Accompanied by the clear sound of splashing water, the spotted fish was flung onto the ice surface. The big fish, intending to surface for air, finally realized what had happened and struggled desperately, its splashed droplets quickly freezing into beads.
The fish was more than forty centimeters long, longer than an adult’s forearm, covered with many spots, with a white belly and a brown back, and sporting a striking red line between its waist and abdomen.
Without a doubt, it was a trout, a plump and delicious trout.
Seeing the lively trout slowly stiffen in the cold weather, Bi Fang, who hadn’t tasted meat for a whole week and survived on bark, felt his eyes turning red.
Meat!
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Fatty fish meat!
The mucus on the fish’s body gradually turned into ice shavings, the air filled with a faint fishy smell.
The superior position in the food chain triggered an incessant secretion of saliva in Bi Fang’s mouth, making him almost wish he could pounce on it and devour its flesh raw, but in the end, Bi Fang held back, refocusing his attention on the ice hole once more.
Another fish swam by, and Bi Fang gripped his spear tightly, stabbing down once again.
Under the sunset’s glow, one fish after another was flung from the hole, with hardly any misses.
The river swelled with an intoxicating blue micro light, its waters clear as crystal; a scene not normally seen.
Even northerners accustomed to winter fishing saw mostly dark green river water that, when surged onto the ice, left a thin layer of dirt.
[It’s so beautiful, just like a wonderland.]
[I’ve never seen such clean river water in my life.]
[The fish in here could be eaten raw, right? It seems completely unpolluted.]
Such a beautiful river left an extremely deep impression on the audience watching the screen.
The fourth fish was tossed ashore, leaving Bi Fang slightly gasping for breath, reminding him of his first venture into Qinling. He felt perhaps weaker now than he did back then, catching just a few fish had left him feeling very exhausted, his aim was off, having stabbed twice to catch that fourth fish.
Taking a few breaths, Bi Fang sat down on the ground.
Having caught four in a row, the first batch of fish that could be caught had been snared, and those that could escape had fled, creating a brief lull, waiting for the second batch.
Seeing the audience’s astonishment, Bi Fang took the opportunity to explain.
"Ordinary ice directly formed from water contains a large number of air bubbles. The light entering will reflect off the interfaces of the ice and the air bubbles, as well as the grain boundaries between ice crystals, making the ice appear white."
"But a lot of the ice in the Arctic is formed when snowflakes are gradually compressed under pressure, turning into granular snow, and the final form of the snow at the bottom is also ice. This kind of ice has very few air bubbles, and the pores between the grains keep shrinking, becoming denser, and turning into perfect ice crystals."
"Perfect ice crystals absorb very little of the visible light spectrum and appear transparent. However, they absorb red light more than blue light, an absorption caused by the vibration of the O-H bond in water molecules."
"At this time, when light passes through very pure water or ice, more red light is absorbed. When the water body and ice layer are thicker, they will appear blue. The river beneath our feet, at least this section of it, has definitely not melted this summer, which is why we are seeing this situation."
Ice emitting blue light is generally from icebergs, while blue light from rivers is quite rare.
The blue cold light brings a sense of tranquility to one’s heart.
Time was brief, and by the time the sun had set, Bi Fang had caught a total of seven fish, including four trout, two salmon, and one cod.
The catch wasn’t just good, it was a bounty.
Without even digging a shelter, Bi Fang started preparing the fish, slicing open the trout’s belly, emptying the guts, and washing it clean by the river.
He then used the Hunting Knife to directly cut off the fattest part of the belly, which had the most fat.
While Bi Fang was processing the fish, the audience noticed a problem—there didn’t seem to be any material to start a fire, did there?
The tree sticks I had seen before were mostly used to make snowshoes; the leftovers were just scraps. There were a few small branches left, but the idea of using them to start a fire and roast fish was completely absurd.
[No fuel]
[Yeah, seems too late to collect any now]
Just when everyone was doubting whether Bi Fang would have anything to eat and might have to go out to gather materials, they were astonished to find Bi Fang actually picking up a slice of fish belly and stuffing it directly into his mouth!
Wow, freshwater fish, eating it raw!
The audience was in an uproar.
In this age of abundant information, almost everyone who has watched videos online has a basic understanding of the issues with raw fish consumption.
Some of it is wrong, like the belief that seafood has fewer parasites or that seafood parasites can’t survive in the human body—this is an extremely one-sided understanding.
Others are correct, like the fact that due to osmotic pressure, most seafood parasites can’t survive in the human body, and freshwater fish often can’t be eaten raw due to a high probability of parasitic infection, especially with crustaceans where the chances are outrageous.
But right or wrong, it’s generally known that freshwater fish can’t be eaten raw.
[666, such vigor in eating raw freshwater fish]
[Damn, Old Fang is seriously brave, not afraid of parasites?]
[Sea fish is one thing, but eating river fish raw?]
[Has he gone crazy from hunger?]
[What’s this streamer doing, gnawing on raw fish?]
[Philips Fish gifts Wolf Brush*666 to the streamer]
Trout typically begin spawning in November, and experienced anglers start looking for them in October. One could say that now is the season when trout are at their fattest and most delicious.
Even the belly meat of the fish had an oily sheen to it, which, after being frozen, didn’t feel greasy at all but was instead very smooth and tender, almost like slurping noodles.
Actually, greasiness wouldn’t be a problem at all; in fact, the greasier, the better. What Bi Fang needed most at this moment was exactly this—lots of fat.
After devouring several pieces of fish belly, the bellies of the two trout had vanished without a trace. Only after he had some solid food in his stomach did Bi Fang temporarily stop his frenzied eating.
His stomach began to digest the fish meat with all its might, emanating a warmth from the inside out, making one feel so comfortable they wanted to stretch lazily.
It was only then that Bi Fang noticed the chaotic mess in the comments.
"Ah, this, indeed there are certain risks, but they are not that great. Parasites are really afraid of the cold. In fact, truly safe raw fish has a freezing stage, which is to keep it in an environment of minus twenty degrees for twenty-four hours to kill parasites to the greatest extent," Bi Fang explained while chewing.
"However, eating raw meat in the Arctic isn’t just about safety, it’s also a necessity."
"Although I have been eating grass skin for the past few days, there’s a terrifying disease that could threaten us at any moment, and to prevent it, eating raw meat is an essential method."
Disease?
The audience perked up at this, scrutinizing Bi Fang’s appearance closely. Apart from looking a bit pale and weak, they didn’t see any sign of illness.
"Of course, I’m not sick, just a little hungry..."
"And I said it’s just a precaution. This disease is actually something you may have all heard about, quite famous during the Age of Exploration."
"Scurvy."