Chapter 63 Exhausted Today

Lin Yu felt that the sea cucumbers he had harvested this time were already quite enough. Since danger had already appeared in the depths of the sea, it was wisest to return to the boat as quickly as possible, with no real need to take further risks. After all, in this unpredictable underwater world, no one could predict what worse events might happen next.

With a strong kick of his legs and a powerful stroke of his arms, he swam rapidly toward the surface. As he kept ascending, the surrounding seawater seemed to transform into a dreamlike and fantastical world.

Within that deep blue water, countless jellyfish were swimming at ease. They looked like a group of elves from the deep sea, their bodies displaying translucent, pale pink, or light blue hues. Under the thin rays of sunlight filtering through the sea surface, they refracted colorful, dazzling lights, sparkling like flowing gemstones.

Some of the jellyfish were petite, gently pulsing their umbrella-shaped bodies. With each contraction and expansion, they floated upward lightly with exquisite grace, resembling fairies dancing gracefully in the air, trailing long, veil-like soft tentacles that flickered with tiny specks of light. Swaying slowly with the current, they seemed to keep time for this silent dance.

Other larger jellyfish swam with a slow yet distinct majesty. Their massive umbrella caps resembled exquisite canopies, with surrounding tentacles spreading out wantonly like tassels on a magnificent skirt. As the jellyfish moved, they gently swayed, intertwining to create a breathtaking scene.

At times, they gathered together as if attending a grand celebration, their lights merging to dye that patch of sea in brilliant colors; at other times, they dispersed, swimming in different directions like fireworks blooming in the night sky.

Immersed in this "ocean" of jellyfish, Lin Yu was momentarily entranced. The tension from the danger he had just experienced was largely washed away by this stunning view. He slowed his swimming pace, quietly appreciating the rare and wondrous sight before him, as if he too had melted into this dreamlike underwater fairyland and become a part of it.

Still, he dared not linger for long, knowing that Wang Dachun was waiting for him on the boat. After a brief pause, he continued swimming toward the surface, though the jellyfish's beautiful forms remained deeply engraved in his mind.

"Splash!"

Lin Yu's head broke through the surface of the water as if he had been reborn. He took huge, deep breaths of the air carrying a faint sea scent, his chest heaving violently. The refreshing air rushing into his lungs gradually dispelled the tension and suffocation he had just felt underwater.

Wang Dachun had been staring unblinkingly at the water surface, keeping a constant watch for Lin Yu's movements. Seeing him emerge, he didn't say a word before reaching out and firmly grabbing Lin Yu's arm. With practiced coordination, Wang Dachun gave a mighty pull and hauled Lin Yu securely onto the boat.

As soon as he was on board, Lin Yu collapsed onto the deck and hurriedly shed his heavy equipment piece by piece. At that moment, he felt utterly drained, as if all his strength had been sucked out of him. He could only lie on the boat, panting heavily with a somewhat dazed gaze, while his mind kept replaying the dreamlike and beautiful scene he had just witnessed underwater.

The sight of those school-like, colorful jellyfish swimming freely in the deep blue water was simply too stunning. He couldn't help marveling to himself that such scenery was truly a once-in-a-lifetime encounter, something he would likely only ever experience once in his life.

Meanwhile, Wang Dachun's attention was entirely focused on Lin Yu's net bag. Noticing that the net bag from this last dive was not completely full, a curious look appeared on his face. He leaned close to Lin Yu and couldn't help asking, "Xiao Yu, what's going on? Were all the sea cucumbers down there picked clean? Why isn't it full this time?"

Lin Yu shook his head slightly, gathered his breath a bit, and said, "Picked clean? There are still plenty of ducks down there."

With that, he vividly recounted to Wang Dachun how he had encountered box jellyfish on the seabed and then seen countless jellyfish swimming during his ascent. As Wang Dachun listened, his eyes grew wider and wider, and he kept clicking his tongue in amazement, marveling as he imagined the wondrous underwater scene.

Having secured enough sea cucumbers and after giving Lin Yu sufficient time to rest, the two began packing up to return to the village.

In this era, there were no advanced refrigeration equipment and technologies, so preserving sea cucumbers was quite a delicate matter. First, they carefully emptied the sea cucumbers from the net bag into a large wooden tub prepared in advance. Then, they scooped seawater from the bucket on the boat and slowly poured it into the wooden tub, ensuring the sea cucumbers were immersed to maintain their freshness to a certain extent.

As soon as Lin Yu arrived home, his entire body felt as if it had fallen apart, and he collapsed onto the warm brick bed (*kang*). Every bone in his body seemed drained of strength; today's tossing and turning in the sea had thoroughly exhausted him. After all, swimming was an extremely physically demanding activity, let alone struggling back and forth multiple times in the surging waves and undercurrents of the open ocean.

