Chapter 21: Setting Sail

Today was Zhou Chenglei's turn to use the boat. During dinner yesterday, the father and his two sons had agreed: Zhou Chenglei would go out to sea today, Zhou Chengxin tomorrow, and finally, Father Zhou.

Zhou Chengxin likely felt uneasy because he was living in a new house while Zhou Chenglei and his parents were still in the old one, so he let Zhou Chenglei go out first.

Zhou Chenglei carefully moved the small arm and long leg draped over him.

However, just as he moved Jiang Xia's small arm away, before he could even shift her long leg, her arm reached out again, hugging him even tighter.

Zhou Chenglei tried several times, but he simply couldn't move her; every time he pulled away, she clung back on.

He was breaking into a sweat!

Zhou Chenglei could only whisper, "Jiang Xia, let go of me first. I need to get up and go to sea."

"Jiang Xia, Jiang Xia."

It took three calls before Jiang Xia finally woke up, responding dizzily, "Oh, is it time to get up and sell vegetables?"

Jiang Xia sat up without even opening her eyes.

Zhou Chenglei: "..."

What was this about selling vegetables? Was she dreaming about a vegetable stall?

"I'm going out to sea. Go back to sleep."

The low, mellow male voice near her ear gave Jiang Xia a jolt, instantly waking her up.

She had just dreamed she was sleeping with her grandmother.

Zhou Chenglei pulled back the mosquito net and got out of bed without turning on the light. "Go back to sleep."

Jiang Xia was now completely awake. Realizing he was about to head out to sea, she hurriedly got out of bed as well, fumbling to turn on the light. "I'll go out to sea with you. I've never been out on the ocean before; I want to see what it's like. Is that okay?"

People living by the mountains live off the mountains, and people living by the water live off the water. Since they lived by the coast, they made a living fishing. Jiang Xia wanted to see how fishing was done; perhaps in the future, she might have the chance to own a fishing boat and head out to sea herself.

Zhou Chenglei originally wanted to refuse, thinking she wouldn't be able to handle the harsh sun at sea, but when he met her eyes, the words wouldn't come out.

Under the light, those beautiful, large eyes were as bright as the moonlight shattered across the sea in the dark of night—deep, enchanting, and filled with anticipation.

He nodded. "Alright."

Since it was his turn today, the money earned would all be his alone and wouldn't affect his older brother. If she couldn't handle it later, she could just come back early; it was nothing more than a bit of wasted fuel.

Jiang Xia smiled, her eyes sparkling. "Then I'll go get ready!"

If her eyes had just looked like moonlight shattered across the sea in the dark, they now looked like sunlight shattered across the sea at dusk—dazzling and brilliant, like a shimmering galaxy.

Zhou Chenglei gave a soft hum of agreement, averted his gaze, grabbed his clothes, and walked out of the room.

Because Zhou Chenglei was taking Jiang Xia out to sea, Mother Zhou pulled Father Zhou aside and whispered for him to be tactful. She told him not to interfere with his son and daughter-in-law building their relationship and to stay out of the way whenever possible.

The two of them had finally shared a bed last night, and she was hoping to hold a grandchild as soon as possible!

Father Zhou was speechless. Did she think the family boat was huge? Stay out of the way? He might as well just jump into the sea!

The three of them walked toward the pier together.

It was August. By the seaside before dawn, the moon was bright, the stars were sparse, and fishing lights flickered in the distance. The sea breeze blew in, carrying a faint scent of the ocean.

Most families in the village who went out to fish left around this time, but they were a bit late today; several boats had already set out.

Father Zhou wore a headlamp to light the way, his pace somewhat brisk. Jiang Xia didn't want to hold them back, so she jogged along behind them.

"No rush, my dad is going to buy some diesel first."

Only then did Jiang Xia slow her pace.

Zhou Chenglei held a flashlight to light her path, matching his steps to her speed.

After walking for about ten minutes, they reached the pier.

Fishing boats were moored at the pier, their lights casting ethereal shadows and silhouettes of people. Everyone was a fisherman or a crew member preparing to head out.

Father Zhou had already bought the diesel and brought it onto the boat.

When people saw that the person beside Zhou Chenglei wasn't Zhou Chengxin but a woman, they couldn't help but steal glances with strange expressions.

An elderly man, roughly the same age as Father Zhou, glanced at Jiang Xia and asked Zhou Chenglei, "Ah Lei, is this your wife? You're taking her out to sea?"

