The Black Iron Glory
Night fishing
Chapter 70
Night fishing
Claude busied himself with the grilling while Welikro looked at the three small fish skin lanterns while chewing on the beef skewers. Eriksson, who has always loved fishing, put the bait on three fishing rods and threw it into the water as the barbecue began. In 30 minutes, get four rather well-sized fish. No wonder the Whitestags believed that fishing at night produced more catches than making nets during the day.
Eriksson helped Claude by stabbing the meat from the side as he watched the wings roast his saliva with his mouth watering. He kept asking if it was finished. Borkal on the other hand, Borkal sat lazily on the side of the ship with blueberry wine in his hand and a fork in another place where a large piece of beef steak was stabbed.
Using a brush to apply the seasoning evenly on the six wings, Claude flipped them over afterwards and waved his hand at Eriksson. “Do not rush, it will be done in a few moments.” At the same time, he took out some mutton from the wooden plate beside him and put it in his mouth. He was quite hungry after doing all that work.
One of the three lanterns floating in the lake suddenly sank, causing the fire to go out. Welikro hurriedly pulled onto one of the rods and shouted, "Quick, come on! It's a big one!"
The fish that bit the bait was indeed a big fish. It struggled nonstop and Eriksson stared at the surface of the lake as he held tightly onto the pocket of the net. As Welikro pulled the fish close to the boat and the surface of the lake, Eriksson bagged the fish at lightning speed.
"It was a redcalecalecale fish, about one and a half feet long and weighing about six catties.." Eriksson estimated the size of the fish as it continued to struggle on the deck of the ship. Redback greencale is a specialty of Lake Balinga. Although it is a freshwater fish, it tastes raw and unpretentious if not prepared properly. This type of fish is usually made into dry fish threads for better preservation.
"Enter into livewell. Your wings are done" Claude said, carrying a wooden plate with six wings. After that, he started grilling one of the long-tailed swordfish that opened to himself.
Welikro stepped on the fish that was packing in the net and removed the hook from his mouth, before throwing it into the living well. After that, he did not fish the hook and instead washed his hands with the lake water and took the wings from the plate Eriksson was holding and chewed on it.
Baking longtail swordfish is very easy. It just had to be rotated from side to side and it only took three minutes. Claude stuffed the fish into a wooden plate, rubbed each surface with salt water, and was ready to eat. Claude liked to eat it that way because he believed that the fish's natural flavor was awake. Welikro on the other hand prefers heavy seasoning and applies all sorts to his fish.
Seeing Claude eating a long-tailed swordfish, Welikro roasted himself after finishing his wings.
"Aren't you going to pay attention to the lantern?" ask Claude.
The problem with night fishing is that it is difficult to see it float clearly in the water. So, fishermen in Whitestag came across a fist-sized fish-skin lantern they installed on a small round wooden bobber. Inside the lantern was a small candle that allowed the bite to be detected easily.
When a fish is hooked up, like the redback greenscale from before, the lanterns will be pulled underwater and the fishermen will see the fire extinguished. The candle itself is waterproof and can be reused repeatedly until it runs out.
"no need. With the redback green scale we caught so large, the other fish must have been scared for a long time now. I'll come back to see it later" Welikro said as he covered his long-tailed swordfish with seasoning.
Claude shook his head in horror. The sauce will ruin the natural delicacy of the fish! What a terrible waste. He could have used regular fish to roast if he would have used that much sauce. . . He took a sip of blueberry wine and heard Welikro say, "Give me too."
Claude poured Welikro a cup, the latter finished in a quick sip. When she enjoyed the aftertaste, she said, "It feels sweet, but not strong at all. It is made for women to enjoy. Eyke, bring me the blackwheat beer I bought."
Claude made a bitter smile. Blueberry wine is something Borkal wants to buy no matter what. After tasting the coarse wine in Egret last time, Borkal no longer dared to drink the coarse alcohol. But from the moment he stole a cup of blueberry wine from the moment his father brought some to serve the guests, he found that it tasted very pleasant with its delicate sweetness and moderate alcohol content. So, he could not do without blueberry wine during this trip.
Claude made a bitter smile. Blueberry wine is something Borkal wants to buy no matter what. After tasting the coarse wine in Egret last time, Borkal no longer dared to drink the coarse alcohol. But from the moment he stole a cup of blueberry wine from the moment his father brought some to serve the guests, he found that it tasted very pleasant with its delicate sweetness and moderate alcohol content. So, he could not do without blueberry wine during this trip.
Borkal was the one who drank the most among the four of them. All of them were only 16 and they would not dare to drink too much at home. At most, they could only drink a cup of wheat beer. But they had all secretly tried other alcohols before. The more their families wanted to ban them from doing so, the more they wanted to try it. That is the opposite of the psychology of teenagers going through puberty.
Claude the transmigrator on the other hand had much better self-control than the others. Welikro and Eriksson did drink quite a bit of alcohol, but they were not that interested. Borkal is the strangest, drinks the most, but has the least tolerance for alcohol. He always drank until he was drunk. Currently, he only drank half a bottle of blueberry wine, but his eyes already looked somewhat dizzy. It seemed that he would fall asleep not long after that.
Eriksson completed five roast wings in one go and finally satisfied his passion. He opened the barrel lid with a black beer and poured each one a large cup.
