When they set out on their return journey, the sky was beginning to darken.
However, halfway through, they felt the waves starting to roll and the boat began to sway violently.
The wind on the surface of the sea picked up, and the weather at the coast was becoming increasingly unpredictable.
"Looks like the wind is picking up again."
"Yeah, luckily I didn’t let you steer. You should go stay in the cabin; it might rain heavily soon."
"Let me take over! Just give me the compass; I can steer us back."
"No, no, no! You’re not needed. I’m saving time and keeping you from getting drenched."
Ye's father firmly pushed him aside and increased the engine's power.
Ye Yaodong could only helplessly retreat to the cabin.
Dark clouds covered the sun, and the sky quickly turned dark.
Even though it was only a little past three o'clock—still far from four—it felt like night had already arrived.
A flash of lightning split the sky, illuminating the surroundings for an instant before plunging them back into darkness.
Ye's father feared a sudden downpour; the dangers of the sea were great, and natural disasters were the worst.
He focused on navigating the return route, hoping to reach the shore before the heavy rain began.
Sure enough, after another flash of lightning, a loud rumble of thunder followed, and the rain began to pour down in large, thick drops.
It hadn’t rained in over a month.
They didn’t expect such a heavy downpour upon their return.
As the rain fell on Ye’s father, he quickly became drenched from head to toe.
The downpour grew more intense, gradually blurring his vision, but he remained steadfast, controlling the direction of the boat.
In the cabin, Ye Yaodong frowned at the sight.
His father was so stubborn, unwilling to let him steer.
Fortunately, the rain was only intermittent, with the initial heavy downpour lightening up a little.
Suddenly, a cry for help pierced through the noise of the waves.
Ye Yaodong looked out from the cabin and noticed a boat, similar to their own, drifting on the dark sea.
On it, a woman was waving her arms and shouting for help.
Amidst the sounds of the machine and the whipping wind and rain, Ye Yaodong was worried he heard wrong.
He strained his ears to confirm—it was indeed a call for help.
He hurriedly stepped outside and shouted at his father, who was focused on steering, “Dad, that boat over there has someone calling for help!”
Hearing his son’s shout, Ye’s father turned to look in the direction Ye Yaodong pointed.
Indeed, he saw a woman waving her hands.
Standing beside the noisy engine, he hadn’t heard the cries.
He paused the boat for a moment, stepped over to Ye Yaodong, and after moving a bit away from the noise, finally caught the sound of her calls for help.
"What happened?"
"I don’t know! I just heard someone calling for help from the cabin before it started to rain! Should we go see what's happening?"
Ye’s father nodded without hesitation. “Alright. If they’re not from our village, they’re likely from Dongqiao Village or Xishan Village. We should go and see what’s going on. If we can lend a hand, we will. It shouldn’t take too much time.”
Back then, the people were kind and warm-hearted.
When something happened, everyone was eager to help, and even in such weather, Ye’s father didn’t just ignore the calls for help and continue on.
As they approached, they not only heard the cry for help but also the sound of the woman shrieking and sobbing.
Ye’s father realized who it was; it was Ma Lifang, the wife of Lin Yongshou, who lived by the mountain road.
They must have gone out together to fish, but why was she alone?
He maneuvered the boat closer, leaving less than a meter between them, and frowned at the crying Ma Lifang. “Why are you here alone? What happened? Where’s A Shou? Why hasn’t he come back in this thunderstorm?”
“He fell into the sea when he got tangled in the fishing net!” she sobbed, “It was just before the rain started. He said he would drag one last net and then go home… Who knew he’d get caught in the rope and fall in!”
Listening to her choked words, Ye’s father and Ye Yaodong felt a wave of fear.
Their hair stood on end; getting caught in a rope and falling in meant there was no way to swim back up! And in this stormy weather, what could they do?
In hushed tones, Ye’s father murmured, “How could he be so careless…”
Lin Yongshou was much younger than Ye’s father, just over forty.
His eldest daughter was already married, his second daughter was still young, and the two sons were even smaller.
That was why they both ventured out to sea alone.
At this moment, Ma Lifang could only cry.
She understood that falling into the sea like this, even if he could swim, he might not surface again.
