(Three hundred and forty-seven)
The staff in charge of beachcombing were whistling and shouting: "Crab diggers, don't go any further! Just dig right under your feet, there are crabs wherever there are holes! Seashell collectors, go to the beach, there are lots of seashells there—"
What's so special about seashells? Ye Wenyu said she wanted to dig up lots of crabs.
The sea breeze was blowing hard, and the waves were gently lapping at their feet.
Lin Tingfeng had no interest in anything anyway, so he went along with her. She dug for crabs, and he dug with her. The two adults were like two silly seven or eight-year-old children, digging enthusiastically on the mudflats.
Lin Tingfeng was languid, digging aimlessly with his small shovel. His long, phoenix-shaped eyes resembled drawn Venetian blinds. Ye Wenyu noticed this and said to him seriously, "You're not digging like that. You won't find any crabs if you dig randomly."
Lin Tingfeng thought she was childish and cute, and teased her with a cigarette in his mouth and half-closed eyes: "Oh my, Ye Wenyu from the Sunflower Class in kindergarten, you're digging for crabs very seriously."
Ye Wenyu laughed, glared at Lin Tingfeng, and said to him with utmost seriousness, "Didn't you hear what the staff in charge of beachcombing said? They said we can catch a lot of crabs!" She smiled brightly, tilting her head slightly as she imagined, "I'm going to fill a whole bucket! Tonight I'll have a restaurant in Thailand cook them for me. Tonight, we'll eat crabs until we're stuffed! If we can't finish them, I'll sell them to those seafood collectors in Thailand—"
Hahaha, hahaha, Lin Tingfeng burst into laughter upon hearing her naive words. He laughed so hard his shoulders trembled, and he almost laughed until tears streamed down his face.
Golden sunlight cascaded down upon them like a waterfall. In the distance, the vast blue sea stretched out like an endless expanse of emerald.
Ye Wenyu looked at Lin Tingfeng with annoyance and asked him, "What are you laughing at?"
Lin Tingfeng wiped away the tears of laughter and said slowly to her, "I'm laughing at your naivety. You actually thought you could dig up crabs and eat your fill. Girl, if you can dig up a big crab on this mudflat today, I'll admit defeat!"
He gazed at her tenderly, thinking that after living most of his life, having witnessed too many vicissitudes, his heart was dry and lonely, like a field of withered leaves. But the appearance of this little girl was like a small spring he saw after crossing a vast desert.
He was truly grateful to God.
Ye Wenyu was unconvinced. Pointing to the densely packed holes, she said to Lin Tingfeng with utmost seriousness, "The staff said that where there are holes, there are crabs. Look, there are so many holes dug by crabs on the mudflats."
If each hole represents a crab, then you could dig up a whole bucketful, enough to eat your fill and sell to seafood stalls in Thailand.
Lin Tingfeng just smiled and didn't say anything. Later, he simply gave up digging and squatted there with his hands around his knees, like a little boy, watching Ye Wenyu dig and dig energetically.
Time passed, and finally, her efforts paid off. With a shovelful of water, Ye Wenyu saw a small creature moving. She exclaimed with delight, "A crab!"
Lin Tingfeng leaned closer to examine it with her. Ye Wenyu hurriedly picked it up; it was so tiny! It was more like a spider than a crab.
She was on the verge of tears; it turned out that fairy tales were all lies.
Lin Tingfeng burst into uncontrollable laughter again, his shoulders shaking. He looked at her, then at the "little spider," and laughed heartily, almost to the point of despair. He had been out for two or three days, and this was the happiest moment of his life.
That naive silly girl, you can't even catch fish in the nearshore waters anymore, let alone in mudflats like this that receive thousands of tourists every day.
Ye Wenyu shouted at him, "Don't laugh! I don't believe that I can't dig up a big crab in such a large mudflat."
Lin Tingfeng smiled at her, raised his hand, and said, "Good luck!"
The sea breeze was gentle, and I could hear her beautiful long hair and skirt swaying in the breeze, like the most beautiful dream.
Lin Tingfeng stared at her, lost in thought.
Ye Wenyu buried himself in digging, but it wasn't until the staff blew their whistles, telling everyone to get ashore immediately because the tide was about to come in and it was very dangerous!
Ye Wenyu harvested a total of three small, spider-like crabs. They weren't enough to fill the bucket, and couldn't even cover the bottom.
We ate so much seafood tonight, we were stuffed! We didn't even have enough to make a bowl of soup!
Ye Wenyu stomped her feet in frustration, on the verge of tears, while Lin Tingfeng laughed heartily; she truly was his source of joy.
Lin Tingfeng smiled and put his arm around her as they walked ashore. He said to her, "The staff said it was a lie to say there were many crabs to dig, but it's true that the tide is about to come in and it's very dangerous. Let's go quickly."
Ye Wenyu left indignantly.
As the crowd moved quickly, the waves surging onto the beach grew larger and larger, dark and towering like mountains. They seemed like monsters that had suddenly appeared, frantically chasing after the people fleeing ashore. The wind at the beach also grew stronger, whipping long hair like lashes against their faces.
The once clear blue sea now resembled a gray lead plate under the gloomy sky, looking quite frightening.
Ye Wenyu saw an inflatable raft that was moving in the shallow water by the sea. There were a few people on the raft, but suddenly the waves rose up and crashed down like a high wall. Then a wave as big as a mountain crashed down and capsized the raft. The accident happened in just a few seconds, leaving everyone stunned and panicked. The people on the raft disappeared. Ye Wenyu was so frightened that she stood there dumbfounded, not daring to breathe. Fortunately, she saw someone immediately go down to rescue them, and all the people who had fallen into the water were pulled to the surface.
The weather at the beach can change in an instant. Just a moment ago it was sunny and clear, but now dark clouds are looming overhead, and a storm is coming, just like the prelude to a tsunami.
The staff responsible for beachcombing kept whistling, urgently urging everyone to leave the mudflats quickly, because the tide was about to come in, accompanied by strong winds and heavy rain, and it would be very dangerous to stay on the mudflats!
The strong sea breeze blew Ye Wenyu's hair and dress, and even the necklace around her neck flew up.
Lin Tingfeng pulled Ye Wenyu along, hurrying forward with the crowd of people going to the beach, each step a struggle.
Ye Wenyu had just turned her head to look at the large ship that had been overturned by the waves when Lin Tingfeng told her to hurry up. She had no choice but to turn back quickly. In the nick of time, the necklace was blown up by the sea breeze and got stuck on a pillar.
It was a cement pillar on the mudflat, about two meters tall, standing there abruptly. At the time, we don't know what its purpose was, but it certainly posed a great safety hazard.
In short, Ye Wenyu's necklace got stuck on the pillar, and she immediately felt like a prisoner who had lost his freedom. Her neck was stiffly stretched out there, and even breathing became difficult.
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