The reason these two clowns had run off to Tianhai was quite simple: their daughters were distracted and restless when they came home for the New Year, which made their wives nervous. The wives, being experienced in such matters, knew immediately that the girls were in love. Sure enough, they suspected the girls had their eyes on someone, and they started planning to send the rough-and-tumble fathers to Tianhai after the New Year to check out who their daughters had taken a fancy to.