novelslam Chapter 53 Ice Fishing
Chapter 53 Ice Fishing
Despite being praised by Chen Tuo, a complete novice who knew nothing, Wu Laowai showed no joy on his face.
After giving Chen Tuo a deep look, Wu Laowai wanted to probe his true intentions further.
"Kid, did you learn all these tricks from a book?"
"Not entirely. Some of them I heard about from stories. I didn't think they would work before, but now that I remember, I'm giving them a try."
Knowing that Chen Tuo's idea wasn't something he came up with on his own, Wu Laowai finally felt a little relieved.
There are too many ways to hunt in the mountains, not to mention the large mountain areas like the Greater and Lesser Khingan Mountains and Changbai Mountain.
The hunting methods may differ among the various forest farms in Songling.
When you go to Heihe, Huma, Tahe, or Hulunbuir, you might use different methods to hunt the same prey.
A soldier's fighting style is a way of fighting for the people.
The Evenki, Oroqen, and Daur people in the mountains each have their own distinct fighting styles.
But no matter the method, any method that can land an object is a good method.
Although he didn't quite agree with Chen Tuo's insights, the little rascal was making a name for himself! Old Wu didn't mind taking advantage of the situation.
In that case, he should teach Chen Tuo some techniques for running in the mountains.
There's a huge difference between having a sharp mind and being able to apply what you've learned, and just coming up with a random idea and using it right away!
The mountains are inherently killing grounds; if you're not careful, you can become their prey.
Old Wu thinks a lot and thinks deeply.
Chen Tuo, standing to the side, treated setting traps as a game to pass the time.
"Uncle Wu, do you think I should scoop water from the pond or from the river?"
With more than thirty snowdrifts already created, Chen Tuo had no plans to expand the scale.
It's only the beginning of winter; if it's effective, we can expand it later.
How meaningless it is to treat fishing and hunting as a job or a livelihood!
"What? You mean you want to scoop out the ponds and catch the fish? They're all connected to the main river! What were you thinking?"
"If you're scooping up water from a pond, then you can start fishing for fish; if you're scooping up a large river, then you'll have to ice fish..."
Ignoring Wu Laowai's nonsensical remarks, Chen Tuo directly stated his own thoughts.
"Then let's fish in the main river. Unlike downstream, there aren't many fishermen here, so we should be able to catch something if we cast our lines!"
Wu Laowai would never even consider the idea of scooping out the water from the ponds in the river bend.
That's so unrealistic!
Back when the Great Northern Wilderness was being developed, the reclamation corps at the foot of the mountain suffered similar losses.
The ponds connect to the great river, and the more you struggle, the muddier they become, causing not only vehicles to get stuck but also people.
After suffering losses, the reclamation corps switched to digging ditches in winter.
The granaries of the Great Northern Wilderness at the foot of the mountain were truly hard-won, blood-and-sweat fields carved out by chisels and axes.
Back then, the soldiers who came were from the reclamation corps.
Otherwise, if an ordinary person were to develop the Great Northern Wilderness, they would end up like the Japanese settlers – either frozen back or exhausted and forced to leave.
Whether it was land reclamation or forestry, the ability to settle in the Great Northern Wilderness and the Greater Khingan Mountains was inseparable from the fertile land and abundant resources of the area.
Without a catch of fish or game, the idea of establishing oneself in the Xinganling forest area with that meager rations is pure fantasy.
A few years ago, when people first came here, let alone hunting deer or roe deer, even pheasants and rabbits were not commonly seen in the mountains.
In recent years, life has become more stable, so fewer people are hunting, and there are more animals in the mountains.
This might be the reason why the Siberian wolves from the Russian side came to Songling.
Wu Laowai couldn't explain these things to Chen Tuo, so he could only give him some pointers: to chisel holes in the ice in sections of the river where there might be fish.
"Kid, how about you fish and I splash water? We'll each do our own thing, and we'll split the catch in half."
Before entering the mountains, we should first discuss the rules to avoid unequal distribution and conflicts.
Last night's bear bile should have given Wu Laowai a share, but he was too scared to contribute much and didn't mention the share distribution.
Having decided to go fishing with Chen Tuo, Wu Laowai explained the rules in advance.
