Chapter 532: The Big Puddle After the Tide Recedes

The long night stretched on; a cool breeze blew outside, while inside, warmth surged and churned, even making the moon blush and hide behind clouds.

The next morning, after eating, the couple left their three children to go to school and play on their own, then slipped away to do as they pleased.

Ye Yaodong carried a bucket, whistling as he walked toward where the boat was moored. The wind by the shore was strong; though it wasn't yet cold enough for a cotton-padded coat, he'd put one on before leaving, fearing the sea breeze—and now it was actually warm.

He tugged at his collar to fan himself, then turned back to urge, "Hurry up, are you done? I told you to wear a hat and scarf before we left, but you insisted on putting them on only at the dock—are you afraid no one will notice your beauty?"

Lin Lin Xiuqing ran over, wrapping the scarf tightly around her face and head, then jamming the hat on top so it wouldn't slip off.

"What are you talking about? I'm not trying to look like a mummy—I'm afraid if I'm bundled up too tightly, people will think I'm strange! You never say anything decent—your mouth is always spouting nonsense. I'm not going."

She stamped her foot, pretending to turn back, but Ye Yaodong rushed over and grabbed her arm, smiling apologetically, "Don't be like that—I was wrong. My wife is so beautiful, let's leave your face uncovered so everyone can see what a real beauty looks like."

Lin Lin Xiuqing instantly burst into laughter, playfully hitting him twice. "Get on the boat already, stop joking around."

"I had to sweet-talk you first, didn't I? Getting on the boat isn't as important as sweet-talking my wife. Only after I've sweet-talked you can we go to bed."

Lin Lin Xiuqing didn't catch his double meaning—she just glared at him several more times. All he ever had was a sharp tongue.

Hui shuffled over slowly, smiling at them. "You two heading out to sea at this hour—what for?"

"Nothing much—she's a mountain girl who's never been to sea…"

Lin Lin Xiuqing pinched his waist secretly. Ye Yaodong gasped sharply and quickly corrected himself, "... the traps need collecting. I'm going to gather them. She's curious what the open sea looks like, so I'm taking her out for a look—just to see the ocean…"

"You two have such good marital harmony."

"Of course," he said, then pulled Lin Lin Xiuqing along. "Let's go, get on the boat—early departure, early return."

Lin Lin Xiuqing hurried to follow.

Once aboard, Ye Yaodong lifted his shirt to inspect his lower back. "A man's waist is important. Don't keep pinching it all the time—next time, pinch my arm instead!"

"Still joking? Hurry up and set sail. Early departure, early return—we've got two kids at home. I said I didn't want to come, but you dragged me out anyway."

"Man and woman together, work feels lighter. It's boring going out alone."

Ye Yaodong rubbed his waist, muttered a few more complaints, then started the boat.

Lin Lin Xiuqing stood beside him, watching curiously as he steered, then glanced left and right at the other boats moored along the shore, still idle.

Far out on the sea, scattered small wooden boats drifted, working.

Though married for years, she'd never been to sea—always pregnant, nursing, or caring for children. She found it all refreshingly new.

"Ah Dong, where's the island we're going to?"

"Let's check the closer ones—preferably higher ground with a beach, not too steep. The tide's slowly receding now. The islands I started digging last year are still good—I found treasures there. I'll check them first. It's been a year since I last visited; the shellfish must've grown big by now. I just wonder if any villagers from nearby have been there."

"Do you think there might still be pearls?"

"Pearls don't form easily—only on islands untouched for a long time. Don't dream of those. Finding one treasure is already lucky—can't expect one every time. These are windfalls. We need steady income more."

"Steady income? Then I can only count on you, the head of this household."

"Easy. Treat me well, and everything's yours."

"You're such a scoundrel!"

Ye Yaodong burst into laughter. He felt he was nearing the peak of life—elderly parents above, children below, daily life smoothly managed. This, too, was happiness.

It had been a full year since he last visited the nearby islands. He picked one at random, deciding to first check the island where sea turtles had laid eggs last year—once a turtle lays eggs, it returns again; unlike pearls, they're not rare.

Adult sea turtles, no matter how far they roam, return every year across vast distances to their "hometown" to lay eggs.

As the small island drew nearer, Lin Lin Xiuqing felt a strange excitement. "Is this it? Did you dig here last year?"

"I didn't dig only here—you can't keep squeezing one sheep for wool. You need to spread it out."

"So you did dig here too."

"Remember the sea turtle eggs?"

"I remember—was it here?"

"Yes. But it's cold now—turtle egg-laying season's over. I don't know if any un-hatched eggs remain."

He thought it unlikely—it was already past November. But he'd come on a whim, and originally just planned to dig for shells.