However, this ordeal had also greatly toughened Lin Yu's physique, adding a resilient edge to his originally somewhat slender body.

Seeing Lin Yu's exhausted state, Wang Dachun burst out laughing and teased, "Looking like this, you probably won't be able to go down into the sea tomorrow. Look at you, so tired you're practically falling apart."

Lin Yu smiled bitterly, waved his hand feebly, and replied weakly, "I wasn't planning on going down tomorrow anyway. I need to go into town and sell today's harvest of sea cucumbers. Although sea cucumbers can keep for a while, if you leave them too long, they start to shrink, and then you won't get a good price for them. So I have to get them sold quickly."

Pausing for a moment, a trace of anticipation flashed in Lin Yu's eyes as he continued, "Once I sell them for money, I'll go straight and buy a horse-drawn cart. Think about it, every time I go to sell fish catches, I have to borrow the village chief's donkey cart—how inconvenient is that? Once I have my own horse-drawn cart, heading out in the future will be so much easier."

Hearing this, Wang Dachun nodded in deep agreement. Then, seeming to recall something important, he quickly reminded him, "Right, Xiao Yu, when you go into town tomorrow, you must keep a sharp eye out for those diving equipment pieces. Don't forget."

Seeing how lucrative Lin Yu's abalone and sea cucumber harvesting had been today, Wang Dachun had long been itching with excitement. Setting aside any thoughts of danger, he also wanted to follow Lin Yu into the sea to become a professional diver. If he could harvest as much as Lin Yu had today, he would dare to go to Xiaocui's house tomorrow to propose marriage.

Hearing this, Lin Yu propped himself up slightly, patted Wang Dachun's shoulder, and said with a smile, "Don't worry, I won't forget. If I can't buy them in town, I'll find a way to have them brought over from another big city. With that kind of equipment, harvesting sea cucumbers will definitely be twice as efficient with half the effort."

Excited by these words, Wang Dachun grinned from ear to ear.

"Dachun, brother, I'm too tired to move. See if there's anything to eat in the cupboard and fetch me some..." Lin Yu said with a chuckle, rubbing his stomach.

Just as he finished speaking, his mother Wang Yufen returned with his younger sister Lin Yao and younger brother Nannan. Seeing that Lin Yu refused to move himself and was ordering Wang Dachun to fetch food, she said reproachfully, "You're something else. You won't move your own limbs, yet you order your brother Dachun around. Is that how I usually taught you?"

"Teacher's wife, don't scold him. He's genuinely exhausted today. He's the hero of the day, so fetching him some food is no big deal at all," Wang Dachun quickly said with a smile.

"What hero or no hero?" Mother Wang Yufen quickly put down the fishing cage she was carrying and set Nannan down from her back. "You've been worn out all day too, sit down and rest. I'll go make him something to eat. Whatever rice was left this morning is all gone, so I'll have to cook a fresh batch."

"Ma, I want to eat *gadata* soup!" Lin Yu looked up and said.

Speaking of *gadata* soup, it was a highly distinctive homemade comfort food in the Northeast region. It was essentially made by stirring flour and water into a batter, then dropping small dollops of the batter into boiling water to cook into dough-drop soup. However, this simple method could yield different flavors depending entirely on the ingredients added.

Ordinary *gadata* soup might simply consist of plain dough drops seasoned with simple vegetables, but in this fishing village, it had a unique twist. The villagers made full use of the ocean's bounty by adding fresh sea vegetables, savory dried shrimps, and fresh fish meat to the pot. After simmering, the umami flavors of these ingredients blended completely into the broth, making the otherwise ordinary *gadata* soup incomparably delicious, with every single spoonful tasting of the ocean.

Hearing her son's request, mother Wang Yufen readily agreed with a smile, "Alright, we'll have *gadata* soup tonight then."

With that, she bustled about briskly. As she worked, she asked curiously, "You two brothers came back so early today. Did you get a harvest again? Why else would Xiao Yu be worn out like this?"

Hearing this, Wang Dachun became immensely excited, his face beaming with unconcealed joy as he eagerly prepared to answer, "We had a huge harvest indeed! It's all thanks to my brother Yu, today..."

Before he could finish, however, he was interrupted by a fierce fit of coughing from Lin Yu. Wang Dachun froze for a moment before snapping back to his senses, recalling the secrecy Lin Yu had urged upon him earlier.

After all, the life of a sea diver involved risking one's life in the ocean. If mother Wang Yufen found out, no matter what, she would never let Lin Yu do it a second time. Consequently, the sea cucumbers harvested with such hard work today had all been quietly left at Wang Dachun's house, and they hadn't dared to bring them back home at all.