webnovelfull Chapter 696 Sea Fishing
Chapter 696 Sea Fishing
Bai Wanwan looked at the scenery outside and said, "The scenery on the sea is quite nice."
Miao He said in a bored tone, "What's the point? I feel like the scenery at sea is all the same. It seemed quite novel at first, but now the more I look at it, the more boring it becomes."
Bai Wanwan looked at her and said, "There are still several days left! Are you bored?"
"Why are we going by water?"
Bai Wanwan said:
“Traveling by land and water takes a long time, but it’s safer, and we can reach the southern border directly.
But Brother Si Nian's boat might be faster."
The power of Gu Sinian's ship is to use the thermal energy of burning coal to convert it into kinetic energy of steam, and then let the kinetic energy drive the water wheel.
It is equivalent to using the power of coal to replace human rowing and sails to borrow wind. As long as the coal is continuous, steam can push the boat continuously, which is naturally faster and more stable than relying on wind or people.
Bai Wanwan's ship can also do this, but it will cost manpower and material resources.
Her ship was full of food, all collected from farms.
Bai Wanwan saw that the little maid was bored and said with a smile, "How about we go sea fishing? Ask Uncle Zhang to prepare the fishing gear."
Uncle Zhang is a capable person. When he was young, he followed a merchant caravan on the sea. He has seen all kinds of storms and waves. He is very good at steering, observing water conditions, and identifying wind direction. His skills are all acquired through hard work.
I had thought that as I got older, I would return to the countryside to live out my life in peace and contentment, but I never expected that there would be a severe drought and the fields were barren. I had no choice but to move into this mountain village.
At this moment, all the people steering and rowing the boat were his apprentices.
He later entered the village and taught them little by little.
He taught us step by step when to adjust the sails, which waters have more undercurrents, and even how to row evenly so that it is effortless.
Uncle Zhang smiled and said, "Sea fishing? This is a good spot. Wait a minute, I'll go get the tools for sea fishing."
After a long while, Uncle Zhang sent someone to call them, and Bai Wanwan walked onto the deck with several maids around her.
The boat was anchored on the sea, and when the wind blew, the hull swayed gently. They sat down against the side of the boat and let their fishing lines into the sea.
Uncle Zhang watched from the side and said with a smile, "Girl, try these rods. I made them all myself."
He used strong old bamboo from the seaside, which he shaved smooth and had a strong and tough tip.
"Don't look at it as it looks ordinary, I specially selected the bamboo joints.
Hold it firmly in your hand, and if a fish takes the bait, you can use your strength to pull it, so it won't break easily."
As soon as Miao He cast the hook, she asked curiously, "Uncle Zhang, how can you cast the line so far? When we fish at home, we can never cast it more than a few steps."
Uncle Zhang squatted down, pointed at the thread and said:
"This thread is made of coarse hemp and then soaked in tung oil. It is smooth and strong.
There is a way to do it when casting. Just pull the rod back with your hand and push it forward with the elastic force of the bamboo tip. Apply force evenly and the hook will fly out with the line.
There are so many fish in the sea that you have to cast far enough to have a chance of catching a decent one."
Miao He clapped his hands and said, "Uncle Zhang, you are really amazing."
Uncle Zhang turned around and took out half a basket of broken bait from the bamboo basket next to him. It was some pickled fish intestines and dried shrimp meat. He grabbed a handful and scattered it over the side of the boat. The silvery crumbs fell into the sea, stirring up circles of fine ripples.
He clapped his hands and laughed:
"This is baiting. The fish in the sea are wild, so we have to scatter something to attract them.
They're also strange, not only do they like the fishy smell, but if you occasionally change the food to some dried shellfish or pickled grains, they actually like to come closer."
Bai Wanwan listened carefully, stroking the smooth bamboo fishing rod with her fingertips, then adjusted her sitting position, her eyes fixed on the float on the water.
Not long after, the wrist suddenly sank. The force was not strong, but it was accompanied by a lively struggle.
Her eyes lit up, and she followed Uncle Zhang's instructions, gently raising her wrist and slowly retracting the line.
The fishing line was stretched straight, and a slight pulling sensation came from underwater, attracting several people nearby to come over and take a look.
What was caught was a small sea bass, about the width of a palm, with a silvery-white body with a few light brown stripes. Its tail was swaying and it was still jumping in the net.
Zhiwei squatted beside them, her eyes lighting up as she clapped her hands, "Miss, you're amazing! You actually caught something! Is this a sea bass? It looks much fresher than the ones sold at the market!"
Le Xi curled her lips and laughed, "I put my rod down for a long time and only caught some seaweed. Miss, you caught something just after sitting down for a short while. You're really skilled!"
Tao Yao also followed up, "That's right, my wrist is sore, and the float hasn't moved at all. Miss, you are so lucky!"
Bai Wanwan smiled and said, "Maybe Uncle Zhang's bait was well-mixed. I felt the float sink a little bit just now, so I quickly lifted the rod and actually caught it."
Uncle Zhang laughed heartily and said, "Girls are really good. It's usually hard for new sea anglers to catch any fish."
Bai Wanwan rubbed his hands together and said, "Let's have a good time fishing today, and then we can improve the food for dinner."
You know what, it seems like there are a lot of fish in the sea right now.
Bai Wanwan didn't sit for long before there were more than a dozen fish lying in the bamboo basket, none of them were very big.
There are silver sardines with fine scales, a few small groupers with blue-black spots on their bodies, and a few small sea breams with pointed mouths and red and white tail fins.
She was counting the fish with a smile when she suddenly sank her wrist with a force much greater than that of the fish she had caught before. The fishing rod bent into a full moon with a "buzz" and the tip almost sank into the water.
She quickly pulled the rod into her arms, her knuckles clenched white. "Uncle Zhang, this hook is too heavy! I can't pull it up, it's still struggling!"
Uncle Zhang said in a deep voice: "Miss, please step aside. This is a huge creature!"
He stood firmly on his feet, straightened his waist and pulled back. The fishing line was trembling with tension, and the thing under the water struggled violently from time to time.
After struggling for half a cup of tea, Uncle Zhang seized the opportunity and exerted force, and a wave appeared on the water surface.
Uncle Zhang took the fishing rod and didn't rush to pull it hard. He just held the handle firmly with both hands, and his wrists gently relaxed according to the force under the water.
The fish struggled violently in the water, and he loosened the line half a foot along with the struggle. When it eased a little, he slowly reeled it in.
"This grouper is very aggressive. It'll only yield if you tire it out." Uncle Zhang stared at the water and spoke in a steady voice, "If it pulls too hard when it's exerting too much force, it's easy to break the line and injure the fish."
Bai Wanwan and the maids held their breath and watched. The fish were running around in the water, but they were always "led" by Uncle Zhang with the toughness of the rod and could not run far.
After about half a cup of tea, the tension on the fishing line gradually eased, and the struggle underwater became less intense. Uncle Zhang then bent down and used both hands to reel in the line.
This time the line was lowered much more smoothly, and it didn't take much effort. With a "splash" on the water surface, the grouper finally showed its head.
The orange-red spots on its grayish-blue body were very bright, but at this moment its tail was wagging slowly and its gill covers were opening and closing slowly, obviously it had run out of energy from being walked around.
Uncle Zhang reached out and took the scoop net, gently scooped the fish from under its body, and pulled it steadily onto the deck.
He placed the fish next to the bamboo basket, wiped the sweat from his forehead and smiled: "Okay, this fish is fresh, I'll steam it later to get the best flavor."