Chapter 278 - 124: One Fish, Many Ways to Eat
His hand was still gripping the fish gills, never relaxing. After resting for a few seconds to gather some strength, Chen Zhou suddenly exerted his force, completing the final drag.
This colossal creature, enough to make fishermen feel trapped, hanging on the car body, proudly displayed around the city, unwilling to return home for a day, finally lay steadily on the shore.
Chen Zhou was soaked from the waist down after getting into the water. Once on shore, a gust of wind made him feel the chill.
The wood in the bonfire was almost completely burned, its weak light flickered surrounded by darkness, neither providing warmth nor a sense of safety.
He dragged the fish onto the stone surface over two meters from the lake water to prevent it from suddenly springing back to life and diving back into the water. Chen Zhou rubbed his stomach.
Before fishing, he dug a pit in the woods to get rid of the remaining food residue from his stomach.
His stomach and intestines were cleaner than usual at this moment. He could even feel the burning and stinging sensation from gastric acid eroding the gastric mucosa.
Taking off his water-logged shoes, he poured out the water gathered inside, twisted his pant legs, adjusted to the feeling of wet pants clinging to his legs, picked up the axe, and fumbled in the dark to chop a few bushes nearby.
Now, he urgently needed to dry his clothes and body while eating something—
This hunt lasted far longer than he imagined; so far, he hadn't eaten anything for almost ten hours, having only drunk some cold boiled water.
If this fish had arrived a little later, allowing him to eat grilled fish and replenish his strength before battling, the fish playing section might have ended earlier.
Patiently adding firewood, he saw Lai Fu leisurely lying beside him resting.
Chen Zhou was puzzled why it didn't come over to beg for food; it hadn't eaten anything the whole day either.
In the gradually brightening firelight, he discovered that the few fish he had processed had mysteriously disappeared.
Frustrated and amused, he initially intended to pretend nothing happened while retrieving live fish to gut and clean, but eventually, he woke Lai Fu up to reprimand it.
He wasn't particularly upset about those few fish.
The resources on the entire island couldn't be depleted even for a hundred people, let alone just him.
He worried that Lai Fu might develop a habit of eating anything indiscriminately, potentially ingesting poisonous food or eating fish too hastily and getting a bone stuck in its throat—
This guy eats like it has no teeth, always gobbling down its food, previously choking on sheep bones, fortunately being large enough that a few dry heaves dislodged it.
Though raw fish bones are relatively softer and more pliable than sheep bones, they still pose a risk of getting stuck in the throat.
Whenever Chen Zhou fed fish to his household's cats and dogs before, he always removed the hard, large bones or fried the fish crisp before feeding it to them.
As for the small fish Jerky Xiao Huihui and Tizi commonly ate, since they were too small, even dried, the kittens could swallow one at a time effortlessly, posing no danger.
...
Lai Fu was abruptly awakened from its half-sleep state to be scolded, without realizing its mistake, it could only wag its tail slightly, innocently snuggling up to Chen Zhou, ingratiatingly pleasing him.
He was helpless against this adept at playing tricks rascal.
With his stomach growling, desperate to barbecue and eat something, Chen Zhou didn't argue much with Lai Fu and quickly took a frying pan to fry a few fish, filling his stomach a bit before finally inspecting his trophy.
The bonfire was already blazing fiercely, and the flames by the lakeside were like a small lighthouse on a dark island, strikingly conspicuous.
The big fish was already exhausted when dragged ashore; after Chen Zhou finished eating, it was more weakened, on the verge of dying.
The self-made small fish basket couldn't accommodate this enormous beast, leaving Chen Zhou no option to contain the big fish for it to regain some vigor.
Watching its gills opening and closing, struggling painfully, guided by humanitarian spirit, he still drew out the Dagger to give it a swift end.
This fish looked quite similar to the small-sized colorful fish he caught before, with its head accounting for roughly one-fourth of its body, a relatively broad tail, and a slightly bloated physique.
Under the firelight, he carefully examined its scales; aside from the reddish flames reflecting on it, almost none of the colorful hues seen on those small fish were present.
Its back was mainly covered in silvery-white scales, interspersed with some black scales, and its belly mixed with faint golden patterns, appearing extremely splendid.
Gesturing with the Dagger at the fish's head, unable to pinpoint its heart's location, Chen Zhou finally decided to fetch the more practical axe.
Aligning the fish's head on the stone surface, he switched the axe to use the hammerhead for a heavy strike.
Accompanied by a dull thud, this waterway conqueror's eyes lost their shimmer.
...
Catching the "Fish Ancestor" to take the blame, Chen Zhou found the remaining three to four-pound, palm-sized little nuisances somewhat beneath him.
Of course, mainly because lugging this big guy home alone was trouble enough, carrying any more would be impossible.
Displaying rare compassion, he released all those small fish, reminding them to summon a bigger, older ancestor next time.
Without a fish basket or rod, only carrying a mountaineering pack and cooking utensils, Chen Zhou used the climbing rope from his bag to perfectly secure the big fish before shouldering it and trekking toward the mountain camp in the dark.
By lunar calculations, January 6th should roughly be the fourth or fifth, only starlight illuminated the sky with no moonlight, drastically reducing visibility.
Upon entering the forest, it was near pitch black.
Under such poor conditions, without an oil lamp, Chen Zhou could not risk returning home overnight and had no choice but to spend the night at the camp.