Chapter 27: Chapter 27: The Harvest of a Small, Shabby Fishing Rod
"Does Jiaojiao like the sea?"
Yun Jiao carefully baited her hook with a small dried shrimp as she answered Yun Linhai’s question.
"Mhm, I like it."
"Then when we have time, Dad will take you to a nearby island to go foraging on the tidal flats."
He didn’t dare take Yun Jiao out deep-sea fishing. A single trip could sometimes last a whole day, and he was afraid the little girl would get restless and something bad might happen.
Yun Jiao dropped her hook into the sea and looked up. "Dad, can’t you take Jiaojiao tomorrow?"
’I want to go.’
Yun Linhai was focused on anxiously rowing the boat, so he didn’t notice what his daughter was doing at first. As long as he heard her voice and glanced back to see she was still on the boat, he felt at ease.
"Jiaojiao, don’t get too close to the edge of the boat. Be careful not to fall in."
"Okay," Yun Jiao chirped. "I know."
As she spoke, her fishing rod twitched again.
This time it was a scorpionfish, a little over a pound.
It was a small fish.
She went again.
She was landing fish at an incredible rate. No sooner would she drop her line into the sea than she’d get a bite.
But they were all common types, like black porgies and scorpionfish.
Twice, her line came up empty—the bait was eaten, but the fish hadn’t taken the hook.
The few times Yun Linhai glanced over, he either saw her reeling in an empty line or simply waiting for a bite.
He even tried to console her. "Don’t be sad, Jiaojiao. The boat is moving, so the fish might have been scared away."
Yun Jiao tilted her head. "I’m not."
Yun Linhai thought she meant she wasn’t sad.
She had tossed all the fish to the other side of the boat, where they were conveniently hidden from Yun Linhai’s view by her and a pile of ropes.
On Yun Jiao’s ninth cast, the pull on the line was stronger than any before.
Yun Jiao’s little face immediately scrunched up. She looked like she was using all her might, but her small hands were still struggling to hold on.
"Dad, big fish!"
Little Yun Jiao decisively called for backup.
’I’m still small and not very strong right now. When I grow up and get stronger, I’ll be able to catch even super big fish!’
Yun Linhai whipped his head around, immediately dropped the sculling oar, and grabbed the fishing rod from his daughter’s hands, terrified she’d be pulled overboard.
The moment he took it, he was astonished. This fish might actually be pretty big.
The bamboo rod was bent double. Yun Jiao leaned over the side of the boat to peer down into the water.
"Jiaojiao, come over here! Don’t lean so close."
Yun Jiao pointed at the fish that had just been tired out and pulled to the surface. "Dad, it’s a sea bass."
Yun Linhai’s eyes lit up with delight. "This sea bass must be six or seven pounds!"
That wasn’t that heavy, but sea fish put up a much stronger fight in the saltwater, making them harder to land.
Finally, Yun Linhai hauled the fish aboard.
"My girl is amazing! You even managed to catch a fish like this!"
And such a big one at that.
But he soon discovered it wasn’t the only one!
Yun Linhai stared, dumbfounded, at the small pile of half-dead fish lying off to the side.
"You... When did you catch all these?!"
Yun Linhai was so shocked his voice cracked.
It had been such a short time! And he hadn’t noticed at all!
With such a flimsy little fishing rod, and while the boat was moving, no less—he never believed Yun Jiao could actually catch anything.
’Turns out I was the clown all along.’
"No, seriously, how did you catch them?"
His eyes went wide with envy looking at all those fish. He stopped rowing, rubbed his hands together, and squatted down next to his daughter.
"Jiaojiao, let Dad have a try."
This haul was incredible.
Yun Jiao handed him a small dried shrimp.
"Here you go, Dad."
"Okay, okay, okay..."
The fun of fishing was like opening a blind box; you never knew what kind of fish would take the bait.
First, Yun Linhai used a bucket to scoop some seawater into the boat’s hold, then tossed all the fish Yun Jiao had caught inside.
