Chapter 28

"Big and strong, no loss in strength!" Bo Xiaosan envied Hong Tao's physique. People in this era were generally shorter, and Chen Ming'en referred to a man of five feet, without the term for a man of seven feet. According to Song dynasty measurements, it would be around 1.6 meters, which was the standard height. The height of the Tanka people was different. People like Chen Ming'en and Chen Qihong, who were from the northern ethnic groups, were close to 1.7 meters tall, while Huang Hai and Bo Fu, who were from the south, were shorter.

"It's not about physical strength, but about technique. I'll teach you when we get back! But I won't teach you for free; you have to teach me something in return, like how to tell the time by the stars and the moon!" Hong Tao didn't actually want to teach them judo; he wanted to use this as an excuse to learn from them. The Tanka people guarded their knowledge very closely. Bo Fu and Huang Hai had repeatedly warned Hong Tao that if other fishing boats passed by, they should stop setting the traps to avoid being seen, even by other Tanka people.

Hong Tao thought this habit was perfectly reasonable; even in the future, there was patent protection. Why should one's inventions be given away for free? However, there was one aspect he felt the ancients handled poorly: they preferred to take their skills to the grave rather than write them down and pass them on. This was a waste. These skills were valuable experiences accumulated over generations. Even if there were no successors in their own families, teaching others could still preserve their names. Why let them be lost forever?

"No need to trade. I'll teach you now. It's not a big deal; anyone can do it! Look at the Big Dipper..." Bo Xiaosan was much more generous than Hong Tao, not requiring any effort from him. He pointed to the sky, showing Hong Tao the Big Dipper.

"When the handle of the Big Dipper is vertical, it's midnight. When it's horizontal, it's dawn. When it's slightly vertical again, it's early morning, and it's about to get light." Bo Xiaosan explained very simply, not understanding the principles but knowing the oral traditions passed down from the previous generation, without any flexibility.

Following his method, Hong Tao roughly measured and discovered the secret. It was simple: they connected the stars Tian Shu and Tian Xuan of the Big Dipper with a line, and the extension of this line pointed to the North Star. Then, using the North Star as the center of a clock face and the extended line of the Big Dipper as the hour hand, it worked like a watch. The hour hand pointed to the time, which was very scientific. The North Star is almost directly above the North Pole, with only minor positional changes, so the center of the clock face remained stationary. The closer to the equator, the more accurate this method became, with less error.

Following this method, Hong Tao tried it out. Hey, it really worked! When the hour hand pointed to 4:30, a hint of bluish-white appeared on the eastern horizon, with an error of only about ten minutes. If a clock face were made with the correct markings and the true north and south directions were found, it would be an ancient clock! If the seasons and latitude differences were also considered, the error would be minimal!

This method was very similar to the Western use of constellations for navigation. Ancient Chinese people knew how to use it, but unfortunately, no one summarized it into a theory that everyone could use, and the West took the lead.

"Damn! No way, when I have the time, I'll turn navigation into a science. I'll start classes, write books, and let you take the credit! When I die, I'll seal my books in a jar and bury them with me. Maybe in a few hundred or thousand years, they'll be dug up. Look, hey! Chinese invention, with pictures and proof! Hehehehehe..." As he looked at the already blurry constellations, he imagined himself appearing in ancient texts, being revered by all, and he was delighted.

"Hong Tao, what are you yelling about? It's so ugly!" Bo Xiaoliang was woken up by Hong Tao's eerie laughter in his sleep. Seeing Hong Tao laughing strangely with his head tilted back, he frowned. This outsider was good in every way, but he often acted crazy, which was not normal.

"How can a sparrow understand the aspirations of a swan? You don't know anything! Xiao Jiao, wake up!" Interrupted by Bo Xiaoliang, Hong Tao gritted his teeth in frustration. His thoughts had just taken off and were already grounded. He couldn't bear it and decided to take it out on Bo Jiao. If your grandpa interrupts me, I'll kick you!

After washing his face with seawater and eating a few bites of yam, the sky was already bright, and a red glow appeared in the east, with the sun about to rise. The two boats raised their sails halfway, gradually increasing the distance between them, and began to lower the fishing lines with bamboo tubes tied to them into the sea. This was a bit more complicated than setting traps. When setting the hooks, they had to not only thread fish meat onto each hook but also ensure that the sub-lines and the main line did not get tangled.

After the hooks were set, the bright red sun emerged from the horizon, revealing half its face and secretly watching the two stealthy boats. Its light reflected off the floating bamboo tubes on the sea surface, as if warning the fish underwater not to come near, as there were a few bad guys here!

After the hooks were set, what next? They couldn't just sit on the boat and bask in the sun, right? Fishing at sea wasn't that leisurely. After setting the hooks, they had to take out small fishhooks, thread them with shrimp, and go fishing. The fish they caught would serve as bait for the rolling hooks and crab traps. If no big fish came by in half a day, they would have to change the bait to keep it fresh.

The water here was over 80 meters deep. Hong Tao used up all the hemp rope he had and even took Bo Jiao's rope, connecting them to find the bottom. However, his luck was bad, and the hook got stuck on the reef at the bottom. He had to break the rope, losing not only the fish but also a fishhook and over 20 meters of rope. Bo Xiaoliang and Bo Xiaosan had already caught several fish, all about a foot long, which were mackerel. These fish were surface-dwelling and widespread, not valuable or tasty.

Hong Tao was not content with failure and even less content with catching the same mackerel as others. Only catching fish that others couldn't catch was a true skill! For him, it was a game, but for others, it was work, and their mindsets were completely different. The broken rope was no problem; since he knew the approximate depth, he didn't let the hook sink to the bottom. He stopped at about 70 meters and stood on the boat, vigorously pulling the rope up and down, similar to the method of attracting fish in the modern era. This would make the fish notice the moving object above, and perhaps a curious or hungry fish would come to bite.

Was there such a fish? Of course, otherwise, the fishermen would be very disappointed. After shaking the rope a dozen times, Hong Tao felt the rope sink, but it wasn't stuck on the bottom because something was pulling it from below.

"Hehehe... Kid, you dare to break my rope and cut my hook? Watch me catch all your family!" The water was too deep, and the rope was too heavy, so Hong Tao couldn't feel the exact weight of the fish. However, from the strength of its struggle, it must not be small, otherwise, it wouldn't be able to pull the wet hemp rope, which was several dozen meters long.