Because Song Wei had picked up a big fish at the beach, every military wife who heard about it went to the shore the next day with buckets in hand.
Even though they knew the chances of finding another big fish were slim, they couldn’t resist trying their luck.
Song Wei and Hei Dan went to the beach again, accompanied by the two wolf cubs. This time, Lin Zhen didn’t join them, off doing who-knows-what.
When the tide receded, the beach revealed plenty of treasures.
“Sister Song! Over there! There’s a huge fish!”
Song Wei was busy digging for razor clams when Hei Dan, followed by the two wolf cubs, came running toward her at full speed.
Unlike last time, Song Wei stayed in a more crowded area, digging clams alongside a few local aunties while gossiping. She had strictly warned Hei Dan and the cubs not to go too close to the sea.
Hearing Hei Dan’s excited shout, Song Wei perked up.
Could it be? she thought, Could we really be this lucky again?
She mentally offered a prayer to Mazu, then pulled on her water boots and followed Hei Dan.
The aunties digging clams with her were equally excited and hurriedly followed suit.
But when Song Wei saw the “fish” in question, her smile froze.
It was big, all right. Huge.
But this wasn’t edible.
There, stranded on the shore, was a massive orca.
And it wasn’t just Hei Dan and the cubs who had discovered it—several others had gathered as well.
“How did this orca end up here?”
A local fisherman, familiar with the ways of the ocean, slapped his thigh. “Everyone stay back. Don’t even think about it. You can’t eat this thing.”
“Why not? Isn’t it just fish meat? It’s so big! Even if we sell it cheap, it’d still fetch a good amount of money, wouldn’t it?”
“You can’t eat it. That’s a whale—a sacred creature. Eating it would bring misfortune.”
The island’s fishermen were deeply superstitious, but their beliefs weren’t entirely baseless.
They worshiped deities like Mazu and the Dragon King, gods they believed safeguarded their safety at sea.
To them, whales were seen as emissaries of the Dragon King. Not only were they forbidden from harming them, but they sometimes even offered fish as tribute when encountering one.
“We need to find a way to send this orca back into the ocean. Orcas hold grudges, and they’re powerful enough to overturn our fishing boats. If they find out we killed one of their kind, it’ll bring trouble whenever we go out to sea.”
For fishermen, life at sea was inherently risky. Sudden changes in weather or a single mistake could mean death, which was why their superstitions ran deep.
Despite official efforts to discourage such beliefs, islanders continued to privately worship deities like Mazu and the Dragon King.
However, not everyone on the beach was a local fisherman. Some were military wives who saw the whale as a chance for free meat or profit, insisting on butchering it.
An argument quickly erupted between the two groups, escalating to the point where it seemed a physical fight might break out.
The commotion caught the attention of the local military base. A political commissar arrived with a squad of soldiers to mediate.
“Ladies, our mess hall doesn’t take whale meat. Even if you haul it back, it won’t do you any good,” the commissar explained. “And not just our base—you can ask around. Neither the supply cooperative nor the ports will accept this meat.”
“We could eat it ourselves! It’s so much meat!”
“It’s not worth it to spark conflicts with the locals over a whale. You’ll still need to sell your seafood to these fishermen in the future. The supply cooperative and the ports are all managed by locals, and they hold strong taboos against this.”
After much persuasion, those eyeing the whale reluctantly gave up.
Meanwhile, Song Wei stood to the side, watching as the fishermen, even while arguing, diligently poured buckets of seawater over the orca to keep it moist. They were also brainstorming ways to get the massive creature back into the ocean.
But the whale was enormous and incredibly slippery. Even with a dozen people working together, they barely managed to flip it over.
The soldiers who had come with the commissar joined in, helping dig trenches to channel seawater closer while trying to roll the massive orca.
“Look! So many big fish over there!”
About a kilometer offshore, a pod of black-and-white orcas lingered in the water, emitting melodic calls that sounded almost beautiful.
However, Song Wei couldn’t help but recall a tidbit she’d read in a magazine in her past life: pre-mutation orcas were chatterboxes. They spent hours talking to their pods every day, often in what seemed like endless complaints.
Although their calls were pleasing to the ear, in her mind, the sounds now translated to something like:
“I told you not to go into shallow waters, but no, you just had to! Are you blind or just plain stupid? Do you have a death wish or what?!”
Song Wei: …Why is this so funny?
Since eating the whale was out of the question, she decided to help.
Walking over, she grabbed the orca’s still-thrashing tail and squeezed between the people struggling to push it.
She handed her coat to Song Jing. “Here, hold this for me, ge.”
Song Jing obediently stepped aside. “Okay.”
His squadmates: “???”
Wait, you’re really letting your little sister handle this? With those tiny arms?
Song Wei tried gripping the narrowest part of the orca’s tail, but it was too slippery to hold. Thinking quickly, she looped her knitted scarf around the tail for better grip. Then, clutching the scarf, she began dragging the massive creature toward the ocean.
To everyone’s astonishment, the orca started moving.
The people pushing the whale all stumbled forward, face-planting into the sand.
“Pfft! What just happened?”
Dazed, they looked up, only to see the orca sliding forward, leaving a deep trail in the sand.
Those standing nearby—especially the soldiers—were utterly dumbfounded. They froze mid-push, their jaws hanging open as their eyes fixed on Song Wei.
“Holy… Did we just see that?”
“She’s dragging it… alone?”
Even the fishermen were left speechless.
“Oh my god.”
“Am I seeing things?”
The Orca that so many people couldn’t push was now being dragged by a single petite woman.
The orca was undoubtedly heavy, and Song Wei was using all her strength. As she dragged it further into the water, waves began lapping at her waist, making it harder to maintain her footing.
But the water was still too shallow for the orca to swim freely.
Letting go of its tail, Song Wei walked to the creature’s head.
Whether it realized she was helping or was just happy to feel the water again, the orca opened its mouth in what looked like a goofy grin.
“You silly thing,” Song Wei muttered, patting its slick head.
With one final effort, she and the others pushed the orca into deeper waters. As a wave rolled in, the orca gave a powerful lunge and swam forward.
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