During the day, at least dozens of merchant ships of all sizes passed by, and there were hundreds more fishing boats. The big fish in the river were easily startled, scared away by the large vessels, diving down to depths of seven or eight zhang, making them impossible to catch.

Only during the brief hour at dawn, when there were almost no big boats on the river, would the big fish not be frightened and come up to the surface to feed on the tiny floating insects.

This was also Ethan Brooks's only chance to catch big crucian carp.

……

Before long, some small schools of fish, attracted by the fishing lantern, appeared around the bamboo raft.

Ethan Brooks, braving the bone-chilling wind, squatted patiently on the bamboo raft, waiting.

His stomach rumbled with hunger. He took out a cold, hard cornbread from his pocket, broke it in half, and slowly chewed on it to fill his belly. He couldn't bear to eat the other half, so he put it back in his pocket for later.

What he wanted to catch were not these small fish and shrimp that would only fetch a few coins even if he filled a whole basket, but the big fish.

He didn't know how much time had passed.

Suddenly, a flash of silver appeared in the river, like a lively silver thread swimming in the water. It surfaced to eat the bait, and under the light of the oil lamp hanging from the bamboo raft, it shone brilliantly in the night.

It was a silverback knife fish!

For a moment, Ethan Brooks almost thought he was seeing things.

His dark, lively eyes stared unblinkingly at that nimble silver line gliding through the river, his breathing quickened, his heart pounding, and disbelief showed on his face.

Silverback knife fish could only occasionally be seen in the depths of large lakes. It was probably because there wasn't enough food in the lake that it had come into the river to forage during the cold winter.

Judging by the size of this silverback knife fish, it must weigh at least seven or eight liang!

A half-jin silverback knife fish could sell for five hundred copper coins.

For every extra liang, it could fetch another hundred copper coins. This silverback knife fish could easily sell for seven or eight hundred copper coins—a sum equal to what he could earn in a whole year.

Ethan Brooks's face flushed, his heart thumping wildly.

His family was dirt poor, so he knew exactly what such a precious silverback knife fish meant.

If he could catch this knife fish and sell it at a high price at an inn in Gusu County, he could exchange it for several large sacks of snow-white rice and flour, food, salt, and new cloth.

It was the twelfth lunar month now, and the New Year was coming soon.

This year, they could have a delicious meal of shrimp and vegetable dumplings for the New Year, big bowls of fragrant white rice, and never have to gnaw on hard cornbread again.

He could even buy a few feet of cloth for his younger brother and sister to make new clothes for the New Year.

Any extra copper coins could even be used to pay the boat tax at the Gusu County yamen, easing some of the burden on his parents.

If his parents knew how capable he was, they would surely beam with joy, pat his head, and praise him heartily.

With this silverback knife fish, they would definitely have a good New Year this year!

Ethan Brooks quickly held his breath, his clear eyes shining with the golden light of copper coins, his small hands steadily gripping the fishing net, and he began to haul in the net very slowly.

The "silverback knife fish" was known as the flying knife of the water, and it truly lived up to its name.

It was easily startled, swam extremely fast, and cut through the water like a knife, vanishing in a flash.

Catching a silverback knife fish was a true test of a fisherman's skill.

Calm mind, steady breath, sharp eyes, quick hands!

Ethan Brooks held his breath and slowly hauled in the net.

Just then, a crow roosting in a nest on a treetop by the river suddenly woke up for some reason and let out a piercing caw.

"Yaa~~—!"

The fully focused Ethan Brooks was startled, and his small hands, gripping the net tightly, trembled slightly, causing a small splash on the river's surface.

The silverback knife fish in the river was immediately startled. With a sudden flick of its tail, it darted three or four zhang away from the edge of the net like lightning, and in the blink of an eye, disappeared into the depths of the river.

Damn!

The silverback knife fish was scared away!

Ethan Brooks held up a fishing net with only a few tiny shrimp in it, his body trembling with anger, on the verge of tears.

It was all that damned, foul-mouthed crow's fault!

That was a silverback knife fish weighing seven or eight liang—worth seven or eight hundred copper coins!

But with one cry from that wretched crow, it was all gone!

His wish for a good New Year this year was dashed!

Ethan Brooks's eyes turned red as he glared fiercely at the crow's nest on the treetop by the river.

Furious, he paddled the bamboo raft over, picked up the long bamboo pole in his hand, and jabbed at the old crow's nest in the treetop.

"Stupid crow, that's what you get for squawking!"

The nest was poked, and the crow, startled, cawed wildly but pretended to be dead in the nest, not daring to show its head.

After a while, Ethan Brooks's arms went limp with exhaustion, and he slumped down on the bamboo raft, utterly dejected.

His little face, red from the frost, was full of disappointment and frustration.

Sigh!

Ethan Brooks also knew that the old crow didn't understand anything. It had just been startled awake by the frost in the middle of the night and cried out randomly; it hadn't meant to harm him.

Why be angry at it?

Ethan Brooks sighed, feeling a bit apologetic as he looked at the crow's nest on the branch.

"Sorry! I shouldn't have taken my anger out on you and poked your nest in a fit of frustration. It's freezing cold, and you're suffering in your nest too. These shrimp are my way of making it up to you."

Ethan Brooks grabbed a handful of small fish and shrimp from the basket and tossed them under the old tree root, then poled the bamboo raft away to continue fishing.