Chapter 941: Combining the Strength of Three

As the old saying goes, "An expert only needs to reach out once to know if the catch is there."

When it comes to casting a net for fish, although you can't see what's happening underwater, the rope in your hand can give you a general idea.

Thus, as soon as Wang An applied force, he immediately called out to Wang Yi

"Xiao Yi, come over and give me a hand pulling! This net has a serious amount of fish in it."

Wang Yi, who was observing another fishing spot, replied as he ran over

"Coming, Big Brother!"

Unfortunately, there were simply too many fish in this net. After the two brothers pulled the net tight together, it wouldn't budge an inch.

Clearly, this catch weighed at least three or four hundred jin.

Fortunately, after a short while, Wang Li arrived leading the horse.

Once the rope from the fishing net was tied to the thousand-jin hook—the iron hook—on the axle bar, Wang An and Wang Yi finally let go of the rope in their hands.

Holding the reins in his left hand, Wang Li patted Da'er the horse on the shoulder with his right and shouted

"Giddy-up!"

At Wang Li's command, Da'er lowered its head and began to exert force forward. Its two thick front legs bent instantly, and its two massive hind hooves dug directly into the soil.

Da'er's strength was undeniably powerful, but even as the horse's back arched upward into a bow from the effort, the net of fish remained stuck in the river.

From this, one could tell just how heavy the catch was.

Seeing that things weren't going well, Wang An immediately called to Wang Li and Wang Yi

"Quick, quick, quick! Don't just stand there watching, let's all pull together."

As he spoke, Wang An grabbed the right side of the axle bar with his left hand, while Wang Li stepped back and grabbed the left side with his right.

Seeing there was no room left for him to stand, Wang Yi went to the back and grabbed the rope of the fishing net.

Then, Wang An began to chant a rhythmic work song

"Come on, one, two, heave! One, two, heave!"

Thus, combining the strength of three men and one horse, it took about twenty seconds before they finally dragged the fishing net out of the river.

Only after dragging the fish-filled net three or four meters away from the shore did Wang An pant and shout, "Whoa!"

In the local area, although the word "Whoa" was used for livestock, humans understood the meaning just the same.

After shouting, Wang An plopped straight down onto the ground; naturally, Wang Li and Wang Yi did the same.

To be honest, this method of fishing was truly exhausting; it was not only hard on the horse but also hard on the people.

It had to be said that this was damn heavy. Even with Da'er's strength, the horse couldn't have pulled it out alone.

After catching his breath, Wang Yi turned his head to look at the fish in the net and said with a face full of astonishment

"Oh my god, Big Brother, Fifth Brother, look at this pile of fish! How many jin is this?"

Wang An was also very surprised looking at the fish.

The entire net was bulging, packed tight with fish, many of which were wedged into the gaps of the mesh.

Fortunately, this net hadn't been used many times before the land was divided into households; otherwise, it would have surely burst from the pressure of the fish.

Aside from seeing fishermen at sea in his previous life whose nets burst from being overfilled, Wang An had never seen river fishing result in a net being packed this full.

It showed just how high the fish density in the rivers was in this era.

However, calculating the dates, this phenomenon was normal. From July to October every year was when the fish in the river were most abundant, and since it was now August, it was the absolute peak of the fish population.

After Wang Yi finished speaking, Wang Li murmured

"This... this has to be eight or nine hundred jin, right?"

Wang An shook his head

"How big is the net? It definitely isn't that much. Maybe six hundred and some, probably not even reaching seven hundred jin."

Wang Li opened his mouth wide, exclaiming with emotion

"Seven hundred jin is still plenty! Oh damn, this thing really wore me out."

Normally, a weight of around seven hundred jin was nothing for a horse, especially since Da'er's height and weight were much larger than a typical local horse.

The reason the three men and one horse struggled so much was that when pulling something out of the water, the perceived weight instantly doubles.

After resting for another short while, Wang An stood up and said

"Xiao Yi, untie the rope. In a moment, lead the horse over. Your Fifth Brother and I will go cast the other net first."

As he spoke, Wang An picked up the fishing net Wang Li had brought and walked toward the second spot with Wang Li.

Just then, Wang Yi asked Wang An

"Big Brother, are we just leaving the fish in the net like this? Should I take them out to let them breathe?"

Without looking back, Wang An said

"No need, just leave them there. The more air those things get, the faster they die. Besides, if we wait, the fish in the other spot will all swim away."

After such a long delay, the fish in the second spot seemed to have dispersed quite a bit, mainly because there were fewer splashes than before.

Regardless, Wang An aimed for the position and cast the net down.

After waiting a while, Wang An began to haul in the net.

Although this catch wasn't light, Wang An felt that Da'er could pull it out alone. Thus, Wang An called to Wang Yi

"Xiao Yi, are you done? Hurry up and lead the horse over!"

Unexpectedly, Wang Yi shouted anxiously

"Big Brother, I think I pulled the end of the rope the wrong way! I can't get this knot undone!"

Hearing this, Wang An looked at Wang Li and said softly, speechless

"Xiao Yi has studied himself into stupidity. Go help him fix it; if all else fails, just cut the rope."

For temporary towing like this, people normally tied a slipknot—also called a tow knot. It was different from a shoelace knot, but the method of undoing it was the same: just grab the end of the rope at the loop and pull hard.

To mess up such a simple knot showed just how frustrating Wang Yi was being at the moment.

Hearing this, Wang Li turned and walked back.

Just as Wang Li was helping Wang Yi untie the knot, Wang An felt a significant pulling force transmitted through the fishing net rope in his hand.

Subconsciously, Wang An gave the rope a hard tug, but immediately afterward, the rope pulled back again.

Feeling this pull once more, Wang An's heart leaped with joy.

Clearly, he had caught a big fish. Not only did Wang An fail to move it after two tugs, but the pulling force on the rope actually increased.

He had to admit, this big fish was damn strong in the water.

Wang An hurriedly shouted to Wang Li and Wang Yi

"Old Fifth, cut that rope quickly! Xiao Yi, come over and help me pull! The fish is getting away!"

Hearing this, Wang Yi immediately ran over. He and Wang An tugged back and forth like they were playing tug-of-war for a long time before the fish finally settled down.

Fortunately, Wang Li had also cut the rope in time and arrived leading the horse.

(End of Chapter)