Chapter 54: Typhoon Day Fishing

Still bringing a sack?

Is there a lot of stuff?

Lin Xiuqing followed Leaf Yao Dong to the beach with some doubt. The tide had just started to recede a little, and she saw the waves in the distance still rolling in, one after another, which looked quite spectacular.

She had been married for five years but had never come to the beach during a typhoon. Either she was pregnant or taking care of the kids.

“Isn’t it beautiful? Our beach is quite nice,” said Leaf Yao Dong.

It was a bit yellow due to the typhoon, though.

“Aren’t we supposed to see if there’s anything to pick up? Let’s go down, we’ll head back soon. Who knows when the heavy rain will hit?” he said, heading toward the beach.

Leaf Yao Dong shook his head, watching her walk ahead. No fun at all!

“Wow, there really is something to pick up!” Lin Xiuqing, stepping onto the sand, saw an enormous clam by her feet and was delighted.

He quickly took a few steps forward. “See? I wasn’t lying! There really is something to pick up!”

Lin Xiuqing rolled her eyes at him. “It’s not worth much. You had to drag me out during a typhoon. If there were something valuable, I’d be glad.”

“We’ll see. With waves this big, there’s a good chance some sea creatures got washed ashore.”

“Mm.”

A few steps later, Lin Xiuqing found another large clam. Her face lit up with joy. This was different from digging for clams in the sand—it didn’t require digging, and this clam was five or six times bigger than the usual ones. Just walking around and finding something was much more enjoyable.

Leaf Yao Dong also bent down to pick one up. “Here, I got one too, though it’s not as big as yours.”

“Is that all we’re picking up, just these clams?”

“Let’s walk around and see.”

From his experience, with the big waves on a typhoon day, there was a high chance that sea creatures would be washed up on the beach, so he didn’t mind taking the risk of going out during the typhoon while the tide was low.

“Fish… fish fish…” Lin Xiuqing excitedly grabbed his arm, pointing toward the waves ahead.

Leaf Yao Dong looked in the direction she was pointing and saw a dumb fish that had been tossed out of the water by the waves. When the waves receded, the fish was left stranded on the sand, still flopping around.

Lin Xiuqing quickly shoved the clams into his arms, running ahead to try to grab the fish. But it was too slippery, and even after she caught it, it slipped from her hands.

Just then, another wave was coming in, and Leaf Yao Dong quickly stuffed the clams into his pocket. He rushed forward to kick the fish back onto the sand and wrapped his arms around his wife to shield her from the wave.

A big wave crashed against his back, soaking him to the bone. The seawater dripped from his forehead, while Lin Xiuqing, protected in his arms, wasn’t hit by the wave, though some seawater dripped onto her face.

Lin Xiuqing blinked and looked at him in surprise, “Are you okay? Why are you still protecting me from the waves? You’re soaked. Let’s go back and change your clothes.”

He wiped the seawater off his face and nonchalantly said, “I’m fine. Just take it off when we get home. Did you catch the fish? It looks like it weighs about five or six pounds. We can take it back, pickle half, and make fish soup with the other half for lunch.”

“Okay, sounds good.”

Actually, the fish was called Haiqingyu (sea herring), but the locals affectionately called it “dumb fish” or “silly fish” because it was so easy to catch. It was very cheap, with locals buying it for five yuan per pound at the pier, while outsiders paid eight yuan per pound. It might even be as low as 4-5 cents now.

As for why it was called “dumb,” it was because it was incredibly stupid. Fishermen often found this fish jumping onto their boats, offering themselves up as a free meal.

This wasn’t a one-off occurrence—it happened all the time. The local fishermen called it the “dumb fish” because it was so easy to catch.

Lin Xiuqing tried several times to grab the fish, but it slipped away each time, falling back onto the beach with a flick of its tail.

“You’re so clumsy!”

Leaf Yao Dong pulled out the sack from his pocket, shook it open, and then kicked the dumb fish into the sack, tossing a few clams in with it.

“I should’ve brought a bucket. It’ll just die in the sack, right?” Lin Xiuqing remarked.

“We’ll kill it when we get back. It doesn’t matter. Are you planning to fill a bucket of water to keep it alive? It’s not worth much. Let’s go,” he responded.

“Alright.”

They hadn’t walked very far when Leaf Yao Dong’s sharp eyes caught sight of something golden shining out from beneath a rock. He tugged at his wife. “Look here…”

Lin Xiuqing immediately spotted it too. “Ah, it’s a pomfret! It’s huge!”

“Yeah, a golden pomfret! It’s a decent size, over a pound. Too bad it’s not a white pomfret. White pomfret tastes better!” As he spoke, he crouched down and checked its gills, which were bright red, indicating the fish was still fresh and recently died. He decided to keep it.

Golden pomfrets looked more beautiful than white ones, but they were less useful. White pomfret had finer and more delicate meat, while golden pomfret’s meat was thicker and coarser. However, white pomfrets were usually small, under a pound, while golden pomfrets were often over a pound.

White pomfrets could fetch double the price if they weighed over six taels, and during the closed fishing season, they could be sold for as much as 120 yuan per pound.

For Lin Xiuqing, it didn’t matter whether it was a golden or white pomfret. After all, they had just found a good fortune. If the sea creatures could be sold, that would be great, and if not, they could keep them. It was always a win.

“Looks like there’s something to pick up on a typhoon day. Should’ve called Big Sister and Second Sister out,” Leaf Yao Dong said.

Lin Xiuqing raised an eyebrow. “Why call them? Just to be the third wheel?”

It wasn’t often that the couple had some free time to themselves. After all, since their rebirth, they hadn’t had much chance to be this relaxed and alone together. He had no intention of inviting anyone else.

“Let’s go down further. The tide’s going out a bit more,” he suggested.

Just as he was about to follow the receding tide, the small pool beneath the rock where the pomfret had been suddenly rippled with waves. “Wait a moment… I’m going to move this rock and see what’s under it.”

“Anything there?”

“Possibly. The tide just receded, and these low areas with rocks are where sea creatures might get stranded.”

Lin Xiuqing squatted down, curious, as she watched him move the rock.

“Ah, it’s a little blue crab.”

Leaf Yao Dong saw it too. It was small, probably less than half a pound, but still a blue crab, which was better than a rock crab.

“Do you dare to catch it?”

“I’m scared of its big pincers.”

“Just grab it by the back. It can’t bite you.”

He grabbed the crab and suddenly thrust it in front of her, startling her so much that she leaned back and sat down in the sand. “What are you doing?!”

“Just trying to scare you.”

Lin Xiuqing glared at him, dusted off her bottom, and stood up, ignoring him as she continued walking.

Leaf Yao Dong quickly tossed the blue crab into the sack and followed her.

“Hehe, are you mad?”

“No. Let’s hurry and find more. The sky’s getting cloudy again. It might rain any minute.”

The two of them continued to walk along the beach, bending down frequently to pick up clams. Every clam they found was a large one. They were enjoying themselves so much.

Often, just as they picked up one clam and tossed it into the sack, another wave would roll in, bringing more clams up to the shore. They had to act quickly, or the clams would roll back into the sea with the tide.