Chapter 222

The next morning, Ye Yaodong slept until he woke up naturally. He checked the time—8:00 AM—and was even surprised; it had been a long time since he'd slept in this late.

Even when he had rested for the past two days and hadn't gone out to sea, he would always get up early to check the tide.

Perhaps? Maybe? He was exhausted from his hard work yesterday?

After getting out of bed, he twisted his neck and waist. After a good night's sleep, he felt fine and not very tired.

Youth is capital!

When tired, a good sleep makes you full of vigor again.

The door creaked open. "You're awake?"

"Yeah, why didn't you call me to get up?"

Lin Xiuqing gave him a reproachful glare. "Didn't you complain last night about a sore waist, aching back, and painful shoulders? Everything hurt, everything was sore, and you were out of energy. I thought since you were so tired yesterday, I wouldn't call you and let you sleep a bit longer."

He coughed awkwardly. "Cough~ I was indeed a bit tired yesterday."

After saying that, he immediately changed the subject. "By the way, are there still starfish outside the pier today? Have all the villagers run out there?"

"Yes. I heard that before dawn, before the tide had even receded, people were already there waiting with flashlights. Right now, the whole village, except for those who can't move, is probably at the pier. There are also people from the neighboring villages. Standing at the door, I can see that the area outside the pier is packed with people, even more than yesterday."

He hurriedly put on his clothes and pants. "Then you should have called me earlier."

"Didn't I think you were too exhausted? You were clearly the only one picking, yet you picked more than anyone else. With so many people today, you probably won't be able to pick much even if you bend your back all day. Plus, with so many people, it's easy for conflicts to arise. You picked enough yesterday; let's not fight with so many people today. Going to collect the ground cages is faster and less trouble."

He generally didn't snore unless he was too tired, like when he had been going out to sea continuously for the past few days.

It was the same last night; she had heard his snoring, which meant he was too tired. If she had to bend her back all day, she would definitely be tired too.

He worked so hard, and she felt for him.

"But I still have to go out and take a look."

"Then be careful, don't get into any conflicts with people. Come back early at noon; I bought a pig kidney this morning, I'll stir-fry it for you at noon, and I'll also stir-fry some oysters with eggs for you."

"That works, and add some chives while you're at it."

Ye Yaodong walked out while putting on his jacket. From far away, he could see people coming and going outside the pier. His eldest brother's and second brother's houses next door were also empty.

Before he even reached the pier, he could already hear the chaotic and noisy sounds; it was even worse than a vegetable market.

The shore was covered with various flatbed carts, handcarts, and children who hadn't gone to school, or had dropped out, all called over by adults to help watch their things for a while...

After walking closer and seeing the dense crowd of people on the sea, his eyes widened. It was unbelievable; the number of people had more than doubled compared to yesterday!

The tide had only just started to recede, too! They were too desperate!

At this moment, the sea suddenly became chaotic again. The crowd was pushing and shoving, accompanied by cursing. Some people were even knocked down and fell into the water...

The impact seemed to be spreading further and further. More and more people were falling into the water. Many hot-tempered people started cursing at those around them and pushing back, and the scene suddenly became chaotic.

Some hot-blooded young people didn't just curse; they rolled up their sleeves and started fighting. Being pushed into the water for no reason would make anyone angry.

The sea became increasingly chaotic. No one was picking starfish anymore; there were conflicts everywhere, with groups of two or three fighting. Some people, seeing that things were going wrong, hid in corners or went straight to the shore, but more gathered together to fight in groups.

Ye Yaodong couldn't look fast enough, scanning the crowd in the sea, wanting to find where his family was.

With so many people gathered together, it was easy for conflicts to occur, and he didn't know if they had suffered any losses.

At this moment, he saw his father and sister standing in a corner in the water, with A-Guang protecting them as they walked toward the shore.

When some blind people were pushed and fell toward them, A-Guang would unceremoniously push them away, not caring whether they fell into the water or not.

As for those fighting and blocking the way, he was even less polite, kicking them all into the water.

Ye Yaodong hurriedly went down to help and took the sacks from their hands. "Where's my mother?"

"I don't know. She was right by my side earlier, but now I don't know where she ran off to. There's fighting everywhere, where am I supposed to find her? Why did they start fighting all of a sudden?" Ye Fu frowned and looked back.

"You guys go up first!"

After Ye Huimei got to the shore, she said with lingering fear, "It scared me to death. I don't know what happened, but they suddenly started fighting. The people around me suddenly fell in a heap, and I almost fell into the water too. Luckily, Brother Guang-zi supported me."

A-Guang also frowned as he looked at the chaotic scene on the sea. The conflicts on the sea were spreading further and further, and almost everyone was pushing and fighting. Fortunately, his two younger sisters were at home cleaning starfish and hadn't come out.

They had come out late yesterday and hadn't picked many pounds, and since the price was so cheap, they hadn't sold them and had just carried them home.

Just then, someone in the water held up a large fish high. At that very moment, that person was pushed into the water by someone involved in a conflict nearby, falling face-down, and the fish in their hand immediately fell back into the water.

"Damn..."

Ye Yaodong's eyes widened. It turned out a grouper had been washed in by the waves.

