The sun hung high in the sky at noon, shining down with its brilliance.
The typhoon from the night before felt like a distant dream.
Just walking from home to the beach, Ye Yaodong was already drenched in sweat.
Thinking back, it was actually cooler during the typhoon.
If only his house didn’t leak, it would have been perfect.
The glaring sunlight made him squint.
"Oh, there are quite a few people on the beach."
"After the typhoon, the tide has receded. Everyone knows it's a good time to come out and try their luck. Plus, you caught a nice perch the other day during the typhoon, so it’s no wonder there are so many people today," Ye's father remarked with a frown.
"Should we still go down?"
"Since we’ve come all this way, let’s go take a look."
On the beach, there were mostly women and children carrying buckets, along with a few young people idling about.
When they ran into acquaintances, greetings flew back and forth.
"Have you eaten?"
"You all came too?"
"What did you find?"
Hmm... just the same questions…
Ye Yaodong didn’t stop, tugging Lin Xiuqing away from the crowd, heading straight towards the rocky area where he had discovered a big catch two days ago.
He let others gather the small fish, shrimp, and clams left on the beach.
"Mom and Dad, don’t run off! Wait for us…"
Ye Yaodong thought, what a silly fellow! He didn’t even look back.
Why should he wait for them? The tide was still ebbing and hadn’t yet retreated beneath the rocks; after they ran halfway, they could only go along with the slowly flowing water.
Ye Yaodong spotted a large perch rolling in the waves ahead.
He quickly let go of Lin Xiuqing’s hand, took off his rain shoes, and raced into the sea with his bucket.
Lin Xiuqing couldn’t see and didn’t understand why he suddenly dashed into the ocean.
She hurriedly shouted, “What are you doing? The waves are going to come up again soon!”
“You just wait there. Don't move.”
Ye Yaodong stopped when the water reached his waist, scanning for that perch among the rolling waves that almost threatened to wash him away.
Just then, a wave crashed and revealed the perch, just a meter in front of him.
He hurriedly moved towards it, aimed his bucket, but unfortunately, the fish was too big and the water too turbulent, causing it to leap free just as he scooped.
Gripping the bucket, he chased after it.
As the water settled, the fish swam right into his reach…
Ye Yaodong raised the bucket triumphantly over his shoulder and hurried back to shore.
The waves crashed around him, soaking him from head to toe, and he felt a refreshing thrill.
Lin Xiuqing rushed over. “Why did you run into the sea? It’s so dangerous…”
“It’s fine! I can swim; I’m not afraid. Plus, I didn’t go too far, there's no way I’d drown,” he replied, showing her the bucket. “Look! A big perch, weighs around four to five jin. That’s worth a few coins.”
“Just be careful.”
“Ah—there’s a big conch!”
A surge of water pushed a conch right to their feet.
Lin Xiuqing gleefully picked it up. “I didn’t expect to just stand still and get a conch delivered! There’s meat inside, it’s not empty. This must be a conch, right?”
“Yeah!”
“Should we open it to check?”
Ye Yaodong laughed. “You thought you found another treasure, huh?”
Lin Xiuqing shot him an annoyed look. “It’s so big!”
“If there isn’t any meat, let’s just sell it instead!”
“If there’s none, so be it.” She wasn’t disappointed at all.
Just having found a beautiful conch was already a pleasant surprise.
Finding such a big one for free was quite nice too.
The couple continued down the shore with the receding tide.
They didn’t find much else, but they quickly filled their bucket with clams.
Ye Yaodong fished out the sack from his pocket and shook it. “Let’s dump it in!”
Lin Xiuqing couldn’t help but chuckle. “Why do you always carry a sack?”
“I’m prepared! Without a sack, how would you collect anything later on?”
Actually, he learned his lesson from their previous trip to the deserted island.
Whenever he went out, he would always carry a sack, no matter if he needed it or not.
“There are so many people on the beach; two buckets should be enough for us.”
“Enough? This bucket has the perch, and yours has the clams. If we find anything else, what will you use to collect it?”
“Alright, you’re the seaside expert. What you say goes!”
The two walked along with the tide, collecting whatever they could find, refusing to turn anything away.
As the tide drew close to the rocky area, Ye Yaodong suddenly spotted his second brother and sister-in-law had also come along.
“What have you two found? Why are you carrying a sack?” Ye’s sister-in-law leaned in, peering curiously at their bucket and sack. “Wow, that’s a big perch!”
The clams in the sack were nothing unusual; the beach was teeming with them.
They had gathered close to a bucket’s worth too, just like everyone else.
With a smile, Lin Xiuqing said, “Just before the tide receded, Dongzi saw a perch and dove into the sea to catch it.”
“Haha, Yaodong has been quite diligent lately. The prodigal has returned!”
Ye Yaodong ignored her and made his way toward the rocky area, curious about the other people coming in that direction.
Lin Xiuqing let out an awkward laugh and quickly followed.
Seeing Ye Yaodong bend down to scoop up two blue crabs, their eyes lit up.
They hurried over, not wanting to be left behind.
“You caught two crabs at once! Ah Hua, we should hurry and look around too.” Ye’s sister-in-law was envious, seeing the perch and crabs while they hadn’t found anything valuable yet.
Ye Yaohua grinned and began to search as well.
Before long, he also caught one.
Though it wasn’t as large as the two crabs Ye Yaodong caught, Ye’s sister-in-law was all smiles.
As long as there was a catch, it was good.
“Ah Dong, Ah Dong! Come quick…” Lin Xiuqing suddenly shouted in excitement, “What kind of fish is that? It’s massive, and it’s still moving!”
At the sound of her excited voice, Ye Yaodong quickly rushed over, forgetting the rock crab he had just spotted.
“What? Is this a Du's Mackerel?”
He looked on uncertainly.
After all, the ocean was vast, and he didn’t recognize every fish.
Many looked quite similar, and this one bore some resemblance to the Du's Mackerel he had seen before.
“Who would I ask? If you want to know, you should ask yourself!”
The fish had a blue-gray to olive color on its back, with a silvery to light brown belly beneath.
On its side, it featured a distinct yellow stripe.
This had to be the Du's Mackerel!
Such fish were plentiful in the waters surrounding the bay, but this one was quite large.
“This must be the Du's Mackerel! Ah Hua, come and take a look!”
Ye Yaohua, curious after hearing Lin Xiuqing’s earlier shout, came over too.
He examined it and remarked uncertainly, “This fish does resemble a Du's Mackerel. I think I’ve seen one while moving goods at the fishing dock.”
“Wouldn’t this fish be over a meter long? Looks like it weighs at least a hundred pounds!” Ye’s sister-in-law felt a mix of envy and jealousy.
Why did such good luck fall upon them?
“How much could this fish sell for?”
Ye’s sister-in-law blurted out her thoughts.
“Only after we catch it can we say how much it’s worth. I’ve heard there are many in the waters around the bay, and people in Japan love this fish too. They use it for sashimi!”
This fish is just as famous as salmon in Japan.
Thank you, everyone, for your votes and rewards!
The National Day holiday has been really busy; even getting two updates feels a bit challenging.
But even if I write late into the night with tired eyes, I’ll do my best to keep them steady.
(End of chapter)