Chapter 444: Like Dumplings Falling from the Sky

"Is it because of this fish?"

Ye's father had come out late and had no idea why they'd been swept into the sea; in his panic just now, he hadn't had the presence of mind to ask for an explanation.

After exchanging glances, the three brothers all felt guilty and dared not speak.

The others also felt too ashamed to speak up.

"I'm asking you—what's the answer?" Ye Yaodong said.

Either way, a scolding was inevitable; might as well just speak up.

Ye Yaodong bluntly told them how they'd all rushed over upon seeing the giant sea bass.

Instantly, a torrent of curses rained down, spittle flying straight into the three brothers' faces; all three instinctively wiped their faces, yet none dared utter a sound, standing there meekly taking the scolding.

This scolding was deserved—no injustice here.

Even Ye Yaodong offered no defense, didn't claim it wasn't his fault, didn't crack a single joke—he stood there willingly, accepting the reprimand.

His father was already furious enough; there was no need to provoke him further. Letting him vent his emotions was only right.

Ye's father didn't pause for breath, pointing at the three brothers and cursing, wishing he could hang them up and beat them until they couldn't get out of bed.

After finishing his tirade, he gasped for air and continued: "If you don't listen to the elders, you'll suffer the consequences. You should've listened to Grandma—tied yourselves to ropes. Then you wouldn't have gotten carried away, charging straight at the big fish and getting swept away by the waves. It's exactly what you feared came true."

Ye's father had been reluctant too, thought Grandma was meddling—why tie ropes for no reason? He'd originally planned to ignore her, but just wanted to soothe her nerves, so he'd gone along with it.

Ye Yaodong also touched the rope tied around his waist and realized it was better to have it on—just in case. Sometimes, when your head heats up, you only rely on luck.

But he'd casually told his older and younger brothers to tie theirs too—only they hadn't listened.

It wasn't suitable to talk in the storm; Ye Yaodong saw others helping their own brothers home, so he interrupted his father: "Stop yelling—let Big Brother go inside and rest."

"Go in, go in…" Ye's father also felt sorry for his son's suffering and urged him to hurry inside.

After helping Ye Ye Yaopeng inside, Ye Yaodong walked while unfastening the middle connector of the rope, then split it into two, tying his own section back onto the courtyard gate.

There were plenty of fish, shrimp, and crabs scattered at the entrance—too bad to leave them. If the tide rose again soon, they'd wash back into the sea. Besides, he'd tied the rope…

Ye Ye Yaohua didn't want to go in either and followed them to the gate, picking up several more fish.

Ye's father looked at the two brothers, wanting to scold them to stop picking, but seeing the ground covered in fish, he himself hesitated to go inside.

Mainly because once inside, he'd keep thinking about it, pacing and scratching his head, unable to bear the thought of missing out.

Seeing a few neighboring households with flashlights coming out, he gritted his teeth and said: "Tie your ropes properly—don't go too far."

"Yes, we've learned our lesson—we won't forget."

Ye Ye Yaohua nodded too—this time, he wouldn't be greedy.

After securing the rope, Ye Yaodong went to pick up the bucket he'd left earlier by the roadside.

The bucket had tipped over—no doubt the small fish had been washed away, but the golden-eyed seabream was still there. As long as this fish remained, it was fine; he hadn't picked up much to begin with.

Luckily, he'd brought his nearly full bucket of white pomfret inside earlier—otherwise, he'd have lost it all.

This time, all the neighbors had learned their lesson and tied ropes around their waists as a precaution; they'd been too shaken just now, yet couldn't bear to return home empty-handed.

As he picked, Ye Yaodong asked his father how the people caught in the net were doing after it was hauled up twice.

He'd been focused entirely on his own family and hadn't paid attention to others; by the time he looked over, they'd already been helped away.

The two caught in the net had already swallowed several mouthfuls of seawater by the time they were pulled up—trapped inside, they couldn't balance themselves and panicked even more.

The one behind had already passed out from swallowing water when they hauled him up; only because they acted quickly did he revive on the spot.

"Thank heaven they're blessed with good fortune—they weren't meant to die."

Ye's father couldn't help cursing again: "It's all because you're greedy for money and reckless with your lives—you nearly didn't make it back! Do you think typhoon weather is fun? Those waves are higher than city buildings, yet you still dared to rush forward—what's in your heads, straw or shit…"

This time, Ye Yaodong retorted: "Don't yell at me—it's not my fault! I was behaving properly. Go yell at Ye Erge—he's the one over there."

"None of you are easy to manage…"

Ye Yaodong shifted aside, putting distance between himself and his father to avoid hearing the scolding.

This time, everyone had learned their lesson and stopped being greedy—only picking within their own range, and now everything was safe and sound.

But the typhoon howled without pause, wind strength increasing, blinding people so they could only face away from the gale; rain poured down like waterfalls, the typhoon hurling raindrops like dense bullets—pitter-patter, pitter-patter—while the rain curtain ahead thickened.

