Wang Shouzhe couldn't help feeling helpless; the productivity of this Profound Martial World was indeed low. But it's precisely because of this that the natural resources of this world are so well preserved.
In contrast, the nearby sea areas in Wang Shouzhe's world were being pounded flat by trawling, forcing the government to enact various fishing bans. The power of trawling was not something to be joked about.
"Don't rush, uncle, take a look at this other fishing tool. Although it's not as effective as trawling… it's simple to operate, and even common people could operate it if it's deployed correctly."
Afterwards, Wang Shouzhe sketched out another type of fishing tool for Wang Dinghai, called a lifting harp. It was somewhat similar to casting a net, but while casting involved trapping fish from above, the lifting harp scooped them up from below.
Overall, the lifting harp was more complex than casting a net, but once fixed and leveraged, it was simpler and less labor-intensive. Its advantage is that, once set up, any common laborer, even minors, could operate it.
Furthermore, the lifting harp had a stronger evolution form, which is the river-barring gillnet. If this could be manufactured, its lethality would be as strong as a small trawler, if not stronger.
"Shouzhe, where did you get all these wonderful ideas?" Wang Dinghai was so excited that he began to tremble, "If all these could be realized, we'd be rich."
"I came across them while reading an old book when I had free time," Wang Shouzhe said. "Uncle, how about trying out the ground cage and soul confusing array?"
Both the ground cage and the soul confusing array were highly lethal fishing tools, so lethal that they had been banned by the government and placed on the illegal fishing gear list. Both of these were passive-type set fishing gear.
Once set up and cast, they only needed regular checks, much like botting in a game… you didn't have to do anything, just collect the harvest at a set time.
Wang Dinghai was about to go crazy. As a Profound Martial "professional fisherman," Wang Shouzhe seemed to have opened a new world to him.
"Uncle Six, all these are the secrets for the rise of our family. We must prioritize keeping them confidential." Wang Shouzhe temporarily gave up the idea of sharing with him the basics of Luya angling, solemnly said.
"I understand. I will be extra careful in doing all of these, and I hope the family can assign two head of households to assist me." Wang Dinghai was trembling with excitement. "Also, about the scoop net, I have some ideas. We can quickly modify a scoop net using cast nets. Let's try it first. If it can…"
His eyes were gleaming and he couldn't wait to experiment.
The area from Dingpu Ferry to Chaotic Stone Beach was all Wang family's territory. Ordinary people would neither dare nor have the means to approach the river bank. After all, the river bank was underdeveloped and was only crudely cleaned up, filled with all sorts of unintentional dangers.
Furthermore, this segment of the river was winding with many secluded places. Inspired by Wang Shouzhe, Wang Dinghai, who was familiar with the fishing industry, had many plans and ideas.
After getting Wang Shouzhe's approval, Wang Dinghai headed towards a concealed mini dock on the river segment. Each dock here was a secret base, which had a variety of uses. Just like a cunning rabbit has three burrows, this was even more so for the Wang family's fishing fleet.
A hidden wooden cabin was built next to the mini dock, serving as a shelter from wind and waves. Wang Dinghai arranged for Wang Shouzhe and Gongsun Hui in this simple cabin. Leaving Wang Goudan to serve the two, he hurriedly left.
"This is the first time that I've seen Uncle Six in such a hurry." Gongsun Hui commented, "It seems that the fishing method you suggested, Zhe Er, will be very effective."
"The method was learned from some ancient books and is untested in practice, so I'm not sure. I just hope it will be useful for the family." Wang Shouzhe smiled indifferently, then turned to Wang Goudan, "Goudan, can you roast fish?"
"Yes." Wang Goudan nodded smartly, "Lord, I will go roast the fish now." As soon as he had finished speaking, he dashed out.
When only Gongsun Hui and Wang Shouzhe were left, Gongsun Hui looked carefully at Wang Shouzhe. After she had stared at him for so long that he felt somewhat uneasy, she finally sighed and said: "Zhe Er, you have changed, becoming more free-spirited and confident. When you were younger, you only focused on cultivation and ignored everything else. If my sister-in-law hadn't watched you grow up, I would really doubt you were switched at birth."
"Sister-in-law, you're joking. In the past, my father took care of everything, so I could just focus on my own affairs." Wang Shouzhe said with a calm expression, sighing, "But now, father has passed away, and the family situation has deteriorated to such a degree. If I don't step up, where will the Wang family go? Sister-in-law, let's not talk about this for now. You have had a long journey, rest for a while, let's look forward to Uncle Six's surprise later."
Wang Shouzhe took control of the situation, actively ended the topic and began to rest.
Around an hour later, Wang Goudan brought back several golden roasted fish. The aroma was enticing. Wang Shouzhe took out two copper coins and threw them to him: "Here's a reward for you. Wait for us outside."
"Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord." Wang Goudan happily ran out.
Wang Shouzhe shared the roasted fish with Gongsun Hui. Although Goudan's cooking skills were average and he only added some coarse salt, the choice of fresh and high-quality seafood made Wang Shouzhe savor the dish and sing its praises.
It was also the first time for Gongsun Hui to eat such rustic food. After a few bites, her beautiful eyes kept shining, as if she found it very tasty.
When they had finished eating the roasted fish, they heard the excited shout of Wang Dinghai from outside: "Shouzhe, Sister-in-law, please come out and see."
Wang Shouzhe and Gongsun Hui followed the sound and arrived at the dock. They saw that Wang Dinghai had already set up a simple portable fishing net according to his plan. That net made Wang Shouzhe raise his eyebrows. The four support poles were as thick as arms and the main pole was even bigger than one's thigh.
This thing was too heavy, probably weighing about 200 or 300 pounds. Ordinary people on Earth would not be able to handle it.
But there stood Wang Dinghai on the wooden dock, bending his waist and hardening his legs. With slight strength, he easily lifted the heavy net out of the water.
Well, I forgot that he was a Level Five Qi Refiner in the Profound Martial Realm. His strength was more than ten times as strong as an ordinary person on Earth.
"Boom!"
A large fish had been caught by the net. The fish splashed water with a wave but was blocked by the net and lost its way. Before it could react a second time, it was lifted from the water, lying in the center of the net, ready to be slaughtered. Furthermore, a few small fish weighing one to three kilograms were quietly lying next to it.
"Excellent!"
The surrounding fishermen cheered enthusiastically as they hurriedly scooped up the catch with makeshift handles. Although it was an inexpensive red carp, it weighed about six to seven kilograms and could sell for dozens of shillings, thus proving the effectiveness of the fishing net lift.
Then, under the personal guidance of Wang Shouzhe, Wang Dinghai made further improvements to the fishing net lift, adding a reverse rod and additional weighting equipment.
The principle is extremely simple, resembling a seesaw on Earth. However, this seesaw is triangular in shape, with the two ends connected by a rope. By positioning an appropriate weight on one side of the seesaw, slight pressure could lift the opposite end of the fishing net out of the water in a seesaw-like motion.
Afterward, four hours passed before everything was set up and the sky had turned dark, but everyone's enthusiasm remained high. With just an hour's wait, they could pull up the net, and it was not labor-intensive.
Of course, netting nothing could not be avoided. But as it was already dark, many fish started to come closer to the shore under the cover of darkness to look for food as there were more food near the shore than in the center of the big river.
"Boom!" "Crash!"
After several empty nets, there were always occasions when a big fish was caught with a loud bang. Every so often, they even caught two or three fish in one throw, which excited those fishermen and Wang Dinghai.
