect his boat, where Zhou Caihong tried to stop them from taking it.

• Xu Qingqing offered Wei Donglai money, but he refused because she needed to save it for her younger siblings and emergencies.
• Wei Donglai realized Xu Qingqing felt burdened by his help and promised to rely on her to dry unsold fish and mend damaged nets.
• Xu Qingqing agreed to help Wei Donglai and regained her good spirits as he played with Momo and Yiming before leaving.
• Wei Donglai, Wei Guoqing, and Li Guowang traveled by tractor to Zhou Huaimin's home to tow the boat.
• Zhou Caihong claimed the boat belonged to her family and tried to prevent Wei Donglai from taking it, while Xu Lianyun defended the sale.

Zhou Caihong and her family refused to pay Zhou Huaimin the agreed price for a boat and tried to take it by force. Wei Donglai drove them out with a broom, and Zhou Huaimin and Zhou Caihong declared they were cutting ties.

• Zhou Caihong demanded a discount on the boat and refused to pay the remaining twenty yuan, while Zhou Huaimin reminded her she still owed him thirty yuan for furniture.
• Zhou Huaimin tried to take Wei Donglai to move the boat, but Zhou Caihong's muscular companion blocked them and shoved Zhou Huaimin.
• Wei Donglai pinned the man, then used a bamboo broom to beat back Zhou Caihong, Yaowu, and the man until he drove all three out of the courtyard.
• Zhou Caihong threatened to cut ties with Zhou Huaimin, and he happily accepted and said he wanted nothing more to do with her.
• Wei Donglai scared the man into fleeing, and after the family left, he returned to the courtyard.

Wei Donglai brought his newly purchased boat back to the village and had it launched, then invited Li Guowang and Li Changfeng to celebrate. He left the boat ready for a possible fishing trip the next day.

• Xu Lianyun blamed Zhou Huaimin for the trouble caused by Zhou Caihong's family, but Wei Guoqing persuaded her not to formalize the severing of ties.
• Wei Donglai paid Xu Lianyun the full two hundred yuan, and he and Wei Guoqing hauled the boat home on Li Guowang's tractor.
• Wei Donglai had workers lower the boat into the sea at the pier, paid Li Guowang, and invited him to dinner.
• Wei Donglai bought food for the celebration and invited Li Changfeng, who was cleaning fish for his sister before her trip to Guangzhou.
• Wei Donglai and Li Changfeng continued cleaning fish after Zhang Xiuzhen offered to take over.

Wei Donglai celebrated getting his new boat with his family and friends, while encouraging Li Changfeng to go to Guangzhou and see more of the world. The evening ended with a lively meal, and Wei Donglai agreed to remember his promise to his mother about finding a wife.

• Zhang Xiuzhen worried about Li Changfeng going to Guangzhou, and Wei Donglai encouraged her to let him travel and gain experience.
• Wei Donglai and Li Changfeng admired the new boat, and Wei Donglai ordered fishing equipment for it at the dock.
• Wei Donglai and Li Changfeng waited for Wei Donglai's brothers to return, then helped bring their catch home.
• Wei Donglai's family celebrated his new boat over dinner, and Li Yue'e reminded him to keep his promise about finding a daughter-in-law.

Wei Donglai set out on his first fishing trip in this life after Xu Qingqing gave him a cast net and his family performed a blessing for safe sailing. He set traps and a longline, then caught bait fish and a sizable sea bass with the cast net.

• Xu Qingqing gave Wei Donglai a cast net she had finished weaving, and he thanked her while urging her not to stay up late.
• Wei Donglai ate breakfast, collected his fishing gear, and joined his family at the dock, where Li Yue'e prayed for Mazu's protection before he launched his boat.
• Wei Donglai rowed out alone, practiced casting Xu Qingqing's net, and caught small fish for bait.
• Wei Donglai baited four traps and set a five-hundred-meter longline.
• Wei Donglai cast his net again and hauled in scad, tonguefish, sand whiting, and a sea bass weighing about six or seven jin.

Wei Donglai caught more than 260 jin of silver pomfret from a passing shoal and hurried back to the pier to sell them. Li Laosan eagerly helped unload and sort the fish, while Wei Donglai prepared to eat before going back out to sea.

• Wei Donglai caught a money grouper and a blue-spotted Spanish mackerel, then fell asleep on his boat after several unremarkable casts.
• Wei Donglai spotted a shoal of silver pomfret and caught two hauls of about a hundred jin each before the shoal began to pass.
• Wei Donglai caught smaller amounts as the shoal moved away, bringing his total to more than 260 jin of silver pomfret.
• Wei Donglai rushed back to the pier and told Li Laosan about his catch.
• Li Laosan hurried to help unload the fish, and Wei Donglai asked him to sort them while he went to eat.