Chapter 27

Piao Xiaoer's design for the crab trap's bamboo float was quite interesting. His bamboo floats were not lying flat on the water surface but standing upright, with a fine bamboo pole over two meters high inserted in the middle. The top of the pole had a few strips of cloth hanging from it, making it visible from a distance. From this small detail, one could see that Piao Xiaoer's personality was very similar to that of the old man Piao Fu, being meticulous and focused. Moreover, he had an additional advantage over the old man Piao Fu: he didn't chatter much and rarely nagged others, though it was unknown whether he would change when he got older.

Hong Tao wasn't too worried about the crab traps. Crabs have a very sensitive sense of smell, and as long as there was food underwater, they would quickly smell the fish meat. These creatures are natural scavengers of the seabed, and dead fish and shrimp are their favorite. Once they discover food, they won't leave until they have eaten it, and once they start eating, they can't leave even if they want to, unless they have a human brain.

The rolling hook was Hong Tao's main goal. He had discussed the market for seafood with Chen Ming'en, Huang Hai, and Piao Fu. Ordinary sea fish were the least valuable and wouldn't make it to formal banquets. The people of the Song Dynasty loved novelty, and only large and rare deep-sea fish could fetch a good price. Crabs were not scarce, but the larger ones were more valuable. If they were one or two years old, they wouldn't be eaten unless it was during the Mid-Autumn Festival when the crab roe was full. Only crabs over four or five years old, with thick meat and a rich flavor, would be bought by restaurants, as they had a lot of tender meat regardless of whether they had roe or not. The most expensive were large shrimp. In any decent restaurant, large shrimp were a popular dish, but unfortunately, Hong Tao had no good way to catch them. Apart from using a fine-meshed trawl net, there was no large-scale method for catching them. Crab traps could catch some, but not many.

In comparison, the rolling hook had a better chance of catching large fish. As long as he caught a tuna, sailfish, or marlin, he could sell it in Zhenzhou City using a method similar to an auction. This kind of fish was still rare, especially those weighing 30 to 40 pounds. Any restaurant that got such a catch would put up a colorful sign to attract many customers.

The people of the Song Dynasty loved gambling and were willing to bet on anything. So if a large fish appeared, the restaurants in the city would send people to bid. The Song people were not foolish; the bidding process itself was a form of advertising for their restaurants. Whoever won would not only gain face but also attract many diners, and they would sell other dishes as well, so it wasn't a loss.

The crab traps had ropes and floats, so the rolling hooks couldn't be placed near them. If a large fish got hooked and started thrashing around, it might get entangled in the crab trap's ropes. Huang Lang's boat anchored near the crab traps to keep an eye on them, while Piao Xiaoer and Hong Tao's boat continued to sail for another half an hour, taking advantage of the light before it got completely dark. They first tied the two small boats together to prevent them from being scattered by the tide at night.

"Go to sleep first, I'll take the first watch." After a simple dinner, Piao Xiaoer took out two burlap sheets from the cabin and handed them to Hong Tao and Piao Jiao. Piao Jiao wrapped himself in the burlap sheet and fell asleep on the bow of the boat. It was like a blanket! No wonder Piao Fu and Huang Hai had rheumatism in their hands, feet, and legs; sleeping on the sea like this, even in tropical waters, would eventually lead to illness.

Unfortunately, Hong Tao had no good solution. The conditions were too primitive, with no plastic sheets to keep out moisture and no wool blankets for warmth. The best he could do was wrap himself in another burlap sheet. Hong Tao hadn't slept well for several nights. Whenever he tried to sleep, his mind would be filled with all sorts of problems, and he couldn't figure them out, so the night would pass in a blur. Now, although the conditions were harsh, leaning against the rudder at the stern and feeling the rhythmic rise and fall of the boat with the waves, and listening to the sound of the waves hitting the hull, he soon drifted off into a drowsy sleep.

"Ah-choo... Ah-choo!" He was sleeping, but his mind was still active. In his dream, he was dragging a fishing line from a sailboat, and a thousand-pound marlin had taken the hook. After a few hours of struggle, he finally subdued the powerful fish, and he himself was exhausted, with a sore back and arms. He sat down on the deck, and the sea breeze made him sneeze twice.

The part before was a dream, but the two sneezes were real, and Hong Tao woke up! The soreness in his body was also real. The deck was not only hard but also small, and he had to curl up to fit, causing his back and legs to ache.

"Third Brother, what time is it?" Hong Tao didn't plan to sleep anymore. He covered Piao Jiao, who was lying on the bow, with the burlap sheet and turned to look at the other small boat. Piao Xiaoer was already lying down at the stern, and Piao Xiaosan was sitting at the bow, on watch.

"It's been a little over an hour past the first watch..." Piao Xiaosan looked up at the sky and reported the time. Estimating the time by the stars and moon was either a special skill of the Tanka people or something all Song people did. In any case, Hong Tao had privately calculated it a few times, and it was quite accurate. The first watch was between 1 and 3 a.m.

"Third Brother, go to sleep. I'll take the watch. I can't sleep anyway." Hong Tao stood at the stern and started doing exercises. Having traveled through time twice, he realized that no matter how rich or poor one was, good health was the most important. So as long as possible, he never stopped his daily exercise. On a small wooden boat, he couldn't do big movements, so he did calisthenics and push-ups, and sit-ups, and wouldn't stop until he was drenched in sweat.

"Is this a dance from your hometown?" Piao Xiaosan didn't go to sleep. These men were stubborn; if they said they would do something, they would finish it. Seeing Hong Tao's modern calisthenics, Piao Xiaosan thought it looked like a dance during a religious ceremony.

"It's not a dance, it's a way to exercise! By the way, Third Brother, do the Tanka people have martial arts?" Hong Tao asked while doing his exercises, thinking of some random thoughts.

"Martial arts?" Piao Xiaosan was taken aback by Hong Tao's question.

"Skills for fighting!" Hong Tao didn't know how to explain martial arts, as there were no martial arts films, and no one would recognize Bruce Lee.

"Who needs skills to fight? The one with the most strength and the willingness to fight to the death will win! We Tanka people don't provoke trouble, but if someone provokes us, we'll use a fish spear to deal with them!" Despite being more honest than his brother and rarely speaking, Piao Xiaosan was very fierce. His methods were deadly.

"Once things are calm, I'll teach you some fighting skills. You don't need a fish spear; you can use your body to knock someone down. Do you want to try?" Hong Tao started showing off his judo skills. Apart from fishing, he had no other special skills, but this was something he could do well.