A-Guang also cursed, "Damn, a grouper! No wonder they're all fighting to the death to grab fish."

Those who had gone to the shore finally understood that the culprit behind the chaos was a grouper.

The people below had started fighting just to catch this fish, which led to them bumping into those around them, causing a chain reaction of people falling, which then led to the conflict.

The fighting in several places on the sea was becoming more and more intense. Now it wasn't like yesterday, where a conflict only happened in a small area and people around could come up to help break it up.

Now, there were arguments and fights everywhere. Everyone was caught up in the conflict, and they were too busy to help themselves, let alone break up fights.

Some lucky people who hadn't been caught up in the conflict were scared and hurried to the shore one after another. Some of those who had suffered losses and still had their wits about them also went to the shore.

For example, Ye's eldest brother and sister-in-law, and second brother and sister-in-law had also gone to the shore, but they all had varying degrees of injuries and were soaked all over.

Ye Yaodong saw them and was about to walk over when he heard his father pointing his index finger at the sea in front and calling out, "Hey? Look over there, is that woman pushing and shoving with her butt your mother?"

"Damn!"

Ye Yaodong was speechless. It was the first time he had seen his mother be so fierce, bumping left and right in the crowd. Wasn't she afraid of being knocked down by a punch?

"I'll go down and get her."

Like A-Guang, he pushed away anyone blocking his path with force. If they fell, they fell; they were all soaked anyway.

When Ye Mu saw Ye Yaodong, she was pleasantly surprised and handed him the sack she was carrying. "Dong-zi, take this for me, quick. It's heavy as hell."

Ye Yaodong carried it on his shoulder and kicked people aside all the way to the shore. This group of people in the sea must have been worked up into a rage; a couple of kicks to let them lie in the water and clear their heads would do them good.

After getting to the shore, he started scolding his mother. "Others saw the signs and went to the shore early. What were you doing down there? People around you were about to be beaten to death, yet you were still dawdling there. What's the use of picking a few more?"

"Oh, what do you know?" Ye Mu went straight to her sack and suddenly pulled out a grouper. Everyone was stunned!

This one looked like it weighed over three pounds.

"Damn!"

Ye Mu then said proudly, "Look, you still have to rely on your old mother!"

"You were dawdling down there until now just to catch this fish?" Ye Fu frowned and said angrily.

"It was right in front of me, could I not catch it?" Ye Mu rolled her eyes at Ye Fu and said righteously, "At that time, the seawater washed this fish right to my feet. I was just about to grab it when someone nearby got to it first. Luckily, he was pushed into the water..."

Ye Mu vividly recounted the cause of the battle, and finally said triumphantly that as soon as she got her hands on it, she hugged it to her chest, threw it into the sack, went to a corner to avoid the crowd, and then walked back.

Ye Yaodong really wanted to knock her on the head. With so many people catching fish, she, a woman, had squeezed in. Wasn't she afraid of being knocked down by a punch?

Ye Fu also scolded her a few times, only to be snapped back at, almost dying of anger. This old woman's brain wasn't clear. "Look at how the people below have been beaten. If you stay a while longer, you'll be the one lying in the water."

"Isn't everything fine now? Eldest, Second, have they all come up?"

Ye Mu looked left and right before seeing them standing behind. Seeing them all soaked and with messy hair, she could still scold them.

"You guys are too useless. You came up so early, yet you're still in such a sorry state."

Ye's second sister-in-law scratched her damp hair. "Mother, do you think we're all like you? The people below were in a chaotic battle. It's already good that we came up without getting involved."

Ye Mu took this as a compliment and accepted it with a smile.

Ye Yaopeng frowned as he looked below and said worriedly, "Why haven't the village cadres gone down to break up the fight today?"

"Aren't they afraid of being beaten?" Ye Yaodong said.

"Maybe they've already been beaten?" A-Guang gestured toward a few corners not far away.

Only then did they see a few people with scratches on their faces and disheveled clothes.

"They'll stop when they're tired of fighting."

In fact, there weren't many people in the water now. They were all injured and were climbing up one after another, leaving only a few young people still fighting.

The people on the shore were all looking at the sea, pointing and talking.

"I knew something would happen today. There are so many people, even more than yesterday."

"Who's to say? Yesterday, even our own village started fighting, and today there are many more from neighboring villages..."

"I don't even know who pushed me into the water..."

"These young guys have such hot tempers, still fighting there. I've only been picking for a little while, and I'm already soaked..."

"There are more people than starfish. What's the point of picking? I haven't even filled half a bag in several hours..."

"It ruined it for me, I came out early in the morning to wait, and I only picked that small half-bag..."

"It's okay, picking for a while can still earn a day's wages. Let's wait a bit longer. Once the fighting below is over, there will probably be fewer people. We'll go down and pick a little more to make up the numbers later..."

Listening to the discussions and the noise in his ears, Ye Yaodong frowned tightly. "Don't go down to pick later. With so many people, there will be more trouble."

Ye Fu also nodded. "Right, don't go down later. Just go back. This matter won't end here."

With so many people gathered together, how could there not be conflicts?

If any more seafood appears, they'll definitely start fighting again.