Beachcombing: The beach is full of amazing seafood, but my wife won't let me get out of bed!

"Boss Su, you are a distinguished guest from the city. In principle, we should agree to whatever request you make."

Li Cuihua made a gesture of blocking in mid-air, her face showing a hint of apology, but her tone left no room for negotiation.

"But getting on that big ship is really out of the question."

"The waves at sea are unruly, unlike those in your city."

"Women should stay on land and live a peaceful life. Let the men handle the hard work of going out to sea."

These words created a slightly awkward atmosphere at the dinner table.

Wang Feng quickly put down her chopsticks and nudged Chen Xue next to her with her elbow.

"Oh dear, Mom is just worrying unnecessarily."

She chuckled twice, picked up the serving chopsticks, and placed a piece of fish on Su Ruoxue's plate.

"Mr. Su, please don't take it to heart. My mother is worried about the safety of the sea. The open sea is different from the near sea; the wind and waves are big, and it would be bad if she got bumped or knocked over."

Chen Xue nodded in agreement and picked up the teapot to pour water for Su Ruoxue.

Su Yu pursed his lips after hearing Wang Feng's explanation.

"Auntie, my sister isn't going to do manual labor, it's fine."

"When we had a party on the yacht, it was full of women, and nothing happened. Don't worry."

Wu Jianguo's face darkened, and he slammed his wine glass heavily on the wooden table, glaring at Li Cuihua.

"What nonsense are you spouting?"

"Boss Su is going on an inspection trip, how could the second brother not protect her? You're all talk and no action, just eat your food."

Li Cuihua shrank back when her husband yelled at her in front of outsiders.

She moved her lips a few times, as if she wanted to argue, but in the end she didn't dare to talk back on the spot and could only keep her head down and eat her rice.

Wu Sui pulled out a chair, stood up, and poured Su Ruoxue a glass of wine.

"Sister Ruoxue, my mother meant well, please don't mind her."

"If the weather is nice tomorrow, I'll personally take you up for a look around."

Su Ruoxue picked up her wine glass, her face showing no sign of annoyance. Instead, she smiled at Li Cuihua.

"Auntie, I understand what you mean."

"I'm just curious about your usual work procedures, and I definitely won't cause any trouble on the ship."

"If it's really inconvenient, I can just look around at the dock. Business is business, but we can't break your rules."

She's not someone who lacks discernment.

In some coastal areas, there are indeed various beliefs, and the elderly woman believes in them, which she can understand, so she no longer dwells on it.

The atmosphere at the dinner table eased considerably.

Wu Jianguo quickly urged everyone to eat, and Wang Feng also joined in to liven up the atmosphere, telling some interesting stories about the town.

After the meal, Wu Sui took the Su siblings back to the town's guesthouse.

As soon as I stepped into the old house courtyard, a fierce argument broke out in the main room.

"What's wrong with you at the dinner table today?!"

Wu Jianguo sat on a long bench, pointing his finger at Li Cuihua and cursing.

"If Ah Sui manages to get this big boss to come along and he leaves because of a few words from you, are you going to build this processing plant yourself?"

Li Cuihua held a rag in her hand and wiped the octagonal table so hard it made a loud noise.

"I'm having a fit? I'm doing this for the sake of my whole family's lives!"

She stiffened her neck, spitting everywhere.

"According to our ancestors, women carry impurities, and if they board a large ship, they will offend the sea god!"

"Who will guarantee the safety of everyone on board? You're risking your entire family's lives for that processing plant?"

Wang Feng brought in water, and upon hearing this, she angrily slammed the basin down on the table.

"Mom, what year's almanac is this?"

"These days, which of those couples who run fishing boats doesn't have women on board? They still make money fishing, don't they?"

"It's a good thing you didn't scare Boss Su with those 'demons and monsters' talk, otherwise he would definitely have a problem with us."

Wu Gang was squatting at the door, smoking silently, when he couldn't help but chime in.

"Mom, Dafeng is right. Those are all feudal superstitions and don't count."

Li Cuihua threw down the rag and pointed at Wu Gang's nose.

"You heartless bastard, who am I doing this for? Isn't it all for you?"

Her eyes were red; she simply couldn't understand why her family didn't understand him.

Wu Sui listened outside the door, feeling somewhat wistful.

In the days when people relied on the sea for their livelihood, fishing at sea was a high-risk profession. Faced with the unpredictable ocean, people were filled with awe, which also gave rise to many taboos.

This is indeed a local belief. In old folk beliefs, it was generally believed that women, especially those during menstruation or pregnancy, carried "impurity."

This belief holds that women boarding a ship would offend the deity who governs the safety of the sea, bringing disaster to everyone on board.

For example, situations such as capsizing, failing to catch fish, or even people not being able to return.

The main reason is that women are not as strong as men and cannot handle the work on the ship.

Moreover, the sun is strong at sea, and the men often go shirtless on the boat. In addition, factors such as going to the toilet make it really inconvenient for women.

Seeing that the group was about to argue again, Wu Sui quickly went inside to mediate.

Ultimately, no one is at fault; everyone is doing it for the good of the family.

Finally, Wu Jianguo stormed back into the house with his hands behind his back.

Wang Feng rolled her eyes and turned to wash the dishes.

Wu Gang sighed, stubbed out his cigarette, and went to the backyard to tidy up the fishing nets.

The temperature suddenly dropped at night.

The once calm sea breeze began to become violent, making the window frames of the stone house rattle loudly.

Wu Sui got up and went outside to take a look.

Listening to the howling wind outside, I sighed.

With this wind, we definitely won't be able to go out to sea tomorrow.

Sure enough, the village loudspeaker blared the next morning.

"Attention villagers! The meteorological observatory has issued a yellow alert for strong winds near the coast. Today, the wind force will reach level 8, with gusts up to level 9."

"All ships must remain in port to seek shelter from the storm and are prohibited from going out to sea. This will be broadcast again..."

When Li Cuihua heard the loudspeaker announcement, the broom in her hand fell to the ground with a "thud".

He paused for a few seconds, then slapped his thighs hard with both hands, looked up at the sky, and bowed repeatedly.

"Mazu has shown her power! The Sea God has shown her power!"

She blushed with excitement and glared at Wu Jianguo.

"Did you see that? It's because the Goddess Mazu knew that women wanted to board the boat, and she got angry, so she made a strong wind to stop us!"

The more she thought about it, the more convinced she became that it was true. She turned around, rushed into the house, and rummaged through the incense, candles, and yellow paper.

Seeing Chen Xue enter, he grabbed her hand and led her outside.

"Xiaoxue, come with me to the Mazu Temple to offer incense."

Chen Xue looked bewildered and told Ya Ya to go inside and play with Xiao Hu.

"Mom, it's not the first or fifteenth of the month, and it's windy. What are we going to the Mazu Temple for?"

"Go and thank the Goddess Mazu!"

As she spoke, she turned and gave Wu Jianguo a disapproving look.

"I told you women shouldn't get on the boat, but some people didn't believe me."

"See? It worked!"

Li Cuihua grabbed Chen Xue's arm: "Hurry up, it won't be sincere if we're late!"

Watching her mother's hurried figure, Wu Sui could only give Chen Xue a wink, signaling her to go and take care of her.

After washing up, Wu Sui took out her phone and called Su Ruoxue to tell her that she couldn't go to sea.

The waves were indeed quite large. The turbid seawater, swirling with white foam, crashed against the breakwater's wave-dissipating blocks, splashing water several meters high and producing a deafening roar.