The stronger the wind, the higher the waves, and the more fish, shrimp, and crabs washed ashore—many deep-sea fish were swept up too.

Again, a pitter-patter sounded against their bodies, and before their eyes, another pot of dumplings fell.

After landing, Ye Yaodong looked closely—golden threadfish, large horse mackerel, even mantis shrimp—he felt a surge of joy, then hurried to pick them up.

He kept bending down, picking up fish of all sizes, and grew numb to it all.

Others too had gone from initial fear, nervously glancing at the sea, to excited picking, and now were all numb.

The typhoon's wind intensified further; the howling and rain grew louder, the crashing waves thundering in their ears. When even moving became difficult, Ye's father decisively shouted to his two sons to stop.

"Stop picking—enough! The wind's too strong."

The wind was too loud—his voice cracked—but they all heard him.

Ye Yaodong and Ye Ye Yaohua didn't hesitate—they now had to use their bodies to shield their buckets, or the full ones would be blown over.

The three of them promptly lifted their buckets and struggled back toward the house.

They didn't know how long they'd been picking; Ye Yaodong saw seven large baskets piled in the corner by his door—filled with fish he'd picked and fish his father had picked.

They'd only picked fish or things of value—like clams—they didn't bother; it was a waste of time, and they could pick them after the storm passed.

After emptying the buckets into the bamboo baskets, father and sons together lifted each basket of fish into the house.

The children cheered as if their fathers were victorious generals returning home.

"Ah! So many fish! Dad, you're amazing!"

"Dad, so great!"

"So many! Little Uncle, you picked up so much!"

The three boys' eyes sparkled as they clustered around the baskets—they'd been pressed against the window, itching to run out and pick, but held back firmly by the adults inside.

Not just the children were itching—Ye's mother, watching them carry in bucket after bucket, also longed to go out and pick, her heart as itchy as if cats were scratching inside.

But the old lady kept holding her back, saying it was enough that there were men outside.

Ye's mother was also overjoyed at this moment. "You picked up so many! We just saw the typhoon even blew fish into the courtyard, like fish falling from the sky. Several of them fell."

"Several? Outside the door, the fish were falling like dumplings in a pot, constantly going pili-pala down. Even with ropes tied around our waists, we couldn't reach the ones further away."

"Good thing they were tied, or they would have been swept away by the waves," Ye's father couldn't help but say.

"Huh? What do you mean swept away by the waves?"

After just sending Ye Ye Yaopeng home, none of them had gone inside yet, and those inside knew nothing about how Ye Ye Yaopeng had almost been swept away by the chaos.

Only then did Ye's father speak of the danger just now.

This scared Ye's mother into slapping Ye's father hard several times. "Are you just eating dry rice? You knew to tie a rope around your own waist, but didn't think to tell your two sons to tie one too? If anything had happened, I'd never forgive you and me..."

Ye's father's arms and back made a pili-pala sound from Ye's mother's slaps; his shoulders hunched up, yet he didn't dodge. "Alright, alright, he's been saved, it's fine. I was nearly scared to death just now too."

"Then you should have come inside and told us."

"Didn't I say dumplings were falling from the sky... ah, pfft... I mean fish were falling? We hurriedly tied ropes and picked them up. Coming in to tell you would have just worried you for no reason."

The old lady also grabbed Ye Yaodong's arm, feeling him up and down, looking up with concern. "Ah, are you alright? How is your eldest brother? Oh, Amitabha... Amitabha... You young people are just like that, you don't listen to what we say..."

"I did listen! It's because of your wisdom, old one, that I obediently followed your instructions. I'm perfectly fine, aren't I? Look, I safely brought back so many fish."

"This is the blessing of Goddess Mazu. You can't take risks anymore, you can't go out again..."

Ye's mother chimed in too. "That's why I was wondering why you shone the flashlight so far just now, and why those people nearby kept going in and out."

The old lady patted his back a few times. "As long as you're fine, as long as you're fine. Don't go out again. The wind is getting stronger outside. If you go out again, the typhoon will blow you away. The waves are huge, it's too dangerous."

Lin Lin Xiuqing, hearing them talk, felt her heart rise. "Don't take risks anymore. You're all wet. Hurry and take a hot bath so you don't catch a cold. Father, go take a bath too. After all that trouble, you must be exhausted. The hot water is already heated over there. I'll cook some brown sugar ginger water for you."

"We're already inside, we won't go out. I'm exhausted. What time is it?"

"Past eight."

Ye's father pointed at the baskets of fish. "You two sort these fish. We'll take them to sell after the typhoon passes tomorrow."

"This typhoon is no small thing. After it passes tomorrow, there should be even more to pick up," Ye's mother said hopefully.

"Mm, let's see how high the tide rises and whether it takes them back into the sea."

The old lady urged, "Alright, stop talking. Hurry and go take a bath."