The sun at two or three in the afternoon was still scorching hot.
Ye Yaodong tried to walk in the shade as much as possible.
Luckily, Agong's home was nestled in the back mountains, surrounded by trees, making it quite cool.
When he arrived, he found his friends playing cards under the tree at the entrance, while only Agong lay in a recliner, enjoying the coolness.
"Why are you lying there alone? Aren't you playing with them?" Ye Yaodong asked.
"It's no use playing today; my luck is just that bad. Instead of playing, it's better to save some money. What happened to you these past few days? Why aren't you playing?"
"I’m out of money. I’ve been asking my wife for cash all day; it’s embarrassing," Ye Yaodong replied.
"That’s true, but don’t you have a boat now? You can go out to sea with your dad and earn some money that way. It wouldn't be the same as asking your wife for money," his friend suggested.
Ye Yaodong thought about it but felt a twinge of anxiety at the thought of being at sea without strength and drowning.
His heart raced at the idea.
"Well, I’ve never been to sea before, so I’m afraid of getting seasick. If I go out and end up sick, I'd need my dad to bring me back. Wouldn't that be asking for trouble? If I could just borrow a small boat to check out some nearby islands, that would be fine," he invented.
"That's easy! My small uncle accidentally broke his hand a few days ago and can't take the boat out at the moment. I’ll ask him to borrow it tomorrow, and we can buy our own diesel; I’ll take you out to sea and just circle around the nearby waters," Agong said.
Ye Yaodong's eyes lit up.
"That sounds good! We can check out some deserted islands and maybe find some treasures."
"Oh, you seem to have taken quite a liking to treasure hunting lately!" Agong chuckled, looking at him.
"Of course! I've been on a lucky streak. I caught a couple of blue crabs yesterday and today found a nice tiger grouper and a batch of snow frog eggs. The taste of success makes me want to strike while the iron is hot," Ye Yaodong replied.
"That's true. If I had your luck, I’d be going every day as well. Isn't it better than working at the fishery dock? Working there only pays a little over a dollar a day."
The fishery dock was a large pier near the sea in their town of Shan Hai.
Big ships docked there, and many people from their village worked as laborers there.
Their town was close to Bay Bay Strait, with many fishing boats and cargo ships coming through.
As a result, there were also many Taiwanese goods shops in their town.
In this era, their town was more famous and bustling than the county town.
Many outsiders knew of their town but not the county itself.
Their group often went out to play in the town rather than the county.
With his hands in his pockets and leaning against a tree, he said, "Treasure hunting really depends on luck. You can’t go every day. Why don’t you first check if you can borrow the boat?"
"I’ll ask tomorrow morning. If it works out, we’ll buy the diesel right away. It’s too hot now; I don’t feel like walking, plus I want to drink tonight.”
"Alright, if you get the boat, just let me know. It’s perfect timing with the initial tide tomorrow. If it’s calm in the morning, we can check out the deserted islands."
"Sounds good! Following you, I might check my luck too,” Agong replied.
Ye Yaodong smiled, "Maybe you should change your name for better luck. When is your dad coming back?"
"I don’t know, he just left a month ago. I’m not sure how many more months he’ll be gone," Agong sighed.
Even though the Fisheries Resource Breeding Protection Regulations issued in February 1979 stipulated fishing bans, they were only for certain fish species and fishing gear.
It didn’t restrict boats in their waters.
There were no regular fisheries inspections, so they went to sea as normal.
It wasn't until 1995 that a complete seasonal fishing ban was enforced.
The rules stated a fishing ban from May 1 to July 31, with the sea opening up for fishing on August 1! However, there’s always a way around policies.
Little boats from their area often sneaked out to fish, and even if caught by fisheries inspectors, they just tossed the seafood back into the sea.
They could manage that loss since inspections weren’t frequent.
In this era, they could fish freely in the sea; big boats wouldn’t return for months after heading out.
"Then just wait for your dad to come back and see."
"Ah, I’ll be carefree for a couple more days. Soon, I’ll need to find some work at the fishery dock. If I don’t, I’ll run out of money. You really are fortunate to have a hardworking wife. I haven’t even found one yet."
"If you have money, why worry about finding a wife? Just bet a little less and work a bit harder. You can’t rely on your wife for a lifetime; that would be too shameful."
Agong lay back with his hands behind his head, laughing at him, "Why do you seem so hardworking these days?"
"I see my wife hasn’t earned a buck all day, and I feel guilty. Plus, our house is finished and we'll be splitting up, and I need to start taking care of my family. I’ve enjoyed the benefits of someone else’s hard work too long."
"That’s true! Once you split up, if you don’t start working hard, life won't be easy. Want to go find work together at the dock?"
He didn’t know where he found a piece of straw and started chewing it.
"I'm afraid of scaring my family. They might go find a priest to get rid of me."
"That’s certainly true! At least we all have some odd jobs to rely on. You’ve always been known as ‘Ye Family's Third Young Master!'"
"Don’t mock me! Do you have a cigarette? Give me one; I haven’t smoked in two days and my mouth is itching!"
"Have you really sunk this low? Didn’t you say you sold over ten bucks in the last couple of days?"
"I handed it all over to my wife; I’m a good man!"
Agong rolled his eyes.
Everyone knew everyone else’s situation.
After taking a puff of smoke, Ye Yaodong felt satisfied.
In fact, he had thought about quitting smoking recently, but found it difficult.
After decades of addiction, he thought he shouldn’t push himself too hard.
After all, being a good man isn't connected to whether or not he smokes.
"Hey, tomorrow Agong is borrowing a boat to take us out to sea; do any of you want to go?"
The four players who were still playing cards turned to look at them.
"What’s there to see? I've seen the sea my whole life; what’s left to see?"
"Isn’t today enough? You want to go out and get sunburned again?"
"Seriously, why borrow a boat to go out?"
The fat guy spoke up, "Count me out. I’d rather not be sunbathing than be too full. I can drink and play cards!"
Ye Yaodong said angrily, "You’d be better off! You’re lazier than I am. Tomorrow’s the first day of the tide, and we might find something good on the deserted island. Those uninhabited islands haven’t been touched for ages. Not to mention, the seafood; the shells on the rocks must be big and plenty!"
Aw Wei asked curiously, “You’ve never gone; how would you know?”
"Just tell me if you’re going or not!"
That was his experience; could it be wrong? He wasn’t sure about the seafood, but shells and snails surely wouldn’t be scarce.
"Whether we can borrow the boat is a problem. I’ll see what happens tomorrow. If we can, we’ll all go together; at least we’ll have company, because soon I won’t have time."
Agong said seriously.
"Alright then, let’s go together," Ye Yaodong agreed.
The four players at the table, except for the fat guy, Xiaoxiao and Azheng took the invitation, while Aw Wei expressed he didn't want to go.
He hadn’t caught much yesterday and didn’t want to join in on the excitement.
(End of Chapter)