Chapter 250: Reef

By nightfall, he got up as usual. Today, he specifically brought extra noodles and vegetables; he couldn't let his mother and younger sister go hungry.

He checked the fishing nets and hooks on the handcart one more time. Seeing that nothing was missing, he hurriedly pushed it to the outside of the pier, where his mother and sister were already waiting.

"Where's my father?"

"He went down first to start the boat."

"Then you two keep an eye on things here; I'm going to buy diesel."

Once he had everything ready, the whole family helped lift and carry, making the process much faster than usual.

Ye Huimei had never been on this boat before, nor had she ever been out to sea at night. She wandered around back and forth, full of curiosity. "Third Brother, your boat is so big."

"Big? It's only ten-something meters. Wait until your Third Brother gets a thirty or forty-meter cabin cruiser; that's what you call a big boat. When that time comes, I'll take you out to the deep sea to see the world."

"Bragging. You didn't even want me on this boat tonight, and you're going to take me to the deep sea? You're just trying to sweet-talk me."

"True. Women aren't allowed on the boat; I almost forgot my own bragging."

"Why aren't women allowed on the boat?"

"It's not that they aren't allowed on the boat, it's that they can't go far. You're just a young girl, don't ask so many questions, and don't be so curious. If you have any questions in the future, ask your Brother Guang."

Taking a woman to the deep sea... wouldn't that be asking for death, not wanting to return alive?

Just think about it: the ocean is vast, and a group of men drifts at sea for months. If there were a woman on board...

When you get off the boat, not knowing whose child it is would be the best-case scenario. It's more likely to trigger a bloody incident, leading to the loss of the entire ship.

Ye Huimei hummed twice and stopped asking.

Ye Mu was cooking noodles for everyone. She had also brought noodles and vegetables. It took a long time to boil, but even though it was a bit of a hassle, having a bowl of hot noodle soup on a cold day was very comfortable. The family gathered around the stove, creating a cozy atmosphere.

"It feels just like eating hot pot, haha~" Ye Huimei was excited by the novelty.

Ye Yaodong also smiled. "At noon, we'll get some seafood, and we can have hot pot on the small island."

"Haha, I forgot to go to the backyard to pick some garland chrysanthemum this morning. Garland chrysanthemum is delicious in hot pot..."

"Did I bring you here for a picnic?"

"Third Brother said we were going to have hot pot..."

The family chatted back and forth, laughing as they finished their first meal of the day, and then they started working.

Ye Mu helped chop fish, Ye Fu hung the bait, and Ye Huimei, having nothing to do, helped hang shrimp bait.

By the time Ye Yaodong steered the boat to the waters around the small island they had visited last time, they had already baited all ten baskets of hooks. With more people, the efficiency was top-notch!

He didn't feel comfortable leaving his mother and sister on the island for too long, so he decided to just set the longlines and gillnets in the deeper waters nearby. As for trawling, he would do that after dropping them off.

When the time came, he would check the harvest after one haul. If the harvest was average, he wouldn't bother trawling and would just stay on the island to accompany them in panning and digging.

Ye Huimei watched with great interest as her Third Brother skillfully threw the hooks into the sea one by one. After finishing one basket, he connected the line to another and kept throwing...

"Third Brother, tell me, how did you suddenly become so capable?"

Ye Yaodong glanced at her sideways. "If I weren't capable, would you be supporting me?"

"Pfft, keep dreaming. Since when does a bride bring her brother-in-law as part of the dowry?"

"There are 'brother-obsessed' fanatics out there!"

"What's that?"

"Fanatics who help their younger brothers. Aren't there many girls in the village named 'Zhaodi' (summoning a brother), 'Laidi' (bringing a brother), 'Pangdi' (hoping for a brother), 'Yingdi' (welcoming a brother), 'Aidi' (loving a brother)? Who knows, they might have been brainwashed since childhood..."

"Ugh..." Ye Huimei couldn't help but shiver. "It's a good thing I don't have a younger brother, otherwise, it would be so uncomfortable to have such a name."

"Hahaha~ then you have to thank our mother for being capable!"

Ye Mu couldn't help but glare at him, but she also couldn't help laughing. "What nonsense are you spouting? Those people really couldn't give birth to a son, so they had no choice but to choose those names."

"If they couldn't give birth to a son, what does that have to do with the daughter? And to give them such names—it's like they're afraid people won't know the family is crazy about wanting a son."

"It's just because the elders want sons; more sons mean more hands to work."

"It's a good thing the policy now only allows one child." Ye Huimei trembled at the thought. There was a woman in their village who gave birth to seven daughters in a row, all named with 'Di', and only on the eighth did she finally get a son.

"There is a policy above, and a countermeasure below. If they want a son, they will always find a way to keep having children." Ye Yaodong threw the last buoy and clapped his hands. "Alright, Father, you can speed up and change to another spot to set the gillnets."

"Brother Guang doesn't have a mother-in-law, which is actually quite good. The father-in-law wouldn't go so far as to talk to his daughter-in-law about having children." The more Ye Mu thought about it, the more she felt this marriage was a good match.

