Chapter 7: Capturing the Red-Scaled Eel

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"Sixth Uncle, these are all family secrets crucial to our rise. Everything must prioritize confidentiality." Wang Shouzhe temporarily abandoned his plan to explain the Lure to him, speaking earnestly.

"I understand. I'll be extremely cautious with all of this, and when the time comes, I ask the family to assign two Household Generals to me." Wang Dinghai was trembling with excitement, "Additionally, about that transporting zither, I have some ideas. We can quickly transform a transporting zither with a cast net and test the results first. If it's possible..."

His eyes were shining, eager to start experimenting.

The area from Dingpu Ferry to Chaotic Stone Beach was Wang Family's territory, where ordinary people neither would nor dared to approach the riverbank. After all, the riverbank was undeveloped and simply cleared before, posing various unintended dangers.

Moreover, the river section meandered with countless secluded, hidden spots. Inspired by Wang Shouzhe, Wang Dinghai, who was familiar with the fishing industry, already burst with multiple schemes and ideas.

Once Wang Shouzhe agreed, Wang Dinghai steered the boat toward a hidden mini dock in the river section. Each mini dock here functioned as a secret little stronghold, capable of multiple uses. A smart rabbit has three burrows, let alone the Wang Family's fishing fleet.

Beside the small dock, concealed wooden cabins were built as shelters from wind and waves. Wang Dinghai arranged Wang Shouzhe and Gongsun Hui in this humble place, leaving Wang Goudan to serve them, then hurried off.

"It's the first time seeing Sixth Uncle so bustling," Gongsun Hui remarked emotionally, "It seems the fishing idea you provided, Zhe'Er, will work wonderfully."

"All these were learned from ancient books and untested in practice, hopefully useful for the family," Wang Shouzhe replied with a light smile, then said to Wang Goudan, "Doggy, can you grill fish?"

"I can." Wang Goudan nodded smartly, "Patriarch, I'll grill some fish now." He said, then dashed off in a flash.

Once only Gongsun Hui and Wang Shouzhe remained, Gongsun Hui scrutinized Wang Shouzhe closely, making him feel a bit uncomfortable before sighing emotionally: "Zhe'Er, you've changed, becoming free-spirited and confident. The former you only focused on cultivating under heavy burdens, neglecting everything else. If it weren't for Mother watching you grow up, one might suspect you were exchanged."

"Aunty, you're joking. Before, I didn't have to worry with father around," Wang Shouzhe said with a calm expression, sighed, and continued, "But now that father is gone and the family situation is dire, if I don't pull myself together, where will the Wang Family head? Aunty, let's not talk about this. You must be tired from the journey. Get some rest, and we'll look forward to Sixth Uncle's surprise later."

Wang Shouzhe took control of the situation, proactively ending the conversation, and led by example in closing his eyes to rest.

Half an hour later, Wang Goudan brought back a few golden-brown grilled fish, with a fragrant aroma wafting. Wang Shouzhe took out two Large Copper coins and tossed them: "Your reward, wait outside."

"Thank you, Patriarch, thank you, Patriarch." Wang Goudan joyfully ran outside.

The grilled fish was shared with Gongsun Hui. Although Doggy's cooking skills were average, using just a sprinkle of coarse salt, the freshness and quality of the ingredients were outstanding, making Wang Shouzhe savor every bite.

Gongsun Hui was also eating such rustic food for the first time. Her beautiful eyes sparkled with delight as she ate, finding it quite to her taste.

After finishing a few grilled fish, Wang Dinghai's excited shout came from outside: "Shouzhe, Fifth Sister-in-law, come out and take a look!"

Wang Shouzhe and Gongsun Hui heard the call and went out to the small dock. There, Wang Dinghai had set up a makeshift transporting zither as planned. Goodness, that transporting zither made Wang Shouzhe's eyebrows twitch. The four support pillars were as thick as arms, and the main beam was even thicker than a thigh.

That thing was so cumbersome, it must weigh two or three hundred pounds, impossible for an ordinary Earthling to manage.

Wang Dinghai stood on the wooden dock, combining his waist and horse with ease, and with a slight exertion, he effortlessly raised the cumbersome transporting zither from the water.

Oh, I forgot that guy is a Qi Refining Realm Fifth Layer Black Tortoise Practitioner, his strength surpassing an ordinary Earthling by more than tenfold.

"Boom!"

The transporting net caught a big fish, which exploded into a wave but was blocked by the net. Before it could react further, it was pulled from the water and lay helpless in the center of the net, ready to be slaughtered. Besides, a few one to three-pound small fish lay silently beside it.