At least it would keep them fresh.
"Let’s see what your old man can reel in."
He and Yun Jiao sat side-by-side on the deck. He waited in eager anticipation for a good while, but there was no movement on his fishing rod.
Yun Jiao held a small dried shrimp in her hand, munching away.
Just as Yun Linhai was starting to question his life choices, he finally got a bite.
He said excitedly, "Here we go, here we go! Let me see what it is..."
"Oh, it’s just a horse mackerel."
All that excitement for nothing. The horse mackerel wasn’t even big. Its meat was tougher and fishier than other fish and wouldn’t fetch a good price. They’d just have to take it home and eat it themselves.
"Dad, give it to me."
Yun Jiao held out her small hand. There was only one last dried shrimp left; she’d eaten all the others.
"Jiaojiao has better sea-luck. You fish."
This time, he didn’t move away. He just squatted by her side to watch how his daughter fished.
’Sometimes, fishing really does come down to luck.’
She expertly baited the hook with the dried shrimp, then cast her line.
Her rod started twitching almost immediately, but this time, she pulled up a squid.
"A half-pound squid. Not bad."
He couldn’t discourage the child too much.
Squid weren’t expensive. You could get a decent price if you had a lot, but a single one like this wasn’t worth much.
"Dad, cut."
Yun Jiao pointed at the squid.
Yun Linhai understood what she meant. He stroked her hair and asked, "You want to keep fishing?"
Yun Jiao nodded, hugging her fishing rod.
"Alright, Dad will cut it up for you."
’There’s no knife here...’ But a soft-bodied creature like a squid wasn’t hard to deal with. There were some broken pieces of reef rock on the boat, and he used one to cut the squid into pieces.
With her small hands, Yun Jiao took a still-twitching squid tentacle, baited her hook, and continued fishing.
Maybe it was because live bait was more attractive to the fish; in just a moment, something was on the hook. The pull was strong, and Yun Jiao’s face tensed as she struggled to hold on.
Seeing this, Yun Linhai quickly took the rod from his daughter.
"Holy crap, it’s a silver pomfret! A silver pomfret this big! This thing has to be three or four pounds!"
It was no wonder he was so shocked. The silver pomfrets you usually saw were rarely over a single pound.
’How long must this fish have been alive? And of all people, my Jiaojiao had to be the one to catch it.’
The grin on Yun Linhai’s simple, honest face was impossible to hide.
"Jiaojiao, let Dad take the next cast."
He was practically burning with envy.
Yun Jiao nodded. "Okay."
But this time, he didn’t catch anything. The cunning fish ate the bait and ran without taking the hook.
"Let’s go again. I refuse to believe this."
This time, he caught a sea wolf.
"It’s a sea wolf! Jiaojiao, stand back."
Sea wolves were ferocious creatures with sharp teeth and long, flat bodies. Even after being pulled onto the deck, it was still snapping its jaws, trying to bite someone.
Yun Linhai kicked it into the hold.
"This one must be five or six pounds."
Yun Jiao stared at Yun Linhai with a faintly accusing look in her eyes. "Dad, I want to fish."
Yun Linhai scratched his head in embarrassment. ’This fishing thing is pretty addictive.’
"Alright, here’s the rod."
Less than a minute later, Yun Jiao called for help.
"Dad, big fish!"
Great. They pulled up another sea wolf, and this one was at least ten pounds!
The fishing rod was bent to a degree where it looked like it might snap at any moment. Yun Linhai’s heart pounded in his chest. ’This fish isn’t going to get away, is it?’
Thankfully, the rod held, and the fiercely struggling sea wolf was flung aboard.
The sea wolf was incredibly strong. After landing on deck, it broke free from the hook, and its massive, sharp-toothed mouth snapped directly at Yun Jiao.
Yun Linhai’s expression changed. "Jiaojiao, get out of the way!"
SMACK...
Yun Jiao didn’t dodge. Instead, she gave the sea wolf a mighty slap across the face.
The ferocious sea wolf: ???
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