Chapter 624: Catching Fish

"That depends on the person. Some women enjoy it, some love having kids, and some just have strong bodies. Childbirth is like a double-edged sword. It continues the cycle of life, but it also drains a woman’s energy and spirit. As long as it’s their choice, it’s fine. The ones I feel sorry for are the women who are forced to give birth."

Evelyn Ford wiped the blood from her hands with a damp towel. She was tired and leaned against the inner wall of the truck, staring into space. The delivery had shaken Lily West and the others as well. After the past two days of observation, it was clear that Rosemary Sullivan was best suited for midwifery, while Lily West and Helen Nash were better at treating wounds.

Wendy picked up an insulated lunchbox from nearby. Taylor Vance had made the food. While they were busy with the delivery, Ronan Kendrick had gone into the space, taken out the lunchbox, and left it for them so they could eat as soon as they returned.

"Evelyn, let’s eat first."

Several privacy curtains had been drawn down the middle of the truck. Lily West and the others were on the right side, while Evelyn Ford and Wendy were on the left. Lunch today was noodles, which had already clumped together. The other three women hadn’t brought themselves to eat the canned food they were given yesterday. But after hearing what Evelyn said that morning, they all took out their cans, mixed the contents into their noodles, and finished everything.

"Evelyn, I heard from the team leader that there’s a huge lake just a few kilometers ahead. If it has fish, we’re supposed to stop for a day to catch some for the road."

Evelyn was a little surprised. "Are we allowed to stop?"

"I think so. If Team Six catches up, we’ll just leave then. If there are fish, we should try to catch some too!" Seeing Wendy in such high spirits, Evelyn smiled.

"Alright, let’s catch a few, then. Just a handful will be fine. We’re not in dire need, and the teams behind us will need to fish too."

Wendy nodded. "I know. I’m mostly in it for the fun."

After lunch, the two of them leaned against the truck’s inner wall and took a nap. Ethan Dawson was driving that afternoon, and Ronan Kendrick had already gone into the space to work.

The faint smell of blood still clung to them. But with the curtains drawn for privacy, Evelyn wasn’t concerned. She took some wet wipes from her space, shared them with Wendy, and they both quickly cleaned their hands.

"Finally, the smell of blood is gone."

At three in the afternoon, they finally reached the lake the team leader had mentioned. It was massive—so vast you couldn’t see the other side—and the water looked very deep.

A warning sign hung from a tree near the shore. The convoy ahead must have just left; the embers of a campfire were still warm, though they’d been doused with water. Piles of fish scales were scattered nearby.

"This is the freshwater lake. The water is deep, and it’s teeming with fish. We’ll be stopping here for the rest of the day and overnight. All able-bodied swimmers between eighteen and forty, step forward! You’ll be going in to catch fish, while everyone else supports from the shore. All participants will get an extra bonus."

The convoy leader, on horseback, was shouting through a megaphone. All the team leaders went to pick out the young men who would be going into the water. Wendy sighed in disappointment off to the side. She was too young. Besides, for safety, the leader had set clear rules: men would enter the water to fish, the elderly and children would help from the shore, and the women would process the catch, salting and drying the fish into jerky before sunset to make them easier to store and transport.

"Don’t worry. We can go fish over there."

Evelyn took out her binoculars and pointed to a grassy spot in the distance. Wendy’s eyes widened. "Can we really?"

"Of course."

Lily West and the others had already gotten out of the truck to help. Evelyn and Wendy left the truck as well, and after getting Ethan Dawson to join them, the three of them quietly slipped away from the main group, heading for the distant grassy spot.

Once they were far from the main convoy, Evelyn immediately entered her space to tell the others. The moment he heard they could go fishing, Quincy dropped the burlap sack of cotton he was holding and ran over to her.

"Where’s the fishing spot?"

"Outside. Come on, everyone come out and enjoy yourselves for a bit."

Zoe and Annie ran over too. "Auntie, can I go outside too?"

"Of course. I’ll teach you how to use a fishing rod in a bit."

Evelyn walked over to Ronan Kendrick and plucked a dry leaf from his hair.

"Let’s go, let’s go! I can’t wait to start fishing!"

At Quincy’s urging, Evelyn and Ronan immediately led everyone out of the space. Over in the tall grass by the shore, Wendy and Ethan Dawson had finally picked the perfect spot to cast their net. When Wendy saw everyone emerge, she started jumping up and down in excitement.

"Dad, quick, look at this Grass Carp! It’s huge, must be seven or eight pounds!"

Officer Graham burst out laughing. "Seven or eight pounds counts as a big fish?"

’We used to catch giant fish weighing hundreds of pounds out at sea, and she never got this excited.’

Officer Graham walked to the edge of the water to have a look. The fish were plentiful, swarming in dense schools. The largest ones, however, were indeed only about seven or eight pounds. ’Looks like there are no big fish in this lake,’ he thought.

"Should we cast the net here?"

Ethan Dawson nodded. "I’ve scouted it out. It’ll be easiest to haul in the net from here, and we’re out of sight from the main camp."

Evelyn nodded. She took two fishing nets and several large buckets from her space. She had originally planned to just catch a few for the novelty of it, but she hadn’t expected the freshwater lake to be so massive. It was teeming with so many fish, they could never possibly catch them all.

Taylor Vance and the others moved the buckets back, ready to collect the fish. Ronan Kendrick and Ethan Dawson each picked a spot, cast their nets, and after a few minutes’ wait, they were ready to haul them in.

Ethan Dawson gave the net a tug. There were too many fish for one person to haul it in, so everyone rushed over to help.

"Wow, look at all these fish! Are we having braised fish tonight?"

Wyatt Vaughn pulled Zoe back. "Don’t get too close to the edge, you’ll fall in. You want to have braised fish?"

"Yes! And I want fish balls and sweet and sour fish, too!"

"No problem! I’ll get in the kitchen tonight and show you all what I can do." The moment Quincy said that, he was met with a barrage of disapproving glares.

"Your cooking is terrible. Don’t you dare ruin the ingredients," Miles Vaughn mocked him without holding back.

’Don’t I deserve any respect?’ Quincy thought.

After they hauled in the net and saw the several hundred pounds of Grass Carp inside, Evelyn had everyone transfer the fish into the large buckets so she could store them in her space.

"These fish are safe to eat, right?" Joelle Finch asked, worried they might be carrying bacteria or viruses.

Evelyn smiled. "They’re safe. The convoys ahead of us definitely ate them. If they weren’t safe, they would have left a warning. And if someone had died from poisoning, we’d see bodies by the lakeshore."

"It’s all Grass Carp, Crucian Carp, Culter, Yellow Catfish, and Common Carp."

They sorted the fish by species into the different buckets, and Ronan Kendrick went to haul in the second net.

Peter Owens started a campfire in a concealed spot. Joelle Finch and Wyatt Vaughn cleaned a few fish and put them on to grill. A short while later, the rich aroma of roasting fish filled the air. Once one was seasoned, Evelyn picked it up and brought it to Ronan Kendrick.

"Have a bite."

Ronan Kendrick smiled, bent down, and took a bite. "It’s delicious."

The second net was also full of fish, almost all of them Yellow Catfish. Even though they had several fish ponds set up in the space and were raising plenty of their own, there was always a unique thrill to catching fish in the wild.

Evelyn leaned close to Ronan Kendrick and whispered, "Remember Silver River? We chiseled through the ice to fish there."