Song of Adolescence

Chapter 197 The Boundary between Sea and Sky

"A river in autumn, fed by a hundred streams; the river was wide and turbulent, cattle and horses on the two banks could not be distinguished. Therefore, the river god He Bo was pleased with himself, and thought that all beautiful things under Heaven were gathered here. The river god followed the river as it flowed to the east, until it joined the North Sea. He faced the east and could not see the end of the sea." A youth in a red shirt pulled up the legs of his trousers and stood in the water. A long sword was stuck into the ground by his feet as he looked out at the endless sea and murmured to himself, "I think I’m like that He Bo who sat in a well and looked at the sky. Today, I saw the Eastern Sea and I realised that a paradise in this world can look like this.”

He was minding his own business, being moved by emotion, when he heard a “pfft” of laughter from next to him. He turned his head and saw a young girl in a commoner’s clothing squatting not far away from him, looking up at him. The girl’s skin was tanned by exposure to sea winds all day long, but her eyes were as bright as pearls and full of hope and joy. There was a bamboo basket next to the girl, and in it were some seashells that she’d picked up on the beach earlier.

The youth in red scratched his head. "Lady, I grew up inland and have never seen the sea. When I look upon this view, my heart is filled with emotion. It must be a joke to you."

"I could hear it. You spoke so eloquently. You’re obviously some noble son of an inland aristocratic family." The girl stood up, shook the bamboo basket in her hand, and poured out some of the seawater that’d soaked in. "But, you know, you’ve only seen this little bit. If you go out to sea, you’ll really see the boundless sea. Then, you can say you’ve really seen the Eastern Sea."

"Oh? Hearing the lady say so makes me tempted. Has the lady been out to sea before?" The youth in red asked.

The tanned girl laughed, showing her white teeth. "We’re fishermen who grew up on the beach. Who hasn’t gone out to sea? It’s just that I’m a girl, so I can’t go out fishing but occasionally, I’d go with my dad to see what it’s like out there. Okay, I’m leaving now. Take your time to look at the sea."

"Where’s the lady going?" The youth in red asked.

"To the fish market, ah. All the boats that went out to sea yesterday have returned. Today is the large fish market. Although my shells are not worth much, it should be enough to sell them for some coppers and buy myself a bronze mirror," the girl said.

When the youth in red heard the words "fish market", his eyes lit up. "Can the lady also bring me along to see?"

"Okay," the girl agreed readily. "What\'s your name?"

"My name is Lei Wujie." The youth in red picked up the sword that was stuck beside his leg and turned around. "This lady, what\'s your name?"

"My name is Zhenzhu." The girl also stood up and walked ahead. Her name suited her quite well.

The two of them walked along the beach, one in front of the other, and in a short while, they arrived at a coastline that was parked full of small fishing boats. Next to the shore, there were lots of fishermen lined up on two sides. There were people from the city who’d heard the news and rushed down to buy the fish. They were now bargaining with those fishermen who’d returned from fishing.

One of the fishermen picked up a little fish and fiddled with it lightly. But the fish looked like it was very angry and its whole body bulged up with tiny spines all over its skin, each of them exceptionally distinct.

Lei Wujie exclaimed, "This fish is so interesting."

Zhenzhu laughed and said, "Don\'t look at that little fish thinking it’s cute. It’s not good to mess with it. It’s called a pufferfish, and it lives in the sea. If you’re not taught the proper cooking method and bring it home to cook whichever way you like, just one bite and you’ll be dead."

"Ah? This little fish is poisonous?" Lei Wujie was stunned.

Zhenzhu nodded. "Yes, and it’s a lethal poison. Only people who live in the coastal cities know how to cook it. But, there are also accidents. Every year, there will be people in the city who die by eating pufferfish, but because it tastes so delicious, there will always be people willing to take the risk and eat it."

Lei Wujie shook his head fervently. "I wouldn’t do it."

Zhenzhu laughed and led Lei Wujie to continue walking ahead. She pointed to the side at a long fish with stripes on its body and said, "Look at this fish, the patterns on its body are like those of a tiger or leopard, so it’s called a tiger grouper. The meat is very tender. This fish can only be found deep in the sea so you have to go to the open sea to catch it. That’s the place I mentioned where the sea meets the sky."

"Open sea? Is that where the Three Snake Islands are?" Lei Wujie asked.

Zhenzhu was taken aback, but the old fisherman who was selling the tiger grouper couldn’t help but laugh. "Zhenzhu, is this one of your distant relatives from inland? Did he hear about this Eastern Sea from those storytellers?"