The drink tasted a bit bitter, but it tasted very refreshing in the mouth. It is an ideal drink to quench thirst. Welikro drank two cups only. Eriksson pulled out the package from the cabin and said, "I almost forgot about this incredible thing. Claude, try."
Claude noticed tiny balls the size of fingertips inside a paper bag.
"What's this?"
He picked one up and put it in his mouth and was shocked. Isn't this malt candy? They have it in this world too? He recalled that a peddler dressed like a farmer would appear around his school in his past life with a basket. The basket contains a large piece of malt candy and he will decide whenever someone wants to buy some. Although she loved them when she was young, she no longer liked them when she was growing up because they often stuck to her teeth.
"This ... this is candy malt ...," said Claude hesitantly. He did not know if it was called the same in this world. Eriksson had mentioned it once last time, but he didn't notice.
“Yup, this is the Hurian malt candy that is passed down from generation to generation.” Eriksson did not mind that Claude knew of his shock. He handed the bag to Welikro and said, "Don't we hear the Hurians set up shop in the city? I went there after school to check it out and saw these malt candies for sale, so I bought some. It cost one fenny a piece, and I got about two sunar grades. However, it's nice that the Hurian returns. We haven't had any malt candies to eat since he went to the royal capital back then. "
Claude wondered, "What is this status of the Hurian you mentioned?"
Eriksson, understanding what Claude meant, said, "He's a farmer, but he's also limping. Now he's in his fifties."
Oh, limping in his fifties. No wonder he was allowed to go to the royal capital. Typically, farmers cannot leave the local town for no apparent reason. It was the strongest restriction imposed on men in their 18s to forties. Most of the people living in the slums were either farmers who had lost their land or bankrupt entrepreneurs who came from three southwestern prefectures.
Whitestag is located within three southwestern prefectures. They are located at the easternmost part and traveling further east means exiting the three southwestern prefectures, which is not allowed. While Claude did not understand why it had happened in the past, his father explained it as follows: the kingdom had quotas for each region for drafting during wartime. Most of the male farmers would be chosen as enemy bait, so they were not allowed to go anywhere they wanted to avoid conscription.
"Hurian legs were fine during his youth. I heard the incident happened about three decades ago. It was then that our kingdom first launched an attack on Nasri, and the Hurians were recruited at that time. When he was riding a donkey, the poor animal was shocked and he fell. When his legs stretched out, the passing train passed by him and broke his legs. After being treated, he finally became limp. "
Eriksson sneered and said, "Although he avoided first conscription, he is still engaged in the second war between our kingdom and Nasri after his leg has healed. At that time, our kingdom destroyed the duchy of Berkeley. Because the Hurian was weak, he was not recruited as a soldier, but as a coachman instead. He spent a year transporting supplies to Berkeley and returned as a traveling salesman after that.
"About four years ago, he said that he wanted to go to the royal capital and maybe settle there for good, so he applied for permission and proof of identity from the city hall. He doesn't look any different now because of him He said he came back because he couldn't make a lot of money there. Given his age, he could no longer be a traveling merchant either, hence his decision to start a shop here. I went to his shop to see and saw he had quite a lot of stuff he had brought back from the capital. Maybe you can look around there to find something to buy for your brothers and sisters. "
"Alright, I'll definitely check it out when I'm free," Claude simply replied, "Do you guys want the others eaten?"
"No... need ... burp ..." Welikro shook his head. "I've been bloated .. Just leave it there now. Maybe I'll have dinner when I'm hungry."
Eriksson took the fishing rod Welikro put on the deck and said, "I can't eat either. Let's focus on fishing."
"No... need ... burp ..." Welikro shook his head. "I've been bloated .. Just leave it there now. Maybe I'll have dinner when I'm hungry."
Eriksson took the fishing rod Welikro put on the deck and said, "I can't eat either. Let's focus on fishing."
Borkal was knocked out by a bottle of blueberry wine as expected. He snored on the boat with his mouth wide open. Claude cleaned the bottles and dishes and covered them with a blanket to make her sleep.
The three of them started fishing. The place Eriksson chose for them was pretty good. There are many fish that often bite their hooks. There are no other fishing boats around. Within two hours, they managed to catch more than 50 fish of various sizes with only four stalks. They're very busy.
Eventually, they managed to catch a short breath as the fish got harder to catch, with them only getting a bite every ten minutes. Eriksson asked for a short break before they moved. For now, he wanted something warm and steamy for his stomach.
Claude could not bother grilling anything and took out a pot to make a starchy soup. After drinking a large bowl, he felt full and warm.
Welikro lazily pulled the last fishing line and caught a palm-sized fish. "Let's check out purse seine. We've deployed it long enough now, so it's time we pull it up and move it for tomorrow morning. The candles in the fishskin lanterns are almost exhausted as well, we only have about five left. Let's leave some to use during the night duty. If we keep fishing, we'll use it in half an hour. "
Eriksson thought about it and agreed. "Okay, we'll do what you say. I was pretty tired after all that fishing. I thought I'd sleep after pulling the net."
Claude began cleaning the tools they used for the roast and storing the ingredients back into the cabin. The three of them then proceeded to pull the trawler.
The catch from the internet is not much. They only caught about ten or so fish. Claude felt that fishing them directly from the water was more valuable.
Pulling the net is really exhausting. When they finished, Eriksson looked at the snoring Borkal and said that he felt the urge to kick the lazy bum straight into the lake.