Zhou Chenglei boarded the boat first and reached out to help Jiang Xia up, fearing she might lose her footing. He only replied, "Mhm."

Jiang Xia glanced at his large hand before reaching hers out. Once Zhou Chenglei helped her onto the boat, he let go.

The man looked at Father Zhou again. "Zhou Yongfu, do you want bad luck by taking a woman out to sea?"

Father Zhou was busy untying ropes. Hearing this, he snapped back, "Bullshit! I'm not as superstitious as you. I have no taboos!"

"Bah! Don't say I didn't warn you. Women have no bottom, so they cause leaks. You dare take her out to sea? Just wait for your bad luck!"

Other villagers couldn't help but chime in: "Chenglei, going to sea isn't a joke. Listen to your uncle—don't take your wife! Women on a boat bring bad luck. Do you not want your life?"

Jiang Xia had truly never heard of such things, though she didn't believe them. However, she wondered if Zhou Chenglei minded.

She asked, "Is there a saying in the village that women can't go out to sea?"

Zhou Chenglei disliked hearing such things. He said indifferently, "My family can. Don't mind others."

It was the era of Reform and Opening-up; women held up half the sky. There were even female comrades on warships—how could it be bad luck? He never believed women were incapable; some female soldiers were incredibly brave.

Father Zhou steered the boat out to sea. He didn't believe in this nonsense either. He had secretly taken his wife out to sea in the past, and they had lived a safe life. He only believed that when a husband and wife are of one mind, they can cut through metal!

Seeing that they wouldn't listen, everyone shook their heads. "If you don't listen to your elders, you'll suffer the consequences."

"Truly fearless of death!"

"Just wait for the bad luck! Even if the boat doesn't capsize, they won't catch any fish."

"Why are you all being so kind as to remind him? Let them be..."

***

The engine made a "da-da-da" sound as the boat slowly moved toward the vast, pitch-black ocean, beneath a canopy of shimmering stars.

There wasn't much to see in the night sea, only the scattered lights from fishing boats.

She looked up at the midsummer night sky, where the stars twinkled.

"Are you cold?" Zhou Chenglei handed her a military-green jacket.

"A little."

The sea breeze was slightly chilly. Jiang Xia took the jacket and put it on. It carried a faint scent of soap—his scent.

After giving her the jacket, Zhou Chenglei went to steer the boat, letting Father Zhou take a rest.

As time passed, the stars gradually "closed their eyes" and the sky began to brighten. A sliver of white light appeared on the eastern horizon, gradually spreading out.

As Jiang Xia prepared to watch the sunrise, she suddenly saw a flash of golden light on the distant sea surface.

Curiously, she asked, "Zhou Chenglei, I saw a flash of gold over there on the water. Is it some kind of glowing fish?"

Zhou Chenglei was steering, and with the "da-da-da" of the engine, his hearing wasn't great, so he didn't hear her. Father Zhou looked in the direction she pointed, but unfortunately, he saw nothing.

"Some fish do glow," he said unconcernedly.

Seeing they had traveled far enough, Father Zhou went to take the helm and said to Zhou Chenglei, "Go prepare the nets, I'll steer."

Zhou Chenglei went to prepare the nets.

Jiang Xia faintly heard a "gog-gog" sound.

She asked, "Did you hear that 'gog-gog' sound? Is it a seabird?"

"Gog-gog?" Zhou Chenglei paused his movements, stopped preparing the nets, and looked out at the sea. "Which direction?"

Father Zhou also looked at Jiang Xia. "Where is there a 'gog-gog' sound?"

This wasn't a sound made by ordinary fish.

The sound vanished, but Jiang Xia still pointed in a direction. "It seemed to come from over there."

Father Zhou immediately steered the boat toward the direction she pointed, feeling a hint of anticipation.

A "gog-gog" sound... could it be...?

At that moment, the "gog-gog" sound rang out again.

Jiang Xia: "Listen, it happened again!"

As soon as she spoke, the sound returned, and it wasn't just a single sound, but "gog-gog..." "gog-gog-gog..." one after another, like old frogs in a field in early summer or birds in the trees.

Then, it became a chorus, as if responding to one another, rising and falling in waves!

"Gog-gog-gog-gog-gog..."

The sound was so loud it was like water boiling in a kettle, or the roaring sound of wind blowing through a pine forest.