Zhenzhu glared at Lei Wujie, and said wryly, "The open sea I’m talking about can be reached within three or four days of setting sail. The Three Snake Islands you’re talking about are three islands at the very boundary of the seas of Beili. To sail there by ship will take at least half a month. There’s no way our small fishing boats could go that far. Just one large wave in the sea and we’ll capsize. In any case, that’s sea territory. The government officials won’t let us go either."

"I see." Lei Wujie smiled, turned his head, and looked like he suddenly noticed something new. His eyes lit up and he leaned over. "This is the first time I have seen such a huge tortoise."

"That\'s a sea turtle." Zhenzhu followed him. "Boil it in a soup with sea cucumber and red dates and it’s delicious!"

"Whenever we talk about these, you’re always talking about how they taste." Lei Wujie teased the turtle with his sword hilt and spoke in a soft voice.

"Otherwise?" Zhenzhu pursed her lips. "What, you want to buy it home and keep it as a pet?"

"That’s not impossible." Lei Wujie teased the turtle while whispering softly, "Unfortunately, I\'m leaving soon so I don’t have time to take care of you."

Zhenzhu continued to walk with Lei Wujie while introducing him to all the treasures that were harvested from the sea. She didn’t seem to be in a hurry to sell the seashells she’d picked earlier. Somehow, since seeing this boy at the beach, Zhenzhu had been feeling something indescribable in her heart. Maybe it was because when he looked out into the sea, his eyes were too clear, as if he was a child who was seeing the world for the first time. So, she couldn’t help but want to tell this child everything about the world she knew.

"By the way, do you want to buy anything?" Zhenzhu asked.

Lei Wujie suddenly remembered something and smiled. "That’s right. I have two other friends who’re waiting for me. I need to buy some food back for them."

"If it’s food, everything here can be eaten."

"Well… if it\'s something easy to prepare. Didn’t you say if I don’t know how to prepare some of them, then we could die from it?" Lei Wujie paused, and added, "It also has to be cheap."

"Oh, then just get some sea crabs." Zhenzhu grabbed Lei Wujie\'s hand and walked to the stall in front. She pointed at the crabs in the fishing net and said, "These are sea crabs. Bring it back and boil it in boiling water. Once they’re cooked, peel open the shell and just eat it. You don’t have to add any condiments and it’s delicious. It’s cheap too. Uncle Xu, how much for the crabs?"

The old fisherman picked up a fishing bag which was stuffed full of sea crabs. "All this for ten coppers. Zhenzhu my girl, you can take it all."

"Only… only ten coppers?" Lei Wujie took out ten coppers, handed them over and took the heavy fishing bag, extremely surprised. "That’s really cheap."

"These things are not uncommon. When you go out to sea, throw a net over. Half a day later, haul the net back and the whole net will be filled with these things." Zhenzhu smiled, waved at Uncle Xu, and said proudly, "But, you got a deal with ten coppers because uncle is giving me face. Thanks, Uncle Xu."

As sunset approached, the number of people in the fish market gradually lessened, and the fishermen began to close their stalls and go home. Only then did Lei Wujie realize that Zhenzhu had been focused on serving as his guide and didn’t manage to sell the seashells she’d put in so much effort to collect. He couldn’t help but feel guilty. "Zhenzhu, how about you sell your seashells to me?"

Zhenzhu was stunned for a moment, and when she met Lei Wujie\'s clear eyes, she felt a stir in her heart. She quickly turned away and added her basket of seashells into the fishing bag. "I’ll… I’ll give them to you."

"I can’t accept that." Lei Wujie shook his head, feeling ashamed. "Well, how about this. You wanted a mirror, right? When I see you tomorrow, I’ll give you a mirror."

"Okay, okay." Zhenzhu nodded immediately. In fact, it wasn’t important whether or not he gave her a mirror. But when she realised she’d be able to see this young man again tomorrow, Zhenzhu couldn’t help but feel happy.

"Then, I\'ll see you tomorrow. My friends are still waiting for me…" Lei Wujie turned around, and his eyes caught on something in the distance. He exclaimed in surprise, "What’s that?"

It was a large sailing ship that was sailing closer from a distance. There seemed to be an image of a flaming phoenix painted on its sail as it fluttered and danced in the wind.

"That’s a cedar longboat which can sail into very, very deep sea," Zhenzhu said, puzzled. "I wonder where it sailed from. No one in our city has such a longboat."

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