"Hey, why are we heading this way?"

"The water's too shallow over there—we'd get stuck before we could get close. We'd have to wade through. Winter's coming soon—I don't mind getting wet, but you shouldn't."

"Mm-hmm."

After mooring the boat, Ye Yaodong helped her carefully step across the patches of rocks.

Lin Lin Xiuqing looked down at the rocks, covered densely with mussels. She held back the urge to crouch and pick them.

"There really are this many?"

"Yes. The surface's slippery and uneven—go down and dig slowly."

"Mm."

Ye Yaodong stepped onto the edge and jumped down first, then lifted her down.

"You look around—dig whatever you find. I'll go check the surroundings."

"Check what? Sea turtle eggs?"

"No. Just take a look around. Dig your fill—don't worry about me. I won't go far. If you need me, shout—I'll hear you."

"Oh."

Watching him walk ahead, she obediently put on gloves, pulled out her tools, and began searching the surrounding rocks.

She knew what was worth selling, what wasn't, what tasted good—she planned to find the sellable ones first.

Ye Yaodong carried a shovel, wandering aimlessly along the beach, occasionally digging a scoop into the sand—always targeting bubble holes. Each scoop unearthed clams, but he was too lazy to pick them up.

At the muddy edges, he dug up razor clams. He wasn't keen to collect them, but still picked them up, tossing them into the sack he held. These small finds no longer interested him—unless there were many.

Ye Yaodong saw the ground covered densely with bubble holes—he knew clams lay beneath, but thought it too early to waste time here. He simply circled around, planning to return later if nothing better turned up.

He carefully stepped back a few paces, walking toward areas without bubble holes—stepping directly on them would obscure the small openings, making it impossible to locate them later.

Spotting a discarded bamboo slat nearby, he picked it up and stuck it into the ground as a marker—so he could find the spot easily when he returned.

When he came back last year, the animals were all so excited, howling and rushing straight at the shells on the rocks to dig wildly, and they hadn't even finished exploring the whole area, so next time they'll switch to a different island.

Today he could walk around first depending on the situation, then decide what to dig. Anyway, Ah Qing was already there digging with stars in her eyes, so he had a guaranteed baseline.

Walking to the side, he saw on the empty sandy beach nearby, little mounds of sand one after another, like piles of poop...

A novel app that has run stably for many years, comparable to the old version of the book-chasing tool, a source-switching app that all veteran readers use.

He figured if the two boys were here, they'd definitely get excited and shout that there's poop...

He casually scooped with a shovel, and dug up something that looked a lot like a sandworm, and also very much like an earthworm.

It had a round head, lots of antennae-like things on its body, and a long thin tail.

Ye Yaodong muttered, "A sand caterpillar."

This thing is also called sea earthworm, and it doesn't look much different from the earthworms on land.

Their local fishermen often say, whatever animal there is on land, there's one in the sea — seahorse, walrus, sea pig, sea snake, sea centipede... since there are earthworms on land, of course there are sea earthworms in the sea.

Sandworms can also be called sea earthworms, it's just that the two are different species.

The sand caterpillar digs a "u"-shaped hole under the beach, lies gracefully inside with its head and tail facing the two openings, then swallows sand containing microorganisms and organic matter from one end, and expels the nutrient-less sand from the other.

That's right, it's lying down eating a buffet.

It's basically eating with its mouth and pooping with its rear at the same time, eating and pooping simultaneously, and its gut is what people call straight.

Those little mounds of sand one after another are exactly what they leave behind — this is sand caterpillar poop.

Some that like neatness will deposit it in a very orderly pattern, some that are more careless will just deposit it randomly.

Ye Yaodong saw that on his right were the air holes of the razor clams he had just avoided, and on his left was all sand caterpillar poop. He couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth. These creatures really do like to cluster, each occupying their own territory, not interfering with each other.

He was even lazier about digging these things. After a couple of casual shovelfuls, he just skipped past them, stepping on the poop one foot at a time. Seeing those little mounds protruding on the beach, he really wanted to stomp them flat.

As if the beach became flat, his heart would feel at ease.

Not until he saw a stranded mudskipper on the beach did he stop stepping on poop and go pick up the fish first.

Because the tide had only just started receding not long ago, the beach area wasn't actually that big. He was wandering along the perimeter of the island; for the beach to be fully exposed, it would probably take another three or four hours.

He browsed and picked things up as he went — all kinds of stranded little seafood, varied in species, not worth much money, only good for harvesting some joy.

Until he saw a patch of low reef rocks at a 270-degree sharp turn ahead, and those reef rocks encircled what turned out to be a large tidal pool.

This was exposed when the tide had just gone out.