Ye Huimei, however, felt a bit shy and didn't dare to say anything more.

After Ye Yaodong finished setting all the gillnets, they steered the boat toward the nearby small island. It wasn't bright yet, and everything was pitch black, but Ye Fu, using the light of a flashlight, felt something was wrong.

"Dongzi, did we steer to the wrong location? How come I see two islands near here?" He shone the flashlight back and forth.

Hearing this, Ye Yaodong also stood up, holding his headlamp, and carefully shone it on the surrounding sea surface. He discovered that there did seem to be two islands not far away—one higher and one lower—which looked somewhat different from the scenery they saw when they came last time.

"Check the compass. We shouldn't have steered in the wrong direction, right?"

"It doesn't look wrong!"

"Let's go to the larger island first to dock and take a look. Don't go ashore. It looks like it's about to get bright. Once it's bright, we'll check the situation first. It's night now, and the flashlight isn't clear."

"Hmm, alright. Let's dock and wait for it to get bright to take a look. It's not like we're in a rush for this little bit of time."

Ye Mu was a bit puzzled. "You've been steering the boat for so long, can you still steer it wrong?"

"Usually, it won't be wrong. Have a cup of hot tea and wait ten-something minutes. It'll be bright soon. Once it's bright, we'll check the terrain. If there's no problem, we'll go on the island."

It was almost 5:00 AM, the time when the water level was at its highest. 12:00 PM and 12:00 AM were the lowest tides.

The tide would start to recede around 6:00 AM, and after receding to the bottom at 12:00, it would slowly start to rise again at 1:00 or 2:00 PM, reaching its peak at 6:00 PM.

After Ye Fu docked the boat, he specifically looked at the small island and found that the surrounding reefs were indeed a bit different. He felt the reefs were a little higher? Could it be that the direction he docked was different from last time?

Forget it, let's wait until it's bright to take a look.

The family had nothing to do on the boat, so they could only chop fish or organize tools. Ye Yaodong instructed Ye Huimei to wear gloves, otherwise, she would easily get scratched.

"Also, don't climb up and down. Just stand where you can reach at the bottom and dig. Do you understand?"

"I know. I have experience, don't worry."

"What experience do you have? You've only been once and you call that experience? Wear your hat."

Ye Huimei nodded with a giggle.

At this moment, the distant horizon was already slightly bright, and then suddenly, a few exclamations rang out!

"Ah~ ouch?"

"Holy crap~ what is that?"

"Ah~ so beautiful~"

"Huh?"

The first two were from Ye Fu and Ye Yaodong, and the last two were from Ye Huimei and Ye Mu.

"Look~ it's so beautiful! The sunrise at sea is so good to look at~"

Just a little while later, the sun popped out of the water, instantly shimmering with golden light, making the sea surface sparkle and dispelling the darkness.

Ye Mu nodded. "It is quite good to look at."

Ye Yaodong didn't pay attention to them, but instead said to his father, "Holy crap, Father, look at that pitch-black small island over there. Why does it look a bit strange to me? Could it be that an underwater reef was pushed up?"

"You think so too?"

"You think so too?"

The father and son's thoughts coincided perfectly!

"Holy crap, could it really be that an underwater reef was pushed up?"

"Steer the boat over to take a look!"

Ye Yaodong was a bit excited. "Right away!"

If it really was an underwater reef pushed up, who knows what good things might be there.

"Father, Third Brother, what happens when an underwater reef is pushed up?"

"Nothing much, it can reduce the chance of fishing boats hitting reefs. Let's go over and take a look first."

Without seeing it, no one knew what was around. It was true that a pushed-up reef could prevent fishing boats from hitting reefs.

Ye Yaodong pushed the fishing boat away from the shore, started the engine, and headed toward the protruding black unknown reef island not far away.

At this time, the sun had completely jumped out from the horizon, and the newly risen sun looked exceptionally golden and beautiful.

The fishing boat headed toward the right side of where the sun rose, and in a little while, it approached the small reef island.

"Holy crap, it really is an underwater reef pushed up. It's pitch black, and except for seaweed, there's no vegetation at all."

"Steer closer to take a look. There seems to be something swimming under the water."

Don't look at Ye Fu as being a bit old; his eyesight was actually very good. From far away, he could see small splashes of water fluttering under the surface over there.

Ye Yaodong's eyesight wasn't bad either. He also saw the small splashes of water fluttering constantly, and there seemed to be quite a few shelled creatures on the reef. His heart instantly blossomed with joy. Bringing his mother out today was really the right choice, otherwise, he would have missed this pushed-up reef.

Who knew what was on it?

After the fishing boat steered closer and closer, all four people on the boat widened their eyes, looking at the reef in front of them in disbelief.

"Wow, so many big sea snails!" Ye Huimei widened her eyes and opened her mouth.

"That's not just big sea snails. Look carefully at what's fluttering under the seawater."

"Lobsters?"

"It's small green lobsters!" Ye Yaodong was full of surprise. "And look, look at the dense clusters on the stone wall..."

"Abalone!" ===== CHAPTER 251 =====