Another enormous clap of thunder echoed through the sky.
Ye Yaodong furrowed his brow and said, “Auntie, can you steer a boat? We need to get to the shore and see if we can call someone for help. Just sitting here isn't doing any good.”
Ye’s father agreed, “Yes, with the thunder and lightning, let’s get to the shore first, then we can call for help.”
Everyone knew that if he fell into the sea tangled in the rope, it was likely the end.
Bodies would sink, and efforts to fish him out would be in vain.
It would require immense effort, and even then, they might not retrieve him.
With their family’s situation, they couldn’t afford such losses; they would simply have to arrange for a funeral.
“I don’t know how to steer a boat. Thank goodness I ran into you! Otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to get back,” Ma Lifang wept.
Ye Yaodong looked at his father and said, “Dad, let’s pull the two boats closer together, and I’ll climb across to steer her boat behind you.”
“Alright, but be careful.”
“Got it.”
Ye’s father brought the boats closer, tossed a small anchor, and tied them together for easier passage for Ye Yaodong.
He nimbly climbed across the gap and, seeing Ma Lifang still crying, felt unsure how to comfort her.
Instead, he simply said, “Auntie, I’ll steer your boat back home first.”
She responded through her tears, “Okay.”
Father and son braved the rain, each steering a boat as they made their way forward.
In less than half an hour, they reached the shore.
On the shore, Ye's mother, dressed in a raincoat and waiting, was surprised to see them separate the two boats. “Which boat is Dongzi steering? Is it Ma Lifang’s? Why is she crying? What happened? Why is she alone?”
Ma Lifang’s sobs grew louder when they reached the dock, drowning out the rain.
The dock was filled with people rushing back from the sea because of the heavy rain or helping others.
Everyone was busy unloading goods or waiting to sell their catch.
Upon hearing her cries, the nearby folks turned in surprise, murmuring questions about what had happened.
Grimacing, Ye’s father explained to the crowd, “When Yongshou was casting the net, he got tangled in a rope and fell into the water. We just happened to see their boat on our way back and helped steer it back.”
Everyone gasped, shocked.
This was no small matter— a life was at stake.
Lin Yongshou was still in his prime, young and strong.
Several women who knew Ma Lifang hurriedly boarded the boat to comfort her and helped her disembark.
Ye Yaodong then helped secure her boat at the dock before returning to his own vessel.
Seeing several women accompany Ma Lifang back, Ye’s mother decided against following them.
As she helped move the cargo from the boat, she sighed with sympathy, “He was only 40. How could he have fallen into the water? Such a shame. They still have a few kids at home, and the sons are still so young. How will they manage now?”
“Working by the sea is risky, but what can you do? Relying on the sea to make a living comes with dangers,” Ye’s father sighed, his expression heavy.
Every year or two, someone would fall into the water along the coast, and the chances of survival were slim.
“The rain's picking up again. Let’s help unload the cargo first; we can talk later about everything else,” his mother suggested.
Seeing Ye’s father and Ye Yaodong emerge from the cabin with a large basket, she casually peeked inside, “Ah! Such a big fish! Is this… a big Japanese eel?”
After further examining it, her pupils tightened, both surprised and convinced, “It’s a big Japanese eel!”
Looking at the fish brought a slight lift to Ye’s father’s initially somber mood, a smile appearing on his face, “Yes, it’s a big Japanese eel! We’re going to make a fortune today.”
With joy, Ye’s mother gingerly touched the fish and then checked its gills, measuring its size. “This one is huge! Don’t the eels usually weigh just a few pounds? How much could this one be worth?”
“Just move aside and help carry it down first.”
“Okay, okay.”
She looked over the rest of the catch, pleased with their haul for the day.
Even without that big Japanese eel, their returns were already quite good.
Ye’s mother helped move down the other, lighter cargo.
The dock was abuzz with talk of Lin Yongshou’s fall, everyone too preoccupied to care about whose boat had caught how much fish.
Their big Japanese eel was concealed in a basket and covered with an old cloth, tightly wrapped so no one noticed.
Ye’s father asked his wife to keep an eye on things while they continued unloading the cargo.
