Li Xiaohai, the ten-year-old “troublemaker king” of Chiling Village, can do anything from climbing trees to pick coconuts to setting fire to the local earth god’s temple. He dreams of becoming the “King of the Pirates” from his favorite anime. Late one Saturday night, he sneaks out in a battered plastic boat to go fishing, but falls asleep and drifts out to sea. In a storm, he dodges sharks and dolphins, and, starving, catches fish and eats them as sashimi. In the darkness, his unlit boat nearly gets run down by cargo ships several times, while rescue boats pass him by. After drifting all night, he survives by eating seabird meat until he is finally rescued. When a yacht from Sanya pulls him aboard, he wolfs down food, and a video of him goes viral. Back home, his parents are about to beat him senseless when a swarm of TV reporters interrupts them. Xiaohai raises his fist and shouts, “I’m going to be the King of the Pirates!” On Monday, he becomes a “little hero” at school, but also gets scolded for setting a bad example. His parents, furious and heartbroken after draining the village pond and searching every inch of the mountain, can only watch as the words “A calm sea never made a skilled sailor” become his guiding belief. Years later, he never becomes the King of the Pirates, but puts on a naval uniform and stands aboard a warship, gazing out at the sea. His childhood adventure has become his compass in life. This is a fantastical tale of the sea, about courage, growing up, and dreams.
