Lin Xiuqing followed Ye Yaodong to the seaside with a mix of doubt and excitement.
The tide had just receded a little, and she could see waves rolling in from afar, creating a grand sight.
Having married into the family for five years, she had never come to the shore during a typhoon.
Either she was pregnant or busy with the children.
"Isn't it beautiful? Our beach is quite lovely," Ye Yaodong said, gesturing towards the scenery.
"Though the water looks a bit yellow because of the typhoon," she replied.
"Isn't the point to see if there’s anything to pick up? Let's go down quickly; we should head back soon. Who knows when it might rain heavily?" With that, he walked down towards the beach.
Ye Yaodong shook his head at her retreating figure; she lacked interest!
"Wow, there really is something to gather!" exclaimed Lin Xiuqing as she stepped onto the sand and spotted a huge clam by her feet, her eyes lighting up.
He hurried a few steps forward, "See? I wasn’t lying; there are indeed things to pick!"
Lin Xiuqing gave him a sideways glance.
"But it’s not worth much. I wish there were better things to collect."
"We'll see. With these big waves, there's bound to be some seafood washed ashore."
"Mm."
After walking a few steps, she found another large clam, and her smile shone brightly.
This was different from digging for clams; she didn’t have to dig, and this one was five or six times bigger.
Just walking around to find something felt so good.
Ye Yaodong also bent down to pick up one, "Look, I found one too, but it’s not as big as yours."
"Is this the only clam we’re going to find?"
"Let’s keep walking and see."
From his experience, large waves during a typhoon would likely wash up all kinds of seafood onto the shore, which was why he had braved the typhoon to come out with her while the tide had just receded.
"Fish… fish..."
Lin Xiuqing excitedly tugged at his arm, pointing at the waves ahead.
"Over there..."
Ye Yaodong followed her finger to see a silly fish being tossed out of the water by the waves.
After the foam receded, the fish was left flopping on the beach.
Lin Xiuqing quickly stuffed the clam into his arms and rushed forward to catch the fish.
However, it was slippery, and every time she picked it up, it flopped right out of her grasp.
Just then, another wave crashed down, and Ye Yaodong stuffed the clam into his pocket, hurriedly moved in front of her to kick the fish onto the sandy beach, while wrapping his arms around his wife to shield her from the wave.
A huge wave hit his back, soaking him to the bone and causing seawater to drip from his forehead.
Meanwhile, Lin Xiuqing was protected in his arms and didn’t get splashed, although some seawater dripped down and splattered on her face.
Lin Xiuqing blinked her eyes, unsure, and looked at him.
"Are you alright? Why are you still blocking the waves for me? You’re soaked. Let’s go back and change."
He wiped the seawater off his face casually, "I'm fine, just take it off. You got that silly fish; it must weigh around five or six pounds. We can pickle half for lunch and make fish soup with the other half."
"Oh, that sounds good," she replied.
The fish she referred to was a type of mackerel called a herring but was commonly known as "silly fish" by the locals because it was cheap and rather foolish.
Villagers could buy it at the dock for five yuan a pound, while outsiders paid eight.
Nowadays, it might fetch only four to five cents a pound.
The reason it was called "silly fish" was that it had the most ridiculous demeanor; it often jumped onto the fishing boats, offering itself to fishermen.
"You're so clumsy!" Lin Xiuqing exclaimed as she tried to catch the fish several times only to have it bounce off onto the sand.
Ye Yaodong took out a bag and shook it open, then nudged the silly fish, which hopped right in, along with a few clams.
"I should’ve brought a water bucket. Putting it in a bag will just kill it," Lin Xiuqing chastised.
"We can just kill it when we get back. Are you planning to fill a bucket and keep it alive? It won’t drown anyway; it’s nothing special."
"Alright then."
Not long after, Ye Yaodong spotted a glimmer of a golden tail exposed near a rock.
He pulled his wife along, saying, "Look here…"
Lin Xiuqing gasped, "Wow, it's a pomfret! So big!"
"Yes, a golden pomfret! You know, it’s over a pound. Too bad it’s not a silver pomfret; those are tastier!" He bent down to check its gills, which were bright red, indicating it was fresh—perfect to take home.
Golden pomfrets look nicer but aren’t as tasty as silver pomfrets, which have delicate and tender meat.
Silver pomfrets are usually less than a pound while golden ones are generally over a pound.
A silver pomfret would double in price if it weighed over six ounces and could sell for over one hundred and twenty during the fishing ban period.
With some good loot, Lin Xiuqing wasn’t picky about whether it was a golden or silver pomfret.
After all, they’d just come into some money, and any seafood they could sell was a bonus.
Even if it was less valuable, they could keep it for themselves.
"Going out on a typhoon day indeed yields results. I should’ve brought my older and younger sisters along," Ye Yaodong remarked.
"Why would you want them along?"
"To be third wheels?" He smiled teasingly.
As the couple rarely had leisure time together since their return to life, he hadn’t planned to invite anyone else.
"Let’s head further down; the tide has receded a bit more."
Just as they were about to move down with the tide, a small puddle beneath the stone where they found the silver pomfret rippled, "Wait... let me move this stone and see."
"Is there something there?"
"Maybe. Just after the tide receded, these low areas with stones are likely to have seafood washed up."
Lin Xiuqing squatted down, curious, as he started to shift the stone.
"Ah! A little green crab," Ye Yaodong exclaimed, spotting it.
It was quite small, probably not even half a pound, but at least it was a green crab, not a rock crab.
"Are you brave enough to catch it?"
"I'm scared of its big claws!"
"Just grab it by its back; it can’t bite."
He caught it and suddenly thrust it in front of her, making her rear back in surprise and sit down on the sand.
"What are you doing?"
"Just trying to scare you."
Lin Xiuqing shot him a glare, brushed off her bottom, stood up, and ignored him, walking forward.
Ye Yaodong quickly tossed the crab into the bag and caught up with her.
"Hehe, are you angry now?"
"No! Hurry up and find something. The sky is getting cloudy again; we might face some rain soon."
The two of them frequently bent down along the beach with the tide, gathering clams, all of them impressively large.
It was exhilarating!
Often, as soon as one was picked and tossed into the bag, the waves would roll in again, causing more clams to wash ashore, tumbling about.
If they were too slow, the clams would be swept back into the sea.
(End of Chapter)