Given the unusual weather, there were far too many boats at the dock, and they couldn’t casually leave the Japanese eel lying around.
After removing everything from the boat, they lined up patiently without making noise, their moods already affected, and had calmed down after the initial excitement.
When it was their turn to weigh their catch, Ye’s father smiled and lifted the cloth, “Let’s weigh this big Japanese eel first. Just a heads-up: if the price is too low, I won’t sell it!”
Initially, the buyer, A Cai, casually glanced around but then, upon getting a good look, his eyes widened. “A big Japanese eel? This large?”
The onlooking crowd grew excited, gathering around. “Wow, it’s enormous!”
“What kind of eel can grow this big?”
“It really is a Japanese eel! My word, this must weigh dozens of pounds!”
“I’ve been fishing for thirty years and never seen one this big! We’re gonna hit the jackpot!”
“Yes, we struck gold! What kind of luck does the Ye family have? Capturing another big Japanese eel—this will be worth a lot!”
“The gelatin from this eel isn’t cheap either! How much would its gel weigh?”
The attention of the crowd immediately shifted from Lin Yongshou’s misfortune to the massive Japanese eel, their interest piqued.
Ye’s father chuckled, “It’s just luck! When we caught it, it was still feeding on a fish around three or four hundred grams, and this basket of fish was caught in the same net as the eel.”
“Looks like you're blessed! It seems like changing plots didn’t affect your family's fortunes…”
“That relative in Linji bought that plot of land, and in return, they got a little boat…”
Ye Yaodong quickly interrupted their chatter, “Hey, uncles, who can say what luck is? The land deal was mutual; it wasn’t that we wanted to sell to him. He wanted to buy from us. That fellow hasn't even moved in yet; who knows, that land might bring him luck too. Just because he got a small boat doesn’t mean it was all for nothing, right?”
After all, last generation, that family in Linji had indeed profited considerably because of this relative; now they purchased, and it seemed they had struck it rich thanks to the land being good property.
“Ha ha, perhaps…”
“Everyone, step aside a moment so we can weigh the fish! I’m eager to know how heavy it is and how much it can sell for.” Ye’s mother was anxious to know the weight and potential price of the fish.
A Cai happily chimed in, “Yes, let’s weigh it first. This big Japanese eel is a rare find!”
“Let’s weigh it, let’s weigh it…”
Everyone was eager to know its weight.
Once the father and son placed the eel on the scale, A Cai first added a 25-kilogram weight.
The scale rose high, not moving an inch, the needle reaching clear to the right.
He then added another kilogram; still no reaction.
It wasn’t until he added two more that the scale finally dropped.
A Cai glanced at the floating scale, holding it steady before reading, “55.5 jin! This fish is quite substantial!”
Around them, everyone gasped.
“Wow! For ten jin, about one tael of gel, this eel must have six taels of gel?”
“Wow! We’re rich! The gel from this Japanese eel isn’t cheap, at least several hundred per jin, right?”
“Not only that! It’s definitely pricey. And this eel—normally, they don’t grow this large! This one probably weighs at least six taels!”
“Absolutely, absolutely…”
A Cai, pleased, began to realize he had a tricky situation, as this was such a valuable catch that he wouldn’t know how to price it.
Father and son were eagerly watching him, waiting for a price.
If he offered too little, he would be slaughtered by the crowd; if he offered too high, he would lose out.
Businessmen can’t afford losses.
He pondered for a moment, saying, “Since your fish has exceeded weight, let’s keep it with me for now. I’ll contact a buyer to see how much they’re willing to pay. I’d just take a five percent cut for the service. What do you think?”
Ye Yaodong rolled his eyes, “You get cuts on both ends and still want five percent? Who are you trying to fool? It’s two percent at most! This fish is worth several hundred!”
“Uh…” A Cai stalled and chuckled awkwardly, “Okay, okay. I’ll mention it to the buyer and have them pay me a cut for a finder’s fee.”
Ye Yaodong scoffed internally.
He would find a buyer; surely, he’d pocket some money from it.
With the arrangement for the big Japanese eel settled, they continued weighing the rest of their catch.
(The End of This Chapter)