Before we knew it, it was time for the start of the new school term.

Wei Caixia carried a snakeskin bag and left the village.

She walked to the enclosed mudflats on the east side, slowing her pace.

Lin Ziyan was scattering something into the mudflats, and a number of people were following her.

Wei Caixia thought of Hou Fangguan and scoffed inwardly, "So what if he has good grades?"

Are we still stuck in a small fishing village?

She quickened her pace and headed towards the designated boarding point for the village's oxcarts.

On a cloudy day, the sea breeze howled, and the sound of waves crashing against the rocks was clearer than usual.

Lin Ziyan looked up at the sea, her brows furrowed.

It's been months and we haven't encountered a typhoon yet. Will it come at the tail end of summer?

The wind was strong, and the water on the mudflats rippled as if pulled by white clouds.

Lin Ziyan breathed a slight sigh of relief after seeing the dam and the deep drainage ditches.

The small yellow croaker, sea crab, shellfish, etc., are divided into several areas.

Shellfish are the least demanding to manage.

The chubby girl squatted on the shore, reached out and dug out some shellfish, and only put them back after confirming that they were still alive.

She always thought that shellfish were harvested from the seabed, never imagining they could be farmed.

"Ah Yan, can they really survive without any care?" The chubby girl still found it a bit unbelievable.

I haven't paid any attention to it since I buried the seashell seedlings inside.

"Yes, the mudflats provide the nutrients they need," Lin Ziyan said calmly.

Another gust of sea breeze came, and she almost fell into the mudflats.

Lin Ziyan looked up at the sky again and said, "Go tell Brother Jian to let all the workers guarding the beach go home tonight, they don't need to guard it anymore."

"Aren't you going to hire anyone?" the chubby girl asked suspiciously.

"A typhoon is coming..."

Lin Ziyan packed her things, preparing to go home.

She hoped that this typhoon wouldn't be too strong...

…

On the other side

Wei Family Ancestral Hall in Haitang Village.

Wei Ting crossed his arms and looked at his cousin Wei Can, who was kneeling in front of the ancestral tablets.

Several days have passed, and he is still gritting his teeth and refusing to give in.

The head of the Wei family is now starting to think that Wei Ting has misremembered.

"Ah Can, when did you pay off your gambling debts?" Wei Ting suddenly asked.

Of Wei's cousins, only Wei Can was addicted to gambling, often accumulating huge debts and leaving his family to clean up his messes.

Before his elder brother went to sea, Wei Can had incurred gambling debts, but no one paid them off for him in order to teach him a lesson.

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Wei Can asked guiltily, not daring to look up, and muttered under his breath.

The clan chief narrowed his eyes and gave a wink to his assistant, who quickly left.

Gambling is now strictly prohibited, and there are not many casinos in the nearby villages.

But the villagers knew exactly what was going on.

Wei Can's legs trembled, his mouth quivered, and sweat poured down his forehead.

A moment later, footsteps could be heard outside the door.

Upon hearing the sound, he collapsed to the ground, his breathing becoming rapid.

"To tell you the truth!" The clan chief's powerful voice rang out and echoed throughout the ancestral hall.

Wei Can: "I...I took money from a man. He said if I exchanged the nautical charts, I wouldn't have to...pay back the money..."

Wei Ting kicked him a few times. For a little money, he risked more than a dozen lives. How could he still have the face to kneel before his ancestors?

The unity of Haitang Village stems not only from the constraints of the ancestral hall, but also from the fact that most of them share a common ancestor.

“None of you will help me. Those debt collectors said they would cut off my hands and feet if I didn’t pay back the money. I have no choice…” Wei Can said loudly, then shrank to the side with snot and tears streaming down his face.

When the bad news came from the port, he was so frightened that he didn't dare to go out, fearing that he would be haunted by ghosts.

Later, when A-Jian from the neighboring village returned, he often woke up in the middle of the night, so he spread rumors everywhere that A-Jian had cursed the people on that boat to death.

The clan chief staggered. "It really is you!"

"Don't you know that changing course could put those on the ship in dire straits at any moment?"

After questioning him, he gave a bitter smile.

This person is rotten to the core, how could he care about the life or death of others?

"We won't help you?"

"Tell me yourself, how many times has your family cleaned up your messes?" Wei Ting shook his head, utterly disappointed.

Yesterday he even led a group to question A-Jian, but little did he know that the culprit had been hiding in the village all along.

"Who is that man?" the clan chief asked, squinting.

"I don't know..." Wei Can shrank his neck, his face pale.

Police suddenly arrived at the Wei family's ancestral hall.

Wei Can's pupils dilated as he looked at the clan leader and his cousin, then immediately crawled over to beg for mercy.

"Cousin, clan leader, I know I was wrong..."

"Wei Can, are you sure you really know you're wrong? You're the one who leaked the news from the port, aren't you?" the sheriff said sternly.

Wei Can, "I'm just making money by selling information..."

"Your information was sold to the pirates who killed the crew..." the officer said sternly.

Wei Ting suddenly stepped forward, intending to punch Wei Can, but was quickly stopped by the clan leader.

“You beast! The Wei family has no one like you…” he shouted.

A crowd gathered at the entrance of the ancestral hall.

One of the men saw the police and quietly slipped out of the crowd.

…

By evening, news of the Wei family ancestral hall had spread throughout the nearby fishing villages.

The villagers were talking about it.

After listening to the chubby girl's words, Lin Ziyan pursed her lips and remained silent.

Sure enough, there were enemy agents lurking in the village.

"Ah Yan, people addicted to gambling are really scary!" the chubby girl exclaimed.

The wind howled, like a ghost...

“It is indeed terrifying, so please don’t try it…” Lin Ziyan replied calmly.

There was a crackling sound in the yard as things blown over by the wind scrambled about.

Lin Atai walked to the window, waving the kerosene lamp in her hand. "Ayan, the typhoon is coming soon. Quickly move the things in the yard."

Grandma wasn't used to turning on electric lights and often used a kerosene lamp.

She said she slept comfortably because of the smell of kerosene.

Fatty: "Grandma, can I sleep at your house tonight?"

Lin Atai nodded, "Remember to tell your mother."

"Yes!" the chubby girl responded and hurriedly ran home to get her things.

Lin Ziyan watched her retreating figure and shook her head.

The third and second sisters peeked out of the house and, seeing the two moving things, ran out to help.

When I finished, the typhoon brought rain, and the wind made it almost impossible for me to walk.

A chill swept over, making one shiver involuntarily.

The chubby girl ran over with an umbrella, which was blown away and landed on the roof.

"Ah Yan, this typhoon is terrifying. Will something happen to the shrimp farm?" The chubby girl shivered.

Her upper body was soaked by the rain, and she was shivering with cold.

Lin Ziyan said, "It's alright. I asked Brother Jian to make preparations. The shrimp don't need to be fed every day; they won't starve."

She looked out the window; the wind was blowing the branches of the tree so hard they seemed about to snap at any moment.

But the tree showed no sign of yielding, struggling to fight back only to be pushed back, repeating this cycle endlessly...

During typhoons, every household in the fishing village keeps their doors tightly shut. Some houses are old and dilapidated, and some have even collapsed.

Clang...

Thunder roared, and half the sky was illuminated by lightning.

Lin Ziyan saw that a whole row of tiles had been lifted off one side, and rainwater was pouring into that wall...