"Okay! I don't mind taking more or less..."
Feeling the ice crystals, which were even colder than the previous two days, Chen Tuo also expressed his true thoughts.
Fishing isn't really addictive.
But carrying fish out of the fishpond is somewhat irresistible.
When shooting a bear, the adrenaline surges.
Right now, Chen Tuo isn't thinking about ice fishing; he's standing on the riverbank, shooting wolves.
"That won't do. These are the rules for mountain running; they must be followed!"
While the two were setting the rules, Chen Tuo had already chiseled through more than forty centimeters of ice.
The sound of rushing water was particularly refreshing to Chen Tuo.
This is similar to the panting sound of an ice hole, signifying a harvest.
After fetching two buckets of water, Chen Tuo asked Wu Laowai to apply wax to the snow pit. He then took out the fishing hook Xiao Kai had given him, attached a piece of bear lung to it, and began ice fishing.
Large fishhooks, No. 10 nylon line for weaving and mending nets, wooden spools, and hand-rolled sinkers—that's Chen Tuo's complete ice fishing gear.
Just as Wu Laowai had said, a large fishhook with a bear lung attached was launched into the water, and before Chen Tuo could even prepare, a fish took the bait.
With the fishing line secured by the spool, Chen Tuo didn't bother with any fish-playing movements. With a brute force pull, a pike about a foot long landed on the snow.
"Uncle Wu, pike!"
"Hmm! Let's keep fishing. I reckon if you don't fish a hundred or two hundred pounds, you'll be letting down the old man who's been protecting you."
The fact that he caught a fish as soon as he cast his line means that Wu Laowai chose a good fishing spot.
If Chen Tuo had the luck, he could only catch ten or eight fish out of a hundred or eighty catties.
Chen Tuo was standing on the ice of the Dobukuer River, a tributary of the Nenjiang River, where there were definitely big fish.
Old Wu was thinking about the big shipment!
Chen Tuo, who cast his line a second time, was almost pulled into an ice hole by the fishing line.
"Get up here, you bastard!"
With a sudden stomp on the edge of the ice hole, Chen Tuo, lacking any skill whatsoever, yanked the fishing line and slammed a large, dark fish onto the snow.
"Holy crap! This black carp must weigh at least thirty pounds!"
With just a glance at the meter-long black fish stick, Wu Laowai knew that the old foreman had gone easy on him again.
This kind of large cargo will only drag people into the water; who can lift it out of the water in one go?
Fish caught in fishing nets are weak because they've already struggled underwater.
It's abnormal for a fish whose mouth is caught on a hook not to resist.
"Damn! I knew I shouldn't have tried to catch the fish, fishing is so damn fun!"
I muttered to myself how tedious it was to fish out.
Chen Tuo got up, pulled the axe handle from the sled, used it to physically anesthetize the big black fish, and then threw the fishhook into the ice hole once again.
This time he was more experienced, so he ice-fished while sitting on a sled.
Chen Tuo, who caught a fish as soon as he cast his line, also surprised Wu Laowai.
Looking at the more than twenty large fish on the ice, some a meter or a foot long, he could only mutter complaints about the old foreman's favoritism.
"Uncle Wu, do you think the fish in the water are lacking oxygen? Why are they all so weak, jumping right up when you pull them?"
The fishing hook went into the water, and a big fish took the bait. Except for the second blackfish that Chen Tuo caught, he almost pulled it into an ice hole.
The next dozen or so fish all swam up on their own.
"That can't be right. There are unfrozen rivers upstream and downstream, and the water isn't frozen. As long as the river water is 'gurgling,' the fish won't go near the ice hole."
After sharing his experience, Wu Laowai was also wondering why Chen Tuo was catching fish so fiercely.
There's not much difference between the water and the mountains. In the mountains, wild beasts roam and the grazing livestock run around wildly. It's pretty much the same in the water.
But the fish that Chen Tuo just served were mainly pike and snakehead.
These two are like wolves in the water. What fish could scare them so much that they'd rather bite the hook than stay underwater?
Old Wu was thinking about it!
Chen Tuo, standing at the edge of the ice hole, also cried out "Holy crap!" as he was almost pulled into the ice hole again.
"Kid, watch out. If you really can't hold on, just let go..."