Chapter 7: Go to the Beach

After Ye's father left, Ye's eldest son and second son also went to the pier to check the boats.

With the first day of the month approaching, the tides have receded significantly lately; if the boats run aground, they won't be able to set out to sea tonight, so they need to check and move the boats farther out, and also buy a barrel of diesel to store on board—they plan to go out at night when luck is strong.

The large yellow croaker caught yesterday was truly exhilarating; they wanted to head out right away, but they couldn't—the time was too short, and returning too soon would waste diesel money.

The women at home also sat by the door with their fishing nets, beginning their daily net-mending.

This time, however, they were unusually energetic—once the house was finished, they'd each get their own new home to move into; who wouldn't be happy?

Lin Lin Xiuqing was also delighted; even her lips and teeth still bore bruises from their last fight, let alone between sisters-in-law—she too wanted her own little home, and her hands moved faster as she wove the net.

Their fishing village was called Bai Sha, far from the county seat—a more than hour-long mountain path away—and since the women had to care for the household, they couldn't go out to work; the only way they could earn money was by making fishing nets.

This work paid little, but it was light and could be done at home; every woman by the sea knew how to weave and repair nets, while most village men either took odd jobs or farmed, and only a few owned boats to go fishing.

Lin Lin Xiuqing had been married here for years and had learned to make nets—after all, her husband did nothing, so she had to rely on herself to save money.

Everyone had work in hand, yet Ye Yaodong had become the idlest of all—even the old lady was helping them thread the shuttles and needles in a continuous line.

He shuffled over, crouched beside his wife, picked up her woven net, and asked curiously, "How many of these gill nets can you weave in a day?"

Lin Lin Xiuqing gave him a puzzled look. "Five or six. The baby cries and fusses, there's too much to do—I can't make more. Big sister-in-law and second sister-in-law make more."

"Then how much money do you make in a day?"

"Less than a yuan—just a few jiao!"

Ye Yaodong glanced disdainfully at the net, puckered his lips—labor was so cheap!

Just as he turned to say something, his second son, Ye Ye Chengyang, came up and shoved a cucumber smeared with saliva into his mouth, startling him so badly he plopped straight onto the ground and quickly spat it out.

"Ugh—pheeew! Are you disgusting? You eat it yourself, but shove it in my mouth?"

Ye's mother glanced at him from the side. "Your own son is being filial, and you're complaining?"

"If you don't mind, I'll grab a piece of cucumber, smear it with my own saliva, and feed it to you! He's your own son—don't complain!"

"Don't be gross. How old are you? How old is he? A baby's drool is clean."

"He's grabbing everything, sticking it all in his mouth—how clean can it be?" Ye Yaodong slapped his butt and stood up; seeing his son about to stomp on the net, he snatched him away. "Stop being naughty, or I'll beat you."

"Don't scare him—he's just a baby, what does he know? It's rare that today you didn't go out—stay home and watch the child properly, let your wife weave more…"

"Li Xiang—the tide's out, stop weaving nets, come with us to gather seafood…"

Ye's mother's real name was Chen Li Xiang; she was the second daughter in her family. Before she finished speaking, she was interrupted—her elder sister was calling her.

She had married into the same village; these days, every household had many children, and Bai Sha Village had four to five hundred households—half the village were distant relatives.

"It's still two days until the first of the month—what's there to dig today?" Though she said that, she still stuck her shuttle and needle into the net and stood up.

"Go see—you won't waste much time. I heard some people have already gone. Hurry up, I'll go ahead first."

"Alright, alright," Ye's mother replied, then called out to everyone in the courtyard, "Everyone, gather up the nets, grab your shovels, tools, and buckets, and come along."

At this time, they mostly called it "tao hai"; "gan hai" was used less often.

Since Ye Yaodong had nothing to do anyway, he followed along behind.

Since his rebirth, he had never gone out to see their little fishing village.

Lin Lin Xiuqing hugged her son and gave him a puzzled look—he seemed off today. "Aren't you going out?"

"Where to? Do you really want me to go out?"

She turned her head away—who wanted a husband lounging around outside all day? "No, just asking."

"I don't feel like going out today—I'll go with you to tao hai, see if there's anything to find. It's been a while since I walked on the beach."

It really had been a long time since he leisurely walked on the beach; in his past life, he'd only taken his little grandson there during the fishing ban when they didn't go out to sea.

Lin Lin Xiuqing sized him up, then looked up at the sun blazing overhead—had the sun risen in the west? How rare!

Ye Yaodong watched her actions, his mouth twitching—what's wrong with going to tao hai with you?

This time around, he wanted to try hard.

He turned away, silent, observing curiously the dilapidated surroundings; after forty years, he'd nearly forgotten what the village looked like in the 1980s—now, seeing it, memories returned.

Underfoot was Shi Zilu, hard to walk on; one misstep and you'd bleed from your palms and knees. Weeds grew thick on both sides, and a small drainage ditch ran alongside, with uniform rows of low stone cottages and a few two-story brick-and-tile houses.

The brick-and-tile houses were newly built these past few years; previously, everyone built with stone. After 2020, stone houses became rare, and those still standing were coated with cement plaster and painted.

"Sigh…"

"Ah!"

Ye Yaodong, distracted by looking around, didn't watch his step and accidentally stepped on his wife's heel; she staggered forward, nearly tumbling, the child almost flying out of her arms.

He quickly reached out, pulled her back, and wrapped both her and the child in his arms.

"Are you alright?"

"What are you doing? Can't you watch where you're walking? If I fall, fine—but what if the child falls?" Lin Lin Xiuqing patted the child's back, still shaken; the child, however, was fearless—no crying, no fussing, not even startled—she felt a little relieved.

"Sorry, I wasn't paying attention. This Shi Zilu is hard to walk on. Let me hold the child."

Truly, the sun had risen in the west—he apologized and volunteered to hold the child? Since morning, he'd been acting strange—Lin Lin Xiuqing gave him a suspicious glance.

"What's wrong with you today?"

Ye Yaodong's heart tightened—he knew it, the person closest to you understands you best. Better to take it slow.

He shoved his hands in his pockets, didn't take the child, and said casually, "Nothing. Old man and old lady opened my eyes. Let's go."

Lin Lin Xiuqing: "..."

"What are you staring at? Hurry up—they're already far ahead."

"Oh, oh..."