"Good!"

The surrounding fishermen were all cheering excitedly, using simple nets to scoop up their catch with great effort. Although it was just a worthless red carp, its six to seven pounds could fetch several dozen coins, and this also proved the effect of the moving zither.

After that, under Wang Shouzhe's personal guidance, Wang Dinghai improved the moving zither further, adding tilt rods and counterweights.

The principle is very simple, similar to the seesaw on Earth. However, this seesaw has a triangular shape, with both ends connected by ropes. Properly configured weights on the other end mean that a gentle pressure will lift the zither and net out of the water in a seesaw motion.

This took another two hours, and by the time everything was arranged, it was already dusk, yet everyone's enthusiasm remained high. In just half an incense stick's time, one could lift the net once, and it didn't require much effort.

Of course, empty nets couldn't be avoided. However, the sky was darkening, and many fish began to stealthily approach the shore in the cover of night, searching for food along the shores, where food is far more abundant than in the middle of the river.

"Boom!" "Splash!"

After several empty nets, there would always be a loud explosion, catching a big fish or something. Occasionally, two or three fish would be caught in one net, exciting the fishermen and Wang Dinghai immensely.

"Shouzhe, we've struck it rich!" Wang Dinghai, holding a torch, reported in great joy, "I pulled thirty nets in the last hour, missed five, caught nine big ones, and countless smaller catches.

In just one hour, over a hundred pounds of catch, worth about ten large coppers in total."

This terrifying harvest left Wang Shouzhe a bit dumbfounded; the resources in the Black Tortoise World are indeed much better than those on Earth. But Wang Dinghai added that it was fish spawning season, and night was the best time for fishing, so such a harvest was considered reasonable.

"This thing is much stronger than net casting." Wang Dinghai said excitedly, "Casting nets yields quite a lot too, but the fittest fisherman can cast at most a hundred times a day before running out of energy. But this new tool doesn't require much physical effort or technique, allowing two fishermen to work in shifts over twelve hours, and it's much safer since the river shore is slightly less dangerous than the river center."

"Indeed, but you've overlooked one advantage, and that's replicability." Wang Shouzhe, in high spirits, said, "Sixth Uncle, tomorrow find some skilled artisans from the family, refine this crude tool, and gradually spread it. Let's take advantage of the fish spawning season for another haul this year."

"The most important thing is secrecy." Gongsun Hui added from the side, "Sixth Uncle, manpower cannot be expanded blindly; try to find reliable helpers from collateral relatives."

Everyone added their opinions one after another.

Suddenly!

A loud booming splash.

Wang Goudan shouted fiercely from the other side: "Master Hai, quick, come quickly."

The three looked in unison to see a massive snake-like creature ensnared in the moving zither. Its burst of energy was extremely fierce, and even though two adult fishermen were holding down the moving zither frame and lifting it out of the water, it still thrashed violently in the net, shaking the entire frame.

"It's a Red-Scaled Eel!" Wang Dinghai's face showed ecstatic delight, but his expression quickly changed, "Not good, it's about to break the net."

The Red-Scaled Eel's sharp teeth bit into the net holes, its body frantically twisting and spinning, instantly tearing a big hole in the fishing net as it naively tried to squeeze out.

Without a word, Wang Dinghai leaped swiftly into the water, swimming rapidly towards the fishing net. Just as the Red-Scaled Eel was about to escape, he reached out his big hand to grip its neck, and with his right hand, he pulled out the Water-Splitting Needle from his waist and fiercely stabbed it in the brain, swirling it around.

Even so, the Red-Scaled Eel continued to entangle him, struggling wildly, showing its tremendously robust life force, until a full incense stick later when it finally died.

Wang Dinghai dragged it ashore, laying it on the makeshift dock, its body over two zhang long, thicker than a thigh at the thickest point, its entire body covered in red scales.

"A Tier One Aquatic Ferocious Beast, Red-Scaled Eel, Sixth Uncle, this should be an adult Red-Scaled Eel, right? Must weigh a hundred pounds, right?" Wang Shouzhe and Gongsun Hui were also curiously watching.

"Hahaha, not just that, this one weighs at least 150 pounds, worth at least three to fifty Qian Gold." Wang Dinghai sat on the ground, panting, his eyes brimming with excitement, "If this beast gets back into the water, I'm really not sure if I could handle it. But the Red-Scaled Eel is a treasure all over, Patriarch, it's all thanks to your fortune today, hahahaha~ Tomorrow we'll take it to Dingpu Ferry to show off a bit."

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